tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86258088916052769572024-03-13T12:08:38.487-07:00Debunking the MythsAlways be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverenceCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-50961787850721421002011-01-18T10:10:00.000-08:002011-01-18T10:10:06.169-08:00The end of the blog<i>Debunking the Myths</i> is coming to an end. Between papers at school and my other blogs, I simply do not have the time to maintain this one as well. I will still occasionally tackle apologetic topics on my other blog, <i><a href="http://www.carlbetts.blogspot.com/">Marching Orders</a>, </i>and I will continue to post on <a href="http://www.catholic-quote.blogspot.com/" style="font-style: italic;">Catholic Quote of the Day</a>, and I have started a <a href="http://www.cwbettsphotography.blogspot.com/">photoblog</a> as well, which I encourage all to visit. This does not mean that my interest in apologetics has waned, but simply that I do not have the time to devote to it that I would like. Thank you for your readership, and I hope God continues to bless you on your spiritual journey.Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-62921068576028004792010-12-11T16:04:00.000-08:002010-12-11T16:04:13.565-08:00The Ministerial PriesthoodMany non-Catholics object to the ministerial priesthood, and instead insist on "the universal priesthood of believers." To a degree, they are correct. We all do share in the priestly ministry of Jesus Christ. St. Peter writes in the Scriptures (1 Peter 2:9-10):<br />
<br />
<blockquote>But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.</blockquote>Now this would appear that all believers are priests, and that there is no ministerial priesthood. But we must also remember that when reading the scriptures, we must "be especially attentive to at the content and unity of Scripture" (CCC 112). WHat this means is that no passage of Scripture can be taken on its own. It must be examined not only in its immediate context, but within the context of the whole of Scripture. Keeping this in mind, there is another place in the Bible where language very similar to this appears. In Exodus 19: 4-6 we read what Moses is to tell the Children of Israel:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.</blockquote>What we see then, is that St. Peter is not dismissing the need for a ministerial priesthood, but identifying the Church as the fulfillment of Israel, so Peter's identification of the Church as a "royal priesthood" does not preclude the necessity of a ministerial priesthood. We must also remember that this statement was before the consecration of the Levites to the priestly ministry. So who comprised the priesthood in Israel before the Levitical priesthood: The firstborn sons were consecrated to the ministry (Ex 22:29-31). This means that even though the Church is a "kingdom of priests," there is still a need for ordained priests.<br />
For evidence, we can also look to the Liturgy. For a more detailed treatment of the idea that I am going to introduce, I recommend two books: <a href="http://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/LETTER+AND+SPIRIT/shop.axd/ProductDetails?x=0&y=0&keywords=Letter+and+Spirit&edp_no=3197"><i>Letter and Spirit</i> by Scott Hahn</a>, and <a href="http://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/THE+SPIRIT+OF+THE+LITURGY/shop.axd/ProductDetails?x=36&y=5&keywords=Spirit+of+the+Liturgy&edp_no=3140"><i>Spirit of the Liturgy </i>by Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI). </a> This idea is that the proper "habitat" for interpreting Scripture is in the context of the Liturgy. The reason I bring this up is the celebration on Holy Thursday (for the non-Catholics who may read this, that is the Thursday before Easter). This liturgy celebrates the institution of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Since this is the celebration of the Eucharist, you would think that the Gospel reading would be one of the Last Supper narratives found in the Synoptic Gospels. The reading is the Last Supper narrative in John's Gospel, which does not have the Eucharist narrative, but the Washing of the Feet and Jesus's High Priestly Prayer. <br />
How can these things be connected with the Priesthood? That is a good question. First we will look at the Washing of the Feet (Jn 13:1-20):<br />
<blockquote>Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world , he loved then to the end. And during supper, when the devil had put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to was the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not only my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except except for his feet, for he is clean all over, and you are clean, but not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that is why he said "You are not all clean."</blockquote><blockquote>When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know What I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done for you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he greater who is sent than who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of you all; I know whom I have chosen; it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' I tell you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me." </blockquote>There is quite a bit to unpack in this passage, but I will be limiting myself to those things that indicate the ministerial priesthood. The first thing to notice is that Jesus is actually ordaining the Apostles into a new priesthood. If you read about the ordination rites in Leviticus, it starts with a washing, followed by a sacrifice (cf Leviticus 8). The foot-washing was on one level, this ritual washing. In addition, it was sign of the nature of the priestly ministry, that is, service, which was to be repeated by those who were ordained. If this was the only evidence for the ministerial priesthood, it would be weak indeed, but we also have a portion the High Priestly prayer of Jesus that indicates that part of the prayer was only for the Apostles (Jn 17:6-19):<br />
<blockquote>I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; they were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you; for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them; I ma not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, , I kept them in your name, which you have given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world . Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.</blockquote>This whole portion of the prayer is not for the entire world (that portion of the prayer is vv. 20-26), but for the Apostles alone. The thrust of the prayer is that the Apostles, those who were given to the Son by the Father, be consecrated and be protected from the world who hates them. How is this to be interpreted, if not a reference to the priesthood? And if to the priesthood, and there is no ordained priesthood, but only the universal priesthood of all believers, then why the Apostles only? At this point in his ministry he had many disciples, but it was only the twelve being prayed for in this manner. Is the priesthood explicit in either of these passages? No, but there is a definite implicit reference to the priesthood. In my next post, I will look at the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles to show how the ministerial priesthood is all but undeniable.<br />
Until nest time, may the Peace of the Lord be with you all!Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-75219502840459349192010-11-26T13:28:00.000-08:002010-11-26T13:28:35.439-08:00Why is Mass attendance important?<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">There is an idea out there that missing Mass is not that big of a deal, but in actuality, missing Mass without sufficient reason is "grave matter," that is, if it is done with full knowledge and consent of the will, it would need to be confessed before receiving the Lord in the Eucharist. But you may ask, "Is it really</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">that</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> big of a deal? After all, aren’t we supposed to worship in 'spirit and truth' (Jn 4:23)?" The answer is yes, we are supposed to worship in ‘spirit and truth,’ but that does not preclude Mass attendance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In context, here is the entire statement of Jesus where that phrase is included:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:21-24)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">This is not a call to forego formal worship altogether, but only that centralized worship would be abrogated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite to the contrary, from Genesis to Revelation, a very strong emphasis has been placed on proper worship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you read the first creation account of Genesis, the structure seems to indicate that all of creation is directed towards worship in the Sabbath.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/There%20is%20an%20idea%20out%20there%20that%20missing%20Mass%20is%20not%20that%20big%20of%20a%20deal.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> In his book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of the Creation and the Fall</i>, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger says this:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Creation is designed in such a way that it is oriented towards worship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It fulfills its purpose and assumes significance when it is lived, ever new, with a view to worship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Creation exists for the sake of worship.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/There%20is%20an%20idea%20out%20there%20that%20missing%20Mass%20is%20not%20that%20big%20of%20a%20deal.docx#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Further evidence of the Sabbath orientation of creation can be seen in the language of the Sabbath ordinance of Exodus:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We also know that there is a right way to worship and a wrong way to worship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is known by the narrative concerning Cain and Abel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For whatever reason, as the Scriptures are not clear, Cain’s offering was rejected, and Abel’s was accepted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though we are lacking in details, we do know, that for whatever reason, God rejected the offering of Cain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">At this, an objection can be raised. “These are Old Testament references.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ritual doesn’t matter anymore.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To this I respond, “Wrong!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All Christians agree that the Last Supper was the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist (the Lord’s Supper).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, what escapes many is the simple fact that this was done in the context of the Passover liturgy celebrated by the Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To say that Jesus rejected liturgical celebration is unsupportable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What He did was change the meaning of existing liturgy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of a “type” looking forward to a future event, it became a participation in the Cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not to say that worship is impossible outside of the liturgy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can pray, engage in Eucharistic adoration, go to Charismatic “praise and worship” services, and so on, but they are not the same as Mass for the simple reason that when doing these things you are not entering into the heavenly liturgy described in the Apocalypse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To do so requires a priest or bishop, acting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In persona Christi</i>, that is, “in the person of Christ” to pronounce the words of consecration and thereby bringing heaven and earth into intersection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cannot be done outside of Mass. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">My question is this: If the Mass is a sacrifice that results in the intersection of heaven and earth, if it indeed is the worship depicted in Isaiah 6: 1ff, why would anyone not hunger for this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would anyone wish to avoid it?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <!--[endif]--> <div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/There%20is%20an%20idea%20out%20there%20that%20missing%20Mass%20is%20not%20that%20big%20of%20a%20deal.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> I am not discussing this here, but more can be read on this topic in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Father Who Keeps His Promises</i>, by Scott Hahn.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/There%20is%20an%20idea%20out%20there%20that%20missing%20Mass%20is%20not%20that%20big%20of%20a%20deal.docx#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of the Creation and the Fall</i>. (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1990), p40-41.<o:p></o:p></div></div></div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-44127522216682120352010-11-13T14:53:00.000-08:002010-11-13T14:53:47.950-08:00Why I am a CatholicAlthough I have blogged on my other blog, Marching Orders, about <i>how</i> I became Catholic, I never really addressed <i>why</i> I became Catholic. To list every single reason that led to my conversion would be nearly impossible, I would like to enumerate some of the reasons:<br />
