- Feb 15, 2017
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*Disclaimer: I am not a Theologian, and do not speak for the Catholic Church. I am merely a layman, here to evangelize, and expose the error of Sola Scriptura and open people’s mind’s to the truth, of the Catholic Faith.*
So Sola Scriptura, where shall I begin? I guess I’ll start with my own testimony. The first time I ever read a Bible, it was my mother’s King James Bible. In addition to trying to understand the archaic english, there were a number of things I was totally lost over, I was like:
“Okay, so Abraham is in this land called Canaan, wherever that is, apparently it’s near Egypt, since he went there and visited Pharaoh in Egypt, and for some reason, he didn’t tell the Pharaoh that there was only One God! Also angels are appearing, out of nowhere, there’s no explanation as to what they are and where they came from! The Bible gives an account as of God creating all the plants and animals, but there are no accounts of angels, or devils for that matter, and what’s the deal with Satan? He just appears out of nowhere, as the serpent, tempts Adam and Eve, and then is gone. It doesn’t even explain that the serpent is Satan! Also what’s a Cherubim? I wish the Bible gave me more detail on that, because it sounds pretty cool with it’s flaming sword.”
Apologies if that sounded irreverent, but that’s kind of what I was thinking as I read Sacred Scriptures for the first time. I was totally confused! I had no idea what any of it meant! That’s one of the many key problems with Sola Scriptura, it’s not how the Bible works. The Bible is meant for people who already know the basics of the Faith taught through Sacred Tradition. Case in point, let’s turn to the supposed “proof-text” cited by Protestants to promote Sola Scriptura:
Sacred Scripture is profitable for the “man of God” for someone who already knows the basics of the Faith. Where did this person get the basics of the Faith? it’s got be from Sacred Scripture, because, as St. Paul just said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Sacred Scripture is meant for someone who has already become a man of God! Where did he get it? From Sacred Tradition via the Church, this where the person got the teaching to be a man of God and receive the profitabilities of Sacred Scripture.
After all, which of you Protestants would ever just hand a Bible to some random person on the street, tell them to just read it, and pray to the Holy Spirit, leave him alone completely, and never have any contact with him to help him out in anyway, and then expect him to just eventually figure out the Bible, support your ecclesial community, and show up at your congregation!?! No, Sola Scriptura is not how the Bible works!
Objection 1: No Protestant believes that one can just whip through the Bible and just know the Faith! Nor does Sola Scriptura teach that Bible clearly states that everything in it. Sola Scriptura simply states that it’s the infallible authority.
I Reply: Here’s the problem, if only the Bible is infallible, and nothing else is, how can one possibly interpret it. One memorize the Bible perfectly, verse for verse, word for word, that doesn’t make one infallible. One can learn, and be a master of Biblical Greek, that doesn’t make one infallible. One can pray the Holy Spirit all one wants, he or she will not become infallible, (and this is an even bigger problem for Calvinists who believe in total depravity. But I’m not debating with Calvinists specifically, just Protestants in general.) Sola Scriptura slams the door on that! Not to mention people -cue howls of outrage- not only among the various Protestant denominations, but even within the same denomination, will do, all-of-the-above, and will end-up coming to completely different understandings on the same verse in Scripture.
Objection 2: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, clearly says that scripture is sufficient!
I Reply: Materially sufficient, not formally sufficient. The Catholic position is that Sacred Scripture is materially sufficient, that means that the Holy Bible does contain all that is necessary for Salvation, but it is not obvious. (formally sufficient) The Holy Bible contains all the teachings of the Catholic Church including; the Papacy, the Sacraments, Devotion to Mary, Purgatory ect. ect.
The whole reason I planned this debate in the first place, is because I had started debate on Our Lady as the Living Ark of the New and Eternal Covenant, and the whole debate ultimately boiled down to, “No, no, no! You’re taking just taking all these Scripture verses and running wild with them!” Well, how do you know that? Where do you get the authority to determine what the Scripture really says, and what is just someone’s wild fantasy? That’s what we’re debating here.
Objection 3: There’s no way, those scripture passages refer to the Papacy, devotion to Mary, Purgatory, etc!
