and who would not be
satisfied with the guarantee offered by the Word of God!

And the truths we believe are those revealed by God, received by us
through a double agency, the written and the oral word, known as
Scripture and Tradition. Scripture is contained in the two Testaments;
Tradition is found in the bosom, the life of the Church of Christ, in
the constant and universal teachings of that Church.

The Scripture being a dead letter cannot explain or interpret itself.
Yet, since it is applied to the ever-varying lives of men, it needs an
explanation and an interpretation; it is practically of no value
without it. And in order that the truth thus presented be accepted by
men, it is necessary, of prime necessity, that it have the guarantee of
infallibility. This infallibility the Church of Christ possesses, else
His mission were a failure.

This infallibility is to control the vagaries of Tradition, for
Tradition, of its very nature, tends to exaggeration, as we find in the
legends of ancient peoples. Exaggerated, they destroy themselves, but
in the bosom of God's Church these truths forever retain their
character unchanged and unchangeable.

If you accept the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as
revealed by God and delivered to man by the infallible Church from the
Bible and Tradition, you have what is called ecclesiastical, Catholic
or true faith. There is no other true faith. It is even an open
question whether there is any faith at all outside of this; for outside
the Church there is no reasonable foundation for faith, and our faith
must be reasonable.

However, granting that such a thing can be, the faith of him who takes
and leaves off the divine Word is called divine faith. He is supposed
to ignore invincibly a portion of revealed truth, but he accepts what
he knows. If he knew something and refused to embrace it, he would have
no faith at all. The same is true of one who having once believed,
believes no longer. He impeaches the veracity of God, and therefore
cannot further rely on His Word.

Lastly, it matters not at all what kind of truths we receive from God.
Truth is truth always and ever. We may not be able to comprehend what
is revealed to us, and little the wonder. Our intelligence is not
infinite, and God's is. Many things that men tell us we believe without
understanding; God deserves our trust more than men. Our incapacity for
understanding all that faith teaches us proves one