[ Return to Scripture Reference Index ]
1 Corinthians 11:2 - Apostolic Tradition
John 20:21-25 - Apostolic Authority
2 Thess 2:15, 3:6 - commands disciples to keep traditions.
2 Timothy 1:13 - follow my words
2 Peter 1:20 - No private interpretation
1 Timothy 3:15 - Church is the pillar of Truth
2 Peter 3:15-16 - Difficulty in interpretation
Mt 23:2-3 - From the chair of Moses
It is often understand that Catholics do not place much, if any emphasis on the Sacred Scriptures. This is unfortunately a gross misunderstanding. Catholics believe that the Sacred Scriptures are a gift of God to us and contain the Good News of our salvation. We as Catholics believe that the Bible is the authentic Word of God, and the Catholic Church has had a vested interest in protecting the Sacred Scriptures for nearly 2,000 years. The Church understands that the scriptures are often ambiguous and many varieties of meanings and interpretations can come from a single verse or passage of scripture. The thousands of Protestant denominations have shown how easy it is to misinterpret scripture. The Church believes that there must be an entity to serve as both the servant of the Sacred Scriptures, the Word of God, as its protector, and as the authentic interpreter so that faithful Christians know that they are not being mislead by those who are very well meaning in their diligent study of the Scriptures, but who do not possess the charism of infallibility, and therefore may come to wrong conclusions regarding the scriptures. The Church especially believes as has been recorded in the scriptures that the pillar of truth is the Church that Jesus Christ founded (1 Timothy 3:15), not the scriptures themselves. A study of the early Church, from the time of the Apostles from before the Bible was even canonized reveals that even when their was no New Testament to turn to, the early disciples trusted in their apostolic leaders to teach and preach the Good News without fail and without worry that they were being mislead. The gifts of the Holy Spirit given to the Church ensure our proper understanding of scripture.
Material and Formal Sufficiency
According to the Catholicism, scripture is sufficient, but the question is, what kind of sufficiency? Catholicism differentiates between material and formal sufficiency, and believes that scripture is materially sufficient. It contains writings sufficient enough to draw theological truth from, however the interpretation of scripture is not always clear, as the scriptures themselves attest to, so the scriptures cannot be formally sufficient and cannot serve as the final or only authority for doctrinal truth. This is seen most clearly in the abundance of denominations, in direct contradiction to Christ's call for His Church to be one (John 16:13). Scripture needs an authoritative interpretation the Catholic Church is the only body that can claim to be able to do so legitimately. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are formally sufficient for this task of adequate, accurate interpretation.