Gospel, source of all saving truth

[dcdurel]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus sent His apostles to preach the Gospel:
#75
“This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and moral discipline.”

Thus, all we need for salvation is found in this Gospel. The apostles, the leaders of the Church are to teach and preach this Gospel.

Vatican II says
“it is through His revelation that those religious truths which are by their nature accessible to human reason can be known by all men with ease, with solid certitude and with no trace of error, even in this present state of the human race.”

Therefor, this Gospel can be known by all men with ease and solid certitude and with no trace of error.

Of course, there is no Catholic in this country who can tell me the exact content of the saving truths this Gospel contains.

This is because we have all been misled by scholars in this country who have been misled to ignore the Popes. The Popes have a totally different sense of the word Gospel then we do.

Every Catholic in this country an understanding of the word Gospel to mean the teachings of Jesus as found in the written Gospels, as interpreted by Tradition.
Therefore to proclaim the Gospel means to give an explanation of the written Gospels, accrording to Tradition.

The Popes use the word Gospel to mean EVERYTHING the apostles learned from Jesus and handed down to their successors.

Thus, to proclaim the Gospel, according to the Popes, means to teach everything Jesus revealed to His apostles, which is the whole Catholic faith. That is why the Catechism is said by the Church to be a “sure norm for teaching the faith” and not the bible.

Thus, homilies should teach the whole Catholic faith, and not just be an exegesis on the biblical texts.

 

[allischalmers]

What is the Gospel? Answer, The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation , that simple. Read Romans chapter 1

Proudly forever Baptist
allischalmers

 

[buffalo]

What is the Gospel? Answer, The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation , that simple. Read Romans chapter 1

Proudly forever Baptist
allischalmers

The Bible is an incomplete record of Jesus. See John. 25 There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

 

[John_Henry]

Every Catholic in this country an understanding of the word Gospel to mean the teachings of Jesus as found in the written Gospels, as interpreted by Tradition.

Probably not “every”. I count myself as an exception to that statement.

 

[dcdurel]

What is the Gospel? Answer, The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation , that simple. Read Romans chapter 1

Proudly forever Baptist
allischalmers

So when John the apostle was proclaiming the Gospel and a pagan says, “tell me about this Jesus who you are preaching”
John only says, “the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation”
And the pagan says, OH, wow, now I understand everything! That is who Jesus is!

I don’t think so. The pagan will ask, “who is God?”
He will ask, How can Jesus be God is the Father is God?"
He will ask, “what is salvation?”
How do you receive salvation, How can God be a man. How can God have a human mother if He is God, etc, etc,.
None of those questions can be answered just by quoting scripture. Each scripture will just lead to more questions. That is why even Luther had to come out with a small catechism and a large catechism.

If Luther couldn’t do it, neither could the apostles.
Since the apostles already knew everything about salvation, since they were taught directly by Jesus and the Holy Spirit, they simply taught what they learned from Jesus. They did not have to go through the scriptures and try to guess what they meant, then try to convey that meaning to the pagans.

And the Gospel the apostles taught was the whole Catholic faith. They taught it by expounding on the articles of the Creed, the sacraments, the commandments and prayer. Their successors taught the same way. That is why Catholic catechisms are arranged that way.

Catechisms are simply the oral teaching and preaching of the Gospel, by the apostles, who learned from God, put in a written form.
Scripture is salvation history, put in written form, directly by God, through human authors.

The apostles did NOT proclaim the Gospel by reading scripture and then giving an explanation of those readings, like is done at mass today. No where does the Church teach that the primary way of proclaiming the Gospel is by reading the scriptures and then give an explanation of those readings. No where. The apostles never did it, and the Church never taught it.

The apostles proclaimed the Gospel by teaching the whole Catholic faith. That is why ONLY THE CATECHISM and the teachings of the Church are called a sure norm for teaching the faith.

The Church teaches that the Catechism “proclaims the Gospel”, because it summarizes the Gospel the apostles taught and preached.
No where in the bible does a single book of the bible or single chapter of the bible claim to be a summary of the Gospel the apostles taught and preached.

 

[LilyM]

The mistake here is to think ‘the Gospel’ = the written books called Gospels that are contained in our New Testament.

What do you think the early Christians did for at least 30 odd years before any of them even THOUGHT of writing any of the Gospels? They didn’t preach from a single book.

