Well, hello again everyone.
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We are on a roll. Today we are
going to study lecture number
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five in this series,
The Bible or Tradition?
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And I want to say
that we are going to read
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a lot of quotations.
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And there's a purpose why
we are going to read a lot of
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quotations, and that is because
I want you to hear from the
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Roman Catholic
Church itself what their
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concept of tradition is.
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And I want you to see that it's
virtually identical to the view
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of tradition that was held by
the Jews in the days of Christ.
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But before we get into
our study, we want to ask
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for the Lord's
guidance in prayer.
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And so I invite you
to bow your heads with me
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as we ask for
the Lord's presence.
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Father in heaven, we
thank You for the privilege
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of being here this evening.
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We have a very solemn and
important subject to study,
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and we need the aid
of Your Holy Spirit.
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I ask that You will not only
bless those who are gathered
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here, but you will bless those
who are viewing on television,
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and over the internet.
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I ask, Lord, that You
will give them open hearts,
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and open minds to understand
and receive what we are
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going to study this evening.
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We thank You, Father,
for the privilege of prayer,
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and because we know
that You have heard us,
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because we ask it in the
precious name of Jesus. Amen.
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In our study of the
rabbinical concept of tradition,
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we noticed that there
were certain key expressions
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and terms that were used by
the Jews in the days of Christ.
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I'd like to review those terms
that were used by the Jewish
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leaders in the days of Christ,
because we're going to come
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back to them again this evening.
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You remember that one of the
terms that was used constantly
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is the word tradition.
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The expression, handed down.
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The expression, passed on.
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The expression,
received, or the word received.
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The word hold. The
expression, unbroken succession.
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And as we studied, we also
noticed that the people were
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expected to render implicit
obedience to the theological
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scholars who brought
forth these ideas from what was
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known as oral tradition.
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In fact, when the religious
leaders spoke from Moses'
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throne, or from Moses'
cathedra, they were considered
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to be infallible. And people
were required to obey because
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they had to accept the authority
of the religious leaders.
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Now in our study today
we are going to see striking
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similarities between
the Jewish view of tradition
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in the days of Christ, and the
view of tradition that is held
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today by the
Roman Catholic Church.
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In fact, you're
going to notice that the
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terminology is identical,
and the view is identical,
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only there are
different actors involved.
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Now have you ever wondered, and
I've asked this question before,
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have you ever wondered how
the Roman Catholic Church can
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justify beliefs and practices
that have no foundation
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whatsoever in the
written Scriptures?
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I'm talking about traditions
such as baptizing infants,
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baptism by sprinkling,
prayers for the dead,
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and prayers to the dead,
the canonization of saints,
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purgatory, limbo, celibacy,
indulgences, the worship of
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images, the rosary, the
immaculate conception of Mary,
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Mary as the mediatrix between
man and God, the observance of
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Sunday, Lent, auricular
confession, and many other
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doctrines that I could mention.
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How can the Roman Catholic
Church expect the faithful
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to believe and obey all of these
observances when you cannot
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find any hint of these
ideas in the written Scriptures?
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The answer to this
question is the way in which the
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Roman Catholic Church
justifies all of these beliefs,
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and observances that are not
found in the written scriptures,
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is by their view of
tradition, which I've mentioned
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is virtually identical to
the view that the Jews had
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in the days of Christ.
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Now the actors are different.
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In the days of Jesus it was
believed that God gave these
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oral traditions to
Moses on Mount Sinai.
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In the days of Christ it was
believed that Christ gave these
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oral traditions to Saint Peter.
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So, in other words,
in the Old Testament
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it's God through Moses.
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In the New Testament it is God,
or Christ, through Simon Peter.
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Now the Roman Catholic Church
has stated, and they underlined
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the fact that there are many
things that Jesus did and said
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which are not
written in the gospels.
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In fact, you can find this
very clearly in texts such as
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John 21:25, and John 20:30,
31, where the Apostle John says
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that there were many things
that Jesus did, and that Jesus
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taught which are not
written in the gospels.
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So that much is true.
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The problem is that there
is no text in the New Testament
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that says that these
things that were not written
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should be transmitted orally
from the original generation
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to succeeding generations.
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In other words, there is
no hint in the New Testament
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that it was God's plan
that these oral traditions,
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that were never written in
Scripture, should be passed
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along from Peter, and
the apostles, to a following
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generation, and from
that generation to the next,
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and then to the next infallibly,
and that those ideas and beliefs
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should be accepted as being as
trustworthy as Holy Scripture.
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There's not a hint that
God wanted oral tradition
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to be passed along.
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Now according to the Roman
Catholic view, Peter and the
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College of the Apostles passed
on oral tradition to successors,
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and those successors passed
on these oral traditions to
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the next
generation of successors.
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And that generation of
successors passed it on to the
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next generation in
unbroken succession.
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And they believe that at each
stage the tradition, the oral
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tradition was conserved pure.
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Now it's interesting!
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This concept is known
as apostolic succession,
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the idea of
apostolic succession.
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And the Roman Catholic Church
bases this idea on a text that
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we find in Matthew 16:18,
19, where Jesus said to Peter,
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You are Peter, and upon this
rock I will build My church.
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And, basically, the Roman
Catholic Church teaches that
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the rock in that
text is Simon Peter.
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But when you look at the
rest of Scripture you never find
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a human being being
described as the rock.
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All of the other
texts in the Bible say that
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the Lord is the rock,
starting with Deuteronomy 32:4,
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The Lord is the Rock.
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There's no hint in Scripture
that Peter was the Rock.
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Jesus was saying, you
were Peter, a little pebble.
