Protestant Fundamentalism & Catholicism.

It should be no shock to anyone who reads my blog that I have some issues with Protestant Fundamentalism. I think there are many toxic forces at work in countless churches that are the farthest thing from God's will and destructive to the people involved in these groups. This post is not really about those issues, however. This addresses a logical fallacy that results from the fundamentalist viewpoint.

The fundamentlaist asserts that all authority for religious and moral matters rests upon the Bible and their subsequent interpretation of it. The latter part of this statement results in the division and diversity that you see in the protestant world, as numerous groups and individuals interpret different (and often key) passages differently. it becomes a hit and miss game, largely based upon traditions and opinions, what suits an individual is what makes up their interpretation. Regardless, the bible remains the sole authority. . .the doctrine of "Sola Scriptura" as the early Protestant Reformers called it (by Scripture Alone) is the battle cry for fundamentalists everywhere.

There is only one small problem with this concept. The Bible is a product of the Catholic Church.

Yes, that is right. The Bible as we have it today. . .the 66 books that are considered by Fundamentalists to be their sole authority was collected, canonized, edited, translated, and preserved entirely by the Catholic church. While there may be manuscripts that date to the late second century (over a hundred years after their alleged composition), there are no extant copies of the original manuscripts, nor even first or second generation copies. In fact, the books that are considered to be Canon of the NT, were only ascribed as such by early church fathers IN RESPONSE TO the writings of opposing teachers (such as Marcion) to say "no, HIS list of writings is not the "official" list of scripture, OURS is". It is also noteworthy that the "orthodox" Church, later to become the "Catholic" Church actually had manuscripts that taught things contrary to their doctrine to be destroyed. . .burned. . .lost forever Who KNOWS what these writings contained?

Now, I don;t intend for this to be an indictment of the Catholic church by any stretch (I'll save that for another time--LOL), but simply to point out that the only reason the Bible, the NT, exists at all, is because of the authority of the Catholic Church.

The Bible was made by the Church, plain and simple. . .not the other way around.

Yet Protestant Fundamentalists reject the authority of the Catholic church. By doing so, they also reject the Authority of the Bible. . .you can't have one without the other. . .plain and simple.

I have long asserted that Protestant Fundamentalism requires a degree of mental acrobatics, what Orwell called "Doublethink" to maintain it's integrity. One more example of how absolutist thinking is dangerous to the mind and to the soul.

To my religious friends, please do not take this as an attack on your faith, but as evidence that all religions have more in common than we like to think. . .All religions require a leap of faith. . .the chasam that we leap may differ from group to group and person to person, but the final analysis is that there are no absolute proofs in religion. The Fundamentalist, who asserts that faith in the Bible or faith in Jesus or faith in Christianity or whatever, is standing on the same shaky ground of faith that the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Deist, etc is. . .unable to prove anything, but hoping for a better way.