Part 1: Did Christ appoint the Church or the Bible to Teach Mankind?

Dearly Beloved Christians:

When our Divine Savior sent His Apostles and His disciples throughout the whole universe to preach the Gospel to every creature, He laid down the conditions of salvation as, "He that believeth and is baptized," said the Son of the living God, "shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned." Here, then, our Blessed Lord laid down the conditions of salvation: Faith and Baptism.

On the condition of Faith, we must have it in order to be saved. This Faith must therefore also be Divine Faith, not human faith, for human faith will not save a man. What is Divine Faith?

It is to believe upon the authority of God, the truths that God has revealed, all that God has taught, and without doubting or hesitating. The moment you commence to doubtful thinking or hesitation is the moment you decide to mistrust the authority of God. This is insulting to God, therefore, Divine Faith is to believe in what God has taught without doubting or hesitation.

What is human faith? Human faith is when we believe a thing upon the authority of men. Therefore, it can never be a matter of indifference towards which religion a man professes, even if he is a good or well-intended man.

You can hear it said on all sides that it matters not what religion a man professes, providing he be a good man -- this is errored thinking and heretical. I will prove it to you.

If it be a matter of indifference or little importance which religion he professes, providing he be a good man, then it is useless for God to make any revelation. For if a man is at liberty to reject what God has revealed, then what use is it for God to make such revelation? What use was it for Christ to send out His Apostles and disciples to teach all nations, if those nations are at liberty to believe or reject the teachings of the Apostles or disciples? Of course, everyone has the freedom to reject or accept His teachings, but without Divine Faith, there is no salvation.

If God reveals a thing or teaches a thing, He means to be believed, and He wants to be believed. Man is therefore bound to believe whatsoever God has revealed; for, my dear people, we are bound to worship God, both with our reason and intellect, as well as with our heart and will. God is master of the whole man. He claims his will, his heart, his reason, and his intellect.

Is there any man in his reason, no matter what denomination, church, or religion he belongs to, that will deny we are bound to believe what God has taught? I am sure there is not a Christian who will deny we are bound to believe whatsoever God has revealed; therefore, it is not a matter of indifference or little importance what religion a man professes; for he must profess the True Faith if he would be saved.

But, what is the True Faith? It is to believe all that God has taught. I am sure even my Protestant friends will admit this is right; for, if they do not, I would say they are no Christians at all.

"But what is the True Faith?"

"The True Faith," say my Protestant friends, "is to believe in the Lord Jesus."

Agreed, Catholics believe in that too. Tell me what you mean by believing in the Lord Jesus?

"Why," says my Protestant friend, "you must believe that He is the Son of the Living God."

Agreed again; thanks be to God, we can agree on something. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, that he is God. If Christ be God, then we must believe all He teaches. Is not this so, my dearly beloved Protestant friends? And that's the True Faith, isn't it?

"Well, yes," says my Protestant friend, "I guess that is the True Faith; to believe that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, we must also believe all that Christ has taught."

We Catholics say the same, and here we agree again. That must be the True Faith, to believe all that Christ has taught, all that God has revealed, and without that Faith, there is no salvation, without that Faith, there is no hope of Heaven, without that Faith, there is eternal damnation! For even Christ said, "he that believes not shall be condemned."

But if Christ, commands me under pain of eternal damnation to believe all that He has taught, He must give me the means to know what He has taught, for Christ could not condemn me for believing a thing I do not know. Christ is a good and just God, loves us and desires our salvation, and will not condemn us for not doing a thing we do not know to be His will--for not believing a thing we do not know to be His teaching or revelation.

If therefore, Christ commands me upon pain of eternal damnation, He is bound to give me the means of knowing what He has taught. And the means Christ gives us of knowing this must have been at all times within the reach of all people; for, as all people have a right to salvation, so have they a right to the means of learning what God has taught, and believe it to save their souls.

