Hello, I was on another Catholic forum site, the "Catholic Answers" forums, and there was a question simular to this. Yet one person counted with remarks like this: "Why is Peter called "the Rock," because the Church says so. Why does the church say so? Because it's in scripture along with the Church being infallible. How do you know the church is "infallible?" because it's in scripture."

Then the person said it's the same thing with Catholicism just like Protestants. Any comments?

-- Brian the Curious (antiemail@no.com), November 14, 2004

Answers

Simon the Apostle is not called "Rock" - that is, "Peter" - "because the Church says so". Simon is called "Peter" - "Rock" because Jesus Christ Himself said so. Until the precise moment recorded in Matthew 16:18, this Apostle was simply known as "Simon", his given name. Jesus addressed him that way a few seconds earlier, as recorded in Matthew 16:17. In verse 18, Jesus tells Simon that from that moment forward he will be known as "Peter", which literally means "Rock". And thereafter in Scripture we see the Apostle referred to as "Simon Peter" - "Simon the Rock". If you can't accept a direct quote from God Himself, why bother with the Bible at all?

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), November 14, 2004.

jesus said on this rock i shall build my church, he was speaking about what he had just previously said, not that peter was the rock of the church, this is a misconsumption of the scriptures.

-- mike robison (utilitytrailer@verizon.net), November 30, 2004.

Better read it again Mike. Jesus looked the Apostle SIMON straight in the eye, and said to him ... "I say to YOU that YOU are ROCK". (You do realize that "Peter" means "Rock", right? And that the Apostle SIMON was never known as "Peter" - "Rock" - until this very moment?) I don't see why you would have difficulty identifying the "Rock" in this passage? What part of "YOU are ROCK" do you find confusing? I do understand why you might not want to accept the plain meaning of this passage. But the truth is still there, plain as day. "YOU SIMON are ROCK, and upon THIS ROCK (which I have just identified) I will build my Church". How could this be stated more clearly?

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), November 30, 2004.

to get back to the original question, from our protestant diversion there, the scriptures are likewise NOT infallable because the "church says so" but they are instead infallable because they are divinely inspired by God. Historically speaking, they are also the most accurate and firsthand of the accounts at the time. So while the church knows its infallability by the scripture, the scripture knows its infallability because it is from God.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), December 01, 2004.