The first thing we must dissect from this verse is the Greek behind the English. In Greek, Peter is rendered as petros, and rock is rendered as petra. So the verse would read "and I say to thee: That thou art Petros; and upon this petra I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Many non-Catholics will try to say that petros means "little rock" or "pebble", and that petra means "large rock".
The problem with this is that it's false. The words petros and petra were Greek synonyms in the first century. They meant "small stone" and "large rock" in some ancient Greek poetry, but this was centuries before the time of Christ. The distinction in Greek had disappeared from the language by the time Gospel of Matthew was rendered in Greek. The difference in meaning can be found in Attic Greek (and only in Attic Greek), but the New Testament was written in Koine Greek... which is an entirely different dialect. In Koine Greek, both petros and petra simply meant "rock." If Jesus had wanted to call Simon a small stone, the Greek lithos would have been used. This typical non-Catholic argument doesn't work and shows a horrible knowledge of Greek. (For an Evangelical Protestant Greek scholar’s admission of this, see D. A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984], Frank E. Gaebelein, ed., 8:368). It should also be pointed out that the Greek translator HAD to render petra as petros, the masculine form in Greek. It would have been rude, confusing, and mean to name Peter with petra, because it would have been calling him a woman.
Let us remember that Jesus spoke Aramaic. And in Aramaic, there is only one word for rock- kepha. So, even if the non-Catholic doesn't accept the fact that petra and petros has the same meaning, they must accept that in Aramaic the verse reads "And I say to thee: that thou art Kepha; and upon this kepha I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". It is the same word.
Another place to look in Scripture is the amount of times that Peter is mentioned. Peter is often mentioned separate from the Apostles, as if he were set apart from them. Peter is mentioned 91 times, whereas the name of John, the next in prominence, occurs only 38 times.
We can also look to the Church Fathers as well. While they are not infallible like Scripture, it does show how the earliest of Christians thought. For example, Tertullian in 211 wrote
"For though you think that heaven is still shut up, remember that the Lord left the keys of it to Peter here, and through him to the Church, which keys everyone will carry with him if he has been questioned and made a confession [of faith]" (Antidote Against the Scorpion 10).
At Pentecost, "Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd" (NIV Acts 2:14). We can also look at the first council, the Council of Jerusalem. In Acts 15:7 "after much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them" (NIV). After Peter addresses the council, the matter is finished. Paul and Barnabas speak, but it is only in regards to "miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them" (v12). James also speaks, but it is in affirmation to what Peter has already stated, "Brothers, listen to me. Peter has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this" (v13-v15). Peter has the final says-so at this Council.
As Catholics, we should place ourselves under the authority of the keys of St. Peter who is the Pope. We have a great Pope, Pope Benedict XVI. He is a pious and loving man, and a great theologian. I won't be the least surprise if he is eventually proclaimed a Doctor of the Church. If you don't believe me, just read his Angelus address for one month... you'll agree with me after that.
Vivat Benedictus!
No comments:
Post a Comment