#catholic apologetics

[paula-of-christ]

I don't tend to prefer Jimmy Akin's apologetics but this short clip is quite nice.

[evolvedcatholic]

I truly enjoy praying the rosary, sincerely!

For someone like me, each time I pray the rosary it allows me to think deeply into the Bible study on beads it truly is, while walking with Jesus in spirit and mind.

Each mystery a thought provoking journey from Old Testament to New.

One of those is the Hail Mary itself, a simple prayer that many, if not most, pray as quickly as possible without reflection; which is heart breaking once one knows the depths this simple contemplative prayer has.

Let's start at the beginning:

"Hail Mary full of Grace"

The beginning prayer comes from the Gospel of Luke,

Luke 1:28 (NABRE): And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

The "Grace" part is important, as that is what is missing from humans in original sin.

κεχαριτωμένη (in English pronouncements kecharitōmenē) is the key to this verse.

As the Catechism reads,

404 How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam “as one body of one man.” By this “unity of the human race” all men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as all are implicated in Christ’s justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called “sin” only in an analogical sense: it is a sin “contracted” and not “committed”—a state and not an act.

So as you can see, we lack original holiness or Grace.

This is precisely what the Angel said Mary was full of, and why this is so significant, which is why this proclamation stands out. 

The next part of the verse is also quite important, "the Lord is with you".  So she was walking with the Lord not unlike David, her ancestor.

The next part,  "Holy Mary, blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus".

The first is the rest of the verse from the Gospel of Luke, the second is very important scripturally, as St. John explained,

1 John 4:2–3 (NABRE): This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, 3 and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.

It is intrinsic to the Faith to acknowledge that Jesus is God and was born in the flesh. One of the key reasons this prayer is vitally important. If you don't acknowledge this then the spirit of antichrist may be able to dwell within you.

The following part of the prayer is a request to Mary to pray for us.

At this point many protestants (non catholic) argue that we are not to pray to other gods or the dead. Well, there's a few issues with this statement, as this is misconstrued. What did God actually command, and what do you mean by dead?

First, God said:  Exodus 20:2–6 (NABRE): I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall not have other gods beside me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; 5 you shall not bow down before them or serve them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their ancestors’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; 6 but showing love down to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Paul went deeper and told us what the basis of these beings were: 1 Corinthians 10:20–21 (NABRE): No, I mean that what they sacrifice, [they sacrifice] to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.

Now let's be clear, he's not talking about people participating literally with demons, but rather that the foreign gods people are worshiping are demons that are parading as these gods.

I say all this to clarify that God is commanding that you do not worship other gods; protestant people often mistake the idea of prayer and worship and combine the two. Prayer is making a request, human or spirit.

If I ask you to say a prayer for me,  etymologically I have prayed to you to pray for me.

Confusing?

Let's clear this up a bit more.

I have requested to you, as a human, to make a request for me before the spirit of life, God almighty.

Not unlike when a child asks their brother or sister to go ask their parent for a cookie, hoping that if the parent receives more requests they may allow more cookies.

So prayer is not worship. Worship is worship. Prayer is making a request, whether human or spirit. This is why if you go back to proper English terminology you have such phrases as "I pray you" and "Praytel" among many others; these phrases all relate to using the term pray as a request from normally a human in standard language and discourse.

Why is this important? Because of the next part of the prayer:

"Holy Mary, mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. "

We already addressed the Holy and mother of God part, why are we asking Mary to pray for us?

Believe it or not, because it's in the Bible.

If we go to the book of Revelation, chapter 12, we have "the woman".

Look at her description,

Revelation 12:1–2 (NABRE): A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

Well, we know the child is Jesus, so the woman is most definitely Mary. Can there be more meanings to this? Yes, anyone familiar with ancient Semitic writings knows there often more then one kind of reading, however we'll focus on the first level mean.

