A further attack on Protestant teachings was introduced through Roman Catholic scholars, Richard Simon and Dr. Alexander Geddes in 1678, whereby most of the Biblical stories pertaining to the flood, the virgin birth and the resurrection were slated as myths and were sold as a form of enlightenment rather than apostasy. Higher criticism and German rationalism have destroyed fundamental beliefs in Biblical truths, and scholars of the reformation adopted these teachings.

A further rift between Protestantism and Catholicism should have occurred when Pope Pius IX, in 1854, proclaimed the immaculate conception of Mary, thus laying the foundation for Mary worship. He also enthroned tradition as being of greater value than the Scriptures. (he once rebuked a dissenting bishop with the words: "tradition, I am tradition") In 1869, he called the Vatican I council.

Vatican I

The peak of papal power under Pius IX was reached with the opening of Vatican I where the Ultramontanists, under Jesuit leadership, gained a resounding victory, and the result of this victory was the publication on 13 July 1870 of the dogma of Papal Infallibility.

Pope Pius IX also issued an encyclical "The Syllabus of Errors" which condemned liberal theology, and condemned the Bible Society and Scripture distributors as heralds of infidelity and heresy. Furthermore, the Pope issued a strong attack on the separation of church and state.  (The History of Christianity, p. 505-507)

Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley and other reformers were ordained by God to do a great work but, unfortunately, the church which arose after them, having restored lost Bible truths, was not willing to search for other lost truths. John Robinson summed it up in these words, as he charged the Pilgrim Fathers:

"If God should reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as ever you were to receive any truth of my ministry; for I am very confident the Lord hath more truth and light yet, to break forth out of His holy Word. For my part, I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no further than the instrument of their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther says; . . . and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented; for though they were burning and shining lights in their time, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but were they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light as that which they first received.... take heed, I beseech you, what you receive for truth, and compare it and weigh it with other scriptures of truth before you accept it; for it is not possible the Christian would come so lately out of such thick antichristian darkness, and that full perfection of knowledge should break forth at once."
(Martyrs, vol. V, p.70)

Sad to say, that apart from the Papacy following false doctrine, the Protestant Churches, by not accepting all the lost truths, began to sip the wine of Roman Babylon.

The Sunday error is adhered to by almost all Protestantism. Infant baptism is practiced, and there are Protestants who preach purgatory. The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are rejected. Says Dr. R. L. Elson (Presbyterian):

"What is needed today, is to finish the Reformation, which reached its apex in the sixteenth century through the ministry of Luther, Calvin and Knox."

The Papacy has deceived the world into believing that she is the universal historic church, winning back her lost daughters of Protestantism. Pope Pius IV declared,

"I acknowledge the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church for the mother and mistress of all churches."

Unification with Rome and the Rise of the False Prophet

Prior to 1960, the Catholic Church was still regarded by many with suspicion, and the ideas of the reformers had not yet been obliterated from the minds of many Protestants. Furthermore, the Roman attitude was still that salvation was only to be found within the Catholic Church. The reformed churches, however, had moved towards ecumenism, and in 1948 the World Council of Churches was formed, embracing most of the Protestant Churches, but excluding the Orthodox and Catholic churches.

The Impact of Vatican II

Pope Pius XII, in 1950, defined and enforced the doctrine of the Bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which should further have increased the distance between Catholics and Protestants on questions of doctrine. His successor, Pope John XXII, called the Vatican II Council, which did not revoke a single doctrinal position of the Catholic Church, but in 1962, however, declared that salvation was not only restricted to Roman Catholics, but could henceforth be found by all who live according their conscience.

The theologian most associated with the pro-Vatican spirit is the Jesuit, Karl Rahner. Rahner endorses traditional Catholic doctrine and its claim to universal truth, and asserts that salvation comes through Christ and the church on the one hand, but on the other hand, he believes that the people of God extend outside the Catholic Church and the other churches, to include the whole of humanity.  (The History of  Christianity, p. 608)

The principles of the ecumenical movement were spelled out at Vatican II and it was asserted that the main aim of the entire ecumenic effort was to bring about the recognition of the supremacy of the bishop of Rome. In order for churches to unite, all churches must recognize the primacy of the papal See. Pope John Paul II, in September 1994, issued a similar statement in which he claimed that recognition of the primacy of the pope is essential for church unity. Vatican II also issued directives for the style of worship to be adopted by churches. Henceforth, the church community should participate more in church services, and become involved in worship procedures. There should be a shift away from traditional sermons and more concentration on the reading of psalms and extracts of the gospels. Popular music should be introduced into services, and physical movement of the congregation during singing should be encouraged. Modern musical instruments should be brought into the service, and popular songs should replace the more traditional hymns. The style of worship should be adapted to suit the culture of the nations. The end effect of such policies would be a dwindling of the gospel of Christ, and a replacement with ecstatic entertainment.

