There is a concept out there called a “Biblical Worldview.” It’s the idea that there is an objective moral truth and that truth is revealed in the Bible. So we view the world through the lens of the Scriptures and what is written in them, believing everything written to be true and inspired by the Holy Spirit. This concept is an excellent start to how we as Catholics should look at the world. We should indeed be aware that the idea that truth is subjective is a false notion. There has to be an objective standard for truth, or everything is on the table. Truth is truth, regardless of what one person or one society believes. Hitler and any German who agreed with him in his ideas about eugenics and racial superiority were wrong. Certain things are always wrong, regardless of what society teaches. Racism is always evil. Genocide is always a horror, rape will always be heinous and despicable, and murder is always ungodly.
However, a biblical worldview isn’t taking it far enough precisely because the Bible says in several places that the Bible itself is not sufficient for the teachings of the Church.
John 21:25 There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.
John 20:30-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
Acts 8:30-31 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
1 Corinthians 11:2 I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you
1 Timothy 3:15 If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
These are just a few examples of where the Scriptures point outside of themselves to the Church, the teaching authority, and the oral tradition of the Apostles themselves. As Catholics, we believe that authority has been handed on via the laying on of hands and ordination in a direct line from Jesus Christ Himself. (For an entire list of Apostolic succession, click here) Jesus laid His hands on Peter, gave him the keys of the kingdom, and breathed His Spirit upon the Apostles. They have been laying their hands on and ordaining men in a direct line for ~2000 years. That apostolic oral tradition is still alive and transmitted today through the Catholic Church and is the foundation of all that we believe.
With that in mind, the Bible is a liturgical book and only makes sense when studied in the context of the liturgy. All of the books are gathered together and canonized to be used in the liturgy. On top of that, we have written down the teachings of the Church (traditions) in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. As Catholics, we are not just a people of the book; I would say that the only proper way to speak of us is as a “people of the Eucharist.” The Catechism calls it the “source and summit of our faith.” Because of what the Apostles taught us, including St. Paul, we believe that during the consecration, through the power of the Holy Spirit, at the hands of an ordained priest with a direct line of authority through the Bishop to Jesus Christ Himself, the bread literally becomes the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our beloved Savior.
Again, I say a biblical worldview is just not enough. We need a Sacramental Worldview. Or maybe a better phrasing: “A Eucharistic Worldview.” A worldview that reminds us that Jesus Christ is God and is present in a substantial way in the tabernacles of the Church throughout the world. A view that declares that because He is who He said He was, when God says things, they happen. “Let there be light.” “let the water seperate from the dry land.” “This is my Body.” “You are my beloved child.” “Do this is memory of me.” “Woman behold your son, son behold your mother.” When we begin to see our lives in light of the great Sacrament that is the Mass, we begin to have a worldview informed by both Scripture and Tradition.
The following fact is why I think this is so important. As Catholics, we are supposed to follow our conscience, but we are also supposed to have a “well formed” one. How do we form our conscience? By learning what Jesus Christ taught and continues to teach us about ethics and morality through the Church, He established. Jesus said, “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:16) That should give anyone pause who rejects the teaching authority of the Church. Jesus, Himself declared that the living Church, the established authority of His disciples, speaks with His voice. When the Church speaks on morality and faith, the Holy Spirit guides that voice and gives us the only standard of morality against which to gauge ours.
There has to be some standard outside of ourselves against which to compare our actions. It is only through a Eucharistic worldview, through a Sacramental lens, with Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium that Jesus Himself established that we could begin to find ourselves aligning with truth itself. After all, Jesus Christ said it Himself: “I am the way and the truth* and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). If we ever find ourselves with a conscience telling us it’s ok to do things that have been revealed to be sinful, we owe it to ourselves to study, pray, and learn why it is that we are probably wrong in our reasoning and understanding.