Reformed Pastor, President, Professor by W. Robert Godfrey | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org
Loved this answer:
TT: As a church historian, what would you say to Protestants who are starting to find other traditions such as Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox attractive?
RG: I would want to respond pastorally and sensitively, but my basic message would be: Stop! Don’t! Rome and Orthodoxy are not just alternative “traditions” or “spiritualities.” They are fundamentally different understandings of Christianity, based not on the Bible as the complete, final, and comprehensible revelation of God, but on the Bible plus their own traditions. One can be discouraged by much in contemporary Protestantism, and we need to see a real reformation in doctrine, worship, and church life in our time. But the solution is not to be found in Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. The traditions that they add to the Bible are not genuinely ancient and often stand in contradiction not only to the Bible, but also to the ancient church fathers. Their traditions add to, subtract from, and/or contradict the Bible. For example, the Bible says that Jesus is the only mediator between God and man, but Rome declares that Mary also is a mediator. Elevating Mary in this way simply diminishes the centrality of Christ and almost certainly reflects a misunderstanding of His love and care for sinners. Our answers are in the Bible—as the ancient church fathers taught—not in some supposed holy tradition.
Loved this answer:
TT: As a church historian, what would you say to Protestants who are starting to find other traditions such as Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox attractive?
RG: I would want to respond pastorally and sensitively, but my basic message would be: Stop! Don’t! Rome and Orthodoxy are not just alternative “traditions” or “spiritualities.” They are fundamentally different understandings of Christianity, based not on the Bible as the complete, final, and comprehensible revelation of God, but on the Bible plus their own traditions. One can be discouraged by much in contemporary Protestantism, and we need to see a real reformation in doctrine, worship, and church life in our time. But the solution is not to be found in Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. The traditions that they add to the Bible are not genuinely ancient and often stand in contradiction not only to the Bible, but also to the ancient church fathers. Their traditions add to, subtract from, and/or contradict the Bible. For example, the Bible says that Jesus is the only mediator between God and man, but Rome declares that Mary also is a mediator. Elevating Mary in this way simply diminishes the centrality of Christ and almost certainly reflects a misunderstanding of His love and care for sinners. Our answers are in the Bible—as the ancient church fathers taught—not in some supposed holy tradition.