Catholic Biblical Apologetics

Apologetics without apology!

What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why?

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:

To present the biblical basis for the origin and development of the Roman Catholic Church.
To present the development of the canon of Scripture and evolution of biblical teaching in the Church.
To understand the role of paradosis/tradition in the oral transmission of revelation.
To study the Council of Jerusalem, described in the 15^th chapter of The Acts of the Apostles and its role in the development of doctrine in the conciliar movement in the Church.
To understand the revelation, doctrinal development and practice of the sacramental life in the history of the Church.
To study the role of the Holy Spirit as teaching authority in the Church.
To study the revelation and development of hierarchical authority in the Church.
To understand the hierarchy of truths in the Church as well as the role of private devotion and personal growth in holiness.

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.

Post-Apostolic Fathers of the Church

Paradosis or handing on or down of Divine Revelation is affirmed in Sacred Scripture. Hence, it must be found in some contiguous historical form from age to age. Catholic Christians believe that the promise of the Spirit of Truth to guide believers in truth is found in the constant faith of the Church as preserved in the writings of the Post-Apostolic Fathers.

The term "Post-Apostolic Fathers" is the name given by the Christian Church to the writers who established Christian doctrine before the 8th century. The writings of the Fathers or Patristic Literature synthesized Christian doctrine as found in the Bible, especially the gospels, the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, ecclesiastical dictums, and decisions of the Church councils.

Justin (Martyr), St.

Personal: Philosopher, theologian, early apologist, martyr
Convert to Christianity
Place and dates: (Rome) 100-165
Writings: Apologies for the Christians: erudite defense of Christians against charges of atheism and sedition
Dialogue with Trypho the Jew: a record of an actual discussion at Ephesus; valuable information about 2nd century Christian Church

Irenaeus, St.

Personal: Heard the preaching of Polycarp the disciple of John the Evangelist
Appointed the bishop of Lyon (177)
Place and dates: (Asia Minor) 140?-202?
Writings: Against the Heresies: written against the Gnostics; contributed to the knowledge of Gnosticism

Clement of Alexandria

Personal: Greek theologian
Converted from paganism
Ordained a presbyter
A teacher of Origen
Place and dates: (Athens) 150?-215?
Writings: Hortatory Address to the Greeks: a defense of the faith
The Tutor: instruction in manners and morals
The Miscellanies: a discussion of various points of doctrinal theology designed to guide the mature Christian to perfect knowledge

Tertullian

Personal: Converted to Christianity between 190 and 195
Became a presbyter of the Church (197)
Zealous champion of Christianity
Profoundly influences later Church fathers
Embraced and became a leader of the Montanists (207?) a sect later declared heretical
Place and dates: (Rome) 160?-220?
Writings: Apologeticus (c. 197): his most famous work; a defense of Christians against pagan charges
On the Claims of Heretics: argues that the Church alone has the authority to declare what is and is not orthodox Christianity
On Baptism
On Prayer: throws light on contemporary religious practices

Origen

Personal: A student of Clement
Ordained a presbyter
The most accomplished biblical scholar of the early Church
Father of the allegorical method of scripture interpretation
He developed the idea of Christ as Logos or Incarnate Word
Place and dates: (Alexandria) 185?-254?
Writings: Against Celsus: closely reasoned apologetic work refuting the arguments advanced by the Celsus, the first serious critic of Christianity

Cyprian, St.

Personal: Convert to Christianity c. 245
Bishop of Carthage, 248
One of the most authoritative Fathers of the Church
Involved in controversy over treatment of those who had left the Church, and those who were baptized by heretics: accepted the teaching of Rome.
Place and dates: (Carthage) 200-258
Writings: On Unity of the Catholic Church: exposition of the hierarchical organization of the Church

Athanasius, St.

Personal: Played a prominent role in the theological struggle in the Council of Nicea (325)
Opposed Arius (256-336) who maintained that the Son was of a different substance from that of the Father, and was merely a creature
Formulated the "homousian doctrine" that the Son of God is the same essence of substance of the Father
Became bishop of Alexandria (328)
Place and dates: (Alexandria) 293-373
Writings: Discourses Against the Arians
History of the Arians
Apology Against the Arians
On the Decrees of the Nicene Synod

Cyril of Jerusalem

Personal: Bishop of Jerusalem in 351
Embroiled in controversy over episcopal duties
Place and dates: (Jerusalem) 315?-387?
Writings: 23 Treatises: addressed to catechumens and newly baptized; some treatises are doctrinal and present the creed of the Church; some are concerned with ritual and present a detailed account of Baptism, Eucharist and chrism

Basil, St.

