Who Decides and With What Authority? | Prof. Michael Root

The Thomistic Institute

Professor Michael Root explores the question of who has the authority to make binding decisions on matters of faith within Christianity. It traces the historical development of this issue from the early Church through the Reformation, highlighting Luther's principle of sola scriptura and the concept of private judgment in Protestantism. The speaker contrasts this with the Catholic understanding of authoritative decision-making through councils, papal declarations, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the ability to close questions definitively in Catholicism versus the potentially "fissiparous" nature of Protestantism.

This lecture was given on February 3rd, 2024, at the Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Prof. Michael Root (Catholic University of America) is formerly Ordinary Professor of Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. Root is a native of Norfolk, Virginia and studied at Dartmouth College (B.A.) and Yale University (Ph.D. in theology). He was received into the Catholic Church in August, 2010. His particular theological interests are ecumenical relations, eschatology/last things, and grace and justification. Root has been a member of the US and international LutheranCatholic dialogues, the US LutheranUnited Methodist dialogue, the AnglicanLutheran International Working Group, and the Anglican Lutheran International Commission. He served on the drafting teams that produced the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.