I Reply: That’s not what we’re debating here. Sola Scriptura is on trial here, not Sacred Tradition. The purpose of this debate is to show that Sacred Scripture functions with Sacred Tradition, and not Sola Scriptura. This debate is not about determining whether or not the various Catholic proof-texts, prove Catholic doctrines. Stay on topic!
Objection 4: These arguments are self-defeating, how do you know that the Catholic Church has the infallible, inerrant interpretation of Sacred Scripture!
I Reply: First of all, notice that this doesn’t solve the problem at all. If the Catholic Church doesn’t have the correct interpretation of Divine Revelation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, well, then Christianity is finished! It is as Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman said, it’s either Catholicism or Atheism! If one rejects Catholicism and follows this rejection of Catholicism to it’s logical conclusion, one will become an Atheist.
Now in regards to one can know if the Catholic Church has the correct understanding of Divine Revelation? Well, I’ll approach this from the view of Catholicism vs Atheism, and see if I can find the truth. First I’ll see whether or not there is a God, I examine the arguments for and against God, I find that without God, reality doesn’t make any sense. Next, I see whether or not Jesus Christ really existed, and I find that Jesus Christ truly was an historical character. I examine the historicity of Jesus Resurrection, and I find that, in a sense, it would be easier for one to try and disprove the existence of God, than to prove that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. Finally I turn to what Jesus taught, what is His message to us? For that, I turn to the writings of the early Christians, what did they believe Our Lord’s message was? I find that they believed quite a number of things: They believed in praying for the dead; they believed in having authority figures over their communities called “bishops;” they believed in worshipping Jesus in very special way, headed by a consecrated priest, and that when that priest spoke special words over the bread and wine on the altar, that bread and wine became the really became the body, blood, soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ truly present under the guise of bread and wine! Thus, the early Christians believed everything the Catholic Church teaches, and thus the Catholic Church, is the One True Church established by Jesus Christ. (Albeit, is the question of the Orthodox Churches, and other Churches that accept Sacred Tradition, but that’s a whole other topic for another time.)
I’m going to be busy throughout the whole day finishing my College assignment, so I won’t be here until the evening, if that. I ask my fellow-Catholics to engage in this debate for me, while I’m away. My activity will be very slow, as I’ll be busy with College work throughout most of the month.
Ave Maria!!!
So Sola Scriptura, where shall I begin? I guess I’ll start with my own testimony. The first time I ever read a Bible, it was my mother’s King James Bible. In addition to trying to understand the archaic english, there were a number of things I was totally lost over, I was like:
“Okay, so Abraham is in this land called Canaan, wherever that is, apparently it’s near Egypt, since he went there and visited Pharaoh in Egypt, and for some reason, he didn’t tell the Pharaoh that there was only One God! Also angels are appearing, out of nowhere, there’s no explanation as to what they are and where they came from! The Bible gives an account as of God creating all the plants and animals, but there are no accounts of angels, or devils for that matter, and what’s the deal with Satan? He just appears out of nowhere, as the serpent, tempts Adam and Eve, and then is gone. It doesn’t even explain that the serpent is Satan! Also what’s a Cherubim? I wish the Bible gave me more detail on that, because it sounds pretty cool with it’s flaming sword.”
Apologies if that sounded irreverent, but that’s kind of what I was thinking as I read Sacred Scriptures for the first time. I was totally confused! I had no idea what any of it meant! That’s one of the many key problems with Sola Scriptura, it’s not how the Bible works. The Bible is meant for people who already know the basics of the Faith taught through Sacred Tradition. Case in point, let’s turn to the supposed “proof-text” cited by Protestants to promote Sola Scriptura:
“All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice, That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 DR (emphasis added)
Sacred Scripture is profitable for the “man of God” for someone who already knows the basics of the Faith. Where did this person get the basics of the Faith? it’s got be from Sacred Scripture, because, as St. Paul just said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Sacred Scripture is meant for someone who has already become a man of God! Where did he get it? From Sacred Tradition via the Church, this where the person got the teaching to be a man of God and receive the profitabilities of Sacred Scripture.
After all, which of you Protestants would ever just hand a Bible to some random person on the street, tell them to just read it, and pray to the Holy Spirit, leave him alone completely, and never have any contact with him to help him out in anyway, and then expect him to just eventually figure out the Bible, support your ecclesial community, and show up at your congregation!?! No, Sola Scriptura is not how the Bible works!