So if we embrace this idea, which if we acknowledge Jesus to be this child the we have little choice then to do so, that brings us later in the chapter to the following verse,

Revelation 12:17 (NABRE): Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.

Notice it refers to her as the mother of all those that keep God's commandments and witness to Jesus? those are Christians.

We know those on the other side assist us, both human and angelic; scripture is clear on this, as not only does Moses and Elijah help Jesus on the mount of transfiguration,  but again in the book of Revelation we read,

Revelation 5:8 (NABRE): When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.

And

Revelation 8:3–4 (NABRE): Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel.

So our prayers are delivered through the hands of the angels and the human elders.

So we have humans and angels helping us on both sides of the veil, material and spirit. 

So we can walk away knowing that yes, Mary is the mother of Christians. This isn't so hard for us to believe, as Jesus is called our brother in scripture.

She is only creature, and never to be worshiped, however still there to help us on our journey.

Mary will always guide us to Jesus.

[pamphletstoinspire]

CATHOLIC APOLOGETICS INFORMATION - Part 1

Introduction

"Catholic doctrine tells us that the primary duty of charity does not lie in the toleration of false ideas, however sincere they may be, nor in the theoretical or practical indifference towards the errors and vices in which we see our brethren plunged . . . Further, whilst Jesus was kind to sinners and to those who went astray, He did not respect their false ideas, however sincere they might have appeared. He loved them all, but He instructed them in order to convert them and save them." - Pope St. Pius X, Our Apostolic Mandate, August 25, 1910.

*

O Lord, who art called the Branch, the Orient, the Splendour of the eternal light, and the Sun of Justice, who art that Tree, of whom Thy beloved disciple speaks as the Tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, and its leaves for the healing of the nations, give Thy grace and blessing on all those various states and conditions in Thy Holy Church, which have sprung from Thee and live in Thy Life.

Give to all Bishops the gifts of knowledge, discernment, prudence, and love.

Give to all priests to be humble, tender, and pure;

Give to all pastors of Thy flock to be zealous, vigilant, and unworldly;

Give to all religious bodies to act up to their rule, to be simple and without guile, and to set their hearts upon invisible things and them only.

Grant to fathers of families to recollect that they will have hereafter to give account of the souls of their children; grant to all husbands to be tender and true; to all wives to be obedient and patient; grant to all children to be docile; to all young people to be chaste; to all the aged to be fervent in spirit; to all who are engaged in business, to be honest and unselfish;

And to all of us the necessary graces of faith, hope, charity, and contrition.

Bl. John Henry Newman

Twelve Meditations and Intercessions for Good Friday __________

CATHOLIC APOLOGETICS INFORMATION - Part 2

Be A Catholic Apologist Without Apology

By: Carl Olson

"I’m sorry. I’m really very sorry. I wish I could convey to you how deeply sorry I truly am."

The speaker was a poker-faced Karl Keating, founder and president of Catholic Answers, an apostolate dedicated to the defense of the Catholic Faith. Addressing a crowd of several hundred in central California, he stepped back and paused for a few moments, letting his introductory words settle in.

"There you have it," he said, moving to the microphone, "a demonstration of what so many people think a Catholic apologist does."

The well-received joke played on the fact that "apologetics" is not a common word in the vocabulary of many Catholics. When introduced to the term, more than a few people wonder if it means apologizing for something. As Keating noted, "Some people think that an apologist is someone who travels the country apologizing for being a Catholic."

The Meaning of Apologetics

"Apologetics" is derived from the Greek root word apologia. In ancient Greece it referred to a formal defense of a belief, an explanation or argument for one’s philosophy or religion. The word occurs several times in the New Testament, including sections of the Gospels, seeking to persuade unbelievers of the truth claims of the Church, especially the unique nature of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Standing before a tribunal in Jerusalem, the imprisoned Paul states, "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense [apologia] which I now offer to you" (Acts 22:1). In his epistle to the Philippians the Apostle to the Gentiles states that one of his tasks was to make a "defense of the Gospel." Perhaps the best-known appearance of the word in the Bible is in Peter’s first epistle: "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15).

