I'm Not a Chrisitan...What? Part III - The Bible

So, let's talk about another topic that was brought up early on in the debate on Facebook. It's one that he brought up in a couple of different ways:

1. The Catholic Church prevents Catholics from reading Scripture.
2. Catholics do not follow the Bible which is the ONLY source for Christian faith.
3. The Catholic Church's Teachings are contrary to the Bible.

We will take these points on one at a time to make it easier to follow. Some of these things are questions I had myself before converting. For those of you unaware, I was a Protestant my entire life until I came to be a Catholic, which was only a few years ago. I had many of the typical misconceptions and biases that were due, in large part, to the many "Cafeteria Catholics" I had encountered to that point in my life. It wasn't until I asked questions of educated persons...persons who actually follow the tenets as well as understand them that I began to I had been misled. Now, don't get me wrong, I realize that even with understanding the "why" of Catholicism, some people may never be able to make that jump. That is fine. It's ok to disagree with me. The only thing I ask is that a person be properly educated with the FACTS so that they actually know what it is they're disagreeing with. I think anyone would expect the same of any subject matter - religious or otherwise. Know the facts. It's common sense, really.

1. The Catholic Church prevents Catholics from reading Scripture.
Ok. I have to admit that this is not one of the misconceptions I had prior to my conversion. In fact, the first time I heard this accusation was on my Facebook page, yesterday. I was perplexed as to how someone may have gotten that idea in their head. Mind you, he was not referring to Church history where the population was largely illiterate (which prompted the creation of stain glass windows to "show" the stories of the Bible for those who could not read). No, he was stating that now...today...the Church tries to prevent our study of Scripture. Hmmmm...

I can attest to you, as a devout Catholic, that I have NEVER been discouraged from learning Scripture...studying it...understanding it. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The Church highly encourages us to know and read the Bible. We have more Scripture read to us during our weekly Mass than you get in a Protestant service. Here is a simple breakdown of the prayer and Scripture we encounter during our Mass, just to give you an idea of the flow:

Prayer
Songs of Worship
Reading from OT
Psalm
Reading from NT
Reading of the Holy Gospel
More Prayer

That is just an overview of the specific instances of prayer and Scripture. It doesn't even include the Eucharist, intentions, etc. Our Mass is centered on Christ from the moment we enter the Church until we leave. Everything we do, we do to honor God and give thanks to His presence in our lives.

In addition to Mass, there is no end to all of the materials at our disposal and classes, too, if we want to learn more about Scripture. We are never denied an opportunity for Bible Studies, RCIA (classes for those who want to convert - which provides in-depth discussions and Scripturally based foundations for the Catholic faith). If it were true...if the Church wanted us to remain ignorant of Scripture, then wouldn't it have banned Bibles from being dispensed in the first place...long ago before the People were able to become more educated? I have always found communication to be quite open within the Church about questions and discussions. If it had not been so, I would not have converted as I did...as an adult.

2. Catholics do not follow the Bible which is the ONLY source for Christian faith.
3. The Catholic Church's Teachings are contrary to the Bible.
(Let's combine these two and answer them together as they can tie together quite easily.)
First, let's travel back in time a little way. It's important to understand the origins of the Bible. It was, in fact, a Catholic book. It was put together completely by Catholics (the only Christians at that time). Therefore, it's important that we acknowledge the fact that anyone has a Bible at all is due to the Catholics gathering all of the writings and placing them into one, complete book. It was the Church that scrutinized all the writings and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit divined what to place into it and what was false writing. Not an easy task and certainly not something that could have been accomplished without God's Divine Intervention at the time. A point could be made, here, that for anyone to quote the Bible and give it authority would be to recognize the authority of the Catholic Church that gave us said Bible. It's logical.

Some Scripture to reference when discussing "the Bible Alone" theory:
Matthew 16:13-20, 18:18, 28:19-20; Luke 10:16, John 14:16, 21:25; II Thess. 2:15, 3:6; I Cor. 11:2, I Peter 1:25 and II Peter 3:15-16

It's important to note that "sola scriptura" (scripture alone) is not found in the Bible anywhere. First of all, the Bible even tells us that not everything Jesus said and did were written down, so we need to include oral tradition in our following of His Teachings. Even in II Peter, it is noted that Scripture can be very hard to interpret...we need an authoritative interpreter.

Do we not all recall that the Bible even tells us that to each person God bestows a different gift? All of those gifts are to be used for the purpose of God and that not all persons can receive the same types of gifts. Wouldn't it stand to reason, then, that interpreting God's Word is not a gift He has necessarily bestowed upon everyone? If He had...then, considering it came from God, then I argue that we would, in fact, have everyone interpreting the very same things. This, however, is not the case so it should call into question whether or not everyone should be just willy-nilly interpreting such Holy Words on their own without any guidance. It certainly should, at the very least, make you think.

Do not ignore, also, that since the case is the Catholic Church gave us the Bible. Then, it stands to reason that it cannot, therefore, contradict the Catholic faith. How is that even possible? Why would the Church, which came pre-Bible, put together something that would only discredit what they had been doing for 300 years by that time? Take away your religious thoughts on this for a moment and think about that in a logical manner. Does it make sense? If the Church was evil and trying to keep us from the Bible...keep us from God...keep us from following what Christ wanted...why would they comprise the Bible of anything to the contrary of what they wanted to have us believe? They didn't. The Bible is a further extension of our beliefs and Church guarantees the Bible. They walk hand-in-hand together, always.

My hope is that this clarifies some misconceptions about the beautiful and Christ-led faith that is Catholicism. I am not worried if someone decides they don't like my beliefs nor my faith. Disagreeing is something that happens. However, I ask that people please know what it is they're disagreeing with rather than simply taking someone's interpretations of our faith as the Truth. That can only lead to further misguided opinions. I once had opinions based upon false impressions and uninformed thinking, too. Perhaps what I've written will help further educate...perhaps it will give you pause. Whatever the case, I hope it will at least shed light onto some of the dark that is creeping around out there.

Peace be with you.