Ambrose Bierce was a god hater blessed with unusual insight into the human condition and a particularly well-developed faculty to detect hypocrisy within the ranks of the Christian church. Bierce published his caustic aphorisms under the title of “The Devil’s Dictionary” in 1911.
Devil’s Dictionary: “Christian, n. One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.”
Commentary: Ouch. This observation opens “a whole can of worms.” But consider one possible application: The Protestant Church continues to rail (rightly) against the sins of the Roman Catholic Church, calling her to repent of her idolatry of the Mass, her use of images in worship, her profound confusion on the matter of faith and works, Purgatory, Mariolatry, merit, the saints, the papacy, and much more. Given that sin is “any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God” we are right to demand a hearty repentance and wholesale return to the standard of God’s Word, particularly on issues directly pertaining to the purity of the Gospel.
However, as Bierce noted, we are very prone to stridently apply God’s law to our neighbors while blissfully ignoring what is says about the sins peculiar to “our side.” “What sins?” you say with mild indignation. How ‘bout our rampant sectarianism (30,000 protestant denominations and growing!), our ubiquitous and ugly in-fighting; our gimmicky evangelism (Got God?); our pervasive hostility to covenant connections; our lack of historical awareness; (Pop Quiz: Circle the good guy – Pope Leo X or Pope Gregory VI; Who denied Emperor Theodosius the Lord’s Table – Augustine, Ambrose or Athanasius?); our endemic disdain of the historic creeds and councils (How many protestants could identify the differences between the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicean Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon?); our rejection of the inerrancy of the Scriptures; our ordination of women and homosexuals; our spineless tolerance of murder (abortion); and last but not least our man-centered, man-conceived, man-pleasing, ultra-foofy worship?
I am not suggesting that we cease calling Rome to repentance. But it might be a good idea to show her what that looks like as we do. SDG
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