Asceticism, Neo-Gnosticism, & A Brief History of the Catholic Rosary

(Disclaimer: In this post I am addressing the doctrines and teaching of Catholicism and the Catholic Magisterium, not individuals who identify as Catholic. I recognize it is not because of, but in spite of the false teachings of the Catholic Church, that there are truly regenerated Christians within the Catholic community. When I refer to “Catholics” in this post, I am referring to the Roman Catholic Church and Catholicism as a doctrinal whole. It is with love for the Catholic people that this post is written to expose the false teachings of the Catholic Magisterium so that those who know Christ may come out of her and those that do not may come to faith.)

(See also: The Ark & the Bride: The Catholic Doctrine of Mary)

The rosary is something of an enigma to Protestant Christians. When asking Catholics to explain where the practice of praying the rosary is in Scripture, their typical assertion is that the rosary is scripture. Each “mystery” meditated on during the recitation of the rosary comprises some aspect of the life of Jesus, from the announcement of his birth to his ascension. And it’s true that the content is almost word-for-word taken from scripture. So what’s the problem?

As a Protestant, a general survey of the contents may leave you feeling that the practice of praying the rosary is a bit foreign to you, but harmless. Perhaps even beneficial. But an examination of its history and form tells a different story.

Photo by Emily Abreu on Unsplash

The History of the Rosary

The Catholic rosary’s earliest form began around 500 AD and took about 1,000 years to evolve into its modern form. It was given the name of the “rosary” in 1597.

The word “rosary” comes from the latin word rosarium, meaning “rose garden.” Roses symbolize beauty and perfection and this name was given because the collection of beads were compared to a bouquet of roses—a bouquet of “perfect” prayers.

“In the early 13th century, St. Dominic preached the Gospel to combat various heresies, and he founded the Order of the Dominicans to carry out this work of spreading the Good News. Despite their efforts, the heresy continued to reappear, however, so he called on the Blessed Virgin Mary to guide him. Tradition holds that Mary appeared to him in 1221 and gave him the devotion of the Rosary, encouraging him to share the prayer with others. Many also believe that the historical origin of the Rosary lies in the monastic practice of reciting 150 Psalms each week, a practice which additionally expanded into the repetition of Hail Mary’s.”¹

Despite being known as a “Christian” practice, the rosary is not unique to Catholicism, nor is it Christian. Even so, the rosary is quickly taking root among indiscriminate evangelicals through platforms like the Hallow app, shows like The Chosen, and contemporary Christian music—all of which are popularizing Catholic practices through an ecumenical appeal for unity.

The use of prayer beads stretches back into ancient history (no one really knows their origin), and the practice of counting prayers with beads or a knotted cord is part of “virtually every major religious tradition in the world.”² This alone should be enough to give us pause before embracing it in the church. In Buddhism prayer beads are called malas. Hinduism uses the japa mala to count the recitation of mantras during meditation. In Islam, Muslims carry beads known as the subha. And, similar to Catholicism, Eastern and Russian Orthodox as well as Anglican traditions have versions of the rosary that date farther back than the Catholic rosary. The orthodox versions are typically reserved for monks.³ Ironically, the extreme asceticism of monks is one of the keys in the evolution of this practice from pagan to “Christian.” But the other key, and the place we have to start to understand this evolution, is monasticism’s equal but opposite threat to biblical Christianity: the long arm of empire.

The Force of the Roman Empire

In 312 AD, Constantine, the ruler of the Western Roman Empire, a Roman pagan by all accounts, and a member of the cult of Sol Invictus, prayed for victory before going into battle at the Milvian Bridge. Church historian Eusebius and Lactantius, an adviser to Constantine, give an account that Constantine had a vision wherein he saw an image and the words “In Hoc Signo Vinces,” meaning “In this sign, conquer.” There is dispute over whether he saw the sign of the cross or the Greek letters chi and rho overlapping to form another famous symbol associated with Christianity, but Constantine was successful and deemed the Christian God as the reason for his victory.⁴

Upon his “conversion” (there is little evidence that it was genuine), he “legalized” Christianity in 313. Christianity was not “illegal” prior to his conversion, but the religious structure of the Roman empire truly embodied what Revelation says about life as a Christian in the infant years of the church:

“Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” - Revelation 13:16-17

But with Constantine’s Edict of Milan, Christians who were formerly barred from the bulk of commerce because of their exclusion from socially essential associations were welcomed to the table of the trade guilds alongside other cults within the empire. It was now not just acceptable to be a Christian, but proved to be advantageous for reasons other than salvation as time went on:

“While native cults and traditions remained, Constantine favored Christians both financially and theologically. As their supreme patron, Constantine endowed Christians with funds to build their basilicas and to acquire property, returned confiscated property, named Christians to high-ranking offices, and exempted Christian clergy from taxes. In theological support, his position as head of the Church as well as the empire contributed to imperial dictates that promoted Christian unity of belief.”⁵

This was further bolstered by Theodosius in 380 AD who “issued an edict prescribing a creed that was to be binding on all subjects. Only persons who believed in the consubstantiality of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were henceforth to be considered Catholic Christians.”⁶ Under this edict, it was now not just advantageous to voluntarily adopt Christianity but required by the state. A new influx of involuntary adherents came into the Christian church bringing their pagan practices with them; it’s also the age in which the Catholic Church is first documented. The Roman Catholic Church was, in fact, created by Constantine with the marriage of church and state.

