Protestant Challenger:  I read the whole email about Luther, Calvin, etc. Honestly, yes they were sinners. But couldn't a similar list be compiled about immoral Popes who had harems, worked with the Inquisition, were drunkards, lovers of money, visitors of Roman harlots, etc.? You can easily read about this in the history books.

Art Sippo:  Actually Steve, the answer is no. You need to get your head screwed on straight about a few things. First of all, ALL MEN are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Popes included. Nobody pretends they were all saints (though many were). In fact, the idea that someone has to be personally "pure" to teach sound doctrine is the ancient heresy of Donatism.

Nevertheless, even the few Popes who may have lead less than moral personal lives all did consistently teach sound doctrine. Alexander VI is one who is generally accused of all sorts of personal sins, yet the tenure of his time as Pope went smoothly and he supported sound doctrine. No one ever leveled any accusations against him until 20 years after his death. And these were political enemies of him and his party.

The doctrines of the Catholic Church are based upon the historic positions taken by the Church during theological crises when the ministers of the Gospel made critical decisions under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit. They do not depend on the personal morals of the ministers, but on the promises that were made to the Church. Jesus had taught:

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

When you study the history of the Papacy, you will find that there were few "bad" Popes and that the Popes during the 16th Century were not among them. In fact the pope who oversaw the implementation of the Council of Trent was Pope St. Pius V. Leo X who excommunicated Luther was not a very spiritual man, but he handled the Luther matter with tolerance and restraint. Compared to some of the debauched Protestant Reformers, the Popes of the period were good Christian men. Not perfect, but morally superior to the Protestants by a long shot.

I think too we need to clear up a few lies that you have been told. No Pope ever had a Harem. Some Popes had mistresses and did frequent prostitutes. So did Henry VIII the founder of Anglicanism. By the way, Luther recommended using mistresses and prostitutes so that men would not be sexually frustrated.

The Inquisitions were ecclesiastical courts organized according to the principles of old Roman Imperial Law in those countries which had been under the jurisdiction of the old Imperial courts. They dealt with cases that involved crimes against the Church (heresy being only one such crime) or crimes committed by clerics. In the famous case of St. Thomas Becket, he was murdered by the English king for defending the right of priests accused of secular crimes to be tried by ecclesiastical courts in stead of secular ones. (In England's case, it was not by the Inquisition but by another type of ecclesiastical court organized under British law.)

There was no one institution called "The Inquisition". The polities involved each had their own under the jurisdiction of either the local bishops or of the state depending on the custom of the area in question. In any case, the trials were done by clerics assigned to the position by competent authority. The local Church had some control over how the Inquisitions were conducted. These courts were quite balanced and fair FOR THEIR DAY. If you have an interest in learning the TRUTH about how they were run, I would recommend any of a number of books by Henry Kamen the most recent being "The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision" published by Harvard.

There was no Inquisition in England, Germany, the Low-lands, parts of Eastern Europe, or Scandinavia. These places were under different ecclesiastical disciplines which at the time of the Deformation were controlled by the Kings and nobles. In many cases, the trials were done by secular judges with clerical advisors. Similar principles of questioning people under duress, limited rules of disclosure of the accusers, and penalties such as burning at the stake were used by these courts even when administered by Protestants. No one ever talks about the persecution of Catholics by these heretical kangaroo courts which tortured and killed thousands.

It is noteworthy that the Reformation succeeded in destroying the Christian Church only in the nations that did not have Inquisitions. Had Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Cranmer, and the other apostates been given timely fair trials, the Reformation would never have happened.

As for as the Gospel being essentially, "Be good," this is not quite correct. The Word says the Gospel is, "Christ died for our sins." 1 Cor. 15:3. This is how Paul explicitly defines the word "Gospel" in verses 1-3.

You know, I think it would behoove you prots to actually read the GOSPELS once in a while and stop trying to find the Gospel solely in the Epistles of St. Paul. Listen to what My Lord and Savior says:

Now Let's see what St. Paul says since I know that as a Protestant you would respect his words more than those of Jesus:

Okay, we have proven that the Bible teaches that men are intended to be made righteous by the power of God in Christ, not merely imputed to be so. In fact our true hope is that grace will make us perfect. This is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God.

Notice also that this implies that some people may be truly perfected by grace in this world and become true saints. This the Catholic Church has affirmed and bore witness to over the centuries recognizing such people in every age. This though the prot cults have steadfastly denied which places them once more at odds with Jesus and the Bible.

What about your quotation?

I am sorry, Steve, but St. Paul does NOT define the Gospel here. He only tells us what is "of first importance" (vs. 3). You also neglected to finish his complete thought. It was not merely that Christ died for our sins. It was also that he was raised from the dead and appeared first to St. Peter, the Cephas or Rock who was the leader of the Church (thereby establishing his primacy and authority). So the resurrection of Christ and the establishment of the Catholic Church are also taught as part (though not all) of St. Paul's Gospel. You have wrongly divided the word and misrepresented Scripture.

Furthermore, you did not acknowledge what St. Paul said later on in that same chapter:

You see, the grace of God made St. Paul work hard. Why? Because it perfected him in righteousness.

So, Steve the Bible testifies against your false religion. The Gospel is not merely that Jesus died for our sins but that he:

Our justification is a participation in Jesus' resurrection from the dead, not merely in his death. But that is not all. St. Paul continues:

Bottom line: We are transformed by grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that we may stand in grace among the righteous people of God.