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<ul><li><b>Credibility.</b> The main source of my information about Catholicism before my conversion, Chick Publications, has absolutely no credibility when looked at critically. Is it really credible that the Catholic Church is responsible for Freemasonry, the KKK, Nazism, Communism, and Islam? Is it credible that the Church was behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II? Though this alone is not enough to become Catholic, it is sufficient to discard everything I previously "knew" about Catholicism.</li>
<li><b>Mary.</b> Although I do not have a strong Marian devotion (this is something I am prayerfully working through), it cannot be denied that Mary is worthy of a healthy level of respect and veneration. She is definitely worth more attention than what is typically given in Fundamentalist congregations, that is, you never hear a peep about her except for briefly at Christmas and Easter.</li>
<li><b>Unity of Reason and Faith.</b> Accepting a strictly literalistic interpretation of the primordial chapters of Genesis requires a dogmatic rejection of reason. Catholicism makes relatively few demands. We must accept Adam and Eve as a real historical couple and parents of all of humanity. We must accept the account of the Fall. Creation can be interpreted as a poetic representation of God's creation of the universe. Later, such great thinkers such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas infused theology with philosophy, allowing for a more complete belief system.</li>
<li><b>Communion of the Saints.</b> It is quite comforting to think that those who have gone before us in the faith are constantly interceding for us in the heavenly liturgy. In fact, I can find nothing in the Scriptures to indicate that those who have passed on are cut off from the Mystical Body of Christ.</li>
<li><b>Problem Scriptures.</b> There are certain Scriptures that were particularly problematic for me as a Fundamental Baptist, and those very same Scriptures make sense in Catholic theology. In addition, those Scriptures to which I clung as a Baptist take on an even fuller, richer meaning.</li>
<li><b>Morality. </b>The moral teachings of the Church are not a list of seemingly arbitrary, unrelated strictures, but form a cohesive whole which are sensible and defensible. </li>
<li><b>Liturgy. </b>The Catholic Liturgy is ordered and reverent, and at no point does a properly celebrated liturgy devolve into chaos. Chaos was the norm in my previous faith tradition.</li>
<li><b>Eucharist.</b> The Eucharist is central to Catholic worship. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest work of which we mere mortals are capable. My congregation celebrated the "Lord's Supper" a paltry four times a year. I can receive the Holy Eucharist daily. There is a strong emphasis on the Eucharist in the Scriptures, and the Catholic Church likewise places a strong emphasis on the Most Blessed of Sacraments.</li>
</ul>As I said at the beginning, this list is far from comprehensive. In fact, each of the things I listed could be a blog post, if not a book, on their own. Perhaps that will happen someday.Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-27334789839232118132010-10-30T17:33:00.000-07:002010-10-30T17:33:59.520-07:00Why Sola Scriptura doesn't workI am going to be providing a short list of reasons why I reject the doctrine commonly called <i>Sola Scriptura. </i>However, before I continue, I need to clarify which version of the doctrine I am addressing. Since there is no unified belief system to which all Protestants adhere, definitions become important. I am drawing the definition of <i>Sola Scriptura</i> from my own Fundamental Baptist background. That is, that the Scriptures are the sole rule of faith for doctrine and practice. So, without further ado:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><b>The Bible dies not define which books are to be included. </b>Try as I might, I can't seem to find a divinely inspired table of contents. Truthfully, the contents of the Scriptures was discussed in four local synods in the 4th century, reiterated at the Council of Florence in the 15th century, then officially closed at the Council of Trent in the 16th century.</li>
<li><b>The Bible never defines the Scriptures as the final authority in matters of discipline.</b> For settling disputes between the brethren, Jesus instructs the Apostles to take the offending brother to the Church, and does not instruct them to search the Scriptures.</li>
<li><b>The Bible is at times unclear.</b> There are stories in the Bible that are difficult to understand at any level. There are others that on the surface seem easy to understand, but they contain much deeper typology that cannot be readily seen without instruction.</li>
<li><b>There are doctrines held by virtually all Christians that cannot be found explicitly in the Scriptures.</b> The Trinity, prohibition against abortion, Sunday worship, and other things are not found explicitly in the Scriptures. These doctrines and practices developed over time.</li>
<li><b>The Bible is never given <i>exclusive</i> authority.</b> Yes, the Scriptures are held in high regard, but there is nothing in the Bible that indicates it is to be held as an exclusive authority. Yes, it is useful, but it is never given sole authority.</li>
<li><b>When an authority is named, it isn't the Bible.</b> There is a verse that gives ultimate authority as the "pillar and bulwark of truth," and this authority is the Church, and not the Bible.</li>
</ul>So there you have it. The basic reasons why I do not adhere to <i>Sola Scriptura</i>. There are others as well, but I think that this is sufficient to refute this particular error.Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-20747670336407754422010-10-28T07:42:00.000-07:002010-10-28T07:42:49.184-07:00Salvation Outside the ChurchIt is a historical teaching of the Church that there is no salvation outside of the Church. For this reason, there are some who mistakenly believe that this means that salvation can only be granted to those in the institutional Catholic Church. The core of this problem is that the doctrine is approached soteriologically rather than ecclesiologically. This doctrine is not addressing how people achieve salvation. This doctrine is ultimately about the nature of the Church. In other words, this doctrine is not making the claim that we are saved by the Church, but rather that those that are saved are in the Church by default. Thus, it becomes imperative that we a full understanding on what and who the Church is.<br />
The Second Vatican Council developed the understanding on this very thing.. Does the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, include more than practicing Catholics? According to the Second Vatican Council, to which assent of the will must be given, the answer is "yes." According to <i>Lumen Gentium</i>, the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, the Church is necessary for salvation. Bur we also know form <i>Unitatis Redintegratio</i> that all those validly baptized, that is according to the Trinitarian Formula, and with the intention of bringing someone into the Church of Jesus Christ, is truly in the Mystical Body of Christ, though if not Catholic, this union with Christ is lacking in some way. Of course one could take this to an extreme, and claim indifferentism, the idea that all churches are the same, and the means of salvation are to be found equally in all. This is also not true. The Council clearly teaches that the "fullness of faith subsists in th Catholic Church alone," which seems to indicate that the Catholic Church holds primacy. It is of my own personal opinion, that if one knows that the Catholic Church is the One Church founded by Jesus Christ, and still rejects the Church, then their soul is in peril. If one is seeking the truth, and has not yet come to that knowledge, then we must trust on the mercy of God. I realize that this post is fairly inadequate in treating this complex subject, but I would implore you to carefully read the Church's documents, and you will see that the normative path to salvation is through the Catholic Church, but that does not mean that one must be a registered Catholic to attain salvation.Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-56278661342899051582010-10-18T08:34:00.000-07:002010-10-18T08:34:09.461-07:00The Catholic View of Artificial Contraception<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Look around at twenty-first century America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pornography is a multi-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">billion</i> dollar business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Television, movies, and advertisements are sexualizing girls in their teens, or even younger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roughly 3700 abortions are performed every day in the United States alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Divorce is endemic in American society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases pose a significant health risk to the population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the proponents of artificial birth control, these problems should be declining, yet they have been on a steady increase since 1965.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The birth control pill was supposed to end STDs and unwanted pregnancies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Readily available birth control was supposed to strengthen marriages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pill was supposed to liberate women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What went wrong?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Artificial contraception became the progenitor of the very problems its proponents claimed it would solve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if this were not the case, artificial contraception would still be intrinsically disordered, as it is contrary to the ancient teachings of the Church, dating back to the Early Fathers and the Scriptures.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Artificial birth control has various benign-sounding euphemisms, such as reproductive freedom, family planning, and reproductive technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This must be distinguished from natural family planning (NFP), sometimes referred to as fertility awareness methods (FAMs) as the philosophies between the two differ radically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas the former is forcing the body to work in a way that is conducive to an individual’s lifestyle, the latter works with the body and those who practice NFP become intimately more familiar with how their body works, and shape their lifestyle around the natural function of their bodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not to say that NFP cannot be misused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NFP should not be used selfishly, as to become little more than “Catholic contraception.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although historically contraception has been used for thousands of years, it has become a serious issue in the United States only within recent history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, many aspects of the debate have only come to the fore within the last one hundred years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real push for the acceptance of contraception and abortion began in 1917, through the efforts of a woman named Margaret Sanger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was at this time when she founded the group that would become Planned Parenthood:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Birth Control League.