“Soldiers of Christ” – Defenders of the Faith – Hardly taken off

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Some contemporaries who call themselves Christ apparently see the Gospel as a field of struggle against every deviant and non-believer. “Soldiers of Christ”, with drawn swords, pose as defenders of Jesus and the faith. The Church of Rome plays a pioneering role here.

There are many “knights of faith”

Apparently, numerous believers who feel they belong to Christianity see themselves called upon to identify themselves as “soldiers of Christ,” “defenders of the faith,” “warriors of Jesus,” and the like. They believe that they have to step into the breach for Jesus Christ and His message, and even that they have to protect and defend him. But that seems to be “a little” over the mark.

Preaching the gospel is one thing. How far it goes beyond proclaiming the truths of the gospel is another matter. Seeing yourself as a “defender and protector of Jesus” has a not insignificant potential for inappropriate consequences for the person being converted. Added to this is a huge portion of presumption, self-righteousness and also disorientation. A dangerous mixture.

The Council of Trent (1547 to 1563) of the Roman Catholic Church gives a very good example of the character of such “defenses of faith” can have. During the 14th session on November 25, 1551, a series of canons were established which described not only this Church’s understanding of the sacrament and penance, but also the impending consequences of not following the commanded faith in obedience.

The result from November 25, 1551

The Council of Trent was convened as a response to the Reformation. This meeting is also known as the “general mobilization of the Catholic Church”. Points of belief that had already been asserted were reaffirmed. Also the promised consequences.

Canon 1

If someone says that in the Catholic Church penance is not real and is actually a sacrament instituted by Christ our Lord to reconcile believers with God whenever they fall into sin after baptism, the anathema applies.

Canon 2

If someone confuses the sacraments and says that baptism itself is the sacrament of penance, as if these two sacraments were not distinguished, and penance is therefore incorrectly called the second lifeline after shipwreck, the anathema applies.

Canon 3

When someone says those words of the Lord and Savior: “Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you remit, they are remitted, and those whose sins you retain, they are retained”, should not be understood as the power to forgive or retain sins in the sacrament of penance, as the Catholic Church has done from the beginning has always understood | Rather, if it is twisted into the authority to proclaim the Gospel contrary to the institution of this sacrament, the anathema would apply.

Canon 4

If someone denies that for the full and perfect forgiveness of sins three acts are required in the penitent as the quasi-matter of the sacrament of penance, namely, repentance, confession and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of penance, or if someone says that there are only two Parts of repentance, namely the terror caused to the conscience by the knowledge of sin and the faith received on the basis of the gospel or absolution, with which a person believes that his sins have been forgiven through Christ, would be anathema.

Canon 5

When someone says, the repentance that comes about by examining, collecting, and abhorring sins, namely, in which someone, in the bitterness of his soul, thinks over his years and considers the gravity, multitude, and ugliness of his sins, the loss of eternal blessedness, and the onslaught of eternal damnation, coupled with the intention of a better life, is not a real and useful pain and does not prepare one for grace, but rather makes man a hypocrite and even more a sinner; If someone finally says that this pain is forced and does not happen freely and voluntarily, the anathema applies.

Canon 6

If someone denies that sacramental confession is instituted by divine law or is necessary for salvation, or if someone says that the method of confessing in secret only to the priest, which the Catholic Church has always observed from the beginning and still observes, is the institution and alien to the commandment of Christ and a human invention, the anathema applies.

Canon 7

If someone says that in the sacrament of penance, in order to forgive sins according to divine law, it is not necessary to confess all the mortal sins individually, which one remembers after due and careful reflection, including the hidden ones and those directed against the last two commandments of the Decalogue, together with circumstances which change the nature of sin, but that this confession is only useful for the education and consolation of the penitent, and that it was once observed only to impose a canonical satisfaction; or if someone says that he who endeavors to confess all sins does not want to leave anything left for divine mercy to forgive, or finally that it is not lawful to confess venial sins, the anathema applies.

An anathema wave

A whole series of points of faith commanded by the Roman Catholic Church, which if ignored lead to anathema. The term anathema has two meanings. On the one hand it is the rejection and the curse, on the other hand it is the handling by this church. All ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church understand anathema in their dogmatic canons as exclusion from the society of believers because of heresy. In short, excommunication.

Condemnation of a person as a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church or the Inquisition had fatal consequences. Pope Innocent III already stipulated that heresy should be viewed as an insult to majesty. This automatically led to the heretics being persecuted by state power. The Catholic “chief saint” Thomas Aquinas completed the cynicism by speaking of church mercy towards heretics, but at the same time also of the extermination of such people from the earth by state power.

This traditional handling of the Roman Catholic Church with deviations from its dictated work of faith is such a “defense of the faith” and the “protection of Jesus” by the “soldiers of Christ”.

The decisions made at the Council of Trent were all proclaimed “ex cathedra”. That means in a state of “divine incapacity for error.” A change or even abolition of the serial cursing and the threat of excommunication are therefore impossible. These canons are all still valid today. The only difference is that the Roman Church’s control over state power ended in 1798 and has not been regained (yet!). But it is only a matter of time before the conditions of the Middle Ages are restored in a modern form.

Jesus Christ misunderstood

Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things in the visible and invisible world. Through Him everything was created (John 1:1-3). Because of His bloody self-sacrifice for our sins, Jesus Christ is not only the Creator and King of this world, but also the defender and advocate for every single person. “Without me you can do nothing,” said Jesus Christ to His apostles. Moses already spoke clearly, Exodus 14:14:
“The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.“

Every person is a sinner and therefore condemned to death. The believer no longer lives under the law, but under grace, a fact that is often misunderstood. Misunderstood because it regularly formulates the nullity of God’s commandments (Info). However, grace consists in the fact that the sinner still has the opportunity to turn from his previous wrong path, to switch to the right path of God, and to remain there.

Presented arrogance

However, the “soldier of Christ”, “defender of Jesus” and “warrior of the faith” simply turns the tables in his own arrogance. As if Jesus Christ or God could not defend himself and would be helpless without this “brave soldier”. The would-be, who is actually condemned to death by sin, presents himself as someone who wants to ensure justice with his sword drawn. The defendant makes himself the defender of his own desperately needed lawyer.

Humility, modesty and recognition of one’s own helplessness look different.

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)