Monday, December 28, 2015

He grants the presence of Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium and calls it, "Scripture alone"?

Really strange.  A fellow on the Bereans article at Catholic365 says:

What De Maria has missed in the Bereans is that, while the tradition and the magisterium were present, they were not believed, until they were tested against the standard of the Scripture. 
The funny thing, is that he describes this process as Scripture alone?

But, yes, tradition, magisterium, and Scripture were all present in the account of the Bereans. It was Scripture that was shown to have the higher authority, however. This is Sola Scriptura at work.
 I'm assuming he is serious and sincere.  But it is really weird how he jumps to certain conclusions.  He says,

1.  It was Scripture that was shown to have the higher authority

There is nothing in the Scripture which says that.  And it is safe to assume that if the Apostles had not instructed them, they would not have understood and continued in their ignorance.  Here is what Jesus told the Jews before:

John 5:38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.  39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.  40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
That is the same situation in which the Berean Jews found themselves.  They had possession of the Old Testament Scripture, but they could not recognize Jesus Christ in them in order that they might have eternal life.  It took the authority of the Church, which they readily accepted, to lead them to that conclusion.   Without the Church, with only the Scripture, they would have remained in their sins.

2.  This is Sola Scriptura at work.

Even if we grant the Scriptures a higher authority, which is not against Catholic Teaching by the way. The Catholic Church teaches neither that the Scripture has greater or lesser authority than Sacred Tradition.  And there are several Catholics in good standing, amongst them, Dr. Scott Hahn and I believe, Pope Emeritus Benedict the 16th, who would agree with that doctrine.  So, even if we grant the Scriptures a higher authority, how do you jump from that to Scripture alone?

It makes no sense.

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