Replies

We have to leave for a class but I will check in within the next few days, just so ya don't think I am ignoring ya'll.

I have to think some more too on some exact ???? I have a hard time articulating blunt to the point answers.

Prayers up would be a nice gesture too in that God sees fit to grace me with some wisdom in the area of defending our Catholic faith.

Thanks Ya'll. Global210

Salvation if you see it worthy of will you ping my vanity to others?

It would be a big help.

Catholic.com has resources.

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

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

CONTENTS

Sola scriptura
Sola fide Salvation (once and for all?)
Deuterocanonicals
Purgatory
Eucharist
Baptism
Forgiveness of sins
Papacy/infallibility
“Brothers” of Jesus
Mary
Saints
Statues, images and relics
Church and authority
Priesthood
Worship
Justification
Morality
SOLA SCRIPTURA

Jn 21:25 ... not everything is in the Bible.
2 Thess 2:15; 2 Tim 2:2; 1 Cor 11:2; 1 Thess 2:13 ... Paul speaks of oral tradition. Acts 2:42 ... early Christians followed apostolic tradition.
2 Pet 3:16 ... Bible hard to understand, get distorted.
2 Jn 1:12; 3 Jn 1:13-14 ... more oral tradition.
2 Pet 1:20-21 ... against personal interpretation.
Acts 8:30-31 ... guidance needed to interpret scriptures.
Heb 5:12 ... need to be taught.
SOLA FIDE

Jas 2:14-26 ... what good is faith w/o works?
Heb 10:26-27, Rom 8:12-13 ... must avoid sin.
Jas 5:20 ... “earning” forgiveness.
Lk 6:46-49; Mt 7:21; Mt 19:16-21; Jn 5:28-29 ... must do will of God.
1 Cor 9:27 ... “buffet my body ...”
Phil 2:12; 2 Cor 5:10; Rom 2:6-13; Mt 25:32-46; Gal 6:6-10; Rev 20:12 ... works have merit.
1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:24; 1 Jn 5:3 ... keep commandments.
SALVATION (ONCE AND FOR ALL?)

1 Cor 9:27 ... after preaching ... I myself disqualified.
1 Cor 10:12 ... thinks that he stands ... lest he fall.
Phil 2:12 ... work out salvation with fear and trembling.
Heb 4:1 ... fear of failing to reach salvation.
1 Jn 5:16-17 ... some sins are mortal, some not.
Rom 11:21-22 ... spare branches, continue or be cut off.
Heb 6:4-8 ... believers can apostasize, be damned.
Heb 10:26-29 ... those sanctified who sin can still be damned.
2 Pet 2:20-21 ... righteous can fall.
DEUTEROCANONICALS

Deuterocanonicals were used in NT: 2 Mach 6:18-7:42 ... Heb 11:35; Wisdom 3:5-6 ... 1 Pet 1:6-7; Wisdom 13:1-9 ... Rom 1:18-32
Septuagint (Gk, w/ Deuterocanonicals) version of OT quoted in NT, noticably different from Hebrew version: Is 7:14 ... Mt 1:23; Is 40:3 ... Mt 3:3; Joel 2:30-31 ... Acts 2:19-20; Ps 95:7-9 ... Heb 3:7-9 etc.
PURGATORY

Lk 12:58-59; 1 Cor 3:15; Mt 5:25-26 ... temporary agony.
Heb 12:6-11 ... God’s painful discipline.
Mt 12:32 ... no forgiveness ... nor in the age to come.
1 Pet 3:18-20 ... might be purgatory (limbo?).
1 Pet 4:6 ... preached to the dead.
Rev 21:27 ... nothing unclean shall enter heaven.
Heb 12:23 ... souls in heaven are perfect.
Col 1:24; 2 Sam 12:13-14 ... “extra” suffering.
2 Mac 12:43-46 ... sacrifice for the dead.
2 Tim 1:15-18 ... prayer for Onesiphorus for “that Day.”
1 Jn 5:14-17 ... mortal/venial sins
EUCHARIST

