You may find the following comments as to the reality of Rome's most recent definition of "tradition", which is in conformity with the Gnostic view embraced by Mormonism as well.
Because it the lack of substantiation for many of Rome's dogmas and practices from Scripture and the early church fathers, Rome had to dispense with the pretense of the former definition of "tradition" stated at Trent, of the Vicentian Principle" or "unanimous consent of the fathers", to slowly develop it's latest 20th century re-definition, which we shall call: viva voce ecclesia romano, which translates to "whatever the Roman church says it is to suit the present agenda, but can change it at any time to suit a new agenda because the Roman church is the living voice of tradition".
Take for instance, the Assumption of Mary, a formal dogma, which Rome has declared belief in is an absolute necessity for salvation(which by the way, is a twisted, perversion of the Gospel preached by Christ, the Apostles, and the early Church), and is none other than a man-made "tradition" that would have made the Pharisees proud.
Rome sidesteps the absence of Biblical support, the absence of supporting evidence from the voice of the unanimous consent of the church fathers on the issue, by declaring the Roman church to be a "living voice" that can proclaim dogma regardless of those supports, just because it says it can.
Karl Keating states this new definition succinctly in saying it doesn't matter if there is no Biblical or patristic evidence, it's true because Rome says it is;
Still, fundamentalists ask, where is the proof from Scripture? Strictly, there is none. It was the Catholic Church that was commissioned by Christ to teach all nations and to teach them infallibly. The mere fact that the Church teaches the doctrine of the Assumption as definitely true is a guarantee that it is true---"Catholicism and Fundamentalism"; San Francisco: Ignatius, 1988, p. 275.
The LDS used the same irrational, "living voice of tradition"" to explain how the "perpetual doctrine of polygamy" as an absolute requirement for attaining the celesital kingdom, could be dispensed with just a few decades after it's institution by "divine revelation" by another "divine revelation" that commanded the ceasing of polygamy.
Roman Catholic historian, Joussard, dispenses with any support for the dogma of the Assumption of Mary from the patristics as being foolishness and not required, as cited from a Roman Catholic publication on Mariology;
In these conditions we shall not ask patristic thought-as some theologians still do today under one form or another-to transmit to us, with respect to the Assumption, a truth received as such in the beginning and faithfully communicated to subsequent ages. Such an attitude would not fit the facts...Patristic thought has not, in this instance, played the role of a sheer instrument of transmission.---Joussard, "L'Assomption coropelle", pp. 115-116. Cited by Juniper B. Carol, O.F.M., ed., Mariology, Vol. I; {Milwaukee: Bruce, 1955}
So goes the "new tradition", facts, Biblical and historic support from the early church fathers that Roman Catholic illusionists, on one hand, say Roman dogma and practice is supported by, are discarded when the "facts" stand in opposition to Rome's dogmas and practices, a classic case of sleight of hand rhetoric and doublespeak.
An interesting editorial note by the editors further reveals the historical and doctrinal sleight of hand being employed;
A word of caution is not impertinent here. The investigation of patristic documents might well lead the historian to the conclusion: In the first seven or eight centuries no trustworthy historical tradition on Mary's corporeal Assumption is extant, especially in the West. The conclusion is legitimate; if the historian stops there, few theological nerves will be touched. The historian's mistake would come in adding: therefore no proof from tradition can be adduced. The historical method is not the theological method, nor is historical tradition synonymous with dogmatic tradition.---Juniper B. Carol, O.F.M., ed., Mariology, Vol. I; [Milwaukee: Bruce, 1955], p. 154.
It is important to note that both Joussard and the editors, all Roman Catholics, correctly convey the new concept of viva voce ecclesia romano and candidly admit there is neither Apostolic or patristic support for the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, but dismisses it because:The historical method is not the theological method, nor is historical tradition synonymous with dogmatic tradition. This new concept is antithetical to the Vincentian Principle cited at Trent, and ultimately undermines the historicity of the Christian faith, by totally dismissing the important ingredient of history upon which the Apostolic Tradition recorded and preserved in Scripture is based on.
In conclusion, Rome has added a dogma for which their is no evidence for, and made it binding as absolutely necessary for salvation, on the basis of because Rome says so and none other, just the Pharisees who claimed to be the successors of Moses, used the same line of thinking when they accused Christ Jesus of using the power of Beelzebub to heal a paralytic man on the Sabbath which violated their "living voice of tradition".
What don’t you just PING the New York Phone book? It’s shorter!
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How Many Protestant Denominations Are There?
