Reformation Day – and What Led Me To Back to Catholicism

The Catholic Thing ^ | 10/28/11 | Francis J. Beckwith

[markomalley]

October 31 is only three days away. For Protestants, it is Reformation Day, the date in 1517 on which Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to that famous door in Wittenberg, Germany. Since I returned to the Catholic Church in April 2007, each year the commemoration has become a time of reflection about my own journey and the puzzles that led me back to the Church of my youth.

One of those puzzles was the relationship between the Church, Tradition, and the canon of Scripture. As a Protestant, I claimed to reject the normative role that Tradition plays in the development of Christian doctrine. But at times I seemed to rely on it. For example, on the content of the biblical canon – whether the Old Testament includes the deuterocanonical books (or “Apocrypha”), as the Catholic Church holds and Protestantism rejects. I would appeal to the exclusion of these books as canonical by the Jewish Council of Jamnia (A.D. 90-100) as well as doubts about those books raised by St. Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate, and a few other Church Fathers.

My reasoning, however, was extra-biblical. For it appealed to an authoritative leadership that has the power to recognize and certify books as canonical that were subsequently recognized as such by certain Fathers embedded in a tradition that, as a Protestant, I thought more authoritative than the tradition that certified what has come to be known as the Catholic canon. This latter tradition, rejected by Protestants, includes St. Augustine as well as the Council of Hippo (A.D. 393), the Third Council of Carthage (A.D. 397), the Fourth Council of Carthage (A.D. 419), and the Council of Florence (A.D. 1441).

But if, according to my Protestant self, a Jewish council and a few Church Fathers are the grounds on which I am justified in saying what is the proper scope of the Old Testament canon, then what of New Testament canonicity? So, ironically, given my Protestant understanding of ecclesiology, then the sort of authority and tradition that apparently provided me warrant to exclude the deuterocanonical books from Scripture – binding magisterial authority with historical continuity – is missing from the Church during the development of New Testament canonicity.

The Catholic Church, on the other hand, maintains that this magisterial authority was in fact present in the early Church and thus gave its leadership the power to recognize and fix the New Testament canon. So, ironically, the Protestant case for a deuterocanonical-absent Old Testament canon depends on Catholic intuitions about a tradition of magisterial authority.

This led to two other tensions. First, in defense of the Protestant Old Testament canon, I argued, as noted above, that although some of the Church’s leading theologians and several regional councils accepted what is known today as the Catholic canon, others disagreed and embraced what is known today as the Protestant canon. It soon became clear to me that this did not help my case, since by employing this argumentative strategy, I conceded the central point of Catholicism: the Church is logically prior to the Scriptures. That is, if the Church, until the Council of Florence’s ecumenical declaration in 1441, can live with a certain degree of ambiguity about the content of the Old Testament canon, that means that sola scriptura was never a fundamental principle of authentic Christianity.

After all, if Scripture alone applies to the Bible as a whole, then we cannot know to which particular collection of books this principle applies until the Bible’s content is settled. Thus, to concede an officially unsettled canon for Christianity’s first fifteen centuries seems to make the Catholic argument that sola scriptura was a sixteenth-century invention and, therefore, not an essential Christian doctrine.

Second, because the list of canonical books is itself not found in Scripture – as one can find the Ten Commandments or the names of Christ’s apostles – any such list, whether Protestant or Catholic, would be an item of extra-biblical theological knowledge. Take, for example, a portion of the revised and expanded Evangelical Theological Society statement of faith suggested (and eventually rejected by the membership) by two ETS members following my return to the Catholic Church. It states that, “this written word of God consists of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments and is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behavior.”

But the belief that the Bible consists only of sixty-six books is not a claim of Scripture, since one cannot find the list in it, but a claim about Scripture as a whole. That is, the whole has a property – i.e., “consisting of sixty-six books,” – that is not found in any of the parts. In other words, if the sixty-six books are the supreme authority on matters of belief, and the number of books is a belief, and one cannot find that belief in any of the books, then the belief that Scripture consists of sixty-six particular books is an extra-biblical belief, an item of theological knowledge that is prima facie non-biblical.

For the Catholic, this is not a problem, since the Bible is the book of the Church, and thus there is an organic unity between the fixing of the canon and the development of doctrine and Christian practice.

Although I am forever indebted to my Evangelical brethren for instilling and nurturing in me a deep love of Scripture, it was that love that eventually led me to the Church that had the authority to distinguish Scripture from other things.

[presently no screen name]

Jesus told us to trust them as we trust Him.

Trusting HIM is believing HIM/HIS Word. "But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that HEAR the Word of God and keep it". He gave us His Holy Spirit inspired Word and that has nothing to do with the catholic church. Their beliefs are in their catechism.

Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men".

[presently no screen name]

Gotcha. Gave benefit where I shouldn’t have.

[boatbums]

Now, with that said, the Church has indeed INRI over the head of Jesus on the Crucifix. You claim sola. You cannot claim the authority of the Church in some matters but not all. Either the Church is right or else it is wrong. That was the downfall of the cafeteria Catholics who thought that they could pick and choose. If the Church is wrong, you must repudiate everything about it. If it is right, then it is right.

