Hey everyone, I apologize about the week delay. I’ve been having a lot of work, being newly back to school, and am excited to be back to what I love: Theology!!
Last time I left off with a discourse showing why Catholics reject the Bible-Alone (Sola Scriptura) theory of Protestant-Christian theology. And I briefly covered (indirectly) what other authorities we turn to.
The Sacred Scriptures are full of theological, historical, and liturgical truths, along with prophesies, metaphors, and parables. If it were to be the only authority in the life of a Christian, the scriptures would be much more clear and explicit in all it’s teachings. Instead, the Bible is the most disputed book in all of human civilization. The world is full of over 33,000 different denominations of Christians, with 33,000 different interpretations of scripture. Bible verses can be presented and twisted in such a way to justify, literally, ANY point of view. Among all this confusion, how is a Christian to know which interpretation is the real truth of Jesus Christ?
There’s a simple answer. God gave us the scriptures to present the truths he wanted taught, but He established a Church to teach those truths in a clear and concise way.
See the first part of this lesson for some scriptural proofs to the authority of the Pope and bishops (and write them down, highlight them in your Bible, whatever it takes to learn them; all Catholics should know these).
We know from the Bible itself that Scripture is not for personal interpretation; that we need an authority, so we may be “guided into all truth.”(John 16:13) 2 Peter 1:20-21 2 Peter 3:16 Acts 8:30-31
In addition to the Bible, one theological authority is the teaching ability of the Catholic Church, known as the Magestarium of the Church.
In his pamphlet, “Confession of a Roman Catholic,” Paul Whitcomb, a convert to the Catholic Church, says:
“Clear as day I saw in Sacred Scripture that Christ’s True church is not the ‘learning’ church I had always believed it to be, but is manifestly a TEACHING church. Moreover it was quite evident that Christ’s true church is an INFALLIBLE teacher, never liable to teach false doctrine.”
Mr. Whitcomb’s revelation is best supported by the following scriptures: Matt 18:17-18; 28:18-20 John 20:21 John 14:25-26; 15:26-27 Luke 10:16 1 Tim 3:14-15
Mr. Whitcomb goes on to make a very profound statement:
“Instead of being a teacher of God’s truth, the Bible is a catalog of the truths God wants taught, and taught so that all Christian generations, including the blind and illiterate of the generations, can hear and understand. Hence the Church.”
From this teaching authority we have the unbroken traditions from the Apostles handed down to their Bishop successors, some of which are not explicitly described in scripture (though any catholic teaching can be found in scriptures, its just that some are implied.)
I’ve said before in these lessons that St. Paul encouraged and praised his parishioners for holding steadfast to the traditions handed on by him. 2 Thess 2:15 1 Cor 11:2
So, for Catholics, the three sources for theological authority are Sacred Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and The Teaching Authority of the Catholic Church.
Once again don’t forget to stay updated with the blog (lambs-supper.blogspot.com)! In my next couple lessons I plan on tackling the sacraments=]
So get to thinking about Baptism, Confession, Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick. Send me some questions on those.
I pray for all the readers of my blog and those on my email list, that the Lord will bless you and your family and grant peace in your life.
Peace in Christ
Luke.
No comments:
Post a Comment