Is "belief" of ALL Catholic teachings required?

[itsjustdave1988]

I think you’ve hit on it. My faith is in God not the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church asks for your faith in Her, which to my Protestant way of thinking is troubling. (That’s not to say it isn’t biblical, friends.) Possibly once faith in the CC is established, I suppose the rest falls into place.

Yes. With 33,000+ denominations of Christianity, many of which teach contrary doctrines, it can seem difficult to discern which of the so-called “pastors” of Christ are indeed “sent” by Christ.

I dissented with the Catholic Church for decades. Then I resolved to study what the Church of Christ has taught in EVERY century since the advent of Christ. Ironically, what I learned was that there’s only one of those 33,000 denominations that has held fast tot eh deposit of faith taught in every century since the advent of Christ, that being the teaching of the Catholic Church. I challenge you to “test everything, hold fast to the good” (1 Thess 5:21). In other words, begin reading the early Church fathers of the first century, 2nd century, 3rd century, etc., and see for yourself that in every century since the advent of Christ, we are presented with the authentic deposit of faith, which today continues to be taught by the magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, who historically traces his succession to St. Peter, the chief apostle sent by Christ.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

…My faith is in God not the Catholic Church…

It is also interesting to note that Jesus Christ equated his Church to Himself. The Church is in a very real way, His body. So, faith in Christ includes believing in and being in communion with His Body. The Head and Body of Christ are one, and unity with His body is part of the deposit of Christian faith.

For instance, when Thomas refused to believe the testimony of his Christian brethren, Jesus described him as “faithless” (Jn 20:27). Surely he still believed in God, right? However, he was still “faithless” because he refused to believe the testimony of the Body of Christ, His Church. Christ charged Paul with persecuting HIM when he persecuted His Body, the Church. Christ equates Himself with His Church, “he who hears you, hears me.”

So, how do we know which denominations claiming to speak in union with Christ is indeed the leaders which Hebrews 13:17 calls us to “obey” and “submit?”

Test everything, hold fast to the good.

I recommend you begin by reading one of the most ancient Bible commentaries extant, the seven letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch (AD 50-110). St. Ignatius was a pupil of St. John the Apostle, the inspired author of the Gospel According to St. John, St. John’s Epistles, and the Book of Revelation. St. Ignatius became the Bishop of Antioch approx. AD 70, the place where they were first called “Christian.” He remained Bishop there until being brought in chains to Rome to be eaten by lions around AD 110. On his way to his martyrdom, he wrote letters to the other Churches. In the letters of St. Ignatius, which Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestant scholars believe are authentic, he wrote about his Church, which he explicitly called the “Catholic Church.”

Even Eastern Orthodox scholars conclude regarding St. Ignatius’ letters…
Speaking of the Church of Rome, Ignatius uses the phrase ‘which presides’ in two passages. … The term ‘which presides’ [Greek given] needs no discussion; used in the masculine it means the bishop, for he, as head of the local church, sits in the ‘first place’ at the eucharistic assembly, that is, in the central seat. He is truly the president of his church…[Ignatius] pictured the local churches grouped, as it were, in a eucharistic assembly, with every church in its special place, and the church of Rome in the chair, sitting in the ‘first place.’ So, says Ignatius, the Church of Rome indeed has the priority in the whole company of churches united by concord…In his period no other church laid claim to the role, which belonged to the Church of Rome." (The Primacy of Peter: Essays in Ecclesiology and the Early Church edited by John Meyendorff, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1992, pages 126-127)
Read these letters and ask yourself, did he sound Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant? He learned his Christianity from St. John the Apostle. Surely his letters, while not inspired Scripture, though written in the same koine Greek as the NT, present the deposit of faith delivered to Him by the apostles and are surely closer to the fountain of truth than other Bible commentators who did not know the apostles or live in apostolic times.

You can read his letters here:

• Epistle to the Ephesians
• Epistle to the Magnesians
• Epistle to the Trallians
• Epistle to the Romans
• Epistle to the Philadelphians
• Epistle to the Smyrnæans
• Epistle to Polycarp

Protestant Reformer John Wesley once wrote:
“Can any who spend several years in those seats of learning be excused if they do not add…the knowledge of the fathers – the most authentic commentators on Scripture as being both nearest the fountain and eminently endued with that Spirit by whom ‘all Scripture was given’” [John Wesley, “Address to Clergy”, 1756]
Can’t say that I disagree with him about that.

 

[sevenseal]

Just accept the Church’s teachings are true, and you’ll have no problem. Belief is just acceptance of truth. It’s very easy to believe things that are true. It’s like believing the sky is blue, or that gravity exists, two things that are obvious. Like Catholic teaching. So if the Church teaches a thing, it fits like a puzzle piece into everything else it teaches and makes complete sense in regards to everything it teaches, so you just believe it.

My elders taught me “accept what the Church teaches as true, and belief will follow.” It certainly does, as it’s easy to believe things that are true. I guess what makes it hard that it then becomes harder to see why anyone would not follow the church teachings.

 

[kbachler]

A point that often harms understanding about belief is that belief is an act of the will, not only the brain. It is a choice.

I’m sorry, the above statement doesn’t make sense to me. Can you explain this further? Thank you.

 

[kbachler]

Thank you for your response Constantine, but I don’t get it. On the one hand you say “All doctrines must be believed” and then you say, “the Church doesn’t expect you to accept everything from day one.”

So if you don’t accept everything isn’t that synonymous with not believing?

You mention catechism. What about for a returning Catholic? or a cradle catholic?

Maybe I’m misunderstanding the term “Catechisis”. Can an already-Catholic be in catechisis?

Romans 14 may assist.

Also, I’m curious how some might related the conflict between Peter and Paul and circumcision to some of the questions/comments in this thread.

 

[Ignatius]

I’ve heard some on CAF say that Catholics must “believe” all doctrines/teachings of the Catholic Church. That belief is required. My primary question is: is this true?

Secondly, if true, how can one force themselves to “believe”?

The issue is, who did Jesus give the Authority to pass down His Teaching and Teach The Truth? Well, the bible says that "The Church is “The Pillar and Foundation of Truth”. Jesus founded His Church as the authentic Authority to pass down the Truth of the correct interpretation of Scripture. We must comply with the teaching of the Bible and defer to The Church that Jesus Christ founded and made “The Pillar and Foundation of Truth”, not every individual all with differing interpretations of the Bible.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

if the Church teaches a thing…you just believe it.

And yet we are taught by the Church that the use of reason precedes faith and, with the help of revelation and grace, leads to it. So, I don’t agree that “just believe it” is what the Church teaches. In fact, we are always obliged to follow the certain judgment of our conscience (cf. CCC 1790).

 

[ESMDHokie77]

For me, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that Matthew 16:18 speaks to the creation of a visible church. There is too much that I have read and learned in apologetics this past year to conclude otherwise.
I am 23 years old. In the past 6 months I have been challenged, for the first time, in my faith by others. The faith of a child has grown into the faith of an adult. I am no longer blindly and habitually following the Church that my parents took me to, I am a Catholic, and the Papacy is the rock which I lean on.

Phil