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But upon this Rock, that is upon
Myself, I will build My church.
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But the Roman Catholic Church
interprets Matthew 16:18, 19,
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as the idea that the
church was built on Peter,
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and therefore Peter conserved
these oral traditions pure,
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and passed them along
to succeeding generations,
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and those generations
to other generations.
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What this means in Roman
Catholic theology is that Peter,
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presiding over the
College of the Apostles,
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was given the authority
to preserve, define, explain,
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and bring forth not
only the written Word of God,
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but also the
unwritten tradition.
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And the Roman Catholic Church
believes that the Bishop of
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Rome, also known as the
Pope, along with the College of
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Bishops in the Roman Catholic
Church, has the same power today
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as was held by Peter originally
in the apostolic church.
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Now the Roman Catholic Church
then believes that the Pope,
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in union with the
College of Bishops,
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the College of Bishops are the
bishops on a worldwide level.
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When the Pope speaks
ex-cathedra, that is from the
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throne, from Peter's throne,
what he teaches is infallible,
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and has apostolic authority.
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Even 2,000 years removed from
Saint Peter, they believe that
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the Pope speaking, he
speaks with the authority of
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Saint Peter, and he
speaks infallibly when he speaks
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ex-cathedra, that
is from the throne.
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Now how does the
concept of tradition
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in the Roman
Catholic Church work?
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If you remember, when we studied
the Jewish view of tradition,
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we noticed that there
were three key elements.
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First of all there was a
deposit of tradition that was
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composed of the
written Scriptures,
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and also the
unwritten traditions,
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or the oral traditions
that had been passed on.
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In other words there was a
deposit of divine revelation
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composed of the
written Scriptures,
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and the unwritten traditions.
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We noticed secondly, that
in the Jewish view of tradition
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there had to be a transmitting
element that would transmit
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these oral traditions
from generation to generation
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in an authorative,
and in a trustworthy way.
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And, of course, in Roman
Catholicism the idea is that
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one generation of bishops
passes on the oral tradition
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to the next generation of
bishops, and that generation
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of bishops passes on the
oral traditions to the next
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generation of bishops.
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And they do it
infallibly, and they preserve
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it with absolutely
trustworthiness these traditions
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that were never written down.
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So the Roman Catholic Church
has the same idea concerning
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the first point, and that is
there is a deposit of tradition,
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oral tradition, that was
originally established by Peter,
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and it's passed along.
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The second element, of course,
is the transmitting element.
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That is the idea of
apostolic succession.
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Now the third element that
we notice in the Jewish concept
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of tradition, was that at each
generation there needs to be a
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living interpreter of the
oral tradition to define whether
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it is a genuine
tradition or not.
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Only each generation of bishops
can bring forth from the deposit
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of oral tradition, what they
believe goes all the way back
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to the times of Saint Peter.
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Now this element in the Roman
Catholic Church is called the
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magisterium. It's the
teaching office of the church.
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The word magisterium
means the teaching office.
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In other words, in each
generation there has been a
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group of scholars, a group
of theological experts that
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are able to define what is
a genuine tradition that goes
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all the way back
to the times of Peter.
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They are able to define, they
are able to apply, and they are
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able to explain, not
only the written Scriptures,
00:12:51.92\00:12:54.88
but also the oral tradition
that has been handed down.
00:12:54.91\00:12:59.26
And so interestingly enough,
the same three elements that we
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found in our second study about
the Jewish view of tradition,
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which is a deposit of
revelation, which contains
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the written Scriptures,
and the unwritten traditions;
00:13:12.40\00:13:14.73
secondly, a transmitting
mechanism that can transmit
00:13:14.76\00:13:19.10
the oral
traditions from generation
00:13:19.13\00:13:21.47
to generation reliably.
00:13:21.50\00:13:23.25
And number three, a group
of scholars, and theologians
00:13:23.28\00:13:27.36
in each generation, who
are able to teach and define
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what is a true tradition, and
what is not a true tradition.
00:13:31.74\00:13:35.08
The three elements are contained
in the Roman Catholic view of
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tradition, virtually identical
to the concept that existed
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in the days of Christ.
00:13:42.93\00:13:44.84
Now according to Roman Catholic
theology, when the Pope speaks
00:13:44.87\00:13:49.99
ex-cathedra, that is from
Peter's throne, his
pronouncements must
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be accepted as
final and infallible.
00:13:55.46\00:13:58.64
That is to say the faithful
must render implicit obedience
00:13:58.67\00:14:04.04
to the will of the Pope, and
the magisterium of the church
00:14:04.07\00:14:07.42
under pain of being anathema,
or being excommunicated
00:14:07.45\00:14:13.04
from the church. This is exactly
the same thing that happened
00:14:13.07\00:14:17.84
in the days of Christ, isn't it?
00:14:17.87\00:14:21.29
We read statements from the
times of Christ, from Josephus,
00:14:21.32\00:14:25.58
where he defined
this in the very same way.
00:14:25.61\00:14:28.60
And, of course, in the days
of Christ because the people
00:14:28.63\00:14:33.33
believed that the religious
leaders were infallible
00:14:33.36\00:14:36.86
expositors of the oral
traditions that had been given
00:14:36.89\00:14:39.90
to Moses, as a result, the
populous were totally dominated,
00:14:39.93\00:14:47.26
and they were totally controlled
by the religious leaders.
00:14:47.29\00:14:50.97
Now you might be wondering,
Pastor Bohr, where do you find
00:14:51.00\00:14:55.18
this Roman
Catholic view of tradition?
00:14:55.21\00:14:56.99
Okay, you've defined it.
