Perhaps because it is so idiotic and so silly that only imbeciles could really think that Whitaker can be reasonable
and still believe in the authority of the written word. By answering it, it might make Whitaker’s point less stupid than it really is.
Apparently, you still haven’t understood what the Catholic concept of Tradition is about. You still hold on to the idea of Tradition as simply a collection of items, or that living Tradition could ever be contained in something written.
Can culture be written down into a book? Can I write about Scouting traditions and pass on to my grandchildren and say: “Here is the list of Scouting traditions, study it hard and you will be like any other Scout, even if you will never be part of the Scout movement”? Only by entering into the life of the Scout unit can the Scouting traditions be handed on fully, because these traditions are a way of living, thinking and being. It cannot be all written down. Ditto for God’s revelation. When God revealed himself, he didn’t just leave behind some commandments and words, he left us his actions (which continues to be present) and his presence, his life and his love, we cannot confine the richness of God’s revelation to between 2 covers and 73 books (opps, for you its only 66).
Throughout the history of the Church, there have been times when heretics misinterpret the faith and the Church was guided by God to enunciate with greater clarity what is in accordance with the fullness of the Apostolic Tradition she has received. One can easily pick up the Catechism of the Catholic Church for this purpose. I’m sure you can find a copy somewhere online.
But I’ll throw back a question at you. Other than the few Seventh-Day Adventists, and some other Protestant friends that I know, most Christians accept that Sunday is a holy day set aside for worship of the Lord. Since you think that Scripture is self-sufficient, how do these Christians base their rejection of the explicit command of God in OT to honour the Sabbath (clearly a Saturday) and worship on Sunday instead? Catholics can take refuge in Tradition as witnessed in the practice of the Church through the centuries, but sola Scriptura folks can’t.
You may have made a terrible caricature of Catholic teaching in one of your posts when you said:
Yes, Catholics accept that the Catholic Church can infallibly and authentically interpret Scripture as well as Tradition, as well as any matters pertaining to God. But within the Catholic Tradition, there are many, many possible ways of understanding and interpreting the same text of Scripture. By tradition, we can understand the text literally, allegorically, morally or anagogically (though I doubt many Catholics know the last one). The website of the Congregation of the Clergy (Vatican) has generously made available the interpretational tools written by the Church Fathers, and you might be surprised to know that Church Fathers do contradict one another, yet these interpretations do not contradict the great Tradition of the faith from the Apostles.
So every Catholic reading the Bible do interpret the Scriptures. The Church doesn’t want us to be mindless when we read Scripture. But unlike sola Scriptura folks, we understand Scripture with the experience of the Catholic Tradition in mind. If we have an interpretation that is contrary to the living Tradition of the Church, we know that this is wrong, and we would set our interpretation aside and turn to the spiritual masters in the Church for assistance.
Catholics can take comfort that we know when we stray away from the Truth that God reveals. But for sola Scriptura folks like yourself, you have only the fate that you had already mentioned in store:
And you really have no idea who you can turn to to discern if you have played into the hands of Satan, who is himself the Master in twisting the words of Scripture.
