The Church teaches that interpretation of the Bible must be done within “the living Tradition of the whole Church”. According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents and…
I read the high priestly prayer of Jesus this morning, and I was struck by something that maybe I have never noticed before. I remembered that the Lord prays not just for the apostles, but also for those who would…
Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed…
The Bible is inerrant, but we are not: This is a fundamental proposition held by both Protestant literalists and by the Catholic Church. Both groups agree that the Bible is inspired by God such that all that Holy Scripture affirms…
Last time, we ended with a question that becomes necessary as a consequence of certain opinions that were held by (for example) Martin Luther: to wit, that the Holy Spirit helps a person to correctly interpret the Bible. The question…
Sometimes, and for reasons that honestly escape me, certain Protestants will attempt to say that St. Thomas was “one of them:” Not that he was literally Protestant of course, for that would be anachronistic, but rather some folks claim that…
In this post my aim is to present a brief biblical defense of the doctrine of ecclesial infallibility. I do not intend to be particularly technical: what I mean for the purposes of this post by “the doctrine of ecclesial…
A large hunk (but by no means all) of Protestantism’s appeal comes from its doctrine of the so-called perspicuity of Scripture, according to which (as the Westminster Confession of Faith, for one, puts it) VII. All things in Scripture are…
St. John of the Cross has this to say about the meaning of Scripture: Many things have been spoken by the Holy Ghost, the meaning of which is different from that which men conceive. (Ascent Of Mount Carmel) He enumerates…
I have written about this subject before, and it came up again today whilst I was flipping through my notes. Once upon a time when I was still Protestant I adamantly stood for the literal 24-hour, 7-day interpretation of Genesis…
Aquinas, Etc. 