Category Archives: Infallibility

Church History, Epistemology, Eschatology, Infallibility, Papal Infallibility, Tradition

As God Sitteth in the Temple

September 24, 2023 Timothy F. Kauffman 12 Comments

“…he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:4

One of the most refreshing fruits of the Francis I pontificate is that it has awakened Roman Catholics to the truth that apostasy can originate from within the church. Paul warned,

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Of this “falling away,” or apostasia, Paul included a chilling note. It would begin from within: “the son of perdition … as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Indeed, speaking to bishops who could justifiably boast succession from the Apostles, he warned: “of your own selves shall men arise” (Acts 20:30). And Peter warned as well: “there shall be false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1). As we have observed repeatedly here, the Great Apostasy occurred in the late 4th century, bursting forth as a veritable font of liturgical, ecclesial and doctrinal novelty and error. It manifested upon the earth as what we now know as Roman Catholicism. It originated from within, for one cannot “fall away” from without.

The historical Roman Catholic objection to such a claim is as predictable as it is banal: “But that would mean Jesus has not kept His promise in Matthew 16. If the church ever fell into apostasy, then that would make Jesus a liar!” We invite the reader’s attention to such examples as this, which claims that “There was no great apostasy of true Christianity” because Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. Or this comment, in which a reader claimed that there could never be a widespread apostasy because Jesus promised that “the gates of hell would not prevail against the church.” Such objections presume first that we are claiming that the “True Church” could apostasize (we are not) and second, that Roman Catholicism is that “True Church” (it is not).

When we cite 2 Thessalonians 2:11 about the “strong delusion” by which God Himself would cause the vast majority to “believe a lie,” the Roman Catholic responds in a similar vein: “That is not possible because that would mean God purposely spread heresy and is the source of heresy.” Such responses again presume that Roman Catholicism is immune to error, and thus immune to an apostasy. Thus, the Roman Catholic historically has ruled out the very thing the Apostles clearly ruled in: that the great falling away would sweep up much of the church in its wake. Continue reading As God Sitteth in the Temple →

Apparitions, Church Fathers, Epistemology, Infallibility, Papal Infallibility, Sola Ecclesia, Tradition

One Billion Denominations

July 16, 2023 Timothy F. Kauffman 17 Comments

“Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” — Job 38:2

A typical accusation made of Protestants by Roman Catholics is that they are so divided. There are ostensibly at least 35,000 Protestant denominations, but only One Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. Such a stark comparison is often sufficient for a wavering Protestant to capitulate in despair. Since his conversion to Roman Catholicism, the subject of our previous series, Mr. Joshua T. Charles, has shouted from the rooftops that the unified Roman religion with its Tradition and teaching Magisterium has finally set him free from the divisions and errors of Protestantism. Protestants constantly disagreed about everything, and at some point, he just could not stand it any more. Here is a small sampling of his Twitter criticism just from last month:

“I was protestant until I was 31. As such, the furthest I could get was different interpretations of the Bible. No one could say ‘thus saith the Lord’ as to which one was right. Good, educated people differed on every issue under the sun.” (June 4, 2023)

“I’m very, very, very glad I am no longer a protestant. Among all the interpretations, where is the true one? On so many issues that have been long settled in the Catholic Church, protestants continue to divide & fall into more errors, with no one capable of resolving the debate.” (June 10, 2023)

“[That’s] Why I am Catholic today. Interminable, unresolvable debates where the best any of us had was our best guess was unacceptable. I wanted to follow Jesus.” (June 13, 2023)

From this small sampling, which is indeed representative of Mr. Charles’ chronic indignation, we might suppose that the solution he had stumbled upon in Rome was a single authoritative source of clear teachings that removed all doubt, dispute and debate in the interpretation of the Bible, Tradition, the Magisterium. At last, no more error, guesswork, difference and revision, no more heresy, schism, contradiction and division! Nothing but smooth sailing! Continue reading One Billion Denominations →

Epistemology, Infallibility, Papal Infallibility

It’s extremely complex

July 5, 2015 Timothy F. Kauffman 58 Comments

Roman Catholics are forced to rely on private interpretation in order to avoid the pitfalls of private interpretation.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “revelation,” or the “deposit of faith,” is that “which has been committed” to the Roman Catholic church, “and which she proposes to all her members for their acceptance.” As Catholic Answers helpfully defines, the “doctrines of the Catholic Church are the deposit of faith revealed by Jesus Christ, taught by the apostles, and handed down in their entirety by the apostles to their successors.” Having been entrusted with “the faith which was once delivered” (Jude 3), the Roman Catholic church is alleged to be the only authorized custodian and teacher of that deposit (Catholic Encyclopedia, Revelation). Continue reading It’s extremely complex →

Epistemology, Idolatry, Infallibility, Mary, Mediatrix, Papal Infallibility, Sola Ecclesia

How to resolve an historical paradox

February 25, 2014 Timothy F. Kauffman 1 Comment

M. C. Escher’s Drawing Hands shows two drawn hands drawing each other, each hand getting its power to draw from the other. True to Escher’s style, a paradox is presented to the eye of the beholder, and the paradox is never resolved—the eye must continually move from one object to the other. Each time the eye settles on an apparently solid 3-dimensional object that can make sense of the rest of the picture, the paradox reappears. The search for the original, “authoritative” hand never ends.

We believe this is a good illustration of Roman Catholicism’s view of Tradition because Tradition is based on what Rome teaches, and what Rome teaches is based on Tradition. We gave an example of this in our recent post, All the Way Back. In that post, Roman priest and Marian devotee, Fr. Thomas Livius, showed the origins of Marian doctrines from the Fathers of the first six centuries. When he arrived at the teachings of Origen, Basil and Cyril—that the sword that pierced Mary’s soul (Luke 2:35) was the sword of doubt and unbelief—rather than accept that the early church understood that Mary was sinful, Livius spends his next three pages correcting Origen, as well as Basil and Cyril who agreed with him.

This raises the obvious question: Continue reading How to resolve an historical paradox →

Epistemology, Infallibility, Papal Infallibility, Sola Scriptura, Sola Verbum Dei

Infallibility’s Fatal Flaw

February 17, 2014 Timothy F. Kauffman 22 Comments

Trial of Pope Formosa's Cadaver — The cadaver of infallible Pope Formosus was put on trial in 897 AD, and found guilty of perjury, among other charges.

In 897 AD, Pope Stephen VII had Pope Formosus’ body exhumed and put on trial at the infamous Cadaver Synod, during which the corpse was found guilty, and stripped of his papal vestments. Pope Theodore II later convened a synod and overturned Pope Stephen’s findings, as did Pope John IX after him. But later, Pope Sergius III overturned the rulings of Theodore II and John IX, and reaffirmed the conviction of Formosus. Perhaps Formosus’ corpse will find some little comfort in the knowledge that it is still—at least for now—listed on Rome’s “unbroken line of popes” currently on display at the Vatican.

We find a papal corpse a particularly fitting background image for this post on infallibility’s fatal flaw. The Roman Pontiff, in order that the Church may share in Christ’s infallibility, says the Catechism, “enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 891). But there is one problem: nobody knows when the Pope is speaking infallibly, nobody knows how often a pope has spoken infallibly, and nobody knows what the criteria are for when a pope is speaking infallibly. Continue reading Infallibility’s Fatal Flaw →

Out of His Mouth