Sola Scriptura – An Unbiblical Recipe for Confusion

Tim Staples' Blog ^ | January 18, 2014 | Tim Staples

[Salvation]

Are you forgetting a lot of Scripture that shows that Peter is the leader?

Scripture

Matt. to Rev. - Peter is mentioned 155 times and the rest of apostles combined are only mentioned 130 times. Peter is also always listed first except in 1 Cor. 3:22 and Gal. 2:9 (which are obvious exceptions to the rule).
Matt. 10:2; Mark 1:36; 3:16; Luke 6:14-16; Acts 1:3; 2:37; 5:29 - these are some of many examples where Peter is mentioned first among the apostles.
Matt. 14:28-29 - only Peter has the faith to walk on water. No other man in Scripture is said to have the faith to walk on water. This faith ultimately did not fail.
Matt. 16:16, Mark 8:29; John 6:69 - Peter is first among the apostles to confess the divinity of Christ.
Matt. 16:17 - Peter alone is told he has received divine knowledge by a special revelation from God the Father.
Matt. 16:18 - Jesus builds the Church only on Peter, the rock, with the other apostles as the foundation and Jesus as the Head.
Matt. 16:19 - only Peter receives the keys, which represent authority over the Church and facilitate dynastic succession to his authority.
Matt. 17:24-25 - the tax collector approaches Peter for Jesus’ tax. Peter is the spokesman for Jesus. He is the Vicar of Christ.
Matt. 17:26-27 - Jesus pays the half-shekel tax with one shekel, for both Jesus and Peter. Peter is Christ’s representative on earth.
Matt. 18:21 - in the presence of the disciples, Peter asks Jesus about the rule of forgiveness. One of many examples where Peter takes a leadership role among the apostles in understanding Jesus’ teachings.
Matt. 19:27 - Peter speaks on behalf of the apostles by telling Jesus that they have left everything to follow Him.
Mark 10:28 - here also, Peter speaks on behalf of the disciples by declaring that they have left everything to follow Him.
Mark 11:21 - Peter speaks on behalf of the disciples in remembering Jesus’ curse on the fig tree.
Mark 14:37 - at Gethsemane, Jesus asks Peter, and no one else, why he was asleep. Peter is accountable to Jesus for his actions on behalf of the apostles because he has been appointed by Jesus as their leader.
Mark 16:7 - Peter is specified by an angel as the leader of the apostles as the angel confirms the resurrection of Christ.
Luke 5:3 – Jesus teaches from Peter’s boat which is metaphor for the Church. Jesus guides Peter and the Church into all truth.
Luke 5:4,10 - Jesus instructs Peter to let down the nets for a catch, and the miraculous catch follows. Peter, the Pope, is the “fisher of men.”
Luke 7:40-50- Jesus addresses Peter regarding the rule of forgiveness and Peter answers on behalf of the disciples. Jesus also singles Peter out and judges his conduct vis-à-vis the conduct of the woman who anointed Him.
Luke 8:45 - when Jesus asked who touched His garment, it is Peter who answers on behalf of the disciples.
Luke 8:51; 9:28; 22:8; Acts 1:13; 3:1,3,11; 4:13,19; 8:14 - Peter is always mentioned before John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Luke 9:28;33 - Peter is mentioned first as going to mountain of transfiguration and the only one to speak at the transfiguration.
Luke 12:41 - Peter seeks clarification of a parable on behalf on the disciples. This is part of Peter’s formation as the chief shepherd of the flock after Jesus ascended into heaven.
Luke 22:31-32 - Jesus prays for Peter alone, that his faith may not fail, and charges him to strengthen the rest of the apostles.
Luke 24:12, John 20:4-6 - John arrived at the tomb first but stopped and waited for Peter. Peter then arrived and entered the tomb first.
Luke 24:34 - the two disciples distinguish Peter even though they both had seen the risen Jesus the previous hour. See Luke 24:33.
John 6:68 - after the disciples leave, Peter is the first to speak and confess his belief in Christ after the Eucharistic discourse.
John 13:6-9 - Peter speaks out to the Lord in front of the apostles concerning the washing of feet.
John 13:36; 21:18 - Jesus predicts Peter’s death. Peter was martyred at Rome in 67 A.D. Several hundred years of papal successors were also martyred.
John 21:2-3,11 - Peter leads the fishing and his net does not break. The boat (the “barque of Peter”) is a metaphor for the Church.
John 21:7 - only Peter got out of the boat and ran to the shore to meet Jesus. Peter is the earthly shepherd leading us to God.
John 21:15 - in front of the apostles, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Jesus “more than these,” which refers to the other apostles. Peter is the head of the apostolic see.
John 21:15-17 - Jesus charges Peter to “feed my lambs,” “tend my sheep,” “feed my sheep.” Sheep means all people, even the apostles.
Acts 1:13 - Peter is first when entering upper room after our Lord’s ascension. The first Eucharist and Pentecost were given in this room.
Acts 1:15 - Peter initiates the selection of a successor to Judas right after Jesus ascended into heaven, and no one questions him. Further, if the Church needed a successor to Judas, wouldn’t it need one to Peter? Of course.
Acts 2:14 - Peter is first to speak for the apostles after the Holy Spirit descended upon them at Pentecost. Peter is the first to preach the Gospel.
Acts 2:38 - Peter gives first preaching in the early Church on repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
Acts 3:1,3,4 - Peter is mentioned first as going to the Temple to pray.
Acts 3:6-7 - Peter works the first healing of the apostles.
Acts 3:12-26, 4:8-12 - Peter teaches the early Church the healing through Jesus and that there is no salvation other than Christ.
Acts 5:3 - Peter declares the first anathema of Ananias and Sapphira which is ratified by God, and brings about their death. Peter exercises his binding authority.
Acts 5:15 - Peter’s shadow has healing power. No other apostle is said to have this power.
Acts 8:14 - Peter is mentioned first in conferring the sacrament of confirmation.
Acts 8:20-23 - Peter casts judgment on Simon’s quest for gaining authority through the laying on of hands. Peter exercises his binding and loosing authority.
Acts 9:32-34 - Peter is mentioned first among the apostles and works the healing of Aeneas.
Acts 9:38-40 - Peter is mentioned first among the apostles and raises Tabitha from the dead.
Acts 10:5 - Cornelius is told by an angel to call upon Peter. Angels are messengers of God. Peter was granted this divine vision.
Acts 10:34-48, 11:1-18 - Peter is first to teach about salvation for all (Jews and Gentiles).
Acts 12:5 - this verse implies that the “whole Church” offered “earnest prayers” for Peter, their leader, during his imprisonment.
Acts 12:6-11 - Peter is freed from jail by an angel. He is the first object of divine intervention in the early Church.
Acts 15:7-12 - Peter resolves the first doctrinal issue on circumcision at the Church’s first council at Jerusalem, and no one questions him. After Peter the Papa spoke, all were kept silent.
Acts 15:12 - only after Peter (the Pope) speaks do Paul and Barnabas (bishops) speak in support of Peter’s definitive teaching.
Acts 15:13-14 - then James speaks to further acknowledge Peter’s definitive teaching. “Simeon (Peter) has related how God first visited...”
Rom. 15:20 - Paul says he doesn’t want to build on “another man’s foundation” referring to Peter, who built the Church in Rome.
1 Cor. 9:5 – Peter is distinguished from the rest of the apostles and brethren of the Lord.
1 Cor. 15:4-8 - Paul distinguishes Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to Peter from those of the other apostles. Christ appeared “to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
Gal.1:18 - Paul spends fifteen days with Peter privately before beginning his ministry, even after Christ’s Revelation to Paul.
1 Peter 5:1 - Peter acts as the chief bishop by “exhorting” all the other bishops and elders of the Church.
1 Peter 5:13 - Some Protestants argue against the Papacy by trying to prove Peter was never in Rome. First, this argument is irrelevant to whether Jesus instituted the Papacy. Secondly, this verse demonstrates that Peter was in fact in Rome. Peter writes from “Babylon” which was a code name for Rome during these days of persecution. See, for example, Rev. 14:8, 16:19, 17:5, 18:2,10,21, which show that “Babylon” meant Rome. Rome was the “great city” of the New Testament period. Because Rome during this age was considered the center of the world, the Lord wanted His Church to be established in Rome.
2 Peter 1:14 - Peter writes about Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s death, embracing the eventual martyrdom that he would suffer.
2 Peter 3:16 - Peter is making a judgment on the proper interpretation of Paul’s letters. Peter is the chief shepherd of the flock.
Matt. 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:44 - yet Peter, as the first, humbled himself to be the last and servant of all servants.

