Have you missed all the times He appealed to Scripture when rebuking Satan, the religious leaders, the disciples? Do a word search for "it is written", you'll see how many times our Lord prefaced His words with such. It's found 26 times with the search in the Gospels http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=it%20is%20written&version1=9&searchtype=phrase&bookset=4. He also many times spoke of "Moses and the Prophets" as speaking about Himself - that meant Scripture. He said in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." In fact, Jesus' ministry was a constant appeal to the Scriptures because He came for the Jews chiefly (the lost sheep of the house of Israel) and the Gentiles would not have been swayed by an appeal to the Jewish Scriptures. We KNOW that Jesus is the Messiah because He fulfilled over three-hundred prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to Him being the promised Messiah.
As far as the "big guns" - and Athanasius was from the Alexandrian area and is considered a Church Father of the Greek Orthodox Church and a major patristic witness to the New Testament - let me simply say that the champions of faith all throughout the history of the Christian faith are shared by all of the Body of Christ, but NONE of them are infallible. ONLY the Bible is the infallible, Divinely-inspired word of God. All these men and women of the faith do is open a window into how they thought in their day, what trials they endured and they confirm the same faithful witness of Scripture to us today. Men such as Athanasius built their treatises, tracts and theological writings upon their knowledge of Scripture - much of it memorized, though they had access to an "exemplar" (copy of the books of Scripture). Athanasius' "training and immersion in Scripture became the decisive element that shaped his writings, wherein biblical quotations along with their interpretation and elucidation constitute a significant component of their overall content." (The Text of the Apostolos in Athanasius of Alexandria By Gerald J. Donker). This link gives you online access to that book about Athanasius: http://books.google.com/books?id=dDN8sbv1IDEC&pg=PA12&dq=Athanasius+Scripture&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NITRT_qMF4Oy8QTO8qzqAw&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Athanasius%20Scripture&f=false. Though he is far from the only church father who placed significant importance on the Holy Scripture as THE authority for truth claims, he DOES say quite a bit about the subject, so I reject the idea that he needs to be cherry-picked to find "usable" confirmation about the Bible and its place in theirs and our lives.
I am curious why, if Catholics' own catechism expresses support for the belief in the Divinely-inspired, infallible Holy Scriptures, it comes across here that so many sound like they do not accept that doctrine? I recognize that Catholics are taught that, as you said, "the Church has claimed, that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Bishops guide the Church with the support of the teachings handed down from the Apostles and with the support of the Holy Words of Scripture.". So why is there such a battle over the sufficiency of Scripture? Do you think God omitted critical truths in His revelation? I totally get it that they think nothing the magesterium teaches or ever has taught goes against Holy Scripture, but this just does not seem to hold true on these forums. Instead, it goes into a tug-of-war between "tradition" and Scripture and that could not happen if, indeed, tradition is confirmed with Scripture.
Perhaps you should actually read the body of his work instead of carefully edited snippets plucked from the Internet. When you look for what he wrote about Scripture you find that his position is identical to that of the Catholic Church today. And when you examine what he wrote on tradition you find He also placed a great deal of importance on Holy Tradition as today's Churh still does.
You see, Tradition and Scripture are not an either / or proposition as Protestantism insists, but rather a both / and proposition because together they comprise the Deposit of Faith. Creating and then attacking the straw man that Catholics reject Scripture because we embrace Tradition because Protestantism does the opposite is a fallacy that gets harder to ignore on a daily basis. Let us agree to disagree where our doctrines differ, but I really tire of arguing against allegations of what you think or want the Church to be.
May the Blessings of our Lord be upon you.
****Have you missed all the times He appealed to Scripture when rebuking Satan, the religious leaders, the disciples? Do a word search for “it is written”, you’ll see how many times our Lord prefaced His words with such. ****
That’s okay, it was a trick question.
I knew you couldn’t answer that question, because Jesus never specifically taught about Sola Scriptura, which is the claim you made.
Remember, even Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus. Knowing Scripture is not enough.
***Jesus’ ministry was a constant appeal to the Scriptures because He came for the Jews chiefly (the lost sheep of the house of Israel) and the Gentiles would not have been swayed by an appeal to the Jewish Scriptures***
Hardly, Jesus used Scripture but He also expanded on what He quoted, actually going beyond what what was written in Scripture.
And, twenty six times! Whew! But how many times is Jesus quoted in the New Testament? Many times more than 26, but then who’s counting? And if you google “list everything Jesus said”, you will find article after article discussing the times Jesus contradicted the Old Testament in something He said or did.
John 5:39, As you quoted it.
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
The full quote, .
John 5:39 You study[a] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,
and let’s not forget the 40th verse there....
40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
And, also, let us not forget the context of the saying and to whom it was spoken.
Constant appeal? Hardly. Jesus used the Old Testament to lead the Apostles to know who He is. It was the way He confirmed His authority to say and do what He did, but the New Testament Messiah, Jesus the Christ, was nothing like what the Jewish people expected and hoped for, based on their knowledge of Scripture.
*****I reject the idea that he needs to be cherry-picked to find “usable” confirmation about the Bible and its place in theirs and our lives.****
I never said you cherry picked St. Athanasius.
I disputed the interpretation of the quote. I disputed that he said what was posited by you and I never said anything about the rest of his work other than to note that he never refuted St. Ambrose’s writing about the Perpetual Virginity of Mary.
I also never said that St. Athanasius was not a strong adherent and student of Scripture, but he was also a strong adherent and supporter of the Church and her authority to interpret Scripture and speak authoritatively about doctrine.
*****I am curious why, if Catholics’ own catechism expresses support for the belief in the Divinely-inspired, infallible Holy Scriptures, it comes across here that so many sound like they do not accept that doctrine?****
It comes across to those who wish to think that is the case, but it couldn’t be further from reality. What seems to go over the head of non Catholic Christians of undeclared or unknown denominations is that Catholics here reject what the above mentioned teach regarding Scripture. They believe in ALL of the Scripture and accept that Jesus founded A church with His authority and the promise of His continued guidance and presence through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
*****So why is there such a battle over the sufficiency of Scripture? Do you think God omitted critical truths in His revelation?*****
Omitted critical truths? No, all truths may be found there, in fact the Catholic has a deeper understanding of those truths than the non Catholic Christian of undeclared or unknown denominations.
As St. Paul said, 2I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?