What is the "Fullness of the Truth"?

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SteveLy

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I often hear Roman Catholics speak of the “Fullness of the Truth”. For the Catholics here, can you explain what you mean by that?
 
For me, it means sacred scripture combined with sacred tradition. The former without the latter only comprises part of the Truth.
 
The one true church, founded by Jesus Christ, is promised to be guided by the Holy Spirit in all truth. Other religions and philosophies have some truth but lack Jesus’ promise to be led forward by the truth. JP II explains how the Catholic Church is led by the Spirit in his letter “Dominum et Vivificantem”

newadvent.org/library/docs_jp02dv.htm

God Bless
 
grasscutter said:
For me, it means sacred scripture combined with sacred tradition. The former without the latter only comprises part of the Truth.
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Plus the Magesterium. It is the concept that God reveals His truth through the Church and that without all three “voices” parts of the truth are lost or obscured.

The catechist example is a three legged stool. You can sit on a stool with one or two legs but not very securely.
 
SteveLy said:
I often hear Roman Catholics speak of the “Fullness of the Truth”. For the Catholics here, can you explain what you mean by that?
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Basically, the Protestant Reformation resulted in watered down versions of Christianity. Non-Catholic Christians believe in God, love Christ, believe that the Scriptures are the inspired word of God, etc. BUT, their faith traditions lack the depth of Catholicism.

All Protestant denominations can trace back their history to a person who has lived within the last few hundred years (at most). On the other hand, the Catholic Church can trace back her origin, teachings, understandings, and traditions to the Apostles and the first generations of Christians. Read the writings of the earliest Christians (the Church Fathers) and you will see today’s Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church has two thousand years of existence to draw upon, and her understandings match up with those of the earliest Christians who learned directly from the Apostles or from their diciples. Often times, these teachings do not match up with the more recent interpretations within Protestantism.

Personally, I grew up and lived in a fullfilling Protestant faith, but as I began to learn about the Catholic Church, it was as if a whole new world was opened to me. Once I became convinced that the Catholic Church is the original, true, and authoritative Church… I had to convert.

There is so much richness and authenticity in Catholicism.
 
Corki said:
Plus the Magesterium. It is the concept that God reveals His truth through the Church and that without all three “voices” parts of the truth are lost or obscured.

The catechist example is a three legged stool. You can sit on a stool with one or two legs but not very securely.
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This is it!! Succinct and to the point. Further explanation is superfluous.
 
SteveLy said:
I often hear Roman Catholics speak of the “Fullness of the Truth”. For the Catholics here, can you explain what you mean by that?
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From the negative point of view - When we say other religions don’t have the fullness of truth we mean that while they may include many things that are good and true, there are also some things that they are missing or wrong about.

When we say Catholicism has the fullness of truth, we are essentially saying we don’t have that problem. Everything Catholicism teaches is true, and Catholicism teaches all of the truth that God has publicly revealed.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, basically.
 
novusCatholic said:
Basically, the Protestant Reformation resulted in watered down versions of Christianity. Non-Catholic Christians believe in God, love Christ, believe that the Scriptures are the inspired word of God, etc. BUT, their faith traditions lack the depth of Catholicism.

You are obviously not a history prof.
All Protestant denominations can trace back their history to a person who has lived within the last few hundred years (at most). On the other hand, the Catholic Church can trace back her origin, teachings, understandings, and traditions to the Apostles and the first generations of Christians. Read the writings of the earliest Christians (the Church Fathers) and you will see today’s Catholic Church.
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This has beed debated by many since before the Reformation. The position of the papacy has been debated all throughout history.
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The phrase “fullness of the truth” is basically a euphemism for promoting that what one believes is exclusively the truth, such that that all others who do not believe in the same set of particular beliefs do not believe in the full truth. It is just less abrasive way to contrast a particular group as being completely orthodox as opposed to other groups which which would be called either heterodox or heretical.
 
Prosmith said:
Not true at all on many accounts, one obvious one being the Celtics who received Christianity long before the Roman missionaries.
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Are you referring to the Celtic Rite? It was still Catholic. Besides, I referred to “Protestant denominations” in my comment.
 
Prosmith said:
This has beed debated by many since before the Reformation. The position of the papacy has been debated all throughout history.
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ProSmith,

Define “This” in your statement that This has been debated since before the Reformation. What is “This”?
 
Cavaradossi said:
The phrase “fullness of the truth” is basically a euphemism for promoting that what one believes is exclusively the truth, such that that all others who do not believe in the same set of particular beliefs do not believe in the full truth. It is just less abrasive way to contrast a particular group as being completely orthodox as opposed to other groups which which would be called either heterodox or heretical.
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Agreed. The Church has been using less inflammatory words in recent times…much like not using schismatic to describe the Orthodox Chruch. In some ways this is a good thing. In other ways, it fosters confusion on the Church’s stance on things…inside the Church as well as outside.
 
SteveLy said:
I often hear Roman Catholics speak of the “Fullness of the Truth”. For the Catholics here, can you explain what you mean by that?
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To me, the fullness of His Truth, means I accept and believe all that Jesus taught instead of conforming my ways to the Church no matter how hard that may be. Jesus’ teachings conform me and when I don’t understand something, I search for the answer from someone else who understands the fullness of that truth.

For example, I believe that ordinary bread and wine can be consecrated into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ only by a validated ordained Catholic Priest who shares in Jesus’ earthly Priesthood. It is not just a symbol, but really Jesus who comes to us under the appearance of ordinary bread and wine and meets us at the foot of the cross where we are broken and through this miracle, He (Jesus) heals me, the sinner that I am. Amen!
 
The fulness of Truth is a Person; Jesus Christ. He is the fullness of God’s revelation to mankind and is found in the Church He established; in Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Magisterium. Possessing the fullness of truth does not mean that we understand it completely because the finite cannot fully grasp the infinite. I am speaking of the Church on earth. The Church triumphant in heaven not only possesses this truth but grasps it completley. As others have said, it also means that our doctrines have no error as the Church is protected from error by the Holy Spirit. Christ’s Church is the Body of Christ, with Jesus as its head. If Christ is the fullness of Truth, then his body can be no less.
 
I’ve always thought that then Catholics said “Fullness of the Truth” - they were being kind; They weren’t denying that other churches had some measure of Truth.
 
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