The One Protestant Argument That Made Me Think
Spend enough time listening to Catholic apologists like Trent Horn, Joe Heschmeyer, Jimmy Akin, John Bergsma, or Mike Schmitz and you'll notice something interesting. Most of the common objections to Catholicism are answered rather quickly and easily.
No, Catholics don't worship Mary or the saints.
No, Catholics don't believe salvation is earned through good works.
No, Catholics didn't add books to the Bible during the Reformation.
And on and on.
The most popular arguments against Catholicism are usually arguments against a version of Catholicism that doesn't actually exist. They're often based on misunderstandings, exaggerations, or outright caricatures. But there is one objection that, in my opinion, is much more substantial. It's an argument I've heard from thoughtful, humble, educated Protestants, and unlike the usual strawmen, it deserves serious consideration.
Catholics believe that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. This doctrine, known as the Assumption, was formally defined as dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950. In response, a Protestant might reasonably ask:
This is a relatively recent Church teaching. Why should I believe it?
The Assumption of Mary is not explicitly taught in Scripture. Why should I believe it?
What's the point? How does this benefit Christians, and doesn't it take away from the glory due to God alone?
These aren't foolish questions. They're good questions. And while I believe they've been answered, they deserve more than a dismissive response.
Catholics often explain that Marian doctrines were not invented out of thin air. Throughout Church history, dogmas have typically been clarified in response to controversy or heresy. The doctrine of Christ's divinity, for example, wasn't invented at the First Council of Nicaea. Christians already believed it. The council simply defined it more precisely when that belief came under attack.
Catholics argue that the same principle applies to Mary. What we believe about Mary ultimately safeguards what we believe about Jesus. If Jesus is truly God, then Mary is rightly called the Mother of God—not because she created His divinity, but because the child she bore was God incarnate. God chose her to be His mother. She said yes, and He equipped her for that mission. And if Christ conquered death, it seems fitting that the woman who uniquely participated in His mission would share in that victory in a special way.
Whether this persuades you or not, Catholic doctrines concerning Mary developed organically from truths Christians already believed about Christ.
Many Protestants hear Catholics speaking to Mary and immediately conclude that Catholics are worshipping her. Historically, however, prayer and worship were not synonymous terms—I know that this is a common argument that Catholics use to support petitioning saints for prayer, but stick with me because it comes into play later. In older English, to pray simply meant "to ask." You can still see traces of this in old literature and legal language: "I pray thee" simply meant, "I ask you." Catholic theology distinguishes between latria—the worship due to God alone—and dulia, the honor given to saints. Mary receives a unique honor called hyperdulia because of her role in salvation history, but even this falls infinitely short of the worship owed to God.
The distinction matters. Catholics are not asking Mary to replace Christ. They are asking her to pray with them and for them, just as Christians ask friends, family members, pastors, and prayer groups to intercede for them. The biblical support for this idea comes from several places. James tells us that "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). The Book of Revelation depicts the saints in heaven presenting prayers before God. Jesus teaches that God "is not the God of the dead, but of the living." And if death cannot separate Christians from Christ, why should it separate Christians from one another?
The Bible forbids necromancy—attempting to summon spirits or seek secret knowledge from the dead. Catholics fully agree with that prohibition. But Catholics would argue that the saints are not dead. They are alive in Christ. Asking Mary to pray for you is fundamentally different from attempting to conjure spirits or communicate with the dead.
You may disagree with that interpretation, but it is important to understand that Catholics are not ignoring Scripture. They are interpreting it differently, which begs the question: Must every Christian belief and practice be explicitly stated in Scripture? Or can something be accepted if it is consistent with Scripture, honors God, and bears good fruit, even if it isn't explicitly found in the Bible?
Most Christians already accept many things that are not explicitly taught in Scripture. The word "Trinity" never appears in the Bible. The exact canon of the New Testament is not listed in Scripture. Countless Christian practices—Protestant and Catholic alike—are not explicitly found in the Bible. Yet most Christians accept these things because they are viewed as reasonable developments that support and clarify the faith.
