Why I'm Not Catholic 🕯️

Every Woman a Theologian

— Why I'm Not Catholic —

Dear friend,

Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.

- Romans 15:5-6 -

The time has come.

After being asked this question consistently over the last few years (especially as we’ve seen a rise in Catholic and Orthodox conversions), I’m going to settle it in this email. Maybe not settle it, since my Catholic readers will be disappointed😉, but I hope it will bring more clarity to why I partner with Catholic sisters in ministry at times—but still remain a staunchly unconverted Protestant.

Before I begin, I want to give some context: I live in the northern Midwest, a predominantly Catholic area of the USA. I grew up with close Catholic friends (my closest friends were, in fact, traditional Latin-Mass Catholics). I have attended Mass and pay attention to what Catholic apologists and teachers, like Matt Fradd and Father Mike Schmitz, are teaching. I’ve read Rome Sweet Home and Signs of Life and the Roman Catholic Catechism. We follow the liturgical calendar. (Albeit a Lutheran/Anglican one, it’s more similar to the RCC’s calendar than the Orthodox would be!)

I regularly partner with Catholic influencers and teachers whose teaching on life and sexual ethics is boldly consistent with what I see in Church history and Scripture. And I have zero regrets for doing so.

That said, I not only have not converted to the Catholic Church so far, I don’t plan to convert in the future. In this email I will share the things I respect about the RCC, the things I disagree with, and the things I have in common.

Things I respect:

Among observant, devout Catholics who know their catechism and who practice their faith, there are several things I deeply admire.

Consistency on the life ethic: Devout Catholics are some of the strongest advocates for the pro-life cause, advancing a consistent life ethic that argues for the value of humanity from conception to natural death. Catholics like Lila Rose, founder of LiveAction, work tirelessly to fight for the right to life that all humans deserve—regardless of age, health, or ability.
Consistency on the sexual ethic: Over the last decade I have been extremely disappointed with the inconsistencies, lies, and biblical gymnastics evangelicals have used to defend their crumbling sexual ethics. This is no surprise because the life ethic is connected to the ethic of sex and love! I deeply admire the work of Catholics like Christopher West, who runs Theology of the Body Institute, and women who teach on holistic married sexuality like those at Managing Your Fertility and Charting Toward Intimacy. Honor for the marriage bed, the biological design of male and female, the reproductive and pleasure intent of sexuality, and the inherent image of God in humanity are taught well by devout Catholics—while many evangelical Protestants have no foundation for their sexual beliefs or pick and choose what is most comfortable for them.
Emphasis on sanctity and reverence: Catholics have a reverence for the sanctity and ancient beauty of our faith, something that has been lost, I fear, among many evangelicals. Our churches look like warehouses. Our music copies secular trends. We have largely forgotten the rhythms of the Church calendar. One of the big reasons (I think) evangelicals are converting to Catholicism at higher rates is due to the stripping-down of evangelicalism—removing many of the things that make Christianity beautiful and compelling. Perhaps we’ve gone too far in our pendulum swing away?

What I disagree with:

As much as I respect these things about the RCC, there is much I disagree with—and the things I disagree with are not small things. As you’ll see, they are big enough issues to prevent me from ever endorsing the Church wholesale or converting out of Protestantism.

