Chapter VIII, Christianity, Protestantism, Summary and Analysis

The causes of the division between Roman Catholic and Protestant churches are complex, and include political, economic, and nationalistic differences. The main cause, however, was the rising concern over ecclesiastical abuses. Protestantism emerged as a movement that today is more Christian than Protestant with two major themes that make it different from Catholicism. The first of these is justification by faith. It states that bringing the individual into a right relationship with God requires the total self—mind, will, and affections. Doctrine can be accepted by rote, but service and love cannot. It proposes that no amount of religious observation, no record of good deeds or roster of doctrines can bring about a right relationship with God unless the individual heart is transformed by faith. The idea is that if one really has faith...