Even AFTER all the contents of the New Testament were written, there was necessity for further clarification. Some, such as the writer(s) of the Shepherd of Hermas or the Didache or Pope St Clement, wrote new books and/or letters to address new or insufficiently answered questions that came up. This was in spite of the fact that they ALREADY had and were familiar with all the Gospels and Epistles that we know today. They didn’t just hand these older writings over to their followers and say ‘here, read these and let the Holy Spirit tell you how to interpret them’

 

[dcdurel]

The more I realize that when the Popes use the word “Gospel” they mean the whole Catholic faith the apostles learned from Jesus and handed down. All other Catholic scholars in this country think “Gospel” means primarily the written words and deeds of Jesus found in the written Gospels, as interpreted by Tradition.

The is false limitation of the meaning of the word “Gospel” to only what is explicit in scripture as interpreted by the Church is the cause of Catholics not going to mass, Catholics getting divorced and the increase in sexual immorality and the increase in abortions among Catholics.

Why?

Because in the written Gospels Jesus does not give some of the most important teachings explicitly.
He does not define salvation.
He doesn’t explicitly teach teach the Trinity.
He doesn’t explicitly teach how to worship.
He doesn’t explicitly teach the primary method of receiving the grace of salvation (which is through the sacraments, esp. the Eucharist)
He says nothing about going to mass on Sunday.
He says nothing about abortion, which is one of the most horrible crimes the members of this country engage in.
He doesn’t explicitly go through all the commandents and teach them, though He does say that we must keep them to enter heaven.

Thus, since Catholics think the Gospel is only the message of Jesus found explicitly in the written Gospels, then when they seldom hear these teachings addressed, then think God attaches little importance to them.

Catholic scholars forget the Jesus never said salvation comes from believing the written Gospels. Jesus says those who believe the Gospel the apostles taught and preached will be saved. (Mark 16:16)

And a summary of this Gospel that the apostles taught and preached is found NO WHERE in the entire bible. NO where does any book or any chapter of the bible claim to have a summary of this Gospel the apostles taught and preached.

What exactly did the apostles teach and preach? We know by examining the beliefs of the early Christians who learned from the apostles. And these Christians believed and practiced the Catholic faith.

Thus, the Gospel the apostles taught and preached, while not written in the bible, can easily be known. It is the Catholic faith.
Since the apostles learned it from Jesus and the Holy Spirit, then the teachings of the Catholic faith are the Word of God.

Thus, salvation comes from believeing the Catholic faith the apostles and their successors teach and preach.

 

[buffalo]

Both the Old Testament and New came out of the community. The Israelites the Old, the Apostles the New. The stories were circulated orally first and then written down.

 

[allischalmers]

What is the Gospel? Answer, The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation , that simple. Read Romans chapter 1

Proudly forever Baptist
allischalmers

I am really surprised that no one here knows what the gospel is! Paul the apostle to the gentiles tell it this way, “For I deliver onto you that which I also recieve, how the Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again the third day.” This is the power of God unto salvation. This is the gospel that is plainly written in the Bible

Proudly forever Baptist
allischalmers

 

[jburgherr]

I am really surprised that no one here knows what the gospel is! Paul the apostle to the gentiles tell it this way, “For I deliver onto you that which I also recieve, how the Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again the third day.” This is the power of God unto salvation.

Proudly forever Baptist
allischalmers

The quote you provide is all well and good…I don’t think it provides any help in the main subject.

If Jesus is “The Word”. And if Jesus is God, and God is omnipotent and omnipresent, you can’t put him in a box and say that everything that he is, is just a finite number of words in a book.

My Lord and Savior is greater than that.

 

[alexaustralia]

Thus, homilies should teach the whole Catholic faith, and not just be an exegesis on the biblical texts.

Agree 100% with the above but I don’t believe the problem lies primarily on scholars’ definition of Gospel. I believe the problem lies in some priests who are affraid to state a teaching that could contradict the congregation’s lifestyle or moral inclinations. And in America being so individualistic well priests have that extra pressure to contend with.

 

[Saul.Tentmaker]

Agree 100% with the above but I don’t believe the problem lies primarily on scholars’ definition of Gospel. I believe the problem lies in some priests who are affraid to state a teaching that could contradict the congregation’s lifestyle or moral inclinations. And in America being so individualistic well priests have that extra pressure to contend with.

I pray that the Priesthood has courage!