In the same decade, the Christian world experienced a dramatic revival. The charismatic movement, which had its first appearance at the turn of the century, experienced a great revival and spread like wild fire throughout the US and the rest of the world. The Pentecostal movement, however, still regarded the Roman Catholics with suspicion, as they had not been blessed by this spirit of renewal.

By 1958, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the International Missionary Council (IMC) had joined forces, and in 1961 the Orthodox churches and some Pentecostals were also represented at the meeting of the Council.

Even in darkest Africa there is ecumenical advance. The All-Africa Church Conference of 1963 resolved,

"That church unity was a Unity which we seek among ourselves, between ourselves and the independent churches, and between ourselves and the Roman Catholic Church."

Time, November 25, 1966 stated that the brand new Lutheran council in the United States sent cordial greetings to the Washington meeting of Roman Catholics. This was stated "as evidence that the spirit of unity is reciprocal." A Lutheran theologian has urged Protestants to focus their attention on a return to their ecclesiastical homeland - the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1967, the faculty and students of the Catholic Notre Dame University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (run by the Holy Ghost Fathers), prayed for the gifts of the "Holy Spirit", and during one of their gatherings, hundreds of adherents to the Catholic faith received what they had asked for, and the Catholic Charismatic Movement was born.

In 1969, the pope visited the headquarters of the World Council of Churches, and Time, June 20, 1969 reported this to be: "The real event of the trip."

In the 1968 Uppsala meeting of the WCC, the Roman Catholic Church sent observers and again in 1975 to the Nairobi meeting.

Pope Paul VI was first under pressure to condemn the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church, but in 1975, at a mass gathering of 25 000 people, of which 10 000 were foreigners, at St. Peters in Rome, Pope Paul VI praised the spiritual renewal. The journal, Christianity Today, June 6, 1975 writes:

"Bishops, archbishops and cardinals, struggling to keep their hats in place, sang and danced in ecstasy, embracing one another raising their arms to heaven - and Pope Paul VI’s address was punctuated with ecstatics."

Since the establishment of the charismatic movement within the Roman Catholic church, the Protestant and Orthodox churches have changed their stance towards Catholic acceptance. Colin Buchanin writes that,

"The emergence of the Church of Rome as a partner in ecumenical discussions, and the impact of the charismatic movement, has totally changed ecumenical relationships." (The History of Christianity, p. 636)

In 1975, the growing partnership between Protestantism and Catholicism was demonstrated by the release of a joint common catechism. This 720-page book offers comprehensive statements of the Christian faith and, according to the editors, was written:

"to help ensure that Christians cooperate within their own communities in the common growth of the churches towards that unity, in variety, which is the goal of all ecumenical effort."

This document encourages many compromises, and brushes aside basic Biblical precepts with impunity. The following are a few extracts to illustrate this point:

1. The moral directives we might find in the Decalogue, as well as in the Sermon on the Mount are, "to a large extent conditioned by their age and their cultural environment."
   

2. Many New Testament passages are described as interpretations rather than historic events, and some statements of Jesus were, "put in the mouth of Jesus" by his apostles; sayings which, "the historical Jesus never uttered."
3. Subjects such as the physical resurrection of Jesus are regarded as a "permanent problem" for modern man, "full of difficulties."

    

 

Its message needs to be reinterpreted in a more meaningful manner since the raising of Jesus from the dead is a concept formulated "in the language of the Jewish apocalyptic" which has hardly any relevancy in our modern socio-cultural context.

 

Questions of doctrine are no longer considered separating factors. Unity in diversity is what is sought by the modern churches. If principle can no longer dictate to faith, then our faith has become a byword. The emphasis on unity rather than doctrine has paved the way for the reformed churches to reunite with Rome.