The Bible is one hundred percent True, it is infallible. Every statement in it is True and thus it is the greatest collection of Truths that we have. But, wait a minute, which version of the Bible is True? and where in the Bible does it say which books belong in the Bible and which don’t? (the table of contents is not part of the Bible).

The Bible as great and wondrous of a gift from G-d as it is, its not a complete set of Truths. Simple logic says so: nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Bible is True — so how do we know it is True? Answer: something outside of the Bible has to tell us that the Bible is true. The Bible isn’t complete in of itself. Thus, Sola Scriptura isn’t possible.

Now, enter the Church. The Church has some hard-to-refute credentials when it comes to declaring what is Truth outside the Bible. With more than 33,000 versions of protestantism and evangelical faith-based initiatives, the Church has to! Here are two important ones to consider, both from the Bible.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Mt 16:18)

Simply put, Peter built Christ’s Church on Earth. Christ, who is G-d, could not be more specific. Wherever Peter went and formed this Church, that is where Christ’s teachings would be founded. Peter went to Rome and founded the Church.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Mt 16:19)

This would be an unbelievable statement if it weren’t in the Bible. G-d’s love for us humans is so great that He’s willing to allow us to affect His divine plan. This underlines the Church’s moral authority, it can make statements about the Bible and interpretations of the Bible that (when held consistent) are also True.

For instance, it was the Church that first taught us that the Bible is infallible and one hundred percent True. The Church first formulated the books of the Bible, and without the Church there would really not be the collection of books we call the Bible today.

Some important questions to ask.

When should we question the Church’s teachings?
The answer to this is: when learning. As we learn about Truths, its important to understand them with the human power of reason. While its great to take something on a leap-of-faith every once and a while, you should be skeptical about the things you believe. Thus, as you learn about Truths, its important to ask ‘Why?’. New Truths don’t come out of a fountain somewhere, they are revealed by studying other teachings and meditating on them in prayer. New Truths take root through word of mouth and other forms of communication. The Church can then carefully analyze them and eventually (it can take hundreds of years!), adopt them.

Is the Church some sort of answer machine?
No. It simply contains a large collection of G-d’s messages (all Truths) given to mankind. While it doesn’t have every answer to every problem, it can give you a good sense of consistency so you can have moral clarity on the issues you face in life. When you ask whether something is right or wrong, consider Church teaching first. While you may not get a direct answer, you’ll get a pretty good sense as to what G-d’s position might be.

Could the Church be led astray?
Its not possible, and that’s what Mt. 16:19 is really meaning. Whatever G-d reveals and the church binds itself to becomes Truth. The Holy Spirit guides the Church so that whatever it embraces it is not only the will of G-d, but the direction Christ wants us to go.

The Church did some really immoral things in the past, how could that be true?
This is the subject of a whole field of theology called apologetics. The most important thing to remember here is that the Church’s message has been consistent since Peter was at its helm. This is not the same as the person or people who occupied positions of power in the Church over time. These people, subject to temptation and sin just like you and I, fell prey to many bad ideas and selfish thoughts. Consequently, their actions — though immoral, aren’t what the Church stands for. Its a fact of reality that everyone sins, priests and popes alike are no different.

The Church says a lot of strange things, especially about the Saints and Mary, the “Mother of God”. How can this be True?
Creation didn’t end when Christ left this world and ascended into Heaven. G-d’ kept revealing new facts about the world that the Church carefully considered and “picked up” as time went on. This was a realization in the early times of the Church when the apostles and leaders realized that by approximately 60-70AD that the world wasn’t going to end immediately. They formulated a process in which revealed truths would be reviewed for consistency with all other known Truths. If the truth didn’t contradict anything, it became Truth. This is where many of the strange beliefs come from in the Church. In particular popular attacks — people like to ask why the Church believes certain ways about Mary. These strange teachings took years and years of influential people and scholars to formulate. Suffice to say, they’re very well thought out!

More on these subjects in posts to come.