Misrepresentations of Catholic Teachings by William Webster

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Misrepresentations of Catholic Teachings by William Webster

Forum: Theological Expressions
Date: 2001, Jun 12
From: Matthew Tan Yew Hock MatthewTan

1.
This is my response to Mr. Christopher Yip. His article is found here:

http://www.antioch.com.sg/cgi-bin/Agora-Pub/get/expressions/126/1/1/4/1.html

I am putting this as a new thread here because I like to deal exclusively with anti-Catholic William Webster here. Mr. Yip is merely reproducing from William Webster's web site.

1. Salvation is through Rome ALONE: "It firmly believes, professes, and
proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only
pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become
participants in eternal life, but will depart "into everlasting fire
which was prepared for the devil and his angels" ..." (Council of
Florence, 14th Council of the Roman Catholic Church"

The context of this document : this statement was targetted at a long list of specifically named heretics from the very beginning of Christianity. Many of these heretics did not believe in Jesus as fully God AND fully man - God in the fullest sense AND man in the fullest sense. They committed serious sins of heresies and schisms - sins which the Apostles condemned.

Protestants did not exist at this time.

2. The Pope must be OBEYED or else you lose your salvation:
"Furthermore, that every human creature is subject to the Roman
pontiff,-this we declare, say, define, and pronounce to be altogether
necessary to salvation" (Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam)

This was also written at the time when there was ONE HOLY CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH. Although there were schismatic groups, the Pope still regarded them as belonging to the ONE CHURCH. Protestants did not exist at this time.

Catholics must obey the Pope, because obedience to authority is scriptural. Obstinate and deliberate disobedience to God-ordained authority brings damnation (Rom 13:1-2).

"Subject to the Roman pontiff". The Pope was referring to the spiritual realm - faith and morals, and the sins against faith and morals.

God-ordained Church leaders excercise the authority to forgive and retain sins. Peter and his successors hold the Keys, and exercise the authority to open and shut the gate of the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 16:18-19, Matt 18:17-18, John 20:23, 1 Cor 5:1-5, Acts 8:18-24, Acts 5:1-10).

Most Protestant Christians today are not in obstinate and deliberate disobedience. If they know the truth, they will obey. If Protestants do not know the truth that the Pope has such power, and they are subject to "an ignorance that is invincible" "through no fault of their own", then Protestants (in general) are not under condemnation for disobedience. The Popes and the Vatican II Council have made it very clear that Protestants may be saved through their own churches.

Of course, for those who know the truth and are in obstinate and deliberate disobedience, they will not be saved, whether Catholics or Protestants.

By "obstinate and deliberate disobedience", I mean after repeated teachings, counselling, correcting and rebuking - all the necessary pastoral efforts. The Church always offers forgiveness to repentant sinners who make sincere confessions - God demands it. The Church does not condemn anyone without giving him a fair and reasonable chance.

3. EVERY dogma of Rome MUST be BELIEVED or else you lose your salvation:
"Further, all those things are to be believed with divine and Catholic
faith which are contained in the Word of God, written or handed down,
and which the Church, either by a solemn judgement, or by her ordinary
and universal magisterium, proposes for belief as having been divinely
revealed. And since, without faith, it is impossible to please God, and
to attain to the fellowship of his children, therefore without faith no
one has ever attained justification, nor will any one obtain eternal
life unless he shall have persevered in faith unto the end (Dogmatic
Decrees of the Vatican Council I, On Faith, Chapter III)

Jesus is the Way and the Life and the Truth. Truth encompasses all "divinely revealed" truths.

Faith means believing and in submission to Truth. When one is in obstinate and deliberate refusal to believe in divinely revealed truths, one commits the sin of disobedience to God-ordained authority, the sin of non-submission to Truth, and potentially the sin of heresy and schism - unless one is subject to "an ignorance that is invincible" "through no fault of his own".

Dogma belongs to the intellectual arena of faith. The Church does not pronounce a Catholic or Christian guilty if his intellect is unable to grasp dogmatic truths. God does not demand from you what you cannot give.

What kind of people will likely commit sin of this nature? The very intelligent intellectuals who are also very obstinately proud people - especially those in teaching positions. They are so proud that they think their private understanding of the Bible is superior than that of the Church (past and present), superior than many God-ordained servants of the Word. esp. the highest authority - that is, the Popes, and the Ecumenical Councils.

Such teachers are in the most precarious position of teaching not what the Church intends to teach or is supposed to teach. Thus, they are likely to be leaders and teachers of heresies and schisms. They are likely to lead people to sin, and they themselves are likely to commit sins because their erroneous beliefs urge them towards sins.

Woe to those who cause people to sin !

"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly" (James 3:1).

(The documentation I have shown you from the 6th Ecumenical Council should convince you that the faith of salvation includes true doctrines).

4. Salvation is ONLY through participation in Rome's sacraments, all 7
of them: "If any one saith that the sacraments of the New Law are not
necessary unto salvation...and that without them, or without the desire
thereof, men obtain from God, through faith alone, the grace of
justification...let him be anathema" (The Canons and Decrees of the
Council of Trent. Canon IV).

This is a gross mis-representation of Council of Trent. It is clear that the canon does not say what Mr. Yip assert.

Also, always be alert when you see anti-Catholic quoting Catholic documents with ellipsis (...) such as it is done above. (Is this not verbatim from William Webster?)

I will go deeper into this when I deal more fully with anti-Catholic William Webster. Mr. Yip is merely reproducing William Webster, taking everything from his website.

(I am not able to finish this as soon as I wish because of the many recent replies that I have given to Mr. Yip)

If anyone saith, that the sacraments of the New Law were not all
instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord; or that they are more, or less,
than seven, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance,
Extreme Unction, Order and Matrimony; or that any of these seven is not
truly and properly a sacrament: let him be anathema. (The Canons and
Decrees of the Council of Trent. Canon I).

Regarding participation of sacraments, this is irrelevant because of the above mis-representation.

Regarding believing in dogmatic faith, see my answer as above in (3).