I re-read the Second Letter of St. Peter this weekend and I noticed a couple of things.
First, St. Peter begins and ends his letter with a warning about the misinterpretation of Scripture.
2 Pet 1:20-21:
"First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
2 Pet 3:15-17:
"So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability."
Second, St. Peter warns against the idea of "Faith Alone."
2 Pet 1:5-11:
"For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
2 Pet 3:17:
"So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability."
Peter knew that Paul's words were easily twisted to teach false doctrines, not unlike what happens today. Anyone who interprets St. Paul to say that "Faith Alone" is all we need for salvation ignores Christ's demand that we obey his commandments and do the will of the Father. If faith is not supplemented by the other things St. Peter lists at the beginning of his letter, the a person is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
Peter is saying that Scripture must be read with the Church, not apart from it. Those who choose to read Scripture without the Church will be carried away with error and lose their stability. We have seen the truthfulness of St. Peter's teaching with our Protestant brethren. They have countless divisions amongst them and all claim to be using the Bible alone. Mainline Protestant denominations are quickly becoming blatantly liberal and approving of same-sex "marriages" and supporting abortion. Case in point is the Episcopal Church who is headed by a woman who has publicly said that she supports both same-sex "marriage" and abortion. She is also a disciple of the retired Episcopal bishop of New Jersey, Jack Spong, who denies the Resurrection. And that is just one denomination.
It is a fact that God exists. It is a fact that He created us and all of existence from nothing. As creatures we naturally long for our Creator. St. Augustine said that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. It is a fact that God came down to earth and became man to offer Himself up as a sacrifice to atone for Israel's breaking of the Dueteronomic Covenant and the sins of the whole world. We deserved to die for breaking the covenant. But God loves us so much that He would rather take the curses of the covenant upon Himself instead of giving us our just rewards. And because Christ is the perfect priest offering up Himself as the perfect sacrifice, not only are the curses of the covenant removed, but the blessings of the covenant are sent out to all. And before Christ offered Himself on the Cross He established the New Davidic Kingdom, the Kingdom of God; a heavenly Kingdom. This Kingdom established by Christ the King is the Supreme Kingdom. It Has ministers established by the King (the bishops) and a Prime Minister (the Pope) who has authority given to him by the King. The Prime Minister is second in authority, only behind the King. He has been given power to bind and loose, to shut and open. The Kingdom of God also has a Gebirah, a Great Lady, a Queen Mother (Mary). The Queen Mother is the chief counselor of the King and Advocate for the people. This honor is given to the Queen Mother by the King not out of obligation, but out of honor and filial love.
This Kingdom has a Liturgy. It has sacred writings which are for the Liturgy and are meant to be read in the Liturgy. This Kingdom has the authority to guide the interpretation of these sacred writings. To separate the interpretation of these writings from the Church is to desacrilize them.
This Kingdom is present here on earth and in Heaven. This Kingdom is the Catholic Church.
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