As I mentioned earlier, in 1950 the pope declared the Assumption of Mary to be Church dogma. When the pope speaks ex cathedra, the Church teaches that Catholics are obligated to assent to that teaching—if rejected, it can have eternal consequences. I know this is shocking to many Protestants. How can a pope—a mere man living nearly two thousand years after Christ—declare something as binding on Christians when it isn't explicitly taught in Scripture?
This is the real question lurking beneath most Protestant objections to the Assumption. And it's a question Catholics should learn to engage. If you're someone like me who thought he already knew every Protestant argument and every Catholic rebuttal, this one can catch you off guard. I think the question of the pope's authority to declare anything binding for Christians without explicit biblical support is the strongest argument against Catholicism because it cuts directly to the heart of the issue. Does Christ's Church possess authority beyond the pages of Scripture?
Even some of my Protestant friends have told me they pray the Rosary. They love, respect, and even venerate Mary because they believe doing so glorifies her Son. To others, Mary isn't much of an issue at all—"Yeah, she's great and all, but who cares?" This is precisely why I don't think Mary is the real issue. The real issue or debate between Catholics and Protestants is over authority.
Who has the authority to interpret Scripture? Who has the authority to settle doctrinal disputes? Who has the authority to develop doctrine from truths already present in divine revelation? Again and again, we find ourselves back at authority.
For me, the strongest argument for Catholicism was never Mary. It was the Church. Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom. He spoke of binding and loosing. He promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. He instructed believers to listen to the Church. When I looked at Scripture and then looked at history, I became convinced that Christ intended His Church to be more than a collection of individual believers independently interpreting a book. I came to believe He established a visible Church with real authority.
Once I accepted that premise, Marian doctrines became much easier to understand. Not necessarily obvious, but understandable. The question was no longer, "Where is this explicitly stated in Scripture?" The question became, "Did Christ give His Church authority to teach?" If the answer is yes, the entire conversation changes.
I understand why many Protestants struggle with Marian devotion. I once did too. But I quickly discovered that asking for Mary's prayers never pulled me away from Jesus—it pushed me toward Him. Praying the Rosary forced me to meditate on Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Seeing Mary as my spiritual mother helped me better understand the family language woven throughout Scripture and Catholicism. We are not isolated Christians sitting in our own private churches of one. We are one Body. One family.
At the foot of the Cross, Jesus entrusted His mother to the beloved disciple. Catholics have long seen that moment as symbolic of Mary's maternal relationship with all believers. You don't have to agree with that interpretation. But for me, devotion to Mary has never been about replacing Christ. It has been about loving Christ more deeply through the woman who loved Him first.
At the end of the day, I have come to trust the authority of the Church because I believe that authority was given by Christ Himself. Every Christian must wrestle honestly with that question.
Do you really believe you're doing a better job interpreting Scripture on your own? If you answered yes, why the disagreements within Protestantism?
Where did you receive the authority to definitively declare who is saved and who is not?
Were you given the power to bind and loose?
To forgive sins?
Were you the one Christ promised would be guided into all truth?
Do you honestly believe you've figured it all out while two thousand years of Church history, Church Fathers, saints, scholars, and councils simply got it wrong?
I know. Those are tough questions. I wrestled with them for more than thirty years. But I also trust that God judges people according to the light they have received. He sees our hearts, our sincerity, and our desire to follow Him. That realization should give all of us a measure of hope… and humility.
Catholics and Protestants will continue debating Mary, the papacy, tradition, and authority for years to come. And that's okay. Good debates sharpen us. But those debates are only productive when we accurately represent one another's beliefs. The best Protestant apologists I've encountered don't attack caricatures of Catholicism. They first explain Catholic teaching fairly and accurately before explaining why they disagree. Catholics should do the same.
If we're going to challenge one another, let's at least challenge what the other side actually believes. Truth deserves that much respect.
