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For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears: And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables.

– 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Sin depends on the deformed disposition of yearning for independence. The right to privacy, for the sake of independence, is a concupiscent tingling that has been scratched with schism, pornography, abortion, and every other hell-bound derangement. It is the intimidating threat of the old serpent and the whispered lullaby of the ambiguous dragon. From alchemic abyss, to dull Americanism, to the next empty fable. Round and round it spirals down its bottomless pit.

It is often proclaimed that beliefs should be restrained or discarded if they are not biblical. Many of these proclamations are based on the idea that Sacred Scripture should be the ultimate authority that forms the individual’s knowledge of God. Hiding within this presumptuous idea is a thief that preys upon the covetous slumber of itching ears that are willfully vulnerable to heretical deceptions. This wicked deception merely requires a twist of biblical flavored lies to lead the good-intended Christian to hell. Satan foolishly revels in leading the Christian to hell with independent Christianity. There can be no heresy, no evil, without the mirage of independence.

Every Christian soul would benefit from subduing independent declarations of biblical interpretations. If you so believe in “biblical perspicuity”: the clarity of Sacred Scripture regarding essential matters of salvation (faith and morals), then, to be consistent, you should accept the heretical “right of private judgement”: the individual’s right to privately interpret Sacred Scripture.

There are countless examples of this disordered concept, in its various deformed expressions. John Wesley, the leader of the great American revival, provides a pleasant summary of its sentiment:

And how shall we choose among so much variety? No man can choose for, or prescribe to, another. But every one must follow the dictates of his own conscience, in simplicity and godly sincerity. He must be fully persuaded in his own mind and then act according to the best light he has. Nor has any creature power to constrain another to walk by his own rule. God has given no right to any of the children of men thus to lord it over the conscience of his brethren; but every man must judge for himself, as every man must give an account of himself to God.
Although, therefore, every follower of Christ is obliged, by the very nature of the Christian institution, to be a member of some particular congregation or other, some Church, as it is usually termed (which implies a particular manner of worshipping God; for “two cannot walk together unless they be agreed”); yet none can be obliged by any power on earth but that of his own conscience, to prefer this or that congregation to another, this or that particular manner of worship. I know it is commonly supposed, that the place of our birth fixes the Church to which we ought to belong; that one, for instance, who is born in England, ought to be a member of that which is styled the Church of England, and consequently, to worship God in the particular manner which is prescribed by that Church. I was once a zealous maintainer of this; but I find many reasons to abate of this zeal. I fear it is attended with such difficulties as no reasonable man can get over. Not the least of which is, that if this rule had took place, there could have been no Reformation from Popery; seeing it entirely destroys the right of private judgement, on which that whole Reformation stands. (John Wesley, Catholic Spirit)

This private revolution enslaves each individual soul to the proud declaration of independent judgement. You shall not die the death. Your eyes shall be opened. You shall know good and evil. You shall be saved by the private judgement of your biblical faith. It is good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold. This is the personalized belief that disorients the individual from conformity to Church authority.

The first Pope cautions us against this foolishness:

Understanding this first: That no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Saint Peter offers a stark warning against the independent interpretations of Saint Paul’s epistles as he contradicts the belief in biblical perspicuity:

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:16)

If you reject the clear meaning of Sacred Scripture regarding this essential matter of faith, then you entrust your soul to your fallible judgement.

The Epistle of Saint Jerome to Paulinus contains a sober warning against independent interpretations of Sacred Scripture. Though Saint Jerome’s warning does not hold the weight of Sacred Scripture, as Saint Peter’s does, it does offer a healthy measure of humility:

The art of interpreting the scriptures is the only one of which all men everywhere claim to be masters.....The chatty old woman, the doting old man, and the wordy sophist, one and all take in hand the Scriptures, rend them in pieces and teach them before they have learned them…. they boldly explain to others what they themselves by no means understand. I say nothing of persons who, like myself have been familiar with secular literature before they have come to the study of the holy scriptures. Such men when they charm the popular ear by the finish of their style suppose every word they say to be a law of God. They do not deign to notice what Prophets and apostles have intended but they adapt conflicting passages to suit their own meaning, as if it were a grand way of teaching – and not rather the faultiest of all – to misrepresent a writer’s views and to force the scriptures reluctantly to do their will. .... It is idle to try to teach what you do not know, and – if I may speak with some warmth – is worse still to be ignorant of your ignorance.” (Saint Jerome, Epistle to Paulinus LVIII, 7)

Those that do not heed the warning of Saint Peter will neither heed the warning of Saint Jerome. They may protest that Saint Jerome is not found in the Holy Bible and that I have failed to accept the correct interpretation of holy writ from Saint Peter.

