Searching
For Authority
Christopher Dixon
From
the Editor
Marcus Grodi
A
Hop Skip and a Great Leap
Doug Trout
The
Crisis of Authority in the Reformation
Kenneth
J. Howell, Ph.D
"Have
you not Read?"
Robert Sungenis
The
Rule of Faith in Patristic Thought
J.A. Gallegos
Authority
in the Catechism
Gayle Somers
Papal
Infallibility
David Palm
Scripture
and Tradition
Mark P.
Shea
The
Authority to Preach
Marcus C.
Grodi
Before
You Object...
Kenneth
J. Howell, Ph.D
Other Journals
Before You Object...
By Kenneth J. Howell, Ph. D.
As we compiled the articles for this journal, we tried to consider continuously how these topics and their presentations would be heard and received by non-Catholics.
We thank you for the time you are taking to read the articles in this issue of our journal. We, the writers, are all adult converts to the Catholic Faith who have made joyful but arduous journeys in faith to the Church we believe was founded by Jesus Christ himself. Our intention is never to appear, or to be, arrogant or triumphal as we relate to our Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ. All of us in the Coming Home Network are keenly aware of how traumatic it can be for a Christian who is considering the claims of the Catholic Church. For that reason, this journal hopes to provide information to clarify the teachings of the Catholic Church and to encourage those who need support in their journeys.
The articles in this issue on authority raise some thorny issues which may be difficult for our readers to grapple with, but we also know that Jesus our Lord promised, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32). Truth is not easy to embrace, but its power to liberate from falsehood and tyranny is astounding. Church history, both Protestant and Catholic, is full of courageous men and women who have been moved by commitment to truth, a commitment that fortified their hearts in the fight against evil. St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest theologians of the Catholic Church, once said that the human mind has great difficulty in grasping the truths of revelation. We find it much easier to accept the dogmas of earthly truth such as mathematics, science or history than when we are confronted with the supernatural truths of Christ and his salvation. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why both Catholics and Protestants have taught that we cannot embrace Christ apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Our hesitancy to embrace truth is a common human malady; no one has a corner on it. Becoming a Catholic does not solve this problem, but it does help us to confront it head on because it reveals to us our desire to be the arbiters of truth. And I think Americans are especially afflicted with the desire — one might call it a compulsion — to retain the right to decide what is true or not true. I see this everyday of my life because I have been involved in higher education in one way or another most of my adult life. And despite our current rhetoric of diversity and multiculturalism, the one uniform assumption of American university campuses is my right to decide for myself.
Deciding what is true and not true eventually leads us to realize that we are not arbiters of truth. God is the final authority. We must listen to him. And something beautiful happens in a person’s life when he or she comes to that realization. It is a release, a letting go of the need to prove, of the need to be right. The Christian heart knows this freedom deep down. Though we may be ignorant and stumbling, we know in the depths of our hearts that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Christian heart wants to say, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening." Being a Catholic is more than agreeing with the teachings of the Catholic Church. It involves a belief that the Church itself is Christ’s gift of authority to you and to me as the children of the Father. I still remember the day when I was completely flabbergasted by the statement in I Timothy 3:15 that the Church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth." Surely I had read this verse before! Of course, but the impact of this teaching of Scripture on my sense of my own authority had only begun. Bit by bit, I grew in the realization that Christ had deposited with his apostles the fullness of his revelation that alone could rescue us from perdition (Eph. 2:20; II Tim. 1:13).
Our spiritual journeys, no matter what church we belong to, require a open heart that is searching for the fullness of Christ’s truth. And that is why our journey to God will never be complete in this life. I know this in a personal way because often I bring to Jesus through confession to my priest my own reluctance to embrace Christ’s authority in my own life. But even though I fail again, I am constantly reminded that he who is the Truth also promised that "the Truth will set you free."
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