Question:
I was born a
Catholic but I’m one of those who attend Mass only when there are special
occasions in the family like Christening, wedding, internment, and Christmas
days. My friend who is a seminarian encourages me to be more active in our
religion. In one of our friendly discussions, I asked him where in the Bible we
could read many of our doctrines and practices like trinity, purgatory, rosary,
keeping images and the like. He read some biblical verses which I believe are
not conclusively teaching them. He nevertheless pointed out that we must not be
strictly biblical, for the Bible is incomplete, especially on the written
account of Christ’s life. He explained that we must believe in the Bible but we
must also accept other Catholic books and tradition as bases of our faith.
What can you say
about this? Is it really true that the Bible is incomplete and not sufficient
as basis of faith and in leading us to attain salvation?
Answer:
It is true that
the Bible’s account on Christ’s life is incomplete-the reason is explained by
Apostle John:
“But there are also many other
things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that
the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John
21:25, Revised Standard Version)
Though not all
of the things Jesus did were written in the Bible, it is not right to believe
that what were recorded in the Bible are not adequate in leading us to attain
eternal life or salvation. Apostle John testifies, thus:
“Jesus did many
other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded
in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
(John 20:30-31, New International Version)
As basis of
faith, the Bible therefore does not need to be supplemented by any other book
and even by what the Catholics call tradition. The truth is, to believe in the
Bible and to propose that the Bible needs to be supplemented is to engage in
self-contradiction-for the Bible warns everyone not to go beyond what is
already written:
“Now, brothers,
I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you
may learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is
written’. …” (I Cor. 4:6, Ibid.)
“For I testify
to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to
these things, God will add him the plagues that are written in this book.”
(Rev. 22:18, New King James Version)
Hence, a true
believer in the Bible knows that when compared to other books used as bases by
various religions, the Bible alone teaches the way to salvation. Aside from
this, he also follows the biblical teaching not to go beyond what is written in
it. Anyone who claims that he believes in the authority of the Bible and
purports that it must be coupled with something else as source of true faith is
guilty of either inconsistency or not truly accepting the precepts of the
Bible.
This is the reason why the Iglesia ni Cristo believes that the
Bible should be the sole basis of man’s faith. It is the only book inspired by
God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking errors, correcting faults,
and giving instructions (II Tim. 3:16, Today’s
English Version). Using the Bible as the only basis of faith will give us
the wisdom that leads to salvation (II Tim. 3:15).