Liberty of Conscience
Threatened
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Protestants now regard
Romanism with far greater favor than
in former years. In those countries
where Catholicism is not in the
ascendancy, and the papists are
taking a conciliatory course in order
to gain influence, there is an
increasing indifference concerning
the doctrines that separate the
reformed churches from the papal
hierarchy; the opinion is gaining
ground that, after all, we do not
differ so widely upon vital points as
has been supposed, and that a little
concession on our part will bring us
into a better understanding of Rome.
The time was when Protestants placed
a high value upon the liberty of
conscience that had been so dearly
purchased. They taught their children
to abhor popery and held that to seek
harmony with Rome would be disloyalty
to God. However, how widely different
are the sentiments now expressed!
The defenders of the
papacy declare that the church has
been maligned, and the Protestant
world is inclined to accept the
statement. Many urge that it is
unjust to judge the church of today
by the abominations and absurdities
that marked her reign during the
centuries of ignorance and darkness.
They excuse her horrible cruelty as
the result of barbarism of the times
and plead that the influence of
modern civilization has changed her
sentiments.
Have these persons
forgotten the claim of infallibility
put forth for eight hundred years by
this haughty power? So far from being
relinquished, this claim was affirmed
in the nineteenth century with
greater positiveness than ever
before. As Rome asserts that the
“church never erred; nor
will it, according to the Scriptures,
ever err” (John L.
von Mosheim, Institute of
Ecclesiastical History, book 3,
century II, part 2, chapter 2,
section 9, note 17), how can she
renounce the principles which
governed her course in past ages?
The papal church will
never relinquish her claim to
infallibility. All that she has done
in her persecution of those who
reject her dogmas she holds to be
right; and would she not repeat the
same acts, should the opportunity be
presented? Let the restraints now
imposed by secular governments be
removed and Rome reinstated in her
former power, and there would
speedily be a revival of her tyranny
and persecution.
A well-known writer
speaks thus of the attitude of the
papal hierarchy as regards freedom of
conscience, and of the perils which
especially threaten the United States
from the success of her policy:
“There are many
who are disposed to attribute any
fear of Roman Catholicism in the
United States to bigotry or
childishness. Such see nothing in the
character and attitude of Romanism
that is hostile to our free
institutions, or find nothing
portentous in its growth. Let us
then, first compare some of the
fundamental principles of our
government with those of the Catholic
Church.
“The Constitution
of the United States guarantees liberty
of conscience. Nothing is dearer
or more fundamental. Pope Pius IX, in
his encyclical Letter of August 15,
1854, said: ‘The absurd and
erroneous doctrines or ravings in
defense of liberty of conscience are
a most pestilential error-a pest, of
all others, most to be dreaded in a
state.’ The same pope, in his
Encyclical Letter of December 8,
1864, anathematized ‘those who
assert the liberty of conscience and
of religious worship,’ also
‘all such as maintain that the
church may not employ force.’
“The pacific tone
of Rome in the United States does not
imply a change of heart. She is
tolerant where she is helpless. Says
Bishop O’Connor: ‘Religious
liberty is merely endured until the
opposite can be carried into effect
without peril to the Catholic
world.’… The archbishop of
St. Louis once said: ‘Heresy and
unbelief are crimes; and in Christian
countries, as in Italy and Spain, for
instance, where all the people are
Catholics, and where the Catholic
religion is an essential part of the
law of the land, they are punished as
other crimes.’…
‘Every cardinal,
archbishop, and bishop in the
Catholic church takes an oath of
allegiance to the pope, in which
occur the following words:
‘Heretics, schismatic, and
rebels to our said lord (the pope),
or his aforesaid successors, I will
to my utmost persecute and
oppose.’” –Josiah
Strong, Our country, ch. 5, par 2-4.
It is true that there
are real Christians in the Roman
Catholic communion. Thousands in that
church are serving God according to
the best light they have. They are
not allowed access to His word, and
therefore they do not discern the
truth. They have never seen the
contrast between a living heart
service and a round of mere forms and
ceremonies. God looks with pitying
tenderness upon these souls, educated
as they are in faith that is delusive
and unsatisfying. He will cause rays
of light to penetrate the dense
darkness that surrounds them. He will
reveal to them the truth as it is in
Jesus, and many will yet take their
position with His people.
However, Romanism as a
system is no more in harmony with the
gospel of Christ now than at any
former period in her history. The
Protestant churches are in great
darkness, or they would discern the
signs of the times. The Roman-Church
is far-reaching in her plans and
modes of operation. She is employing
every device to extend her influence
and increase her power in preparation
for a fierce and determined conflict
to regain control of the world, to
re-establish persecution, and to undo
all that Protestantism has done.
Catholicism is gaining ground upon
every side. See the increasing number
of churches and chapels in Protestant
countries. Look at the popularity of
her colleges and seminaries in
America, so widely patronized by
Protestants. Look at the growth of
ritualism in England and the frequent
defections to the ranks of the
Catholics. These things should awaken
the anxiety of all who prize the pure
principles of the gospel.