Mt 26:26-27; Mk 14:22,24; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 11:24-25 ... this is my body ... this is my blood.
1 Cor 11:26-30 ... sinning against the body and blood.
Jn 6:32-58 ... long discourse on Eucharist.
Gen 14:18; Ps 110:4; Heb 7:1-17 ... Melchizedek.
Acts 2:42 ... breaking of bread.
Ps 14:4; Ps 53:4; Is 9:18-20; Is 49:26; Micah 3:2-3; Rev 17:6,16 ... symbolic interpretation of Jn 6 inappropriate.
Ex 12:8,46 ... paschal lamb has to be eaten.
Jn 1:29; 1 Cor 5:7 ... Jesus is lamb of God, paschal lamb.
Jn 4:31-34; Mt 16:5-12 ... Jesus speaks symbolically of food.
BAPTISM

Acts 2:38-39; Acts 16:15, 16:33, 18:8; 1 Cor 1:16 ... suggests baptism of all, incl. children.
Jn 3:5; Rom 6:4; Mk 16:16 ... necessity of baptism.
Col 2:11-12 ... circumcision (normally performed on infants c.f. Lk 2:21; Gen 17:12) replaced by baptism.
Acts 22:16 ... baptism removes sin.
1 Pet 3:21 ... baptism saves by water.
FORGIVENESS OF SINS

Jn 20:22-23 ... “if you forgive ... they are forgiven.”
Mt 18:18 ... binding on earth and heaven.
2 Cor 5:18 ... ministry of reconciliation.
Jas 5:14-16 ... forgiveness of sins, anointing of the sick, confession.
PAPACY/INFALLIBILITY

Mt 16:18-19 ... Jesus gives Peter primacy: rock, keys, binding and loosing.
Is 22:22; Rev 1:18 ... keys as symbol of authority.
Jn 21:17 ... “feed my sheep”
Mt 10:1-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16; Acts 1:13; Lk 9:32 ... Peter always mentioned first, as foremost apostle.
Mt 18:21; Mk 8:29; Lk 12:41; Jn 6:68-69 ... Peter speaks for the apostles.
Acts 2:14-40 ... Pentecost: Peter who first preached.
Acts 3:6-7 ... Peter worked first healing.
Acts 10:46-48 ... Gentiles to be baptized revealed to Peter.
Jn 1:42 ... Simon is Cephas (Aramaic: Kepha for rock).
Lk 22:31-32 ... “Simon ... strengthen your brethren”.
Lk 10:1-2, 16; Jn 13:20; 2 Cor 5:20; Gal 4:14; Acts 5:1-5 ... “vicars” (substitutes) of Christ.
Mk 6:20; Lk 1:70,2:23; Rom 12:1; Act 3:21, 1 Cor 7:14; Eph 3:5; Col 1:22 ... humans can be holy (“call no one holy”).
“BROTHERS” OF JESUS

Mary wife of Cleophas and “sister” of the Virgin Mary (Jn 19:25) is the mother of James and Joset (Mk 15:47; Mt 27:56) who are called the “brothers of Jesus” (Mk 6:3).
Acts 1:12-15 ... apostles, Mary, “some women” and Jesus’ “brothers” number about 120. That is a lot of “brothers.”
Gen 14:12-14 ... Lot, Abraham’s nephew (Gen 11:26-28), described as Abraham’s brother (KJV).
Gen 29:15 ... Laban, Jacob’s uncle, calls Jacob his “brother” (KJV).
John 19:26-27 ... Jesus gives care of Mary to John, not one of his “brothers.”
2 Sam 6:23, Gen 8:7, Dt 34:6(KJV) ... “until.”
Jn 20:17-18 ... “go to my brethren/brothers”: Mary goes to disciples.
MARY

Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5; 2 Kings 2:1-13 ... Enoch and Elijah taken to heaven.
Lk 1:28 ... annunciation.
Lk 1:42-48 ... blessed among women. All generations shall call her blessed.
2 Tim 4:8, Jas 1:12, 1 Pet 5:4, Rev 2:10 ... coronation awaits saints.
Jn 2:1-5 ... Mary’s intercession.
SAINTS

Mk 12:26-27 ... “not God of the dead, but of the living.”
Jn 15:1-8 ... vine and its branches.
1 Cor 12:25-27; Rom 12:4-5 ... body of Christ.
Eph 6:18; Rom 15:30; Col 4:3; 2 Thess 1:11 ... intercessory prayer.
Jos 5:13-14; Dan 8:15-17; Tobit 12:15-16 ... veneration of angels united with God (Mt 18:10).
1 Cor 13:12; 1 John 3:2 ... saints also united with God.
Lk 20:34-38 ... those who died are like angels.
2 Mac 15:11-16 ... deceased Onias and Jeremiah interceded for Jews.
Rev 8:3-4; Jer 15:1 ... saints’ intercession.
Is 14:9-10, 1 Sam 28:8-19, 1 Pet 3:19, Lk 16:19-31, Mt 17:3, Rev 5:8, Rev 7:9-10, Rev 6:9-10 ... those who have died are not in a coma.
STATUES, IMAGES AND RELICS

