CHAPTER VIII.

INFALLIBILITY.

ARGUMENTS FROM NEW TESTAMENT REFUTED.

SYNOPSIS.

1. Matt. xvi. 18, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church," &c.

2. Answer. No reference to Church of Rome. Church of Rome defined. Catechism of the Council of Trent. Absurd conclusion to which the argument leads.

3. "The gates of hell." R. Manning. Absurd conclusion which follows from the Romish argument. "Gates of hell" does not mean "powers of Satan."

4. Matt. xviii. 17. "Tell it unto the Church "-Mumford cited.

5. Argt. answered.-The offence is against men, and not as to "Articles of Faith," therefore matters of practice, involving facts, but Rome is not infallible as to facts. Impossibility of telling the Church, on the Romish theory. Argt. proves too much.

6. The text explained.

7. Matt. xviii. 18, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," &c.

Answer. This applies to all the Apostles as well as to Peter. If the statement implied the infallibility of one Church it would imply the infallibility of every Church, &c.

8. Matt. xxviii. 18-20, "Go therefore and teach all nations," &c. Wiseman cited.

9. Answer.-Distinguish between the Church of Christ and the Church of Rome. Romish priests are not the exclusive possessors of Christ's commission and promise. 10. By extending the principle of reasoning the laity will be infallible also. See Matt. xviii. 20, every believer is infallible; 1 John iii. 23, 24, and iv. 15, 16.

11. John xiv. 16-26 and xvi. 13, "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter," &c. Wiseman.

12. Answer. The argument is merely petitio principii. The promises apply to the Apostles alone. The promises explained.

13. Acts xv. 2, Keenan's argument from Paul and Barnabas going to Jerusalem to have disputed questions settled. Answered.

14. Luke x. 16, "He that heareth you heareth me."

Answer.-Infallibility not spoken of. The nature of Christ's commission

to the seventy disciples. How can Rome connect herself with the Seventy?

15. Gal. i. 8, "For, though we, or an Angel from Heaven," &c.

Answer. No reference to Roman infallibility. If so it would prove the infallibility of every priest, &c.

16. Gal. ii. 1, "Then fourteen years after I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter," &c.

Answer. Keenan's statement as to the above contradicted by St. Paul, Gal. i. 11, 12.

17. 1 Tim. iii. 15, The Church, "the pillar and ground of the truth.”

Answer. The fallacy of assuming that this is the Church of Rome. 18. If it proved the infallibility of any Church it would be that of Ephesus, Proofs that Ephesus was not infallible, Acts xx. 29, 30; Rev. ii. 4, 5. Any other of the visible churches had an equal claim with Rome.

19. Eph. iv. 11-13. Wiseman's argument from this text.

Answer. Not applicable to Rome. Argument proves too much. 20. Heb. xiii. 17, " Obey them that have the rule over you."

Answer. Romanists mistranslate this text. If it proves infallibility, it proves it of all priests. Macknight's paraphrase.

1.-Matt. xvi. 18:—

"Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Keenan says:

"In this passage Christ is the architect or builder; 'On this rock I will build my church. A rock is the foundation, and Christ declares that even all the powers of hell shall never prevail against her. Who, then, will dare to assert that this Church, with such a foundation, such an architect, and such a promise, is fallible-that she may fall into idolatry? Either she cannot fail, or Christ is only a false and impotent prophet."*

As Cardinal Wiseman treats at length on this text and its context in advocating Papal supremacy, I shall follow the cardinal to his own ground, and will then, when dealing with that subject, enter further into an examination of the passage. I am the more disposed to adopt this course, inasmuch as the Council of the Vatican adduced this text to prove the supremacy of St. Peter, and the supremacy and infallibility of the Pope.

I shall not now discuss the question as to whether the rock on which the Church of Christ is built, is Christ or St. Peter's confession, or St. Peter himself. My reply to the Romish argument will be equally conclusive on any of these suppositions.

2. 1.-I deny that there is the slightest reference to

* Controv. Cat., p. 78. See also Manning's Shortest Way to End Disputes in Religion. Dublin, 1778, p. 27.

the Church of Rome at all. It is the Church of Christ which is spoken of, and not the Church of Rome.

2. I maintain that the Romish argument is illogical, and leads to a most absurd and anti-scriptural conclusion. Romanists allege that St. Peter is the rock or foundation on which the Church is built, and that, as the rock or foundation is infallible, therefore the Church must be infallible. In other words, the argument is shortly this:

Whatever is built on the infallible foundation is infallible. But the Church of Rome is built on this infallible foundation. Therefore she is infallible.

