Can I trust Margaret Ralph Nutting?

[DoughnutGuy]

I was recently lent a book on the Bible, called ‘the Bible and the End of the World: Should We Be Afraid?’, by Margaret Ralph Nutting. The book was published by Paulist Press in 1997, at a time when all sorts of people were misinterpreting the Bible into thinking the end of the world was at hand. It has no imprimatur or nihil obstat. Nonetheless, it seemed to me to be a very helpful book, with much to commend it. It explains the context of the Bible and the various errors into which people, especially fundamentalists, fall. At times, however, it seemed to stray dangerously close to denying the reality of hell and the Fall. Therefore, I decided to do a little research into the author.

I soon found that the author has also written a book called, “Why the Catholic Church Must Change: A Necessary Conversation”. That really set the alarm bells ringing. Worse, the Amazon summary contains this astounding description: “Margaret Nutting Ralph first affirms that Catholics are called to seek the truth and to follow their well-formed consciences, not simply to submit mind and will to the teachings of the Magisterium.” It then goes onto say that, “the Church must enter into respectful dialogue about pertinent issues, such as contraception, women’s ordination and homosexuality, and present practices”. In short, the author is a wicked heretic who is trying to undermine truths of the Faith.

The question I have is whether I can therefore trust any of her exegesis (to the extent that it does not contradict the Faith), or whether I should just forget everything she said in the book.

 

[angel12]

In short, the author is a wicked heretic who is trying to undermine truths of the Faith.

1. Calling for discussion doesn’t make someone “a wicked heretic.”
2. Calling someone “a wicked heretic” based only on an Amazon book description is a bit much.
3. A person can be wrong about some thingsxad right about others. The first book still may be perfectly acceptable, even if the second one isn’t.

 

[Salibi]

the Church must enter into respectful dialogue about pertinent issues, such as contraception, women’s ordination and homosexuality, and present practices”. In short, the author is a wicked heretic who is trying to undermine truths of the Faith.

You discovered that she’s a heretic because she wants to engage in respectful dialogue?

 

[Wesrock]

DoughnutGuy:

the Church must enter into respectful dialogue about pertinent issues, such as contraception, women’s ordination and homosexuality, and present practices”. In short, the author is a wicked heretic who is trying to undermine truths of the Faith.

You discovered that she’s a heretic because she wants to engage in respectful dialogue?

The OP may have come across strong, but would it be any different if this author wanted the Church to reconsider its ways and enter into respectful dialogue about the divinity of Christ with reasons why Christ is a creature and not God?

I just woke up, but sometimes denying Church magisterial teaching or even the extent of the authority of the magisterium is just heresy.

As to the OP’s actual question . . . It seems unlikely you’ll come across someone here who’s read the book, though there’s always a chance of finding a needle in a haystack. It’s true, what was said, that people can be grossly wrong on some things and right on others. Still, if this person is lacking a imprimatur or nihil obstat on the book and has troubling ideas elsewhere, and if you’re still looking to form your faith… it’s probably best to pass on this book. If you already own it, you could read it but take everything with a grain of salt. Not sure how feel about that.

 

[Mark121359]

It then goes onto say that, “the Church must enter into respectful dialogue about pertinent issues, such as contraception, women’s ordination and homosexuality, and present practices”

Maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t trust this person with anything whatsoever that pertains to the Catholic Faith!!!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

If you don’t like her books, don’t read them. Somebody else might find her works helpful.
I never heard of this lady, and given that she is not my pastor, a bishop, or the Pope, she’s easy to ignore if you don’t like what she says.

I personally don’t think talking about hot button subjects necessarily makes her, or Fr Martin, or anyone else, a heretic. Seeing the world as heretics vs faithful is a stressful and unproductive way of going through life, IMHO.