Secondly, the means that God gives us to know what he has taught must be a means adapted to the capacities of all intellects -- even the dullest. For even those of the dullest of understandings have a right to salvation, and consequently, they have a right to the means whereby they shall learn the Truths that God has taught, that they may believe and be saved.

The means that God gives us to know what he has taught must be an infallible means, for if it be a means that can lead us astray it can be no means at all. It must be an infallible means, so that if a man makes use of that means he will infallibly, without fear of mistake or error, be brought to a knowledge of all the Truths that God has taught.

I don't think there can be any person, Christian or unbeliever who can object to my premises; and these premises are the ground-work of this discourse and of all my reasoning, to be saved is:

1. To believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

2. To know and believe all that God has revealed and Jesus has taught.

3. For if God commands us to know what He has taught, then He must give us a means of knowing what He has taught.

4. For this means must have been at all times within reach of all people.

5. For this means must be adapted to the capacities of all intellects -- even the dullest.

6. For this means must be an infallible source, for if a man makes use of this means, he will be brought to a knowledge of all the Truths God has revealed and taught. Otherwise, if the means is not infallible and can lead us astray, then it can be no means at all.

Has God given us such means?

"Yes," says my Protestant friends. "He has." And so says the Catholic, God has given us such means.

What is the means God has given us whereby we shall learn the Truth God has revealed?

"The Bible," says my Protestant friends, "the Bible, the whole of the Bible, and nothing but the Bible."

But, we Catholics say, "No, not the Bible and its private interpretation, but the Church of God." I say again, it is not the private interpretation of the Bible that has been appointed by God to be the teacher of man, but the Church of the Living God.

If God has intended that man should learn His Faith from a book, the Bible, then surely God would have given that book to man. Christ would have given that book to man. Did He do that? No, He did not. Instead, Christ sent His Apostles throughout the whole universe, and said: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

Christ did not say, "Sit down and write Bibles and scatter them over the earth, and let every man read his Bible and judge for himself." If Christ had said that, there would never have been a Christianity on the earth at all, but a Babylon and confusion, as well as never one Church, the union of one body; hence, Christ never said to his Apostles, "Go and write Bibles and distribute them, and let every one judge for himself." That was reserved for the sixteenth century, and we have seen the result of it. Ever since the sixteenth century, there have been springing up religions upon religions, and churches upon churches, all fighting and quarrelling with one another -- all because of private interpretation of the Bible.

Christ sent His Apostles with authority to teach all nations, and never gave them any command of writing the Bible, and the Apostles went forth and preached everywhere, and planted the Church of God throughout the earth.

The first word written was by St. Matthew, and he wrote for the benefit of a few individuals. He wrote the Gospel about 7 years after Christ left this earth, so that the Church of God, established by Christ, existed 7 years before a line was written of the New Testament.

St. Mark wrote about 10 years after Christ left this earth, St. Luke about 25 years, and St. John about 63 years after Christ had established the Church of God. St. John wrote the last portion of the Bible, the Book of Revelations, about 65 years after Christ had left this earth, and the Church of God had been established. The Catholic religion had existed 65 years before the Bible was completed, before it was written.

Now, I ask you, my Protestant friends, were these Christian people, who lived during the period between the establishment of the Church of Jesus and the finishing of the Bible, were they really Christians, good Christians, enlightened Christians? Did they know the Religion of Jesus? Where is the man that will dare to say that those that lived from the time that Christ went up to Heaven to the time the Bible was completed were not Christians? it is admitted on all sides, by all denominations, that they were the very best of Christians, the most perfect of Christians, the first fruit of the Blood of Jesus Christ.

But how did they know what they had to do to save their souls? Was it from the Bible they learned it? No, because the Bible was not written. And would our Divine Savior have left His Church for 65 years without a teacher, if the Bible is the teacher of man? Most assuredly not.

Were the Apostles Christians, I ask you, my dear Protestant friends?

You say, "Yes, sir; they were the very founders of Christianity."

