Posted on 01/29/2010 9:22:52 PM PST by Salvation
This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries.
This is a set of lecture notes used since 1985 to teach the basis for key doctrines and dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. The objectives of the course were, and are:
The course grew out of the need for the authors to continually answer questions about their faith tradition and their work. (Both authors are active members of Catholic parish communities in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Robert Schihl was a Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University. Paul Flanagan is a consultant specializing in preparing people for technology based changes.) At the time these notes were first prepared, the authors were spending time in their faith community answering questions about their Protestant Evangelical workplaces (Mr. Flanagan was then a senior executive at the Christian Broadcasting Network), and time in their workplaces answering similar questions about their Roman Catholic faith community. These notes are the result of more than a decade of facilitating dialogue among those who wish to learn more about what the Roman Catholic Church teaches and why.
Apologetics (from the Greek apologeisthai, meaning to defend) is an orderly defense and justification. The intent of this work is to present what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, and why. We present the Biblical and rational credibility and credentials of Catholic-Christian faith. Our apologetic approach bases the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church in Divine Revelation:
This text grew out of a series of presentations which explained Roman Catholic Church teachings in a manner which was easy to understand, yet soundly rooted in the two streams of the one source of Divine Revelation. The authors each participate in two faith communities, one Roman Catholic, and the other Evangelical Protestant. We realized that much of the friction between these communities results from miscommunication and misunderstanding. Therefore, we set out to explain the basis of foundational Roman Catholic teachings.
We desire to explain rather than convince. Our audiences always come from various faith communities with varying beliefs. Our intent is to explain Roman Catholic teachings in a language that makes sense to all the faith communities. So often, misunderstandings and friction result from mere differences in words.
We use the Bible as the foundation for our presentation because we found that Bible based information is the single most important mode of initial understanding and sharing between our communities. Yet we make sure that the constant faith and teachings of the Church are presented as another stream of revelation.
As you read, you may disagree. Of course. We are not debating, just explaining. We seek to set forth the what and why of Catholic teaching. Once there is understanding, then we can be in a relationship based upon shared knowledge rather than misinformation.
However, I think all will find it quite interesting.
**We use the Bible as the foundation for our presentation because we found that Bible based information is the single most important mode of initial understanding and sharing between our communities. Yet we make sure that the constant faith and teachings of the Church are presented as another stream of revelation.**
All comments on these threads will be welcomed.
Catholic Ping!
Oops — that should have said —
Some key areas covered include:
This looks VERY good! Thanks...
;-)
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
narses, please help me out here. I STILL can’t get FR. I am getting it on a list called, Survivalist. Does that mean that Free Republic is up and that I’m the only one not getting it?
Save it on your favorites.
I can look it up on yahoo
Very promising beginning.
You might want to consider making these “ecumenical” threads. Open threads are too easy to take off-topic, and God knows many will try.
bookmark
Ping me to this if I’m not already on your list, please.
Nice. Thanks.
Thanks for posting it, it's going onto my "must do" list (behind a LOT of personal stuff and a couple of other books...).
Cheers!
Isn’t it a great collection back there.
Typical Salvation link-aholic! LOL!
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.