If it is contrary to their interpretation of holy writ, then it is, by default, considered incorrect. They may object that my interpretation of Sacred Scripture was not guided by the Holy Spirit because it does not agree with their interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Their fallible understandings of their fallible interpretations of Sacred Scripture are their intermediate means to salvation and must therefore be guided by the Holy Spirit. Any contradictory interpretations, such as those found within the Sacred Tradition of Christ’s Apostolic Church, must not be guided by the Holy Spirit. Thus, they remain independent from authoritative interpretations held above and beyond their fallible will. They will always believe what they believe no matter who or what may contradict their transient conclusions. If these conclusions change, then the changes may be considered further evidence of their divine, authoritative, independent guidance. They have found the correct interpretation of Sacred Scripture in their inspired reasoning.

The difference between this man-made tradition and the Sacred Tradition of Apostolic Christianity is that those who hold to this man-made tradition are self-appointed popes and magisteriums unto themselves. The fullness of orthodox Christianity submits to the authority of Christ. Christ received this divine authority from God the Father. Christ breathed the Holy Ghost onto His original Apostles so that they may authoritatively minister the salvation of God:

He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. (John 20:21-23)

The authoritative ministry of God’s Church has remained unbroken through Apostolic succession in union with the throne of Peter:

In those days Peter rising up in the midst of the brethren, said (now the number of persons together was about an hundred and twenty): Men, brethren, the scripture must needs be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of them that apprehended Jesus: Who was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. And he indeed hath possessed a field of the reward of iniquity, and being hanged, burst asunder in the midst: and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: so that the same field was called in their tongue, Haceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men who have companied with us, all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, until the day wherein he was taken up from us, one of these must be made a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, who knowest the heart of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, To take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place. And they gave them lot, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:15-26)

The Martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch

The Catholic Church, along with Sacred Scripture, corresponds to the Church of early Christianity. The following series of quotes from the Early Church demonstrate that Catholicism is the historical reality of Christianity that continues to be passed on to each new generation of faithful Christians:

Abhor all sham and whatever is not pleasing to the Lord. Do not by any means neglect the commandments of the Lord, but hold fast to the traditions, neither adding nor subtracting anything. In church confess your sins, and do not come to your prayer with a guilty conscience. Such is the Way of Life. (The Didache/The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, 4:12-14, 70 A.D.)

Regarding the Sacraments, especially of Eucharist, Confession and Baptism, the Early Church Fathers taught:

Now concerning the Thanksgiving [“Eucharist” is the Greek word that is translated into English as “Thanksgiving”], thus give thanks. First, concerning the cup: We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your servant, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. And concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever. But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving [The bread and wine that is transubstantiated into the true body and blood, soul and divinity, of Jesus Christ, was referred to as the Eucharist because the Eucharist is a pure sacrifice (Malachi 1:11)] of Thanksgiving which is why the conclusion of every holy mass ends with a prayer of thanksgiving], but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs.” (The Didache/The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter 9, 70 A.D.)
But every Lord’s day [Sunday] gather yourselves together, and break bread [Eucharist sacrifice of holy mass], and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, says the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations [Malachi 1:11,14]. (The Didache/The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter 14, 70 A.D.)
And this food is called among us [Εὐχαριστία] [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, This do in remembrance of Me, this is My body; and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, This is My blood; and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn…

[…] This is just an excerpt from the May 2024 Issue of Culture Wars magazine. To read the full article, please purchase a digital download of the magazine, or become a subscriber!