I have referred to both “practice” and theology, as it was as much Church practice that so incensed some Reformists. So now, let us move from the purely theoretical, let me put these thoughts together in a practical example, where you can use “private interpretation” to adjudge Church behaviour, and decide for yourself whether you accept Papal authority in all things, or whether in all honesty, you believe it is right to question, and even to disagree. Be careful, you may find yourself taking the position of the Reformists, and arguing that certain practices are not Scriptural.
I could choose from many examples, but let us start with this scenario.
Consider yourself a Pope in the Middle Ages, you have some coinage in your coffers, and access to more through fund-raising, even if you won’t stoop to selling indulgences. You have a project in mind, to build a great cathedral, a city even, and have it decorated by the best painters and sculptors available, and you realise that the cost is going to be enormous. Do you choose to (a) build the cathedral, or (b) give the money to the poor?
Will building the most magnificent edifice in the world give glory to God, or to man?
Here are some Old Testament passages about temples past: Exodus 20:24-25, 1 Chronicles 22:2-19, 1 Chronicles 29:1-9, Ezra 1 – 7.
I guess the questions here are: are the OT instructions to the Jews applicable to Christians, does the New Testament make any reference to building temples in which the faithful worship, or is the focus on outreach, preaching the gospel to those who haven’t received God’s word. Where does Scripture lead us in evaluating the comfort of the faithful versus the needs of the poor?
Now consider yourself as the current Pope. You have before you a proposal to hold a World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. You are advised that up to 500,000 will attend and that Sydney residents will be forced to live under emergency laws, authorities having the power to conduct body searches, confiscate vehicles, and evict people from events. A whole industry will be disrupted for three months because you will take over their premises. The project will cost hundreds of millions, directly to the Church, to the attendees, and to the people and industry you will displace from their normal lives, and you will only be preaching to the converted anyway.
Do you choose to (a) go ahead with the event, or (b) decide to spend the money on helping the poor and spreading the Gospel to those people who have yet to receive it.
Justify your decision based on what you think Jesus would do.
This then, is perhaps the crux of centering theology and practice on Scripture: what would Jesus say or do?
1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Test all things; hold fast what is good”.
I know that it can be disconcerting to question the actions, decisions, and practices of the Church in general and the Pope in particular, and I would not judge the motives of those who hold to a different view, but in the scenarios quoted above, what would you do, and how would it sit with your conscience?
Do you now have some empathy with the Reformists?
Finally, let me rebuke those who use the term “dirty laundry”. It is emotive and pejorative, and hardly worthy of these pages. Pointing out past errors is not in the sense that all have sinned, it relates to a pattern of belief and behaviour, and that is an entirely different thing. Sin essentially comes from the mind (and no, I am not going to debate that here, we can do that later with reference to the works of Augustine, Jerome, and others), and persistent behaviour evidences where the mind is at.
Think of some early Church behaviours from that perspective, not as single acts of sin that we are all predisposed to.
