Why is it...."

that when non-Catholics refute ideas like Purgatory and the Pope, Catholics feel free to cite verses from the Bible to supposedly support their claims, but when non-Catholics refer to scripture to refute a Catholic teaching, then it's considered "having a personal interpretation" of scripture, which is supposedly a no-no?

My understanding is that Catholic apologists usually quote Scripture because the Protestant who was challenging them did so in the first place. Protestants fundamentally only look to Scripture so in order to be on the same ground and at the same level, Catholic apologists do so as well. This facilitates for a constructive dialogue I believe. So for example, if I was to quote an early church father instead of Scripture (unless the discussion was on the early church fathers), you might indicate that you are only interested in what the Bible says (instead of what "men" say).

Regarding personal interpretation, Catholic apologists usually take an approach that is historical (ie: what theologians of the past have said) and is quite similar if not the same as what most current scholars agree on.

Go back to my: Catholic Views Page.

Last Updated: 4:52 PM 18/04/2002