The papacy: For a non-Catholic, I’ve studied the papacy more than the average person. I’ve read books outlining who each pope was and what he accomplished. I’ve read multiple church history books, both from Protestant and Catholic perspectives. I’ve read early church documents and the Church fathers. I’ve been as fair as possible in my research and assessment, and I simply cannot find solid evidence that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, that the papacy legitimately fulfills Jesus’s intent in Matthew 16:18, or that the papacy continues to deserve the power it is given after the many abuses of its power.
The intercession (and assumption) of Mary: Martin Luther and other Reformers deeply respected and honored Mary. Luther went so far as to affirm Mary as the theotokos, the mother of God. While I think Mary’s role has been downplayed by Protestants, especially evangelicals, I think it has been taken out of context and out of hand in Catholicism. Among many Catholics, Mary is more visibly honored than Jesus! Despite what the catechism says, the intercession of Mary and the theology surrounding her, in actuality, seems to distract from the gospel of Jesus.
Theology of indulgence: This year is a jubilee year in the RCC, a very neat carry-over from the Old Testament tradition of jubilee (another thing I find fascinating—how much of the RCC imitates the OT!). During the jubilee, the Vatican announced a series of special indulgences: a remission of temporal punishment for sin. Specific actions, defined by the pope, can be done to receive this “manifestation of God’s mercy.” Indulgences are an expression of God’s mercy through Jesus but are received through specific actions done during jubilee. Even though the theology says we are simply participating with a form of Jesus’s grace as given through the Cross, it’s difficult for me to see how indulgences don’t result in “working” for God’s favor. God’s favor already rests on us; what more need we do? We can choose to do good out of gratitude for that grace without performing specific behaviors.
Lack of biblical literacy, personal discipleship, and consistent teaching: There is an epidemic among the Catholic churches in my area and abroad, and that epidemic is a complete lack of biblical literacy. As in: Most Catholics don’t read their Bibles, most Catholic churches don’t host Bible studies or discipleship groups, and the result is a swath of nominal “Catholics” who think Bible reading is for evangelicals! While I know there are exceptions (and I am sure I will hear via email about such exceptions), I’ve ministered all over the USA with the same trend in every single place. Catholics tend to be undiscipled unless they personally seek out Catholic apologists and strong support groups. While this certainly happens among evangelicals as well (especially in the Bible Belt, where cultural “Christianity” is common), the most devout Catholics I know are those who converted out of Protestantism or utilize Protestant resources. I could not in good conscience move my family into the RCC with the severe lack of discipleship, pastoral leadership, and biblical literacy that I see among American Catholics.
Claims of accountability without consequences for liberal priests: What shocks me most, and disquiets me, is that devout members of the RCC claim that the church is unified and that Protestants are the ones divided. And yet liberal priests will give the Eucharist to pro-abortion politicians, couples who are living together, and people who are openly denying Catholic doctrine. For all the claims of accountability, I don’t see any consequences coming from the bishops or diocese when such actions occur. I also find the claim of “unity” puzzling and even deceptive when the Catholic Church contains as wide a variety of political and ethical views as Protestantism does.

What I have in common:

Now that I’ve shown you why I won’t be converting, here are a few things I have in common with Catholics (devout, conservative believers). These are the things I unite around and why you will see me partner with devout Catholics but not progressive evangelicals, LDS, or Jehovah’s Witness adherents.

Trinitarianism: Catholics are trinitarian. Latter Day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses are not, holding to an ancient heresy called Arianism in which Jesus is a creation of God and not equal to Him.
Theological tension of grace and works: The Catholic view of faith and works is very similar to the tension held by Anabaptists, Wesleyans, and other Protestant traditions. Only Reformed communities would hold an extremely strong stance to the contrary.
Honor for the Eucharist: While I do not hold to transubstantiation, most Reformers held to very similar views, such as consubstantiation (Luther) and Real Presence (Calvin). Today most American evangelicals hold to the symbolic view (Zwingli). In any case, the reverence we should have for the Lord’s Supper has been lost, and I wish it were restored.
Usage of the liturgical calendar: Our family follows the Lutheran/Anglican calendar, which is based on the Western timeline like the Catholic one. This has brought so much joy to our family and empowered us to live by rhythms of the Church, rather than by the pressures of our culture and its holidays! More on this in Every Home a Foundation.
Commitment to a whole-life ethic: The sexual and life ethic of devout Catholics has inspired me to be bold for the unborn, the elderly, the sick, and the orphaned. It has also empowered Josh and I to see value in every life and honor our bodies in deeper ways than we were taught in evangelicalism.
Appreciation for beauty: The art and architecture of Catholic tradition (carrying over in Anglicanism) is something I am deeply grateful for. I am often moved to worship by the way these traditions have preserved the beauty of Christianity in physical ways.

My audience is diverse, and I know some of you will be disappointed that a Catholic Phylicia is not in your future—while others will be upset that I didn't come down harder on the RCC. I hope this email explains where I stand, and stay tuned for Wednesday when I’ll discuss how to discuss theological differences with grace.

Pictures are from the EWAT retreat to Italy several years ago.