Romans 12:5: . . . so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Ephesians 4:3-5: . . . eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . .
John 10:16: “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.”
Romans 12:4-5: For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
John 17:21: “. . . that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also be in us, so, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
The Christian faith was never intended to be a strictly personal and individualistic affair. Christ establishes a new People of God, a new Israel— the Church. This community of the faithful is a visible organization with certain marks or traits from God. Sometimes the Bible compares the Church to a house, a body, a city built on a hill, a flock, etc. These are all visible images. The unity of this one body compares favorably against all the various argumentative sects and Protestant organizations. The Catholic Church puts them to shame.
For more such reading, contact me about getting my book, DEFENDING THE CATHOLIC FAITH.
Filed under: Anti-Catholicism, Apologetics, Bible, Catholic, Church, Evangelization, Faith, Holy Spirit, Jesus | Leave a comment »
Sometimes anti-Catholics talk as if the Catholic Church is the enemy of the Bible. The contrary is true; the Bible is the Catholic Church’s book! The late Paulist priest, Fr. Alvin A. Illig, CSP, joked, “It is a shame we never got a copyright on OUR book.” The Bible did not suddenly come into existence or out of bondage with Martin Luther. Prior to the invention of the printing press, bibles were produced by hand and could be quite expensive and time consuming to create. For this reason they were often secured in churches with locks and chains. A theft could cost the entire faith community its copy of the Scriptures. Many people were illiterate and thus received their bible instruction in preaching and in religious art. The first book printed with the new technology devised by John Gutenberg was probably the Catholic Bible. This was done under the auspices of the Church. Prior to Luther’s German bible in 1534, some 626 bible editions (or portions thereof) were printed in nations where the Catholic Church held sway. Many of these were in the vernacular languages of the day. Today, the lectionary used at Mass insures a wide exposure to Scripture in our worship. There is a papal indulgence available for faithful bible reading. Every Catholic home probably has a bible, or at least, is supposed to have one. The so-called Catholic hostility to the Bible during the Middle Ages and later to bible study groups or societies is a deliberate distortion of the facts by anti-Catholics. The Church was not against the Bible; rather, she was opposed to faulty and dangerous translations as rendered by the Waldensians, Albigensians, Wycliff and Tyndale. The fact that churchmen may have gone to unnecessary extremes in combating heretical versions of Scripture does not invalidate their overriding concern. Bible societies, just as they can be today, posed a danger in that false interpretations to bible passages were given to proselytize Catholics from the true faith.
In comparison to the fragmentation evident in Protestantism, the uniformity in doctrine as derived from an ultimate teaching authority over Scripture and Tradition has done much to sustain the Catholic faith. There is only one Christian faith— a single flock of Christ— and one shepherd over all. Legend has it that Martin Luther lamented on his deathbed, “My God, what have I done, there are now as many churches as there are heads!” It is sometimes joked that if you get two Protestants together to read the Bible, you will get three different opinions. So much for private interpretation of the Scriptures; it does not work and to suggest that it does might blaspheme the Holy Spirit by denying the facts. The abiding unity in faith is proof enough of Catholic claims and would not be possible without divine intervention.
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