Credibility of the Catholic Church

Mr Holdsworth discusses the many reasons for accepting the claims of the Church to be the Church of Christ.

Christians around the world are commemorating Easter this weekend which is the recollection of the events surrounding the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of an actual historical person named Jesus Christ.

This isn’t claimed to be a, once upon a time kind of story, but a definite event recorded by people in history living in a specific place at a specific time who conducted themselves in a way consistent with people who actually believed what they were claiming – even if that meant repeating their story under pain of death – which they did. This same group of people started a movement and that movement became known as The Church and if these same people never did go out proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the world as we know it would be a very different place. Whether you like it or not, the influence of the Catholic Church upon the world, especially Western Civilization, is staggering. The recognition of the inherent dignity of all people, especially the poor, was a novel concept introduced to the civilized world by the Church. The pagan world valued people for their utility and ability. If a person had nothing to offer the community, if they were old, disabled, or sick, what proof is there of their value? The Church’s response to that is, there is not proof. There is faith in the fact that every person is created in the image of God and is, therefore, carries inestimable value. The concept of providing healthcare to anyone who needs it was introduced to the world by the Catholic Church. The education of the public through monastery and Cathedral schools were vital in developing education for as many people as possible. Furthermore the role these schools as well as the university system, another invention of the Catholic Church, played in the eventual development of the scientific method cannot be overstated. Science as we know it, wouldn’t exist if the Catholic Church hadn’t poured resources into thinkers and educators as well as the countless clergymen who made essential scientific discoveries themselves. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the West faced the loss of everything that good that the Greco-Roman world had to offer the world including its science, philosophy, art, architecture, education system, rule of law, it’s calendar, and on an on. If it wasn’t for the Catholic Church, the vital influence of thinkers like Aristotle and Plato in shaping so much good in Western civilization would never have happened. When Protestant reformers like Martin Luther wanted to proclaim faith as the only valid form of knowledge and denounced reason, it was the Catholic Church who stood firm and proposed both faith and reason as valid forms of knowledge. And again, whether you like it or not, the Bible is the most influential book in the world because of the Catholic Church’s role in codifying it, preserving its integrity, and translating it into Latin. And the Catholic Church wouldn’t have found the motivation or energy to do any of this if it wasn’t convinced that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The Bible says that if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, then our faith and preaching are in vain. This isn’t just a nice idea with metaphorical significance. It’s a belief in a historical event that dramatically shaped the history of the world.

So, from the very beginning of my consideration of whether or not Christianity was true, as someone sitting on the outside looking in, it seemed obvious to me that it matters a lot how we answer this question. In the same way it played a huge role in shaping the world we live in, how we answer the question of whether or not Jesus rose from the dead can dramatically affect the trajectory of our own lives. And there are a lot of ways to evaluate that claim, but I want to suggest one way that helped me a lot and was extremely convincing for me when I was still unsure.

The Catholic Church makes some pretty audacious claims which makes evaluating her credibility a lot easier. For example, she claims to possess the fullness of truth. In other words, the Catholic Church is a steward and messenger of truth.

And if that’s true, we should be able to expect certain characteristics to be obvious about her. Most importantly, we should expect her loyalty to be to the truth above all else. We should expect the Church to celebrate and affirm the truth wherever it is found – even if it is found among her rivals.