Now my dear friends, none of the Apostles ever read the Bible, not one of them, except, perhaps, St. John, for all of them had died martyrs for the Faith of Jesus Christ.

How then, did those Christians that lived in the first 65 years after Christ had left this earth--how did they know what they had to do to save their souls? They knew it from the teachings of the Church of God, and so did the primitive Christians.

Not only 65 years did Christ leave the Church He had established without a Bible, but over 300 years. The Church of God was established and went on spreading itself over the whole globe without the Bible for more than 300 years. In all that time the people did not have what constituted the Bible.

In the days of the Apostles there were many false Gospels. There was the Gospel of Simon, the Gospel of Nicodemus, of Mary of Barnabas, and the Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus; and all of these Gospels were spread among the people, and the people did not know which of these were inspired and which were false. Even the learned themselves were disputing whether preference should be given to the Gospel of Simon or that of Matthew to the Gospel of Nicodemus or the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Mary or that of Luke, and the Gospel of Infant Jesus or of the Gospel of St. John.

And so it was in regard to the epistles, as there were many false epistles written, and the people were at a loss for over 300 years to know which Gospel was false or inspired; and therefore, they could not take the Bible for their guide, for they did not know what constituted the Books of the Bible.

It was not until the 4th century that the Pope of Rome, the Head of the Church, the successor of St. Peter, assembled together the Bishops of the world in a counsel, and there in that council it was decided that the Bible, as we Catholics have it now, is the Word of God, and that the Gospels of Simon, Nicodemus, Mary, Infancy of Jesus, Barnabas, and all these other epistles were false, or, at least, unauthentic; at least, that there was no evidence of their inspiration, and that the Gospels of St. Luke, Matthew, Mark, and John, and the Book of Revelations, were inspired by the Holy Ghost.

Up to that time, the whole world, for 300 years, did not know what the Bible was; hence, they could not take the Bible for their guide, for they did not know what constituted the Bible. Would our Divine Savior, if He intended man to learn His religion from a book, have left the Christian world for 300 years without that book? Most assuredly not.

Furthermore, not only for 300 years the world was left without the Bible, but for 1400 years the Christian world was left without the Sacred Book.

Before the art of printing was invented, Bibles were rare things; Bibles were costly things. Now, you must all be aware, if you have read history at all, that the art of printing was invented only a little more than 400 years ago, about the middle of the 15th century, and about 100 years before there was a Protestant in the world.

As I have said, before printing as invented, books were rare and costly things. Historians tell us that in the 11th century, 800 years ago, Bibles were so rare and costly that it took a fortune, a considerable fortune, to buy oneself a copy of the Bible! Before the art of printing, everything had to be done with the pen upon parchment or sheepskin. It was, therefore, a tedious and slow operation, a costly operation.

Now, in order to arrive at the probably cost of a Bible at that time, historians tell us in the 11th century, one man would work 2 years to make a copy of the Bible, while earning 1 Silver Penny a day (equivalent to $30 in 2025). Well, then the cost of that Bible would be $21,900!

Suppose I came and said to you, "My dear people, save your soul, for if you lose your soul all is lost."

You would say, "Sure enough, that is true!" You would ask, "What are we to do to save our souls?"

The Protestant preacher would say to you, "You must get a Bible; you can get one at such a shop."

You would ask the cost, and be told it was $21,900. You would exclaim, "The Lord save us! And cannot we go to Heaven without that book?"

The Protestant preacher would says, "No, you must have the Bible to be saved!"

If you cannot get a Bible when your salvation depends upon it, evidently you would have to remain outside the Kingdom of Heaven, according to the Protestant preacher. This would be a hopeless condition for all those, except the very wealthy, before the invention of printing in the 1400s.

For 1400 years the world was left without a Bible; not 1 in 20,000, before the art of printing was invented, had the Bible. And would our Divine Lord have left the world without that book if it was necessary to man's salvation? Most assuredly not.

But, let us suppose for a moment that all had Bibles, that Bibles were written from the beginning, and that every man, woman, and child had a copy, what good will that book be to people who do not know how to read it? It is a blind thing to such persons.

