[CS-FSLUG] TD: Hello everyone! Acceptance of the Statement of Faith . . .

Mon Sep 26 16:14:34 CDT 2005

                                                             JMJ + OBT
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Don Parris invited me to join this list as I am a Christian  
interested in the promotion of the use Free Software in the Church.   
I thank God for this great blessing -- I didn't even know resources  
such as this list and "The Freely Project" existed before I received  
Pastor Parris' reply e-mail yesterday morning.

I look forward to learning from you, and exploring the various  
Christian FOSS projects of which I've become aware through  
matheteuo.org.

I live in Johnson City, Tennessee, USA; and I am a 28 year old male.

I noticed, of course, that you request list-members to accept the  
Statement of Faith given on the cs.uninetsolutions.com website.  I  
certainly respect that wish, and believe that I can comply!

I am a Catholic Christian, and I take my faith rather seriously.  
Without intending any controversy nor attempting to spark a  
theological discussion, I think it is appropriate and important to  
briefly explain "how" I find myself able to agree with this list's  
SoF, as normally Catholics would shy away from implicitly or  
explicitly accepting a non-Catholic "creed."

I hope that my reflections will help to promote better understanding  
between myself and other list-members who belong to various Christian  
churches and communities. Unity among Christians with differing  
beliefs can, in my opinion, truly be fostered only when we attempt to  
understand each others' different beliefs.

I realize that ecumenism and/or ecumenical dialogue are not the  
purpose of this list, so I offer my thoughts primarily as points of  
reflection; if anyone wishes to contact me to discuss these and/or  
differing views, please feel free to do so privately (or publicly, if  
the list-manager deems it appropriate).

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

> I. We believe the entirety of the Bible, made up of the Old and New  
> Testaments, is the inerrant Word of God, revealed to men by the  
> Holy Spirit. This includes the literal interpretation of Biblical  
> Events such as Creation and the Great Flood. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Catholics believe . . .

[ Whenever I write "Catholics believe . . .", it is short-hand for  
saying, "the official teaching of the Catholic Church is . . . "; it  
is an unfortunate reality that there are today a great numbers of  
Catholic laity and clergy that do not know what the Catholic Church  
teaches (that is, they are Catholic only or mostly in a cultural  
sense), or pick-and-choose among Church teachings (that is, they are  
"cafeteria Catholics"), or have been grossly misinformed as to what  
the Church teaches.  I would also note that I, personally, do accept  
whatever the Catholic Church teaches as revealed by God and what she  
proposes for belief by her members. ]

. . . that the writings that make up the Holy Bible are indeed free  
from all error, the very Word of God. For a full, official Catholic  
statement-of-faith as regards God's revelation to mankind, please see  
"Dei Verbum"(1), one of the sixteen documents(2) promulgated by the  
Second Vatican Council(3). Here are some relevant links to articles  
in the freely accessible on-line 1917 edition of the "Catholic  
Encyclopedia" (CE), and also to relevant paragraphs in an on-line  
edition of the universal "Catechism of the Catholic Church" (CCC):

          CCC:  Sacred Scripture

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a3.htm

          CE:  Scripture

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13635b.htm

          CE:  The Bible

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02543a.htm

          CE:  Inspiration of the Bible

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08045a.htm

          CE:  Biblical Exegesis

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05692b.htm

I've also found the following website useful:

          A Catholic Guide to Biblical Interpretation

          http://www.kenrickparish.com/gresham/cbi/

Pope Pius XII's important encyclical letter "Divino Afflante Spiritu"  
marked what one might call the "official beginning" of the modern era  
of Catholic Biblical Scholarship:

          http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/ 
documents/hf_p-xii_enc_30091943_divino-afflante-spiritu_en.html

The concept of "literal interpretation" raises a number of  
interesting issues. For one, very few selections from Sacred  
Scripture read like a police-report or a minute-by-minute systematic  
account of the events which they describe.

Does the Catholic Church teach that the events recorded in the Bible  
truly pertain to history, i.e. that they are events which really  
occurred as opposed to being mythical stories which can only be taken  
seriously as regards their moral content? Yes!  See, for example,  
paragraphs #38-39 in the encyclical letter "Humani Generis"(4).

On the other hand . . . well, consider the following:

Engineers who build automobiles today use, as the basis for their  
engineering, a physics which encompasses the laws of Newtonian  
(classical) mechanics, classical thermodynamics, and classical  
electrodynamics. And the cars run just as their engineering models  
predict (unless of course there were errors introduced in the  
modeling process). So the physics in question can really be  
understood as a "true description" of those cars and the environment  
in which they operate.

