WHY SCRIPTURE The Catholic Church recognizes and honors Sacred Scripture as the inspired word of God. But it does not take Scripture as the sole, or even the principal, determinant of what we must believe to be saved. Why is that the case? What would lead one to conclude that all we need is the Bible? The Bible itself does not tell us that, and it cannot because it cannot testify to itself. Is it God that tells us the Bible is all we need? If yes, then there is something greater than the Bible -- the testimony of God. But where do we find that testimony? It would have to be given in some authoritative way that can be recognized by many people. Where do we find such testimony? It simply does not exist. Secondly, how do we know what books are in the Bible? Again, the Bible itself cannot tell us. The list we have was given by the Catholic Church at the Council of Carthage in 397and defined by the Council of Trent in 1546. And third, what was the rule of Faith when there was no New Testament? For a number of years after the death of Christ there was only the oral teaching of His Apostles and other followers. If Christ had wanted a book, He would have written a book. If He wanted the Apostles to write a book, He would have told them to do so. But what He commanded them to do was, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15). He wanted the direct contact of their witness to be the means of convincing others. It was only later that they set down in writing what they had been preaching for many years. So it is the Church that produced the New Testament, out of its Apostolic preaching. It was not the Bible that produced the Church. Therefore, Scripture cannot be greater than the Church, which produced it. When the written gospels began to appear, other
books about Christ began to appear also, and questions began to arise as to which books contained the authentic word and which were spurious. There were also questions regarding interpretation of passages. In each case people had to consult the official witnesses, Christ s Apostles. The same questions, as to which books and their meanings, arise today. Again, we have to consult the successors of the Apostles, the bishops of the Catholic Church. Scripture, Tradition and the Church Sacred Scripture is an inerrant source for the words and deeds of Jesus Christ, but Scripture cannot testify to itself, not even to tell us which books are inspired works. It is the Church that, under its teaching authority given by Christ, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, determined which writings constitute Sacred Scripture. Besides deciding the authentic books, the Church must also interpret Scripture and must do so in a manner consistent with all the teachings of Jesus Christ as these were understood in the early days of the Church. For this she must rely on the evidence from writings of the early Fathers, from decrees of councils, from ancient liturgies, all of which taken together constitute Sacred Tradition. Paul told his converts (2 Thess 2:15), [H]old to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. According to Vatican Council II, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition form one sacred deposit of the word of God. (On Divine Revelation, 10) In addition there is the task of applying the moral teachings of Jesus to issues that did not arise until long after the sacred books were written issues such as in vitro fertilization and human cloning. Only an authoritative teaching body set in place by Christ could fill such a role, and that authoritative teaching body is the Church. The ultimate criterion of what one must believe and do is the authoritative teaching of the Church, whose task it is to interpret the word of God, handed down to us by either Scripture or Tradition. Nevertheless, Church teaching is not above the word of God, but serves it, and is limited to what is contained therein.
Sacred tradition, sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others. (Vatican II, On Divine Revelation, 10) WHY FAITH Faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary for salvation. He who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16) But faith alone is not sufficient; good works are required as well. Christ Insisted on Actions Faith must be carried into action. Christ said that when He returns in glory, [H]e will repay every man for what he has done. (Matt 16:27). When the entire world is assembled for the final judgment Christ says (Matt 25:31-45) He will lead one group into His kingdom but condemn the other group to everlasting fire. The basis for the judgment will be whether people gave food to others who were hungry, drink to those who were thirsty, shelter to the stranger, clothing to the naked, and whether they visited the sick and those in prison. Their very salvation depends on their works. Another case is that of the rich young man who asked Christ what he must do to inherit eternal life, His answer was, Keep the commandments, and he spelled out those given to Moses, that one should not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, and should honor father and mother. To fill what was still lacking the man should sell all he had and give to the poor and then, Come, follow me. (Matt 19: 16-22) So external actions are necessary. In fact that invitation to follow Christ contains the very essence of faith in Him; it s not a one-time intellectual assent, but an ongoing internal commitment to be carried out in works. Repeated Insistence Over and over again Jesus makes a very explicit declaration that something more than faith is necessary:
Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matt 7:21) He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. (John 3:36) When Christ promised to give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, it is because of Peter s confession of faith. (Matt 16:13-19) But after rising from the dead, before charging Peter to feed His lambs and His sheep, it is not Peter s faith that Christ inquires about, but rather, Do you love me? (John 21:15-17) But love implies doing Christ s will: He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. (John 14:21) Christ has praise for the good Samaritan, who stopped to care for the man who had fallen among robbers, and blame for the priest and the Levite who had simply passed him by. (Luke 10:29-37) When He declines to condemn the woman taken in adultery, after all her accusers have drifted away, Christ charges her regarding the future, Do not sin again. (John 8:11) When the Pharisees ask Christ for a miraculous sign of His authority, after they have refused to believe all the signs He has shown, He calls them a wicked and adulterous generation, (Matt 16:4) because of their evil works. John, in his first letter, repeats the teaching: He who says I know him but disobeys his commandments is a liar. (1 John 2:4) Faith Depends on Prior Good Works This last quotation from John implies that faith actually depends upon good works. Faith in the divinity of Christ is a supernatural act, done by human intellect and will, all under the direction of God s grace. Yet grace builds on nature, and people must act in accord with their knowledge of God s natural law before God will confer the ability to have faith.
