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re: my boy problems (almost no OtR)

On Mon, 17 Dec 2001, Matthew Mesina wrote:
> From: Mark Utley <mau222 at isoc_net>

> > Which, if I may be so bold, has a lot to do with the Catholic position 
> > against the idea of "sola scriptura" or "scripture alone" as a viable 
> > method of interpretation.  Catholics hold that one uses scripture
> > along with two centuries of Tradition and the authority of the Church
> > to determine meaning.

BTW, is it really only the last *two* centuries of tradition that counts?  
And not the many centuries of tradition *before* that?

> Thanks Mark.  I considered bringing this up, but decided against it.  As
> for the authority of the church, to those who refuse to acknowledge it I
> would suggest that history supports the need for the church to interpret 
> scripture.

Well, history -- including the history reported in the Bible -- also
supports the need to subvert the church once in a while.

> When the Bible was first written the printing press hadn't even been
> invented.

Yup.  Indeed, without the printing press, it's open to question whether
the Reformation could have even happened, or taken the form it did.

> Of course, I think proof of authority goes deeper than even that, since
> I think Christ established the church as part of his "mission", but that
> point is debatable.  (Not an invitation.)

Nevertheless, I feel obliged to comment.  :)  The intriguing thing to me
is that much of what we believe was handed down to us by a guy who
claimed, in direct *opposition* to the church that was established by
Jesus, that he had received inspiration from Jesus *directly* and had no
use for traditional authorities.  That guy was Paul, and in texts like
Galatians 1-2, he openly criticizes James, Peter, John and other "pillars"
of the church, who were supposedy appointed by Jesus himself.  OTOH, Paul
also feels quite free to cite those traditional leaders to back up his
doctrinal claims concerning the resurrection, in I Corinthians 15.

So the question of how a Christian is to relate to tradition and official
authority figures is a complex one.  We can't just throw them out -- Paul
certainly didn't -- but we also can't just blindly kowtow to them.  
Sometimes, we may even need to openly *challenge* them.

> I love my protestant brothers and sisters, but often I feel so divided
> from them because they can't see this simple truth you so eloquently
> outline.

What about your Orthodox brothers and sisters?  One of my Orthodox friends
says Protestants are, in some sense, just the natural result of the
erroneous Catholic insistence on "scholasticism", etc.  From his point of
view, Catholics and Protestants are both part of the same heresy (and I
think he says that with his tongue in his cheek -- I think :) ).

--- Peter T. Chattaway --------------------------- peter at chattaway_com ---
 "I detected one misprint, but to torture you I will not tell you where."
      Winston Churchill to T.E. Lawrence, re Seven Pillars of Wisdom

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