Hostility instead of common beliefs


When we speak of the conflict between Catholics and Protestants beyond theological questions, we immediately recall Northern Ireland, 500 years after the Protestant Reformation. There is no way to justify either side, regardless of the past. However, speaking from the Protestant point of view, would not we be increasing Catholic guilt over deprivation of liberty over the years? I say this because, judging by this justification, it seems that we have left out much of what the medieval church bequeathed us. The fact that today we have hospitals and universities are inheritance of this church, regardless of the general knowledge about it. Protestant ignorance of these points is harmful. It is probably she who makes relations with other Christian followers harsh. It is assumed, for example, that the practices of the Catholic Church in Luther's time continue in our day, especially with regard to the purchase of salvation by indulgences. A gross error that does not allow us to see the same thing happening nowadays on the Neo-Pentecostal slopes, even though they are derived from it.

One of the points that normally Protestants disagree with Catholics is the veneration of the virgin Mary. This, however, should not prevent us from paying attention to a Catholic theologian when the point is in common agreement with our area of ​​study. In apologetics, to give an idea, to cite only two examples, we have a clear notion of this point: Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), previous to the Protestant Reformation, had as creator of the ontological argument for the existence of God; G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), obviously after the Protestant Reformation, author of "Orthodoxy" and prolific popularizer of Christianity in general. It is not possible, therefore, to annul Christian arguments of a Catholic if they are valid.

It is not possible to point out here congenital errors of the liturgies, but rather the similarities. We must accept the help of a mathematics teacher not because he is a Lutheran or a Catholic, but because of his skill in science. Therefore, it is necessary to leave the extremes and seek understanding in a mutual way.

Again, I remember that this is not a cult of universalism, so little incentive to ecumenism. But yes. for the good of the free society. Chesterton, who saw no distinction of this relationship with politics, criticized both conservative and progressive. "The business of progressives is to keep making mistakes. The business of conservatives is to avoid errors of being corrected." This applies perfectly to the two Christian understandings as a way of coexistence.

Finally, I wanted to conclude this way: even if we do not have the same communion, whether with Catholics, Orthodox, Copts and some Christian sects, we as Protestants should be attentive to simple Christianity. He should not, of course, cause the categorical separation of society, but rather make society fair to all, without exception.

*Full text in English: The Blunders of Our Parties; in Portuguese: Chesterton Society Brazil.

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