00:14:57.02\00:14:58.14
You've explained it.
00:14:58.17\00:14:59.20
You've said that it's parallel
to the concept of tradition
00:14:59.23\00:15:02.09
that existed in
the days of Christ.
00:15:02.12\00:15:03.84
But where do we find proof
in Roman Catholic theology that
00:15:03.87\00:15:07.76
this is the view
that Roman Catholics hold?
00:15:07.79\00:15:10.09
Well, I'd like to warn you that
this evening we are going to
00:15:10.12\00:15:14.65
read a lot of statements.
00:15:14.68\00:15:17.05
Most of the lecture
is going to be reading.
00:15:17.08\00:15:19.77
Now I know that there's a risk
in doing that because, you know,
00:15:19.80\00:15:24.45
people get bored
when you read a lot.
00:15:24.48\00:15:26.11
But I figured that it would
be a good idea to read a group
00:15:26.14\00:15:30.93
of statements from Roman
Catholic authoritative sources
00:15:30.96\00:15:34.55
themselves, so that you can see
that the terminology is used,
00:15:34.58\00:15:38.70
and the three ideas that the
Jews held in the days of Christ
00:15:38.73\00:15:42.43
are today held by the
Roman Catholic Church.
00:15:42.46\00:15:45.60
Now the first line of evidence
that I want to share is from
00:15:45.63\00:15:50.27
Vatican Council II.
00:15:50.30\00:15:52.09
Have you ever heard
of Vatican Council II?
00:15:52.12\00:15:54.72
Let me just give you a
little bit of background.
00:15:54.75\00:15:57.79
Vatican Council II met
from 1962 to 1965 under the
00:15:57.82\00:16:05.90
leadership of two Popes.
00:16:05.93\00:16:08.43
It began under the leadership
of John XXIII, and it continued
00:16:08.46\00:16:13.37
under the leadership of Paul VI,
because John XXIII died before
00:16:13.40\00:16:17.85
the council came to an end.
00:16:17.88\00:16:19.76
And I'm going to read
some statements in a moment.
00:16:19.79\00:16:23.87
I want to go to the
Council of Trent before that,
00:16:23.90\00:16:26.42
but in a moment I'm going to
read you a group of statements
00:16:26.45\00:16:29.99
from the declaration that was
written at this council by the
00:16:30.02\00:16:34.72
Roman Catholic Church
regarding divine revelation.
00:16:34.75\00:16:38.54
It's called Dei Verbum,
that means the Word of God,
00:16:38.57\00:16:42.96
the declaration
on the Word of God.
00:16:42.99\00:16:45.78
But before I do, I
would like to go back a ways
00:16:45.81\00:16:48.86
to the Council of Trent.
00:16:48.89\00:16:51.16
You know, the Council of Trent
was called by the Roman Catholic
00:16:51.19\00:16:55.07
Church to try and counteract
the Protestant Reformation.
00:16:55.10\00:16:58.71
The Council of Trent gathered
from 1545 to 1563, 18 years.
00:16:58.74\00:17:05.39
It was the longest
church council in the history of
00:17:05.42\00:17:08.34
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:17:08.37\00:17:09.55
And the express purpose
was to counteract the growing
00:17:09.58\00:17:13.69
menace of Protestantism.
00:17:13.72\00:17:15.36
And I would like to read from
the Council of Trent what it
00:17:15.39\00:17:19.75
has to say about tradition.
00:17:19.78\00:17:22.22
Notice this is found in
the book by Philip Schaff,
00:17:22.25\00:17:26.08
The Creeds of Christendom.
00:17:26.11\00:17:28.51
This is what the council stated:
00:17:28.54\00:17:31.32
Ah, there's another key term.
00:18:05.38\00:18:08.17
And what's the next word?
00:18:10.31\00:18:11.86
Are you seeing the similarity?
00:18:16.69\00:18:17.94
Here's the key word again.
00:18:23.19\00:18:24.68
Are you following this?
00:18:56.81\00:18:58.63
The key words,
receive, hold, passed on,
00:18:58.66\00:19:03.29
continuous succession.
00:19:03.32\00:19:05.03
The only difference is that in
the Old Testament it was Moses
00:19:05.06\00:19:08.63
who supposedly passed
on the oral traditions.
00:19:08.66\00:19:10.89
Here it would be the
case of Peter doing it.
00:19:10.92\00:19:15.43
Now I would like to read
also the profession of faith
00:19:15.46\00:19:18.76
of the Council of Trent.
00:19:18.79\00:19:20.18
This is a profession of faith
that everyone in the Catholic
00:19:20.21\00:19:22.99
Church should confess.
00:19:23.02\00:19:24.50
Notice what it says.
00:19:24.53\00:19:25.93
And this is in the book,
The Riddle of Roman Catholicism
00:19:25.96\00:19:28.81
by Jaroslav Pelikan.
00:19:28.84\00:19:31.20
Says the Roman Catholic.
00:19:44.73\00:19:46.49
Now listen carefully.
00:19:48.98\00:19:50.21
So the sacred Scriptures
are under the control of whom?
00:20:04.18\00:20:06.78
Of the church,
not the individual.
00:20:06.81\00:20:09.69
Now notice what the Roman
Catholic is called to confess.
00:20:09.72\00:20:14.16
It continues saying:
00:20:14.19\00:20:15.41
Do you remember
that word from Mark 7,
00:20:26.67\00:20:28.76
unanimous
consent of the fathers?
00:20:28.79\00:20:31.86
Incidentally, there is no
unanimous consent among the
00:20:31.89\00:20:35.27
Roman Catholic fathers, because
they contradicted one another
00:20:35.30\00:20:38.25
on many different points.
