Why Do Lutherans Dislike the Catholics?
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist

Q: Why do Lutherans dislike the Catholics?

A: Some misguided Lutherans dislike Catholics, it is true. Of course, some misguided Catholics dislike
Lutherans, too. Dislike is not what should determine our discussion. Instead, we should focus on
differences and similarities, especially in doctrine.

By your question, I assume that you mean members of the Roman Catholic Church. True Lutherans
realize that we are also catholic Christians; that is, we are members of the ~Una Sancta~, the one
holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We disagree with the idea that the Roman Church holds the
monopoly on being "catholic" and that "no salvation outside the Church" means "no salvation
outside Roman Catholicism." However, we teach that if you are not a "catholic" Christian, then you
are of a sect or a cult.

Our understanding, based on the Scriptures, the Creeds, and our Lutheran Confessions is that the
true Church is made up of all believers on earth and of all the saints at rest. This is what "catholic"
truly means. Christ's Church is not only universal, but also eternal. Our worship spans time and space
as we stand in awe with Moses at the burning bush, are amazed with Gideon at wet fleece with dry
ground and dry fleece with wet ground, sing praises and make confession with David, fall in fear with
Peter, James, and John as Christ is transfigured, and gather around the throne of God and the Lamb
with all the company of heaven.

This Church is not owned, controlled, or founded by any person, entity, or place other than Jesus. It
is the Bride of Christ, bought by his blood, called by the Holy Ghost through water and the Word,
and nourished by the Gospel of forgiveness and the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper.

Lutherans (officially and doctrinally) have problems with much of Roman dogma. This includes the
papacy, regulations regarding celibacy, diet, and such, required confession and enumeration of sins,
invocation of the saints, and an apostolic succession based upon who touched whom rather than the
transmission of the apostolic word which is, again, the Gospel.

Some American Lutherans fell into the Protestant trap of loathing all things (and people) Roman
Catholic, rejecting individual confession, clerical vestments, the ancient and holy Liturgy, the Lord's
Supper every Lord's Day, and the like. Because they equate these practices with the papacy, they
think that everyone who follows them is guilty of "Romanizing" the Christian Faith. These are also
more likely to harbor other anti-Catholic sentiments, including dislike of individual members of that
church.

This is a far cry from Luther and those reformers who worked most closely with him. "We do not
abolish the Mass," they wrote; instead, they celebrated it every Sunday, feast day, and whenever the
people asked for it. They did reject private masses, since they taught that the Supper was for the
whole congregation and that it was useless and wrong for priests to eat and drink on behalf of others,
whether dead or alive.

They kept and encouraged individual confession and Holy Absolution, abolishing only Penance,
forced confession, and the requirement that all sins be enumerated---for Scripture tells us that we
cannot make restitution for our sins, that repentance is based on faith and not force, and that no one
can number and recite all his sins, for they are too many.

Yet for all the differences in doctrine, we still have much common ground and it is shameful to look
down upon Lutherans, Catholics, or any other true Christians who know and believe in Jesus Christ,
the God-man as Savior and Lord. However, when genuine doctrinal differences exist, it is also
shameful to pretend that they don't, especially when they touch directly upon the salvation of
sinners.

To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send email to
askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book
"What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor is copyright (c) 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced  in totality,
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