Home of Rhett & Link fans - the Mythical Beasts!
Hello, brothers and sisters! I'm very excited to be part of such a passionate group of people.
I have noticed in the past that a lot of other Christians are confused or unsure of what my church is all about. I was in the same boat for most of my life, as I was raised Lutheran before I found my way to Catholicism. It took a lot of careful study to unravel the confusion and misinformation I had grown up with, so I just want to be available to foster honest dialogue.
Ask me anything you want about Catholicism, and I will answer respectfully and honestly. And if you want to answer the same question about your denomination, I would love to hear what you have to say on the subject as well.
Some Notes
1. This is not a discussion meant to shake anyone's faith or question anyone's theological foundations. It is just meant to allow us to understand each other better.
2. Abusive language is not dialogue, as per the Kommunity Guidelines. Be nice, but ask any questions you have.
3. Other Catholics are welcome to answer the questions posted here as well, but please make sure you know the answer. I will be using Sacred Scripture and the Catechism to explain Catholic Theology, not my personal opinions on the subject. The Catholic Church is a big place with a diversity of personal takes, but I want to focus on the core of our theology as that is my field of study.
4. I'll pray for everyone who posts here. Please return the favor and pray for me. I know of no soul who is not aided by prayer.
Let's get to it!
Yours in Christ,
EG
Tags:
The Catholic Church's official position on our relationship to Sacred Scripture is that Scripture has primacy since it is the inspired Word of God. We believe it was written by human authors but was inspired by the Holy Spirit (thus having both human and divine authorship). Because Jesus is also the Word Made Flesh, and we believe that this is the same Word, we hold Sacred Scripture as another way of experiencing communion with Jesus.
We do not believe that any other writings of the Church have been divinely inspired in that same way. However, Sacred Tradition offers a framework that helps us understand and interpret Sacred Scripture clearly, so we hold them in equal importance. (CCC 81-82)
As to authority, we listen to our teaching body, the Magisterium, made up of the pope and other bishops. They help us ensure that we all understand and believe the same things so that there can be no disputes over matters of Faith and Morals (yet as fallen creatures, these do still arise. At least we have some guidelines to help resolve conflict if all are humble enough to accept them). However, according to the Catechism:
Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. (CCC 86)
This means that the Church cannot teach anything contrary to Sacred Scripture as interpreted by Sacred Tradition, and that is the heart of the matter. Catholics believe that our church does teach in accord with Scripture. However, sometimes translation errors or misinterpretation can lead to the appearance of contradiction. Sometimes the pope makes an offhand comment that contradicts what we believe (for the record, we don't believe the pope is always right all the time or is some kind of demigod. He's still just a guy, and is only considered infallible in a very specific circumstance which you can ask me about later). Sometimes these contradictions are even deliberate on the part of some theologians who, for personal motives, try to destabilize the Church. Obviously this causes problems.
My best advice in these situations is to do self-study, to actually read the Bible and the writings of the Church Fathers for oneself, and pray that God may reveal the truth in your heart. More often than not in my experience, God reveals a straight path where once were seen only brambles, once one is willing to struggle with the material. The best recourse is Ora et Labora, prayer and work.
Even then, sometimes a Catholic just has to take it on Faith that the Church knows better than they do, but it is a hard thing to be so humble and trusting. I struggle with it myself sometimes. In the end, though, the struggle is what makes being a human so wonderful and interesting. We get to wrestle with these things in a way the rest of creation does not. It's pretty cool, when you stop and think about it. Thanks, God!
I think it definitely depends on the protestant denomination you're talking to. Contrary to what a lot of my fellow Catholics believe, I know that there is a wide range of theology in protestant circles and will not presume to speak for all with my Lutheran background. If anyone wants to weigh in, please do so.
I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment. Though I would say that we also think that anyone can understand the Bible, we just want to have an accepted interpretation available to be an authority when interpretations differ, as they sometimes do. It's less a "you'd better read it this way or else" and more a "hey, that's interesting, let's look at what biblical scholars for the last couple thousand years have said about this point to see if that can lend more insight."
I think you've definitely hit the nail on the head when it comes to our differing relationships with Tradition, though I would stress that we still think Scripture has primacy. Tradition is more the lens that helps us see it clearer, thus being equally important but less of an authority, if that makes sense.
Exactly. Note that they are considered a single deposit of faith (as in Tradition can't contradict Scripture), and that "equal sentiments of devotion and reverence" does not equate to "both of these have the same level of authority." Tradition shares in the authority of Scripture because it clarifies it, but we don't say that St. Augustine's writings were inspired by the Holy Spirit, for example.
A lot of this is semantics, but there is an important distinction here that is clarified in paragraph 83: Scripture itself is Tradition, because when we talk about Sacred Tradition
The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they received from Jesus' teaching and example [...] The first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New Testament, and the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition.
It really comes down to the question of authority. We believe that our bishops are the spiritual descendants of the Apostles, thus inheriting their authority. Because the New Testament wasn't written until long after Jesus' death, we have to rely on the oral tradition of the Apostles to fill in the blanks. We can't separate Scripture and Tradition the way that churches who are sola scriptura do. It would never occur to a Catholic to do that, because to us that would be rejecting the Apostolic Succession and the men Jesus chose to lead the Church.
I'm not saying this is what many Protestant churches have done, but from a Catholic view of Biblical Theology, we would have a hard time believing in sola scriptura. We would feel as if we were missing something, like a man in the woods who has a map but no compass.
I'm definitely enjoying this as well. It's great to be able to have this level of dialogue, and certainly helps me hone my skills as a theologian.
I'm going to be without internet tomorrow, so I won't be able to continue this chat until late tomorrow night. Just wanted to thank you and let you know that I'd love to pick up when we can.
© 2024 Created by Link. Powered by