Talking in circles

The Church says the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the Bible says Jesus established an authoritative Church.  Therefore, the Church says the Bible is true and the Bible says the Church is true.  I asked my OCIA class if they recognized the problem with that statement.  While essentially true, this “proof” uses circular reasoning.  We cannot know the Bible is reliable without an authoritative body to declare it so, and we cannot assume the body has the authority to make such declaration without knowing who gave it the authority.

So, how do we avoid the circular argument?  We do so by not automatically assuming the ancient scriptural writings can be trusted.  Begin by treating the scriptures as one would any document of antiquity.  Authenticity and reliability can be gauged by a number of factors including the age, location, chain of custody, known historical facts, stylistic analysis and scientific examination.  No ancient writings have been scrutinized more than what now make up the Bible.  

Based on historical evidence without reliance on Divine revelation, we can conclude that a man named Jesus lived some two-thousand years ago, that he claimed to be God, that he was a miracle worker, that he was executed by crucifixion, was later seen alive by multiple witnesses, and that He started a Church with Peter at the head, giving him the authority to rule over His earthly kingdom.  We can reasonably conclude this Divinely instituted Church existed apart from the Bible.  It was this Church that later determined which writings were God-breathed and would be included in the canon.  The authoritative Church had to exist prior to the canon of Scripture, and therefore the argument is not circular.

Protestants who try to use the Bible to deny the authority of the Church have their own circular reasoning problem.  To do so, they must assume, perhaps unknowingly, that the Church once had the authority to determine the canon of Scripture in the first place. And if they acknowledge that early authority and contend the Church later went into apostasy, they must also believe Jesus was wrong when He said the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church.  

I have written about this evidence for the Divinely instituted Catholic Church before, but it bears repeating. Rejecting the Magisterial authority of the Church allows one to interpret the Bible to one’s own liking.  Interpreting Scripture to one's own liking allows one to deny the Magisterial authority of the Catholic Church.  It’s circular logic that does not hold up to scrutiny.  And without the authoritative Catholic Church, there is no authoritative Bible to interpret.