By Bro. Manny, OTFS Chief Apologist
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| The Holy Bible Is A Compilation of Writings From The Old To New Testament |
Since the time of the Protestant Movement of Martin Luther who was a former Catholic Priest that initially fought for reforms in the Catholic Church, the Bible was taught to be the only authority and basis of faith and of how men will be saved. We, therefore, regard him as the first modernist who has thrown away long-held holy tradition that the Catholic Church is the Sole Authority on matters of Faith as the Pillar and Foundation of Truth in favor of his "Bible Only Doctrine" that is not even written or attested to by the Bible itself. And so we would like to share this Traditionalist reflection to you:
A TRADITIONALIST REFLECTION
"We are what you once were. We believe what you once believed. We worship as you once worshiped. If you are wrong now, you were then. If we were right then, we are right now."
A TRADITIONALIST REFLECTION
"We are what you once were. We believe what you once believed. We worship as you once worshiped. If you are wrong now, you were then. If we were right then, we are right now."
Since the day of Martin Luther, Protestant believers and the traditionalist Catholic Church have clashed over the doctrine of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. The Catholic Church has always put premium to the holy tradition because that was how Jesus and the Apostles taught not solely on written scriptures but by teaching and living the words of God in their lives. The teachings, therefore, have been handed down through oral traditions, not through the written scriptures on papers. It was as the Lord has said written in the hearts of the faithful and practiced faithfully by the Church of the Living God, that is the Catholic Church through the centuries of its unceasing existence since it was founded by our Lord Jesus Christ and built through the Apostles.
"But time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth." And how did the true worshipers teach the succeeding generations of the church members? Not by bible only doctrine but by tradition as it is written in Hebrew 10:15-16
Do you know that the Bible is a Catholic book?
I guess many don't! The Bible is indeed a Catholic Book, the book of books, a library in a book as they said for it is a compilation of the canonical scriptures, letters, epistles, and other forms of writings of the Apostles and Evangelists that were in the possession of the Catholic Church for ages. The Catholic Church gathers them, faithfully with care kept and preserves them as a testament to the true Church of the Living God. Now let us repeat that again - COMPILATION OF CANONICAL SCRIPTURES, LETTERS, EPISTLES, AND OTHER FORM OF WRITINGS THAT WERE IN THE POSSESSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR AGES.
"But time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth." And how did the true worshipers teach the succeeding generations of the church members? Not by bible only doctrine but by tradition as it is written in Hebrew 10:15-16
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put My Laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.” Now isn't that very traditional? That is tradition when the laws of God are first written in the hearts and minds of the faithful before they were even written in the books. Would the Holy Spirit testify at that time through the written books? No, it was through the inspired spoken words of the Apostles by Oral Tradition. See that it was first taught orally and put to minds and hearts before they were even written. How can then the bible only doctrine be ever true? No it such doctrine of the Protestants can only be false because nowhere in the Bible that states the Bible Only Doctrine should be followed.
Ang again God himself has testified, has spoken, and has taught Jeremiah the prophet who first taught in spoken words and the people remembered “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their hearts, I will write it, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD. The teaching of the law, therefore, is no longer written in the tablets as in the days of Moses but in the NEW COVENANT of the Lord Jesus Christ, the law of the New Covenant is written in the hearts of men by God. This is the new covenant which I give you...do this in memory of me says the Lord on the night before he was given up to suffer on the cross. Now the Lord did not say write it down in the Bible. But he said, do this in memory of me. That is tradition. Now if it is written in the hearts who can read it? Can anyone read what is written in the heart of his fellowman? No, only God can read the hearts and minds of men. So then if the laws of God are written in the hearts, It can only mean tradition! The one that is heard and taught is absorbed in the heart so that it stays in the heart. God has always been a traditionalist not a modernist because his laws never changed.
Thus before the Bible came to be which is the compilation of the books of scriptures, written gospels, letters, and epistles the Oral Tradition came first because there was no Printing Press until the 15th century to mass-produced the Bible. The bible is a compilation of scriptures, books, letters, and epistles which are all written record teachings and practices first spoken and taught by oral tradition at the time when writing and making copies were done by the Scribes on Papyrus materials which take years to make a few copies. Thus from the beginning relied mostly on Oral Tradition handed down by the Apostles to the Bishops and Priests down to their successors in the generations that followed. Therefore it cant be interpreted by the way it is read and understood by the reader but by looking at how it was first taught and practiced by the faithful in the Catholic Church and in their lives.