Catholic apologetics is the defense and explanation of the teachings, beliefs, and practices of the Catholic Church. Its goal is to remove objections, shed light on difficult or misunderstood matters, and ultimately help win minds and souls for Jesus Christ. Apologetics is the activity of helping people answer the question: "Why should I be Catholic?" It does so by engaging the mind to reach the heart.

Unfortunately, apologetics has a negative connotation for some Christians, including more than a few Catholics. For these people, Avery Cardinal Dulles notes in A History of Apologetics, "the apologist is regarded as an aggressive, opportunistic person who tries, by fair means or by foul, to argue people into joining the Church." As Cardinal Dulles notes, there have undoubtedly been some bad apologists for the Catholic Faith. Apologists can be unduly argumentative, contentious, mean-spirited, triumphalistic, and arrogant. They can offend unbelievers just as easily as they defend Christian beliefs.

The Dos and Don’ts of Apologetics

However, apologetics should not be dismissed because of misuse or misunderstandings. The value and place of apologetics is best judged by looking to the finest defenders of Catholicism: Paul and Peter, Justin Martyr, Eusebius, Augustine, Aquinas, de Sales, Pascal, Newman, Chesterton, and even Pope John Paul II. These men dealt with pagans, Jews, Muslims, Protestants, agnostics, and atheists, adapting their methods and styles according to their audience while never deviating from the truth.

Most importantly, they are saints first, apologists second. They are men of holiness and prayer. A consistent and vital life of prayer is imperative for the apologist, especially since he is often under attack, verbally, spiritually, and, on occasion, physically. Prayer leads to a deeper knowledge of God and truth. "The closer the apologists grows to God in prayer," writes apologist (and president of Ignatius Press) Mark Brumley in How Not To Share Your Faith, "the more intense his hatred of error and his desire that all men know the truth; the more intense his desire to use apologetics to help bring people to the truth."

Knowledge of the Faith is necessary, of course, since the Church’s teaching about Jesus Christ, or the Eucharist, or the communion of saints cannot be defended without knowing something of substance about them. There is much to comprehend about the Catholic Church and her teachings, but the most basic study materials should include the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, augmented by solid works of biblical and theological scholarship. The good news is that publishers such as Ignatius Press, Sophia Institute Press, Our Sunday Visitor and others have been publishing quality works of popular and scholarly apologetics for several decades. Classic texts by John Cardinal Newman, G.K. Chesterton, Ronald Knox, Frank Sheed, and other leading apologists of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century are in print and readily available. Contemporary authors Thomas Howard, Karl Keating, Peter Kreeft, Patrick Madrid, Mark Shea, Rev. Peter Stravinskas, and many others have produced an impressive array of books addressing modern challenges to the Catholic Faith, including fundamentalist Protestantism, secularism, feminism, and relativism.

All Catholics should have some basic knowledge of apologetics since they will all undoubtedly encounter questions and challenges about what they believe. When challenged to explain why and what they believe, Catholics should keep in mind what apologetics can and cannot do.

Apologetics should remove objections or false ideas about Catholicism. For example, when asked why Catholics worship Mary, the apologist should be able to explain that Catholics do not, in fact, worship Mary, but worship God alone, clarifying the nature of "worship" and the role of Mary in the life of her Son and in the Church. Much good can come of simply breaking down stereotypical ideas and misunderstandings that are far more prevalent in American culture than some Catholics appreciate.

Apologetics presents reasoned evidence for Catholic doctrine. Doctrines such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Real Presence of the Eucharist cannot be proven through logic or scientific method, but good arguments can be made that they are reasonable and not contrary to logic, even though they transcend the limits of human understanding. A good example of this are the evidences offered by Thomas Aquinas for the existence of God: they logically show that it is more reasonable to believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator and Designer than to believe that the universe is the result of blind chance.