The Influence of Monasticism

Whenever the pendulum swings hard one direction, it tries to self-correct by swinging hard the other direction. Constantine’s adoration of Christianity and Theodosius’ mandating of it was a hard swing. Pagans were flocking to Christianity, no doubt to win the favor of the emperor, leaving Christianity wide open to the infiltration of false disciples whose conversion cost them nothing, unlike the early church martyrs who paid in starvation and with their lives. Roman “Christianity” became the lap of luxury. Enter the Fathers of Monasticism in the 3rd century.

Disillusioned with the widespread acceptance, subsequent mandating, and, consequently, the casualness of Christianity, the desert monks appeared with rules for an ascetic lifestyle. Basil of Caesurea was considered the father of eastern monasticism and Benedict of Nursia was considered the father of western monasticism.⁷

The Perfect Storm for the Adoption of Ignorant Tradition

Unfortunately, despite the probable good intentions of reclaiming simplicity, seriousness, and humility in the Christian life, monasticism introduced a number of unbiblical practices through its philosophy of asceticism. (Asceticism, meaning, “the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal.”)⁸

One of these ascetic practices, as mentioned above, was the repetition of the Psalms in prayer. First using stones and, later, knotted cords to keep track of repetitions, the practice evolved to include other prayers. This was especially the case as common people, who could not read, began to adopt the practice. The Hail Mary prayer was short and memorable and not perceived to be unbiblical through the middle ages as the scriptures were kept from the laity. In other words, nobody knew better.

The combination of mandated Catholic Christianity with its influx of nominal Christians, and lack of access to the biblical text for its converts created the perfect storm for an empire-backed clergy to import manmade tradition without opposition. (This forceful arm paired with ignorance of scripture was what lead to the brutal inquisitions of the middle ages and the protestant reformation once scripture was made available in common languages.)

The Evolution of Vain Repetition

Though its contents have changed, one thing this meditative practice has not lost through time is its repetitive form. In the recitation of the rosary, the Our Father prayer is repeated 6 times, the Glory Be 5 times, and the Hail Mary is repeated no less than 50 times. The rosary is described by Catholics as a prayer par excellence. “It is nothing more than to meditate on the Gospel, with the Hail Mary as background music.”⁹

This is not the sort of meditating meant to engage the mind, but is meant to empty the mind, not unlike the meditation of the new age, which also chooses a particular focus while repeating a mantra. Only in Catholicism, the focus is on a specific gospel mystery rather than the breath or a positive affirmation. This is something Christ commanded not to do in Matthew 6:7 when he taught us how to pray:

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

This was not just an obscure reference, but a definitive warning against the repetition of mantras prolific throughout pagan religions. Instead, Christ teaches us to pray to the Father—not to Mary—with personal praise, thanksgiving and petitions.

Asceticism Vs. Biblical Self-Denial

Repetitious prayers are an ascetic and ritualistic practice. Asceticism aims to beat the body into submission in order to achieve godlikeness. There is a biblical precedent for putting to death the deeds of the flesh (1 Cor. 9:24-17; Rom. 8:13), but this is for the purpose of serving one another and denying sin out of love for God. However, the Christian faith is not a navel-gazing religion concerned with achieving personal holiness through ascetic means. Paul warns against this kind of asceticism:

“Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,” - Col. 2:18

“These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” - Col. 2:23

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” - 1 Tim. 4:1-5

The Goal of the Christian Life vs. the Goal of Ascetic Religion

In Christianity, the process of humans taking part in the divine is called “theosis.” Biblical theosis is achieved by faith in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. We are hidden in him and are able to partake of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:3-4). In contrast, the practice of the rosary bears more resemblance to pagan processes of “theosis” which is achieved by man’s efforts to become more like God. This is most often expressed in the asceticism Paul warned against.

The denying of the body Paul encourages is not through manmade traditions, but denying the flesh of its desire to sin against God and others. Manmade practices are self-focused. But biblical self-denial prefers others. The heart of the monastic movement was to focus on the self and created an unbiblical separation from the world in order to achieve holiness. Ironically, the opposite often results (John 6:63). It is not when we sequester ourselves from the world that we are most like Christ, but when we prefer others by “becoming all things to all men” (1 Cor. 9:22) that we are most like him. Truly we are called to be “in the world, but not of it” as Jesus prayed on our behalf:

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” - John 17:15

The paradigm of the Christian life is not that we must work to make ourselves more holy. God is the one who does the work of making us holy through sanctification. And though we participate in our sanctification, it is ultimately done to us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:30-31; Phil. 1:6) so that we can concern ourselves with aiding others in their sanctification (Heb. 10:24-25; Gal. 5:13; 1 Thess. 5:11). This is not so in other religions, including Catholicism, which are almost totally consumed with achieving personal holiness. And it must be this way with their view of justification! In Catholicism, one is not set free to do good works in Christ, but is instead obligated to do good works to maintain the initial justification merited by Christ. Otherwise, justification can be lost.