ANSWER. For sake of argument, I admit the major premiss. Now let us understand the minor. What is the Church of Rome? The Catechism of the Council of Trent tells us that it is the Church Militant, and that in it are two sorts of men, the good and the bad. *

And we are informed in the "Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," that the Church consists of the Pope, the bishops, clergy and laity. Thus the minor premiss,

extended to its full meaning, will be:--

But the Church of Rome, comprising the good and the bad, consisting of the Pope, the bishops, clergy, and laity, is built on this infallible foundation.

And the conclusion must be :—

Therefore, the Church of Rome, comprising the good and the bad, consisting of the Pope, the bishops, the clergy and laity, is infallible.

The Church of Rome, apart from its members, is a non-entity. There is no such thing. To affirm that the Church is infallible, because it is built on an infallible rock, is to affirm that those things which are the Church are infallible.

If we can conceive that any essential part of the Church could be built on the rock and not be made infallible thereby, then it would follow that, as the mere fact of being built on the rock did not secure infallibility to such part, so neither could it secure infallibility to any other part; and then, if each of the parts separately is not made infallible by being built on the rock, so neither would the whole be made infallible by being built on the rock;

* Catechism of Council of Trent. Translated by Donovan, part 1, chap. x. Q. v. vi.

and no number of fallible parts could constitute an infallible whole. That the whole Church may be infallible because built on the rock, we must hold that the parts are infallible also. If a whole house is built on a rock, every stone of the building must have the rock as its foundation. If, then, infallibility can be predicated of the whole, it must also be predicated of each essential component part; because that which is the infallible foundation of the whole, must be also the infallible foundation of every part of that whole. This can only be denied by denying that the whole rock, on which the Church is built, is infallible. And if this be done, then it may follow that it is on the fallible portion of the rock that the Church of Rome is built.

The only logical conclusion, therefore, which can be drawn from the Romish argument is, that all Popes, bishops, priests, men, women, and children, the good and the bad, are alike and equally infallible.

3.-"The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." On this clause, the Rev. Robert Manning says

"The gates of hell (according to Christ's own words) will never prevail against His Church: but if she falls into any error against faith, the gates of hell prevail against her; therefore she cannot fall into any error against faith. Therefore she is infallible in all matters of faith." *

Romanists assume that by the "gates of hell" are meant "powers of Satan," "powers of hell," "powers of darkness." This I shall dispute afterwards. But, now, assuming, which I do not grant, that the "gates of h 11" mean "powers of Satan," &c., I ask, is it true, and does it necessarily follow from the text, that error cannot prevail against the Church of Rome, and that, consequently, she is infallible? The promise with regard to the "gates of hell" applies to whatever is built on the rock; but I have already proved, that on the Roman theory, all must be built on the rock, and all must therefore be equally guarded against the " gates of hell"; and we are thus brought to the same absurd and anti-scriptural conclusion, that all Popes, bishops, clergy, and laity, good and bad, are infallible.

*Shortest Way to End Disputes in Religion, p. 32.

The term "gates of hell," uλa adov, in this text, does not mean "powers of Satan," or powers of heresy, schism, or errors of faith, but simply death. It is used by the ancient Greeks, Jewish writers, and the Septuagint translators of the Old Testament, to denote the state of death, the place or receptacle of the dead, death; but never heresy, schism, error in faith. It is a promise that death itself shall not prevail against the true believers, constituting Christ's Church; for it is this Church of true believers that is spoken of, but that they shall be raised from death itself, and enjoy eternal life. The Romish argument in this clause of the verse is founded on an unwarrantable misinterpretation, not only not in accordance with, but directly opposed to the analogy of Scripture. For additional remarks I refer to the chapter on Papal Supremacy. 4.-Matt. xviii. 17. On this text Mumford says, pp. 194-195:

"My eighth text, to prove the Church to be our infallible judge, secured by God, from leading us into any error, great or little, is Matt. xviii. 17." He that will not hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a publican or heathen.' . . No man,

therefore, is secure in conscience, or innocent in the sight of God, who refuses to hear or obey the Church. Hence follows, first, that this Church cannot err damnably, for so a man in conscience might be bound to follow a damnable error. Secondly, hence follows that she cannot err in any small matter belonging to faith." "'*

That the meaning of this passage may be unmistakably perceived, and its utter inapplicability to Roman infallibility be demonstrated, I shall give the context. Verses 15-17:—

"Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

* Question of Questions. See also Rivers' Manual, pp. 58, 70, 71, 74. Keenan's Controv. Cat. p. 76. Rev. T. Maguire, in Discussion with Pope, pp, 13, 73. Shortest Way to End Disputes in Religion, by Rev. R. Manning, p. 37.