Even now, one-half of the inhabitants of the earth cannot read. Moreover, as the bible was written in Greek and Hebrew, it would be necessary to know these languages to be able to read it. But it is said, we have it translated now in French, English, and other languages of the day. Yes, but are you sure you have a faithful translation? If not, you have not the Word of God. If you have a false translation, it is the work of man. How shall you ascertain that? How do you find out that you have a faithful translation from the Greek and Hebrew?

"I do not know Greek or Hebrew," says my Protestant friend; "for my translation, I must depend upon the opinion of the learned scholars, upon their decision."

Well, then, my dear friends, suppose the learned scholar should be divided in their opinions, and some of them should say it is good, and some false, then your faith is gone; you must commence doubting and hesitating, because you do not know if the translation is good.

But, my dear people, how can you be sure of your faith? You say the Bible is your guide, but you do not know if you have it. Let us suppose for a moment that all had a Bible, all was about to read it, and everyone had a faithful translation, even then it cannot be the guide of man, because the private interpretation of the Bible is not infallible, but on the contrary, most fallible; for it is the source and foundation of all kinds of errors, heresies, and blasphemous doctrines. Do not be shocked, my dear friends, just only keep calm and listen to my arguments.

There are now throughout the world 350 different denominations or churches (in 2025, estimated around 46,000), and all of them say the Bible is their guide and teacher. I suppose they are all sincere.

Are all of them the True Church? This is an impossibility. For Truth is one as God is one, and there can be no contradiction. Every man in his sense see that everyone of them cannot be true, for they differ and contradict one another, and cannot, therefore, be all true.

The Protestants say the man that reads the Bible right and prayerfully has Truth, and they all say that they read it right and prayerfully.

Here is an Episcopal minister, he is sincere, an honest, well-meaning, and prayerful man. He reads the Bible in a prayerful spirit, and from the word of the Bible, he says, it is clear and evident there must be Bishops, for without Bishops there can be no priests, without priests, no Sacraments, and without Sacraments, no Church.

The Presbyterian is also a sincere and well-meaning man. He reads the Bible also, and deduces from it that there should be no Bishops, but only Presbyters.

The Baptist comes in, and he is a well-meaning, honest, and prayerful man too. "Well," says the Baptist, "have you ever been baptized?"

"I was," says the Episcopalian, "when I was a baby."

"And so was I," says the presbyterian, "when I was a baby."

"But," says the Baptist, "it was done by sprinkling, and that is no baptism at all. Unless you go down into the river, like Christ," says the Baptist, "it is no baptism at all." And he gives the Bible for it. "Unless you are baptized over again," says the Baptist, "you are going to hell as sure as you live."

Next comes the Unitarian, well-meaning, honest, and sincere. "Well, says the Unitarian, "allow me to tell you that you are a pack of idolators, for you worship a man for a God who is no God at all," and he give several texts from the Bible to prove it, while others are stopping their ears that they may not hear the blasphemies of the Unitarian; and they all contend they have the true meaning of the Bible.

Next comes the Methodist, and he says, "My friends, have you got any religion at all?"

"Of course, we have," say they.

"Did you ever feel religion," says the Methodist, "the Spirit of God moving within you?"

"Nonsense," says the Presbyterian, "We are guided by our reason and judgement."

"Well," says the Methodist, "if you never felt religion, you never had it, and will go to hell for all eternity."

The Universalist comes in next, and hears them talking and threatening one another with eternal hell fire. "Why," says he, "you are a strange set of people. Do you not understand the Word of God? There is no hell at all. That idea is good enough to scare old women and children," and he proves it from the Bible.

Now comes in the Quaker, and he recommends them not to be quarreling. He advises that they do not baptize at all. He is the sincerest of men, and gives the Bible for his faith.

Another comes in and says, "Baptize the men and let the women alone, for the Bible says, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. So," says he, "the women are all right, but baptize the men."

