"Did God intend that the Bible alone should be the guide to salvation? No, because certain things in the Bible can be misunderstood, and because the
Bible does not have everything God taught" - Catechism, p. 51.
"Do we get from the Bible alone all our knowledge and certainty about what God has told us? No, there is also Sacred Tradition … What is tradition?
The Word of God handed on to us by the Apostles in their preaching and by their successors in the church to the present day … Do you have to believe
in tradition? Yes … we are obliged to accept all the truths contained in the Bible and Tradition…" - Catechism, pp. 9,10.
"Council … assemblies of the rulers of the Church legally convoked, for the discussion and decision of ecclesiastical affairs … The decrees of general
councils have no binding authority till confirmed by the Pope … The infallibility of general councils so confirmed follows from that of the Church…" -
Dictionary, pp. 227-230.
"Does Jesus require us to follow the Pope in matters of religion? Yes, because obedience and loyalty to the Pope are among the chief requirements of
Our Lord's plan for unity … Can the Pope make an error when teaching religion? Not when he is speaking solemnly (ex cathedra) as head of the church.
Then he has that special protection from error which God gives as a spiritual safeguard for all the members of the church" - Catechism, p. 56.
But the Bible teaches:
1. The original apostles received all the truth we need to guide us to eternal life, and they wrote this down in the Scriptures (John 16:13; 2 Pet.
1:3; Acts 20:20,27; Matt. 28:20; I Cor. 14:37; 2 Tim. 3:16,17).
2. The teachings of these inspired writers can be understood by the common people. We do not need official interpreters to understand the word, but we
should use the word to check out the teachers! (Mark 7:14; 2 Tim. 3:16,17; John 20:30,31; Acts 17:11; Psa. 119:105)
3. We displease God when we follow tradition or church laws or any human standard as the source of authority for the church (Matt. 15:1-14; Col. 2:8;
Gal. 1:6-9; Prov. 14:12; 2 John 9-11; Jer. 10:23).
|