S
SHW
Guest
They do not contradict each other. If properly interpreted, Scripture never contradicts Catholic teaching. You are misinterpreting Scripture.
Who gave you the authority to decide which of the many contradicting interpretations of Scripture is correct? It wasn’t God; He gave His authority only to the Catholic Church. He founded one Church. He promised to be with this one church until He returned. He promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide it. If the Holy Spirit is guiding it, how can it teach error? He said that Hades will never prevail against it.
If His Church teaches error, then Hades has prevailed against it and Jesus is a liar.
Since Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, He cannot lie, so His Church cannot teach error. This does not mean that there are not persons within the Church who are teaching contrary to Church teaching. There are wolves in sheep’s clothing within the Church just as there were in the Apostles’ day.
2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.”
But, we have the promise of Jesus that if we listen to the Pope and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church (those leaders teaching in communion with him), then we will never be taught error.
Luke 10:16 “He who hears you (Church leaders) hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
**I prefer to listen to Jesus and treat Him as the Lord and my King. **I do this by obeying His Church since this is what He commanded.
Persons who buy a Bible, read and interpret it for themselves, and then claim that their interpretation is correct just because they prayed for guidance before they read it, are claiming authority which was never given to them. Jesus told us Himself to listen to His Church. He said that if you reject His Church, then you are rejecting Him.
1 Peter 1:20 “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation”
“Feeling” you are correct in your interpretation does not make the interpretation correct. Emotions have nothing to do with it. Obedience to Church teaching, which has the authority of Jesus, gives you the correct interpretation when there is a dispute.
Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
Teaching heresy is lawlessness.
Galatians 1:9 “As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”
He commanded us to listen to His Church. So I am obeying.
Blessings,
SHW