Do you know that the Bible is a Catholic book?
I guess many don't! The Bible is indeed a Catholic Book, the book of books, a library in a book as they said for it is a compilation of the canonical scriptures, letters, epistles, and other forms of writings of the Apostles and Evangelists that were in the possession of the Catholic Church for ages. The Catholic Church gathers them, faithfully with care kept and preserves them as a testament to the true Church of the Living God. Now let us repeat that again - COMPILATION OF CANONICAL SCRIPTURES, LETTERS, EPISTLES, AND OTHER FORM OF WRITINGS THAT WERE IN THE POSSESSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR AGES.
For over 300 years the Catholic Church as it was known in 100-107 AD some 70 years after its official founding sometime in 30-33 AD by our Lord Jesus Christ before he ascended to heaven had no bible. What's that again? THEY HAD NO BIBLE, nothing! So how did they survive as a church and how did the early Christians guide in living the teachings of the Lord? There was no bible yet at that time and the members of the church lived their lives according to teachings of the Apostles through ORAL TRADITIONS and Letters and Epistles of the Apostles, Letters, and Writings of the Early Church Fathers that came after the Apostles, and the Bishops already in placed who headed and led each of the churches in different cities and places of One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The copies of gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John were simply hard to find because if there were many in existence they could have survived but they were hardly seen in their original form since there was no printing press at that time and copies were made by hand on crude materials. Now the question is raised if we are to believe the "bible only" preachers today of the Protestant churches - If there was no bible for 300 Years of the Catholic Church were the Catholics wrong in the practice of their faith adhering to the written and oral traditions handed down to them just as told by them by St. Peter, St. Paul, and all the other Apostles? Because if the original Christians were wrong then how can the Protestants be right now with their bible only belief?
What we now see in the Catholic Church today, its doctrines, its practices, its worship are the same as they were from the time the Church existed in Jerusalem out to the world. The doctrines and dogmas, the deposit of Faith, the Article of Faith, the Holy Mass, the sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacraments, all of them are the same it's been believed and practiced then. The martyrs, the first Christians died embracing all of them can we say they are wrong? How can the non-Catholics be right now in their beliefs and they were wrong before. The bible can even be traced from the works of Pope Damasus and the priest St. Jerome who labored and toiled to compile the books and translate them into Latin called them Vulgate.
The Letters and Epistles of the Apostles and the Church Fathers who succeeded them directly were written to guide, to correct errors, to remind the faithful, to hold together the Christians to persevere, to give them courage and hope, to cheer them up, and to assure them that the teachings they received and believed can be trusted with their lives. How can the Latin and Greek-speaking Christians understand the gospels written in Hebrew by the four Gospel writers who were all Jews? Only the Jews then could have understood them. In the absence of available scriptures written in their native languages, the early Christians had to rely on the one and only means of communication, the Oral Tradition, and the Letters and Epistles written for them by their bishops who spoke the language they speak. So if the Letter and Epistle were written for the Greek Speaking church, naturally the letter would be in Greek. Yet the letter or epistle contained the same universal teaching of the Catholic Church.
If we look at the composition of the letters and epistles of Apostles Peter, Paul, James, Jude, John they addressed them to the churches they have put up in the different cities, towns, and places in the old world particularly to the bishops, presbyters, and deacons who then read them during to the congregation or the during the Holy Mass where the members meet every Sunday which was then called the Lord's Day for it was on a Sunday that Jesus resurrected. That was how the early Christians were taught and grew in faith and holiness not by their own personal readings and interpretation of the bible or so-called personal relationship with the Lord as savior but through the guidance of the Church.
What we now see in the Catholic Church today, its doctrines, its practices, its worship are the same as they were from the time the Church existed in Jerusalem out to the world. The doctrines and dogmas, the deposit of Faith, the Article of Faith, the Holy Mass, the sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacraments, all of them are the same it's been believed and practiced then. The martyrs, the first Christians died embracing all of them can we say they are wrong? How can the non-Catholics be right now in their beliefs and they were wrong before. The bible can even be traced from the works of Pope Damasus and the priest St. Jerome who labored and toiled to compile the books and translate them into Latin called them Vulgate.
