Poisonous fruit of poisonous tree

Is it hypocritical for evangelicals to harp on Catholic scandals? Are we in these same boat? Are we shooting a hole in the bottom of our own boat?

1. It's vitally important that Christians not make what they oppose the standard of comparison. The fact that Catholicism is bad doesn't make me good. That's not a substitute for cultivating personal holiness. 

2. In making a case against Catholicism, I wouldn't lead with Catholic scandals. Generally, the way to disprove Catholicism is to point out lack of evidence for its claims as well as evidence contrary to its claims.

3. Obviously, there are Protestant scandals as well as Catholic scandals. The parallel holds in some respects but not in others. Protestant theology is generally separable from the medium. Denominations are just temporary vehicles. Protestant theology changes vehicles while the theology remains the same (although there's room for development in Protestant theology).

If a Protestant denomination becomes too morally or theologically compromised, we're free to abandon it, like a derelict ship. It served a limited purpose. Outlived its usefulness. 

In Catholicism, by contrast, at a certain level the message and medium are inseparable. One example is apostolic succession. Another example is the fact that there's no direct evidence for many Catholic dogmas. Their warrant depends on sheer church authority to promulgate dogma. They have no independent warrant. Rather, it's an argument from authority.

There's only one true church: the Roman Catholic church. Only one medium. So you can't detach the message from the medium. That's different from Protestant theology and ecclesiology. Protestant theology is portable. It can jump from one host to another. 

4. Although Protestant scandals don't falsify Protestant theology, if a Protestant institution is hopelessly adrift, irreversibly morally compromised, then that brings the institution into disrepute. It may not discredit the theology, but it discredits the sponsor. 

5. In addition, there's often a link between heresy and immorality. They feed on each other. Immorality pulls theology to the left while liberal theology invites immorality. Ethics track theology and vice versa. 

6. Rome partitions the holiness of "the Church" from the holiness of its members. "The Church" is holy in some abstract sense that has no connection to the priesthood or hierarchy. But is it meaningful to depersonalize holiness to such an extent, or is that a face-saving distinction? 

7. Rome claims that God is present in the Catholic church in a way that's not the case in Protestant denominations. But what's the discernible difference between God's presence and God's absence if God's special presence is compatible with so much immorality–compared to Protestant denominations? 

8. Catholic loyalists stand in the lot of a car dealership. They are surrounded by transportation. Yet they spend all their time trying to fix a lemon. Despite the religious competition, Catholic loyalists act as though they have no other options.