00:20:38.28\00:20:39.68
Now I would like to go to what
I mentioned before: Dei Verbum,
00:20:39.71\00:20:44.32
that is the conciliar
declaration on the Word of God.
00:20:44.35\00:20:49.13
And, by the way, because
this was decided and voted on in
00:20:49.16\00:20:52.58
a church council, it is
considered the authoritative
00:20:52.61\00:20:55.92
teaching of the
Roman Catholic Church.
00:20:55.95\00:20:57.79
This is not just some
theologian that is saying this,
00:20:57.82\00:21:00.38
this is the Roman Catholic
Church gathered in council;
00:21:00.41\00:21:03.43
all of the
bishops from the world.
00:21:03.46\00:21:05.44
Now notice what it says.
00:21:05.47\00:21:06.50
What does it say next?
00:21:44.63\00:21:45.74
Um, identical to Mark 7.
00:21:45.77\00:21:48.31
Ah, same word as in Mark 7.
00:21:51.33\00:21:53.69
What? Identical to Mark 7!
00:21:55.63\00:21:58.08
To the what? traditions.
00:21:58.88\00:22:00.65
Do you notice
the same terminology?
00:22:00.68\00:22:02.61
That's oral tradition.
00:22:08.31\00:22:09.34
Now it continues saying:
00:22:41.49\00:22:43.87
There's a key word.
00:22:45.21\00:22:46.24
What? There it is again!
00:22:57.42\00:22:59.30
That's the idea of apostolic
succession; the group of
00:23:18.71\00:23:22.23
scholars that pass on
the information, supposedly
00:23:22.26\00:23:25.75
infallibly, and reliably
from generation to generation.
00:23:25.78\00:23:28.98
So it says:
00:23:29.01\00:23:30.04
In other words the
Scriptures were not the finished
00:23:52.28\00:23:54.75
revelation of God.
00:23:54.78\00:23:55.83
The church has to continually
bring forth new teachings,
00:23:55.86\00:24:00.41
and new doctrines from
the deposit of oral tradition.
00:24:00.44\00:24:03.80
It continues saying:
00:24:03.83\00:24:05.35
Now notice this:
00:24:36.23\00:24:37.89
Do you have this
concept in the Old Testament
00:24:40.91\00:24:43.76
in the days of
Christ? Absolutely!
00:24:43.79\00:24:45.87
Does what?
00:24:50.17\00:24:51.20
In other words the
Scriptures are not enough.
00:25:22.37\00:25:25.97
They are not sufficient.
00:25:26.00\00:25:27.70
The declaration
continues saying:
00:25:27.73\00:25:31.44
Exactly what Flavius
Josephus said about the Jewish
00:25:43.29\00:25:46.67
concept of tradition.
00:25:46.70\00:25:47.82
Now notice what this
declaration continues saying.
00:25:47.85\00:25:51.88
Remember this is not just
some Catholic theologian that's
00:25:51.91\00:25:54.36
writing off the top of his head.
00:25:54.39\00:25:55.99
This is an official proclamation
of the Roman Catholic Church
00:25:56.02\00:25:59.07
in a council of the church.
00:25:59.10\00:26:01.31
Notice what it continues saying:
00:26:01.34\00:26:03.58
Now what's the next expression?
00:26:14.11\00:26:15.97
That's identical to what
Jesus referred to in Mark 7.
00:26:17.90\00:26:21.80
He continues saying:
00:26:48.78\00:26:51.56
Now this is a very
important paragraph.
00:26:52.40\00:26:54.19
So who is the only authoritative
interpreter of Scripture?
00:27:10.07\00:27:15.05
Not only the church, but
the teaching authority of the
00:27:15.08\00:27:19.73
church, the magisterium.
00:27:19.76\00:27:21.25
Is that identical to what's
happening in the days of Christ?
00:27:21.28\00:27:24.09
The scholars were the ones who
were qualified to define what
00:27:24.12\00:27:28.49
people needed to believe, and
what they needed to practice.
00:27:28.52\00:27:31.23
Absolutely! It continues saying:
00:27:31.26\00:27:33.72
Which is the word magisterium.
00:27:35.69\00:27:37.76
I'd like to see
all of these doctrines.
00:27:46.27\00:27:48.05
I mentioned at the beginning,
handed down from where?
00:27:48.08\00:27:50.29
Certainly not from Holy
Scripture, because Scripture
00:27:50.32\00:27:53.70
for example, says that
baptism should be by emersion.
00:27:53.73\00:27:56.37
There's not a case of
baptism by sprinkling.
00:27:56.40\00:27:59.46
There's not a case of
a child being baptized.
00:27:59.49\00:28:02.51
There's not one reference
to the idea that Mary was
00:28:02.54\00:28:06.04
born without any
taint of a sinful nature.
00:28:06.07\00:28:09.17
The Bible doesn't even
mention the birth of Mary.
00:28:09.20\00:28:12.01
So where are you
going to get it from?
00:28:12.04\00:28:14.17
The only place you could get it
from is from the supposed oral
00:28:14.20\00:28:17.46
traditions that
have been handed down,
00:28:17.49\00:28:18.92
just like in the days of Christ.
00:28:18.95\00:28:20.72
So it continues saying: This
teaching office is not above
00:28:20.75\00:28:23.92
the Word of God, but serves
it, teaching only what has been
00:28:23.95\00:28:27.82
handed down. Listening...
00:28:27.85\00:28:29.38
And then, this is the last part
of the statement that I want
00:28:45.62\00:28:49.56
to read from Dei Verbum.