The Letters and Epistles of the Apostles and the Church Fathers who succeeded them directly were written to guide, to correct errors, to remind the faithful, to hold together the Christians to persevere, to give them courage and hope, to cheer them up, and to assure them that the teachings they received and believed can be trusted with their lives. How can the Latin and Greek-speaking Christians understand the gospels written in Hebrew by the four Gospel writers who were all Jews? Only the Jews then could have understood them. In the absence of available scriptures written in their native languages, the early Christians had to rely on the one and only means of communication, the Oral Tradition, and the Letters and Epistles written for them by their bishops who spoke the language they speak. So if the Letter and Epistle were written for the Greek Speaking church, naturally the letter would be in Greek. Yet the letter or epistle contained the same universal teaching of the Catholic Church.
If we look at the composition of the letters and epistles of Apostles Peter, Paul, James, Jude, John they addressed them to the churches they have put up in the different cities, towns, and places in the old world particularly to the bishops, presbyters, and deacons who then read them during to the congregation or the during the Holy Mass where the members meet every Sunday which was then called the Lord's Day for it was on a Sunday that Jesus resurrected. That was how the early Christians were taught and grew in faith and holiness not by their own personal readings and interpretation of the bible or so-called personal relationship with the Lord as savior but through the guidance of the Church.
It was in the Council of Rome in 382 AD that Pope Damasus drew up the Official List of the Books of the Bible.
Even Luther was compelled to concede on his own that his Protestant Bible was received from the Catholic Church. So how can the so-called Christian protestant religions today trust the bible but not the authority of the Catholic Church which in fact determined what was the true scripture that contains the true Word of God from the false one? Now isn't that a paradox for the bible only believing Christians?
There's no “Bible alone” teaching in the Bible
Early on in the course of the life of the church, there were already false interpretations of the scriptures available in those times that had St. Paul coming up with instructions where they should rely on the truth. In 1 Timothy 3:15, he said, "The Church is the Pillar and the Foundation of the Truth". Wow is that not a repudiation of those preaching the Bible-only principle? Even Peter joined in when he wrote in his 2 Peter 3:16 warning the faithful against twisted interpretations of the Scripture.
Now, now, remember that even Jesus said that if a brother is wrong to bring a fellow brother to correct him and if he does not listen bring him to the Church but if he refused to listen even to the church then treat him like an unbelieving gentile which is deserving of punishment. That is why St. Paul in his letter in 2 Thes 2:15 once more urged the faithful to "hold to traditions which were taught by us either by word of mouth or by the letter". And when a Doctrinal dispute arose in those times Peter stood up and settled the dispute declaring "We believe" in Acts 15. Wow, that was out of the scripture that became part of the scripture now, how's that?
Under the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, it has only one teaching, and that any other teaching that is not from the Magisterium is not the official teaching of the church. However today in the evangelical groups alone more than 43,000 have different interpretations of the bible verses they contradict each other. Each coming up with their own self-serving truth yet we know that truth can't be false at the same time for there is only one truth, not thousands. The truth can only come from the One True Church where the Deposit of Faith and Articles of Faith are preserved.
Bible Alone Doctrine is the Invention of the Devil
Can the book alone teach and preach without someone "using" it to do so? Of course not we say but that is what the Protestants have adhered to as the only authority on matters of faith and morals. They have turned the Bible into their law just like the Law of Moses such that anything that they don't see in the bible or things that are not visible in the scriptures cannot be considered as the truth. Yet their truth is their interpretation of the bible. While the Bible is the word of God in written form and contains the truth, however, such truth when interpreted falsely that interpretation is false. Once the truth is corrupted by wrong interpretation it's no longer the truth but falsehood design to deceive others. So one may ask, "But how do we interpret the Bible?". We interpret the bible based on the sacred traditions handed down to us which means we don't interpret by our own understanding but in reference to the Church teachings as handed down to it by the Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostles down through the generations of Christ instituted authorities in the Catholic Church. No one can interpret it any other way.
Know that believing alone does not make faith. James said "You believe that God is one, good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder" what is James saying is that believing alone is not faith because the demons believe too but they don't have faith in them. They only have contempt for God so that they even use the scripture to tempt the Lord. Is that not a warning to those that believe in the Bible Alone doctrine? Satan used the scripture to try and tempt Jesus, the Son of God in the desert, and Jesus rebuked him that the same scripture also says otherwise that "thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God or put the Lord thy God into the test". So then if the scripture can be used by Satan to try and tempt the Lord, how much more it can be used by his "agents" to deceive the people? This shows that without the teaching authority that is the Catholic Church, the Bible Alone cannot stand and it will be subject to misuse by deceitful men, the antichrists.
