The Authority of the Church
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
From The Editor
Whenever Christians of different traditions, denominations, sects, or ilks gather over a friendly cup of coffee or other beverage of choice to discuss differences in theology or doctrine, observers can either be graced by the brotherly love and patience shown or disgraced by the flying fur. And since the later has too often been the case, the politically correct thing for most modern Christians to do is avoid these confrontations like the plague. As a result, all across America Christian neighbors of one tradition are able to live somewhat peaceably across the street or next door to Christian neighbors of other traditions by not talking religion. In other parts of the world this hasn’t proven so successful. First, let me pose the question: is this what Jesus intended in his great priestly prayer when he prayed,
"Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE...I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that THEY MAY ALL BE ONE; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that THEY MAY BE ONE EVEN AS WE ARE ONE, I in them and thou in me, that THEY MAY BECOME PERFECTLY ONE, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me." John 17.11b, 20-23
Four times Jesus prayed that his followers would always remain one so that their united witness would convince the world of who he is and how much our heavenly Father loves them. Now nearly 2000 years later our world is still pretty much unconvinced or at least terribly complacent. But, secondly, whenever Christians of different traditions do get together to discuss or debate, the discussion rarely gets down to the issue at the core of our divisions. Arguments over whether salvation can be lost or who can be baptized or which form of church government is most biblical or whether women can be ordained all skirt the true, undergirding issue: how will one finally determine which opinion is true? The most number of votes? The most number of bible verses? The longest standing tradition? The loudest and fiercest voice? The key issue behind all of our divisions is the issue of authority: who has the authority to speak for God to declare what is true? Recognizing the importance of this theme, we decided to focus this second issue of the Coming Home Journal on this important issue.
With my thoughts on the overwhelming implications of this theme—how the abandonment of authority has brought intellectual and moral chaos into our modern world—I had an unanticipated experience that drove this point disconcertingly home. Every week I fly from Ohio to Alabama to host a live television program on EWTN called The Journey Home. As I was driving to the airport, I decided to check out the library at a local university in a small central Ohio town that I normally pass quickly by.
As I entered the front gate, the marquee described this 155 year old academic institution as a Christian college of Liberal Arts. Driving around the campus looking for the library, I noticed that there were no signs or symbols that gave a clue to what Christian tradition this school was affiliated. The large New England style chapel had no specifically Christian artwork, and the billboard listed only a chapel service on Thursday evenings and a Catholic Mass on Sunday afternoons. In the library, I browsed through the religious section and was appalled that the overwhelming majority of the selections were by liberal Protestant, Eastern Oriental, pagan or New Age writers. When I found the bookstore and glanced through the lists for upcoming classes, again the books and topics reflected the same theological imbalance found in the library. My first thought was for the poor naive parents who thought they were safely sending their children to a Christian, nurturing environment. I then wondered how any student at that school who might be searching could possibly discover the truth of Christianity? And then the thought crossed my mind, in the nearly 2000 years of Christian history, when had it become possible for schools like this to exist, to unashamedly proclaim themselves Christian without any identifiable connection to any specific Christian tradition? I presume only in this century.
But maybe more relevant to the theme of this issue, how are the students of that small "Christian" college going to determine what is true? The stacks upon stacks of books at that liberal arts library reek of relativism, and do nothing but encourage these young minds to believe that the only authority they need is themselves. Is it possible that what one finds here is in essence the unavoidable trajectory of the idea that all one needs to determine truth is the Bible, the Holy Spirit and one’s self? The articles in this issue of the Coming Home Journal have been written by men and women whose love for Jesus Christ and whose conviction that God’s truth is not relative led them out of their Protestant traditions into the Catholic Church. They are writing not to argue nor to proselytize but to winsomely clear away confusion and ignorance so that others might discover the joyful, trustworthy and Spirit led authority that still exists in the Church in union with Peter. We in the Coming Home Network International are anything but anti-Protestants. Those of us who are converts are very thankful for the faithful witness of our Protestant families, friends, congregations and pastors who led us to Jesus Christ and nurtured us in the Christian faith. It is now our desire to help them discover the fullness and power of the Faith, as taught by the Early Church Fathers and throughout history in Sacred Tradition. We pray that this collection of conversion stories and articles on authority will strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ, and enkindle in your heart a desire to know more about the Church that has weathered all the storms of the last 2000 years, not without faults or blunders, but which by God’s grace still seeks to protect and proclaim the gospel message faithfully. May the Father richly bless you as you seek to follow Jesus his Son, our loving Lord and Savior.
Marcus C. Grodi
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