Teachings of the church vs. the Bible
I have a question, I have been doing alot of studying about Scripture and teachings of the catholic church. My mother is a catholic and I am not. My question is this. If the church teaches apostolic succession, and the catholic dogma is the truth, than should it not at least agree with what the bible says? For example the church teaches about annulment, but the bible disagrees with what the church teaches:
Matt. 5:31-32, Matt.19 3-9.
These are just some of the many versus from the new and old testament. I am not trying to offend or upset anybody. This question is a genuine question in the search of knowledge.
QUESTION from Kahlil on March 24, 2004
ANSWER by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM on March 25, 2004
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Dear Kahlil: The New Testament was written by Catholics, vetted by Catholics, and compiled by Catholics. It is a Catholic document and every dotted "i" is taught by the Catholic Church. All doctrines of the Catholic Church can be found directly or implicitly in the Bible. The Catholic Church teaches that a valid marriage cannot be dissolved by anyone for any reason. Valid marriage is until death. period. Annulment in the Church and in Civil Law concerns an invalid marriage. If a marriage is invalid, then it is not a real marriage. An annulment in the Church or in Civil Law, merely makes the legal proclamation of what already is true -- that the marriage was never valid. For example, if your 12 year old went out and got married somehow, is that marriage a real marriage, is it valid? No. Thus you would certainly seek an annulment of that marriage. An annulment is done, not a divorce, because it is not valid for a 12 year old to marry (in our country at least). Bottomline: The Doctrines of the Catholic Church can be found directly or implicitly according to biblical principle, and furthermore, the Christians in the first three centuries of the Church were and practiced their faith as Catholics. This is proven by documentary evidence of the writings of the Church Fathers. Protestants, on the other hand, cannot find any sermon, writing, letter, or speech of the Church Fathers to support their novel man-made doctrines of arrogant people 1500 years after the fact. The Catholic Church, however, can show truck-loads of manuscripts still in existence from the early Church that show the Catholic view. The Catholic Church, not the Protestants, not the Pentecostals, not the Baptists, is the truly Biblical Church practicing First Century Christianity.
God Bless, |