Trent Horn@Trent_HornWithout Catholicism you wouldn't even know which human writings belong in the Bible
i) You have to wonder how serious Horn is about this blanket denial, or if he's just swept up in the giddy momentum of Catholic apologetics. Does he seriously think we can't know whether even a single book of the Bible belongs in the canon without Catholicism? Does he seriously think that Isaiah, the Gospel of John, Mad Magazine, and Battlefield Earth (L. Ron Hubbard) are equally viable candidates? Is this sweeping skepticism sincere?
ii) So how can Catholic apologists and theologians prooftext Catholicism from the Bible if they don't even know apart from Catholicism which writings belong in the Bible? Don't they have to know which writings belong to the Bible to use the Bible to establish Catholicism? How can they simultaneously prove the Bible from Catholicism while they prove Catholicism from the Bible? Where do they break into that circle?
iii) A basic problem with the Tridentine canon is that books were admitted under what are now regarded as false pretenses regarding traditional authority. The Historical-Critical method is dominant in contemporary mainstream Catholic Bible scholarship. That's accepted by the hierarchy.
On that view, many canonical books are pious forgeries. But those are not the terms under which they were canonized. Those would have been disqualifying terms. Even as late as the original PBC, traditional authorship was nonnegotiable.
Catholicism fell from the sky :)
ReplyDeleteTouché!
DeleteIt's a bit like Muhummad is a prophet because the Koran says so. Then how do you know the Koran is the word of God? Because Muhummad says so.
ReplyDeleteIt would be news to the Jews that papists were responsible for deciding which books went into the Tanach.
But Battlefield Earth IS part of the End Times.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jesus comes from the sky in blazing glory with his angels to destroy the united armies of the earth under the Beast, Scientologists will point and say "See! We told you so, Xenu is back to conquer earth!"
Over the next 1000 years the doctrines of Scientology will spread insidiously as 'Xenu' rules from Jerusalem, demanding complete subservience - obey and be rewarded with his advanced health and youth revitalizing technology, defy and have your country scourged by the alien weather manipulation machines.
Eventually a charismatic leader (STARRING: TOM CRUISE in yet another 'plucky humans outwit the alien invaders' flick) will arise to lead the human resistance and reclaim the earth from the alien overlords. Rumour has it that Gordon Freeman might be involved somewhere as well.