Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Clarification: I'm Not Leaving The Whore of Babylon

While I have criticized (I would prefer saying "questioned") some articles of Roman Catholic dogma in my posts, this is because of my desire to better understand and defend my faith. I do it in hopes that fellow Catholics will give me advice, but then the Reformed will join in the criticism and it will appear that I'm trying to revert to Protestantism.

I have no intentions of leaving Catholicism. Until someone can prove sola scriptura, sola fide, and extrinsic imputed righteousness, and solve the greatest of all problems : THE CANON! (Dun dun dun) from Scripture and Tradition, I won't have sufficient epistemological grounds for rejecting the basis of Catholicism. Certainly I will try to critique and understand all the stuff resting on the Catholic foundation, indulgences, penance, etc. But this isn't "giving in" to Protestantism, which I see as having no basis of it's own, but existing merely as a (admittedly good) critique of Catholicism.

The only way I would leave Catholicism other than those reasons being satisfied would be if my philosophical basis shifted. For example if the Brock Nietzscheans and post-moderns wore me down SO much that I'd eventually give in. Then I would become a post-modern Lutheran or Anglican, and I don't think anyone (besides Lance) wants to see that happen.

So while I may strongly dislike Catholic theology on some points, and strongly dislike all of the Catholics in my area, and strongly dislike Italy and Spain, the fact remains that I follow the logical argument, rather than my emotions.

2 comments:

  1. "I have no intentions of leaving Catholicism."

    Me neither. :-)

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  2. I love the point Balthasar makes in his essay "Casta Meretrix" (the camp of the whore) that Origen coined the phrase: "Outside the Church, which is the house of Rahab, no salvation" (Explorations in Theology II).

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