Objection 1: No Protestant believes that one can just whip through the Bible and just know the Faith! Nor does Sola Scriptura teach that Bible clearly states that everything in it. Sola Scriptura simply states that it’s the infallible authority.
I Reply: Here’s the problem, if only the Bible is infallible, and nothing else is, how can one possibly interpret it. One memorize the Bible perfectly, verse for verse, word for word, that doesn’t make one infallible. One can learn, and be a master of Biblical Greek, that doesn’t make one infallible. One can pray the Holy Spirit all one wants, he or she will not become infallible, (and this is an even bigger problem for Calvinists who believe in total depravity. But I’m not debating with Calvinists specifically, just Protestants in general.) Sola Scriptura slams the door on that! Not to mention people -cue howls of outrage- not only among the various Protestant denominations, but even within the same denomination, will do, all-of-the-above, and will end-up coming to completely different understandings on the same verse in Scripture.
Objection 2: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, clearly says that scripture is sufficient!
I Reply: Materially sufficient, not formally sufficient. The Catholic position is that Sacred Scripture is materially sufficient, that means that the Holy Bible does contain all that is necessary for Salvation, but it is not obvious. (formally sufficient) The Holy Bible contains all the teachings of the Catholic Church including; the Papacy, the Sacraments, Devotion to Mary, Purgatory ect. ect.
The whole reason I planned this debate in the first place, is because I had started debate on Our Lady as the Living Ark of the New and Eternal Covenant, and the whole debate ultimately boiled down to, “No, no, no! You’re taking just taking all these Scripture verses and running wild with them!” Well, how do you know that? Where do you get the authority to determine what the Scripture really says, and what is just someone’s wild fantasy? That’s what we’re debating here.
Objection 3: There’s no way, those scripture passages refer to the Papacy, devotion to Mary, Purgatory, etc!
I Reply: That’s not what we’re debating here. Sola Scriptura is on trial here, not Sacred Tradition. The purpose of this debate is to show that Sacred Scripture functions with Sacred Tradition, and not Sola Scriptura. This debate is not about determining whether or not the various Catholic proof-texts, prove Catholic doctrines. Stay on topic!
Objection 4: These arguments are self-defeating, how do you know that the Catholic Church has the infallible, inerrant interpretation of Sacred Scripture!
I Reply: First of all, notice that this doesn’t solve the problem at all. If the Catholic Church doesn’t have the correct interpretation of Divine Revelation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, well, then Christianity is finished! It is as Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman said, it’s either Catholicism or Atheism! If one rejects Catholicism and follows this rejection of Catholicism to it’s logical conclusion, one will become an Atheist.
Now in regards to one can know if the Catholic Church has the correct understanding of Divine Revelation? Well, I’ll approach this from the view of Catholicism vs Atheism, and see if I can find the truth. First I’ll see whether or not there is a God, I examine the arguments for and against God, I find that without God, reality doesn’t make any sense. Next, I see whether or not Jesus Christ really existed, and I find that Jesus Christ truly was an historical character. I examine the historicity of Jesus Resurrection, and I find that, in a sense, it would be easier for one to try and disprove the existence of God, than to prove that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. Finally I turn to what Jesus taught, what is His message to us? For that, I turn to the writings of the early Christians, what did they believe Our Lord’s message was? I find that they believed quite a number of things: They believed in praying for the dead; they believed in having authority figures over their communities called “bishops;” they believed in worshipping Jesus in very special way, headed by a consecrated priest, and that when that priest spoke special words over the bread and wine on the altar, that bread and wine became the really became the body, blood, soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ truly present under the guise of bread and wine! Thus, the early Christians believed everything the Catholic Church teaches, and thus the Catholic Church, is the One True Church established by Jesus Christ. (Albeit, is the question of the Orthodox Churches, and other Churches that accept Sacred Tradition, but that’s a whole other topic for another time.)
I’m going to be busy throughout the whole day finishing my College assignment, so I won’t be here until the evening, if that. I ask my fellow-Catholics to engage in this debate for me, while I’m away. My activity will be very slow, as I’ll be busy with College work throughout most of the month.
Ave Maria!!!