Pilgrimage of Protestant Protesters
Jerusalem from the eyes of a Catholic convert from the Baptist tradition
I have been told that a Protestant’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Jerusalem, is comical to the point of heresy. Protestants allege that all of the Roman Catholic holy sites are invalid because they are not specifically located from the Bible yet they have created alternative sites to venerate for themselves like the Garden Tomb. This tomb is considered by Protestants to be the site of the burial tomb of Jesus. Yet since the 4th century, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been recognized as the place where Christ was crucified and buried. Under its roof, it contains two sites: the site where Jesus was crucified, known as Golgotha, and Jesus's empty tomb, where he was buried and resurrected three days after crucifixion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre The empty tomb is within a small Church within the larger church. One has to climb steps to reach Golgotha within the larger church.
My wife and I went on a 10-day pilgrimage to Israel in 2019 with Steve Ray and his wife, Janet, as our tour guides. Steve is a catholic convert from the Baptist tradition. Steve brings a priest along to say Mass at every holy site. Steve is probably one of the most knowledgeable persons regarding the holy sites. He informed us that Roman Emperor Constantine’s mother, St Helena, had a church built over every significant holy site mentioned in the bible. She knew where these sites were because the sites received pilgrimages from around the world and were venerated for nearly 300 years before her son, Constantine, became emperor.
After arriving at Ben Gurion airport, we were taken to a hotel in the city of Tiberias sitting right on the bank of the Sea of Galilee. The hotel was our home-base for the first part of the pilgrimage. The next day our first stop was the church on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mount Tabor) then we departed for the wedding church in Cana where we renewed our wedding vows. After lunch, we were in Nazareth to visit the Church of Annunciation and the home of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Next stop was the Mount of Beatitudes, a high plateau overlooking the sea of Galilee where Jesus gave the sermon on the mount and you guested it, a church exists. We proceeded to Caesarea Philippi where Jesus said, “thou art Peter, and it is upon this rock that I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 The Romans worshiped their Gods at this place and they built a temple with a deep hole inside the mountainside considered the gates of hell. We then drove through the Golan Heights’ to view the Syrian border and had lunch at Druze restaurant. Next stop, Tabgha where Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes, then we visited the Primacy of Peter on the bank of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus laid out a breakfast of bread and fish for the Apostles on a charcoal fire, and told Peter to "feed my sheep." And you guessed it, a church was built at each location. We had dinner at Magdalena Restaurant of the finest roasted lamb chops. The next day we drove to Capernaum for Mass in a church with a glass floor built over St. Peter’s House and visited the synagogue where Jesus said “Eat My Flesh!” Next, we enjoyed a boat ride on Sea of Galilee and viewed a ship of Jesus’ day discovered buried in sand on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. We ate St. Peter’s fish for lunch and drove to Jerusalem stopping along the way at Ein Karem to visit the Church of the Visitation. We moved our home-base to the Notre Dame Jerusalem Center across the street from the New Gate – Old City where we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city of Jerusalem. https://www.notredamecenter.org/ The next day we spent the whole day in Bethlehem where we had Mass at Shepherd’s Field and visited the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born. The following day we walked through the Old City and prayed at the stations of the cross along the Via Dolorosa, viewing the last four stations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. That afternoon we prayed at the Western Wall, enjoyed lunch at a small Lebanese restaurant and toured a fascinating Shroud of Turin exhibit. The next day began with Mass at the Garden of Gethsemane and we drove to the Mount of Olives to visit the Church of Pater Noster with 2000-year-old olive trees. A deep valley separates the Mount from Jerusalem. We had lunch at a Jewish kibbutz, drove to Mt. Zion to visit the Church of the Mary Dormition, visited the Upper Room and ended at the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. The last day we saw the Ancient Jerusalem model and toured the Shrine of the Book Museum. We toured Qumran and Jericho, swam in the Dead Sea and renewed our baptismal vows in the Jordan River at the baptismal site of Jesus. What a trip!
What hypocrisy for Protestants to say that the Roman Catholic and Orthodox sites are fakes and yet turn around and create alternative holy sites for themselves. The ranting of these protesters of Calvin and Luther have so confused their theology that they no longer know what to believe. They have become lost sheep on the side of the mountain unable to find their Sheppard. Most long for home and can see the path but just cannot quite figure out how to reach it. Just look at the schisms within their churches today. Their reliance on the doctrines of sola scriptoria (bible alone) and sola fides (faith alone) has prevented Protestants from the vast tradition, knowledge and theology that exited from the death of Christ to the Reformation in 1517 A.D.
Protestants claim not to venture outside the four corners of the Bible and they take the words literally. I pity those who take Matthew 5:29, Matthew 18:8 and Mark 9:43 literally and cut off their hand for theft or gouge out their eye for lust. Funny I do not see many maimed Protestants walking around these days. Odd thing, Protestants have no religious sites and no history and tradition. Their church history begins at 4 B.C. (approximate birthday of Christ) and ends around 100 A.D. with the death of the Apostle John and does not pick up again until around 1517 A.D. Fifteen hundred years of Catholic Church history is ignored and even disparaged. What a tired and confused group of Christians Protestants make, to disregard history simply to justify their existence outside the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.