Now comes in the Shaker, and he says, "You are a presumptuous people, a presumptuous set of people. Do you not know," he says, "that the Bible tells you, you must work out your salvation in fear and trembling, and you do not tremble at all. My brothers, if you want to go to Heaven, shake, my brothers, shake."

I have brought together 8 denominations, differing from one another and understanding the Bible in different ways; these are the fruits of private interpretation. What, then, if I brought together the 350 different denominations (or 46,000 in 2025), all taking the Bible for their guide and teaching, and all differing from one another.

Are they all right? One says there is a hell, and another says there is no hell. Are both right? One says Christ is God, another says He is not. One says Bishops are necessary, and another says they are unessential. One says baptism is a requisite, and another says it is not. Are both true? This is an impossibility my friends, for all cannot be true.

Who, then is true? He that has the true meaning of the Bible, you say; but the Bible never settles the quarrel. The Bible is not the teacher.

The Bible, my dear people, is a good book; we Catholics know that the Bible is the Word of God, the language of inspiration, and every Catholic is exhorted to read the Bible. But good as it is, the Bible my dear friends, does not explain itself; and your explanation or understanding of the Bible is not the language of inspiration, for surely you do not present to be inspired yourself?

Many Protestants might say, "the Holy Ghost interprets the Bible for me." And I say again, how can the Holy Ghost interpret so many contradictory interpretations? Out of the 350 (or 46,000 in 2025), which of those interpretations came from the Holy Ghost? Every Protestant preacher can not then be relying on the Holy Ghost, when one says there is a hell and another says there is not. Did our Divine Savior really wish us to be in such confusion and hesitation? Most assuredly not.

Now, then, what is the teaching of the Church upon this subject? The Catholic Church says the Bible is the Word of God, and that God has appointed an authority to give us the true meaning.

It is with the Bible as it is with the Constitution of the United States. When George Washington and his associates wrote the Constitution, the Supreme Law of the United States, they did not say to the people of the States:

"Let every man read the Constitution and make a government to himself, let every man make his own explanation of the Constitution."

If Washington had done that, there never would have been a United States. The people would all have been divided among themselves, and the country would have been cut up into a thousand different divisions or governments.

What did Washington do? He gave them the Constitution and the Supreme Law, and appointed his Supreme Court and Supreme Judge of the Constitution to give the true explanation of the Constitution to all the citizens of the United States -- all without exception, from the President to the beggar. All are bound to go by the decisions of the Supreme Court, and it is this and this alone that can keep the people together and preserve the Union of the United States.

The moment the people take the interpretation of the Constitution into their own minds, that moment there is no more unity.

In every well-ruled country there must be such a thing as this -- a Supreme Law, Supreme Court, Supreme Judge, that all the people are bound to abide by. Even among the Indian Tribes, such a condition of affairs exist. How are they kept together? By their chief, who is their dictator.

So our Divine Savior also has established His Supreme Court, His Supreme Judge, that is to give us the True meaning of the Scriptures, the True Revelation and Doctrines of the Word of Jesus. The Son of the Living God has pledged His Word that the Catholic Church, the True Teacher of Mankind is infallible, and, therefore, the true Catholic never doubts.

"I believe," says the Catholic, "because the Church teaches me so; I believe the Church because God has commanded me to believe the Church; He said: "hear the Church, and he that does not hear the Church let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican."

"He that believes you, believes Me," said Christ, "and he that despises you, despises Me." Therefore, the Catholic believes because God has spoken, and upon the authority of God.

But our Protestant friends say, "We believe in the Bible."

Very well, how do you understand the Bible?

"Well," says the Protestant, "to the best of my opinion and judgement that is the meaning of the text."

This, my friends, is only the testimony of a man. It is human faith, not Divine Faith.

It is Divine Faith that is necessary for salvation, and this was only obtainable through the Church founded by Christ on the Rock of St. Peter.

Source

From the writings of:

Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J. (1815 - 1890)