Responding To Protestants About Sacraments

[DesiringMore]

When someone asks you about the Sacraments and the foundation and why the Catholic church believes this, and if it is true, what is your answer? How do you respond to them? Especially very close-minded Protestants who say it is not in the Bible therefore it is made up and wrong?

[Pio Nono]

JMJ

2/8 - Fifth Sunday

DesiringMore,

Good question. As Catholics, we must be learned about the various aspects of our faith so as to "...be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you..." (1 Pet. 3:15 RSVCE)

Catholics do not ascribe to the belief of sola scriptura, or that everything we believe is explicitly stated in Scripture. Oddly enough, neither do Protestants, as it is inconsistent to believe in the authority of Scripture without having someone call it an authority - St. Augustine says that he wouldn't believe in the authority of the Gospels, had not the Catholic Church told him they were authoritative.

Fortunately, beliefs for things like the sacraments and the Holy Trinity are found in Sacred Scripture. How we practice the sacraments is largely a matter of Tradition (big-T) interpreted by the Magesterium. Here's some Bible texts you can turn to for "proofs." This list is by no means exhaustive, and I ask others who are able to post here to add other texts as needed. Here goes:

The Holy Trinity: Matt. 11:27, Lk. 10:22

Baptism: Matt. 28:19-20

Confirmation: 2 Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:13-14

Eucharist: prophesied Mal. 1:11, promised John 6:32-60, given Matt. 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Lk. 22:19f

Penance: John 20:21-23

Anointing of the Sick: Mark 16:17-18, cf. James 5:14f

Holy Orders: John 20:22f

Matrimony: Eph. 5:21-33, Mt. 19:1-6

I hope this helps.

Yours,

Pio Nono

[Pontifex]

Sacrament of Penance: 2 Cor 5:17-20, James 5:13-15, James 5:16, Mt 18:18, 1Jn 5:16.

I was going to put more verses up that relate to the individual sacraments, but I will refrain for now to point out something different about the sacraments in general. There is Scriptual Justification for each Sacrament, and strong ones at that. But really unless one is able to understand that doctrine develops through the lived experience of Christians than they will be stuck at the seminal form of what Church is intended to be. Cardinal Newman draws out this very beautifully in his work entitled, "Development of Doctrine." The Church is like a plant that grows and changes. What it is now, is not what it was in the beginning. Jesus gave us the seminal form and the beginnings of the Church and sacraments. Therefore it is an unfair and dangerous game to play when one stands on scripture alone and ignore the writings and lived experiences of the early Christians. Not only is it dangerous but it is shameful. How can we reject or ignore the lived experience of the men and women you died to protect the very words used against us? We are a people with a book, not the people of a book.

"The teaching of the Church has indeed been handed down through and order of succession through the Apostles, and remains in the Churches even to the present time. That alone is to be believed as the truth which is in no way a variance with ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition." Fundamental Doctrines 1, preface 2. (Origen c.230 a.d.)

In the Love of Jesus,

Fr. Pontifex

Edited February 11, 2004 by Pontifex