Apologetics should prepare the heart for conversion through an appeal to the intellect. Peter Kreeft writes in Fundamentals of the Faith, "Remember that the purpose of apologetics is not just to win the head but to win the heart through the head." The goal of apologetics is never to demonstrate the intelligence and wit of the apologist, but to invite others into a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In the case of apologists who deal with anti-Catholic Protestants, the goal is an invitation into the fullness of Christ’s Church. Even in the midst of conflict, focus on conversion; while addressing the head, aim for the heart.

Apologetics cannot demonstrate the truth of the Catholic Faith. There are limits to apologetics arguments, no matter how sound and good they are. The hypostatic union and transubstantiation cannot be proven in the way that the existence of gravity or the chemical makeup of water can be proven. Put another way, the apologist has to respect both the reach and the limits of argument and reason while bearing in mind the nature of faith, which is a gift from God.

Likewise, the apologist cannot force, by sheer reason, people to believe. Humans are not calculating machines who crisply process information and then make perfect, understandable decisions. Good apologetics respects the dignity and free will of each person, even when challenging persons to consider serious reasons to believe the claims made by the Catholic Church. Defending the Faith should not be about winning arguments, but presenting truth. As the old saying goes, "Win an argument, lose a convert."

The apologist does not win souls–that is the work of the Holy Spirit. The knowledge of an accomplished apologist can potentially tempt him to lose the humility necessary to clearly understand his work. That work is always dependent on God’s grace. Which is yet another reason that constant prayer and reflection are keys to healthy apologetic activities.

Telling Your Story

One of best apologetic methods is personal testimony. In a recent article in First Things magazine titled "The Rebirth of Apologetics" (May 2004), Cardinal Dulles writes, "The apologetics of personal testimony is particularly suited to the genius of Catholicism. In the act of Catholic faith, reliance on testimony goes out indivisibly to Christ and to the Church through which he continues his mission in the world. Such testimony invites us not only to individual conversion but to communion with the whole body of believers." This thought echoes the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which explains that the sacrament of confirmation gives Catholics "the special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross" (CCC 1303).

The new evangelization promoted and articulated by Pope John Paul II emphasizes the importance of ordinary Catholics sharing their testimonies of faith with others. Dry facts and logical arguments may leave many people cold, but few cannot resist the story of a soul transformed and made anew by God’s grace. In this way the exhortation of the first pope can be realized in the life of every Catholic: "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence." No apologies necessary.

A Short History of Apologetics

The first apologists were the apostles, who defended the faith while evangelizing, preaching, and establishing the Church in Palestine and throughout the Roman Empire. The two most famous apologists of the second century were Justin Martyr (c. 100-c. 165), a former pagan philosopher, and Irenaeus (c. 130-c. 200), bishop of Lyons. Justin wrote defenses of Christianity for Roman readers, relying on his background and skill in philosophy and rhetoric. Irenaeus was one of the first great theologians of the Church and he used his skills to combat the various strains of gnosticism that threatened the Church in the late second century. His major work, Against Heresies, is a significant apologetic landmark.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) is a Doctor of the Church and is, along with Thomas Aquinas, one of the most brilliant theologians and apologists of the Western Church. A convert from Manichaeism, the African bishop wrote apologetic works aimed at the Manichees, pagans, and the Donatists. His masterpiece, The City of God, is heavily apologetic in nature, defending the Church against attacks from pagans prior to the fall of Rome. Augustine’s Confessions is one of the most famous works of early medieval literature and an example of the power of personal testimony as it continues to touch lives many centuries after it was written.

The Angelic Doctor, Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), produced timeless works of scholastic apologetics, including the Summa Contra Gentiles, written to answer objections raised by Muslim theologians. Aquinas wrote that he set about the task "of making known, as far as my limited power will allow, the truth that the Catholic faith possesses, and of setting aside the errors that are opposed to it." Aquinas’s greatest work, the Summa Theologiae, carefully and thoroughly answered objections to the Faith, often articulating opposing arguments more cogently and persuasively than those who held them. Aquinas’s general approach to apologetics was to use the Old Testament in addressing Jews, the New Testament for Christian heretics, and natural reason for pagans and Muslims.