Protestants have
tampered with and patronized popery;
they have made compromises and
concessions which papists themselves
are surprised to see and fail to
understand. Men are closing their
eyes to the real character of
Romanism and the dangers to be
apprehended from her supremacy. The
people need to be aroused to resist
the advances of this most dangerous
foe to civil and religious liberty.
Many Protestants
suppose that the Catholic religion is
unattractive and that its worship is
dull, meaningless round of ceremony.
Here they mistake. While Romanism is
based on deception, it is not a
coarse and clumsy imposture. The
religious service of the Roman Church
is a most impressive ceremonial. Its
gorgeous display and solemn rites
fascinate the senses of the people
and silence the voice of reason and
of conscience. The eye is charmed.
Magnificent churches, imposing
processions, golden altars, jeweled
shrines, choice paintings, and
exquisite sculpture appeal to the
love of beauty. The ear is also
captivated. The music is unsurpassed.
The rich notes of the deep-toned
organ, blending with the melody of
many voices as it swells through the
lofty domes and pillared aisles of
her grand cathedrals, cannot fail to
impress the mind with awe and
reverence.
This outward splendor,
pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks
the longings of the sin-sick soul, is
an evidence of inward corruption. The
religion of Christ needs not such
attractions to recommend it. In the
light shining from the cross, true
Christianity appears so pure and
lovely that no external decorations
can enhance its true worth. It is the
beauty of holiness, a meek and quiet
spirit, which is of value with God.
Brilliancy of style is
not necessarily an index of pure,
elevated thought. High conceptions of
art, delicate refinement of taste,
often exist in minds that are earthly
and sensual. They are often employed
by Satan to lead men to forget the
necessities of the soul, to lose
sight of the future, immortal life,
to turn away from the infinite
Helper, and to live for this world
alone.
A religion of
externals is attractive to the
unrenewed heart. The pomp and
ceremony of the Catholic worship has
a seductive, bewitching power, by
which many are deceived; and they
come to look upon the Roman Church as
the very gate of heaven. None but
those who have planted their feet
firmly upon the foundation of truth,
and whose hearts are renewed by the
Spirit of God, are proof against her
influence. Thousands who have not an
experimental knowledge of Christ will
be led to accept the forms of
godliness without the power. Such a
religion is just what the multitudes
desire.
The church’s
claim to the right to pardon leads
the Romanist to feel at liberty to
sin; and the ordinance of confession,
without which her pardon is not
granted, tends also to give license
to evil. He who kneels before fallen
man, and opens in confession the
secret thoughts and imaginations of
the heart, is debasing his manhood
and degrading every noble instinct of
his soul. In unfolding the sins of
his life to a priest, -an erring,
sinful mortal, and too often
corrupted with wine and
licentiousness, -his standard of
character is lowered, and he is
defiled in consequence. His thought
of God is degraded to the likeness of
fallen humanity, for the priest
stands as a representative of God.
This degrading confession of man to
man is a secret spring from which has
flowed much of the evil that is
defiling the world and fitting it for
final destruction. Yet, to him who
loves self-indulgence, it is more
pleasing to confess to a fellow
mortal that to open the soul to God.
It is more palatable to human nature
to do penance than to renounce sin;
it is easier to mortify the flesh by
sackcloth, nettles, and galling
chains than to crucify fleshly lusts.
Heavy is the yoke that the carnal
heart is willing to bear rather to
bow to the yoke of Christ.
There is a striking
similarity between the Church of Rome
and the Jewish Church at the time of
Christ’s first advent. While the
Jews secretly trampled upon every
principle of the law of God, they
were outwardly rigorous in the
observance of its precepts, loading
it down with exactions and traditions
that made obedience painful and
burdensome. As the Jews professed to
revere the law, so do Romanists claim
to reverence the cross. They exalt
the symbol of Christ’s
suffering; while in their lives deny
Him whom it represents.
Papists place crosses
upon their churches, upon their
altars, and upon their garments.
Everywhere is seen the insignia of
the cross. Everywhere it is outwardly
honored and exalted. However, the
teachings of Christ are buried
beneath a mass of senseless
traditions, false interpretations,
and rigorous exactions. The
Savior’s words concerning the
bigoted Jews, apply with still
greater force to the leaders of the
Roman Catholic Church: “They
bind heavy burdens and grievous to be
borne, and lay them on men’s
shoulders; but they themselves will
not move them with one of their
fingers.” Matthew 23:4.
Conscientious souls are kept in
constant terror fearing the wrath of
an offended God, while many of the
dignitaries of the church are living
in luxury and sensual pleasure.
The worship of images
and relics, the invocation of saints,
and the exaltation of the pope are
devices of Satan to attract the minds
of the people from God and from His
Son. To accomplish their ruin, he
endeavors to turn their attention
from Him through whom alone they can
find salvation. He will direct them
to any object that can be substituted
for the One who has said: “Come
unto Me, all ye that labor and are
heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest.” Matthew 11:28.
