Msg Base:  AREA 3  - ASK FATHER (AMDG)
  Msg No: 33.  Sun  8-16-92 10:31  (NO KILL)
    From: Father Mateo
      To: Alan Westfall
 Subject: sola Scriptura

AW|-> I believe each of us should in our heart of hearts ask: "Is Jesus my
  |-> Lord or isn't He? Is His Church the Pillar and Foundation of Truth
  |-> or isn't she?" If "Yes" is my answer, then private interpretation of
  |-> Scripture is out.  I just don't have the authority to interpret
  |-> God's Word.  Only the Church does.
 
AW|Would you suggest, then, that personal Bible reading, really profits
  |nothing?  If the Catholic Church is the only interpretative authority,
  |then could Bible reading (unaided by study notes or outside reference
  |materials) be a potential hazard...especially if one finds his
  |understanding of what he has read to be at variance with the official
  |interpretation?
 
AW|-> And since only the Church is empowered to interpret the Scripture,
  |-> and since the Church alone is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth,
  |-> then the Church is infallible because Christ is with her always
  |-> (Matthew 28:20).  The Holy Spirit guides her into all truth (John
  |-> 16:13), teaches her everything and reminds her of everything Jesus
  |-> said (John 14:26).  She cannot teach religious and moral error.
 
AW|-> Exactly HOW the Church works out her infallibility in teaching us is
  |-> a mere detail, a footnote.  She does so through her Popes and her
  |-> Bishops, teaching in unanimity.  To fuss about papal infallibility is
  |-> to strain out a gnat (Matthew 23:24).
 
AW|I would feel it to be important to act in the spirit of the Bereans,
  |who "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was
  |true." (Ac 17:11)  I believe that every church organization, Catholic
  |or no, should have its teachings examined in the light of Scripture by
  |anyone who might be considering to become a member thereof.  The
  |Bereans were not condemned because of their desire to examine the
  |validity of the teachings of Paul; rather they were considered most
  |noble.
 
AW|Being a Protestant (Wisconsin Synod Lutheran, to be exact), I frown
  |upon the myriad of false teachings being disseminated by self-professed
  |"Bible Teachers" who really have neither the ability, the capacity, nor
  |the knowledge of the Scriptures, to do so.  And there are many within
  |the laity of Christianity, equally unarmed with the truth of Holy Writ,
  |to defend their faith against the falsehoods of these "ministers," and
  |fall prey to the "creative interpretations" of these deceivers.
  |Numbers are decieved, Catholic and Protestant alike.
 
AW|I believe we need to understand how our shepherds (pastor, priest,
  |minister...) come to the interpretations that they do.  I disagree in
  |the sense that I do not view it as a minor detail, or footnote, as to
  |how the Pope (or any Christian spiritual leader) comes to the
  |interpretation of Scripture that is taught to the people.  If believers
  |are, as Paul describes them, as "spiritual" men who "may understand
  |what God has freely given us" (1Co 2:15, 12), then they should be able
  |to weigh the teachings against Scripture, would you not agree?
 
AW|I do not say these things to attack you, Father.  I only ask these
  |things because they concern me greatly.  It goes against my conscience
  |to agree with someone's words merely upon their own authority, and
  |there are many out there that would ask me to do just that.  But I need
  |to be assured that my church is teaching what God's Word is teaching,
  |and that I can examine and conclude for myself on the basis of those
  |Scriptures.  I cannot allow myself to risk my eternal fate to anyone's
  |teachings without examining them.
 
AW|Thank you most sincerely for taking the time to read this post.
 
AW|Most respectfully,
  |Alan
 
 
Dear Mister Westfall:
 
Thank you for your gracious message.  I do not greet you by your first
name, as I think you must be an ordained pastor.
 
The Second Vatican Council devoted a long instruction to Sacred
Tradition and Scripture.  This is the "Constitution on Divine
Revelation" (DEI VERBUM).  You may order a copy of the documents of
the Council for $9.95 (paper) plus postage/handling $2.25 from St.
Paul Books and Media - 50 St. Paul's Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA
02130-9930.  The title and order number are: "Vatican Council II: the
Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, EP1097P.
 
In Chapter VI of DEI VERBUM, the Council teaches: "The entire
Christian religion should be nourished and ruled by Sacred Scripture.
In the sacred books the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to
meet His children and talks with them....  Likewise, the sacred Synod
forcefully and specifically exhorts all The Christian faithful ... to
learn `the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ' (Phil. 3:8) by
frequent reading of the divine Scriptures.  Ignorance of the
Scriptures is ignorance of Christ' (St. Jerome)."
 
In Chapter II, the Council teaches: "Sacred Tradition and
sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God,
which is entrusted to the Church....  But the task of giving an
authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written
form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living
teaching office of the Church alone.  Her authority in this matter is
exercised in the Name of Jesus Christ.  Yet this Magisterium is not
superior to the Word of God, but is its servant.  It teaches only what
has been handed on to it....  Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and
the Magisterium are so connected and associated that one of them
cannot stand without the others."
 
It is not I, but the sacred writer of 2nd Peter who warned that Bible
reading (apart from authentic interpretation) can be a spiritual
hazard (2nd Peter 3:16).  St. Paul rebuked his Galatians for falling
away from the gospel he had preached (Gal. 1:6-9).  Their seducers
were those who were pushing a strict adherence to the Mosaic law
instead of the new Covenant in Christ.  And they were using the Old
Testament scriptures to "prove" their point, we may be sure.  Private
interpretation was at work.
 
With you, I applaud the Bereans of Acts 17:10-12.  When anyone shows
an interest in Catholicism, he must undergo a long period of
instruction and prayer "to determine whether these things (are) so"
(v. II).  This instruction is Scripture-intensive, of course.  No one
can be baptized without this instruction and without accepting all
the teachings of the Church.
 
The teachings that are proposed to the would-be convert are the
teachings of the Church that we believe is infallible, the Pillar and
Foundation of Truth.  Once more--and I believe this is a crucial
point--it is The CHURCH that is infallible, by Christ's promise
and the power of His Spirit.  The Pope and the Bishops with him are
the ones who EXERCISE that power--but it is the BODY OF CHRIST
(Col. 1:24) that is infallible.
 
Neither Church nor Scripture teaches private interpretation
and SOLA SCRIPTURA. (It should be clear that by "private
interpretation" we do not mean to exclude personal, prayerful Bible
reading).
 
I believe we must find the Church which Christ founded.  Then we shall
be secure.  If every doctrine must receive my personal imprimatur,
then I have made myself my own Pope.  Down that road lie 25,000
Christian sects instead of the one Mystical Body of Christ, His
Church.
 
                                Sincerely in Christ,
 
                                        Father Mateo