Learning from Others' Controversies
Can Protestants (particularly Baptists) learn from the current Roman Catholic controversy in the SE United States? Do you even know what I'm talking about?
Have you ever been to a Roman Catholic Mass? If your answer is no, then this article is for you. If yes, what language was it in? If you've attended a mass sometime in the last 50 or so years, the service was most likely conducted in the language of the people attending (English, Spanish, etc.). There may have been some traditional elements, but you probably understood them because you spoke the language (even if you didn't truly understand).
Maybe you've attended a mass completely in Latin. And unless you're a pharmacist, you probably didn't understand it (an obscure Gilligan's Island reference). If you attended that mass sometime in the last 25 or so years, the priest conducting the mass was making a bold statement holding that service.
From where I currently sit (Carney, OK), the closest Roman Catholic parishes are in Chandler, Stillwater, and Stroud. Chandler and Stroud share a priest, while Stillwater's parish is large enough to have two priests (Oklahoma State University also has a church on campus with a dedicated priest). There are also RC parishes in Cushing, Shawnee, and Prague (also an Abbey in Shawnee); but if I desired to attend a Latin Mass, none of these parishes have that option available (at least not advertised). Not even larger congregations like Stillwater or Shawnee (unless the Abbey has one). However, I don't have to go very far to attend Latin Mass, for St. Damien's Church in Edmond offers low church and high church options, all in Latin. Their website says they serve the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City (not sure what that means other than that's the Archdiocese they're in).
Not everyone is so "blessed" to be so close to such old-school tradition as I, and in one particular area it is getting even harder to participate in the same Mass as your RC ancestors. Recently, the Diocese of Charlotte (western North Carolina) set a policy effectively outlawing Latin Masses within the diocese and only allowing masses in the Novus Ordo (Latin for "new order;" an official title, ironically). Not only limited to the vernacular language, but cutting other formal tradition. Massive cuts on vestments (what priests, deacons, etc. wear during Mass), no more kneeling altars, changes in the distribution of the Eucharist, and even no gloves for the altar boys (the Bishop is offended by no fingerprints on the polished brass?). Also including guidelines for using women in the orders and in the lectern (For Baptists, the lectern is where the ordained minister’s liturgy and sermons happen). Roman Catholics do not permit women’s ordination, and neither does the Bible.
Even without the further cuts, Novus Ordo changes the order and content of the Mass from the traditional in Latin. I don't know much about this, but it apparently changes the service's theological underpinnings. But that's not a new issue, having come into play with the Vatican II reforms of the 1960s. Why does this matter? Think about it: 60+ years ago, no matter where you were from as a Roman Catholic, the Mass was virtually the same. It would affect initial understanding due to the unknown language, but repetition always makes more familiar. And further study brings understanding. Catholics in Oklahoma were worshiping the same way as an RC parish in Ecuador, or Angola, or Vietnam. That's NOT the Roman Catholic Church today.
What can we Protestants learn from this? Much, but for now here's one: Whatever was once considered unthinkable becomes radical (which is "thinkable"). Radical becomes plausible, plausible becomes respected, respected becomes popular, then popular becomes policy (mandated). How did once Biblically orthodox denominations drift leftward, many to the point of apostate? None of that happened overnight.
What we truly hold dear, only THAT will we faithfully contend!
JOY!