The 20,000 30,000 numbers and David Barrett’s statistics
How Many Protestant Denominations Are There?
by Dave1988 and others from the Catholic Answers boards
posted April 12, 2005 05:52 PM itsjustdave1988
Subject: Where does 36,000 denominations come from?
First, information from Catholic apologist and Evangelical convert Dave Armstrong —
There are indeed sources for these numbers and they are neither Catholic nor unscholarly. To summarize briefly:
According to the Dictionary of Christianity in America [Protestant] (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1990): “As of 1980 David B. Barrett identified 20,800 Christian denominations worldwide . . .” (”Denominationalism,” page 351). I have this book, so I have seen this with my own eyes. Barrett “classified them into seven major blocs and 156 ecclesiastical traditions.” This is from the Oxford World Christian Encyclopedia (1982) of which he is the editor. Also, according to the United Nations statistics there were over 23,000 competing and often contradictory denominations worldwide (World Census of Religious Activities [U.N. Information Center, NY, 1989]). This was cited in Frank Schaeffer’s book Dancing Alone (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Press, 1994), page 4. Schaeffer is Orthodox. The 1999 Encyclopedia of Christianity has this to say: “In 1985 David Barrett could count 22,150 distinct denominations worldwide.” (edited by E. Fahlbusch, et al., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999, vol. 1, p. 800, s.v. “Denomination”). Barrett is the statistical editor. Again citing the Oxford World Christian Encyclopedia (1982): “. . . a projected 22,190 by 1985 . . . The present net increase is 270 denominations each year (five new ones a week).” (pages 15-18)
The definition Barrett worked with was that a denomination was “an organized Christian Church or tradition or religious group or community of believers or aggregate of worship centers or congregations, usually within a specific country, whose component congregations and members are called by the same name in different areas, regarding themselves as an autonomous Christian church distinct from other denominations, churches and traditions.”
Now, this is where the figures ultimately come from. No doubt some Catholic apologists (even more well-known ones) use them as a kind of “folk truth” — having heard them bandied about, and we will examine some serious problems with them below. But that doesn’t mean the numbers were entirely made-up and arbitrary. As we see, this is untrue: they come from these sources.
From Dave1988 on the Catholic Answers boards —
33,000+ denominations of Protestantism and counting
I was at the library one day researching something, and I saw the much talked about Protestant reference, the World Christian Encyclopedia by David B. Barrett, George T. Kurian, and Todd M. Johnson (2001 edition). I thought I’d see for myself what it says. This is what I found....
David Barrett, et al, does indeed refer to “over 33,000 denominations in 238 countries.” (Table 1-5, vol 1, page 16). This refers to his unique definition of a “Christian denomination” but does not include small ones (congregations of a couple hundred or less), which would dramatically increase this number beyond all imagination. Barrett also states there are 242 total Roman Catholic denominations (year 2000 numbers). So I looked into what he believed these denominations were.
Barrett breaks down his encyclopedic reference by country. So I looked up how many Roman Catholic denominations are within the U.S. according to Barrett. Much to my surprise, Barrett shows ONLY ONE Roman Catholic denomination for the United States.
So I wondered where the heck are these 242 denominations? I looked in Barrett’s reference for Britain, and again he listed ONLY ONE Roman Catholic denomination. I thought surely that of the 238 countries within his encyclopedic reference there must be a country that had more than ONE Roman Catholic denomination. There wasn’t. I could not find one country listed by Barrett that had more than ONE Roman Catholic denomination.
So, what does Barrett mean when he states there are 242 Roman Catholic denominations? It seems Barrett is counting each country as it’s own denomination. So, for Barrett, the Roman Catholic Church of the USA is a different denomination than the Roman Catholic Church of Canada. I don’t know how he got 242 denominations from 238 countries listed, however. Some numbers from Barrett’s...
Denominations / Paradenominations:
1970: 26,350
1995: 33,820
Under U.S. Country Table 2, of the 6,222 US denominations, there’s only ONE Roman Catholic denomination listed, and there’s 60 Orthodox denominations. Barrett labels the rest of the denominations: Protestant, Anglican, Independent, and Marginal. The more commonly accepted classification of Christianity used even by Protestant scholars, such as Leslie Dunstan in his book Protestantism, Christianity consists of: (1) Catholic, (2) Orthodox, and (3) Protestant. So, using this more commonly understood classification....
