The Indestructible Truth of the Catholic Faith

St. Peter gloriously holding the Keys of Heaven given by the Lord Jesus... while the Church preserves the True Faith on earth under the leadership of the Pope the successor of Peter.

Ross Earl Hoffman sent a message to the members of The Lion's Training Ground: Catholic Apologetics.

Ross Earl Hoffman June 13, 2010 at 12:25am

Subject: This is Powerful!!!

This is a great post, I picked up from a super strong defender, named Lou...please all of you tuck this away, and keep it for defensive purposes. When you have someone, in our separated Christian camp...go after you, this is a great reply. Thought it was worthy of sharing....

Consider the following

Christ said... "I will never leave you nor forsake you" and promised that the Gates of Hell would not prevail against the Church.

If the truth that Jesus taught was not spread, was not taught for a period of time, then how can it be said the the Gates of Hell did not prevail.

That being the case, can you demonstrate that the Gospel, as you understand it, has been preached continuously since the time of Christ? If you cannot demonstrate a line of teachers who taught what you believe was taught by Christ, then the Gospel, as you understand it, was lost. If the Gospel of your Christ was lost, then your Christ is a loser. Who would want to believe in such a weak God? I certainly wouldn't.

But, you see, I can point to a succession of teachers, starting with the disciples of the apostles, who have taught Catholic Dogma. The Gospel as Catholics understand it has continuously been taught. That is the Christ who has remained with his Church.

When He said to the apostles, "I will send you the Holy Spirit and he will lead you into all truth", he wasn't saying that the Holy Spirit would lead each of them individually into all truth, but that he would lead them COLLECTIVELY into all truth.

As Paul says, the Church is the pillar of the Truth. He didn't say scripture - because scripture is, after all, a record, but the Church is a living being, the Body and Bride of Christ. And in rejecting the Church, you've cut yourself off from the living Body of Christ and substituted a delusion of spirit filling for the true Filling of the Spirit.

You can never be led into all truth because you reject the "Church, the pillar and foundation of the Truth".

"As Vincent of Lérins wrote in The Commonitory, "Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all."

And, that is exactly what we believe. We can point to teachers at the end of the First Century and the beginning of the Second who were teaching the same doctrines we believe. You cannot do that, because the interpretation you preach is a novelty, something which was not "believed everywhere, always, by all".

One other thought. You answered "What is Truth". Aren't those exactly the same words Pilate said to Jesus?"


Source:
http://thesplendorofthechurch.blogspot.com/search/label/Apologetics