Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Catholics & Judaizers Together

According to Michael Liccione:

"Therefore, it is a necessary condition for interpreting the NT adequately that one identify which visible body counts as 'the' Church founded by the Lord, and then choose to conform one’s mind with hers. One can only do that by choosing to submit one’s judgment on matters de fide to those with divinely given authority to speak for and to the whole Church: those who hold and exercise the Magisterium. But such a submission would only be justifiable if in fact the Magisterium speaks with divine authority, and is not giving just its own opinions. Anybody can have opinions, but those are always provisional because always fallible. Divine authority, when exercised, is infallible, and thus its judgments are irreformable."

http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2009/11/solo-scriptura-sola-scriptura-and-the-question-of-interpretive-authority/

Of course, that's viciously circular inasmuch as submission to the de fide judgment of "the" Church is only as good as our fallible, provisional judgment regarding which visible body counts as "the" Church.

The argument would only work if the claims of the Roman Church were self-evidently true.

"The NT is 'adequate' only when prayerfully read in that context. It is of course possible for a person to simply read the NT on its own and learn a great deal of what’s necessary; in fact, I believe it happens a lot. But partly for the reasons given above, I don’t think it’s possible for anybody to assent by faith to the entire content of the deposit of faith in such a way...Thus, as St. Thomas had said, it is possible to learn by reading the NT alone much of that which is 'of faith'; but unless one submits one’s judgment to that of the bishops in apostolic succession, one does not adhere 'by faith' to what one thereby learns. For one has no way of knowing that what one learns is the actual faith of the Church rather than just one’s personal opinions."

Just imagine a Judaizer sitting in church as Paul's courier finished reading aloud his letter to the Galatians, and then exclaiming: "That's inadequate! I can't assent by faith to the content of Galatians. For whether or not Paul condemns justification by works of the law as a false gospel is just a matter of one's personal opinion."

Catholics like Liccione never put themselves in the position of a NT Christian.

2 comments:

  1. Wow:::>

    "...Catholics like Liccione never put themselves in the position of a NT Christian....".

    That's sad indeed!

    Just consider what God is depriving him of:::>

    Psa 135:5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Psa 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. Psa 135:7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

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  2. Just imagine a Judaizer sitting in church as Paul's courier finished reading aloud his letter to the Galatians, and then exclaiming: "That's inadequate! I can't assent by faith to the content of Galatians. For whether or not Paul condemns justification by works of the law as a false gospel is just a matter of one's personal opinion."

    "I'm sorry, Paul...I have to wait 1900 years for your idea to 'develop'!"

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