Describing Obedience to a Protestant

[desertanthony]

My wife was talking with a protestant acquaintance the other day and he mentioned our new pope and how many Catholics in America were hoping he would “change” the teachings on abortion, embryonic stem cell research and contraception. This gentleman likes to read and we thought that we would find a document (book, encyclical, etc.) that could help him understand obedience to the teachings of the church and how the teachings are ultimately received from God, not made up as we go along. I can certainly take a stab at it but with all the awesome things that have been written throughout history surely there is one that would clearly define it.

I certainly appreciate any help.

 

[wisdom_3_5]

Here’s an article from This Rock. I haven’t read it all the way through, but it might be a good place to start.

catholic.com/thisrock/1997/9706fea2.asp

 

[1ke]

desertanthony:

My wife was talking with a protestant acquaintance the other day and he mentioned our new pope and how many Catholics in America were hoping he would “change” the teachings on abortion, embryonic stem cell research and contraception. This gentleman likes to read and we thought that we would find a document (book, encyclical, etc.) that could help him understand obedience to the teachings of the church and how the teachings are ultimately received from God, not made up as we go along. I can certainly take a stab at it but with all the awesome things that have been written throughout history surely there is one that would clearly define it.

I certainly appreciate any help.

Their are good tracts on the Catholic Answer’s website on authority. The Catechism is a great source because it explains it so easily and so completely, but maybe that would be overkill.