Posted on 10/19/2006 12:19:52 PM PDT by Global2010
Hi Ya'll,
Need some quick to the point answers to what you all as Roman Catholics are asked by non Catholics.
It is my homework assignment and I told my teacher I would post this vanity to help sort out ???? that I will be asked as a Catholic in years to come.
I am not having a problem with ???? about chastity, prudence, temptations, reading the Holy Bible ect...
I know in my head answers to ???? below but having a hard time articulating them.
Questions about our Mother Mary and the Saints, going to Heaven/purgatory takes more then just saving Grace (once saved always saved non Catholic Christians often say).
What ??? are you all often faced to answer? I don't want to go into a deep theological discussion with other non Catholics just a quick to the point answer would suffice.
My idea of just telling them to take an Adult Conservative Catechism Class and they will have all the answers is not really acceptable in defending the faith (lol but it does swiftly end discussion).
Catholic Answers is also on the net. A lot of apologetics there.
Scroll down and check out some of these resources. Who can state it better than John Henry Newman?
http://landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves/index_of_all_pages.html
http://www.catholicapologetics.org/
http://www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/apolo.html
http://www.catholicapologetics.com/
http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ24.HTM
Some wonderful scriptural sources straight from Scripture -- which non-Catholic like to cite.
When these are brought up they usually have nothing to say, because it is from the Bible.!!!!!!......
The Catholic apologist’s scriptural cheat sheet
You guys Rock!
Thank You so much!
Bookmarked.
We have a wonderful man from our Church who started a Catholic radio station right here on the rural Coast KSHY.
How cool is that!
I am an avid listener and supporter for sure as it has been the best tool for learning/coinciding with my Confirmation class.
I can't thank him enough for working so hard to getting KSHY up and running in our lil part of the world.
What an amazing gift.
That is my favorite show!
A question that I have encountered from non-Catholics is about our praying to saints, including Mary. Many are really put off by that.
I try to explain that our prayers to saints are vastly different. We pray to God as a form of worship, for expiation of sins, and for supplication. Praying to a saint, however, is a request for that saint to pray for us. It is no different than asking another living person to pray to God for you, except that we presume that someone already sanctified in heaven has a little more power in his prayers, I suppose. We do not worship the Virgin Mary, but some non-Catholics see our reverence and respect of her as such. We believe that Mary has a special place in the heart of Our Lord and, as such, is the ideal supplicant on our behalf.
And, of course, we do not worship any of the saints. For example, one of my personal favorites among the saints is St. Anthony of Padua. I do not worship him; I ask him to help me when I have lost something, and I thank him when I have found the object. By the same token, I ask other people to pray for me, and I thank them for doing so.
Oh that is wonderful!
Thank You, thank you, thank you.
(gosh I am getting all jazzed up this early and didn't even have to drink my diet Rock Star energy booster, lol)
My wife and I discovered Fr. Corapi a couple of months ago on EWTN TV. He is an inspiring speaker, he makes you want to learn more. They also replay his Catechism talks on EWTN radio which can also be heard online.
You mean "apologetics". This term is from the Greek "apologia", meaning something like "answer." Apologetics encompasses arguments in reference to any belief system. There were Christian apologists in the early years of the Church, and I think that even non-Catholics use the term today to refer to arguments in defense of the faith.
He is incredible and his firm belief is infectious.
His own story of conversion is incredible in itself.
Boy you are going to love me after today, go here for ALOT of info including an apologetics course!!!
http://home.inreach.com/bstanley/
God bless you!
Thank You!
Thanks for fixing the title admin. mods. : )
Yes exactly.
http://www.catholic.com/
http://www.catholicexchange.com/
http://www.ewtn.com/
http://www.newadvent.org/
I would divide questiona I am asked in two groups:
1. Questions Protestants SHOULD ask, but all to often they don't;
2. Questions they actually ask;
The Orthodox, by the way, tend to know the Catholic answer and most times the Orthodox answer is the same answer. So, I narrow your question to Protestantism as the source of the question.
In the first category are the fundamental questions of faith:
A. Relationship between the Catholic clergy, the Holy Tradition and the Holy Scripture.
B. Relationship between faith, works of love, and liturgical works.
C. Meaning of the Sacraments of the Church.
D. What is Communion of Saints?
E. What are particular and universal judgement?
Anyone who would satisfy himself with the answers to the above would not need to ask questions that he indeed asks. They are:
Instead of the fundamental question
A. Relationship between the Catholic clergy, the Holy Tradition and the Holy Scripture.
we get asked:
- where in the Bible is ...
The answer, invariably, is that the Bible is a part of the deposit of faith given us by Christ. Our practices and beleifs are not necessarily inventoried in the Bible. However, they do not contradict the Bible.
- Why do I need to go to a priest to confess a sin or take communion?
The answer is that Christ sent the bishops and priests like Himself ("like my Father sent me so I send you"; "feed my sheep"; "whose sins you forgive they are forgiven them"). He did not send the laity like Himself.
- Why don't you have woman priests or married priests in the Latin Rite?
The answer is that priests imitate Christ Who is male and married to His Church.
- Why don't you read the Bible?
The answer is, we do and we should do so more, but we do not interpret the Bible ourselves as we read it. We study how the Church interpreted the Bible historically through the ages.
- Why do you pray to icons and statues?
The answer is that we pray to God with the help of the saint who is depicted in the holy image. The Church taught us the proper meaning of such prayer, as well as taught us not to fall in idolatry.
Instead of the fundamental topic
B. Relationship between faith, works of love, and liturgical works.
we are asked
- why do you think one can earn his way to heaven? Doesn't it makes Christ's work incomplete?
The answer is that Christ alone makes our works of love and liturgical works possible, and He asked us many times int he scripture to do these works in order to increase our faith. We are saved by grace with faith working through love, just like the Scripture teaches.
- why are you so hung up on the ritualistic; didn't Christ condemn rituals?
The answer is, Christ condemned empty rituals and we condemn them too. The sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist are explained and mandated in the Scripture in great detail; all other sacraments are at least implied. The Church develops the proper reverent form for these on authority of Christ our King.
Instead of the fundamental topic
C. Meaning of the Sacraments of the Church.
we are asked why we bow here, kneel there, cross ourselves, baptize children, don't allow remarriage after divorce, do five Hail Marys for penance, insist on fermented wine and wheat bread for communion, etc. All this interest in form and detail is the result of a lack of understanding of the meaning of each respective sacrament, and the proper role of the hierarchy of the Church in defining the form.
Instead of asking
D. What is Communion of Saints?
we are asked
- why do we pray to Mary and saints and dead souls?
If the person understood the communion of saints as souls living the everlasting life with Christ in Heaven, as was promised them and us, we would not be surprised that we consider ourselves constantly in their company and that they pray to Christ, our sole mediator before God the Father, for us.
- why do we have monks and nuns?
Because we consider prayer the most important part of our
lives, but we in the world do not always have the time.
E. What are particular and universal judgement?
If one understood that one's soul is judged immediately upon his death, but the world as we know it comes to an end with the second coming of Christ for us all, one would not wonder why
- we believe in Purgatory?
- pray for the dead?
- think that suffering and virtuous acts in this life helps our own soul and souls of others?
Indeed, the concept that the soul that is saved by the mercy of Christ upon death often needs purification before it can join Him in Heaven follows logically from the fact that we die with impurities but only pure souls can be with Christ till the end of the world and beyond. Once this framework is in place, the scriptural references to purification after justification such as in 1 Cor 3 begin to make sense.
No sweat.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.