A Problem of Authority

I was pondering blogging about any number of issues on my mind right now from discipline to how the Bible was compiled to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, then as I was doing a couple brief google searches on a couple topics I came across any number of websites (some of other christian traditions) that claimed the Bible was a scandalous cover-up for this or that reason or the Bible proved this point or that point simply based on what they wanted it to imply.  Such things are bothersome to me for multiple reasons, but most of all because the Word of God is not meant to be abused and manipulated for personal agendas. When so many groups (of selfish intent) hold up their interpretation of the Scriptures as "defense" for their personal views the Bible starts to lose it's value in the eyes of man. But fortunately God's Word has it's own agenda.

So where do all of these interpretations get their authority, such that they can claim such things? Well, I'm sure that most, if not all, of them would claim that their authority comes from the Holy Spirit because they were inspired to proclaim them. This CAN NOT be true. The Holy Spirit would not inspire some people to compose the Bible then tell other it is not true. Contradiction goes against the very nature of God as the absolute Truth. For the same reason the Holy Spirit can't inspire two conflicting interpretations of Scripture. So how are we to know what scripture really means? Well, instead of taking scripture out of context like is being done. Let's look at scripture in context. What is the context of scripture? What was the context in which it was written and composed? Hey, there is a novel question!

The Bible didn't just drop out of the sky. The Gospels and Letters of the New Testament were composed in the midst of the preaching and witness of Christ's Apostles in the first century (note: the books of the bible were finally compiled in the forth century). As the Apostles and their disciples traveled and preached the Good News and ministered to the early church, following Christ's death, they first shared the faith orally (by word of mouth) but also wrote letters and soon took down the accounts of the Apostle's memories of Christ. This oral sharing of the faith along with the written sharing of the faith from the time of the Apostles in succession is what the Catholic Church refers to as Tradition. We know that Jesus' life entailed more than what is just in the scriptures.

"But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25)

We can get a fuller picture of who Jesus was and what he did if we look at the entire Tradition left to us by the Apostles, and knowing the fuller picture of who Jesus was can help us to better understand what we read about him in the scriptures. Well okay, but how do we know what oral teaching about Jesus the Apostles shared? The Apostles (first Bishops) would ordain other Bishops (or Popes) with whom they had shared the faith. And those Bishops ordained other Bishops and so on, in succession from the early church to today. In this way the oral teaching of the Apostles as well as their writings in scripture find their way to our present day. So you see how Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) is taking the Bible out of context if there is more to understanding it than just the words on the pages.

Okay, but where does the Catholic Church get it's authority for interpretation of scripture? You know how I mentioned the Apostle's written and oral teaching being passed on in succession through the Bishops and Popes? Well, as the deposit of faith was passed on, so was the authoritative teaching office (Magisterium) that was given them by Christ.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matt. 28:19)

Thus we have the Magisterium (the Pope and Bishops) of the Catholic Church as the teaching authority of the Church to help us in gaining a fuller understanding of Scripture and to preserve the Church from error of faith. So, why are there so many people all claiming to have authority now if Christ clearly passed down the fullest understanding of his Word in a certain way? Well, when Martin Luther decided to split off from the Catholic Church he was also splitting off from all the Bishops and therefore the Apostolic Tradition of the Church. And since it is in the Apostolic Tradition that the fullest understanding of Christ and scriptures is obtained, he had no choice but to deny Apostolic Tradition and rest all authority on scripture itself. Which is a problem when it comes to interpreting what scripture really means. Now we find ourselves right back where we started.

For more information on the above reflection please see the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults at: http://books.google.com/books?id=YUaqYm-7AKwC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA21#v=onepage&q&f=true