12. Can you show it to me in the Bible?

The “Show it to me in the Bible” attitude is very common among Catholics and has misled many into thinking that if they cannot find specific text for a particular belief or practice, then they should reject it.

This shows an incorrect understanding of what the Bible is meant to be and of how the Catholic faith began.  Before Jesus ascended into heaven he did not say to the Church: “here is a book that will tell you everything, go and make copies of it and tell everyone to read it”.  What he did say was “Go out and teach and I will be with you to guide you and direct you”.  (Matt. 28:16-20).

In the early Church when there was a problem about the necessity of circumcision for Gentiles, how was it solved?  If the apostles had said ‘Let us go and consult the Bible”’, there could have been only one answer- circumcision is compulsory. “This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you, and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised”. (Genesis 17:11-14).  But this is not what they did, instead they called a meeting of the Church and guided by the Holy Spirit they came to the conclusion – Circumcision is not compulsory (Acts 15).

In the light of the failure by many Catholics to give sufficient emphasis to Tradition and the voice of the living church today, coming to us through the teaching authority of the Pope and Bishops, the following statement of the Second Vatican Council cannot be repeated often enough:

“It is not from the Bible alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed.  Sacred Scripture and Tradition are to be venerated with the same devotion and reverence.”