I pray that we all do, to declare the Truth in preaching.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

What is the Gospel? Answer, The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation , that simple. Read Romans chapter 1

Proudly forever Baptist
allischalmers

IMO, Paul is talking about the Gospel as proclaimed - the gospels are four divinely inspired and divinely sufficient written forms of this one Gospel. The Bible is no mere book - it is a living thing of boundless power, provided that its Primary Author work through it for His Glory. Otherwise, it willl be inert and unfruitful because of the dullness and unreceptiveness of those who receive it. And to cure that, the witness of the Holy Spirit in the hearer is crucial & indispensable. It is not static, and it is not dead, unless received by those who are dead and unrevived.​

If it were not necessary, why has God given it to us ? As we have it - it must therefore be necessary. The Bible is the Word of God in a way which is impossible for Tradition to be - Tradition has its place, just as the hands and feet do: to deny it is God’s Word, no more wrongs it than it wrongs the feet to say they are not hands. Tradition is useful, but it is not as good as Scripture; it needs to be corrected by Scripture. Both are to be received with equal veneration, as the Council of Trent says; but that is a world away from saying they are equally useful or that both are the Word of God. ##

 

[dcdurel]

Agree 100% with the above but I don’t believe the problem lies primarily on scholars’ definition of Gospel. I believe the problem lies in some priests who are affraid to state a teaching that could contradict the congregation’s lifestyle or moral inclinations. And in America being so individualistic well priests have that extra pressure to contend with.

 This is NOT the problem.   Because I have heard a priest teach on contraception (and the congregation gave him a standing ovation), but the next Sunday he went back to giving an exegesis on scripture. 

    I have asked priests why they don't teach doctrine and they have all said they were taught that the homily must be only on the readings, or they said Vatican II seems to say the homily must be on the readings.

Even Father Frank Pavone once wrote that priests told him the reason they don’t teach about abortion is because “it is not in the readings”.

This seems to be the teaching coming from the seminaries. Even the most orthodox homiletic teachers teach that the homilies must be on the readings.

Again, I know what the origin and basis of the problem.

It is that every single Catholic scholar, every single Bishop in this country believes “proclaim the Gospel” means primarily to explain the teachings of Jesus in the written Gospels. There is not a single Catholic scholar, not a single bishop, who understands that when the Church says the primary duty of priests is the proclamation of the Gospel to all, the Church means the primary duty of priests is the proclamation of the Catholic faith.
If anyone can prove me wrong, I would love to read what this Catholic scholar or bishop says, because I have looked in vain for ANYONE to support what the Popes have always been teaching.

    These scholars don't realize that the Catholic faith comes to us from the apostles and the apostles learned it from Jesus.  Thus, when Jesus taught the Gospel to the apostles, He taught them the Catholic faith.

The four Gospels in the bible don’t claim to be a summary of the Gospel the apostles taught and preached.
They claim to be narratives of the life of Jesus.
There is not a single book, not a single chapter of the New Testament that claims to be a summary of the Gospel the apostles taught and preached. Thus, when priests just give an explanation of the readings, as they are all taught by every single scholar in this country, then no one learns the Gospel (the Catholic faith) that the apostles themselves learned from Jesus. Since the people don’t hear basic teachings, such as the definition of salvation, (it means that Jesus came to free us from everything that oppresses us, especially to be freed from the slavery of sin, by means of grace, which we receive through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist), because these definitions are NOT explicit in the readings, then they attach little importance to these teachings. Since the people hear little about the seriousness of mortal sin, since Jesus never mentioned the word in the Gospels, then they think little of committing mortal sins such as fornication, contraception, etc. Thus the abortion rate of Catholics goes way up. And since Jesus never said a thing about abortion in the four Gospels, then Catholics easily rationalize and think God doesn’t really care if they have an abortion. I could go on and on about the basic teachings that are never mentioned in four Gospels, and these are the very same teachings that ordinary Catholics are weak on.

 

[dcdurel]