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of her agenda was for the Church to accept birth control and abortion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her first success came in 1930, when, at the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Church accepted the use of artificial contraception for serious reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pope Pius XI, in 1931, responded to this issue in his encyclical, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casti Connubii</i>, upholding the traditional Catholic teaching prohibiting artificial contraception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through the years, various Protestant denominations started to accept the use of artificial contraception and in 1961, the National Council of Churches approved the use of these methods of family regulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The watershed moment for the contraceptive culture came in 1965, in the form of Supreme Court case <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Griswald v. Connecticut.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Court ruled that the banning the sale of contraceptives to married couples violated their privacy rights, and this same doctrine was applied to unmarried people in the 1972 case <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eissenstadt v. Baird.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should be noted that these “privacy rights” were not in force before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Griswald</i>, and were used again in 1973 to overturn every abortion law in the country with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Roe v. Wade.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Catholic Church made its definitive pronouncement against artificial contraception on 25 July, 1968, with the promulgation of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> by His Holiness Pope Paul VI.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One may wonder if a discussion on artificial contraception is relevant in the present, more than forty years after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The answer is a resounding “Yes!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In both <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casti Connubii</i>, predictions were made that are relevant issues today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since 1965, when the Supreme Court handed down the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Griswald</i> decision, the United States has seen a veritable explosion in divorce, promiscuity, abortion, and pornography, while at the same time seeing a general decline in overall morality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be foolish to claim this as coincidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also worthy of note is the increased objectifying of women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could be argued that more than ever, women are seen as objects for sexual pleasure, rather than as human beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, this trend accelerated after the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Griswald </i>decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Catholic position on artificial contraception does not date back to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i>, or even to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casti Connubii</i>. The position dates back to the Scriptures and the Apostolic Fathers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>From the very beginning, the purpose of the marital union was procreation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the very first chapter of the very first book in the Bible, we read:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it…”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At the dawn of all Creation, men and women were supposed to procreate, as an aspect of the Adamic Covenant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same command is repeated to Noah, at the establishment of that particular covenant, after the Flood.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The argument could be posited that although there is a command to procreate, there is no indication that frustrating procreation is to be found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This argument is clearly refuted in the thirty-eighth chapter of Genesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an account involving Judah’s daughter-in-law, Tamar, and his son, Onan:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then Judah said to Onan, “Go into your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went into his brother’s wife he spilled his semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother,.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and he slew him also.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This passage demonstrates that actively trying to prevent a pregnancy, at least for solely personal reasons, is displeasing to the Creator.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Further argument could be made that these are attitudes in the Old Testament, and were displaced by the Christian teachings in the New Testament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though much of the New Testament is devoted to salvation and eschatological issues, these Scriptures are not silent on moral issues, including issues surrounding sexuality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most direct passage dealing with sexuality is to be found in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the first chapter is a long list of various transgressions, and although “artificial contraception” is not mentioned specifically, it can be implied, specifically with in the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth verses:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Therefore God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would not rejecting a teaching of the Church, described as the “pillar and bulwark of truth,” fall under this condemnation?<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, the Scriptures praise periods of abstinence by married couples, which is an integral part of NFP, though it does carry a condition:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do not refuse one another [of marital relations] except perhaps by agreement for a season, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, lest Satan tempt you through lack of self-control.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is not to be considered approval for abusing NFP to prevent pregnancy indefinitely, but it does allow for periodic abstinence, when both parties agree, for the purpose of deepening their relationship with God through prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Catholics are not limited to the Scriptures as a source of doctrine, but also draw upon a long tradition dating back to the first century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Early Fathers of the Church identify the procreation of offspring as a primary purpose of Holy Matrimony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his work <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On Marriage and Concupiscence</i>, St. Augustine writes, “In matrimony, however, let these nuptial blessings be the objects of our love—offspring, fidelity, and the sacramental bond.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> The object, that is, the end result, of matrimony is the begetting of children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is expanded further by St. Augustine in his work <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On the Good of Marriage</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Marriages have this good also, that carnal or youthful incontinence, although it be faulty, is brought unto an honest use in the begetting of children, in order that out of the evil of lust the marriage union may bring to pass some good.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In this passage St. Augustine presents children as an objective good, even when the parents are serving disordered passions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lust within the confines of marriage is likewise condemned by St. Ambrose, when he writes, “There is hardly anything more deadly than being married to one who is a stranger to the faith, where the passions of lust and dissension and the evils of sacrilege are inflamed.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a> Even in marriage, sexual relations are not to be based on simple lustful pleasures.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Holy Fathers have further defined the prohibition on birth control, as well as warned of the dangers associated with laxity in this area of the Christian life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1880 Pope Leo XIII promulgated an encyclical entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae</i>, on the topic of Christian Marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where the Scriptures and the Early Fathers have established that procreation is the principle purpose of marriage, Leo XIII went further to explain why:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><a href="" name="411606"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Furthermore, the Christian perfection and completeness of marriage are not comprised in those points only which have been mentioned. For, first, there has been vouchsafed to the marriage union a higher and nobler purpose than was ever previously given to it. By the command of Christ, it not only looks to the propagation of the human race, but to the bringing forth of children for the Church, 'fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God'; so that 'a people might be born and brought up for the worship and religion of the true God and our Savior Jesus Christ.'</span></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[10]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">More than simply bearing and educating children for the sake of participating in the creative work of God, Christian parents are also bringing future saints into the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In essence, Christian parents have the privilege of producing new beings for the worship of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This encyclical was issued at a time when artificial contraceptives were illegal in most of the Christian world, and as such, did not need to be addressed at length.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What Leo XIII did do, however was reinforce the ancient responsibility of producing and educating children.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Half a century later, when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casti Connubii</i> was issued, some significant changes had taken place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first birth control clinic had opened, Margaret Sanger had formed the Birth Control League, and the Anglican Church had decided that artificial contraception was permissible for serious reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pope Pius XI knew that contraception had to be addressed in his document usually translated as “On Christian Marriage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the encyclical the first subject he addresses is the growing animosity towards childbearing:<a href="" name="414714"><o:p></o:p></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: 414714;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And now, Venerable Brethren, we shall explain in detail the evils opposed to each of the benefits of matrimony. First consideration is due to the offspring, which many have the boldness to call the disagreeable burden of matrimony and which they say is to be carefully avoided by married people not through virtuous continence (which Christian law permits in matrimony when both parties consent) but by frustrating the marriage act. </span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[11]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He connects the animosity towards children directly with artificial means of contraception, and not the periodic abstinence associated with NFP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, the Pope issued a statement which would be echoed in future generations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that the artificial means of birth control were to be considered intrinsically evil:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><a href="" name="414715"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But no reason, however grave, may be put forward by which anything intrinsically against nature may become conformable to nature and morally good. Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, those who in exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is shameful and intrinsically vicious.</span></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[12]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This statement also ran directly counter to the statement issued by the Anglican Church earlier that same year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas the Church of England had allowed for artificial birth control for serious reasons, the Catholic Church maintained the teaching that the prohibition against contraception could not be abrogated under any circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He defends his argument by quoting St. Augustine, who notes the “wickedness” of intentionally preventing conception.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[13]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He closes the topic with an exhortation drawn from the Council of Trent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He reminds the faithful that the precepts of the Church can be adhered to when strengthened by the grace of God.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[14]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The date of July 25, 1968 marks the watershed moment of the contraceptive debate in the Catholic Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was on this date that Pope Paul VI promulgated what was likely the most controversial encyclical in the post-reformation era.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prior to the promulgation of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i>, a commission was established to investigate the question of artificial contraception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The majority of the bishops involved in the commission felt that the Church should change the teaching on artificial contraception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as the commission was not unanimous, the Pope prayerfully considered the findings, but in the end declared that the teaching of the Church would not change.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[15]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Unlike the previous encyclicals that addressed the subject of contraception, wherein the topic was one aspect of a larger issue, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i>’s treatment placed contraception as the primary concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In doing so, Paul VI put forth a comprehensive explanation of not only what the Church taught, but also the underlying principles that guided the Church to this conclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is this comprehensiveness that raises <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae </i>above previous treatments of the subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the pressure the Church was facing to change the teaching, it must be concluded that the in-depth treatment of the doctrine was a necessary in order to give authoritative weight to the encyclical.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first underlying principle is the nature of married love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Married love, he explains, is not merely a result of natural or evolutionary forces, but is an act of will which entails the complete sharing of the total being between husband and wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This totality of sharing, by its very nature, implies an exclusive, dissoluble bond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul VI describes the marital union as fecund, or productive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He explains that the nature of married love is ordered to the transmission of new life.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[16]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Given the propensity of the use of the terminology “responsible parenthood” used in attempts to justify the use of artificial contraception, Paul VI defined the true essence of responsible parenthood from the perspective of the Church:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Responsible parenthood, as we use the term here, has one further essential aspect of paramount importance. It concerns the objective moral order which was established by God, and of which a right conscience is the true interpreter. In a word, the exercise of responsible parenthood requires that husband and wife, keeping a right order of priorities, recognize their own duties toward God, themselves, their families and human society.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[17]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Responsible parenthood, as understood by the Church, was not to limit family size by any means desired,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but implied a responsibility not only to the family, but also to God and His Church, of which the family is a representation.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[18]</span></span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The key to the teaching on artificial means of birth control falls to the dual nature of the marital act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conjugal love between husband and wife is both procreative and unitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To separate the two natures is not permissible:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called. We believe that our contemporaries are particularly capable of seeing that this teaching is in harmony with human reason.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[19]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Not only is this teaching consistent with what the Church had taught in the past, but this position, according to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i>, can be arrived at solely through the application of reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, the contraception debate was not a conflict between faith an reason, but was an example of where faith and reason come together in agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One argument for artificial birth control that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> dealt with directly was the idea that the entire sexual life was to be viewed as a whole, and therefore, as long as contraception was not being used all of the time, it was an acceptable practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The response is direct and to the point:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">…to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently, it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[20]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pope Paul VI is reinforcing the consistent Church principle that no matter what good is to be attained, evil means are never justified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said, there is a caveat allowed for in the encyclical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a legitimate condition is being treated with a form of contraceptive, it can be allowed, although the intention to correct the condition must be paramount.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[21]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another charge directly answered by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> is with respect to the spacing of births.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This end is in no way condemned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is condemned is the use of artificial contraception to achieve this end:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse only during those times that are infertile, thus controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles which We have just explained.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[22]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is both a concession and an admonition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where the Church concedes to the fact that there are legitimate reasons for spacing births and regulating family size, and that observance of infertile periods can be utilized, a proportionate reason must exist for spacing the births.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, to utilize NFP for strictly personal reasons, as opposed to reasons for the benefit of the family, would still be a disordered practice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The final point with regards to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> that will be addressed is the predictions of the characteristics of a society accepting of artificial contraception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Holy Father made three general predictions: an expansion of infidelity and lowering of moral standards, a devaluing of women and the increasing view of women as objects for sexual gratification, and the abuse of and enforcement of the use of contraceptives by civil authorities.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[23]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is obvious that these things have come to pass since <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Griswald v. Connecticut</i> in 1965. The so-called “sexual revolution” exploded onto the scene within a year after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Griswald.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in the “Bible belt,” pornography retailers and strip clubs dot the landscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abortion is strictly enforced in the People’s Republic of China, and the largest provider of abortions and birth control in the United States, Planned Parenthood, receives significant funding from the federal government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The warnings of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> went unheeded, and the price is being exacted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A great deal of information has been presented here, but information on its own is of little use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The information must be drawn together and applied to be of real value. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To truly apply the principles of why artificial contraception is wrong, an examination of the proper ordering of sexuality must first be conducted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One misconception must immediately be discarded: sex is evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sex and sexuality is anything but evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Properly ordered, sexuality is a good, for it is the means by which God provided for is creation to continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theologically, as mentioned in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i>, conjugal relations are both procreative and unitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a personal level a third dimension exists: pleasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One must remember that pleasure is not an end to the conjugal union, but serves as a motive and benefit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps this concept is put forth best by moral theologian Janet Smith:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There are lots of things that have pleasure attached to them. Pleasure is not the purpose; pleasure is the motive; pleasure is the consequence; but it's not the purpose. As a matter of fact, God attached pleasure to the things that he really wants us to do, that are necessary for our survival and for our happiness… So, God attached pleasure to everything he wanted us to do for, not our salvation, so much, as just our well-being. But we have to do it … in the right way. Sure, eating is pleasurable, but there are limits to what you should be eating. Sexual intercourse is pleasurable, but there are limits to what you should be doing, and you have to seek that pleasure in accord with the nature and reality of what you're dealing with.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[24]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The point Dr. Smith is trying to express is that our sexuality is a good thing, it is a gift from God, but like all gifts, it can be misused, and the common misuse of our sexuality is to focus on the pleasure, and forget the true purposes of sexual relationships: procreation and human bonding.