We often hear that the Virgin Mary was “an unwed Mother,” because while She was still unmarried (only “betrothed”), the angel Gabriel announced that She was pregnant. It’s an inspiring story for unwed mothers, but it happens to be not true. Mary and Joseph weren’t simply “betrothed,” in the sense we imagine that term (as fiancées). They were… Continue reading The Virgin Mary: An Unwed Mother?
Tag: Judaism
Can Protestants Rely Upon the “Council of Jamnia” for Their Bible?
A good friend of mine is currently studying to become a Presbyterian minister at Westminster Theological Seminary. Before he left, I asked him two questions: Where does the Bible dictate sola Scriptura? Where does the Bible dictate the precise canon of Scripture? After all, for sola Scriptura not to be self-refuting, both of these seemingly… Continue reading Can Protestants Rely Upon the “Council of Jamnia” for Their Bible?
Can Catholics and Orthodox Pray Directly to the Father?
I stumbled upon a Presbyterian blog which reminded me once more of how much work needs to be done in making sure people have some idea what Catholics believe – and don’t. The blogger, Benjamin Glaser, remarking on 1 Timothy 2, said: Nothing separates us more from our Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox brothers and… Continue reading Can Catholics and Orthodox Pray Directly to the Father?
The Passion of Christ in the Joyful Mysteries
For those of you who might not be familiar, the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary focus on five specific events related to the birth and childhood of Christ, drawn primarily from the first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel: The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) The Visitation (Luke 1:39-56) The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) The Presentation in the Temple… Continue reading The Passion of Christ in the Joyful Mysteries
Mormons at Your Door: What to Expect
Yesterday, my friends Cary and Meg invited me to join them at dinner with a couple of Mormon (LDS)* missionaries. They were both in their young twenties (and I suddenly felt old, at 26, for the first time). I thought I’d share my experiences, for two reasons: to help prepare Catholics for Mormons who come knocking,… Continue reading Mormons at Your Door: What to Expect
Five Ways the Old Testament Foreshadowed the Eucharist
I just finished reading Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre, and it’s fantastic. He does a great job of showing how various things from the Old Testament point to Christ. I wanted to use today’s post to show five different ways the Eucharist is prefigured in the Old Testament, and what each… Continue reading Five Ways the Old Testament Foreshadowed the Eucharist
The Eucharist, the Passion of Christ, and Anti-Semitism
I realized after I wrote this that today is not only the middle of Holy Week, but the 122nd anniversary of the birth of Hitler. Given that, today’s post is all the more fitting: I. Whose Fault was the Death of Christ? St. Matthew’s Gospel has a sentence that’s generated quite a bit of controversy.… Continue reading The Eucharist, the Passion of Christ, and Anti-Semitism
The Sign of Jonah
Wednesday, the Gospel at Mass was from Luke 11:29-32, in which Jesus speaks of the cryptic “Sign of Jonah”: While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign… Continue reading The Sign of Jonah
Can Protestants Rely Upon Jewish Consensus to Establish the OT Canon?
GotQuestions.org, in one of its central arguments against the Deuterocanon (what Protestants call the Apocrypha), raises three major points: When it came to the Old Testament, three important facts were considered: 1) The New Testament quotes from or alludes to every Old Testament book but two. 2) Jesus effectively endorsed the Hebrew canon in Matthew… Continue reading Can Protestants Rely Upon Jewish Consensus to Establish the OT Canon?
Edgardo Mortara, Revisited
In the Papal States in 1852, a teenaged Catholic housekeeper named Anna Morisi baptized a seriously ill Jewish baby who she feared would soon die. In fact, that child, Edgardo Mortara, quickly recovered, but was now a baptized Catholic. Unfortuantely, Mortara’s parents were Jewish, and under civil law in the Papal States, were forbidden to… Continue reading Edgardo Mortara, Revisited