Why Isn't Your Church a 'Bible-Only' Church?

Many Christians believe that the Bible is the only source of Christian faith. They believe that if it's not in the bible then it's not truth. Is this correct? Absolutely not and I'll tell you why. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Bible is the only source of Christian faith. There are lots of verses about the Scriptures being a source of faith, wisdom, inspiration, and, of course, the Word of God. None of them, however, explicitly states that the Bible is the only way that God has revealed Himself.

Something else to think about...what did Christians do before the printing press was invented? The first bible was printed around the year 1453. Before that they were handwritten and only found in rich peoples' homes, universities, and monastery libraries. What were ordinary, poor Christians to do about the faith when, through no fault of their own, Bibles simply weren't available to them? Why would God-a good, fair, and just God-design a system in which the only true knowledge about Him (and, therefore, salvation) would come through means that were impossible for most people to personally encounter through most of Christain history.

Could there possibly be somthing else that alongside and with the Bible, offers us God's complete revelation and truth? Well, there is and it's called Sacred Tradition passed on through the Church. Jesus, upon His ascension into heaven, didn't leave a Bible behind. He left a Church. He left us eleven men who were empowered days later on Pentecost, to go out and preach, teach, and heal just as He had done, spreading the very true, very powerful, and very Good News.

Christianity grew in those early days because of the teaching and preaching of those apostles. It grew because they brought the presence of Jesus to communities through prayer, baptism, and celebrations of the Eucharist-and all of this without a word of the New Testament having been written down.

The Church came before the New Testament. The Bible, as we have it today grew out of the Church, not the other way around.


So what you say is....

• You're right. Catholic Christianity isn't a Bible-only church. That's because the Scriptures make it clear that God has revealed Himself through both the Bible and the Sacred Tradition of the Church.
• There's not a single place in the Bible that says the Bible should be the only source of faith for Christians, either.
• Jesus didn't leave the Bible behind when He ascended into heaven. He left us the Church, in the ministry of His apostles. The Bible emerged from the Church, not the other way around.