Again, the basic problem is that when Catholics hear the word “Gospel” they only think of the narratives of the
life of Jesus, the four Gospels in the bible. This is because this is the teaching of every Catholic scholar and every bishop in this country. And bishops tend to follow theologians rather than the Popes. I think the theologians got misled, because of their tendancy to ignore the Popes, and thus they pick up Protestant ideas. Protestantism tends to focus on scripture alone, thus the Gospel to them is only in scripture.
I have searched everywhere and it is ONLY the Popes, and the documents they authorize, such as the Catechism and the General Directory for Catechesis, who teach that the primary way of proclaiming the Gospel, (besides our example and the sacraments) is by professing the Catholic faith. NO WHERE does the Church teach that the primary way of proclaiming the Gospel is by reading the Gospels then giving an explanation of them. BECAUSE THE APOSTLES AND THEIR SUCCESSORS DID NOT PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL PRIMARILY BY READING THE GOSPELS AND GIVING EXPLANATIONS OF THEM, EVEN AFTER ALL FOUR GOSPELS HAD BEEN WRITTEN.
The apostles proclaimed the Gospel by professing the Catholic faith. And the Catholic faith was proclaimed roughly in two steps. The first was the intial proclamation, in which the pagan learned who Jesus was and why Jesus became man and suffered and died (to free us from the slavery of sin, i.e. to free us from concupisence, the tendancy to sin) and if the pagan was interested in conversion, then the primary means of proclaiming the Gospel, which is Catechesis, was initiated.
In Catechesis, as the General Directory of Catechesis teaches. there is a hierarchy of truths which must be taught, beause this is how the apostles and their successors taught. First is the Trinity. This is only common sense. How can a pagan learn about Jesus, and not be confused when he learns the Father is God, Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit is God. Thus, the Trinity must be explained first. Then, the GDC says salvation history should be taught. This includes the Old Testament history, the New Testament history, up till today. Then the articles of the Creed are taught. This teaches the chief truths of the faith. Then, since the apostles and their successors would baptize the convert, the sacraments are taught next. The sacraments are taught because they are the primary means by which we receive salvation. Then Jesus said if we wish to enter into life “keep the commandments”, the commandments are taught and expanded upon, just as Jesus did with the commandments regarding adultery and murder. And of course prayer is taught. Thus we have the four basics divinions of catechisms. Creed, sacraments, commandments and prayer. When the four narratives of the life of Jesus (the four Gospels) were written, some of these teachings were incorportated into them, but not in a teaching form, but a salvation history form, thus they are hard to understand.

So we see the teachings contained in the Catechisms DON'T COME FROM THE BIBLE. They come directly from the apostles, who learned from Jesus.

Thus, the teachings of the Catholic faith DO NOT COME FROM THE BIBLE. They come from the apostles, who handed them down in Tradition (teaching, preaching, example) to their successors the bishops.

While the teachings of the Catechisms, which present the Catholic faith, do not come from the bible, the Catechisms will still use scripture to illuminate teachings, to be a witness to the teachings, etc. Thus, the Catechisms and the Church will use scripture to help us learn the teachings and understand them better. The Church does not quote scripture as the source of the teachings, because the teachings of the Catholic faith DO NOT COME FROM THE BIBLE. The apostles did not learn the Gospel by reading the bible. They learned the Gospel directly from Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Does the bible contain some teachings? Yes. But these teachings are all handed down in their entirety to the apostles by Jesus and the Holy Spirit through Tradition, before a single word of the New Testament was written.
Thus, the Gospel the apostles taught and preached and handed down (the Catholic faith) does not come to us from the bible, but from the apostles.

Thus it is a serious mistake to attempt to teach the Gospel by reading scripture, with the assumption that the Catechisms are simply a summary of scripture. The Catechisms are a summay of the Gospel that was taught preached by the apostles, (the Catholic faith).

 

[Deacon2006]

The Gospel is the proclamation of Truth.

Jesus brings Heaven to us here and now through His Church. The Sacred Tradition of the Church is the Sacramental promises of Christ.

The Church flows from the Heart of Christ and the Bible flows from the Heart of the Church.

God Bless

 

[alexaustralia]

I have asked priests why they don’t teach doctrine and they have all said they were taught that the homily must be only on the readings, or they said Vatican II seems to say the homily must be on the readings.
Even Father Frank Pavone once wrote that priests told him the reason they don’t teach about abortion is because “it is not in the readings”.

Abortion might not be directly mentioned but I am sure there is plently of Scripture that supports the dignity of human life.
Personally I haven’t faced this problem in the homilies I have heard. Although I haven’t heard a homily on abortion per say, the priest has mention it on passing, while making the point clear.

Also Sunday Mass is not sufficient to teach our faith. Start a group for the youth in the parish, get some people together and discuss such topics with them. At my parish when we combine our groups for camps/retreats we can get up to 300+ youth and young adults participating and we discuss such issues with them. Is a matter of thinking outside the box.

 

[dcdurel]

Abortion might not be directly mentioned but I am sure there is plently of Scripture that supports the dignity of human life.
Personally I haven’t faced this problem in the homilies I have heard. Although I haven’t heard a homily on abortion per say, the priest has mention it on passing, while making the point clear.

