Wes Huff, Mere Christianity, and an Important Message - 3/12/2026
I'm Catholic. Always have been. Am today. And I always will be. But I don't do apologetics. I've always been uncomfortable knowing that various groups of believing Christians are at odds with one another over doctrine, practice, and one another's traditions. Further, as a Catholic who is working hard to better or fully understand every nuance of my faith, my Church, and its teachings, rules, customs, etc., so often I see people who aren't Catholic who explain my Church, my faith, and what they presume that I believe incorrectly, I recognize that I can't possibly endeavor to inform or aid them to a better understanding, of which they had no interest prior, and I know that they certainly won't listen or respond open-mindedly to my explanations.
So, since I'm not into apologetics, making this post tonight wasn't on my bingo card. How did I get here, then, to be writing this piece? I was surfing YouTube day before yesterday, and I came across a video about a guy urging people to leave the Catholic Church. Here's a link to it:
Wes Huff comments on Catholics and Catholicism
I think it was real nice of Wes to at least leave the door of salvation open to some of us, despite being Catholic (sarcasm). As I said in my introduction, I am NOT an apologist, and I will NOT attempt to dissect Wes's assertions or counter his opinion. I'll simply say that it seemed to me a perfect example of someone who doesn't understand Catholicism who thinks he speaks with authority. A few times, I found myself thinking, "How did you and or the people whose teaching you follow come by the authority to speak of me and of my Church like that?" I felt my dander come up a little, to be honest.
I can iterate my faith in a nutshell: I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: one God in three persons. I believe Jesus died for my sins, and rose after three days, thus creating a pathway to my salvation, the only price of which is faith. If knowing all that, someone, Wes Huff being the someone of the day, thinks my Church, the Catholic Church, somehow jeopardizes my chances of salvation, I'll tell you up front: I'm not just willing to risk it, I am committed to it. So, pray for me, or maybe just wish me luck if you think I'm going to need it. I'm all in. Don't look so aghast.
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| C.S. Lewis, in the Preface of Mere Christianity, nails this topic. |
15 years ago, a good friend I worked with at UPS gifted me C.S. Lewis's classic: Mere Christianity. Lewis's explanation why he doesn't advance any particular denomination boils down to simply this (I'm paraphrasing here): To advance one denomination and make a case against another or all others seems a counterproductive act, as to him, and I agree here, while those discussions would seem to be of interest to Christians in deciding where to go to church and discerning where it is that they 'belong.' He makes the case that they might be what turns a tepidly interested non-Christian away from the idea of becoming a Christian at all. To reuse the word: it's counterproductive.
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| In the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 16 verse 18, Jesus refers specifically to "His Church." Singular. He does not refer to "His Churches." |
I'm not here to relitigate the Protestant reformation, nor to excuse away corruption and sinfulness in the Catholic Church in history, recent and distant, nor any in it today. I'm simply saying all that talk helps the Devil more than it helps Jesus. Period. Jesus call it, "His Church." When He calls it 'His Church,' He is speaking in the singular. Some of you may be reading this and presume that I don't understand what Jesus meant or intended. I'm going to accept Jesus's choice of words literally and, because of the source, as authoritative, important. I don't think God needs me to explain what He said in Matthew 16:18 unambiguously.
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Call me boring. I read the Catechism. When I heard Wes Huff the other night, I felt as if clearly, Mr. Huff hasn't read any of it himself. Something important at this point if you're reading this and you're NOT Catholic: the official stance of the Church is NOT that the only path to heaven is a Catholic one. If you hear a Catholic saying, "You're going to hell because you're a Baptist (of Lutheran or Methodist, etc.)," you're NOT hearing someone who's speaking accurately on behalf of the Catholic Church. I feel no differently about that than I do about what Mr. Huff asserts. It is rather magnanimous, though, that Mr Huff says some Catholics really do believe the right stuff and will go to heaven. Lucky us!
Ignoring the merits or demerits of their arguments, when I hear someone making the case that I ought to be going to church here, there, or some other place, what I really hear is a membership drive: "We need more of you in our church putting cash, check, or card into our collection basket, not that dirty, sinful collection basket you're putting your hard-earned in now!"
OK, lemme circle back and wrap it up. Here's my message to Bible believing, Jesus loving, faithful people, whether you call yourself an Evangelical, Baptist, Calvinist, Anglican, Catholic or whatever else: Let's all love each other and love God the way we're supposed to. I think I can make a pretty good case to explain why I choose Catholicism, but that is no slight to you, your faith, your church, or anything else. Denomination wars would indeed seem to be just exactly that. I think I can make a pretty accurate list of the types of corruption and sin that have plagued Catholicism, both in recent and distant history. Jesus said His Church would prevail against the gates of hell. Sinful and corrupt men have indeed so tested His Church. Unfortunate, but true. My Church has prevailed against denomination wars in the past, too. It will again now, and probably again in the future. There will always be someone who thinks they have a better idea: always has been, is today, and always will be.
May God bless and keep us all, even Wes Huff.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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