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This concept is completely lost on the proponents of birth control and abortion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Artificial contraception has contributed to the devaluing of pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For evidence, one needs to go no further than Planned Parenthood (emphasis added):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Planned Parenthood believes that all people deserve access to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">birth control and other preventive health care, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections</b>. In fact, more than 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood health centers do is preventive and primary health care, helping women and families make responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health, their lives, and their futures.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[25]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When contraception is described as “preventative care,” it infers that pregnancy is a disease or condition to be avoided, rather than a gift of life. This is reinforced by the inclusion of birth control in the same category of preventative care as cancer screenings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may lead one to ask, “What is the difference between preventing pregnancy with artificial means and natural means? Since the end is the same aren’t they equivalent?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The answer is a resounding “No!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The underlying philosophy of artificial birth control is this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The manner in which my body functions is getting in the way of the way I want to live my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since it is my own body, I can do with it as I please, so I am going to force it into functioning in the way I desire.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The motivation behind artificial contraception is self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether the contraceptive is a barrier, like a condom, chemical, like the pill, or abortifacient, like the intra-uterine device (IUD), the motive is the same: to impede the creation of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The philosophy behind NFP is altogether different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Natural Family Planning requires both parties to be dedicated to the system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is complex, and formal training is highly recommended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The philosophy behind NFP says “We respect God’s creation and rather than mold it to fit our desired lifestyle, we will change our lifestyle around the natural function of our bodies.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NFP does require discipline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Smith makes a very interesting observation about critics of natural family planning:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;"><span style="color: black;">Now, a lot of people say, "What's the difference?" You have two couples who don't want to have a baby and want to have sex and they're doing the same thing. They're trying to have sex without trying to have babies or without wanting to have babies... And that's a very common confusion and a very common complaint, and I'm going to try and help you think about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;"><span style="color: black;">The first thing I want to say to such couples, such people, is, "Well, if contraception and Natural Family Planning are the same, why not just use Natural Family Planning?" And you know what they say, "But that would be completely different. I'd have to change everything." I say, "Wait a second. You just told me there's no difference and now you tell me it'd be completely different." But, of course, what they mean is no moral difference, but they recognize that there'd be an enormous lifestyle difference. I say, "But wait a second. If there's an enormous lifestyle difference, then that may be a hint that there's some kind of a moral difference as well."<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[26]</span></span></span></span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;">Dr. Smith was illustrating an important ethical principle in Christian thought:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The ends do not justify the means.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as Using NFP for selfish reasons is unacceptable, using artificial contraception for a just end is also unacceptable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both the ends and the means must satisfy moral requirements.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In closing, the Catholic teachings on artificial contraception are not a means of controlling the sexuality of the faithful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Church recognizes the dangers that flow out of artificial contraception: the devaluing of women and children, a general decline in morality, and the emphasizing of selfish pleasure over communal spousal bonding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The promises of marital stability and reduced unwanted pregnancies have proven to be wildly false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The prohibition against artificial contraception is nothing more than a call to embrace chastity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chastity, which flows from the virtue of temperance, is nothing more than properly ordering sexuality to glorify God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Artificial contraception elevates lust over procreation and unity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The philosophy behind artificial contraception is oriented towards self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Above all, contraception is in direct conflict with the apostolic teachings of the Church, and as such, has no place in the lives of faithful Catholics.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">Leo XIII. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae. </i><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_10021880_arcanum_en.html">http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_10021880_arcanum_en.html</a> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">Paul VI. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i>. <a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html">http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html</a> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">Physicians for Life. “Timeline: Abortion on Demand in the USA.” Physicians for Life, <a href="http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/76/26/">http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/76/26/</a> (accessed November 17, 2009)<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">Pius XI. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casti Connubii. </i>Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2001.<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">Planned Parenthood. “Affordable Birth Control and other Preventative Care” Planned Parenthood Federation of America. <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/key-issues/affordable-birth-control-and-other-preventive-care-25690.htm">http://www.plannedparenthood.org/key-issues/affordable-birth-control-and-other-preventive-care-25690.htm</a> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">Smith, Janet. “Contraception: Why Not?” Catholic Education Resource Center. <a href="http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html">http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html</a> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">Willis, John R., SJ, editor. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Teachings of the Early Church Fathers.</i> San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002.<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><br />
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</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Physicians for Life, “Timeline: Abortion on Demand in the USA,” Physicians for Life, </span><a href="http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/76/26/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/76/26/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (accessed November 17, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Gen. 1:27-28<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Gen. 9:1<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Gen. 38: 8-10<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> See 1 Tim. 3:15<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> 1 Cor. 7:5<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> St. Augustine, “On Marriage and Concupiscence” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Teachings of the Church Fathers</i>, ed. Fr. John R. Willis, S.J., (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002), 438.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[8]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> St. Augustine, “On the Good of Marriage” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Teachings of the Church Fathers</i>, ed. Fr. John R. Willis, S.J., (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002), 440.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[9]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> St. Ambrose, “Letters, No. 19” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Teachings of the Church Fathers</i>, ed. Fr. John R. Willis, S.J., (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002), 439.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[10]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Leo XIII, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae,</i> </span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_10021880_arcanum_en.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_10021880_arcanum_en.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[11]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Pius XI, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casti Connubii, </i>(Boston: Pauline Press, 2001), 53.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[12]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 54.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[13]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 55.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[14]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 61.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn15" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[15]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Paul VI, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> </span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (accessed November 18, 2009), 14.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn16" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[16]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 9<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn17" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[17]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 10<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn18" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[18]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Eph. 5:21-33<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn19" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[19]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Paul VI, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Humanae Vitae</i> </span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (accessed November 18, 2009), 12.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn20" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[20]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 14.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn21" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[21]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 15.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn22" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[22]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 16.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn23" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[23]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Ibid, 17.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn24" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[24]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Janet Smith, “Contraception: Why Not?”, Catholic Education Resource Center, </span><a href="http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn25" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[25]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Planned Parenthood, “Affordable Birth Control and other Preventative Care” Planned Parenthood Federation of America, </span><a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/key-issues/affordable-birth-control-and-other-preventive-care-25690.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.plannedparenthood.org/key-issues/affordable-birth-control-and-other-preventive-care-25690.htm</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn26" style="mso-element: footnote;"> <div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Carl/Documents/Franciscan%202009-2010/Christian%20Moral%20Principles/CMP%20paper.doc#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[26]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Janet Smith, “Contraception: Why Not?”, Catholic Education Resource Center, </span><a href="http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> (accessed November 18, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><br />
