Rational arguments.
Rational arguments.
§ 116. The third class contains rational arguments. “Confession is (1) ancient, (2) difficult, (3) useful, (4) confirmed by miracles.”
We respond. All these do not yet succeed in proving that by a sanction of divine Law a specific enumeration of all sins is necessary. Our antiquity is Christ, and we must always have recourse to the archives of the prophetic and apostolic writings. General confession and the specific confession of some sins which torment the conscience are useful, but the special and distinct enumeration of all sins along with their circumstances is not just difficult but also impossible. It need not be proved whether we have a greater shame before the priest than before God. If we have a bit of faith, the greatest shame arises from the thought of God’s presence. Nor must it be thought that everything which is difficult and burdensome to the conscience originated with something God instituted. It was hard and difficult for the Roman popes to step on the necks of the emperors; shall we say that this was in harmony with divine Law? The scribes and Pharisees used to tie together heavy and uncomfortable burdens and load them upon the shoulders of the people (Matt. 23:4); shall we judge that these things came down from the prescript of divine Law?
** Augustine (De civ. Dei, 14, ch. 9): “Something is not correct just because it is difficult.” **
Miracles do not constitute an article of faith unless it has been confirmed by the express testimonies of Scripture.