The sixteenth-century witnessed the dramatic upheaval of the Protestant Reformation, creating the need for apologetics oriented towards a host of different non-Catholic Christian communities and perspectives. In addition to many Jesuit apologists, the theologian and bishop Francis de Sales (1567-1622) stands out for his tireless efforts in France to win back Catholics who had embraced the teachings of John Calvin. As a young priest de Sales was responsible to winning back tens of thousands of such Catholics through writing pamphlets and handing them out door to door. Those pamphlets were subsequently published under the title The Catholic Controversy.

One of the most unique Catholic apologists was the French scientist and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-62). A child prodigy, Pascal underwent a dramatic conversion in his early thirties and dedicated the rest of his short life to defending the Catholic Faith against Enlightenment-era secularism and liberalism. He planned to write a thorough work of apologetics but died before completing it. The fragments and notes for that book were collected and published as Pensées. Full of insight into human nature and psychology, Pascal’s apologetic method was markedly different from the scholastic approach of Aquinas. "I can think of no Christian writer," T. S. Eliot wrote, "more to be commended than Pascal to those who doubt . . ." Essential to Pascal’s perspective was his conclusion that there exist three basic types of people: Those who seek God and find him, those who are seeking God but have not yet found him, and those who neither seek nor find.

The best-known Catholic apologist of the nineteenth-century was John Henry Newman (1801-90), an Anglican priest and scholar who eventually entered the Catholic Church after much study and personal anguish. Newman was a patristic scholar and a brilliant stylist; his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine is still considered to be a monumental work on early Church history, as is The Arians of the Fourth Century. But his greatest work of apologetics was his autobiographical Apologia pro vita sua, written in response to accusations that his conversion to Catholicism was a cynical and self-serving sham.

A blossoming of popular apologetics occurred in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, led by English lay men Hilaire Belloc, G.K. Chesterton, and Arnold Lunn and priests Ronald Knox and Martin D’Arcy. Chesterton (1874-1936), a former agnostic, is notable for his prodigious output, continued popularity, and recognizable style. Frank Sheed (1897-1982), a former lawyer, founded both the Catholic Evidence Guild and the publishing house Sheed & Ward and wrote numerous apologetics works, including the classic Theology and Sanity.

Fr. John Francis Noll (1875-1956) founded Our Sunday Visitor in 1912 in an effort to fight the socialist, anti-Catholic periodical The Menace. He soon published a number of popular apologetics and catechetical texts, including the famous Father Smith Instructs Jackson, and established OSV as a leading Catholic publisher in the United States. For several decades in the mid-1900s Bishop Fulton Sheen very effectively used television and printed media to defend and explain Catholicism, reaching numerous non-Catholics.

Apologetics were popular in the decades leading up to the Second Vatican Council, but the 1970s were a low point for both popular and scholarly defenses of the Faith. The 1980s saw a resurgence of popular apologetics, often called the "New Apologetics," led by priests Fr. Mitch Pacwa, Fr. Joseph Fessio,, Fr. Peter Stravinskas, and Fr. William Most, and lay men Karl Keating, Peter Kreeft, Scott Hahn, Patrick Madrid, and others. Publishers including Our Sunday Visitor, Ignatius Press, Emmaus Road, Sophia Institute Press, and Ascension Press have produced dozens of apologetics texts in recent years, some of them classic works from previous eras and others the works of contemporary writers.

In a recent interview with IgnatiusInsight.com, Karl Keating reflected on his twenty-plus years in apologetics: "For many years Catholic Answers was a one-man operation. Today there are dozens of apologetics groups, some regional and some national. So apologetics is much more widely done than a quarter century ago, and the stigma that used to be attached to apologetics has largely been overcome." No need to say, "I'm sorry"—apologetics are alive and well.

