Perceptions on Catholic teaching

[MoreCoffee]

I read through the long thread with the same name as this sub-forum and noticed a question about the pope as Antichrist. What I am wondering is this:

Would confessional Presbyterians have a negative view of Catholic teaching? [It appears from the WCF, WSC, and WLC that the official doctrinal teaching of confessional Presbyterians is quite strongly anti-catholic.]
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Kind Regards.

 

[Deleteriousnonsense]

In short, yes. The WCF specifically mentions the Pope in confession six of Chapter 25, stating plainly that Jesus is the head of the visible Church and not the Pope of Rome. In Confession Five of the same chapter it calls certain churches degenerate and "synagogues of Satan," although it does not name them specifically. The fact that the Pope is mentioned in the very next Confession would lead me to believe that the identity of the so-called "synague of Satan" is most likely and principally the Roman Catholic Church. This perception is reinforced by the tone of the entire chapter, in which the Presbyterian Church is identified as the true catholic church.

 

[kenrapoza]

I read through the long thread with the same name as this sub-forum and noticed a question about the pope as Antichrist. What I am wondering is this:

Would confessional Presbyterians have a negative view of Catholic teaching? [It appears from the WCF, WSC, and WLC that the official doctrinal teaching of confessional Presbyterians is quite strongly anti-catholic.]
​

Kind Regards.

Thank you for your question! Of course, you will certainly get different answers from different folks, but the Reformed tradition was born out of a reaction against the medeival Roman church. It would be best to say that the early reformers considered the linchpin to be the doctrine of justification. While the Reformed and Roman Catholic would certainly agree in many areas (e.g., the Trinity) this disagreement was considered to be an area where unity was impossible because the Reformed see it as central to the gospel itself; and yes, the reformers did reject the Roman Catholic formulation on that doctrine. So, in that sense you could say that there are "anti-catholic" sentiments. And yes, our confessional documents do articulate those positions and confessional Presbyterians continue to hold to those

 

[MoreCoffee]

Thanks, good to hear from a Presbyterian on the question.