Why be Anglican and not Catholic?

Dave Kemp · Jul 19, 2019

Aidan said: ↑

In Ireland, we have two SSPX priests in their mid twenties and quite a sizeable group of people aged thirty and under attending Mass
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What is the SSPX?

Dave Kemp · Jul 19, 2019

Stalwart said: ↑

I'd want to push back on that, and defend the classic Protestant perspective, even if modern Protestants have mucked it up and made it unpalatable, especially the Pentecostals who are more or less completely abominable. By classical Protestants I mean the early Reformers, who were deeply Catholic and referred to themselves as Catholics. The groups similar to modern 'protestants', in their era the Anabaptists, the Quakers, the Levelers -- all these they expelled and excommunicated as utterly sinful and blasphemous. But in today's tolerant climate, we tolerate sin and evil, and so we don't castigate or excommunicate sinful and blasphemous Protestants, and they're able to infect and affect how the overall label is perceived.

If we separate modern Protestantism from classical Protestantism; namely, division, rejection of catholicity, abandonment of the sacraments, gnosticism, versus, deep catholicity, rejection of all novelty and modernism, and deeply sacramental and scriptural.

The fact of the matter is that even if the modernist Protestants had infected up the Protestant brand, which used to mean deep Catholicism and now means division and liberal heresy -- nevertheless, even today, Christendom as a whole is becoming more classically Protestant. All major perspectives the Protestants levied on the gospel, on justification, on grace, on salvation, have penetrated and became accepted, because they're simply more in line with the evidence. Just as one evidence point, the protoevangelium of Genesis, under Roman medieval/baroque translations, always referred to Mary:

Genesis 3:15: I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
Douai-Rheims (Roman Catholic) translation of 1589

If you know the importance of the protoevangelium, the proto-Gospel, then putting Mary at the heart of the gospel puts her at the very center of salvation. That's how the medieval church translated Genesis 3.15

But the Reformers came, and read the underlying text and said, hey, it doesn't say she, it says it, the seed. It refers to our lord and saviour:

Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
King James Authorized Version (Anglican) translation of 1614

The difference between the pronouns is pretty much galactic, in this case. And of course the Roman church cried foul. They executed, tortured and burned the heroic martyrs who stood for the truth of Scripture.

And yet, lo and behold, the recent RCC translations now say:

Genesis 3:15: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition of 2006

Lo and behold, Rome now says that justification is by faith alone -- the original reason for which they excommunicated the monk named Fr. Martin Luther back in 1520.
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Very well put!

Botolph · Jul 19, 2019

Dave Kemp said: ↑

What is the SSPX?
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SSPX - The Society of St Pius X.

The Society of Saint Pius X is an international priestly society of almost 700 priests. Its main purpose is the formation and support of priests. Society priests live in community and serve faithful in over 70 countries around the world.

https://sspx.org/en

In general people will associate SSPX with the Latin Mass and a rejection of Novus Ordo (Vatican II Mass).

anglican74 · Jul 19, 2019

Dave Kemp said: ↑

What is the SSPX?
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I have heard that it is an ultra-Tridentine latin-mass group wholly committed to the Council of Trent, who scarcely consider other members of the Roman church as truly roman catholic?

I could be corrected on this of course

Botolph · Jul 19, 2019

anglican74 said: ↑

I have heard that it is an ultra-Tridentine latin-mass group wholly committed to the Council of Trent, who scarcely consider other members of the Roman church as truly roman catholic?

I could be corrected on this of course
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I think that is true at the extremes, and quite possibly on both sides. To be SSPX is not identical with the notion of being sedevacantist (the chair is empty - is there is no pope or the lights are on and nobody's home), however there is definitely some common ground and no doubt some alignment, but like all things it is never quite that simple. I think Francis I has has a number of critics from among the ranks of SSPX.

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Why be Anglican and not Catholic?

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