I was having a conversation about this with a friend, when his wife came by
to speak to him. He asked her if she had ever heard of Charles Haddon
Spurgeon, a preacher. She replied, "Is he Catholic?" And I said, "No, he
was Protestant." And she sighed lightly, and changed the subject. Without
hardly a word, she showed that she had no interest in someone's memory
who was openly anti-Catholic.
I told my friend, "I like her. She's no nonsense!" He agreed, absolutely.
C. H. Spurgeon is widely acclaimed to be "far and away the most influential
Christian leader of the 19th century; the Prince of Preachers." He often gave
sermons to crowds of 10,000 people, in days before electronic amplification.
He became pastor of London's Metropolitan Tabernacle (which has no
tabernacle! Like the Mormon Tabernacle - no tabernacle!) when it was first
built, having been employed as the congregation's pastor since age 20. He
died at age 57 of gout and a medical disorder. His funeral was attended by
tens of thousands of people, which brought that quarter of London to a
standstill for its duration. That was in 1892.
Curiously, both Pope Pius IX and Leo XIII were much more influential
Christian leaders during the 19th century, but those who claim the supremacy
of Spurgeon do so with the implicit denial of the Popes having been "Christian."
I forgot to mention The Cure d'Ars, St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish
priests, whose legacy endures to this day and is immortalized by his designation.
Having died in 1859 at age 73, he was literally a contemporary of Spurgeon,
who had been a preacher for 7 years by that year. The cure d'Ars was
instrumental in countless miracles at his parish church. I am amused to see
there are no miracles anyone mentions in regards to Bunyan's book or
Spurgeon's sermons.
Our Lord said not to (blindly) believe him, rather believe his miracles.
So, I'm not surprised that this topic would be getting no attention. Actually
that's a good sign.
I think it is essential for us to spend our effort getting to know our own Faith,
because that is what we will be held accountable for.
The only reason that I am suggesting an awareness of these landmark
Protestant topics, The Pilgrim's Progress and C.H.Spurgeon is, that these are
two of the so-called evangelical Protestants' FALSE GODS.
They are truly false gods because they are literally set up for worship,
although you won't find a single Protestant who will admit as much. If he can
do so, he ceases inherently to be a Protestant. It is that integrally connected
with the essence of Protestantism. You cannot acknowledge these two being
false gods and at the same time adhere to the literal meaning of the First
Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Have False Gods Before Me, including the
extension (which the Prots say is the 'second commandment') thou shalt not
make a graven image. For the reverence that many Prots have for this
book and for the sermons of Spurgeon is obviously tantamount to their
reverence for the 'word of God' for
They revere Bunyan's book and
Spurgeon's sermons right alongside
Sacred Scripture. They most assuredly do not see it that way, but I'm taking a clue from a friend
who taught me long ago that it is a virtuous work and a spiritual work of mercy
to TEAR DOWN THE FALSE GODS OF THE ENEMY.
What better way to awaken a wayward non-Catholic than to show him how
his long-held beliefs are founded in objective error!
To do this with a Protestant, you will have to be able to
use the Bible to
go toe-to-toe with each heresy. There are some that will be rather difficult,
so you should know about those in advance. One is the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul, into heaven (which is its own topic, but
one you should know, just tell him that it's too much for starters and begin
elsewhere), and the Immaculate Conception (likewise, it's better to begin
elsewhere, so as not to 'cast pearls before swine' - but DON'T SAY THAT!
Say "We're not ready for the meat course yet.").