Tag: apologetics

The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Pt. 1

I.Anyone going to daily Mass recently (Friday, Monday, and yesterday) has heard a lot about “the Kingdom of Heaven” from Matthew 13. These Gospel passages are critically important for anyone trying to understand the Church that God Himself set up upon the Earth when He pitched His tent amongst us. Friday’s was this parable from… Continue reading The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Pt. 1

Grace, Predestination, and the Salvific Will of God

There’s a fundamental tension in any talk about predestination and final judgment. From even a basic reading of the Bible, one realizes that (a) we can’t earn our salvation; and yet (b) we do earn our damnation. This is a hard tension to resolve. Some resolve it by ignoring (b); in doing so, they seem… Continue reading Grace, Predestination, and the Salvific Will of God

Something You May Have Missed From Sunday’s Gospel

John 6:1-15 was Sunday’s Gospel, in case you’re not Catholic or missed it. It’s the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Here’s what you may have missed: an answer to the classic question, “If the Eucharist is so important, why doesn’t John mention Its institution at the Last Supper?” Many Catholics seem to have picked… Continue reading Something You May Have Missed From Sunday’s Gospel

Divorce and Remarriage: The Pastoral Approach

In response to my last post, DJ AMDG has suggested that, while perhaps doctrinally sound, it lacks any pastoral sense. Fair enough. I’m not a pastor, and the last post was more to explain what the appropriate doctrine was, not how to apply it to an individual’s case. But he’s right that that’s important. Specifically,… Continue reading Divorce and Remarriage: The Pastoral Approach

Divorce and Remarriage in Matthew’s Gospel

Looking at Mark 10:1-12 and Matthew 19:1-12, the late Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., who served as a professor of Theology and Church History at Andrews University, went over all of the possible meanings of porneia and moicheia. (For more on this, click the annulment tag at the bottom of this post — it explains it… Continue reading Divorce and Remarriage in Matthew’s Gospel

Is the Book of Judith Historically Accurate?

I. General Historicity of the Deuterocanon One of the oft-repeated claims against the validity of the Deuterocanonical books is that they’re historically unreliable. This is generally untrue. In fact, without them, there’s no Biblical record for the establishment of one of the biggest religious holidays in Judaism: Hanukkah, which Jesus Himself celebrates (see John 10:22).… Continue reading Is the Book of Judith Historically Accurate?

Is Scripture Self-Attesting?

I went to an interesting Theology on Tap lecture last night, given by Joe Manzari called “Confessions of a Former Calvinist: The Top Five Reasons Your Protestant Friend Isn’t Catholic” (it’ll post here eventually). The summer 6-pack is all about Converts and Reverts, so it’s a bit more personal and narrative than general apologetics. It’s… Continue reading Is Scripture Self-Attesting?

GotQuestions: A Negative Development

Those who have just started reading the blog recently may not be aware of an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with GotQuestions.org. They have an article about annulments which grossly misrepresents the Biblical evidence, in my opinion. If you want the full backstory, I’ve added a GotQuestions tag. Because it’s been a while, I’m going… Continue reading GotQuestions: A Negative Development

Why Pray The Hail Mary?

I was asked why Catholics pray the Hail Mary, when Jesus tells us to pray the Our Father. He thought this was disobeying God. Here’s my reply: Answer: Jesus gives us a model prayer, but I don’t know any Christian who only prays the Our Father. We pray the Our Father at every Mass (we… Continue reading Why Pray The Hail Mary?