2. Roman Catholic Teachings Concerning Justification, Taken from the Council of Trent

In the papal bull issued by the Roman pope Pius IV on November 13, 1564, we read the following:

I embrace and accept each and every thing that has been defined and declared by the holy Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification.

55. Surely anyone with any wisdom can see that ideas like these only become part of our memory; they do not become part of our higher understanding, even though they can be supported by reasoning based on appearances and mistaken impressions from below the intellect.

There are two kinds of light that shine in the human intellect: one from heaven, and the other from the world. The light from heaven, which is spiritual in nature, flows into human minds at a level above the memory. Light from the world, which is earthly in nature, flows in at a level below the memory. As I have shown in the memorable occurrence that appears in §233 of my recently published work Marriage Love, in light from the world we can support whatever concepts we like. False concepts are as easy to support as true ones; and after we have given them support, we see false ideas as completely true.