Take a look on just about any YouTube© channel for Catholic and Protestant apologetics, and you'll notice the competition. For every person who converts to Protestantism, it seems someone is celebrated for joining Rome. Counting heads has become quite the spectacle! Not only that, but both sides boast of their success in bringing others into their fold, a clear testimony that "the game's a-foot!"
Arguments are a-plenty for why people choose to join the Protestant community or the Catholic community, and in this article we will discuss perhaps the most popular reason why people choose Rome over Protestantism. It's helpful to know what people are thinking, why they think that way, and how to respond when you hear something that doesn't quite line up!
Antiquity
Antiquity! That's a very popular subject among Catholics. Everyone accepts the belief that Rome has been established since the time of Christ, and has endured two millenia of presence in the world. Surely the Catholic Church must be God's Church since it has withstood the test of time!
But is that a really sound reason for embracing Rome? Is that a good argument? Does it make sense in light of other church communities that have been around as long or longer?
Consider Buddhism: Wikipedia describes Buddhism as the fourth largest world religion which goes back as far as the 5th century BCE. You would think that 500 million followers couldn't possibly be wrong, right? And of course, Hinduism isn't that far behind, either! (A wise man once said "If a thousand people believe a bad idea, it's still a bad idea!").
Or consider Islam: although the supergroup of Christianity claims over 2 billion followers, Islam claims 1.9 billion followers based on one man's prophecies going all the way back to 632 AD. That ought to make you pause and wonder what is going on. If numbers are to be taken seriously, we should all be Muslims. In reality though, we all make our decisions about religion based on other factors, so the notion of antiquity is not all that great of an idea.
You will hear many Catholic Apologists declare rather emphatically that Catholicism has been with us for two thousand years, proof positive that it's the right and true church. That kind of declaration is enthusiastic, but shallow. We might argue that Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, and others were real people who need to be revered, but that doesn't say much—Siddartha Gautama died in his sins, as did Mohammed. So why follow them?
The central issue here is time. One of the favorite tactics of evolution scientists is to argue that time will create everything. In other words, given enough time, a blob of amoeba will evolve into man. The same line of reasoning applies to religion. Rome, having flourished for so long, must be the true church—that's the clarion call of the Roman Catholic apologist. There is no question that Rome has indeed been with us for a very long time, and that's no small feat. It's rather impressive that Rome has endured so long, but again, so has Islam, with its center of worship in Mecca!
Alongside antiquity is the sense that "my parents and grandparents, my great-grandpappy (and so on) were Catholic, so by-golly I'm Catholic too." Given enough time, just about anything can be true.
Jumping to Conclusions
To so many people Roman Catholicism is very attractive precisely because it has been preserved for so long. This kind of perceived stability, consistency, and enduring nature seems to buttress the idea that Rome is the true church, the "one, holy, apostolic church" of Jesus Christ. It seems to provide a solid grounding of security, and many people will shy away from Protestantism for the opposite reason: "it's only been around for 500 years." We have to be wise when we argue from the vantage point of time. Time proves less than we assume.
A far better way to regard Rome is to ask yourself, "Does Rome fit the profile spelled out in Scripture?" We grant Scripture the right to dictate what the true church looks like because of what Scripture is: perfect (see Psalms 19, 119). We do not grant apostolic succession as infallible because Scripture doesn't ever grant it, but that's for another article. We stick to Scripture, we compare the church to what Scripture teaches, and we let Scripture speak to our hearts and mind.
Scientific Evolution
The 20th century gave us scientists who taught that single-celled amoeba can and will evolve into complex multi-celled man. But the 21st century gave us scientists who taught that the single cell is built like a complex city, so complex in fact that it already possesses all the data needed for complex man. The same can be said for the church. Rather than believe the church is a thriving "viva voce" full of development and growth, it is a beautiful structure created by Christ, explained in the Bible, and it has always been our duty to reflect that. What Protestants are saying is that Rome doesn't fit the profile of the Biblical church. Admittedlly, nor do many Protestant churches, and that's why we constantly turn to the only yardstick to find out what the true church of Jesus Christ looks like—the Bible.
A Chorus Line
Many Catholic apologetic websites and books have surfaced lately, all chiming along that the Scriptures fully, clearly, and completely prove the Church of Rome as what Jesus had in mind all along. Say that enough times, and people tend to believe it. Equally so, Protestant ministries do the same thing—we repeat ad infinitum, ad nauseum that Rome is not the church Jesus began.
The fact is, both sides may be wrong, but both sides cannot be right. Something has to give. Ironically, when Rome is pushed up against the proverbial wall, she claims she is the true church...get this...because the Bible says so. So both Rome and the Protestant Community draw on Scripture to prove their claims. It's enough to give you a headache!
So what do we do? How do we respond to the cacophony of voices, all clamouring for attention? Is Rome the true church because she has two thousand years of singing the same song? Or is Protestantism correct, because her "newer" song has created such a dramatic stir among the faithful? Who is right and who is wrong?
It requires study, both of history and of Scripture. It requires thinking clearly, fairly, and carefully. In the end, many people choose their church for a variety of compelling reasons, but banking on "time" shouldn't be one of them. Time just gives more people more ways to confuse the issues that bother us.
This website recommends starting with one, simple suggestion: do not fear the truth. If you are Catholic and you have questions, don't be afraid to hear what non-Catholics are saying. Remember: when Jesus walked among us, the Roman Catholic Church didn't even exist. And, many many people got saved and enjoyed peace and security with God!