"To be deep in history, is to cease to be a Protestant"I cannot recall the first time that I have heard this quote from Cardinal John Henry Newman. I would imagine that it was some conference or it was a friend of mine who loves theology. No matter the source of where I first heard this, in my case, I found it to be absolutely true.
Cardinal John Henry Newman was a very wonderful man. He has volumes and volumes of theological work. I remember the first time I picked up one of his books, namely Development of Christian Doctrine. It didn't take long to realize that I was definitely out of my league.... It was the first but hopefully not the last time that I attempt to read such a deep theological mind.
Recently, Cardinal Newman has received the honor of being Beatified. Beatification is one of the final steps necessary before the Catholic Church officially recognizes an individual as a Saint. If you are interested in reading more about the process and what is required, please read this article.
Congratulations Blessed John Henry Newman....Ora pro nobis
4 comments:
Cease to be a protestant? Wow, why not just cease to be if you're not in the big "C"...pretty arrogant.
Don't even know where to begin with this one, except, we're all saints, the Bible says so....
Deborah,
Good morning....
Yeah....he actually said,
To be deep in history, is to cease to be a Protestant
I don't think that the statement was meant to be an arrogant one. Let me share with you the way that I understand it, but more importantly, how it relates to me, and my life.
I was raised a Protestant and attended churches and schools of various backgrounds. Somehow, I walked away from that experience that the Catholic Church added many teachings to the simple faith of Christ.
Recently, I decided to test that theory. What was the Early Church like? Was it more Protestant or Catholic in nature? Needless to say, it was definitely Catholic, complete with many Catholic distinctive practices and beliefs.
So, in my case, Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman's phrase is 100% accurate.
Don't even know where to begin with this one, except, we're all saints, the Bible says so....
Amen!!!
deb,
If by saint you mean believer, then, yes we are all saints. The Catholic term is only used to distinguish those who have objectively lived exemplary, holy lives and have had proven miracles attributed to their intercession.
In the case of Bl.Cardinal Newman, he was an Anglican who, after years of study of the early church, found it impossible to remain protestant. He found that Rome was the only church that maintained ALL that was taught by the Apostles.
His quote is only the culmination of his years study which led him to Rome.
Perfectly said, Carlus:)
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