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.

Salvation: A Biblical Portrait

The two words, "salvation" and "being saved" in the New Testament are the words, soterion, a noun (denoting deliverance, preservation, salvation), and, sozo, a verb (denoting to save).

Both words have a number of meanings, determined by the varying contexts in which the words are used.

In a first and basic sense, the word "salvation" virtually stands for Jesus Christ, Savior, by whose act of salvation, we are saved.

Lk 2:28,30-31: He (Simeon) took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: ... for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
Lk 19:9-10: And Jesus said to him (Zacchaeus), "Today salvation has come to this house ..."
Jn 4:21-22: Jesus said to her (the Samaritan woman), "... because salvation is from the Jews."
Acts 4:11-12: He (Jesus) is "the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone." There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.

In a second sense, the words, "salvation" and "being saved," are also used of the present experience, God's power to deliver from the bondage of sin.

1 Cor 15:2: Through it (the gospel) you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
Heb 7:25: Therefore, he (Jesus) is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
Phil 2:12: So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
1 Pet 1:8-9: Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of (your) faith, the salvation of your souls.
2 Tim 3:15: ... and that from infancy you have known (the) sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Heb 2:3: how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?

In a third sense, "salvation" and "being saved" are also used for the future deliverance of believers at the Second Coming of Christ. This salvation is the object of the confident hope of the saints.

Rom 5:9: How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Rom 13:11: And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
1 Thess 5:8-9: But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation. For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Heb 1:14: Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

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