Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Did the early Church Fathers really believe that baptism washed away original sin?

In one of his "just for Catholics" series entitled, "Church Fathers and Baptism",  Joe Mizzi asks the question, "Did the early Church Fathers really believe that baptism washed away original sin?"

Then, he says, "Answer",  but he doesn't immediately answer the question.  First, he tries to prepare us to ignore the answer which he will provide.

Here's how it goes, quote:

Church Fathers and Baptism
Question: Did the early Church Fathers really believe that baptism washed away original sin?
Answer: This question is important because it has to do with the ultimate authority upon which we rest our faith. We value the teaching of the Church Fathers, but given that they were not infallible and that they often contradicted each another, we must look for a surer foundation for our faith. The ultimate criterion is the Word of God. Even in apostolic times, errors quickly spread among true Christian churches and the apostle Paul was amazed that they would so quickly depart from the Gospel. He points them back to the Gospel he had originally taught them and the teaching of the Scriptures. That is what we should do also.
No response to the question WHICH HE ASKED.  He wants us to believe that the question he asked is not important.  "The Church Fathers are not infallible",  he says, making the inference that we can ignore them.  But, Mizzi is also NOT infallible, therefore, by the same logic, we should ignore him.

Finally, he reluctantly, admits the truth.  He says:

As a matter of historical fact, there was a general consensus among the Fathers that baptism was the instrument of regeneration and washing away of sin. ...
This is true.  In fact, there is not one record of any early Church Father who does not believe that Baptism washes away sin.  In other words, the record shows that they ALL the Early Church Fathers believed that Baptism washes away sin.  What Joe Mizzi means when he says, "general consensus" is that the early Church Fathers are unanimous on that question.  He doesn't want that to be obvious, however.  Some of us might come to the conclusion, that the Early Church Fathers, who were taught by the Apostles and their disciples, might have it right.

So, he asked the question and answered it.  Then he tried to wash the answer away in a torrent of misinformation.  But there it is.

Sincerely,

De Maria


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