Ex 25:18-22, 26:1,31; Num 21:8-9 ... God commands images made.
1 Kings 6:23-29, 35, 7:29 ... Solomon’s temple: statues and images.
Acts 19:11,12 ... Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons.
2 Kg 13:20-21 ... Elisha’s bones.
Acts 5:15-16 ... Peter’s shadow.
Mt 9:20-22 ... Jesus’ garment cures woman.
CHURCH AND AUTHORITY

Acts 2:42 ... doctrine, community, sacred rite (bread).
Eph 5:25-26 ... Christ loved the Church.
1 Tim 3:15 ... church is pillar/foundation of truth.
Mt 16:18 ... Christ protects Church.
Heb 13:17 ... obey.
Mt 18:17-18 ... church as final authority.
Mt 23:2-3 ... Pharisees succeeded Moses (seat of Moses).
1 Cor 5:5; 1 Tim 1:20 ... excommunication.
Jn 17:21 ... that they may be one.
Jn 10:16 ... one flock, one shepherd.
PRIESTHOOD

Acts 1:15-26; 2 Tim 2:2; Tit 1:5 ...unbroken succession.
Acts 15:6,23; Acts 14:23; 1 Tim 4:14, 5:22; 1 Tim 5:17; Jas 5:13-15 ... presbyters/elders (priests) were ordained, preached and taught the flock, administered sacraments.
Jn 8:56; Lk 16:24; Rom 4:1,16-18; 1 Cor 4:14-15; Acts 7:2; 1 Thess 2:11; 1 Jn 2:13-14 ... “call no one father”?
1 Cor 7:7-9 ... Paul unmarried.
Mt 19:12; 1 Cor 7:32-33, 1 Tim 4:11-12 ... celibacy.
Gen 14:18; Ps 110:4; Heb 7:1-17 ... Melchizedek.
1 Cor 12 ... different roles of members of body.
WORSHIP

1 Kg 8:54; 2 Chr 6:13; Ezra 9:5; Mt 17:14; Lk 5:8 ... kneeling.
Rev 8:3-4 ... incense.
Col 2:16 ... don’t condemn concerning sabbath.
Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2 ... Eucharist, collections on Sundays.
Rev 4:8, Mt 26:44 ... “vain repetition”?
JUSTIFICATION

1 Jn 1:7, 2 Pet 1:9 ... purified from sins.
Jn 1:29, Heb 9:26-28 ... takes away sin.
Acts 3:19; Ps 51:1-2, Ps 103:12, Is 43:25 ... blot out, clear away sin.
Tit 3:5-7 ... regeneration, renewal part of justification.
Rom 2:13, Rom 3:20 ... future justification.
Heb 11:8...Gen 12:1-4; Rom 4:2-3...Gen 15:6; Jas 2:21-23...Gen 22:1-18 ... justifications of Abraham.
2 Pet 1:4 ... become partakers of the divine nature.
MORALITY

Gen 38:9-10 ... Onanism.
Mal 2:14-16 ... God hates divorce.
1 Cor 7:10-11 ... don’t divorce.
Mt 5:32-33; Mt 19:4-6,9; Mk 10:11-12; Lk 16:18 ... Jesus prohibits divorce.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Catholic apologist's scriptural cheat sheet is made available with permission of the author Christopher Wong.

THE AUTHOR

Last revised December 20, 1999 by Christopher Wong (cwong@world.std.com)

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.

Read the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" and Watch "Catechism of the Catholic Church" by Father John Corapi. You will learn the faith and be strong in your convictions and faith.

Thanks for fixing the title admin. mods. : )

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.

Information on infalliability.

2051 The infallibility of the Magisterium of the Pastors extends to all the elements of doctrine, including moral doctrine, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded, or observed.

891 "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. . . . The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed," and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of faith." This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.

2035 The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed.

889 In order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility. By a "supernatural sense of faith" the People of God, under the guidance of the Church's living Magisterium, "unfailingly adheres to this faith."

890 The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium's task to preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The exercise of this charism takes several forms: