IN DEFENSE OF THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH VS. A LYING ANTI-CATHOLIC, Part 13 Addendum 1 Reply of Catholic Apologist Milesawayman

St. Peter consecrates St. Stephen as Deacon while St. John the Apostles looks on. Painting by Fra Angelico.

milesawayman said...

Fr. Abe,

Just now I have read this posted arguments of ANTI-CATHOLIC.

Please let me post my replies below:

Catechism

1. Peter was the Head of the Apostles [CCC#552,768,880]

True.

Bible

- Christ was the Head of the apostles (John 13:13)

Both are true. Peter is the Chief Shepherd after Christ (Jn 21:15-17). Jesus is the head in spiritual sense and Peter is the head in physical sense.

Catechism

2. The Bishop, is the Successor 0f the Apostle [861-862, 936]

YES, that's True.

Bible

- The Apostles had no Successor, for to Succeed them one needed to be a witness of Christ's Resurrection (Acts 1:21, 22)

Matthias was chosen to replace Judas "and he was counted with the eleven apostles" (Acts 1:26). Bishops do not replace one of the original 12 Apostles, as Matthias did -- they are successors to the Apostles. Example: Sts. Timothy and Titus were ordained Bishops as successors to St. Paul.

Catechism

3. The Pope, as the bishop of Rome, is the successor of Peter [882, 938]

YES, it's True.

Bible

-Peter had no Successor

The Bible is not an instruction book in Christianity. Nor is it a history book. It does not tell us what happened with most of the Apostles. History tells us. We know from witnesses to recorded history that St. Linus succeeded St. Peter, followed by St. Anacletus or Cletus, followed by St. Clement, and so on, in an unbroken chain until today Benedict XVI has the job. There have been 264 successors to St. Peter, including Benedict.

Catechism

4. The bishop, with Popes as their head, rules the universal Church [883, 894-896].

The Pope is head of the universal Church, the Bishops are united with him.

Bible

-Christ, the Head of the Body, Rules the Universal Churches (Colossians 1:18)

The pope is head of the universal Church (there is only one Church) on Earth. Christ rules from heaven.

Both are true. Christ remains the Head of the Church He founded, but when He ascended to heaven, He left Peter in charge of His Church on Earth. The Church is the Body of Christ -- He is the Head.

Catechism

5. God has Entrusted revelation to the Roman Catholic Bishops [81, 86]

Add the Pope with the Bishops. That is true.

Bible

- God has Entrusted revelation to the Saints (Jude 3).

The Saints are the leaders of the first Church -- the Apostles, succeeded by the Bishops to whom the Deposit of Faith was entrusted.

Catechism

6. The Magisterium is the authoritative teacher of the Church [85, 87]

True.

Bible

- The Holy Spirit is the authoritative teacher of the Church (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 John 2:27)

The Holy Spirit has to teach through a human agent -- He has no voice. He inspires the Bishops -- the leaders of the Catholic Church -- to teach and guards them from teaching error. The Bishops including the Pope collectively, as a body, are the Magisterium -- which means "teacher." The Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church that Christ founded, vested in the Pope (means Papa, Father) and the Bishops who are united to him.

Catechism

8. The Pope is infallible interpreter of the Scripture [CCC#891]

Yes.

Bible

-God Alone is infallible (Numbers 23:19)

The Pope is infallible in limited circumstances -- when he teaches the entire universal (Catholic) Church in his capacity as head of the Church, and his teaching must be held by all members of the Church, he is prevented by the Holy Spirit from teaching error. So it is really the guidance of the Holy Spirit that's infallible. That's what infallibility means. The Church -- who wrote the NT -- interprets it without error.

Catechism

9. The Magisterium alone has the ability and the right to interpret the Scripture [CCC#85, 100, 939]

The Pope and the Bishops united with him equals the Magisterium, the teaching office of the Church.

Bible

-Every Christian, aided by the Holy Spirit, has Ability and the right to interpret the Scripture (Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 2:12-16)

Acts 17:11 states that the Bereans "examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." This refers to the Bereans reading the Septuagint Old Testament to see if it pertained to Jesus -- if He really was the Messiah. They were not interpreting Scripture. And the New Testament didn't yet exist.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 does not pertain to "interpreting scripture."

Catechism

10. Scripture is to be interpreted in the sense in which it has been define by the Magisterium [113, 119]

This says that Scripture is to be interpreted by the Holy Spirit granted to the Church. That's right. The Church wrote the New Testament. Who knows better what it means other than the Church who wrote it?

Bible

- Scripture must be Interpreted in the original sense intended by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 3:14 -16).

That's what the church use. heheh

Catechism

11. The Magisterium has the right to define truth found only obscurely or implicitly of the revelation [66, 8 ]

True. The Church wrote it, the Church interprets it.

Bible

- No One has right to go beyond what is written in Scripture (1 Corinthians 4:6, Proverbs 30:6)

1 Cor 4:6 doesn't says "in Scripture." Neither does Proverbs. This is a question that misrepresents the Scripture.

"Not to go beyond what is written" is one of the most difficult phrases in the entire Bible to interpret. Scholars are not sure what it means. The words "to go" are not in the Greek, but have been added by translators to help make sense of this verse, which is quite impossible to translate, much less interpret. For analysis of the Greek text and its many likely choice of meanings, I refer you to pages 138 to 162 of Not By Scripture Alone, edited by Robert Sungenis, Queenship Publishing, Santa Barbara, California, 1997.

It can't mean, as you state, "not to go beyond what is written in Scripture." First, it doesn't say that. If it did mean literally "not to go beyond what is written" [in scripture], we need to throw out the New Testament if that is the case. The New Testament "goes beyond" what is written in the Scriptures -- the Old Testament. The New Testament was added to the Old Testament and became "the Bible" at the end of the fourth Christian century.

Catechism 12. The Scripture and Tradition together are the Word of God [81, 85, 97, and 182]

That's true. The revelations of the New Testament were spoken before they were written. Scripture is the part of Sacred Apostolic Oral Tradition that got written down.

Bible

-Scripture is the Word of God (John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21). Tradition is the Words of men (Mark 7:1-13)

There are two kinds of "tradition." One is human tradition; the other is the Sacred Oral Tradition of the Apostles. St. Paul tells us, "So stand firm, brethren, and hold fast to the traditions you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. That is precisely what the Catholic Church does.

You can't say what Scripture is without an "inspired" list of the books that belong in the Bible. Where is the God-given list of the inspired books? Where does the Bible list its contents?

Catechism

13. Scripture and the Tradition together are the Church’s Supreme rule of Faith [80, 82]

Yes, it's true.

-Bible

-Scripture is the Church’s only Rule of Faith (Mark 7:7-13, 2 Timothy 3:16, 17)

In Mark, Jesus is talking the Jewish tradition of Korban, as he explains, not the tradition He and His own Apostles taught. In Timothy, Paul is referring to the Greek Septuagint Old Testament (there was no New Testament until late in the 4th century), and it says Scripture (the OT) is useful -- not that it is the only rule of faith. And here's the amazing thing: Protestants reject the very scriptures Paul was writing about -- the Greek Septuagint OT.

The originator of this post said:

I do not have any religion but only a personal relation with Jesus. So do not give poison in the minds of many...

My REPLY:

You can't have a "personal relationship" with Jesus outside of His Church -- the Catholic Church. He and His Church are one. He is the Head, the Church is His Body. Your "relationship" is with a phantom Jesus that exists only in your mind. hahahah

Fr.ABE, May the Lord God be with you and your blog always. Let's praise and exalt Jesus Christ forever.

September 14, 2010 6:57 AM