RCIA Bible Fundamentalism
(From Raymond E Brown Reading the Gospels with the Church Pages77 ff)
Is every word in the Bible from God?
Bible is the Word of God. This means it has both the Divine element (of God) and Human element (Word.)
A literalist interpretation destroys the very nature of the Bible as a human expression of divine revelation.
In other words, Bible is inspired by God but written down by human beings of limited knowledge and wisdom.

Some Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t waste time arguing over individual biblical texts with fundamentalists. The question is much larger-an overview of God, of religion, of Christianity and of the nature of Bible.
Don’t attack fundamentalists as if they were fools. They are trying to preserve their faith in God in the only way they know. If a fundamentalist is convinced by your argument that he is in error, s/he will not become a moderate but an atheist!
Don’t be sure that fossils prove evolution! For a fundamentalist, God created the world with fossils in it!
Don’t use bible texts as pietistic homily jumping off points.
DO…read Bible in an intelligent way. A scholarly approach to the Bible is both intellectually stimulating and spiritually nourishing.

Ten Challenges and responses:

· Why don’t Catholics see the Scriptures as containing the fullness of God’s revelation instead of always running to the teaching authority of the Catholic Church for God’s truth? The Roman Catholic Church considers itself a biblical Church in the sense that it acknowledges and proclaims the Bible to God’s word. In the teachings of Moses, the prophets, and in the teachings of Jesus and the proclamation of the apostles, to which the scriptures bear witness, the Catholic Church acknowledges a unique self-revelation by God to human beings. Church teaches that there is sufficiency in the revelation witnessed by the Bible in the sense that neither a new revealer nor new special revelations are necessary for men and women to find the will of God and the grace of salvation. So the C C does not teach new revelation but tries to proclaim the biblical revelation in light of new problems and questions in each generation. In this the CC depends on the abiding guidance of the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus.
· By the way what do you understand by Roman Catholic Church?
The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVl. It traces its origins to the original Christian Community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the 12 Apostles, in particular St. Peter. The Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church and the largest organized body of any world religion with 1098366000 members divided into 2782 dioceses worldwide at the end of 2006. It is called Roman Catholic Church to indicate communion with the See of Rome.

· The Bible teaches that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, our sole mediator with God. Why do Catholics contradict this by teaching that people can be saved through good works or by praying to the saints?

The church teaches that redemption is through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Human beings do not earn salvation through good works. The saints pray for us and with us. This may be useful or salutary but not necessary. Christ is necessary. Only through His name are we saved.

· Aren’t we saved through the personal relationship to Jesus Christ? Then why the Church?
Yes, we are saved through Christ and must respond in a personal way to JC. However, Jesus Christ emphasized the community of those in need, hungry, lost and fearful. Personal relation to J C, requires connectedness with those whom he considers his members-the church.
· What is the significance of Holy Mass as a sacrifice if Christ sacrificed himself once for all?
Jesus also said: “Do this in memory of me.” And the church following this command to remember breaks bread, which is His body, and shares the cup, a communion in his Blood.
This is not a NEW sacrifice, nor is it a separate sacrifice from the one on the Cross.
· Why sacraments? Why not go to Jesus directly?
The church does not give grace-only God does, through JC. And the way God works is through human intermediaries and signs.
· Is Pope the head of the Church? Or is it Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and the pope does not have any authority independent of Jesus Christ. The pope in union with the faithful and other leaders supply the guidance to the whole church, keeping it in truth of the Gospel.
· What is the place of Mary in the CC?
Mary is specially honored as the mother of God incarnate. Also as the first to accept the identity of Jesus Christ as Son of God and hear the word of God, treasure it and to say to God: Let it be done to me according to your word, and the one to remain faithful until the end, even to the foot of the cross.
She is not a God(dess), but a human in need of redemption. God redeemed her and kept her from all sins from the first moment of her life. The doctrines of Immaculate Conception and Assumption, although not found in the New Testament, are however consonant with the view of Mary as pure and redeemed.
· 9 Who can interpret and how to interpret the Bible?
The Roman Catholic Church has rarely, if ever, defined what a text of the Bible meant to the person who wrote it. The Church encourages interpreters of Bible to discover with all the means available to them what individual passages meant when they were written and encourages all of its members to read the Bible for spiritual nourishment.
Church Interpretation for Catholics primarily deals not with what the Biblical text meant when it was written, but with what it means for the life of the Christian community in subsequent eras. On essential issues the Spirit who inspired the Scriptures will not allow the whole community of believers to be misled about faith and about moral behavior.
Individuals reading from the Bible may come to radical conclusions. This has indeed happened in the course of history. Some have even denied that Christ was divine, or human, or both; others the Resurrection, Creation by God, the 10 Commandments. The Catholic Church takes its guidance on interpreting such biblical matters not only from the Holy Spirit but also from the long tradition of Christian teaching.
· Are there any errors in the Bible?
The Catholic Church believes and teaches that the Bible communicates without error that truth which God intended for the sake of our salvation.
The church also resists modern attempts to make the Bible answer questions and problems that the biblical authors never thought of. The Church also resists the attempt to apply without qualification biblical texts to problems not envisioned by it.
The church resists the use of biblical interpretation to support scientific or historical statements that lay beyond the competency of the biblical authors in their times.

Comments