Critique of THE PROTESTANT'S DILEMMA by Devin Rose
Introduction
Page 15:
I realized then that all I had learned about Christianity came from an
Evangelical Protestant perspective. My friends had bought me a large,
well-annotated New International Version of the Bible; I read it from
cover to cover and then read it again. When I didn’t understand
something, which was often, I would look down to see if there was an
explanatory note about it, and I usually found one – given through an
Evangelical Protestant filter. When I had questions about Christianity,
I would ask my Evangelical friends, and they would answer me according
to what they believed was true. Meanwhile I prayed that Jesus would
guide me into the denomination that was truest. Having discovered him,
I wanted to be as close to him as possible.
Note: Devin Rose should have gone beyond discovery and fallen in love with Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. Ephesians 6:24.
Page 16: The first problem, it
seemed to me, forced us to conclude that it was possible for different
Christians – all claiming to be “led by the Holy Spirit” and all basing
their beliefs on “the Bible alone” – to veer off in different, mutually
exclusive directions. Throughout history, I discovered, some person or
group within a Protestant church came to believe differently than the
others and broke off to form his own, new denomination. Since the Holy
Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and would never lead people to believe
something untrue, at least some of the Christians who thought they were
listening accurately to the Spirit’s promptings, in reality were not.
Note: In reality, millions of Catholic and Protestant Christians do not have a testimony of Jesus Christ.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of
Me” John 15:26.
Page 16: The second problem was
of a different sort, because it struck at the root of my faith: We
believed in the “Bible alone,” which meant we had to know with
confidence which books made up the Bible. Yet here we had the Catholic
Church claiming that my Bible was missing seven books that God had
inspired and therefore desired to be included. How did I know who was
right?
Note: The Catholic Church has continued to cling to texts that have been rejected for thousands of years.
After the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant Bibles began to
follow the Jewish canon and exclude the additional texts, which came to
be called Biblical apocrypha. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Page 17: I was dumbfounded and
unsettled. The Catholic Church taught things about Mary, purgatory, the
saints, the sacraments, and priests that I thought were completely
bogus. But I tried to set this bias aside and be objective. With a
sense of dread, I began investigating the Catholic Church in earnest,
looking and hoping for something that would let me off the hook to
return to Protestantism in peace. Alas, I failed to find it.
Note: Devin Rose apparently did not look for or follow Jesus Christ.
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking
at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two
disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. John 1:35-37.
Page 17: My road to Rome began
with taking the risk that God might be real, with the discovery that he
loved me and was worth trusting. As I trusted him, I felt confident
enough to question myself – including my Protestant perspective.
Note: Devin Rose should have put his trust into Jesus Christ.
“And in His name Gentiles will trust.” Matthew 12:21.
Page 18: I brought such an
analysis with me into my newfound faith, and I discovered that
Protestantism’s tenets led to untenable conclusions. It simply was not
possible to maintain a reasonable basis for my Christian faith while
remaining Protestant. At least one ad hoc leap was required – accepting
a given set of books as inspired Scripture – but once I chose to
endorse such a leap, I had no basis to criticize someone who made a
different leap (say, for instance, that the Book of Mormon or the Koran
was also inspired by God).
Note: Devin Rose can find fault with Protestants but not LDS or Muslims?
Critics point out that the Book of Mormon contains references to
various plants and animals (horses, swine, etc.) that did not exist in
the Americas at the time of the story. Critics also point out that the
Book of Mormon contains references to various technologies (chariots,
steel, etc.) that did not exist in the Americas at the time of the
story. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Note: Islam is a hate-filled religion where the word love is not found in the index of the Quran.
Page 19: My ultimate goal, of
course, is to demonstrate that the Catholic Faith is more plausible
than Protestantism; that the Catholic Church is what it claims to be.
In so doing I hope to clear away obstacles to believing in everything
that Christ’s Church teaches and proclaims to be revealed by God.
Note: The Christian Faith is grounded in Jesus Christ not a legal corporation in Rome.
And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:14.
Pages 19-20: I can only plod
along with you to help you reach that point of decision. From there, it
is up to you to accept the wings the Holy Spirit gives you so that you
can launch and fly. So put on your thinking cap, say a prayer, and join
me in this exploration of our Christian faith: the history, the people,
the theology. Let’s see what we discover!
Note: The Christian Faith is grounded in Jesus Christ not a legal corporation in Rome.
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:13.