10 Posts

the sources of faith

What is the virtue of faith?

What does it mean to believe? To believe is to assent to a truth on the word of another. This is in opposition to knowing or understanding something, which is to assent to a truth that is evident either directly through our senses or indirectly through the use of our reason.

How can we recognise divine revelation?

In the case of divine faith, which is when we believe something because it comes from God, there has to be some kind of proof that the proposition that we believe really does come from God. Now, in this case, the only credentials or motives of credibility that are sufficient to prove that a message truly came from God are those of miracles and of prophecies.

How is Divine Revelation still preserved?

God revealed many heavenly truths to us through the patriarchs and the prophets, but especially through His Son, Jesus Christ. But if historical accounts are to be believed, these revelations took place thousands of years ago. So, how has this divine revelation been preserved?

Is all of Holy Scripture really divinely inspired?

The truths revealed by God are contained in Holy Scripture and in Tradition. From these two sources, the Church draws the truths which she teaches. She cannot teach anything that is not contained in these two sources.

Do Catholics and Protestants use the same Bible?

What is the Sacred Canon of Holy Scripture? What we’re talking about is simply the official list of books that make up the Bible. Contrary to what you might think, not all so-called Bibles are the same and there are actually some major differences between Catholic and Protestant versions of the Bible.

Where Did The Bible Come From?

Most people who own a Bible nowadays have a modern printed and bound edition in book form, with the text translated in their native language. But in fact, the Bible didn’t always exist in this practical form and for over a thousand years, it was actually copied by hand with painstaking care and preciously guarded as a treasure by the individual or community to which it belonged.

Can anyone interpret the Bible?

Interpretation simply means to explain the meaning of a passage of words - and most of the time, interpretation or explanation of a text isn’t required, because the meaning is already clear and easy to grasp. So it’s actually a valid question to ask - do the words of the Bible even need explaining?

The Sources of Faith: Tradition

Most of the truths which the Apostles preached at the command of Christ were afterwards written down by the Apostles themselves or by some of their disciples. But many important truths continued to be handed down by word of mouth. It is these truths, precepts, and counsels, that were revealed by God but not found in the Written Word of God, that we call Tradition.

Why an authentic interpreter of revelation is necessary

Divine revelation that is delivered to men from God and which is not directly infused into our minds, must be delivered to us by means of analogies which signify the higher truth that is of a spiritual nature, and therefore it requires an interpretation - or put otherwise, an explanation of the deeper spiritual meaning, so that we are able to reliably arrive at this truth.

The Records of Tradition: How we know our beliefs go back to Christ

The teachings of Christ, which the Apostles initially handed down by word of mouth, were eventually committed to writing over time. These written records of Tradition are found in several key places.