Catholicism vs Fundamentalism
Conversations about the differences and similarities between Fundamentalist and Catholic beliefs usually end up being more like heated debates than conversations. A major difference between the Catholic and the Fundamentalist is how they see the Bible. The source of the Fundamentalists' faith is the Bible. But what do the Fundamentalists believe about the Bible? This is the question I am trying to answer for myself. I will present my understanding of the Fundamentalists' view of the Bible along with my Catholic view of the Bible. My mission is not to offend, but to open a dialogue between the two views. I know from experience that this is a very touchy topic. The best way to go about conversing with someone of different beliefs, I believe, is to see their belief in its best light. I believe it is important to develop a sense of respect for the variety of ways people experience the divine in the lives. Keeping that in mind, I give you my interpretation of the Fundamentalist and the Catholic view of the Bible. Both Catholics and Fundamentalists agree that the Bible is a divinely inspired, infallible, and authoritative means for people to know Christ. There are some distinctions between the Catholics' and the Fundamentalis
By understanding the Bible as the Word of God as written by man to be interpreted in light of the time, manner and mode of thinking in its creation, the Catholic religion allows for a clearer understanding of its meaning. Translators might imagine what the original author would have written if he had been writing in Modern English, rather than just translating the actual words the original author had written. Catholics believe that the Bible does have authority, but that this authority comes from the Church guaranteeing its infallibility. There are no books of the Bible that are the original, autographed works of the authors. Fundamentalists place most of their emphasis on God as the author of the bible. To the Fundamentalists the Bible is the single source for inspiration, and they will not look to any extrinsic source for authority. Fundamentalists take the idea of the Bible's infallibility a step farther with their confidence in Martin Luther's theory of sola scriptura, Latin for "scripture alone". Only the message of the Bible is considered to be without error. To the Catholic the Bible is the Word of God and the work of human beings. " This idea of the Bible not being meant to be interpreted by man alone without the teaching authority of the Church is evident by the hundreds of different Protestant denominations all claiming to be the "truth" of the Bible. Catholics are encouraged to look for the meaning a human writer of a book of the Bible was trying to get across. " These words come from the Old Testament Book of Malachi (3:1).
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Acceptance Essays