00:28:49.59\00:28:51.01
So is the belief of
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:29:20.65\00:29:24.83
Did you see any similarity
between what the council said,
00:29:24.86\00:29:29.02
and what we notice from Mark 7,
and also what we noticed in our
00:29:29.05\00:29:33.68
second lecture about the
view of Jewish tradition?
00:29:33.71\00:29:36.24
The terminology is identical,
and the concept is identical.
00:29:36.27\00:29:40.35
The only difference is
that it's God, through Moses,
00:29:40.38\00:29:43.64
and in the case of the Christian
church it's God through Peter,
00:29:43.67\00:29:47.13
but the ideas
are exactly the same.
00:29:47.16\00:29:50.34
Now the second source
that I want to read from is the
00:29:50.37\00:29:55.04
Roman Catholic
Catechism; the most recent
00:29:55.07\00:29:57.85
Roman Catholic Catechism.
00:29:57.88\00:30:00.13
It is a massive book, and
it was actually authorized by
00:30:00.16\00:30:04.47
John Paul II,
so this is official
00:30:04.51\00:30:06.80
Roman Catholic teaching.
00:30:06.83\00:30:08.20
I'm not, once again, reading
statements from scholars,
00:30:08.23\00:30:12.01
or theologians of
the Catholic Church.
00:30:12.04\00:30:13.72
I am reading from official
sources, which are considered
00:30:13.75\00:30:17.81
to be trustworthy, and
authorative, and infallible
00:30:17.84\00:30:22.00
by the Roman Catholic Church.
00:30:22.03\00:30:23.42
What I'm going to read is
from Article 2, of the Catechism
00:30:23.45\00:30:28.48
of the Catholic Church, and this
section of the Catechism deals
00:30:28.51\00:30:33.80
with the transmission
of divine revelation.
00:30:33.83\00:30:37.06
And it's divided in paragraphs,
so I'm going to read certain
00:30:37.09\00:30:40.63
paragraphs that
we find in Article 2.
00:30:40.66\00:30:43.42
First of all paragraph 76.
00:30:43.45\00:30:46.35
Notice the expression handed on.
00:30:53.99\00:30:56.48
And the second way the Catechism
says that it's transmitted:
00:31:21.31\00:31:24.80
And then in the very next
section you have a subtitle
00:31:36.26\00:31:40.44
that says, continued
in apostolic succession.
00:31:40.47\00:31:43.67
In other words, the
written Scriptures, and the oral
00:31:43.70\00:31:45.76
traditions are passed
along by apostolic succession.
00:31:45.79\00:31:48.76
And so lets read
from paragraph 77.
00:31:48.79\00:31:51.88
Hum, interesting.
That's apostolic succession.
00:32:02.34\00:32:06.16
There's not a faintest hint
of this in the New Testament.
00:32:13.66\00:32:17.68
Listen carefully now.
00:32:24.37\00:32:26.13
Now lets read paragraph 78.
00:32:32.84\00:32:35.23
See the transmitting mechanism
idea, and the deposit of the
00:32:37.41\00:32:40.85
faith idea, and the idea that
you have a magisterium in each
00:32:40.89\00:32:45.52
period of history to preserve
and teach the tradition?
00:32:45.55\00:32:49.27
So it says in paragraph 78:
00:32:49.30\00:32:51.84
Now the next
section in the Catechism,
00:33:30.79\00:33:33.39
right before paragraph 80,
is titled, One Common Source.
00:33:33.42\00:33:37.70
The Catholic Church teaches that
oral tradition, and the written
00:33:37.73\00:33:41.66
Scriptures have one source.
00:33:41.69\00:33:42.89
Now notice what the Catholic
Church says in paragraph 80.
00:33:42.92\00:33:47.09
So what the Catholic Church
is saying is that there's one
00:34:20.89\00:34:23.46
deposit of tradition:
the written tradition,
00:34:23.49\00:34:25.99
which is the Bible, the New
Testament, and the unwritten
00:34:26.02\00:34:28.92
traditions, and they both
come from the same source.
00:34:28.95\00:34:31.98
Now right before paragraph
81, you have the subtitle,
00:34:32.01\00:34:37.35
Two Distinct
Modes of Transmission.
00:34:37.38\00:34:39.71
It says there,
Sacred Scripture is the...
00:34:39.74\00:34:42.82
And then it continues saying:
00:34:47.99\00:34:50.08
So who are the ones that
are established to preserve
00:35:19.23\00:35:22.75
oral tradition to make
sure that it's trustworthy?
00:35:22.78\00:35:25.55
the successors of the apostles.
00:35:25.58\00:35:27.67
Same idea as with the
Jews, different terminology,
00:35:27.70\00:35:31.43
in that case. Now in
paragraph 82 it says:
00:35:31.46\00:35:34.87
It's not talking about
the book of Revelation.
00:35:40.85\00:35:42.48
It's talking about
the divine revelation.
00:35:42.51\00:35:44.70
Now listen carefully.
00:35:49.55\00:35:51.19
This is really important.
00:35:51.22\00:35:52.30
In other words the
Roman Catholic Church says,
00:35:58.35\00:36:01.22
We do not go by Sola scriptura.
00:36:01.25\00:36:03.15
It continues saying:
00:36:03.18\00:36:06.61
The next subtitle
is: Apostolic Tradition
00:36:16.97\00:36:21.39
and Ecclesial
Traditions, paragraph 83.
00:36:21.42\00:36:25.12
The tradition here in question
comes from the apostles.
00:36:25.15\00:36:29.97
And now notice the
key terminology again.