I agree there are lots of scripture to support the dignity of human life.

The problem is that when the Gospel is ONLY considered to be the written four Gospels, then the subject of abortion never comes up. The idea is not mentioned anywhere in the Gospels.
When the four written Gospels are alone considered to be the Gospel, then there is no systematic presentation of the whole Catholic faith. There is no organization. There is no systematic presentation of the commandments, there is no explanation of what sacramants are and details about them.
Jesus did not go into the detailed teaching of the commandments, because the Jews He preached to already knew the commandments. They had all been brought up knowing the commandments.

Remember when the young man asked what he must do to enter heaven.
Jesus said in Luke 19: “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’[a]”
21"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.

Therefore in the Gospels Jesus does not teach the commandments, except for a few examples about adultery and murder, because the people He was speaking to already knew the commandments. If we take the four written Gospels as an outline, instead of the Catechism, then teaching and preaching on the commandments is seldom done, because the Gospels don’t spend much time teaching them. The Gospels spend little time on them, because

1. The Gospels are first narratives of the life of Jesus and not a summary of the Gospel the apostles were commanded to teach.
2. Jesus was preaching to those who were taught the commandments over and over, thus they knew them thoroughly. So He had no need to repeat what they knew.
3. The four written Gospels don’t have much explanation about the sacraments, because Jesus had not instituted them yet. And since He had not instituted them yet, He could not explain much about grace.

The General Directory for Catechesis says Catholics are totally lacking the teachings on sin and grace.

The reason for this is that sin is breaking the commandments and the Gospels dont’ teach the commandments. And we receive grace primarly through the sacraments, and the Gospels mention little about the sacraments.

Thus, when everyone is indoctrinated with the false view, the Protestant view, that the the Gospel is only the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, then the entire Gospel that the apostles taught and preached, that is, the entire Catholic faith is never taught. Those few remaining Catholics who go to mass might know the teachings of the Church, but if these teachings are not repeated over and over, the laity will get the idea that the Church does not consider these teachings very important, and thus, Christ does not consider these teaching very important.

That is why validly married Catholics think they can divorce and remarry and think nothing is wrong.  The readings about divorce only come up about once a year, and then they are only one of the many subjects of those readings.  There is no compulsion in the Gospels to talk about that subject.   
But, if the Catechism is used as "a sure norm for teaching the faith" as the Church teaches, and not the Gospels, then at least on fourth of the teachings will be on the commandments, and the teaching on divorce and remarriage will have to come up.

So, it is because all Catholics in this country have been taught a false idea of what the Gospel is, that so many Catholics no longer practice their religion.

We all must by pass Catholic scholars and go directly to the Popes and to the teachings they authorize to get a correct understanding of the Catholic faith and how to proclaim the Gospel.

 

[dcdurel]

If it were not necessary, why has God given it to us ? As we have it - it must therefore be necessary. The Bible is the Word of God in a way which is impossible for Tradition to be - Tradition has its place, just as the hands and feet do: to deny it is God’s Word, no more wrongs it than it wrongs the feet to say they are not hands. Tradition is useful, but it is not as good as Scripture; it needs to be corrected by Scripture. Both are to be received with equal veneration, as the Council of Trent says; but that is a world away from saying they are equally useful or that both are the Word of God. ##

Just want to point out several errors. First, I never said the bible was not necessary. I said that Jesus said salvation comes from believing the the Gospel that the apostles taught and preached and that this Gospel is NOT written in the bible. There is not one single book of the bible, not a single chapter of the bible that claims to be a summary of the Gospel the apostles taught and preached.
While the bible is not necessary to be saved, after all, the Christians in the NT received salvation, and there was no bible then. But the bible is necessary

1. to give a detailed account of salvation history.
2. The bible tells about the life of Jesus, especially during His public ministry, thus we can learn from His example.
3. The bible is an aid to learning the teachings the apostles handed down through the Church. For example, the Church teaches, thus Jesus teaches, that fornication is a mortal sin.
   But when we quote from the bible where it shows fornicators are in hell, then the teaching sinks in a little better. Thus scripture is used to “illuminate” the teachings the apostles handed down through his Church.

Second, Tradition is the word of God. Tradition is the word of God that the apostles taught and preached. Since they learned the Gospel from Jesus Christ, then the Gospel they taught and preached is certainly the word of God. Since the Catechism is a summary of that teaching, then the Catechism presents the word of God handed down in Tradition.
The bible is the word of God that presents to us salvation history.