Dear Felipe,
I pray all is well with you. I think it is great that you search for knowledge, and I am honored that you would ask me about Protestantism. I think a little background on Protestants is necessary to understand why we think the way we do. Five hundred years ago, some Catholics split from the Roman Catholic Church because they disagreed with what the Roman Catholics were doing. There was a lot of corruption in the Catholic Church then, and so these few monks and priests left Catholicism. Each group became a Protestant group, but not an independent religion. It is important that you know that those monks and priests left the Catholic Church because they desired to take Christianity back to what the first followers of Christ believed. In that sense, they were honorable. Because many different priests left Catholicism independently, there are many different denominations within Protestantism. John Calvin, Martin Luther, and many others had their own groups with their own beliefs. Each tried to reform Catholicism (lead it back to its original form), and had different ideas about what was important, so they became different denominations. That is why Protestants left the Catholic Church and why we have many different groups within Protestantism. Years later, the Catholic Church changed its ways, and even though they kept a lot of tradition, they stopped doing a lot of the things the Protestants left the Church for.
With regard to Mary, I want to ask you- who performed the miracles, Mary or God? I believe God performed the miracles. Also, I think that the reason people say that Mary was sinless is that she is the mother of Jesus, and people want to protect Jesus. They want to make it so that there is no way he could have had sin in his life from either his Father (God) or from his mother. I think that is noble, but misguided. If we were to follow that logic, then it would seem Mary’s parents would have to be sinless too. And theirs, and so on. That would be completely crazy. I think that if Mary were sinless, then she could have died on the cross for us too, and that takes away from Christ’s unique position to save all of humanity. I hope that makes sense.
In response to what the American media says about Protestants, I want to explain some of the issues. Both Roman Catholics and Protestants in America are guilty of saying and doing bad things. Some priests have gone to jail because they sexually abuse children. Some Protestants have gone to jail for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from people. These are just a few of the more public issues. The point I want to make is that both Catholics and Protestants are guilty of bad things. The American media, like MTV or CNN, make this big news, and they should. When people do bad things, they should be made public so justice will be done, whether they call themselves Christians or not. I do not believe such men are truly followers of Christ. They do not love God. If they did, they would not steal or hurt or lie to people.
All Christians in America should take a stand against evil people like that. We should not let them get away with such terrible things, and we should let the media know that we are Christians, who love the one true God in Heaven. I know there are a lot of people in Venezuela , as you have said, who have said bad things about Protestants. Maybe we are guilty of those things. Maybe we are not. I don’t think we’re as bad as you’ve heard. Throughout history, Protestants and Catholics have attacked each other instead of loving each other. As I said before, people who claim to be Catholic and people who claim to be Protestant are guilty of terrible deeds.
Not all of us in America are like what MTV or CNN or 20/20 portrays. We love God. We want to tell God’s story to people all over the world so they can know that there is more to life than just getting by. We were called by God to live a life of abundance and freedom. There is freedom in Christianity. I think you know that in your heart. I believe that there are millions of sincere Christians in the United States who love God and want to help feed the hungry and poor. People who want to stop disease and hunger and homelessness in the entire world.
Felipe, again I want to express my gratitude for your questions. There is much to say and so little time to say it in. I hope I’ve answered your questions. Please, feel free to ask more. I will do what I can to answer them. I want to leave you with the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Church in Ephesus :
Ephesians 1:17-19 (New International Version)
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Efesios 1:17-19 (Nueva Versión Internacional)
Pido que el Dios de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, el Padre glorioso, les dé el Espíritu de sabiduría y de revelación, para que lo conozcan mejor. Pido también que les sean iluminados los ojos del corazón para que sepan a qué esperanza él los ha llamado, cuál es la riqueza de su gloriosa herencia entre los santos , y cuán incomparable es la grandeza de su poder a favor de los que creemos.