Personal: Brother of Gregory of Nyssa and a friend of Gregory of Nazianzus
Patriarch of Eastern monasticism
Wrote a rule of the monastic way of life
Founded the Basilian monks (360)
Bishop of Caesarea (370).
Place and dates: (Caesarea Mazaca) 329?-379
Writings: Against Eunomius: written against the Arian leader Eunomius
On the Holy Spirit: a doctrinal treatise
Moralia: an anthology of New Testament verses
Liturgy of St. Basil

Gregory of Nazianzus, St.

Personal: Bishop of Sasima (371)
Took charge of the Nicene congregation of Constantinople where he delivered five discourses on the Trinity that earned him fame as "The Theologian"
Place and dates: (Nazianzus in Capadocia, now Turkey) 329?-389
Writings: Philokalia (Love of the Beautiful): an anthology of the writings of Origen

Gregory of Nyssa, St.

Personal: Bishop of Milan (374)
Fame is chiefly as a theologian
Place and dates: (Neocaesarea, now in Turkey) 335?-394
Writings: Against Eunomius: a defense of the Nicene Creed
Great Catechetical Discourse: a defense of the Christian faith against Jews and pagans
On Faith: a treatise against the Arians
Ten Syllogisms: directed against the Apollinarists

Ambrose, St.

Personal: Bishop of Milan (374)
Defended the churches of Milan against Arianism
Friend of Monica, mother of Augustine, and finally brought Augustine into the Church
Place and dates: (Tier, now in Germany) 340?-397
Writings: On Faith: a Christian morals manual
On the Sacraments: an exegetical treatise
On the Holy Spirit: an exegetical treatise
Composed many hymns

Jerome, St.

Personal: Biblical scholar
Ordained a priest in 386
Secretary to Pope Damasus I in 382
Confronted many heresies, especially Pelagianism
Place and dates: (Stridon, present day Slovenia) 345?-419
Writings: The Vulgate: translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, 383-384, in Rome

John Chrysostom, St.

Personal: Ordained a priest in 386
Greatest orator of the early Church
Patriarch of Constantinople in 398
Place and dates: (Antioch, Syria) 349?-407
Writings: On the Priesthood
Homilies
Wrote commentaries, epistles, treatises, and liturgies

Augustine, St.

Personal: Son of Monica (332?-387)
Born a pagan
Converted in 387 and baptized by Ambrose
Ordained a priest in 391
Bishop of Hippo (395)
Combated Manichean heresy (conflict of Good and Evil)
Martin Luther and John Calvin were close students of the works of Augustine
Place and dates: (Numidia, now Algeria) 354-430
Writings: Confessions (c. 400): his autobiography
The City of God (413-426): great Christian apologia; a theological philosophy of history
Retractions (428): final verdict of earlier works
Epistles (386-429)
On Free Will (388-395)
On Christian Doctrine (397)
On Baptism: Against the Donatists (400)
On the Trinity (400-416)
On Nature and Grace (415)
Homilies

Cyril of Alexandria, St.

Personal: Patriarch of Alexandria in 412
Leader of the Council of Ephesus, 431
Instrumental in condemning Nestorianism
Place and dates: (Alexandria) 376-444
Writings: Against Nestorius
Against Julian the Apostate
Prolific writer

Gregory I, St. ("The Great")

Personal: Prefect of Rome in 570
Became a monk in 575
Elected pope (r. 590-604)
Enhanced prestige of the papacy
Upheld Rome's traditional claims of church primacy over the patriarch of Constantinople
Introduced liturgical reforms and Gregorian chant
Extensive pastoral activity.
Place and dates: (Rome) 540?-604
Writings: Moralia: a commentary on the Book of Job
Pastoral Care: describes the ideal bishop; instruction on the practice and nature of preaching
Dialogues: legends of saints of his own time

John Damascene, St.

