I heard that at a youth camp once. Several years later, I realised it was a perfect description of the protestant attitude to the Bible, but not the Catholic. Protestants see the Bible as possessing the entire deposit of faith, giving the fullness of instruction and requiring no augmentation or interpretation beyond what your average chap can perform for himself.
We Catholics, on the other hand, see this in the deposit of Faith left to the universal church, interpreted by our Magisterial tradition and requiring a living and ongoing teaching authority. Thus, the Bible is excellent reading and desperately necessary for anyone who wishes to know Christ - but it's far from being a basic instruction book.
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I heard that at a youth camp once. Several years later, I realised it was a perfect description of the protestant attitude to the Bible, but not the Catholic. Protestants see the Bible as possessing the entire deposit of faith, giving the fullness of instruction and requiring no augmentation or interpretation beyond what your average chap can perform for himself.
We Catholics, on the other hand, see this in the deposit of Faith left to the universal church, interpreted by our Magisterial tradition and requiring a living and ongoing teaching authority. Thus, the Bible is excellent reading and desperately necessary for anyone who wishes to know Christ - but it's far from being a basic instruction book.
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