Number of U.S. Denominations
Catholic 1
Orthodox 60
Protestant 6,161
Remember, the above numbers are derived using Protestant sources only. Barrett differs from other Protestants such as Dunstan as to what constitutes a Protestant denomination. What Dunstan would call Protestant, Barrett describes as:
Barrett’s classification:
Protestant 660
Anglican 1
Independent 5,100
Marginal 400
That’s just for the U.S. Yet, there’s but ONE Catholic denomination in the U.S., either by Dunstan or Barrett’s standard.
Another way of looking at it is not to use Barrett’s fuzzy understanding of denominations at all. What does Webster call a denomination? Let’s see... Webster calls a ‘denomination’ a “a religious organization uniting local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.” The category called “Protestantism,” since it does not actually “unite” any local congregation into a “single legal and administrative body,” is more accurately a grouping of denominations rather than a denomination, according to Webster’s definition. How does one know if their “denomination” is of the Protestant kind?
You might be a Protestant if....
(1) You believe the Bible consists of only 66 books
(2) You believe authority rests with Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura)
(3) You believe justification is by Faith Alone (Sola Fide)
How many of the “denominations” listed by Barrett fall into this category? I’m betting over 33,000. Let’s look at it this way, of the 33,000 that Barrett classifies, which ones refute the pillars of Protestantism shown above? (a) Catholic Church, (b) Oriental Orthodox (5th century schism), (c) Eastern Orthodox (11th century schism). Any others? Perhaps I’ve missed a few. Even if you break apart the Orthodox Churches into separate Patriarchates (Bishops), that doesn’t reduce the BIG number of 33,820 by very much, does it? Some would say, “well that number is completely inflated” based upon Barrett’s fuzzy definition of “denomination.” On the contrary, I would say that it is a MUCH LARGER NUMBER of denominations using Webster’s definition of “denomination.”
Even within the Catholic Church, the most diverse forms of Catholicism, the Latin and Eastern Rite, share the same government, the same “religious organization uniting local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.” In other words, Canon Law for the Eastern Rite and Canon Law for the Latin Rite come from the same single government, chaired by the same Vicar.
In the U.S. the next largest so-called “denomination” after the Catholic Church is referred to as “Baptist” according to http://www.adherents.com/
Is this a single denomination by Webster’s use of the word? Can the Baptist denomination rightly be called a “religious organization uniting local congregations in a single legal and administrative body?” I don’t believe so.
I suspect the label ‘Baptist’ is yet another grouping of denominations like the word “Protestant,” since according to one Baptist scholar, every
“local Baptist parish church is a law unto itself. Its relations with other Baptists churches, its compliance with recommendations from national church headquarters, its acceptance of any resolutions formulated at regional , national, or international conventions — all these are entirely voluntary on the part of the parish church.” (Religions of America, Leo Rosten, ed.)
If it is true that every Baptist parish-church is a law unto itself, then isn’t every individual Baptist parish-church, according to Webster, its own legal and administrative body, its own denomination? I wonder how many Baptist parish-churches are in the world? I know there are too many to easily count here in Colorado Springs.
Are there any major denominations within Protestantism, for example Lutheranism, which can be correctly called a denomination by Webster’s usage? If so, I’m not familiar with them. Missouri-Synod Lutherans want nothing to do with the World-Lutheran-Federation Lutherans, for example.
Therefore, I believe 33,000 is a tragically conservative number of Protestant denominations IN THIS COUNTRY (U.S.) let alone in the world.
Anti-Catholic Evangelical apologist Eric Svendsen is quoting from an earlier edition of the same encyclopedic source. Unfortunately, if you’ve read Dave Armstrong’s article on the subject, you know that Eric Svendsen’s polemics fall flat upon its face (as usual). The beauty is, Svendsen still has not faced up to the fact that there is ONE Catholic Church listed for every country Barrett lists. Nor has he addressed the fact that all those “denominations” that use a 66-book Protestant Bible, and uphold the pillars of Protestantism (sola scriptura and sola fide) are PROTESTANT even if they claim otherwise. Calling themselves “non-denominational” may be a clever marketing technique, but the world (including Protestant authors) knows them as Protestants.
God bless,
Dave
“Lord, in my zeal for the love of truth, let me not forget the truth about love” — St. Thomas Aquinas
by Dave1988 and others from the Catholic Answers boards
Why do you keep asserting that Rome makes the Assumption nessecary for Salvation? While it does teach it as official dogma, it never says that it is nessecary for salvation.
Rome officially only says, in truth, that God’s mercy and grace is the ONLY thing nessecary for salvation. God’s grace leads to faith and the works thereof. Rome actually puts less limits on God’s grace than Protestantism.