Protestant Principles

Here are two basic protestant principles of faith and what is wrong with them.

1. Sola Scriptura.

2. Private interpretation of Sacred Scripture.

Both principles are heretical because the first is opposed to the Christian principle of Sacred Tradition and the second is opposed to the Christian principle of The Magisterium.

The Catholic and true principles of faith (the essential and interconnected sources of the transmission of Divine Revelation) are 1) the Magisterium, 2) the Sacred Tradition and 3) Sacred Scripture.

The fundamental error of all of the principles of protestantism (sola fide, sola scriptura, sola gratia, soli Deo gloria and solus Christus) may be summarized in the rejection of faith in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. So that the true protestant is left at the mercy of his own opinions. Protestantism entails an exaggerated subjective emphasis. As G.K. Chesterton once said, the problem with protestants is not that they reject the pope but that for them every man is pope!

In his renouned and prize winning "Regensburg Address" Pope Benedict argues that modern relativism and materialism have their origin in the Protestant Reformation rejection of Greek thought (since it was considered a corruption of true Christianity), and consequently of traditional logic and common sense. If there is no check, no external objective truth on which to judge private interpretation and internal faith (namely Sacred Tradition and the Church Magisterium), then anything goes, as long as you believe it! Then faith would be fiction, because many believe error. Then even the terrorists would be right!!! The relevant passage is where he explains the three stages of dehellenization about halfway into the talk. That, the error of dehellenization and its harmful consequences was the central theme of that notorious and landmark talk. Find it at the link below.

http://plinthos.blogspot.com/2008/03/regensburg-address-lecture-of-his.html

The world needs the pope, the Church always has a pope with the keys to the kingdom of heaven (to make Christ Himself accesible to men in every time and place against every political current), against whose teaching authority, given, inspired and defended by Christ Himself, "the gates of Hell shall not prevail!"