Out of this mindset of self-focus, the use of prayer beads originated and the practice of the rosary came to be.

The Neo-Gnosticism of the Catholic Tradition

While biblical holiness is wrought upon a person by the Holy Spirit through justification, sanctification and, ultimately, glorification, Catholicism sees holiness as developing much the same way a gnostic would. While scripture teaches that Christ’s righteousness is fully imputed to us, the Catholic receives “infusions” of grace from God through sacramental acts, which enable him to produce his own righteousness and, thus, accelerate his “theosis.”

In matters of confession, Catholicism can’t be directly compared to classic gnosticism, as the Catholic Church affirms the biblical account. But in matters of practice, Catholicism embodies what can only be described as a neo-gnosticism that prefers manmade tradition and subjective experience over the revealed truth of scripture. This can be observed in the historic structure of the church, which barred “knowledge” from the common man. (They still do this by convincing the laity that the Catholic Church is the only body that can properly interpret scripture.) It can be seen in the church’s prescription of tradition by an elite few via special revelation. Similar to gnosticism, the “God of the Old Testament,” and even Christ himself, are seen as unapproachable so that Catholics are encouraged to make their appeals to Mary through prayers like the rosary—again, an extra-biblical tradition openly taught by the Catholic Church as coming from a select few who received esoteric knowledge through visions:

“The word Rosary means ‘Crown of Roses’. Our Lady has revealed to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses. The rose is the queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of all devotions and it is, therefore, the most important one… It is a simple prayer, humble much like Mary. It is a prayer we can all say together with her, the Mother of God. With the Hail Mary we invite her to pray for us. Our Lady always grants our request. She joins her prayer to ours. Therefore, it becomes ever more useful, because what Mary asks she always receives, Jesus can never say no to whatever His Mother asks for. In every apparition, the heavenly Mother has invited us to pray the Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil that brings us to true peace.”¹⁰

The Promises of the Rosary

As much as the rosary is considered a sacramental act that “brings true peace,” it also brings holiness. In fact, speaking of secret knowledge and subjective experience, Mary had many promises for those who participate in this practice. According to the Dominican Friars Foundation:

“Many readers of BlackFriars have shared with us that devoutly praying the Rosary has brought them graces of a more personal nature, such as healing and the fulfillment of long desired prayer intentions.

The benefits of what Pope St. John Paul II called ‘an exquisitely contemplative prayer’ were enumerated in a special way by a 15th century Dominican friar. According to the tradition, Alanus de Rupe received the following 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary devoutly from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself through a private revelation. We hope that they encourage you in meditating on the mysteries of Christ by praying the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

1. Those who faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell. It will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. The recitation of the Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish. It will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God. It will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

6. Those who recite my Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. In His justice, God will not chastise them; nor shall they perish by an unprovided death, i.e., be unprepared for heaven. Sinners shall convert. The just shall persevere in grace and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Those who have a true devotion to the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who faithfully recite the Rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plenitude of His graces. At the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

11. By the recitation of the Rosary you shall obtain all that you ask of me.

12. Those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of their death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my beloved children and the brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion for my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.”¹¹

To put it bluntly: This is the doctrine of demons.

Who is our authority?

The Catholic Church presents all kinds of apologetics for their tradition, for the veneration of and prayer to Mary, and the practice of the rosary. But it all hangs by one thread: special revelation given to an elite few. The Catholic tradition functions similarly to Mormonism, the New Apostolic Reformation, Islam, and every other manmade religion. Depending on one extra-biblical authority and exercising their faith through ascetic practices mandated by that authority, these cults share more characteristics with gnosticism than Christianity, no matter how many times they use the name of Jesus. Catholicism is no exception. The rosary is just one example of Catholicism’s preference for mysticism and manmade tradition over God’s word. Ultimately, we must answer one question to delineate between biblical Christianity and a counterfeit: who is our authority?

Will we defer our faith to a manmade authority born out of the Roman empire claiming special revelation in contradiction to scripture? A tyrant which locked the gospel away for centuries, simultaneously forcing conversion and asceticism on unbelievers and then murdering them for secretly dissenting? Or will we entrust ourselves to the authority of Christ alone by faith alone through grace alone to the glory of God alone as he revealed himself in scripture alone?

There’s only one door to enter heaven, and, despite what the so-called “Blessed Virgin” promises, no amount of repeated prayers will get you there.

1. https://hallow.com/blog/how-to-pray-the-rosary/

2. https://www.britannica.com/topic/rosary

3. https://www.britannica.com/topic/rosary

4. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1737/constantines-conversion-to-christianity/

5. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1737/constantines-conversion-to-christianity/

6. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodosius-I

7. https://www.dbu.edu/mitchell/ancient-christian-resources/monasticoverview.html

8. https://www.britannica.com/topic/asceticism

9. https://bondsofmarianlove.com/catechism/

10. https://bondsofmarianlove.com/catechism/

11. https://dominicanfriars.org/the-15-promises-of-the-rosary/