Wednesday, June 27, 2007

You've sold me

I'm of two minds on Scott Hahn. On the one hand, I really enjoy his apologetics and explanations of matters that seem weird to Protestants. His Hail Holy Queen was excellent, and I loved A Father Who Keeps His Promises, too. On the other hand, he has a condescending air that gets really old really fast. I like reading him as long as I can recall that I'm on the same side as him theologically.

So after reading Jeremy Lott's review of his latest book, which isn't an apologetic per se but a guide for giving apologetics, I think I'll have to make this one I buy as soon as I can swing it.
While addressing unbelievers, Mr. Hahn avoids the common Protestant mistake of quoting the Bible at them as though that should settle the argument. ("No, the Bible is true. See, it says so right here.") When speaking of Protestants, however, he takes great pains to explain to fellow Catholics that it's okay to go verse for verse with our dear "separated brethren." He has to argue thus because the Good Book tends to serve a different function in Catholic and Protestant churches.

He's got a point: Protestants sometimes attack the Mass as "unbiblical," but that's patently false to anyone who has (a) read much of the Bible and (b) attended Catholic worship. The text of the Mass, which good Catholics attend at least once a week, is saturated with Scripture. Many of the short sayings are Bible verses, and the order of service has three readings — one from the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), one from a Gospel and one from a non-Gospel New Testament book — along with a recitation of a Psalm and the Lord's Prayer.

There are many reasons why Catholics are reluctant to argue with Protestants about Scripture. The largest reason isn't their ignorance of the text as such but their relationship to it. Private Scripture reading by Catholics is encouraged — you can get an indulgence for it — but the public proclamation of the Word is what's important. The people stand when the Gospel is read and cross themselves three times, over their forehead, mouth and heart, out of respect and reverence. There is a sense, mistaken but understandable, that arguing about something so sacred would cheapen it.

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