Sola fide is protestantism and they're heretics anyway. Catholics believe one must do good deeds to get into heaven, and abstain from bad deeds, and prevent others from doing evil deeds
As a Jew who has studied church history from the outside, I find the whole "heretics" accusation fascinating in its irony.
You’re all reading the same texts, mostly written by Jews, in a Jewish cultural setting, using Jewish rhetorical forms, and somehow you’ve decided you know exactly what Jesus meant and that the other guys, who also worship Jesus, are too far gone to save.
You're all reading the same book(s), arguing over footnotes that didn't even exist until the Middle Ages, and acting like you've got Jesus on speed dial.
The whole "sola fide vs. good works" debate is a perfect example.
Protestants yell "faith alone!" Catholics yell "faith plus works!" And both sides whip out Bible verses believing the textual support for their position is the infallible word of God...when the debate itself proves them both wrong.
Paul says one thing, James says another, and somehow, 2,000 years later, y'all are still yelling about who's getting into heaven correctly.
Arguing over scripture is fine - Jews do that, too - but when one group decides the other group isn’t just wrong, but heretical? Like, eternally wrong? Like "burning forever" wrong?
Y'all look really silly from the outside.
Especially when neither version of Christianity looks anything like what Jesus or his disciples practiced.
Neither of your systems existed in the time of Jesus. Luther's sola fide was new in the 1500s. Catholic sacramental theology (the full "seven sacraments," "penance earns grace," "don’t forget indulgences!" thing) was centuries in the making.
Both sides are standing on 1,500+ years of edits, additions, rewrites, and political compromises
But sure, let's pretend one of you is preserving the One True Faith.
From a Jewish perspective, it's like watching two people fight over the best way to honor your grandfather… but neither of them ever met him, both are working from badly translated copies of his journal, and neither one speaks his language.
But they'll still tell you - loudly, confidently, and often - that the other guy is doing it wrong.
And meanwhile, the people who wrote these texts were arguing too. Paul and James clearly didn't agree on everything. The early church was consumed with debates...because Jews.
The Christian thinkers I take most seriously don't waste any time on this kind of thing. They know their own history, their own theology, and their own ethics too well.