Christ described this situation in two places: -- The light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19) -- For this people s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them. (Matt 13:15). Good works must be the distinguishing characteristic of anyone who would follow Christ. If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt 16:24-25) It is true that many times in the gospels Christ declares that He works a miracle because of the faith of the person requesting it (notably the centurion s servant (Matt 8:5-13) and the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Matt 15:21-28)). And some passages in St. Paul s Letters (e.g., Romans chap 3,4) seem to state that salvation comes through faith. But both Christ and Paul are speaking to a Jewish audience, which is accustomed to think of faith in the Father and of obedience to the commandments, and the element that needs to be added is the fact that Jesus Christ, possessing the power of God, must also be the object of their faith. Scriptural passages cannot be taken in isolation; they must be interpreted in the light of all of Scripture. Paul spells out that he s talking about faith working through love. (Gal 5:6) WHY GOOD WORKS Theoretically It would seem possible for people to practice a natural religion, performing good works to benefit other people simply from the motivation that the others are people like ourselves and we should do unto others as we would like them to do unto us.
The problem with this theoretical position is that it breaks down in practice. How does one decide which works are actually good unless there is a set of standards for human conduct? Based on different intellectual starting points people reach quite opposite conclusions regarding what course of action is morally good on topics ranging from sexual morality to conflicting rights to life, to conditions for justly waging war, and even to basic issues of truth. And people are naturally tempted to rationalize in order to justify the actions they themselves want. The inevitable result would be the end of the rule of justice under law as individuals force their wants upon others, which is anarchy, and go on to seize control of governments, bringing dictatorship and disregard for others rights. A Series of Dependencies The issue demands a series of dependencies: --Determining which works are actually good requires a set of moral standards. Trying to determine those standards as a purely intellectual exercise leads to the same conflicts of opinion that occur when one tries to judge moral acts without applying any standards. --So there must be a rational basis for the moral standards. Since the standards are for human actions they must come ultimately from the designer of human nature, who is God. --But acceptance of God s moral precepts can come about only after we have arrived at a clear notion of the authority of God, by a reasoned faith in Him as the Creator and Lawgiver. --The situation also requires an authoritative body to interpret the revelation He has given regarding moral standards and to apply those standards to totally new situations as these arise. Only the Catholic Church possesses the necessary authoritative body set in place by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for the interpretation of those divinely revealed standards. FAITH, GOOD WORKS AND GOD
Salvation is a free gift of God, which no human being can earn by good works alone. It is entirely God s gift, which we must accept by a reasoned faith in His power and goodness a faith that expresses itself in love carried into action by good works to honor God and to serve the needs of other people. WHY SCRIPTURE * WHY FAITH * WHY GOOD WORKS CATHOLIC EVIDENCE GUILD NEW YORK CHAPTER OFFICE OF ADULT FAITH FORMATION ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK 1011 FIRST AVENUE, SUITE 1327 NEW YORK, NY 10022 Phone or Fax: 1-877-635-8205 E-Mail: ceg@ureach.com Web Site: www.catholicevidence.org Copyright 2007 Catholic Evidence Guild New York Permission granted to reproduce and distribute 8b05A