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To: annalex
If I need to understand the passage I suspect is not self-evident, I can read the Catechism or talk to a priest, till that process brings a better understanding. Usually, a reference to the early Church writings closes the deal, if the Catechism is silent. That way, the meaning of a particular verse, say, Matthew 1:25 or Luke 1:28, is understood not through some archaeological analysis of surviving copies, but by evidence of understanding common to the Fathers.

Do I need to elaborate?


Not really. Welllll---you might have to explain what you mean by "common to the Fathers." At least you didn't go so far as to say "unanimous consent of the Fathers".

BTW the RCC used to say the earth was the center of the universe --- until they didn't. Al Goreish?

2,046 posted on 02/27/2006 2:44:51 PM PST by OLD REGGIE (I am most likely a Biblical Unitarian? Let me be perfectly clear. I know nothing.)
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To: OLD REGGIE
The Church is not a courthouse. Well, it has courthouses inside it, but as a whole it is a mystical body that operates in mystical ways. There is no legalistic way to get the sense of the Holy Tradition. Although we have the Gospels written by now, and the Catechism formulated, we are foremostly the experience of the Living Incarnate Word. Fundamentally nothing has changed since Christ puzzled the world with His parables. We still have to ask, and listen to the answer. It is possible that individual father of the Church has an error; only the Magisterium as a whole, and the Holy Father is protected from error by the prayers of Christ (Luke 22:32). But the faithful must do their work to understand when the Church speaks to them.

Is it clearer?

Of course the Earth is the center of the universe. This is where Christ is coming, is He not?

2,051 posted on 02/27/2006 3:12:10 PM PST by annalex
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