It is Satan’s
constant effort to misrepresent the
character of God, the nature of sin,
and the real issues at stake in the
great controversy. His sophistry
lessens the obligation of the divine
law and gives men license to sin. At
the same time, he causes them to
cherish false conceptions of God so
that they regard Him with fear and
hate rather than with love. The
cruelty inherent in his own character
is attributed to the Creator; it is
embodied in systems of religion and
expressed in modes of worship. Thus,
the minds of men are blinded, and
Satan secures them as his agents to
war against God. By perverted
conceptions of the divine attributes,
heathen nations were led to believe
human sacrifices necessary to secure
the favor of Deity; and horrible
cruelties have been perpetrated under
the various forms of idolatry.
The Roman Catholic
Church, uniting the forms of paganism
and Christianity, and, like paganism,
misrepresenting the character of God,
has resorted to practices no less
cruel and revolting. In the days of
Rome’s supremacy, there were
instruments of torture to compel
assent to her claims. There were
massacres on a scale that will never
be known until revealed in the
judgment. Dignitaries of the church
studied, under Satan their master, to
invent means to cause the greatest
possible torture and not end the life
of the victim. In many cases, the
infernal process was repeated to the
utmost limit of human endurance,
until nature gave up the struggle,
and the sufferer hailed death as a
sweet release.
Such was the fate of
Rome’s opponents. For her
adherents she had the disciple of the
scourge, of famishing hunger, of
bodily austerities in every
conceivable, heart-sickening form. To
secure the favor of Heaven, penitents
violated the laws of God by violating
the laws of nature. They were taught
to sunder the ties that He has formed
to bless and gladden man’s
earthly sojourn. The churchyard
contains millions of victims who
spent their lives in vain endeavors
to subdue their natural affections,
to repress, as offensive to God,
every though and feeling of sympathy
with their fellow creatures.
If we desire to
understand the determined cruelty of
Satan, manifested for hundreds of
years, not among those who never
heard of God, but in the very heart
and throughout the extent of
Christendom, we only to look at the
history of Romanism. Through this
mammoth system of deception the
prince of evil achieves his purpose
of bringing dishonor to God and
wretchedness to man. Moreover, as we
see how he succeeds in disguising
himself and accomplishing his work
through the leaders of the church, we
may better understand why he has so
great antipathy to the Bible. If that
Book is read, the mercy and love of
God will be revealed; it will be seen
that He lays upon men none of these
heavy burdens. All that He asks is a
broken and contrite heart, a humble,
obedient spirit.
Christ gives no
example in His life for men and women
to shut themselves in monasteries in
order to become fitted for heaven. He
has never taught that love and
sympathy must be repressed. The
Savior’s heart overflowed with
love. The nearer man approaches to
moral perfection, the keener are his
sensibilities, the more acute is his
perception of sin, and the deeper his
sympathy for the afflicted. The pope
claims to be Vicar of Christ; but how
does his character bare comparison
with that of our Savior? Was
Christ ever known to consign men to
the prison or the rack because they
did not pay Him homage, as the King
of heaven? Was His voice heard
condemning to death those who did not
accept Him? When He was slighted by
the people of a Samaritan village,
the apostle John was filled with
indignation, and inquired:
“Lord, wilt Thou that we command
fire to come down from heaven, and
consume them, even as Elias
did?” Jesus looked with pity
upon His disciple, and rebuked his
harsh spirit, saying: “The Son
of man is not come to destroy
men’s lives, but to save
them.” Luke 9: 54,56. How
different from the spirit manifested
by Christ is that of His professed
vicar.
The Roman Church now
presents a fair front to the world,
covering with apologies her record of
horrible cruelties. She has clothed
herself in Christ like garments; but
she is unchanged. Every principle of
the papacy that existed in the past
ages exists today. The doctrines
devised in the darkest ages are still
held. Let none deceive themselves.
The papacy that Protestants are now
so ready to honor is the same that
ruled the world in the days of the
Reformation, when men of God stood
up, at the peril of their lives, to
expose her iniquity. She possesses
the same pride and arrogant
assumption that lorded it over kings
and princes, and claimed the
prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no
less cruel and despotic now than when
she crushed out human liberty and
slew the saints of the Most High.
The papacy is just
what prophecy declared that she would
be the apostasy of the latter times.
2 Thessalonians 2: 3,4. It is a part
of her policy to assume the character
that will best accomplish her
purpose, but beneath the variable
appearance of the chameleon, she
conceals the invariable venom of the
serpent, “Faith ought not to be
kept with heretics, nor persons
suspected of heresy” (Lenfant,
volume 1, page 516), she declares.
Shall this power, whose record for a
thousand years is written in the
blood of the saints, be now
acknowledged as a part of the church
of Christ?
It is not without
reason that the claim has been put
forth in Protestant countries that
Catholicism differs less widely from
Protestantism than in former years.
There has been a change; but the
change is not in the papacy.
Catholicism indeed resembles much of
the Protestantism that now exists,
because Protestantism has so greatly
degenerated since the days of the
Reformers.
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