Chapter 10
The Roman Catholic Attitude Toward Scripture
At the outset it must be made clear that Catholics are
not "Bible Christians."
We do not profess faith in the Bible, but in Jesus
Christ and His church, and its teachings. Catholic Answers to
"Bible Christians," 6
Thus the lines of distinction are drawn between
Protestants and Roman Catholics. For Protestants, the Holy Scriptures are
the only authoritative teachings of Jesus; the teachings of the church are
valid only as they conform with the written Word.
Jesus Himself set us an example of the all-sufficiency
of the Word. Upon the day of the resurrection, He joined Cleopas, one of
His faithful followers, and another devout Christian on their journey to
Emmaus. Both friends were utterly dejected as they discussed Jesus’
execution two days earlier.
And he said unto them, What things? And they said
unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in
deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests
and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have
crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have
redeemed Israel. Luke 24:19-21
Jesus’ response to their dismay is instructive to all
Christians.
O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things,
and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27
In the minds of many, Jesus’ approach to the dilemma
of the two friends seems curious, for it was only later as He sat at
supper with them and blessed the food that
their eyes were opened, and they knew him. Luke 24:31
Surely the most convincing evidence that Jesus could
have offered of His resurrection was His appearance in person. But was it?
In this episode, Jesus taught implicitly that our eyes are not always
reliable witnesses of truth. The devil can deceive as he did when he
brought "Samuel" before King Saul. Was that sound evidence of
Samuel’s immortality?
When we studied psychology at Avondale College under
Dr. Gordon McDowell, he told us of attending the American Amateur
Magicians’ Championship. The winner’s act was deceptively simple, yet
none of the professional magicians, called upon to judge the event, could
discern the trickery employed. The young man simply strolled onto the
stage whistling. Then he suddenly shot up the thumb of his right hand, and
a live canary sat happily upon it. He continued his whistling until each
of his ten fingers, one by one, was found to have a canary perched upon
it. The magician then produced a cage and placed all ten canaries in the
small cage. They enthusiastically flew about in it like any such birds are
bound to do. The magician continued his whistling holding the cage with
its birds between his hands, in clear view of the audience. Suddenly he
clapped his hands together and the cage and all ten birds disappeared
before their eyes.
On the visual evidence, the birds had come from nowhere
and with the cage had returned to the invisible realm. But was it so? Of
course not. It was indeed a very clever trick, but the audience’s eyes
had deceived them.
Jesus well knew that our faith must be established on
firmer evidence than our visual images. It was only after He had proved
the authenticity of the crucifixion and the resurrection events from
Scripture that Christ revealed Himself to these followers. It is little
wonder that they were to testify:
Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked
with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? Luke 24:32
Peter correctly recognized that the testimony of the
Word of God was far more certain than even the evidence of what his eyes
had seen and his ears had heard.
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables,
when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God
the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in
the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye
do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter
1:16-19
Roman Catholics have not altered their attitude toward
Scripture. In 1954, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, a
fiercely Roman Catholic organization, made the bold claim that the Bible
does not believe itself to be inspired or to be the complete Word of God;
and that there is only one place in the world where you can be sure to
prove the Bible is true and that is through the Catholic Church, the
Apostolic Church (stated in Collier’s Magazine, September 17,
1954). Apparently, the Knights of Columbus are so ignorant of the words of
the Bible that they are unaware that it does present powerful testimony of
its own inspiration. It testifies:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God. 2
Timothy 3:16
Further, the Bible plainly indicates that it is the
complete Word of God and that nothing else is required, for it warns:
If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues that are written in this book. Revelation 22:18
Protestants, on the other hand, accept the biblical
assurance that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide the worshiper in
his discovery of the true meaning of God’s Holy Word.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you
things to come. John 16:13
Nowhere does Scripture delegate this right to the
church. Any student of history can trace the dismal results of following
the papal philosophy of biblical interpretation. In the days of Jesus, God’s
church claimed to be the sole interpreter of the Word. This view was
implicit in the question posed concerning Jesus—
How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
John 7:15
In answer to this question Jesus enunciated the
principle of individual Bible interpretation.
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. John 7:17
When the leading light of the early Christian Church,
the apostle Paul, explained his interpretation of Scripture to the
believers in Berea, they refused to accept his words without confirming
them by personal study. Rather than heaping condemnation upon them for
following this procedure, it is recorded concerning the Bereans:
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in
that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11
In both Old Testament and New Testament times, men were
admonished to study God’s Word for themselves.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4
Never did God place the interpretation of Scriptures in
the province of the church. So sacred are the Scriptures that the Holy
Spirit alone holds the key to their understanding. When the church has
usurped this divine prerogative it has inevitably provided a fertile
ground for the proclamation of damnable error. The Jewish Church perverted
Sabbathkeeping by its dictates. It taught the law from a legalistic
viewpoint which favored the church but removed from God’s people the joy
of their salvation.
