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To: Legatus
That the Gospels hold a special place is one thing, that the remainder of Sacred Scripture is somehow "less Holy Spirity" is not really a workable theory... so I don't think we can get away with calling anything "the musings of ordinary men". Unless you were referring to the interpretations and not the Scriptures themselves?

If we can agree on the Gospels as the focus and the starting point of Christian Scripture, then we are in accord. Perhaps the musing of ordinary men, however Scripturally ratified may be objectionable. However it may be, the words of Jesus supersede those of any mortal men, regardless of their holiness.

8,149 posted on 10/01/2010 7:52:00 PM PDT by MarkBsnr ( I would not believe in the Gospel if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so.)
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To: MarkBsnr
If we can agree on the Gospels as the focus and the starting point of Christian Scripture, then we are in accord. Perhaps the musing of ordinary men, however Scripturally ratified may be objectionable. However it may be, the words of Jesus supersede those of any mortal men, regardless of their holiness.

We are obligated, as part of the Faith which we must hold "whole and entire", to believe that God is the author of Sacred Scripture; from "In the beginning..." right through to "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

The CCC, sometimes called "The Cataclysm of the Catholic Church" says it this way. It may not be infallible when it wanders off, but it is authoritative:

105 God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit."69

"For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself."70

106 God inspired the human authors of the sacred books. "To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more."71

107 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."72

108 Still, the Christian faith is not a "religion of the book." Christianity is the religion of the "Word" of God, a word which is "not a written and mute word, but the Word which is incarnate and living".73 If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, "open [our] minds to understand the Scriptures."74

Further along we do find this:

124 "The Word of God, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, is set forth and displays its power in a most wonderful way in the writings of the New Testament"96 which hand on the ultimate truth of God's Revelation. Their central object is Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son: his acts, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church's beginnings under the Spirit's guidance.97

125 The Gospels are the heart of all the Scriptures "because they are our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior".98

And finally:

127 The fourfold Gospel holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the saints at all times:

There is no doctrine which could be better, more precious and more splendid than the text of the Gospel. Behold and retain what our Lord and Master, Christ, has taught by his words and accomplished by his deeds.(St. Caesaria the Younger)

But above all it's the gospels that occupy my mind when I'm at prayer; my poor soul has so many needs, and yet this is the one thing needful. I'm always finding fresh lights there; hidden meanings which had meant nothing to me hitherto.(St. Thérèse of Lisieux)

8,151 posted on 10/01/2010 8:10:53 PM PDT by Legatus (Keep calm and carry on)
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To: MarkBsnr; Legatus
However it may be, the words of Jesus supersede those of any mortal men, regardless of their holiness.

Then do you also have a "redacted" Bible that contains only the "Gospels"? If you think any other writings contained in Holy Scripture are not in sync with those that include Christ's words, then why did God see fit to reveal himself before Jesus came and continue for decades afterward? I get the feeling the implication is they are all extraneous and I certainly don't agree with that.

8,152 posted on 10/01/2010 8:12:07 PM PDT by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)
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