When Protestants examine the Roman Church, they generally accept the Church’s claim that it is founded on Scripture and Tradition. The truth is, however, that every form of Christianity contains traditions, but not every form of Christianity uses its traditions to obscure and distort the Scripture the way Catholicism does.
In reality, Tradition alone is the only foundation of the Church. Scripture provides a model for the language and rituals the Church needs to justify itself, to be taken for a Christian church. In Roman Catholic understanding, the New Covenant is not new wine into new wineskins. Instead, Catholicism places imitation wine into old wineskins.
If closely examined, the dogmas of the Church reveal just how Scripture is used by Rome. In reality, Catholicism practices a kind of paganized Old Testament system with a version of Christ added to the mix. Consequently, Romanism is not Christian at all, but a clever deception.
Strangely enough, the claim of the Church to be founded on Scripture and Tradition is the reason many Catholics are true followers of Jesus–in spite of the Church, not because of the Church. These faithful people of God perceive the biblical truths that the Church seeks to hide, since the Bible is indeed read and praised by the Church. These faithful ones are in the Church, but not of the Church. And God is now calling them out of her communion because eventually, the entire system will be destroyed.
We need only examine the parallels between Romanism and ancient Judaism to see the reality of the Catholic system. Both systems have a holy book, but reject those Scriptures in favor of human tradition. Each has a priestly system separated from the lay people. Each offers sacrifices. The Mass is a sacrifice in the same way a lamb is a sacrifice.
Each system uses a multitude of religious regulations to conduct worship. Each has an altar, each uses incense, each has sacred vessels. Each has a liturgical calendar of holy days, including Sabbaths (changed to Sunday by Rome).
Each system practices rituals and blessings. Each has a central set of key moral principles, the Ten Commandments, with the Roman version modified to allow the use of images in worship and a change of Sabbath to Sunday.
Each system uses special clerical clothing. Each system prays the Psalms and conducts liturgical singing and chants. Each system accepts the existence of angels, of a resurrection, and of a future life.
Each system has a Jubilee. The biblical Jubilee was to be celebrated every 50th year and involved the freeing of slaves, the return of property to the original owners, and rest for the land. However, no Jubilee was ever observed in the entire history of Israel.
Catholicism began to practice Jubilees during the papacy of Boniface VIII (1300 A.D.) The Roman version involves pilgrimages, a sense of renewal, social justice, and special plenary indulgences (the removal of all temporal punishment for sin). The Church has celebrated its Jubiliees at various times. Currently, the cycle is every 25 years.
Pope Leo XIV, in this Jubilee year of 2025, is holding a “debt conference” to promote debt forgiveness for poor nations. We can agree with David French, who recently wrote, “The Catholic church . . . is a global church. It’s not the conscience of one nation. It is the conscience of many nations” (New York Times, May 11, 2025).
The Bible is not presented by the Church as a book to be studied by the lay people. Yes, the Church refers to biblical texts in its rituals and ceremonies, but the people are taught that the interpretation of the Bible is the purview of the pope and bishops, the Church fathers, the Saints, and Councils, all rolled into the one final measure of truth, the Catechism. Lay Catholics are required to believe what ordained Catholics tell them is true, or risk being labeled heretical.
Without knowing the spiritual source of Church authorities, dependence on the so-called Magisterium is dangerous. It is impossible to know if the Church teaches truth or doctrines of demons (see I Tim. 4:1-3). We know that many practices and teachings of the church came centuries after the close of the New Testament canon. Romanism looks within itself for the evidence of its own right thinking. This approach to truth is rebellion against the God of heaven and against His eternal law. The Bible is essentially a dead letter within Catholicism.
It is impossible to know if the Church teaches truth unless we can appeal to a higher authority to substantiate her claims. That authority is the Word of God, which is separate from and superior to the Magisterium.