BUT, we know that classical physics doesn't take into account the  
quantum effects and behaviors that dominate reality at a microscopic  
level; nor does Newtonian mechanics take into account the  
relativistic effects which are also important for understanding  
nature on large scales and at "high speeds." And yet, cars and trains  
and other such things have been built and have operated properly long  
before the theories of Quantum Mechanics and Special/General  
Relativity were formulated, even before those aspects of the physical  
universe were even recognized.

So how can we understand this apparent contradiction? It's a  
philosophical problem to some extent, and I'm no expert in addressing  
it, but for the purpose of relating it to Sacred Scripture, I think  
it's enough to state that is is possible to give a true description  
of events and reality as one experiences or understands them (i.e.  
"phenomenologically") without having to "fully describe" (if that is  
even possible) every aspect of those events and their surrounding  
environment.

For example, I can speak of the Sun as "rising and setting," and so  
describe the phenomenon of night and day in a completely accurate  
manner without having to mention the rotation of our planet, gravity,  
the structure of the solar system, etc.

In the same way, is Sacred Scripture not completely true even if it  
does not provide, say, a mathematically rigorous treatment of Atomic  
Theory? If indeed the origin of the visible universe is tied to a  
physical event such as the "big bang," or if the bodies of Adam and  
Eve evolved prior to God creating for this original pair -- the true  
biological ancestors of every human person, properly speaking, that  
has ever lived on this earth -- their human souls, can it not be  
confidently asserted that the book of Genesis is free from all error  
even if the Holy Spirit, working through the human author, did not  
describe the Creation-events after the manner of modern scientific  
theories?

(1) http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/ 
documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html
(2) http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/V2ALL.HTM
(3) http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/
(4) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/ 
hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html

> II. We believe in the one, true, eternal, omniscient God, creator  
> of all things, Who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as revealed  
> in the Bible. (Genesis 17:1, Matthew 28:18-20, John 1:1, John 16:7)

Yes, and yes-yes-yes, I accept this proposition.  :-)

The revealed truth of the Holy Trinity permeates every aspect of  
Catholic theology, liturgy, and popular piety.

          CCC:  The Revelation of God as Trinity

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c1p2.htm

          CE:  The Blessed Trinity

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm

> III. We believe that mankind was created in the image of God but  
> through original sin is fallen, and condemned. (Genesis 3:1-5,  
> Colossians 2:13)

Yes, I accept this proposition.

Catholic theology concerning Original Sin does differ from that of  
Luther and that of Calvin, and their theological "cousins" and  
"descendants," as to how and to what extent human nature is affected  
by Original Sin. The Catholic teaching on the Fall, for example, does  
not propose the "T" we find in Calvin's "TULIP" -- total depravity.  
It definitely does encompass something similar, which might be  
labeled "T" -- total inability to please God without His grace.

          CCC:  The Fall

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c1p7.htm

          CE:  Original Sin

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm

> IV. We believe that Jesus' death and bodily resurrection are the  
> only means of fallen man to receive salvation, and that anyone who  
> receives Him and believes in His name will be saved. (John 1:12,  
> John 3:16, John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 5:4)

Yes, I accept this proposition. The Catholic Church teaches that any  
human person who has ever lived -- before the time of Christ or  
afterwards -- has received the Grace of God only insofar as God  
chooses to look upon men in view of His Son Jesus' human life, death,  
resurrection and ascension into Heaven.

Here is a beautiful summary statement which comes right at the  
beginning of the CCC:

          "FATHER, . . . this is eternal life, that they may know  
you, the only true God,
          and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."(1) "God our Savior  
desires all men to be
          saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."(2) "There  
is no other name
          under heaven given among men by which we must be saved"(3)  
- than the name of JESUS."

(1) Jn 17:3.
(2) 1 Tim 2:3-4.
(3) Acts 4:12.

( taken from the top of the following page:  http:// 
www.scborromeo.org/ccc/prologue.htm )

My acceptance does include the caveat that a Christian may, of his  
own free will, separate himself from God and a living relationship  
with Him by post-conversion commitment of serious sins. God will  
always make the graces of repentance available to such Christians,  
though the possibility remains that if they die unrepentant they will  
suffer eternal damnation.

