Watch Your Teaching!: A Comparative Study of Roman Catholic and Protestant
Teaching Since Vatican Council II
By Stuart P. Garver
Christ’s Mission, 1973, 167 pages
If you are/were a Roman Catholic born during the 1950s or earlier, you can certainly remember the dramatic surface changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Pope John XXIII initiated the council to “open the windows (of the church) and let in some fresh air” of reform. Some of the alterations introduced by the council that I remember the most included the change of the liturgy of the mass from Latin to English, the priest facing the people during the mass instead of the altar, nuns’ habits (outfits) being modernized, the lifting of the ban on meat on non-Lenten Fridays, and some familiar saints being scrubbed from the church’s calendar. But perhaps the most significant change was the church’s switch from its confrontational approach to Protestantism and to the other religions of the world. After the council, Catholicism would take an ecumenical approach, especially with Protestants, with the aim of eventually recovering the “separated brethren.”
In this book, published in 1973, Stuart Garver, director of Christ’s Mission, a ministry to Roman Catholics, evaluates Catholicism in light of the reforms of Vatican II. His conclusion: despite the many superfluous changes to its window dressing, Catholicism’s erroneous doctrines remained largely intact. Most importantly, Rome’s false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit continued just as before. In the chapters listed below, Garver compares the beliefs of post-Vatican II Catholicism with Biblical Christianity:
- The Church
- The New People of God (Clergy and Laity)
- The Pope
- The Priest and the Priesthood
- The Sacraments
- The Mass
- Penance
- The Rule of Faith and Practice
- Mary
- Mixed marriages
- Ecumenism
- Education
- Church and State
Following Vatican II, many Protestants praised Catholicism’s willingness to “dialogue,” but fifty years after the council, it’s crystal clear that while some evangelical Protestants have done quite a bit of accommodating, cooperating, compromising, and outright betraying the Gospel in their efforts to court the pope and Rome, Catholicism remains dedicated to its false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit and is resolved in its efforts to eventually recover all Christian “ecclesial communities.” Sadly, many evangelicals are more interested in ecumenical unity based on deadly-shallow theology rather than heeding any warnings to “Watch Your Teaching” and defend correct doctrine.
This informative, short book is still quite relevant for today’s Catholics and evangelicals. Stuart Garver served as executive director of Christ’s Mission from 1960 to 1977. The mission began in 1879 in New York City as a ministry to Catholic priests and ex-priests but eventually shifted its outreach to Roman Catholics in general. It ceased operations in 1984.
http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/276.htm
Postscript: With this post on “Watch Your Teaching!,” I’ve now reviewed my entire collection of 70 books which compare Roman Catholicism to Biblical Christianity (see below). By listing these books, I don’t necessarily endorse all of their contents. More books and reviews to follow as time and resources permit. See all my posts on books here.
| Allison, Gregg | Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment | Crossway | 2014 |
| Allison, Gregg and Chris Castaldo | The Unfinished Reformation | Zondervan | 2016 |
| Ashe, Geoffrey | The Virgin | Routledge | 1976 |
| Bennett, Richard | Catholicism: East of Eden | Berean Beacon Press | 2005 |
| Bennett, Richard | Far from Rome, Near to God | The Banner of Truth Trust | 2009 |
| Bennett, Richard | The Truth Set Us Free | Solid Ground Christian Books | 2010 |
| Bennett, Richard | On the Wings of Grace Alone | Solid Ground Christian Books | 2015 |
| Boettner, Loraine | Roman Catholicism | Presbyterian & Reformed | 1983 |
| Brewer, Bartholomew | Pilgrimage from Rome | Bob Jones University Press | 1982 |
| Caddock, John | Brennan Manning’s “New Monks” & Their Dangerous Contemplative Monasticism | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2013 |
| Castaldo, Chris | Holy Ground | Zondervan | 2009 |
| Castaldo, Chris | Talking with Catholics about the Gospel: A Guide for Evangelicals | Zondervan | 2015 |
| Chiniquy, Charles | The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional | Chick Publications | 1979 |
| Conroy, Helen | Forgotten Women in Convents | Christ’s Mission | 1960 |
| De Chirico, Leonardo | A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Papacy: Its origin and role in the 21st century | Christian Focus | 2014 |
| Dombrowski, David | My Journey Out Of Catholicism | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2013 |
| Garrett, James Leo | Baptists and Roman Catholicism | Broadman Press | 1965 |
| Garver, Stuart P. | Watch Your Teaching! | Christ’s Mission | 1973 |
| Geisler, Norman and Ralph MacKenzie | Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences | Baker Book House | 1995 |
| Gilbert, Mark | Stepping Out in Faith | Matthias Media | 2012 |
| Hendrie, Edward | Murder, Rape, and Torture in a Catholic Nunnery | Great Mountain Publishing | 2015 |
| Hislop, Alexander | The Two Babylons | Loizeaux Brothers | 1959 |
| Horton, Michael | Evangelicals, Catholics, and Unity | White Horse Inn Publishers | 2012 |
| Hunt, Dave | A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days | Harvest House Publishers | 1994 |
| Jones, Rick | Understanding Roman Catholicism | Chick Publications | 1995 |
| Kauffman, Timothy F. | Geese in Their Hoods: Selected Writings on Roman Catholicism by Charles Spurgeon | White Horse Publications | 1997 |
| Lambert, O.C. | Roman Catholicism Against Itself, Vol. 1 | Published by author | 1954 |
| Lambert, O.C. | Roman Catholicism Against Itself, Vol. 2 | Published by author | 1965 |
