The online text of Humanae Vitae.
Well worth reading, and for what it's worth, it illustrates brilliantly what the difference between Protestants and Catholics ought to be. That is, Protestants ought to be dedicated to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura to the point where the primary source of evidence for a document on human life ought to be derived from the Scriptures. I'll also admit that it would come fairly close to Humanae Vitae in many areas.
On the flip side, Catholics,with the doctrine (roughly described) as "Scripture plus authority of the Church," would then be free--and ahem required--to produce a document (like Humanae Vitae) that defers extensively to previous documents.
Interestingly, American law used to follow more of the Protestant tradition (with the Constitution being the reference point instead of the Scriptures, of course), but a look at modern legal decisions suggests that we've moved far more to a Catholic view that could be paraphrased as "Constitution plus the historic decisions of the court."
Given, of course, that our justices are not Humanae Vitae-quoting gentlemen like Gino, we of course find that some of the modern rulings are "not exactly" in the mold of Humanae Vitae. It's time to pray, perhaps, for some justices in the historic Protestant mold, or at least get some better Catholics on the bench.
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2 comments:
not quite: authority for revelation is shared among Tradition, Scripture, and Magisterium.
the scriptures are a Tradition itself. we believe there are some truths passed down through Tradition that didn't make it into scripture, and these these are important to know and understand when studying scripture in its context and applying it to our lives and faith.
an easy example are the four gospels. how do we know who wrote them were it not for Tradition?
another: the torah wasnt written til Moses came along. yet, the israelites had a fully functioning religeon by then... and not a word of scripture to base it upon.
what scripture gives us is a solid framework for what was written cannot be changed. a framework built upon the foundation of sacred tradition, for what was written had to have been first spoken and passed down.
the role of the magisterium is to pastor the faithful and teach proper doctrines and understandings, a role that existed before, during and after the time Christ walked among us, who's authority and purpose Christ verified Himself.
I read a book titled the Tyrannicide Brief last fall, it was a really remarkable account of John Edward Cooke, an early 17th century English barrister tasked with prosecuting King Charles in the aftermath if the revolution, but prior to thr Cromwell ascension. Good example of a devout protestant living out what he claimed to believe.
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