http://scripturecatholic.com/primacy_of_peter.html

[Sherman Logan]

Peter writes from “Babylon” which was a code name for Rome during these days of persecution.

Except that Babylon itself was still a functioning city, with Babylonia one of the most civilized and prosperous areas of the world, as it was till the Mongol invasions.

The Jews, shortly after Peter wrote, produced the Babylonian Talmud. Oddly enough, in Babylonia, not in Rome.

For a variety of reasons, we focus so much on the Roman Empire that we forget Judea was a frontier province. Babylon, in the Parthian Empire, was a great deal closer to Jerusalem than Rome. The Christians preached in both empires.

[Mechanicos]

The sealing of the book occurs in the last chapter:

Revelation 22:18-19 “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

My reading of the word is that all other commandments and laws following Deuteronomy came at the directive/inspiration from God and/or Jesus, not church and/or man, and were added to the book before it was sealed in Revelations.

[GonzoII]

"If only Athanasius could see what's happening now."

Mat_15:6b ... So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

St. Athanasius held to both Sacred Tradition and Scripture:

""But after him (the devil) and with him are all inventors of unlawful heresies, who indeed refer to the Scriptures, but do not hold such opinions as the saints have handed down, and receiving them as the traditions of men, err, because they do not rightly know them nor their power" Athanasius, Festal Letter 2 (c. A.D. 350).

