If Protestants held every book of the Bible to the standards that they hold the books that they reject, they would end up missing a huge number of their books. And conversely, if they approach the Deuterocanon with the same charitable reading with which they approach (say) Judges, there would be no reason not to include it as part of the Scriptures. We can see that clearly by looking at 5 alleged “Biblical contradictions” in the Deuterocanon.
Tag: deuterocanon
66 Love Letters? How to Think of God’s Revelation
Certain Protestants have taken to referring to the Scriptures as “66 love letters.” That gets something fundamentally right about God’s revelation, but goes wrong in three ways.
Did St. Paul Use the Deuterocanon?
The Catholic Deuterocanon – the set of seven books accepted by Catholics and rejected by Protestants – clearly teaches the morality of praying to the Saints and praying for the souls of the deceased. But can we trust that the Deuterocanon is canonical? Evidence from Romans 9 — a favorite passage amongst many Protestants — strongly points to a “yes” answer.
Does Scripture Teach Us to Pray for the Departed, and to Pray to the Saints?
Daniel Chorny, The Bosom of Abraham (15th c.) In regards to prayer and the Saints, Catholics do two things to which Protestants tend to object: Praying to the Saints: Asking the Saints to pray for us, etc. Praying for the Saints: Praying for the dead, commending their souls to God. Yesterday, I talked about some of… Continue reading Does Scripture Teach Us to Pray for the Departed, and to Pray to the Saints?
Stump the Seminarian, Vol. 1: The Angel Uriel?
St. Uriel, mosaic in St John’s Church, Boreham (England) (1888) I’m teaming up with St. Michael Catholic Radio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 102.9 FM, to do a twice-monthly Stump the Seminarian feature. Here’s the description: Have a question about the Catholic faith? Don’t know who to ask? St. Michael Catholic Radio is starting a new blog called… Continue reading Stump the Seminarian, Vol. 1: The Angel Uriel?
How the Catholic Church Helped Save Hanukkah
Here’s a piece that I wrote for ChurchPOP on the Catholic connection to Hanukkah. It’s called How the Catholic Church Saved Hanukkah. Here’s how it begins: Tuesday night marked the beginning of Hanukkah. As BuzzFeed recently demonstrated, a lot of Christians are ignorant as to what Hanukkah is. That’s a shame, not least of all… Continue reading How the Catholic Church Helped Save Hanukkah
Reason #1 to Reject the Reformation: The Canon of Scripture
St. Edmund Campion, S.J. Today is the feast day of one of my favorite Saints, St. Edmund Campion (1540-1581). As an Anglican, he was one of Oxford University’s brightest students, personally welcoming Queen Elizabeth during her visit to the University. He went on to become an Anglican deacon, but his seminary formation exposed him to… Continue reading Reason #1 to Reject the Reformation: The Canon of Scripture
Why Should We Trust the Bible?
How do we know the we can trust the Bible? For that matter, how do we know which Books make up “the Bible” in the first place? And how do we know whose interpretation of Scripture is correct? Here’s the talk that I gave on the subject last Wednesday. Here’s the talk (broken up into four… Continue reading Why Should We Trust the Bible?
Four Surprising Facts About John Calvin and the “Apocrypha”
One of the major issues dividing Catholics and Protestants is the Bible. Catholic Bibles have seven Books that Protestants reject: Protestants call these Books “the Apocrypha,” while Catholics call them “the Deuterocanon.” This dispute matters, because it’s hard to agree on what Scripture says if we can’t even agree on what Scripture is, on which Books are… Continue reading Four Surprising Facts About John Calvin and the “Apocrypha”
Does 1 Maccabees Deny Its Own Inspiration?
Wojciech Stattler, Maccabees (1842) In arguing against the Deuterocanon (the so-called “Apocrypha”), Protestant apologists take frequent recourse to the following three verses from 1 Maccabees that allegedly “prove” that no prophets exist at the time that the Deuterocanon was written: “So they tore down the altar, and stored the stones in a convenient place on… Continue reading Does 1 Maccabees Deny Its Own Inspiration?