Volume > Issue > How Catholicism Is Different

How Catholicism Is Different

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ISN'T JUST ANOTHER 'DENOMINATION'

By Bobby Jindal | December 1996
Bobby Jindal recently received his M.Litt. in Politics from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is currently working for a management consulting firm in Washington, D.C. A convert to Catholicism, he was raised in the Hindu tradition.

Just as C.S. Lewis removed any room for comfortable opposition to Jesus by identifying Him as either “Lord, liar, or lunatic,” so the Catholic Church leaves little room for complacent opposition to her doctrines. Without inflating the issues that separate Catholics from Protestants, for we do worship the same Trinitarian God who died for our sins, I want to refute the notion that Catholicism is merely another denomination with no more merit than any other.

The Reformers who left the Catholic Church rejected, to varying degrees, five beliefs which continue to be upheld by the Catholic Church. The Church claims that these points are found in Scripture, and they have been consistently and clearly taught throughout the Church’s history. I will support the Church’s claims here.

(1) SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION: Is sola scriptura (the Bible alone) a sufficient basis for the modern Christian to understand God’s will?

The Bible does not contain either the claim that it is comprehensive or a listing of its contents, but does describe how it should be used. Scripture and Tradition, not the Bible alone, transmit God’s revelation. Tradition is reflected in the Church’s authority to interpret Scripture.

Enjoyed reading this?

READ MORE! REGISTER TODAY

SUBSCRIBE

You May Also Enjoy

Bodies for Sale: The Inhuman Face of Industrialism

Industry everywhere, East or West, wheth­er controlled by the state or market forces, has no veneration for the Presence of the Godhead in the soul of the worker.

The Broad & Comfortable Road to Lukewarm Christianity & Destruction

If our Lord could use "narrow gate" imagery to spur His listeners to repentance, then so can we.

The "New Springtime" for the Church Is a Long Ways Off

A new book tells the story of the calamitous decline of the Catholic Church in America since 1965.