So too the Roman Catholic Church, usurping God’s
authority, has interpreted Scripture to teach the infallibility of the
pope, the immortality of the soul, the Immaculate Conception, the efficacy
of the seven sacraments, confession of sins to men, idol worship, the
veneration of the "saints," purgatory, limbo, infant baptism,
penance, the Mass, and a whole host of associated heresies. Truly, the
track record of ecclesiastical interpretation of Scripture is a poor one
indeed.
In contrast, humble men of God, searching the
Scriptures under the power of the Holy Ghost, founded the Reformation, the
Methodist Revival, and the great Advent movement of the nineteenth
century. None of these mighty reformatory movements which shook the world
could have been based upon interpretations propounded by church authority,
for such is not the province of the church. The duty of church leaders is
to encourage private Bible study and prayer, to preach the Word,
admonishing the flock to personally verify that which is spoken, to
condemn sin, and to uplift Jesus as our Saviour. It is its duty to
organize the proclamation of the three angels’ messages to every corner
of the earth.
This responsibility does not mean a loose organization
consisting of men and women of great variations of belief. The Holy Spirit
does not guide one into truth and others into various errors. The Holy
Spirit is designated as the Spirit of Truth. He alone can guide into
truth. Contrary to speculation, when each believer asserts his
God-ordained right to discover Bible truth for himself, unity will prevail
and the church will be vibrant. Deeper truths will be discovered and
shared as each believer utilizes the power of divine insight freely
available from the Holy Spirit. No course would more effectively eliminate
the spiritual stagnation of credalism than a church buoyant with members
freely studying God’s Word to discover more and more of God’s plan for
their lives.
Typical of the acquisition of truth which comes from
personal Bible study under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is the faith of
William Tracy, a former High Sheriff of the County of Glouchestershire in
England. Tracy, a devout Roman Catholic, had nevertheless studied William
Tyndale’s translation of Scripture. Before his death in 1530, Tracy
wrote in his will a profound view of the Bible truths he had found in
Scripture, which were quite contrary to the multitudinous errors taught by
his church. He had discovered justification by faith, the fallacy of the
doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the mediatorial ministry of
Christ, and many other truths still condemned by Roman Catholics. In part
his will read:
First and before all things, I commit myself to God
and to His mercy, believing, without any doubt or mistrust that by His
grace, and the merits of Jesus Christ, and by virtue of His passion and
His resurrection, I have and shall have remission of all my sins, and
resurrection of body and soul according as it is written, I believe that
my Redeemer liveth, and that in the last day I shall rise out of the
earth, and in my flesh shall see my Saviour: this my hope is laid up in
my bosom. And touching the health of my soul, the faith that I have
taken and rehearsed is sufficient (as I suppose) without any other man’s
works or merits. My ground of belief is, that there is but one God and
one Mediator between God and man, which is Jesus Christ; so that I
accept none in heaven or in earth to be mediator between me and God, but
only Jesus Christ: and therefore will I bestow no part of my goods for
that intent that any man should say or do to help my soul: for therein I
trust only to the promises of Christ: "He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be
damned." As touching the burying of my body, it availeth me not
whatsoever be done thereto; for . . . the funeral pomps are rather the
solace of them that live, than the wealth and comfort of them that are
dead. And touching the distribution of my temporal goods, my purpose is,
by the grace of God, to bestow them to be accepted as the fruits of
faith; so that I do not suppose that my merit shall be by the good
bestowing of them, but my merit is the faith of Jesus Christ only, by
whom such works are good . . . and ever we should consider
that true saying, that a good work maketh not a good man, but a good man
maketh a good work; for faith maketh a man both good and righteous; for
a righteous man liveth by faith, and whatsoever springeth not of faith
is sin. Witness mine own hand the tenth of October in the twenty-second
year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth. Quoted in Merle D’Aubigné,
The Reformation in England, vol. 2, 69-70
Perhaps this superb testimony of faith would be
incomplete if we were not to record that like John Wycliffe’s, William
Tracy’s bones were exhumed and burnt two years after his death on the
order of the Roman Catholic primate of England. Such foolishness not only
demonstrated Roman Catholic intolerance of truth, but also emphasized the
paucity of Bible truth espoused by those who permitted the Church to guide
their interpretation of Scripture.
Worse still, the Roman Catholic Church has ever upheld
the corrupted manuscripts of the Bible and included seven non-canonical
books in their bible. It has done so because
The Catholic Church has always encouraged the
faithful to read the Bible, but at the same time she reserved and
reserves the right to see that translations are in accordance with her
tradition and her faith. Catholic Answers to "Bible"
Christians, 7
Thus when Roman Catholic literature speaks well of the
modern translations of Scripture, this fact alone should serve as a stern
warning to those who wish to uphold these translations before God’s
people as the standard Word of God. The condemnation and rejection of the
King James Version by the Roman Catholic Church serves as one of the most
powerful testimonies of its validity.
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