Personal: Financial officer to Saracen caliph
Resigned in 700
Entered a monastery and ordained a priest
Opposed the Iconoclasts
Place and dates: (Damascus, Syria) 675-749
Writings: Source of Knowledge: three part text of dogmatic theology in the early Greek church; contains a complete theological system based on the early Greek fathers and synods of 4th-7th centuries

St. Irenaeus of Lyons: The First Great Theologian of the Church

St. Irenaeus on Free Will (Adversus Haereses IV, 37)

Saint Irenaeus, Doctor of the Church[Martyr]

Apostolic Succession

Irenaeus

"For all these [heretics] are of much later date than are the bishops to whom the apostles handed over the churches, and this fact I pointed out most carefully in the third book. It is of necessity, then, that these aforementioned heretics, because they are blind to the truth, walk in devious paths, and on this account the vestiges of their doctrines are scattered about without agreement or connection. The path of those, however, who belong to the Church goes around the whole world, for it has the firm tradition of the apostles, enabling us to see that the faith of all is one and the same" (Ibid. 5:20:1).

Irenaeus

"Polycarp was instructed not only by the apostles and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also appointed bishop of the church in Smyrna by the apostles in Asia. I saw him in my early youth, for he tarried a long time and when quite old departed this life in a glorious and most noble martyrdom. He always taught those things which he learned from the apostles and which the Church had handed down and which are true. To these things the churches in Asia bear witness, as do also the successors of Polycarp even to the present time" (Ibid. 3:3:4).

Irenaeus

"It is necessary to obey those who are the presbyters in the Church, those who, as we have shown, have succession from the apostles, those who have received, with the succession of the episcopate, the sure charism of truth according to the good pleasure of the Father. But the rest, who have no part in the primitive succession [of bishops] and assemble wheresoever they will, must be held in suspicion....The true gnosis [knowledge] is the doctrine of the apostles, and the ancient organization of the Church throughout the whole world, and the manifestation of the body of Christ according to the succession of bishops, by which succession the bishops have handed down the Church which is found everywhere" (Ibid. 4:26:2, 33:8).

One God or Many?

Irenaeus

"For the Church, although dispersed throughout the whole world even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and from their disciples the faith in one God, Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them; and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [inter A.D. 180-199]).

Irenaeus

"Nor is he moved by anyone; rather, freely and by his Word he made all things. For he alone is God, he alone is Lord, he alone is creator, he alone is father, he alone contains all and commands all to exist" (Ibid. 2:1:1).

Irenaeus

"Of his own accord and by his own power he made all things and arranged and perfected them; and his will is the substance of all things. He alone, then, is found to be God; he alone is omnipotent, who made all things; he alone is Father, who founded and formed all things, visible and invisible, sensible and insensate, heavenly and earthly, by the Word of his power. And he has fitted and arranged all things by his wisdom; and while he comprehends all, he can be comprehended by none. He is himself the designer, himself the builder, himself the inventor, himself the maker, himself the Lord of all" (Ibid. 2:30:9).

The Authority of the Pope

Irenaeus

"But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the succession of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. With that church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition" (Against Heresies 3:3:2 [A.D. 189]).

Infant Baptism

Irenaeus

"And [Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan" [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn babes, even as the Lord has declared: "Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" [John 3:5].. (Fragment 34 [A.D. 190])

Irenaeus

He [Jesus] came to save all through himself; all, I say, who through him are reborn in God: infants, and children, and youths, and old men. Therefore he passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age . . . [so that] he might be the perfect teacher in all things, perfect not only in respect to the setting forth of truth, perfect also in respect to relative age. (Against Heresies 2:22:4 [A.D. 189])

Peter in Rome

IRENAEUS

"Matthew also issued among the Hebrews a written Gospel in their own language, while Peter and Paul were evangelizing in Rome and laying the foundation of the Church" (Against Heresies, 3:1:1 [A.D. 189]).

IRENAEUS

"The blessed apostles [Peter and Paul], having founded and built up the church [of Rome], they handed over the office of the episcopate to Linus. Paul makes mention of this Linus in the epistle to Timothy [2 Tim. 4:21]" (ibid., 3:3:3).

IRENAEUS

"But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the succession of all the churches, we shall . . . [point] out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. With that church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition" (ibid., 3:3:2).

THE HELL THERE IS

Irenaeus

"The penalty increases for those who do not believe the Word of god and despise his coming….[I]t is not merely temporal, but eternal. To whomsoever the Lord shall say, 'Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire,' they will be damned forever" (Against Heresies 4:28:2).

Irenaeus

"[God will] send the spiritual forces of wickedness, and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, and the impious, unjust, lawless, and blasphemous among men into everlasting fire" (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [A.D. 180]).

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