To My Catholic Friends
W. Carl Ketcherside
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It is not my intention to engage in ridicule nor to make sweeping charges, for one does not indulge in such actions with those whom he loves. It is rather my purpose to reason with you as with true friends, so that if we do not remove any of the barriers which now exist between us, we may erect no new ones to bar our further progress toward understanding each other and the will of God.
We hold a great many truths in common. Both of us believe in one God, the Father of all mankind. Both of us believe that Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Both of us believe that human reason unaided is an unreliable guide in religion, and that revelation was required to disclose supernatural truths. Both of us believe that Jesus founded only one church, and both of us believe it is a visible church. Regardless of how widely divergent we may be upon other matters, or even upon our explanation of these matters, it is refreshing to remember that we have some common ground upon which to stand as we reason together.
It is obvious that we are in disagreement as to the nature and identity of the church of God, for you are a member of the Roman Catholic Church and I am not. To be in disagreement does not mean that we must be disagreeable! You are sincere in your conviction that the Roman Catholic Church is the one, holy, apostolic church mentioned in the word of God. I am sincere in my conviction that it cannot be. One of us is in grave error. If the subject was one of mere temporal interest we might both laugh at our disagreement and forget about it and each other. But eternal souls are hanging in the balance and I cannot thus easily dismiss the topic nor forget you and your loved ones. I trust that you will feel a little of the same concern for me.
It strikes me that your first reaction will be to ask me if the Roman Catholic Church is not the one which was founded by Christ, to point out among the myriad Protestant Churches, which one he did found. I quickly reply that he did not found a single one of them. It is a com-
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The gospel of God's dear Son was first proclaimed in Jerusalem. This was in accordance with the instruction of the Saviour to his holy apostles "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). When the message was first proclaimed, thousands became obedient to the call, and the church was founded unto which the Lord added daily those who were being saved. The church of Jerusalem existed several years prior to the planting of one in Rome. The church in Rome was not the first one at all, and since it was not the first it is impossible for it to be the mother of all churches. If priority of existence is taken as indicative of parenthood, the church in Rome was the daughter of the church in Jerusalem, and not the mother of all churches. And even though it may be proven that the Protestant churches of today are the offspring of the Roman Church, it will forever be true that the church of our Lord existed in Jerusalem prior to the existence of any congregation of believers in Rome or anywhere else. The divine words "beginning at Jerusalem" exclude for all time the idea that any Roman church could be the first.
The church in Jerusalem was founded, flourished, and carried on the work of heaven before the church in Rome had its existence. Now, union with the Church of Rome is either essential to the being and truth of a church, or it is not. If it is essential, then the church in Jerusalem was not a true church, for it could have no union with the church of Rome, which was not in existence. If the church in Jerusalem was not a true church, then all of the "holy apostles" were impostors and charlatans, for they planted it and claimed to do so by the authority of Jesus. Moreover, the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles and inspired them, and would have to be charged with the deception. Even worse, the Lord added to them daily, such as were being saved, and such a conclusion would make the Lord add the saved to a church which was not a true one.
But if you admit that the church in Jerusalem was a true church, then you grant that union with the Church of Rome is not essential, and if you admit this, the entire fabric of the Papal system is swept away, for your admission is that a true church can exist without the hierarchy.
It will do no good to say that Peter was present and was the spokesman at Jerusalem, and later was transferred to Rome, for even if this were proven, which it cannot be, Peter could never testify in truth that the church of Rome was the first church, seeing that he had long before helped plant one in Jerusalem. And is this not the reason why, when the church was threatened with schism, it was determined that " they should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this matter?" (Acts 15:2). Were not the dogmas which were delivered to the churches to keep, ordained at Jerusalem, and not at Rome? (Acts 16:4). Then Rome was not the seat of authority for faith and morals. And even in Europe, a congregation was commended because the brethren became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea, are in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 2:14).
If you have been willing to read thus far, dear friend, please let me encroach upon your goodness a little longer. I commend you for your spirit of freedom and your sincere desire to know the truth that makes men free. It is possible for us to heal the wounds and repair the breaks in Christendom. We cannot do this by hating and reviling one another. Jesus died for us all, and as he loved us we must also
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I would not seek to make a Protestant of you. There is no more justification for the existence of Protestant sects than there is for the hierarchy. What all of us should do, if we really love Jesus, is to attempt to restore to this torn and bleeding earth, the faith and order as perfected by the holy apostles, without regard to what we have formerly believed and taught, or of what we have been taught. It is to this great task that we dedicate ourselves. It is to a mutual investigation of that faith and order, as exemplified by the church founded at Jerusalem, that we humbly invite you, as our good neighbors and friends. This design is too great to be approached in a spirit of bigotry and intolerance.
Can we not sit down as friends, in your living room or ours, and converse about these matters of eternal weight? It is not necessary that we try to force our thinking upon each other, or that we try to compel each other. We can surely take the sacred word in our hands and study it together with hearts yearning for that truth which is not sectarian. Even though we depart from each other with the same views as when we met, the value in human relations will be an experiment worthwhile. And though you may not gain the consent of your conscience to allow me the great privilege of conversing with you, please be sure that even your refusal will not quench my love for you, nor lessen the fervency of my prayers for the ultimate salvation of you and yours.
May the God of all grace grant that soon the intellectual mists will be dispelled, barriers be removed, and hearts welded together as members of the One Body for which our Lord shed his precious blood. May that day speedily come when we shall be no longer Roman Catholics or Protestants, but free from all partisan spirit and bias, be humble Christians, servants of our Master and each other. Is this not worthy of our sincerest effort and unremitting labor? If so, will you help to attain it?