Imagined Excellence is Not Enough
Dear Catholic Exchange:
Another outstanding article today! [“The New Curriculum: Reading, Writing, and Self-Esteem,” November 29, 2001.]
The article outlining the problems with the educational system's definition of self-esteem was right on the money! As a former teacher, I can attest to its destructiveness. I saw children being moved up in grades while not being able to read or write or spell all in the name of self-esteem. When I confronted the principal, I was told that, “I was just the Spanish teacher.” I guess the implication was that I didn't know enough as a Spanish teacher to see when children needed academic assistance and not the “feel-good” mantra of imagined excellence. Shortly thereafter, I left the job.
Thanks for reinforcing this sad reality! Let's pray for reform! The homeschooling movement and schools based on the teachings of our Great Holy Father and the Magisterium seem to be the remedy for these ills. Yet, I know there are noble men and women out there trying to reform from the inside out! Thanks to them for their hard work and suffering!
Let's take our children back! We'll build a great future, if we do!
God Bless,
Maria Peceli
Dear Ms. Peceli:
Thanks for your feedback! Catholic Exchange is delighted to offer excellent articles such as this one by J. Fraser Field. I'm glad this one resonated so well with you.
Watch for more of Mr. Field's work on Catholic Exchange!
Sincerely,
Mark Dittman
Associate Editor
Catholic Exchange
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Catholicism & Protestantism
Dear Catholic Exchange:
Excellent article [“Why Only Catholicism Can Make Protestantism Work,” December 3, 2001]. I have long agonized over the “throwing out the baby with the bath water” of Protestantism—not only theologically but in the form of worship (Mass, music, etc.)
A very pro-Catholic Protestant,
Charlotte Vacano
Waynesboro, VA
Dear Ms. Vacano:
Thank you for the feedback. A fellow in Australia sent me a related article which I'd recommend you read as well. You can find it on Catholic Exchange here.
God bless you. We appreciate your interest in Catholic Exchange.
Your Brother in Christ,
Tom Allen
Editor & President
Catholic Exchange
Dear Catholic Exchange:
I read with interest your article on Bouyer and Protestant and Catholic beliefs [“Why Only Catholicism Can Make Protestantism Work,” December 3, 2001].
I just recently joined a Protestant Bible Study, being invited in and as a Catholic I was a little dismayed to try to comprehend some pre-conceived differences in our beliefs. “By Grace Alone” was frequently heard as opposed to not by good works, yet I knew I needed Jesus to die for me to be saved and that belief in Him was a good work.
However, I do not understand the Sola Scriptura idea you describe. The Bible was written by men under the direct inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit; with the exception of the Ten Commandments and direct quotes of our Lord, it was put in words by men. We Catholics see the infallibility of the Pope on the same basis: the Pope relies on the Holy Spirit and our faith in the Papal teachings on faith and morals rests on our faith in God's fidelity in this just as we rely on the Bible. So I do not see the Bible being supreme over the Papal teachings. Indeed I may rely on the papal interpretations of Scripture when necessary (i.e. the Immaculate Conception).
Sincerely,
Susan
Dear Susan:
You are more or less on track in your thinking. However, some terminology clarification is in order. Catholics, like Protestants, believe we are saved by “grace alone.” That is, we believe that not only our actions, thoughts and faith, but our very being is entirely dependent on the love of God which is prior to us. Without God's grace, we not only could not love or have faith, we couldn't even exist. So grace is always prior and everything—our existence, faith, and love—depends completely on grace for their being.
Where Catholics and Protestants differ (or at least appear to differ) is with the slogan “faith alone.” Catholics do not believe that “faith alone” saves if such faith is not incarnate in works of love (James 2:24). However, (and this is critical) the vast majority of Protestants don't believe this either. That is why they say things like “faith alone saves but the faith that saves is not alone” and “Faith is a muscle. You have to exercise it,” and so forth. The reality is that at a lived level, most Protestants function exactly like Catholics and live in a way that is far more explicable by Catholic theology than by Protestant slogans. Indeed, the main time such slogans are employed is when the occasional Protestant polemicist is trying to show that his tradition relies on faith in Jesus and arguing that, in contradistinction to this, the Catholic Church allegedly teaches we have to earn justification by good works.
But the reality is that the Church rejects the teaching that we are justified by good works (that's the heresy of Pelagianism). Likewise, the reality is that Protestants, like Catholics, know that faith is meant to be enfleshed in love just as the Word became flesh.
As to sola scriptura, you are again largely on the right track in saying that Scripture does not stand by itself. Scripture is meant to be read in union with the Sacred Tradition of the Church and the Magisterium or teaching office of the Church. It is not accurate to say that Scripture is not supreme over papal teachings (which could leave the impression we regard
the Pope's teaching as inspired, which is false). The Pope, when he teaches, is always teaching in submission to the deposit of faith in Scripture and Tradition. He adds nothing to it and takes nothing away and is a servant and conserver of the Tradition, not a maker of it. All the Pope does in promulgating teaching or defining a dogma is to more clearly articulate something the Church has always believed, not to make up a new
belief that nobody has ever heard of before.
Thanks for writing!
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
