Tradition, The Council of Trent, and a Great Debate Lost

It was at the Council of Trent that the Catholic Church formulated its permanent fundamentals of the Catholic Creed -- these series of sessions were held to consider the questions that had been raised and forced upon the attention of Europe by the PROTESTANT REFORMERS: The reformers had charged that the Catholic Church has APOSTATIZED from the truth "as contained in the written word." Thus was the proclaimed platform of the reformation and of protestantism: The Written Word, "The Bible and Only The Bible Only," these were their constant watchwords...

...but the Catcholics insisted on "the scripture and TRADTION," the Bible as INTERPRETED BY THE CHURCH and the reasoning of its "holy fathers," the Popes and Bishops, etc.. of earlier generations...

Incidently, these meetings lasted for over 27 years. The reason for their first recess was due to a plague in Trent, then the Council was frequently adjourned when they could not reach agreement.

There was a strong party even of the Catholics within the council who were in favor of abandoning "tradition" and adopting THE SCRIPTURES ONLY as the standard of authority. The view was so decidedly held in the debates that the Pope's legates actually wrote to him that there was "a strong tendency to set aside tradition altogether and to make scripture the sole standard of appeal." But to do this would manifestly be a big step towards justifying the clains of the protestants...

By this crisis there was develoepd within the ultra-catholic portion of the council the task of convincing the others that "scripture and TRADITION" were the only sure ground to stand upon -- if this could be done, the council could be convinced to issue a decree CONDEMING THE REFORMATION, otherwise not...

The question was debated day adter day, until the council was brought to a standstill. finally, after a long and intensive debate, the ARCHBISHOP OF REGGIO introduced into the council substancially the following argument:

The PROTESTANTS claim to stand upon "the written word only" -- the profess to hold the SCRIPTURE ALONE as the standard point fo faith. The justify their revolt by the plea that the church has apostatized from the written word and follows TRADITION. Now the protestants' claim, that they stand upon the written word only, IS NOT TRUE. Their profession of hodling "the scripture alone as the standard of faith" is FALSE!

THE PROOF: The written word explictly enjoins the observance of the Seventh Day as the Sabbath. They do NOT observe the seventh day, but REJECT IT! If they do truely hold the scriptures alone as their standard, they would be observing the Seventh Day as in enjoined in the scripture throughout! Yet they now only REJECT THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH ENJOINED IN THE WRITTEN WORD, but they have adopted and do practice the observance of SUNDAY, for which they have ONLY THE TRADITION OF THE CHURCH... Consequently the claim of "scripture alone as the standard" FAILS, and the doctrine of "scripture and TRADITION" as essential, is FULLY ESTABLISHED, THE PROTESTANTS THEMSELVES BEING THE JUDGES!

By the observation the archbishop scored a telling point, for the protestants' OWN STATES OF FAITH (the augsburg confession of 1530) had CLEARLY ADMITTED that "the observation of the Lord's Day" HAD BEEN APPOINTED BY THE CHURCH ONLY.

The arguement was hailed in the council as PURE INSPIRATION -- the party for "scripture alone" SURRENDERED... and the council at once UNANIMOUSLY CONDEMNED PROTESTANTISM and THE WHOLE REFORMATION AS ONLY AN UNWARRANTED REVOLT FROM THE COMMUNION AND AUTHORITY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH...

(This information is from the Rome's Challenge pamphlet, pages 25-27.)

Thus it was the INCONSISTENCY of the protestant practice with "protestant profession" that gave to the Catholic Church her long-sought and anxiously desired ground upon which to condemn protestantism and the whole reformation movement... All because the Protestants rejected the Bible's Holy seventh-Day Sabbath.

...so the Catholics won out, and the Protestants failed in winning an important victory for the Lord. "Tradition" was to continue.


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