Dear First name / friend,
*At the bottom of this email I have included a short glossary of terms for those unfamiliar with some of the ideas and concepts mentioned here.
Last year, when I wrote the email “Why I’m Not Catholic,” our team was blessed to discover how many Catholics are actually members of the Every Woman a Theologian audience. We reach dozens of different denominations and are delighted to serve in trinitarian unity with those who confess the creeds. That said, this email—along with that last one—will obviously depart from Catholic doctrine as we reveal our Protestant beliefs once again. As always, I seek to present the “other side” fairly, as I would like to see done for Protestants.
The intercession of the saints is the first in our new series on prayer. When I asked my readers what questions they had about prayer, this one came up several times. And I’m not surprised: as the Catholic Church sees a massive rise in conversions to the Church, many of us are having conversations around doctrines like these. Evangelical Protestants need to consider what they actually believe about this topic and be sure they aren’t creating a straw man out of Catholic doctrine. And Catholics, too, would do well to understand the actual objections of the Protestant churches.
This week’s podcast episode will dive deeper into each side, so for today, let’s do some mythbusting—one on the Catholic side and one on the Protestant side.
Intercession of Saints, Catholic Myth #1: Catholics believe we should be praying to Mary and the saints instead of to Christ.
The Roman Catholic Catechism entry 2683 states, “The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom, especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints, share in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives, the transmission of their writings, and their prayer today. They contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they have left on earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master, they were "put in charge of many things." Their intercession is their most exalted service to God's plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world.”
Note the last line here states that we ask them to intercede for us. This is an important note often ignored by evangelicals. Catholics, according to doctrine (though not always in practice), are asking the saints to pray for them as they would ask a living Christian to pray for them. The saint himself or herself cannot accomplish what is asked; that is up to God. Their prayers are seen as “powerful and effective” because they are perfectly righteous, made holy by Christ in the presence of God.
Catholics can and do pray to Christ, who is the source of all power and the end goal of all intercession.
Intercession of the Saints, Protestant Myth #1: Protestant Christians completely disregard Church history and the Christians who came before them; they throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Converse to the above, Catholics often believe Protestants ignore Church history completely in their approach to the saints. This is not true. Though heavily influenced by the Protestant Reformation (whereby we receive the broad name describing churches descended from that schism), many Protestant denominations retain a deep respect and honor for the Christians who came before. Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Episcopals and other liturgical denominations observe the liturgical calendar, which includes All Saints’ Day and the “saints’ days” of the believers accounted for in Scripture. Evangelical denominations pay particular attention to missionary “saints” from the 1600s forward.
Though Catholics and Protestants landed on two sides of history with our historic rift, we both believe Christ will champion His church, made up of true believers in the person of Jesus, His sacrifice for our sins, His death, burial, resurrection, and return. While we do not believe Scripture tells us to ask saints to pray for us, we believe they are doing so according to the same Scriptures cited by the RCC. On this we can agree: the Christians who came before us, alive with God in eternity, are praying for us, alongside the Holy Spirit, the angels, and Jesus Himself.
For the full treatment of this topic, don’t miss this week’s podcast episode, found on any podcast platform and on YouTube.
Glossary of Terms
Protestant: Protestantism is the result of the sixteenth century Reformation led by Martin Luther in which he “protested” against the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. When Luther’s attempt to reform the Church did not work, he separated from it completely. Protestantism is the umbrella name for all non-Catholic, western denominations, e.g., Lutheran, Baptist, Anabaptist, Presbyterian. (Rom. 1:16, 1 Cor. 15:1–4)
Evangelical: The term “evangelical” has morphed in definition over the last hundred years. In the 1980s and 90s the term became a catch-all for all politically conservative Christians, taking on an almost purely political meaning. This is how it is often used in media today. Those who identify as evangelicals, however, typically mean that they are first ecumenical (not bound to one denomination) and second, affirm the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. (2 Tim. 3:15–17, Titus 1:9, Phil. 2:2, Acts 4:12)
Creeds: A statement of faith summarizing Christian belief.
Trinitarian: A Christian who believes that God is one, but He is also three “Persons,” each serving a specific role within “the Godhead” (the unity of these Persons). The Bible uses personal language for God the Father, Jesus (the Son), and the Holy Spirit of God; each has a mind, will, and emotions. Yet all three are God and coexist in perfect harmony. Trinitarian Christianity is the only true Christianity. (John 14:26, Matt. 3:16–17, Gen. 1:26, 1 Pet. 1:2)
The above terms are also defined in our Glossary of Theological Terms, found in the Every Woman a Theologian shop. I love using this with my older kids, reading and discussing one term at a time during devotions.
