By: Gabriela Yareliz
In recent times, I have noticed an interesting push for the Catholic Church that wasn’t as evident before. I think it’s important to spot these things and observe them. They are cultural moments of significance. It draws the question— where did this flow from? This post is not so much a criticism of the Catholic Church, but a criticism of a conversation I heard recently and the ideas that were upheld as truth in it. (I believe we can criticize structures and arguments without disrespecting those who sincerely adhere to those beliefs. This is my attempt to do so.)
The conversation was between Candace Owens and E. Michael Jones. I respect Candace and believe she is genuine. She has ideas I think are insane and others I know are true. She is like anyone else. I am sure she would say the same about me. Candace is a recent convert to Catholicism and blatantly admits she doesn’t know much about what she just converted into, but she is fierce in her defense of it (as most people are when they join a tribe or community). This conversation was a weird one. But before we dive in, there is something we must acknowledge—
When you sit in Protestant circles, you often hear the Catholic Church torn apart. You hear its history and evolution. (Tearing it apart, I suppose, isn’t difficult even from a secular argumentative standpoint). I know this to be true, and I am a member of a church that deeply believes the Catholic Church has a significant place in Bible prophecy.
This conversation was the opposite. They called Protestantism “satanic.” Jones’ premise is that Martin Luther was a pervert (and listen, I am willing to place a bet that he probably was, because at this rate, who in history isn’t?), and John Milton is the father of Protestantism. Jones goes on about how Milton wrote a poem (Paradise Lost) glorifying Satan (according to Jones), and therefore, Protestantism is “satanic.” I wish I was kidding. (The levels of irony throughout the conversation were interesting. I sat through it all because I am a masochist and love to hear a counterargument— this one was a 2+ hrs. I deserve a medal. If you want an unhinged conversation or a crash course on how not to persuade— tune in).
I was intrigued by how Protestantism was equated with John Milton and man “following his own way.” How respect for authority was equated with revering and accepting papal power. If you reject the Pope, you are a damn anarchist who rejects Christ. Jones said that if you compare the pathetic wooden board Protestant churches of the early colonies with the beauty of the Vatican, it was evidence that something “as beautiful as the Vatican” must be “truth.” Wealth and external beauty were equated with truth. I sat dumbfounded at the statement. It made me wonder what Jesus would think of that statement. There was no discussion on whose backs the beauty was built on and how the church acquired the wealth to do so. It was a conversation that pointed out the flaws of Protestantism (and there are real flaws in the Western church at large, for sure), but it weirdly ignored the deeply entrenched legacy of manipulation, power and structural protection of violence and abuse (sexual and otherwise) that has persisted in the Catholic Church. It was a disappointing analysis because it wasn’t rooted in a fair ground level truth.
I am down to criticize and dissect ideas and history, but if we are going to do it, let’s do it for all sides. We can’t conveniently ignore the inconvenient. (We do this with politics all the time). Just as Jones spoke about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, maybe we can add a blurb about the inquisitions? Maybe, we can discuss that Hawthorne was a Protestant with a brain who saw hypocrisy and called it out as we all should. (A gorgeous piece of literature. The man describes every shingle and leaf).
I respect that the host and guest pointed out the ways the church in the West has lost its way, but that in no means gives us some default that the Catholic Church is the only answer. I would argue that the authentic expression of the church is far from the institutions (Catholic and Protestant) that dictate worship in today’s world.
What I found to be interesting was that the conversation was solely focused on defending man-made traditions and rituals and did not investigate or expose Scripture itself. It compared a man-created tradition with man-created philosophy at best (the Pope vs. Milton— and our pervert Martin Luther). With discernment, one knows that these are not the same, and true religion is neither. There was no acknowledgment that many man-made traditions and order are actually in direct unequivocal contradiction to Scripture. I found troubling that the truth and plain text of Scripture did not enter the discussion at all.
It was odd to listen to people who I have seen know how to argue simply glaze and blanket over certain things and ignore others because it didn’t serve their argument and position. (I am gonna Hawthorne that and call it out). It reminded me of how many times a day we hear statements made confidently as if they are true, but they are not. They are rooted nowhere aside from personal opinion. What can be equally concerning is that our ideas can stand in the way of us seeing the truth right in front of us.
The conversation was a reminder that discernment and truth are confident but not brash. Truth is confident in that you know it— not because it makes you better than anyone, but because it has transformed you. Truth makes us tremble and grope through the dark for it because it is light.
The conversation reminded me of many conversations I have heard and even been a part of in religious circles. Conversations that, whether we realize it or not, at times drip with assumptions and arrogance. Conversations that I see differently now— and I know them from a mile away.
As I listened, I wondered how many people would blindly take the hosts’ word for it. I pray not. I pray for a seeking journey of humility for all of us. I write this to ask you to seek and be on your journey to find truth no matter what or who you face. I want people to always turn back to Scripture. Check anything you hear against that. Read it yourself. Eyeballs to the page. That is the only ask. If you read your Bible, you will find what you are seeking.
The hosts spoke as if they had truth. They reminded me that truth isn’t something you have and hold arrogantly, but it’s something that has you. Truth breaks you. It shatters who you are, your ideas, your pride, and your expectations. Truth always accompanies transformation. It’s not something we hold and own. It holds and owns us. What truth holds is not like the rest. It is different. In these strange times, we must practice discernment. We must seek like our lives depend on it because they do.
May we be held by truth, always.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 