From:  www.pamphletstoinspire.com

[silentambassadors]

Happy feast day for G. K. Chesterton, Episcopalians!  Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a prominent thinker and apologist at the turn of the last century, but also a popular detective story writer (this stamp enthusiast just started watching the BBC adaptation of his Father Brown series--so fun!).  At the time of his death (on tomorrow’s date in 1936 at the age of 62), he was already venerated for his wit, his reasoned apologetics, and, let’s not omit, his large frame.  [The Wikipedia relates the following tales: “Chesterton was a large man, standing 6′4″ and weighing around 286 lb.  During the Great War a lady in London asked why he was not ‘out at the Front’; he replied, ‘If you go round to the side, you will see that I am.’ On another occasion he remarked to his friend George Bernard Shaw, ‘To look at you, anyone would think a famine had struck England.’  Shaw retorted, ‘To look at you, anyone would think you have caused it.’  P. G. Wodehouse once described a very loud crash as ‘a sound like G. K. Chesterton falling onto a sheet of tin’.”]

Stamp details: Stamp on top: Issued on: June 17, 1969 From: Prague, Czechoslovakia MC #1879

Stamp on bottom: Issued on: November 13, 1972 From: Managua, Nicaragua MC #1692

[acosmicotaku]

Argument Against the Great Apostasy Theory

The Great Apostasy Theory, which is preached by individuals such as the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries Dr. James White, Adventist Pioneer Ellen White, Unitarians, Joseph Smith, Jr., and has been modified by Sedevacantists, is not only unreasonable at first glance, but undermines its own position. The issue is that these people hold the Bible to be authoritative, and IF the Bible is authoritative, then they shouldn’t be Protestant, Unitarians, or Primitivists (aka Restorationists).

• P1. God will make Good his word.

Num 23:19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

1 Sam 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

Ps 92:15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

Mal 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Rom 3:4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

Tit 1:2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

Heb 6:18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.

Jas 1:17-18 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

• P2. Jesus is God.

Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jn 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jn 5:18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Ex 3:14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Jn 8:58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Jn 10:30-33 I and the Father are one.” Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Jn 20:28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Col 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

Phil 2:5-8 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature (or in the form of) God,     did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature (or in the form of) of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Isa 44: 6 “This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

Rev 1:17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

• P3. Jesus promised that the Church would never be overcome by Hades.

Is 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Dan 2:44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

Dan 7:14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Mtt 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Mtt 16:18-19  And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Mtt 13:24-30 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Mtt 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Lk 1:30-33 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Jn 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be (or and is) in you.

Jn 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Jn 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

• C1. Therefore, the Church will never be overcome Hades.

• P4. Apostasy, extinction, heresy, and unbelief are of Hades.

Mtt 24:4-12 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,

Mk 13:21-23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

Lk 21:7-8 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

Acts 20:29-30 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

2 The 2:1-12 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.  Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

2 Tim 3:1-7 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

2 Tim 4:1-4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

2 Pt 2:1-3 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

2 Pt 2:20-22  If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” [see Prov. 26:11] and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

Jude 17-19 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Rom 11:22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

Gal 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

1 Jn 5:16-17 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

• C2. Therefore, indefectibility is a property of the Church.

Note that this does not imply that indefectibility is a part of being Christian, but only that it is at least uniquely a property of the mystical body of God that is the Church on Earth.

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917: "By this term [indefectability] is signified, not merely that the Church will persist to the end of time, but further, that it will be preserved unimpaired in its essential characteristics. The Church can never undergo any constitutional change, which will make it, as a social organism, something different from what it was originally. It can never become corrupt in faith or in morals; nor can it ever lose the Apostolic hierarchy, or the Sacraments through which Christ communicates grace to men."

