J
JOE_OBERR
Guest
When the question is asked "my friend, a non-Catholic, wants to know where (choose one - purgatory, priestly ordination, sacrament of reconciliation or confirmation, the papacy, etc) is in the bible, I often here the response “well, the word Trinity is not found in the bible either, yet we use it…”.
To me that is beating around the bush. Why don’t we just come out directly and say that Christianity does not come from the bible or from someone’s personal guesswork on bible verses. Nowhere does God say anywhere that Christianity comes directly from the bible. Or that all Christian doctrine and practice must be supported from or have its origin in the bible. This is a tradition of men and we must reject man-made traditions that imply they are from God.
Firstly, I would answer such a question as above, i.e., where does God say purgatory etc has to be found in the bible? Or that all Christian doctrine & practice must come from the bible? Then I would say that purgatory and ALL the other teachings of the Catholic Church are the word of God, i.e. the oral word vs. the written word found in the bible.
They are distinct, yet have the same source in the Holy Spirit. The bible is primarily salvation history, the saving work of God in human history. The oral word of God is the Gospel which is the Catholic faith. This Gospel is the source of all saving truth and moral discipline. It is a living word that can be applied to every age’s special conditions and circumstances. It is summarized in an organic and systematic fashion in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The teachings in the Catechism are infallible, without error. There are teachings on almost every page. The Catechism is chock full of teachings. If they were not infallible why would anyone want to read & study it, why would the Church go to so much trouble publishing it if it were possible there were errors? These teachings come directly from Jesus through the Apostles and the Church’s magisterium.
So the short answer is that Jesus taught the basics to the Apostles, including purgatory, the honoring of his mother, celebrating Mass and the other seven sacraments, the particular judgement, the distinct possibility of hell for those who hold Jesus’ teachings in contempt, the beatitude of heaven for those dying in the state of grace, etc.
Because it is a living word it can be adapted to today, e.g, in-vitro fertilization, is it moral or not? artificial birth control, moral or not? This is why Jesus established a Church and said to listen to it. We should reference the teachings of the Church as the teachings of Jesus, for that is what they are. They are simply not just another belief or opinion. Pentecostals believe in a baptism in the name of Jesus only whereas we Catholics believe in a Trinitarian baptism. The reason we believe in a Trinitarian baptism is because Jesus taught that to the Apostles and it has been handed down in Apostolic Tradition. It is not simply another opinion equal in value to the Pentacostal belief of baptism in the name of Jesus only. One is based on the oral word of God whereas the other is based on someone’s guesswork on bible verses or his own personal theology, i.e., an opinion of men.
We have the truth and should explain it as such.
To me that is beating around the bush. Why don’t we just come out directly and say that Christianity does not come from the bible or from someone’s personal guesswork on bible verses. Nowhere does God say anywhere that Christianity comes directly from the bible. Or that all Christian doctrine and practice must be supported from or have its origin in the bible. This is a tradition of men and we must reject man-made traditions that imply they are from God.
Firstly, I would answer such a question as above, i.e., where does God say purgatory etc has to be found in the bible? Or that all Christian doctrine & practice must come from the bible? Then I would say that purgatory and ALL the other teachings of the Catholic Church are the word of God, i.e. the oral word vs. the written word found in the bible.
They are distinct, yet have the same source in the Holy Spirit. The bible is primarily salvation history, the saving work of God in human history. The oral word of God is the Gospel which is the Catholic faith. This Gospel is the source of all saving truth and moral discipline. It is a living word that can be applied to every age’s special conditions and circumstances. It is summarized in an organic and systematic fashion in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The teachings in the Catechism are infallible, without error. There are teachings on almost every page. The Catechism is chock full of teachings. If they were not infallible why would anyone want to read & study it, why would the Church go to so much trouble publishing it if it were possible there were errors? These teachings come directly from Jesus through the Apostles and the Church’s magisterium.
So the short answer is that Jesus taught the basics to the Apostles, including purgatory, the honoring of his mother, celebrating Mass and the other seven sacraments, the particular judgement, the distinct possibility of hell for those who hold Jesus’ teachings in contempt, the beatitude of heaven for those dying in the state of grace, etc.
Because it is a living word it can be adapted to today, e.g, in-vitro fertilization, is it moral or not? artificial birth control, moral or not? This is why Jesus established a Church and said to listen to it. We should reference the teachings of the Church as the teachings of Jesus, for that is what they are. They are simply not just another belief or opinion. Pentecostals believe in a baptism in the name of Jesus only whereas we Catholics believe in a Trinitarian baptism. The reason we believe in a Trinitarian baptism is because Jesus taught that to the Apostles and it has been handed down in Apostolic Tradition. It is not simply another opinion equal in value to the Pentacostal belief of baptism in the name of Jesus only. One is based on the oral word of God whereas the other is based on someone’s guesswork on bible verses or his own personal theology, i.e., an opinion of men.
We have the truth and should explain it as such.