</div></div></div></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn26" style="mso-element: footnote;"> </div></div></span><br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn26" style="mso-element: footnote;"> </div></div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-23374996109979677262010-10-10T14:37:00.000-07:002010-10-10T14:37:45.314-07:00The Holy Eucharist<div class="MsoNormal">A major point of contention between Catholics and Protestants is the nature of the Holy Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is another issue where there is no unified “Protestant position.” On one end of the spectrum is the belief that the Lord’s Supper is merely symbolic, with the bread being a representation of the body of the Lord, and the wine (or in some communities, grape juice) being a representation of His blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other end of the Protestant spectrum is that the substance of the body and blood of the Lord are present in the sacrament, but the substance of the bread and wine remain, but only as long as the celebration continues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The substance departs once the celebration comes to an end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though the latter is in some ways similar to Catholic doctrine, there are some significant differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To examine the nature of the Eucharist, we will start with the Scriptures, but we will also be looking at other sources to aid in interpretation.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">The first thing that I want to look at is frequency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the most Catholic parishes, the Eucharist is celebrated every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many parishes, multiple daily opportunities to receive the Eucharist are available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If one is in the proper disposition, it is expected that they receive the Eucharist every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is required, by Canon Law, for Catholics to receive the Eucharist at least once a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By comparison, virtually all Protestant denominations celebrate the Sacrament much less frequently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At my parents’ church, it is celebrated the first Sunday of the month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Baptist church I used to attend, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper quarterly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One community I know of, a Fundamentalist church in Steubenville, Ohio, celebrates it only annually at Passover time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With this disparity of modern practice, I wonder if there is an indication of frequency in the Scriptures.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">For starters, Jesus did not indicate how often it was to be done, but it is implied that the Eucharist is to be celebrated periodically:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><a href="" name="134225"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,</span></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. <u>Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."</u> <u>For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.</u></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I will concede that there is no indication whatsoever in the institution of the Eucharist that indicate the frequency of the celebration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, there is more in the Scriptures about this Sacrament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first celebration of the Sacrament was on the morning of the resurrection, as recounted in Luke 24:13-31.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the Eucharist was celebrated by Jesus on the day of His resurrection, it would seem to imply that the Eucharist is to be celebrated frequently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a tenuous conclusion, so I will again return to the Scriptures to provide more evidence of frequent reception of the Eucharist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strongest evidence is in Acts:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And <u>day by day</u>, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number <u>day by day</u> those who were being saved. </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Acts 2:46-47)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Though not explicit, it does seem to indicate that the Eucharist was celebrated “day by day.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At any rate, the Sacrament was celebrated more frequently than once per year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This much is certain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The next issue to be addressed is the one that causes the greatest amount of consternation between Catholics and Protestants: the nature of the Sacrament itself, i.e., is the Eucharist the actual body and blood of the Lord, or is it merely a symbol?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To properly address this requires a short foray into some basic theology regarding Sacraments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Catholics, the Sacraments are signs that are efficacious, that is, that they do something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So they are symbols, but not only symbols.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a deeper reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To fully explain the signs and graces connected with the Eucharist would take a book (literally, I am actually working on one.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suffice it to say that the Old Testament is full of Eucharistic imagery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are but a few examples:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Melchizadek’s offering of bread and wine.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Moses turning the Nile to blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Feeding the Israelites on manna in the wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Various offerings in Leviticus.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Before the Passion, there are many events in the Gospels that point to the centrality of the Eucharist to the Gospel message:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jesus was born in Bethlehem (“House of Bread”) and laid in a manger (feeding trough).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Of the imagery in the Gospel of John, two of the most prominent are references to bread and wine.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The miraculous feedings, the incident on the Road to Emmaus, and the accounts of the institution of the Eucharist all follow the same pattern (Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Of these, the most germane to the discussion is John 6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember in the previous chapter, an account of a miraculous feeding in the form of multiplication of fishes and loaves takes place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is significant because of the bread imagery used here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus refers to himself as “the Bread of Life” (vv. 35, 48).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He calls himself “the bread that came down from heaven” (v. 41, 50-51).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore in v. 51, Jesus says that the bread he offers is his own flesh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This becomes a bone of contention between Protestants and Catholics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is Jesus speaking literally or figuratively?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could it be possible that he was speaking in the form of a parable, or just using a shocking metaphor?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only answer borne out in the text is “No.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to this narrative Jesus gives some teaching wherein he tells those gathered that they need to eat his flesh. This results in questioning by the Jews, after which he not only repeats himself, but provides an even more visceral image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This causes an increase in the murmuring against Him, and many disciples leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This next part is absolutely critical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus turns to Peter and the Twelve with a question: “Will you also leave?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did not say, “Since the others have left, I am now going to explain to you what I really meant.” He did not approach those leaving and explain the metaphor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can only be taken to mean that Jesus was speaking in a literal fashion, and it speaks to the faith of the twelve when Peter answers, “Who else has the words of life?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is a problem with this interpretation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not an authoritative interpreter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could say as much, and I would have no choice but to agree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I can also appeal to the Apostolic Fathers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. Ignatius of Antioch died in AD 127.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a disciple of St. Polycarp, who was himself a direct disciple of St. John the Apostle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are talking about the testimony of one who was very close indeed to the Apostles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. Ignatius was martyred in Rome, and on the way, he wrote letters to various Churches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One such letter was to the Church at Smyrna, where he describes the Eucharist:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><a href="" name="8760"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But consider those who are of a different opinion with respect to the grace of Christ which has come unto us, how opposed they are to the will of God. They have no regard for love; no care for the widow, or the orphan, or the oppressed; of the bond, or of the free; of the hungry, or of the thirsty.</span></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="" name="8762">They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer<u>, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ</u>, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keep in mind that this letter was written in AD 110, less than 20 years after the death of St. John.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it possible that St. Ignatius, the Bishop of the Church in Antioch could have departed from the true teaching of the Church so quickly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, is it then likely that the “true” teaching was completely forgotten, only to rediscovered nearly 1500 years later?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which scenario is more likely, using simple reason?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. Ignatius teaching error almost immediately after the death of the last Apostle, with true teaching discovered more than a millennium later, or St. Ignatius, who likely knew John personally, was teaching rightly all along, and the Reformation got it wrong?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I end with this question. The answer is up to you.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-69465629390899495122010-09-11T17:05:00.000-07:002010-09-11T17:05:21.435-07:00Why can't women be priests?This is a hotbed of discussion. Essentially, the charge is made that the Catholic Church is chauvinist, if not downright misogynistic, because the Church will not change her position on the ordination of women. The problem is a twofold misunderstanding. On the one hand, many believe that it is within the power of the papacy to actually change doctrine. The other is a gross misunderstanding of the nature of Holy Orders.<br />