Origen was a man of Tradition too:

""The Church's preaching has been handed down through an orderly succession from the Apostles and remains in the Church until the present. That alone is to be believed as the truth which in no way departs from ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition." Origen, First Principles 1,2 (c. A.D. 230). "

As was Clement of Alexandria:

""Well, they preserving the tradition of the blessed doctrine derived directly from the holy apostles, Peter, James, John, and Paul, the sons receiving it from the father (but few were like the fathers), came by God’s will to us also to deposit those ancestral and apostolic seeds. And well I know that they will exult; I do not mean delighted with this tribute, but solely on account of the preservation of the truth, according as they delivered it. For such a sketch as this, will, I think, be agreeable to a soul desirous of preserving from loss the blessed tradition" (Miscellanies 1:1 [A.D. 208]). "

[Cvengr]

Wouldn’t it be nice if the RCC could glorify Jesus Christ as much as they seek to glorify anything other than Christ?

[BipolarBob]

these are some of many examples where Peter is mentioned first among the apostles.

He who is first shall be last. Peter was the most flamboyant impulsive of the bunch. Your list (of the Great Peter) is so full of holes, self serving extrapolations and exaggerations it is laughable.

[BipolarBob]

I don’t know anything about 30,000 versions of Scripture. I’m glad you do.

[Kansas58]

Huh? The “stone” Jesus mentions was HIMSELF!

[Kansas58]

Not at all! Catholics have never said to IGNORE Scripture. We believe that Scripture and Tradition are equally valuable. Not everything was put down in writing, and we need Tradition to understand what was written.

[Kansas58]

“Whatsoever you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven”

“Whatsoever you lose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven”

In the same passage where Jesus says “Peter You are ROCK and Upon THIS ROCK I will build my Church”

Peter was the head of the Early Christian Church, PERIOD. And tradition tells us that Peter was involved in the selection of his successor to the Throne of Peter.

[BipolarBob]

Yes. We were left an example in the Bible that did NOT include statuary in the church, moving pedophiles from one area of the church to another, a hierarchy system in which one man directs the whole global church, the selling of indulgences, the imprisonment of scientists (Galileo come to mind) and the audacity to proclaim themselves the ONE TRUE CHURCH that is based on a man (Peter).

[metmom]

And which of the 30,000+ versions of scripture that have arisen within the Protestant faith such as to cause a different though certain interpretation and a separate denomination as each was inspired by the Holy Spirit to a specific individual/group have you chosen as the one true interpretation of scripture?

Now it's 30,000 different versions of the Bible?

What a joke. Got a link to that stat?

So which version of the Catholic Bible should Catholics read?

The Latin Vulgate, Douay Rheims, Douay-Challoner, The Ignatius Bible, the New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition, the New Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition, the Christian Community Bible, the original Jerusalem Bible, the Knox Translation, or the Confraternity edition?

[metmom]

Not everything was put down in writing, and we need Tradition to understand what was written.

No, we don't We need the Holy Spirit to understand the Word of God.

As far as tradition goes....

Just what are those traditions Paul was referring to that he handed down that we are to keep that were not included in Scripture?

How do you know?

How do you know they’re from the apostles, Paul in particular?

How do you know they’ve been passed down faithfully?

What is your source for verifying all of the above?

Please provide the sources for verification purposes.

[Dutchboy88]

"So which version of the Catholic Bible should Catholics read?"

That'll leave a mark...

[HarleyD]

The “tradition” at that time only stretched back 200-300 years. There was no corruption to the scripture. Augustine relays in one of his writings that the church recognized how heresy could enter the church. He said the birth of Christ was like a pebble tossed into a pond. The further away from the point of impact the more distorted the message becomes. That is why the blessed church fathers felt the urgent need to seal the scriptures. To keep them from the contamination of ourselves.

This was not unlike our Hebrew fathers who felt the same way with the early writings in the Old Testament, meticulously guarding that which was entrusted to them. At such points they hid the scriptures in sealed rooms not against enemies for the most part but against leaders who would corrupt the very gospel entrusted to them. It got to the sad point in time that what Jeremiah wrote was chopped up into little pieces and tossed into the fire. Yet we have the writings that man sought to destroy today.

Catholics can say they go back to tradition but that tradition only goes back about 500 years to the Council of Trent. It's not unusual for our Catholic friends to be quoting from Anselm rather than Augustine or Ignatius. There is nothing that they have in common with the early fathers.

[Salvation]

**RCC**

Another term that Catholics don’t like.

Why can’t the term “Catholic” suffice for all?

[Salvation]

**Peter writes from “Babylon” which was a code name for Rome during these days of persecution.**

Correct.

[metmom]

You’d think but they’ll find some way of blowing it off, like they always do when you point out their obvious hypocrisy.

At the very least, they will just ignore it as if it never happened. SOP.

[Irenic]

And has your bipolarity, BipolarBob, been affected by the Arctic Vortex?

That was ugly.