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…
In our last episode, I examined the Reformed/Presbyterian notion that Scripture is the “infallible interpreter” of Scripture. This model of exegesis does not work, I argued, because the Bible is an object and objects do not interpret themselves. Interpretation is…
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 contentious subject betwixt Protestants and Catholics focuses on the identity of the Woman of Revelation 12: 1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a…
I am a Whovian, and one of my favorite episodes is the über-classic “Blink”. It guest stars Carey Mulligan as the unfortunately-named Sally Sparrow who stumbles across some unexpectedly personal graffiti. The usual timey-wimey hijinks ensue. The episode is brilliant,…
He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. [1 Corinthians 3:8] Yet God merely crowns the merits He gives us: What have you that you did not receive? [1…
Protestantism treats Scripture just as [scientists] deal with Nature; it takes the sacred text as a large collection of phenomena, from which, by an inductive process, each individual Christian may arrive at just those religious conclusions which approve themselves to…
When I was a Protestant I was regularly frustrated by the fact that publishing houses and other non-ecclesial bodies had effectively assumed stewardship of the Bible. Publishers own copyrights on various translations, and Bible societies do the same. I was…
In a thread at the Protestant (and excellently-named) blog Green Baggins a Presbyterian commenter opines of the Catholic paradigm: There is no room for “asking what the Bible says” on any matter of serious importance in this paradigm. The freedom…
Aquinas, Etc. 