00:36:30.00\00:36:33.06
Ah, if you were here
for the Mark 7 study...
00:36:36.25\00:36:39.16
I mean the terminology
is identical. So it says:
00:36:39.19\00:36:42.90
The next paragraph, 84,
is preceded by the subtitle,
00:37:02.68\00:37:07.32
The Heritage of Faith
Entrusted to the Whole Church.
00:37:07.35\00:37:11.17
I'm reading now from paragraph
84 of Article 2, of the Roman
00:37:11.20\00:37:16.73
Catholic Catechism; the
most recent one. It says:
00:37:16.76\00:37:19.52
In other words, because the
truth of oral tradition has been
00:37:59.23\00:38:03.28
passed along by apostolic
succession, from bishop to
00:38:03.31\00:38:06.66
bishop, the people in order
to be in communion with their
00:38:06.69\00:38:10.38
bishops, have to believe
what their bishops teach.
00:38:10.41\00:38:13.33
That's basically
what it's saying.
00:38:13.36\00:38:14.51
And then you have another
paragraph which is titled,
00:38:14.54\00:38:18.63
the subtitle comes before it,
The Magisteriam of the Church.
00:38:18.66\00:38:22.13
And I'll read
paragraph 85 and 86. It says:
00:38:22.16\00:38:27.00
Listen carefully.
00:38:36.06\00:38:37.78
So who are the ones that
have the authority to teach?
00:38:42.87\00:38:46.81
Only the
theologians of the Church.
00:38:46.84\00:38:50.26
This article continues saying:
00:38:50.29\00:38:54.04
And paragraph 86 says:
00:39:08.88\00:39:13.38
That is
seriously open to question!
00:39:23.91\00:39:26.80
So let me ask you, As
we've read these statements from
00:39:47.78\00:39:51.43
Dave Attaboom, and from the
Catechism of the Roman Catholic
00:39:51.46\00:39:55.22
Church, can you see the
similarities between the Jewish
00:39:55.25\00:39:58.43
view in the days of Christ,
and the Roman Catholic view?
00:39:58.46\00:40:01.02
And listen, folks, the view that
was held by the Jews in the days
00:40:01.05\00:40:06.46
of Christ led to the
rejection of Jesus Christ,
00:40:06.49\00:40:08.93
and led to the
apostasy of the Jewish nation.
00:40:08.96\00:40:12.81
Can the same be said today of
Roman Catholicism? Absolutely!
00:40:12.84\00:40:18.48
Now I'd like to read you a
statement from Pope Pius XII.
00:40:18.51\00:40:23.15
And this is a very interesting
statement about the power
00:40:23.18\00:40:27.44
of the magisterium in
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:40:27.47\00:40:29.88
Do you understand what I
mean by magisterium, right?
00:40:29.91\00:40:31.98
The magisterium are the scholars
of the Roman Catholic Church
00:40:32.01\00:40:36.17
that hand on the traditions,
supposedly, in an infallible,
00:40:36.20\00:40:39.81
and trustworthy way.
00:40:39.84\00:40:41.04
This is what Pius Xll once said:
00:40:41.07\00:40:43.47
Are you
understanding what he's saying?
00:41:01.02\00:41:03.74
He's saying there's some things
in the deposit of the faith
00:41:03.77\00:41:06.71
that are obscure and implicit.
00:41:06.74\00:41:09.03
But he's saying, the magisterium
exists in order to illumine and
00:41:09.06\00:41:15.57
clarify that which is obscure
and that which is implicitly
00:41:15.60\00:41:21.30
contained in the oral tradition.
00:41:21.33\00:41:23.23
And so the Roman Catholic Church
will look for a word in a text,
00:41:23.26\00:41:29.12
or a single text, and
they'll take it out of context.
00:41:29.15\00:41:31.51
They'll say, See, there's a hint
that what the Church teaches now
00:41:31.54\00:41:35.06
is the truth, but really
Scripture has nothing to say
00:41:35.09\00:41:39.68
about most of the doctrines
of the Roman Catholic Church.
00:41:39.71\00:41:42.58
They're based almost
totally on written tradition.
00:41:42.61\00:41:48.13
Now I want to read
several additional quotations.
00:41:48.16\00:41:51.46
These are from theologians
of the Roman Catholic Church.
00:41:51.49\00:41:54.42
Now listen to
the second paragraph.
00:42:06.96\00:42:08.15
So both of them, he
says, are of equal sacredness,
00:42:30.82\00:42:34.96
but one is more safe and clear,
and that is unwritten tradition.
00:42:34.99\00:42:41.40
That, by the way, was
written by Joseph Faa de Bruno,
00:42:41.43\00:42:46.18
Roman Catholic scholar.
00:42:46.21\00:42:47.98
Here's another one
from Francis Butler.
00:42:48.01\00:42:50.54
All of these are
statements from Roman Catholics.
00:42:50.57\00:42:52.80
There's an open admission.
00:43:01.58\00:43:03.25
No he's going to give a list.
00:43:49.48\00:43:50.72
We believe that there's 66.
00:44:07.23\00:44:08.66
The Catholic Church
says, No, there's 72,
00:44:08.69\00:44:10.73
because they
accept the apocrypha.
00:44:10.77\00:44:12.89
It continues saying, notice:
00:44:12.93\00:44:16.60
Now listen, this is a
very important statement.
00:44:42.51\00:44:45.56
This statement that I am reading
now is from John O'Brien,
00:44:45.59\00:44:49.34
who taught for many years at
the University of Notre Dame.
00:44:49.38\00:44:53.09
And so this is
a very significant
00:44:53.13\00:44:55.47
statement that he makes.
