A commenter wanted to know why my Victorian clergymen were calling Roman Catholicism a "religion of human nature"--not to be confused with natural theology. E.g.:
On idolatry: "A notable example of the natural tendency of man
in all ages. Alienated from God by
wicked works, fallen and rebellious, he has an instinctive feeling of
terror—and a superstitious dread of some Supreme Being, which discovers itself
in various ways. He has no idea by nature of spiritual worship—and manifests a
constant disposition to approach God through some object of the senses. This is the idolatrous and superstitious
principle indigenous in man" [1; my emphasis].
Why Protestants were so susceptible to Catholicism: "The people consented, because they were not
sound in the faith; because they knew not the grace of God; because they were
turned aside from the truth, and turned into fables. Therefore, the conquest was easy; or rather,
there was no conquest necessary: the people were subdued already under the
lies of the prophets; and the pride of
nature, and the indolence of self-righteousness and self-esteem, laid them at
least in passive readiness for the usurpation of the priests" [2; my emphasis].
Where Catholicism comes from: "Do we wish thoroughly to understand in what
Popery consists? To find the very elements, out of which Satan has constructed
the mystery of iniquity, let us look into our own hearts, let us search deeply the “chambers of
imagery” within us. In our aspiring and
domineering spirit, so impatient of the opinions of others, so eager to bring
all to the standard of our own judgment, we have the doctrine of
infallibility. In our self-righteous
pride, in our love of ostentatious display, in our carnal policy, in our
contempt of God’s word, in our attachment to blind traditions, in our
formality, superstition, and hypocrisy, in our light thoughts of sin, in our
love of cruelty,--in all these things (and the seeds of all these evils are in
us) we see the materials of which Popery is constructed" [3].
According to Victorian Protestants--who had, of course, inherited this argument from earlier controversialists--Roman Catholicism originates directly from fallen man's corrupt natural impulses. Instead of seeking to control man's desires, Catholicism actively caters to them. Even asceticism participates in this project, because it grounds man's salvation in human merit (or "works") instead of imputed righteousness; it's a form of "flattery," in other words. Similarly, in this logic, confession and absolution function as Monopoly "get out of jail free!" cards--thereby encouraging all sorts of evils (particularly those of an erotic variety). This is why Victorian anti-Catholic writers argue so strenuously that Catholicism is anti-family: in their reading, it undermines traditional sexual morality, encourages children to elevate their own interests--and the Church's--over their duties to their parents, and dismantles received structures of authority.
[1] Francis Close, The ‘Restoration of Churches’ is the Restoration of Popery. Proved and Illustrated from the Authenticated Records of the Cambridge Camden Society. A Sermon Preached Nov. 5, 1844, in Christ Church, Cheltenham (1844; London: Newman & Co., 1881), 8.
[2] Peter Hall, A Wonderful and Horrible Thing! Lying Prophets, Usurping Priests, and a Consenting People, Combined to Bring Back Popery into England. The Substance of a Sermon Preached at Walcot Church, Bath, Thursday, Nov. 5th, 1846, 2nd ed. (Bath: Binns and Goodwin; London: Whittaker and Co., 1847), 18.
[3] C. S. Hawtrey, The Mystery of Iniquity, a Warning to Protestants;
Founded on the Analogy Between the Corruptions of Popery, and the Corruptions
of the Human Heart. A Sermon, Preached on Sunday,
Never mind the Catholics -- who on earth were the "Episcopal Jews"?
Posted by: Andre Mayer | March 16, 2007 at 04:30 PM
The Episcopal Jews' Chapel was one of the pet projects of the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews.
Posted by: Miriam | March 16, 2007 at 07:56 PM
Thank you, Dr. Burstein, for answering my question. I'm flattered that you made a whole post out of it!
Posted by: Bourgeois Nerd | March 18, 2007 at 03:13 AM