When a Muslim takes hold of the bible and reads it, he will read it as a Muslim and interpret it as a Muslim. Thus without the guidance of the teaching authority, the Catholic Church, he will interpret it differently and believe differently not the truth as taught by the Apostles but how he was taught in Islam. The story of Philip encounter with an Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 exemplifies that reading the Bible alone is not the way to understand the scripture but only through the Church authority. In the story, the Eunuch was reading the prophet Isiah scripture in the Old Testament and Philip asked him “Do you understand what you are reading?” and the Eunuch replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”. And so Philip taught him who Jesus Christ is, converted him, and baptized him. So here the Bible is teaching us that those who study the scripture must be instructed by those with authority given by the Church, in the case of the Eunuch, Philip had teaching authority as he was appointed to serve the disciples or members of the Church. Therefore the Bible Alone cannot stand without the guidance of the teaching authority of the Church.
But one may ask, is Philip authorized by the Church, what is the proof? Yes, he is one of the seven reputable men filled with Spirit and wisdom chosen by the 12 Apostles in Acts 6 to help them serve the growing numbers of disciples or members of the early Church along with Stephen who became an early martyr of the Church. And having been given authority by the Church, Philip was moved by the Holy Spirit to teach and preach to other places after the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem intensified. The authority to teach and preach comes from the Church not from reading the Bible Alone.
Can the book alone teach and preach without someone "using" it to do so? Of course not we say but that is what the Protestants have adhered to as the only authority on matters of faith and morals. They have turned the Bible into their law just like the Law of Moses such that anything that they don't see in the bible or things that are not visible in the scriptures cannot be considered as the truth. Yet their truth is their interpretation of the bible. While the Bible is the word of God in written form and contains the truth, however, such truth when interpreted falsely that interpretation is false. Once the truth is corrupted by wrong interpretation it's no longer the truth but falsehood design to deceive others. So one may ask, "But how do we interpret the Bible?". We interpret the bible based on the sacred traditions handed down to us which means we don't interpret by our own understanding but in reference to the Church teachings as handed down to it by the Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostles down through the generations of Christ instituted authorities in the Catholic Church. No one can interpret it any other way.
Know that believing alone does not make faith. James said "You believe that God is one, good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder" what is James saying is that believing alone is not faith because the demons believe too but they don't have faith in them. They only have contempt for God so that they even use the scripture to tempt the Lord. Is that not a warning to those that believe in the Bible Alone doctrine? Satan used the scripture to try and tempt Jesus, the Son of God in the desert, and Jesus rebuked him that the same scripture also says otherwise that "thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God or put the Lord thy God into the test". So then if the scripture can be used by Satan to try and tempt the Lord, how much more it can be used by his "agents" to deceive the people? This shows that without the teaching authority that is the Catholic Church, the Bible Alone cannot stand and it will be subject to misuse by deceitful men, the antichrists.
When a Muslim takes hold of the bible and reads it, he will read it as a Muslim and interpret it as a Muslim. Thus without the guidance of the teaching authority, the Catholic Church, he will interpret it differently and believe differently not the truth as taught by the Apostles but how he was taught in Islam. The story of Philip encounter with an Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 exemplifies that reading the Bible alone is not the way to understand the scripture but only through the Church authority. In the story, the Eunuch was reading the prophet Isiah scripture in the Old Testament and Philip asked him “Do you understand what you are reading?” and the Eunuch replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”. And so Philip taught him who Jesus Christ is, converted him, and baptized him. So here the Bible is teaching us that those who study the scripture must be instructed by those with authority given by the Church, in the case of the Eunuch, Philip had teaching authority as he was appointed to serve the disciples or members of the Church. Therefore the Bible Alone cannot stand without the guidance of the teaching authority of the Church.
But one may ask, is Philip authorized by the Church, what is the proof? Yes, he is one of the seven reputable men filled with Spirit and wisdom chosen by the 12 Apostles in Acts 6 to help them serve the growing numbers of disciples or members of the early Church along with Stephen who became an early martyr of the Church. And having been given authority by the Church, Philip was moved by the Holy Spirit to teach and preach to other places after the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem intensified. The authority to teach and preach comes from the Church not from reading the Bible Alone.
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