Catholics gave us the canon: A devil’s advocate’s argument

Ajouté : 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Before we do anything, I want to make the Catholic argument as strong as possible before we even respond to it.

[00:00:05]Despite what most Catholics will tell me, I do work overtime to try to steel man their positions as best as I can.

[00:00:10]Unfortunately, what ends up happening is when you come to a different conclusion other than what their totalitarian regime has told them to come to, they think that you're not steel manning.

[00:00:18]That's not what steel manning is. Steel manning is when you properly present the opponent's position and then you refute it based on truth and facts, if possible. Ultimately, if their position is ultimately true, then yours will collapse. It's that simple. Me coming to a different conclusion than you does not mean that I didn't steel man you. It just means that I used my own brain. But anyway, the core claim of this whole conversation is that church authority is necessary to recognize scripture. And they'll use evidence like, "Well, the Bible doesn't list its own books. There were some books that were disputed historically, and it was councils that identified the canon. Therefore, you need scripture plus tradition plus a magisterium." Now, here's some reasons why when people hear this, their ears perk up and they go, "This sounds amazing. Where do I sign up? How do I join OCIA, man? Get me the rosary now." In our modern world, a lot of what the Roman Catholics have to offer is certainty, and this is a big one. In a world where everything is chaotic and there's varying truths, what looks really appealing is an institution, even if it's totalitarian, that has a sort of uniformity that can give you peace and comfort, peace and safety, you might say. Pax Romana, anybody? No? No?

[00:01:27]Okay. The Catholic Church, in a way, avoids interpretive chaos, and it appeals to a visible authority. You can actually see the authority and the unity when you go into a Catholic church, when you look at the Catholic institution.

[00:01:39]And what they tend to have that makes them even more appealing is they do have a lot of history. They have a historical process, and albeit though it is very selective, it is still present. They do have a method of church preservation, even if it requires you submit your intellect and will to them. And there are real disputes that are present among the world that a totalitarian regime, unfortunately, would fix. So, when you look at all this in context of the phrase, "We gave you the Bible," then it seems pretty tempting to want to submit to your whatever you have up to them for the sake of the greater good, particularly if that greater good is God himself. Let's go back to the central question. Is recognition equal authority being created? Is the claim that the Catholic Church is making that makes it so tempting actually valid, or is it something else? Is it a temptation we should be mindful of? Because, yeah, it looks really pretty. It offers a lot, so does Satan. We need to test everything, including this claim that has a big conversation behind it. And it's not a dumb argument. It's probably one of the strongest ones they have. But the conclusion is a lot bigger than what they're letting on.