Much has been said, here and elsewhere, on why Catholics have 73 Books in our Bibles, instead of the mere 66 that our Protestant brethren have, or why we have longer versions of Daniel and Esther than Protestants. The Books in question, the Deuterocanon, are often defended as a group, as I did against arguments… Continue reading Defending the Deuterocanon, Book by Book (Part I)
Author: Joe Heschmeyer
Where Do Unbaptized Babies Go When They Die?
The question of where unbaptized infants go after death is one that has vexed the Church for centuries. Some of Her greatest Saints have disagreed on this issue: St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, came to different conclusions. And every possible answer is fraught with problems. If we say that the unborn and unbaptized… Continue reading Where Do Unbaptized Babies Go When They Die?
Why Memorized Prayer?
One of the questions asked in response to the live Shameless Popery series was “What is the Catholic response to Protestant/Fundamentalist ‘push back’ regarding memorized prayer?” This is a question that’s been tackled before on this blog, but I wanted to address it from a different angle. Last time, the focus was on the fact that… Continue reading Why Memorized Prayer?
Adam and Eve, Jesus and Mary
Yesterday was the second of the three-part “Shameless Popery” live apologetics series. It was entitled “The Priesthood of Christ & Adam and Eve, Jesus and Mary.” The second of those two topics, on the parallels between Adam and Eve with Jesus and Mary, is something that’s been covered before on this blog, but I wanted… Continue reading Adam and Eve, Jesus and Mary
The New Eugenics: How Abortion Disempowers Mothers
In his 2009 essay Her Choice, Her Problem, Prof. Richard Stith argues that, paradoxically, “the option of abortion actually makes sympathy and solidarity—and thus women’s empowerment—less likely.” As he explained: Anonymous, Pregnant Mary (detail) (1505) When birth was the result of passion and bad luck, some people could sympathize with a young woman who was going… Continue reading The New Eugenics: How Abortion Disempowers Mothers
Pope Peter, Part VI: The Fisher Pope
As part of the live “Shameless Popery” apologetics talk, we presented six major arguments presenting the Biblical case for the papacy. Five of those points were adapted from the “Pope Peter” series I did a while back (parts I, II, III, IV, and V), but there was a sixth argument that I prepared especially for the… Continue reading Pope Peter, Part VI: The Fisher Pope
Shameless Popery LIVE, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Here’s the info. for the first of the three-part Shameless Popery apologetics series that Fr. Andrew Strobl and I are putting on at Prince of Peace in Olathe, KS, this summer: Shameless Popery Session One: The Art and Craft of Catholic Apologetics I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to… Continue reading Shameless Popery LIVE, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Did Augustine Deny that the Catholic Church Gave Us the Scriptures?
A Reformed blogger, TurretinFan, rejects the authority of the early Ecumenical Councils, and suggests that every dispute needs to be resolved through Scripture, which is allegedly independent of the Catholic Church, the property of all. He cites to this passage from St. Augustine for support, which he suggests shows that Augustine “sounded exactly like a Sola Scriptura… Continue reading Did Augustine Deny that the Catholic Church Gave Us the Scriptures?
Save John Paul the Great Academy!
I get a fair number of requests asking me to spread the word about various causes. Even though most of them seem like good causes, it’s not very feasible (or a good use of the blog) to reduce it to advertising for every worthy cause that needs money. But I am making a partial exception… Continue reading Save John Paul the Great Academy!
How Should Catholics Understand Romans 9?
In the comments on Friday’s post, a Calvinist convert to Catholicism asked what to make of Romans 9:18-21, which sound like Paul’s saying that God made some people for Heaven, and some people for Hell: You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are… Continue reading How Should Catholics Understand Romans 9?