00:44:55.50\00:44:57.32
That is the magisteriam.
00:45:03.37\00:45:05.48
By the way, that's not John
O'Brien, that's a conclusion
00:45:17.87\00:45:21.77
to the statement
by Francis Butler.
00:45:21.80\00:45:25.67
But now lets go to the one
that comes from John O'Brien,
00:45:25.70\00:45:30.21
who was the teacher for many
years at Notre Dame University.
00:45:30.24\00:45:35.66
This is what he says.
00:45:35.69\00:45:36.72
How could it be more explicit?
00:45:59.29\00:46:01.16
That's John O'Brien.
00:46:01.19\00:46:03.38
He wrote a book called The Faith
of Millions, a book that sold
00:46:03.41\00:46:07.12
thousands and thousands
of copies, if not hundreds of
00:46:07.15\00:46:10.33
thousands, perhaps
millions. He continues saying:
00:46:10.36\00:46:13.52
And I say, Yes, the Holy Spirit.
00:46:20.04\00:46:22.64
They say No, it's
the teaching office.
00:46:22.67\00:46:25.25
He continues saying:
00:46:25.28\00:46:26.47
Now here's another statement
from Joseph Faa de Bruno.
00:46:47.53\00:46:51.12
Protected by whom?
00:47:30.60\00:47:33.11
So the idea is God makes
sure that in the process of
00:47:41.75\00:47:45.94
transmission, these
scholars keep it right.
00:47:45.97\00:47:49.53
Now notice this
statement from John Laux.
00:47:49.57\00:47:53.09
So, basically, he's saying
that the Roman Catholic Church
00:48:27.93\00:48:31.48
doesn't base its faith on
Scripture or oral tradition.
00:48:31.52\00:48:35.03
You say, Then what
does it base it on?
00:48:35.06\00:48:36.55
Well, lets continue reading.
00:48:36.58\00:48:37.71
In other words, It is
the magisterium that defines
00:49:03.10\00:49:06.66
whether something is true or
not, not even the Scriptures,
00:49:06.69\00:49:09.48
or the oral tradition.
00:49:09.52\00:49:10.86
Notice what
Bertrand Conway had to say.
00:49:10.89\00:49:15.93
Now notice the challenge.
00:49:39.29\00:49:41.44
I mean talk about indicting
yourself by your own quotations.
00:50:07.63\00:50:14.54
And this is the reason why Keith
Fornier more recently said this:
00:50:14.58\00:50:19.62
In other words, the
Church is above the Book.
00:50:26.65\00:50:29.93
That's practically
blasphemy to say the Church
00:50:29.96\00:50:34.52
is above the Book.
00:50:34.55\00:50:35.58
And the Church
infallibly interprets the Book,
00:50:35.61\00:50:39.75
and everybody has to obey
what the Church has to say.
00:50:39.78\00:50:43.29
Now let me read you another
statement from John O'Brien,
00:50:43.32\00:50:47.36
the same teacher from
Notre Dame University. He says:
00:50:47.39\00:50:51.39
The Church is the mother
of the Bible, in other words.
00:50:58.08\00:51:00.99
This is what he's saying.
00:51:01.02\00:51:02.05
Now listen, this is incredible!
00:51:16.22\00:51:18.26
Are you understanding
what the issue is here?
00:51:45.09\00:51:49.30
You see, Protestantism
goes by Sola scriptura,
00:51:49.33\00:51:52.98
and slowly
Protestantism has forsaken that.
00:51:53.02\00:51:56.60
You know, you take somebody
like Tony Palmer, for example.
00:51:56.64\00:51:59.63
You know, you've heard of him.
00:51:59.67\00:52:01.00
You know, he says
Christians need to unite.
00:52:01.04\00:52:02.83
In fact, do you know that he
says Protestants are to blame
00:52:02.86\00:52:05.65
for the divisions
in the Christian world.
00:52:05.69\00:52:07.69
He says because before
Protestantism there was only
00:52:07.72\00:52:11.26
one church, the
Roman Catholic Church,
00:52:11.29\00:52:12.86
everything was united.
00:52:12.90\00:52:14.16
After that, as a result of
the Protestant Reformation,
00:52:14.20\00:52:17.29
you have 33,000 denominations.
00:52:17.32\00:52:20.22
And so he says we all
have to come under the umbrella
00:52:20.26\00:52:23.14
of the one Catholic
Church again. Interesting!
00:52:23.17\00:52:27.62
So from the forgoing quotations,
and from empirical observation,
00:52:27.66\00:52:33.80
we can reach the
following conclusions:
00:52:33.83\00:52:37.30
Roman Catholicism has virtually
an identical view of divine
00:52:37.33\00:52:41.34
revelation as did apostate
Judaism in the days of Christ.
00:52:41.38\00:52:45.35
The three elements of
the sacred deposit of written
00:52:45.39\00:52:49.16
and oral traditions,
the transmitting mechanism
00:52:49.20\00:52:52.91
as authoritative, and a
living interpreter in every age,
00:52:52.94\00:52:58.26
is present in both systems.
00:52:58.29\00:53:00.16
And the terminology
is virtually identical.
00:53:00.19\00:53:03.66
Words such as tradition,
handed down, passed on,
00:53:03.69\00:53:07.90
received, hold, unbroken
succession are found in both.
00:53:07.94\00:53:13.37
In both systems the belief
is that the oral traditions go
00:53:13.41\00:53:18.80
supposedly back to
an original source.
00:53:18.84\00:53:20.85
In the case of the Jews,
it was God through Moses.
