Thank you all for sharing your insights on Free Republic! I'm pinging a few of you because I remember your discussing a related subject on perhaps another thread.
The Scriptures say Peter is the Rock.
I find it curious that the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32) is often not considered in discussions of Scriptures concerning the Name "Rock." But the Song of Moses is obviously important as it is mentioned in Romans 11 and Revelation 15 and indirectly in John 10, etc. Moreover, the very first thing in the Song of Moses is the announcement of a Name of God, the Rock. Sadly, that announced name was not translated as a Name in the Greek (Septuagint) and from there it evidently was lost in the Latin (Vulgate.)
English from Hebrew (Masoretic)
[He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he. tsuwr po`al tamiym derek mishpat 'el 'emuwnah `evel tsaddiyq yashar
English from the Greek (Septuagint)
As for God, His works are true, and all His ways are justice. God is faithful and there is no unrighteousness in Him; just and holy is the Lord.
English from Latin (Vulgate)
The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments: God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right. Dei perfecta sunt opera et omnes viae eius iudicia Deus fidelis et absque ulla iniquitate iustus et rectus
God's Name, The Rock, has been preserved in the Hebrew and in Judaism and is not lost in most translations:
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he. – Deuteronomy 32:1-4
And again, the Name was known in the early Church:
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. – 1 Corinthians 10:1-4
We are never to forget a Name of God.
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. - Deuteronomy 12:3-4
This is not to suggest the Catholic Church at the highest levels has forgotten this Name of God. Indeed, Pope Benedict spoke of God as the rock here:
Fides.org Following the example of Paul, “the faith should keep us in a constant attitude of humility before God, indeed of adoration and praise. In fact what we are because we are Christians, we owe solely to Him and to his grace... Our radical belonging to Christ and the fact that «we exist in Him» should gives us an attitude of total confidence and immense joy … our Christian life therefore stands on the most stable and safe rock imaginable. And from this rock we draw all our strength”. Pope Benedict XVI concluded “let us face our life with its joys and sorrows, sustained by these lofty sentiments offered us St Paul”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 9/11/2006, righe 37, parole 562)
However, I confess to being concerned that some of the laity are quick to say Peter is the rock, but slow (and sometimes even unwilling) to say that "The Rock" is a Name of God. Both Abraham (Judiasm) and Peter (Christianity) were first to be called by God and both were called “rock.”
Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock [whence] ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit [whence] ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah [that] bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. – Isaiah 51:1-2 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. – Matt 16:17-18
But we must remember that “The Rock” is a Name of God and the commandment of Deuteronomy 12:3-4, i.e. that we must never destroy a Name of God. To God be the glory!