• P5. If the Great Apostasy theory is true, then the Church is not Indefectible.

• P6. If the Church is not indefectible, the God did not make Good his word.

• C3. Therefore, if Christianity is true, then there was no Great Apostasy.

The reasoning is fairly simple. The deductive logic is air-tight, so long as the propositions hold the conclusions must necessarily follow.

[winduprose]

Question for Catholic converts:

What helped you to understand the priesthood, the papacy, and why we call priests "father"? Also, please pray for my anti-Catholic uncle(s) that God will guide them by the Holy Spirit to come back to Mother Church.

I randomly got in a short debate with one of my uncles who are anti-Catholic (but my uncles are wonderful and we love each other very much), however I am horrible at talking IRL on apologetics and theology - I'm only somewhat decent when I'm typing (ha, hardly) since I have more time to think and have the Bible and other resources as references. He started commenting that the Church “has been infiltrated and the pope has liberal views" (??) and got on the topic of Jesus commanding us to "call no man father or rabbi/teacher, for you have one Father who is in heaven" from Matthew 23, so what he was trying to get at was that we shouldn't be calling anyone father (except our own biological/parental fathers), so we shouldn't call the pope and priests "father" and that the pope and priests shouldn't allow it cause it's like "bragging about their title" (what??), and that we shouldn't be having spiritual fathers. I tried explaining to him that Jesus wasn’t prohibiting calling others “father“, but that he was criticizing the Pharisees and others like them who really did use their title to brag or put themselves high above everyone. I mentioned to him about Jesus calling Abraham "Father", but my uncle said that was because of the Old Testament and that when Jesus came and fulfilled the law, He then gave us a new commandment not to do it anymore. I mentioned Matthew 28 and 1, 2 Timothy that further supports the spiritual fatherhood and priesthood of the apostles, but my uncle responded back that Jesus only appointed the apostles to be “preachers and teachers“ and that the Catholic Church misinterprets it as priests and that we misinterpret Peter being the first pope/having pope successors, and that Paul only referred to Timothy as “my child“ out of affection, not because of any spiritual fatherhood. I think he also misheard me, cause he said he didn’t recognize some of what I said and that I must be using a “modern translation“ of the Bible - he’s devoted to the King James Version, cause he thinks it’s the most “reliable, accurate“ translation of the Bible we have. Anyway, I’ve never fully debated with someone IRL, so it was really weird; my uncle was telling me how people tend to misinterpret the Bible to fit their own meanings/agenda, and I was just thinking, “JUST LIKE YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW??? MAYBE YOU NEED THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO COMPILED THE BIBLE“

[catholiccom-blog]

How to Make a Career in Apologetics

Let’s say you’ve spent several years studying the Faith and now you want to defend it as a full-time profession. Where do you start? How does someone become a professional “apologist?” Here are three paths:

1. Become a university professor

Professors have the benefit of a stable income as they engage in research, write articles and books, and teach students how to defend the Faith. This is especially true in the theology or philosophy department of an authentically Catholic university.

There are tradeoffs. As a professor, your obligation to teach students and generate academic research must supersede your desire to engage in apologetics. Moreover, in order to obtain a teaching position, you will probably need a doctoral degree. This can require five to seven years of intensive schooling, which may be out of reach for apologists who have families to support.

You should also know that most professors who publish apologetic works do not consider themselves “full-time” apologists. Instead, they identify as scholars who contribute knowledge to their respective fields of study. Their works might have apologetic content, but they are usually penned for fellow scholars, which reduces their circulation among lay people.

2. Join an apologetics organization

My journey to becoming a full-time Catholic apologist took a dramatic turn four years ago when I stepped into the office of Catholic Answers. Back then I served as the respect life coordinator for the Diocese of Phoenix, and I was leading a group of college students on a trip to a marriage conference in San Diego. Since the Catholic Answers office was nearby, I scheduled a tour for the students, but the night before the tour I got a fateful phone call.

