On the Journey

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 59: Christian Authority – The Development of Doctrine

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their discussion of how they wrestled with the question of Christian authority on their way into the Catholic Church.

This time, they take a closer look at the way the papacy developed in the early Church. The Catholic claim is that the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter, is the head of the Church. But how that came to be involves a process of development that helps us understand how the Holy Spirit continued in the promise of Jesus to lead the Church into all truth.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 58: Christian Authority – The Historical Case

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue to discuss how they went from Evangelical Christian understandings of authority to embracing what the Catholic faith teaches about the relationship between Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium.

In this episode, Matt and Ken dig into some of the early Christian sources that point to Rome as the "headquarters" of the Church, and how it came to be seen that way. As the site of the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul, the consensus of reliable early Christian sources shows us that Rome became the central seat of Christian leadership within the  lifetimes of the apostles.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 57: Christian Authority – Peter and the Keys

Before moving on to a discussion of Christian authority from a historical perspective in the next episode, Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley bring together some of the most important points about what Scripture tells us in regard to authority, and discuss how those pieces fit together to give us a picture of how the early Church thought about itself.

For both Matt and Ken in their Protestant backgrounds, the Bible was considered the sole and sufficient rule of faith, so understanding the overall Scriptural sense of authority was central in their approach to considering the claims of the Catholic Church.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 56: Christian Authority – Peter the Rock

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue to discuss how they went from Evangelical Christian understandings of authority to embracing what the Catholic faith teaches about the relationship between Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium.

In Matthew 16, when Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, what is the significance of that moment and what are its implications? Matt and Ken look at how the language used by Jesus in this passage has importance for Peter's role in the early Church, as prophet, patriarch, foundation, steward, rabbi, and even forgiver of sins.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 55: Christian Authority – Peter in the Early Church

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their discussion of how they wrestled with the question of Christian authority on their way into the Catholic Church.

Moving on from Peter's role in the Gospels, Matt and Ken look at his role in the early Church as detailed especially in the first chapters of the Book of Acts. From his role preaching at Pentecost, to his testifying before Jewish authorities, to healings and miracles, it is clear that Peter is in a role of leadership among the apostles.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 54: Christian Authority – The Prominence of Peter

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue to discuss how they went from Evangelical Christian understandings of authority to embracing what the Catholic faith teaches about the relationship between Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium.

What does the Bible tell us about Peter's role among the apostles, not only during the time of Jesus' public ministry, but after His ascension? Even setting aside the question of the development of the papacy in the early Church, it's clear from Scripture that Peter is meant to have a unique position among the apostles, having been set apart by Jesus Himself.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 53: Christian Authority – Led by the Holy Spirit

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their discussion of how they wrestled with the question of Christian authority on their way into the Catholic Church.

Why is it reasonable to believe that the early Church continued to guard and keep the deposit of faith handed down by the apostles, even after the death of the apostles? Matt and Ken look at a number of reasons why it makes sense that the Church would have continued to be led by the Holy Spirit, including the most important reason: the fact that Jesus promised it would.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 52: Christian Authority – Early Church Magisterium

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue to discuss how they went from Evangelical Christian understandings of authority to embracing what the Catholic faith teaches about the relationship between Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium.

Moving on from the New Testament to the first generations after the apostles, Matt and Ken look at how Christian authority was preserved in the doctrine, life and worship of the churches the apostles founded. Just as in the Old and New Testaments, the early Church upheld a threefold understanding of authority that included Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium.

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 51: Christian Authority – New Testament Magisterium

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their discussion of how they wrestled with the question of Christian authority on their way into the Catholic Church.

Last week, Matt and Ken looked at how authority functioned in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we find a similar pattern of authority: the writings of the Apostles (Scripture), the oral teaching of the Apostles (call it Tradition) and an ordained Magisterium comprised of the Apostles, the Elders or Bishops, with the Deacons.

 

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On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Ep. 50: Christian Authority – Old Testament Magisterium

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue to discuss how they went from Evangelical Christian understandings of authority to embracing what the Catholic faith teaches about the relationship between Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium.

To better understand the Catholic take on authority, Matt and Ken unpack what the Catholic Church means by the word "magisterium," and look at the way authority functioned through law, tradition and teaching authority with God's covenant people in the Old Testament.

And while those who wielded that divine authority in the Old Testament were sometimes holy, and sometimes far from it, God never decides to abandon His chosen people due to their sinfulness and start from scratch with a new people.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.