 The Bible itself contradicts the belief that the Bible
alone contains all that Christians are called to believed. The words of
Jesus when he established the Church on Peter the Rock and when he gave his
authority to the disciples to teach, preach, heal, and forgive in his name
(cf. Mt 16:13-20; 28:16-20; Jn 20:19-23, for a few examples) and the
teaching of the rest of the New Testament (cf. the Council at Jerusalem in
Acts 15 which took place before any of the New Testament books were written)
bear witness to the Apostolic authority of the Church to hand down the
Sacred Deposit of Faith to the believers and to definitively teach in Jesus'
name. The passage found in 2 Timothy 3:16 often quoted by defenders of sola
scrptura, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;" confuses or
conflates the words "all" and "only". 1 Timothy 3:14-16 states that the
"pillar and the support of truth" is the Church, the household of God. Keep
in mind that "Church" refers to the institution founded by Christ on Peter
the Rock with the twelve as the foundation (cf. Ephesians 2:20). The
ministry of Peter and the twelve has existed continuously in the Church in
the office of the Pope and the Bishops.
Contemporary Christian communities that reject this
teaching authority of the Church, with its particular exercise by the Bishop of
Rome as Successor to St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, either rely exclusively
on the voice of the past in the manner of the Orthodox Churches-this has
preserved by and large intact the integrity of the Apostolic faith in these
Churches, notwithstanding the rejection of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome
over the Universal Church, or they substitute various forms of biblical
interpretation, ranging from literal biblical inerrancy (still requiring the
interpretation of a pastor or the individual believer) to egalitarian/democratic
methods of voting upon what is or is not to be believed based on "modern"
scholarly reinterpretations of scriptural texts. Christian belief and practice
in communities employing the latter approach are disengaged from the Apostolic
Tradition and are developed according to a host of principles depending on the
particulars of each "denomination" or "non-denominational" fellowship.
It is to many of these "Bible-based" communities that some
Catholics are abandoning their apostolic faith in the Eucharist for scriptural,
theological and liturgical inventions that have arisen within the last 500
years. In many instances the most popular of these communities today reflect an
understanding of God, Scripture, the church and faith that is as recent as the
daily news and the latest trends in contemporary culture. The voice of the
Apostles is no longer heard in the context of the faith they preached. The words
of Scripture are lifted from their original setting in the heart of the Church
established with a hierarchical foundation by Christ.
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