00:53:20.88\00:53:25.17
In the case of the
Roman Catholic Church
00:53:25.21\00:53:27.39
it is God through Peter.
00:53:27.42\00:53:29.22
Amazingly, in Matthew
23:2, do you remember that Jesus
00:53:29.26\00:53:33.47
said that the scribes and
Pharisees sit on Moses seat?
00:53:33.51\00:53:37.66
The word seat there is cathedra,
and basically what it meant
00:53:37.69\00:53:42.89
is that the scribes and
Pharisees said that they had
00:53:42.92\00:53:46.03
the authority of Moses to
teach, because they were the
00:53:46.06\00:53:49.16
successors of Moses.
00:53:49.19\00:53:50.40
And so the Pope today says,
I have the right to infallibly
00:53:50.44\00:53:55.26
teach because I am
the successor of Peter.
00:53:55.30\00:53:58.28
And when the Pope speaks
ex cathedra, that is from the
00:53:58.31\00:54:02.39
throne, what he speaks is
infallible, and you have to take
00:54:02.43\00:54:08.29
it to the bank, and
you have to obey it.
00:54:08.33\00:54:10.34
In both systems they pay
lip service to the idea that
00:54:10.38\00:54:15.43
tradition and Scripture are
equal, but in actual practice
00:54:15.47\00:54:20.49
tradition is
higher than Scripture.
00:54:20.53\00:54:24.36
In both Judaism and
Roman Catholicism people were,
00:54:24.40\00:54:30.33
and are expected to render
implicit, and unquestioning
00:54:30.36\00:54:34.47
obedience, and
submission to the views of the
00:54:34.50\00:54:37.68
scholars of the church.
00:54:37.72\00:54:38.90
Any divergence is swiftly
punished by excommunication,
00:54:38.94\00:54:45.38
or in the case of the
Jews in the days of Christ,
00:54:45.41\00:54:47.98
expulsion from the synagogue.
00:54:48.02\00:54:50.23
The Roman Catholic Church
has taken measures to correct
00:54:50.27\00:54:56.56
some of its scholars who
have gone astray from what the
00:54:56.59\00:54:58.88
magisterium teaches.
00:54:58.91\00:55:00.01
I could tell you
the story of Hans Kung.
00:55:00.05\00:55:02.35
I won't take the time; we
don't have the time to do that.
00:55:02.39\00:55:05.81
But he was a teacher in Europe
and he was defrocked from his
00:55:05.84\00:55:09.23
position because he
taught views that were different
00:55:09.26\00:55:11.74
from the views of the Church.
00:55:11.78\00:55:13.61
And so, folks, what is happening
in the Christian world today
00:55:13.64\00:55:19.15
is practically a copy
of what was taking place
00:55:19.18\00:55:23.78
in the days of Christ.
00:55:23.81\00:55:24.93
I'd like to end by reading
a statement that we find in
00:55:24.96\00:55:28.34
The Desire of Ages,
466, 467, on what is really
00:55:28.37\00:55:33.03
apostolic succession.
00:55:33.07\00:55:35.00
Ellen White states this:
The Pharisees had declared
00:55:35.04\00:55:38.92
themselves the
children of Abraham.
00:55:38.95\00:55:41.18
Jesus told them that this claim
could be established only by
00:55:41.21\00:55:45.22
doing the works of Abraham.
00:55:45.25\00:55:46.46
The true children of
Abraham would live as he did,
00:55:46.50\00:55:50.15
a life of obedience to God.
00:55:50.18\00:55:52.12
They would not try to kill
One who was speaking the truth
00:55:52.16\00:55:55.60
that was given Him from God.
00:55:55.63\00:55:57.15
A mere lineal decent
from Abraham was of no value.
00:55:57.18\00:56:01.89
Without a spiritual connection
with him, which would be
00:56:01.92\00:56:05.83
manifested in possessing the
same spirit, and doing the same
00:56:05.86\00:56:09.10
works, they were
not his children.
00:56:09.13\00:56:11.62
And then she goes on to say,
This principle bears with equal
00:56:11.65\00:56:15.45
weight upon a question that
has long agitated the Christian
00:56:15.48\00:56:19.24
world: the question
of apostolic succession.
00:56:19.28\00:56:22.42
Descent from Abraham was
proved, not by name and lineage,
00:56:22.46\00:56:27.32
but by likeness of character.
00:56:27.36\00:56:29.24
So the apostolic succession
rests not upon the transmission
00:56:29.27\00:56:34.16
of ecclesiastical authority,
but upon spiritual relationship.
00:56:34.20\00:56:39.08
A life actuated by the apostle's
spirit, the belief and teaching
00:56:39.11\00:56:44.53
of the truth that they taught,
this is the true evidence
00:56:44.57\00:56:48.22
of apostolic succession.
00:56:48.25\00:56:50.12
This is what constitutes
men the successors of the first
00:56:50.15\00:56:54.27
teachers of the gospel, which
means that if any theologian
00:56:54.30\00:56:58.44
today teaches contrary to what
scripture teaches, they are not
00:56:58.47\00:57:03.42
successors of anyone.
00:57:03.46\00:57:05.07
Because the teachings that
are brought forth today must be
00:57:05.11\00:57:09.50
firmly based upon
the written Scriptures.
00:57:09.53\00:57:13.91
Man shall not
live by bread alone.
00:57:13.95\00:57:16.62
Man shall live by
every word that proceeds
00:57:16.65\00:57:19.87
out of the mouth of God.
00:57:19.91\00:57:21.04
Man shall live by
a thus saith the Lord
00:57:21.07\00:57:25.10
in the written Scriptures.
00:57:25.14\00:57:27.17