The pope is not a mere head of state, and the Church is a kingdom, not a democracy. Public opinion has no bearing on Church teachings. Certain practices have changed: laws concerning fasting and abstinence, introduction of the vernacular into the Mass, adult baptisms were formerly nude (its true!), private confessions (they were public in the early Church), and so on. Even those things concerning sacraments the changes have been with the form of the sacrament, but not the matter. A priest cannot consecrate a donut for Communion. It is not the right matter. Likewise in Holy Orders, a woman cannot be ordained. Why? Because men are the proper matter. Now of course, this in and of itself requires some explanation. Why are men the proper matter? It has to do with the signs and symbols being presented. Sacraments are physical signs. For example, in Baptism, we use water. Someone cannot be baptized in Kool-Aid. Baptism is a cleansing from sin. Can you wash <i>anything</i> in Kool-Aid? Neither can we use some other kind of cleansing agent. Why not? Because we are reborn to a life in Christ. Water is a sign of life. The symbolism is very important in the Sacraments. The masculinity of the priesthood is part of the physical sign. When the priest is administering the Sacraments, he is not simply Father Bob. He is acting "in the person of Christ." The Son, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, is the Bridegroom. A bridegroom, be definition, is male. The symbolism of the priest as Christ is lost with a female priesthood. There is also the misunderstanding as to the nature of the priesthood. It is a Sacrament of Service. The Priest serves the people, and he obeys the Church. It is not a position of power.Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-28950691479828273072010-08-12T10:07:00.001-07:002010-08-12T12:49:12.959-07:00Scripture and Tradition<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">One point of contention between Catholics and Protestants is the relationship between Scripture and Tradition. Most Protestants hold to the doctrines of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sola Scriptura</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, or "Scripture Alone." The reason I say "doctrines" rather than doctrine, is because like a great many other things, there is not a single position on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sola Scriptura</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> in the Protestant world. On one end of the spectrum you will find those that hold that the Bible is the sole source for all matters of faith and practice. On the other end are those who say that doctrine can have other sources, but must not be contrary to the Scriptures (which is actually very close to the Catholic position). Rather than go through the myriad Protestant doctrines of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sola Scriptura</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, I think it would be much more useful to try to explain the Catholic position, that doctrine has three sources: The Holy Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium, or teaching authority, of the Church. Using Scriptures, I will do my utmost to defend these teachings of the Church. By holding myself to the stricter standard of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sola Scriptura</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, I feel the defense of the Catholic position will be that much more compelling. I will close this post with an explanation as to why it is important to take all three into consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><i><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Holy Scriptures are a legitimate source of doctrine</span></span></i><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Though some will try to claim otherwise, the Catholic Church does hold that the Holy Bible is a source of doctrine.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Scriptures speak highly of the usefulness of Scripture, and commends the study of Scripture:</span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li> <ul type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;line-height:normal;mso-list:l2 level2 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.0in"><b><span style=" font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(2 Timothy 3:16-17)</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;line-height:normal;mso-list:l2 level2 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.0in"><b><span style=" font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if things were so. </span></span></b><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Acts 17:11)<o:p></o:p></span></span></li> </ul> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Little else will be said of the Holy Scriptures as on this point all who call themselves Christian agree: The Bible is a legitimate source of doctrine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">·</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tradition is not universally condemned in the Scriptures.</span></span></i><span style=" font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is a misunderstanding that tradition is universally condemned in the Holy Writ.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In most cases, the individual Protestant layman should not be held accountable for this belief.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In all likelihood, he or she is using one of two translations: the King James Version (KJV) or New International Version of the Bible.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I am going to reproduce some verses from the KJV, the NIV, and the Revised Standard Version (RSV).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Afterwards I will explain the significance of why these verses were chosen, and why it is germane to the discussion.</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <table class="MsoTableGrid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="margin-left:.5in;border-collapse:collapse;border:none;mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt;mso-yfti-tbllook:1184;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <tbody><tr> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><i><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left:none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">RSV<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left:none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KJV<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left:none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">NIV<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.8pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left:none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Greek<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mt. 15:6<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="129132"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, for the sake of your </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, you have made void the word of God.</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="227633"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></a><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.8pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paradosis <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mk 7:9<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="129981"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">!</span></span></a><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="228486"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></a><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">traditions</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">!</span></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.8pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paradosis<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1 Cor 11:2<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="134204"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">traditions</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> even as I have delivered them to you.</span></span></a><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="232725"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ordinances</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, as I delivered them to you.</span></span></a><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">teachings</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, just as I passed them on to you.</span></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.8pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paradosis<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Col 2:8<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="135140"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.</span></span></a><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="233661"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tradition</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.</span></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.8pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paradosis<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2 Thess 2:15<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="135323"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">traditions</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.</span></span></a><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><a name="233844"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">traditions</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.</span></span></a><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.75pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">teachings</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.</span></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> <td width="128" valign="top" style="width:95.8pt;border-top:none;border-left: none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paradosis<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The reason I provided this chart was to show that all five of these verses, when tradition is spoken of in a negative light, the NIV substitutes the word “teaching.” If you dig you will find this is consistent in the NIV. If “paradosis” is used positively it becomes “teaching.” If used in a negative light, it becomes “tradition.” The RSV always translates “paradosis” as “tradition” and with the KJV, it is anyone’s guess.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Most Protestants use one of these two translations.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It becomes easy to understand why the average layman thinks tradition is universally condemned, when usually the word is used in a negative context in Protestant Bibles.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Again the point I am trying to get at is that tradition is not universally condemned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">·</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Scriptures establish the Church as a teaching authority.</span></span></i><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The third source of doctrine comes from the teaching authority of the Church.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This, too is supported by the Scriptures:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l1 level2 lfo3"><span style=" font-family:"Courier New";mso-fareast-Courier New"font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">o</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And I tell you, you are Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Matthew 16:18-19)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l1 level2 lfo3"><span style=" font-family:"Courier New";mso-fareast-Courier New"font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">o</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.</span></span></b><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But if he does not listen take one or two along with you, that every word </span></b></span><a name="129237"><b><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.