          Scripture Catholic.com:  Salvation

          http://www.scripturecatholic.com/salvation.html#salvation-V

          CCC:   #1861 - Mortal Sin

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c1a8.htm#1861

          See the CCC's index for additional for paragraphs which  
reference the concept
          of mortal sin -- look for "Sin" and then the subheading  
"mortal sin":

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/index/s.htm

          CE:  Sin

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14004b.htm

> V. We believe that it is important for all professing Christians to  
> make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond  
> of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

Yes, I accept this proposition.

I would also combine it with the instruction in 1 Pet 3:15 in my  
attempts to find balance and maintain charity in my personal efforts  
to explain, defend, and spread the Catholic Faith.

          CCC:  Wounds to unity

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm#817

          See also the Second Vatican Council's "Decree on  
Ecumenism" ("Unitatis Redintegratio"):

          http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ 
ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis- 
redintegratio_en.html

          And Pope John Paul II's landmark encyclical letter "Ut Unum  
Sint":

          http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/ 
documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25051995_ut-unum-sint_en.html

> VI. We believe that Baptism and Holy Communion are to be observed  
> during the present age. These should not be regarded as a method of  
> salvation in themselves. (Luke 22:19-20, Acts 2:38)

Yes, I can accept this proposition.

As to the second half of it, it is important for Catholics and non- 
Catholics to recognize that the Catholic Church herself teaches that  
such rites do not in and of themselves have spiritual power -- it is  
the living action of the Holy Spirit working in and through such  
visible instruments, or sacraments, which makes them to convey God's  
grace.

          CCC:  The Paschal Mystery in the Church's Sacraments

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s1c1a2.htm

          CE:  Sacraments

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13295a.htm

          Scripture Catholic.com:  Baptism and the Eucharist

          http://www.scripturecatholic.com/baptism.html

          http://www.scripturecatholic.com/the_eucharist.html

          (and see the additional sections on the above website
          which treat the remaining five sacraments)

> VII. We believe in the imminent return of our Lord, Jesus Christ,  
> and the judgment of both believers and unbelievers. (Matthew 12:36,  
> Matthew 26:64, II Corinthians 5:10)

Yes, I accept this proposition, as the Catholic Church teaches the  
same thing.

          CCC:  From thence He will come again to judge the living  
and the dead

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c2a7.htm

          CE:  The Last Judgment

          http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08552a.htm

> VIII. We believe in the eternal joy of all followers of Jesus, and  
> eternal conscious punishment of non-followers. (Revelation 14:9-11,  
> Revelation 22:1-5)

Yes, I accept this proposition; what I wrote under IV applies here too.

The Catholic Church has developed formal concepts for treating the  
question of whether non-Christians and non-Catholics may be saved:

          CCC:  Outside the Church there is no salvation

          http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm#847

          Catholic Answers:  Salvation outside the Church

          http://www.catholic.com/library/ 
Salvation_Outside_the_Church.asp

          From EWTN.com's document library:  "Is There Savlation  
Outside the Church" by the late Fr. William Most

          http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/OUTSID.TXT

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

Finally, let me quote from the Catholic teaching document "Dominus  
Iesus," which points to the "Nicene-Constantinopolitan  
Creed" ("Symbolum Constantinopolitanum") as a fundamental profession  
of the Christian Faith:

          The Church's universal mission is born from the command of  
Jesus Christ and is
          fulfilled in the course of the centuries in the  
proclamation of the mystery of
          God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the mystery of the  
incarnation of the Son,
          as [the] saving event for all humanity. The fundamental  
contents of the
          profession of the Christian faith are expressed thus: "I  
believe in one God, the
          Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that  
is, seen and unseen. I
          believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,  
eternally begotten of the
          Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true  
God, begotten, not
          made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things  
were made. For us men
          and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: by the  
power of the Holy Spirit
          he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For  
our sake he was
          crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was  
buried. On the third
          day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he  
ascended into heaven
          and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come  
again in glory to
          judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no  
end. I believe in the
          Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from  
the Father. With the
          Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has  
spoken through the
          prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic  
Church. I acknowledge one
          baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the  
resurrection of the dead,
          and the life of the world to come".

( taken from the full text of "Dominus Iesus" on the Vatican's website:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/ 
rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html )

May Our Lord bless you all.  I look forward to getting to know you  
and benefiting from your insights in the realm of Christian and FOSS- 
related thought.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Michael Bradley, Jr.

--
[Jesus said] Tell aching mankind to snuggle close
to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it with peace.
+ Diary of Saint Faustina #1074 +

My home on the Net ::
    http://homepage.mac.com/michaelsbradleyjr/

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