In with the Old, Beware of the New

Why the 'old and dusty' Catholic Church is a Credible and Authoritative Teacher

The Catholic Church is old—dusty, crusty, and ancient. Why would any rational person base their life on what this 2,000-year-old institution says?

That’s a question I’ve heard a lot over the years, but I’m hearing it a lot more lately. It’s often the star of the show in social media comments, and YouTube commentary. No actual arguments, no logical responses, just “The Catholic Church is old, the Bible is ancient. Ignore them”

So why should modern people want to be guided by an ancient institution?

Before we roll our eyes at something “so old and dusty“ let’s ask a deeper question: Does being old automatically mean being out of touch—or could it mean having something valuable to say? We don’t usually dismiss a person’s wisdom just because they’ve been around the block a few times. The only time we disregard or even devalue a person’s wisdom is if they have cognitive decline, or because older people tend to be so set in their ways that nothing bring them to reexamine or reconsider what they believe. But those concerns shouldn’t apply to the church.

Let’s get into it, talking about why the Church is wise, and why Her wisdom can be trusted and shouldn’t be devalued or disqualified.

Don’t trust anyone over 2,000?

Our elder relatives are usually loved and respected for their wisdom and anecdotes, as much as for their old-timey tales. But we’re sometimes selective about the pearls of wisdom we accept from them. We distrust their perspective on our modern age, feeling we’re more advanced or more sophisticated today than the world and era that gave them some of that outdated wisdom.

Too old. Too grouchy. Too senile. Their timeless wisdom has expired and needs to be renewed.

That’s how some people view the Catholic Church: wise maybe, but irrelevant because its wisdom is outdated and flawed. Why should we listen to her?

Here’s why!...

She’s 2,000 for a reason

Yes, the Catholic Church is 2,000 years old. But instead of that being a liability, it’s a treasure. The Church has lived through it all—every war, every plague, every empire, every cultural revolution, every uprising and every cultural collapse. The Church has seen everything, and has responded to every cultural shift or calamity it has lived through, in the form of encyclicals, papal bulls, doctrine, sacred tradition, and teaching. While there’s no “Mr. Catholic Church”—an actual 2000 year old man holding all of this knowledge and perspective in his head—the Church, as the Mystical Body of Christ, is like a Mr. Catholic Church whose knowledge and wisdom hasn’t faded or died, but is ever-fresh and new and passed on in an unbroken line of succession. The Church transcends every time in which she finds herself. She’s always “been there, done that”.

So we’re not talking about a doddering old man muttering in a rocking chair. We’re talking about the collective, time-tested wisdom of the Body of Christ passed down faithfully over millennia.

This is how many secular people see the Church and the World. It’s the “old man” versus the young, fresh whippersnappers.

“But she never changes!”

That’s a common critique—and a fair one if you’re talking about someone who refuses to grow. But with the Catholic Church, it’s not about refusing to grow—it’s about upholding the truth, which doesn’t change.

Here’s the heart of it: truth doesn’t change. Not after one year, not after 2,000 years, not after 5 billion years. Once truth is revealed—doctrinal or moral truth—that truth is fixed. Not because “we say so” but because reality says so. Truth is reality, and reality is set in stone, even if we come disjointed from it. Taking a stand on the Truth is not the same as refusing to change, it’s refusing to play make-believe. It’s refusing to say that evil is good, and that virtue is actually vicious.

But the Church does revisit those unchanging truths to understand how they apply to new, complex situations: gender identity crises, biotech ethics, digital addiction, AI, broken family structures. The Church brings 2,000 years of wisdom into conversation with modern challenges.

She doesn’t rewrite truth. She discerns its application with care, depth, and prayer.

Wisdom that grows deeper, not outdated

So yes, the Catholic Church is old. Yes, she’s rooted in ancient Scripture and sacred tradition. And yes, she refuses to compromise on Truth, and upholds the eternal truths entrusted to her. But she’s not asleep. She’s always reflecting, always revisiting those truths to shepherd her children through new terrain.

The Church is a worthy teacher—steady, tested, alive, and guided by the Holy Spirit.

So maybe the dusty Catholic Church deserves a little more credit. The Church is a steady and reliable refuge and guide. She may be 2,000, but she’s still the absolutely reliable voice of truth and sanity you’ll find in this world.

Listen to Holy Mother Church.

God bless you, and God be with you.