| Lehmann, L. H. | Out of the Labyrinth | Chick Publications | 1982 |
| Longenecker, Dwight and David Gustafson | Mary: A Catholic-Evangelical Debate | Brazos Press | 2003 |
| Lott, Tim | Growing Up Catholic | Abundant Publishing Company | 2007 |
| Lutzer, Erwin | Rescuing the Gospel: The Story and Significance of the Reformation | Baker Books | 2016 |
| MacArthur, John | Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern | Crossway | 1994 |
| Marie, Ann | A Former Nun Speaks Candidly | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2016 |
| Martin, Walter | The Roman Catholic Church in History | Christian Research Institute | 1960 |
| McCarthy, James | Roman Catholicism: What You Need To Know | Harvest House Publishers | 1995 |
| McCarthy, James | The Gospel According to Rome | Harvest House Publishers | 1995 |
| McCarthy, James | What Every Catholic Should Ask | Harvest House Publishers | 1999 |
| McCarthy, James | Letters Between a Catholic and an Evangelical | Harvest House Publishers | 2003 |
| McCarthy, James | Talking with Catholic Friends and Family | Harvest House Publishers | 2005 |
| Miller, Elliot and Kenneth Samples | The Cult of the Virgin: Catholic Mariology and the Apparitions of Mary | Baker Book House | 1992 |
| Montano, Walter M. | Behind the Purple Curtain | Cowman Publications | 1950 |
| Moyer, Robert | Was Peter the First Pope? | Sword of the Lord Publishers | 2005 |
| Oakland, Roger | The New Evangelization From Rome or Finding the True Jesus Christ | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2013 |
| Oakland, Roger | The Jesuit Agenda and the Evangelical/Protestant Church | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2013 |
| Oakland, Roger | Rick Warren’s Dangerous Ecumenical Pathway to Rome | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2015 |
| Oakland, Roger | The Catholic Mary & Her Eucharistic Christ | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2015 |
| Oakland, Roger | Another Jesus? The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2007 |
| Paris, Edmond | The Secret History of the Jesuits | Chick Publications | 1983 |
| Reed, Kevin | Making Shipwreck of the Faith: Evangelicals and Roman Catholics Together | Protestant Heritage Press | 1995 |
| Rhodes, Ron | The 10 Most Important Things You Can Say to a Catholic | Harvest House Publishers | 2002 |
| Rice, John | Dear Catholic Friend | Sword of the Lord Publishers | ? |
| Rice, John | Sermon from a Catholic Bible | Sword of the Lord Publishers | ? |
| Rone, Wendell Holmes | The Baptist Faith and Roman Catholicism | Kingsport Press | 1952 |
| Schreiner, Thomas | Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification | Zondervan | 2015 |
| Shepherd, Margaret | My Life in the Convent | Book and Bible House | 1946 |
| Sproul, R. C. | Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification | Baker Books | 1995 |
| Sproul, R. C. | Getting the Gospel Right | Baker Books | 1999 |
| Sproul, R. C. | Are We Together? | Reformation Trust Publishing | 2012 |
| Svendsen, Eric | Evangelical Answers: A Critique of Current Roman Catholic Apologists | Reformation Press | 1999 |
| Tetlow, Jim | Messages from Heaven | Eternal Productions | 2002 |
| Tetlow, Jim | Queen of All | Eternal Productions | 2006 |
| Webster, William | The Church of Rome at the Bar of History | Banner of Truth | 1997 |
| White, James | The Roman Catholic Controversy | Bethany House Publishers | 1996 |
| White, James | Mary – Another Redeemer? | Bethany House Publishers | 1998 |
| Woodrow, Ralph | Babylon Mystery Religion | Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association | 1981 |
| Yungen, Ray | Pope Francis and the Thomas Merton Connection | Lighthouse Trails Publishing | 2015 |
| Zachello, Joseph | Secrets of Romanism | Loizeaux Brothers | 1983 |
| Zins, Robert | Romanism: The Relentless Roman Catholic Assault on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! | White Horse Publications | 1995 |
| Zins, Robert | On the Edge of Apostasy: The Evangelical Romance with Rome | White Horse Publications | 1998 |
excatholic4christ 
You’re becoming a historian of books on RC.
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It was quite a project for a couple of years but now it will be a new book added only every once in a while.
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You know this made me think back…did we first encounter each other’s blog because of a book on Catholicism? Well, maybe not direct but it was Schriener’s “Faith Alone” book wasn’t it?
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Yup, I think that was it. I wasn’t at all pleased with the following book in the series, “God’s Glory Alone,” but I see the next book is now available, “God’s Word Alone.”
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Wow thanks fro the heads up…I wonder how that book will turn out…
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I hope the author ties it into Reformation history. The author of God’s Glory Alone, David VanDrunen, somehow forgot to do that or it wasn’t important to him. Imagine a book about one of the 5 Solas of the Reformation, which never once mentions Catholicism’s heretical teachings on veneration/worship; e.g., veneration of the pope, saints, Mary, relics, cardinals, priests, etc. That was VanDrunen’s God’s Glory Alone.
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Tom, brother, you are to be commended, The work you do, you do for all of us, for the Body of Christ.
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Thanks, sister! I’m just an unworthy servant who imperfectly does what he’s been equipped and commanded to do by the Lord. But your encouragement is appreciated! Your posts, including your recent short videos on the Reformation, are a great encouragement to me!
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Tom, glad to encourage you and thank you for encouraging me, for fellowship in the Gospel!
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