I just can't let this doozy slip on by. In your view, "If the Church (the Roman Catholic one, I presume) is wrong, you must repudiate everything about it" and "If it is right, then it is right" - about everything are you saying? By this logic, any other church that calls itself Christian, that is not among those that call themselves "Catholic", cannot be right about anything? And the Roman Catholic Church cannot be wrong about anything so this means it is right about everything? I'm not too sure that you really mean it this way, so please clarify. For a few examples, the Southern Baptist Church believes:

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Now, is the Southern Baptist Church right on these things and do they line up with what the Roman Catholic Church believes? If so, then do you care to retract your contention that if a church is wrong, you must repudiate everything about it. If it is right, then it is right?

[presently no screen name]

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Cor 2:14

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16,17

Now tell us again how The Judge does not care about your interpretation.

[presently no screen name]

AMEN and AMEN!! Thank you, AG.

[Alamo-Girl]

You're quite welcome, dear presently no screen name!

[boatbums]

Sorry I brought it back up, I'm just getting caught up and saw this. I can't say as I blame you, though, sometimes it gets exasperating just trying to discuss a simple point. I know this particular one has been a “hobbyhorse” for some and it is almost as if it MUST be their way or you will never hear the end of it. I refuse to back down on either the sufficiency or the reliability of Holy Scripture. Without this God-given treasure, we would be completely at the whim of whoever makes themselves “in charge” of our faith. Thank God we don't have to be.

[Jvette]

Good one, Alamo-Girl and I appreciate that you have read my words and took them seriously and with respect. But, the passage does not call the Holy Spirit, teacher.

But, let us look at that passage in context.

John is warning those to whom he is writing that there have been “anti-christs” among them already.

He is telling them that they already have the truth and need not have anyone teach them what they already have.

It is not the same as saying that the Holy Spirit is the Teacher of what Scripture means.

All the truth that one need know is that Jesus died for our sins and we have everlasting life with Him.

One can know that truth and never know Scripture.

[Jvette]

It does not say “Blessed are they that READ the Word of God and keep it.”

Millions have believed and never read a single word of Scripture.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for sharing your testimony, dear Jvette!

We must know both the Scriptures and the power of God to avoid error:

Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. - Matt 22:29

And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? - Mark 12:24

Bottom line, without His indwelling we not His and can do nothing:

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. - Romans 8:9

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. - John 15:4-5

He leads us.

[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. - Romans 8:1

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. – John 10:3-5

And again:

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. - I Cor 2:6-16

To God be the glory, not man, never man.

[boatbums]

Excellent proof texts, good job! There is also:

I John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

John 21:24
This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

John 20:31
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I Corinthians 4:6
Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.

I Corinthians 12:11-12
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

[presently no screen name]

HEAR and OBEY it.

Millions have believed and never read a single word of Scripture.

Do you know these millions and know what they believe?

[boatbums]

I believe they may be thinking of all of THEIR posts saying what they think we mean by it. I cannot remember anyone ever using the term "solo scriptura" BUT them. I doubt that even posting a good definition will convince though. I wish it could, but it would take away too many of the supposed "darts" they shoot at us. Can't be messin' with their ammo, now, dulling up those darts and all! ;o)

[Jvette]

I thank you, AG for your love of Him and me:)

****We must know both the Scriptures and the power of God to avoid error:****

I beg to differ with you a little on this verse.

These men are testing Jesus, trying to make Him say something with which they can accuse Him. Their error is in trying to trap Jesus by quoting Scripture to Him. They do not know Him and so they sought to trip Him up.

I believe what Jesus meant here is that they know words of Scripture but not the spirit and therefore they do not know Him.

St. Jerome said, “To be ignorant of Scripture is to be ignorant of Christ.”

I don’t agree with that, many have know the love of Christ without ever knowing Scripture.

[Jvette]

Do you know these millions and know what they believe?

Nice deflection from my post.

I know that millions of believers were unable to read, therefore, they believed without ever reading a word of Scripture.

One of the reasons the founding fathers of this great country wanted people to have an education is so that they could read the Bible.

In the not so distant past most people could not read, therefore, they did not study Scripture nor search it daily.

I do not need to personally know each and every one to know that this is a fact.

[Jvette]

Good night all. Sweet dreams and may the Lord keep you until we meet here again.

I thank God for all of you.

[presently no screen name]

Nice deflection from my post.

Why would you say that? I asked what you specifically stated in your post. So you have no idea what they believed - all you know is those millions didn't/couldn't read the Word.

Well thank God Martin Luther could read and HEAR and OBEY God.

[presently no screen name]

They do not know Him and so they sought to trip Him up.

And there are some who claim they know Him but say His Word isn't necessary. Are you trying to trip Him up, also? Jesus said hear and obey My Word.

Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every Word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His Words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar."

[metmom]

And isn’t it also true that the Jewish people took great pains to pass their history on orally so that it was accurate from generation to generation?

Doesn't look like it. There are a lot of references to the book of the Law being written down and its importance. As far as the rest of their history, perhaps they depended on oral tradition for some of it, but what made it into Scripture wasn't always written down after the fact.

And God Himself gives the reason for writing down what He said.

Deuteronomy 17:14, 18-20 14"When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,...

18"And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

Deuteronomy 28:58-59 58"If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God, 59then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.

Deuteronomy 29:20-21 20The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven. 21And the LORD will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

Deuteronomy 27:1-3, 8 1Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, "Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

8And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly."

Deuteronomy 31:9-13 9Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10And Moses commanded them, "At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess."

2 Kings 17:35-40 35The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, "You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, 36but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. 37And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, 38and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, 39but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies." 40However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

[metmom]

Agree with you 100%.

You speak for me as well.