oh, can someone explain this odd behavior i note on many of these threads from the usual protestant suspects, to whit:
catholics have the
scripture, the church, and the historical witness of the early church fathers.
these same early church fathers had the scriptures, the church, and in some cases, access to the apostles themselves, etc....
but, according to the protestants, the testimony of these ecf’s, the church and the scriptures, are somehow not valid because protestants have:
the scriptures alone.....and their own view of them (which can differ greatly on important salvation subjects).....
and that is it...
am i the only missing something here?
The Catholic Church also has the idea that the church fathers can be overruled by modern science and textual criticism. Fundamentalist Protestants do indeed disagree on any number of things, but they all insist the Bible is wholly inerrant (though they can't agree on what it says). Most Catholics (very much including the over-educated hyper-intellectual clergy and theologians) insist that "we now know" that the Bible is full of mistakes.
Does that help?
Hmmm, I'm thinking of the whole friend and cliff saying. It doesn't matter what "most" Catholics insist.
"The inspired books teach the truth. 'Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures.'" - Catechism of the Catholic Church