Defending the Faith: YouTube Commentary (Part 1)

Responding to a few people who were mocking papal infallibility…

For those who dismiss papal authority based on popes’ sins…

First of all, there is a major difference between impeccability (which no pope ever was or ever will be), infallibility, and declaring various matters ex cathedra.

For skeptics: you don’t believe in impeccability, so therefore you would never believe in infallibility, right?

Someone would have to be perfect to state anything infallibly, right? That seems to be the position.

With this logic, which Christian beliefs are infallible? The Trinity? Who told you? And if something needed to come from the mouth of Jesus in order for it to be infallible, which interpretation or understanding of such words is infallible?

When saying “bad pope”, it seems to beg the question: at what subjective point do they become bad or corrupted? At what threshold of sin does any given pope become unfit for office? What sins can they commit while still being able to declare anything infallibly?

If a “bad” leader of any Christian denomination states anything, and congregants simply take it or leave it based on his or her sins, individuals are in fact deciding what is or is not infallible, no? And if anyone claims that nothing is infallible, then what on earth is absolute? And what is Christianity anyway? And, again, who told you?

People will say “well my pastor does not claim to declare things infallibly.” So what? If we don’t have a living Church that will declare things infallibly, what do we have? The Scriptures, right? Okay, without arguing, what is the true meaning of John 6:53-54?

So, we’re left with the same question: what is or is not infallible and who said so?

Responding to a gentleman who was considering leaving the Catholic Church…

Brother, don’t leave. I just reverted. I was re-baptized in a non-denominational church, only to discover the source of everything “faith alone” and “Bible alone” was a tradition started 1,500 years after Christ. You can force the Bible to say whatever you want it to say, so, in order to get consistency of interpretation, you’re forced to go to the time of Christ and the early Church. Go to the early church fathers and their writings on everything from baptism to the Holy Eucharist. Also, go to Patrick Madrid’s “Why Be Catholic” video, explaining the unbiblical concept of Bible Alone (sola scriptura). Where was Lutheran teaching in the 7th century? Where is Bible Alone in the 5th century?

Martin Luther definitely found abuses in the church. That is life, unfortunately. However, if you find a robber in your house (representing indulgence abuse, sex abuse, and any other form of sin), do you move to another house, then question the reliability of the house and its construction? If that’s the case, you’ll leave any future church that has leaders who stumble. The sins of men, whether clergy or laity, do not disprove the truth. If that was the case, it would be impossible to believe anything on earth. The RCC continues to have problems (as one would statistically expect for a group of 1 billion!), but those problems do not change the absolute truth of the Church. See also: the Saints and their heroic virtues. In summary, there is an answer to every objection you might have. It all depends on the lens. If the lens is based on a conjured understanding of Scripture, it will lead to thousands of denominations, all claiming their own “truth”, often established by a single person at the founding of his or her denomination.

Responding to a gentleman who had left the Catholic Church a few years ago, claiming it was false based on the sins of clergy and laity…

A 2,000-year-old institution will have an occasional Judas or Pharisee...or many. That still does not disqualify the Church itself. If we took all non-Catholic denominations and grouped them together, it would be a nightmare of sin and corruption. There is no escaping that. It is not unique to Catholicism. It’s quite different to compare the ethics and morals of, say, a local, 2,000-person church to a 1-billion-person church. Furthermore, no pope was ever impeccable or perpetually infallible. He is not God either. He can and will make mistakes, just like any other human on earth. When speaking ex cathedra (and declaring something infallibly) he is declaring something that is consistent with Sacred Tradition and the deposit of faith—and his ability to do so is not lessened because he sins. Conversely, those who read their Bibles and create their own dogmas are, in fact, assuming the role of the very person they seem to abhor: the pope. The pope, and every pope in history, thankfully has oral and written Tradition to provide real parameters and does not haphazardly infallibly declare anything.

Regarding salvation by faith, who was practicing and declaring this doctrine for 1,500 years? Where are Justin Martyr’s or Ignatius of Antioch’s teachings on such a doctrine? Augustine? Jerome? Aquinas?

How is it that a Catholic (Luther), of all people, unearthed this doctrine that had apparently been the “true” teaching for thousands of years? Wouldn’t this doctrine be found consistently throughout church history? If our salvation depended on it, you would think there would be countless documents reflecting the reformers’ positions. Is “faith alone” infallible? If so, who declared it? Which church leader has the authority to do so? How about “scripture alone”? Do these need to be declared as infallible or should they persist as simply self-evident? If so, who was saved by faith alone in 250AD, 750AD, 1150AD? Where are their writings?

Just like me, you left the Church Jesus Christ of Nazareth established. Every other church has a founder named Luther or Calvin or Wesley or Knox or Smith, etc. ... all basing their churches not on apostolic succession or Tradition, but on private interpretation. Once you go down that rabbit hole, how do you know who is right? Why didn’t we stop at the Lutheran denomination? Why wasn’t Luther’s take on Christianity and salvation enough? When will we finally reach the real truth? If everyone’s interpretation is being led by the Holy Spirit, why aren’t we all in the same denomination, claiming the same dogmas, doctrines, and statements of faith? Like you, I’m passionate about my faith, hence my response.

Clergy may have let you down, like countless others, but Jesus’ body, blood, soul, and divinity won’t. Look to the Catholics who follow Church teaching (e.g. the Saints). God bless you!