Limits of Protestantism

Authority of the Church

                 I am sure that anyone who picks up a Bible and limits himself to a literal interpretation of it will find the sufficient truths and illuminations necessary for his salvation and even sanctification. However, without the Church's aid and a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Word of God, I do not think it will be of use for him in resolving complex problems that life presents at every historical period. A closed literal interpretation of the Bible is ineffective for providing answers to challenging questions such as non-affirmation, human relationships and sexuality, contraceptives, technological inventions, injustice, etc. That is why the Evangelical Churches are constantly in crisis and at a real loss for a response before the dramatic situations brought on by an ever changing world.

               Pope Paul VI for example, appealed to the natural law in regards to the questions of human sexuality. St. Paul implicitly refers to the natural law in his letters. Only an acute mind, however, will be able to pick this up in the Scriptures. The rest won't see it. Therefore, in their ignorance they say that there is an opposition between the word of God and the Church's teaching, when in truth, there is really a harmonious agreement between the two.

                I really like the example of the mechanic and his manual. A haughty and stubborn mechanic will say that his intelligence is good enough to understand the manual without the help of anyone. In the beginning, he might actually learn a lot alone and through the manual, come to learn how to fix an engine. However, if there are some very difficult technical terms in it that he doesn't understand, he will be at a loss in regards to certain aspects of the car. His failure to figure out these terms will not grant him the knowledge needed to fix the electrical wirings, air conditioning or tape player.

Even so, in his pride, he refuses to call the car company to resolve his doubts concerning these features of the manual. In the meantime, the company has already given courses to its mechanics concerning the new cars, something the solitary mechanic knows absolutely nothing about. He will insist that the only valid knowledge is what is contained in his manual. No one pays attention to him, and he is left behind the times. The roads are filled with new cars, and if he goes out with his old one, he is seen as something antiquated and weird. Everyone will blow their horns for him to get out of the way. His out-dated ideas have no place in society and have no meaning for it.  

       As Jesus said, unless a seed dies, it remains merely a seed. Unless we throw ourselves into the soil of the Church, we remain a helpless seed and will produce no growth. No real fruit can be expected without this burial in her deep wisdom.

Father Anthony Mellace