A friend told me that Catholic Answers was hiring a new apologist, so I cobbled together a resume and prayed about what should I say the next day. When I stepped into Tim Staples’s office after the tour, I introduced myself and said, “I heard you were looking for new apologists. I’d like to throw my hat into the ring.”

A few months later, after reviewing my experience and seeing how I fared as a guest on an episode of Catholic Answers Live, I was formally offered the position of staff apologist. One reason I was given this opportunity was because I showed Catholic Answers a portfolio that included apologetics material I created and videos showing me defending the Faith on university campuses. And therein lies the difficulty with this path to full-time apologetics work.

Very few Catholic organizations hire apologists or are dedicated to apologetics. Of the few apologetic organizations that do exist, most have limited budgets and rarely bring on new staff members. But even if you find such an organization, and it is hiring apologists, you will need to prove you are worth of a full-time salary. Have you been formally trained in theology or philosophy? Have you published a book or other materials related to defending the Faith? Do you have a well-trafficked blog, podcast, or YouTube channel? Are you regularly asked to speak in your local community or even on a national level?

Most apologists spend years practicing apologetics as a hobby before they are able to engage in it as a full-time profession. That being said, this next path may be your best stepping stone into entering the world of full-time apologetics.

3. Become a freelance apologist

Unlike apologists who work for a university or apostolate, freelance apologists work for themselves and fund their own salaries. Some freelance apologists supplement their income with book royalties and/or honoraria from speaking events. But if you’re just starting out, you probably won’t have the notoriety that is needed to live off this kind of income. In my experience, it takes two to five years of speaking and writing before these activities have the potential to become reliable sources of income.

Another option is to ask family, friends, neighbors, your dentist, and basically anyone you know if they want to pledge a monthly or annual donation to support your work. This model, also called “support raising,” is popular among missionary-centered organizations like the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

In 2008, I became a full-time pro-life apologist and joined an organization that could not pay me a salary. But this group did teach me how to raise support, and for nine months I made phone calls, sent out letters, and scheduled meetings with prospective donors. It was tough, especially since I did all of this during the “Great Recession,” but the hard work paid off, and for the next two years I traveled the country engaging pro-choice students on university campuses.

If you choose this path, remember that raising support isn’t easy, and you will have to get used to asking for money as well as having your solicitations declined. I would also caution you against leaving a stable job in order to pursue this kind of fundraising, especially if you have a family to support. This tactic is more common among unmarried college graduates, since they have to raise relatively low salaries; but I know some older, married couples with children who make it work.

Finally, I had the benefit of directing my donations towards an established nonprofit organization with a human resources staff. If you become a self-employed apologist funded by donations, you will need to follow applicable business and tax laws lest you find yourself giving a “defense” before agents of the IRS!

Start small, dream big

I know some of this advice isn’t easy to hear, but don’t let the challenges stop you from pursuing full-time apologetics work, and don’t wait to do apologetics until you have your apologetics dream job.

Before I came to work at Catholic Answers, I was essentially a freelance apologist. During the time I worked for the Phoenix diocese, at night I created apologetics materials, and on weekends I hosted free apologetics seminars at local churches. Once I even cut my own birthday party short to stay up until 3 a.m. creating a response to a viral anti-Catholic video being passed around on Facebook.

I didn’t make these sacrifices because I wanted to one day become a full-time apologist. I thought that kind of job was a wonderful fiction, like a genie or a unicorn. Instead, I did it because no one was else was offering apologetics in my community, and I felt God had given me the skills and the calling to fill that void.

If you feel you have that same calling, then offer your talents to local churches and schools, or make them available to a global audience online. As more and more people recognize your work, they will gradually trust you with more and more speaking or publishing opportunities. As Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10, NIV).

Who knows—after lots of prayer, study, and practice, Catholic Answers might invite you to visit our office to chat about how we can work together to build up the body of Christ and defend the Catholic Faith.

[catholicgirlnerd]