</span></span></b></a><b><span style="font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><a name="129238"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Matthew 18:15-17)</span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l1 level2 lfo3"><a name="132286"><span style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-fareast-Courier New"font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">o</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.</span></span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (John 16:13)</span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:normal; mso-list:l1 level2 lfo3"><a name="135396"><span style="font-family:"Courier New";mso-fareast-Courier New"font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">o</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that,</span></span></b></a><b><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><a name="135397"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.</span></a></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (1 Timothy 3:15-16)</span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:.5in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Some explanation is in order.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The first is this idea of “binding and loosing.” In the 21</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">st</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> century, the original meaning of this has been lost.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In most cases, when examining Scripture, one can look at other passages with similar phraseology.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The only other place this occurs is in Matthew 18:18, where the promise to Peter regarding binding and loosing is extended to the others.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This does little to shed light on the meaning of the terms.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is in cases like this that we must reach outside of the Bible to understand what is meant.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If one were to investigate the rabbinical traditions of the Ancient Near East, it would be discovered that “binding and loosing” is the authority to declare moral rights and wrongs.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is what was conferred to the Church, bolstered by the authority to discipline in Matthew 18:15-17, the guidance of the Holy Spirit in John 16:13, and reaffirmation of this authority in 2 Timothy.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is clear in the Scriptures that the Church has authority to teach.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As my final note, will give a brief explanation why it is important to not limit this.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My Christology professor once said, “It is important to remember that every heresy can be backed up by Scripture.”</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is why we must rely on the Church’s Tradition and Teaching authority to clear up disputes.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As the Scriptures say, it is easy to misunderstand the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:16).</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-20969934837255467782010-08-12T08:44:00.001-07:002010-08-12T09:01:20.234-07:00My New ManifestoIn my previous post, I alluded to a "new direction." It came to me while I was eating lunch. From here forward "Debunking the Myths" will have a shipt in philosophy, while persuing the same goal: to give a defense of the Catholic faith. My new guiding principles are thus:<br /><ol><li>It is a poor polemic to simply attack the positions of others. Commencing immediately, I will no longer be trollig the internet looking for utterly rediculous claims that even the vast majority of non-Catholics reject. You will no longer see claims from Jack Chick and his ilk. Rather I will be taking a position of the Catholic Church and explaining it to the best of my ability.</li><li>Emotion-driven rants are a thing of the past (this point applies to my other blog, <a href="http://www.carlbetts.blogspot.com/"><em>Marching Orders</em></a><em> </em>as well). My arguments will appeal to the Fathers, the Catechism, Scriptures, and logical reasoning. They will not appeal to "I am ticked off and darn it I am right!"</li><li>This site is not a forum for debate. Those seeking to debate the contents of my posts will not be approved. If you want to debate, there are many places this can be done, including <a href="http://www.catholic.com/">Catholic Answers Forums</a>.</li></ol><p>By enacting these principles, I hope that this blog will improve, and that both I and my readers can grow spritually from the effort.</p><p>Dominus Vobiscum</p>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-82326472228328524852010-08-11T15:26:00.000-07:002010-08-11T15:31:42.506-07:00New directionThe direction of this blog is going to change. It must change. So far, m posts have been largely defensive and argumentative. That is not the way to show people the truth. The new direction must be more charitable, more done out of love that "I am going to prove you wrong!" This past week has been monumental for me. I now know that I must approach Catholicism from a new direction. It has to flow from the love of Christ. I will post again soon, when God shows me the proper way to do this. I cannot teach, if my motive is simply to prove to my reader that I am right.Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-44589606363672268452010-08-04T11:37:00.000-07:002010-08-09T04:29:41.323-07:00Changing doctrine?This post is a departure form the others, as it is a refutation of a general criticism that a specific claim. Te charge is that the Catholic Church changes doctrine. If doctrine gets changed, does that not make Church Infallibility a self-refuting false doctrine? How is this to be answered? I will capitulate that if doctrine has changed, then yes, infallibility would be rendered invalid. So then the question becomes "Has the Church ever changed doctrine?" There are several things tht will be certainly be brought up:<div><ul><li>Catholics no longer are required to eat meat on Fridays</li><li>Masses are now ordinarily in the vernacular. Previously they were in Latin.</li><li>Catholics are now permitted to marry Protestants</li><li>Priests were not always celibate</li></ul><div>There are others, but I think these will suffice to prove my point. First, we must examine what is entailed in Papal Infallibility. Simply put, when the post is exercising his authority as the pastor of the Universal Church, he is making a solemn definition, and he is teaching on faith and morals, the Pope speaks infallibly. Furthermore when the College of Bishops are in agreement with each other, in communion with the Pope, and are making a declaration on faith and morals, they are likewise speaking infallibly. With these restrictions, infallible statements are fairly rare. In all of the 20th century, the only infallible statements made were the documents of Vatican 2, insofar as the statements made on faith and morals, and the definition of Mary's Assumption into heaven. </div></div><div>The rarity of infallible statements notwithstanding, there are further distinctions to be made. First is that a line must be drawn between "doctrine" and "discipline." Clerical celibacy is a discipline. Abstinence from meat is a discipline. The language of the liturgy is discipline. (As a side note, if the Church would require abstinence of meat on Fridays, the sin would not be consuming meat, but failing to submit to legitimate authority.) Doctrine is an absolute teaching in faith or morals: The Mass is both a meal and a sacrifice. Abortion is an intrinsic evil. Artificial means of contraception are not to be practiced. Remarriage after divorce is unacceptable. Mary is the Mother of God. The Scriptures were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.</div><div>The distinction is clear: Doctrine is <i>what</i> we believe; practice is <i>how</i> we respond to that belief. With this distinction in mind, it becomes clear that doctrine has not changed, but our practice most certainly has.</div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-37091778626784326842010-07-21T18:21:00.001-07:002010-07-22T18:47:05.611-07:00Yes, Virginia, there is a Purgatory.<div><p class="MsoNormal">OK, so the title is corny, but it is true.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The basic charge is the shrill cry "PURGATORY ISN"T IN THE BIBLE!!!!!!!!!!" And to a degree that statement is accurate.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The word "Purgatory" is nowhere to be found in the Scriptures.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That is hardly relevant, because "Trinity," "Rapture," and "Bible" aren't to be found in the Bible either.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will show that the concept of Purgatory is very much in the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Perhaps it is not explicitly in the Bible, but it is implied, and the Scriptures can be interpreted to support the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will gather that most Protestants will not find these arguments convincing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The reason is that they interpret these Scriptures in a different fashion than what the Church does.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In actuality the dispute over Purgatory is not as much about Purgatory itself, but over authority to interpret the Scriptures.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But, alas, I am getting ahead of myself.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Before I get into the Biblical defense of Purgatory, I would like to explain what exactly Purgatory is and what it is not.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When i was a Fundamentalist, I was under the impression that Purgatory was kind of a "lesser Hell" that people went to if they didn't receive all of the Sacraments.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(I now know that in most cases it is not possible to receive all seven, as no woman can receive Holy Orders, and Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony are mutually exclusive in the West and limited in the East).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Now, rather than give a definition of Purgatory off the top of my head, I will copy the teaching of the Church verbatim from the Catechism:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture speaks of a cleansing fire:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:1.0in">As for certain lesser faults we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>From this sentence we understand<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>that certain offenses<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">1032 This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic Sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:1.0in">Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So what is it exactly that the Catechism tells us about Purgatory? <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>It a final purification.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is not punishment or torment, but rather it is a period of cleansing.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>It is temporary.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is no mention of an eternity in Purgatory.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>All who enter Purgatory are saved.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Again, Purgatory is the final purification before entrance into heaven.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have said before that Purgatory is Scriptural, so let us now delve into God’s preserved written Word and see what God tells us about this final phase of purification.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Old Testament is as good a place to start as any, and I will look at the great prophet, Isaiah.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the book that bears his name, we have an account of the purging of sin:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">And th foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coalwhich he had taken with tongs from the altar.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Isa. 6:1-7, RSV-CE2)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here we see the purging of sin.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The very holiness of God revealed the guiltiness of Isaiah, and the righteous prophet needed to be cleansed of his sin to be in the presence of God.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The need to be pure in the presence of God is a recurring theme in the Scriptures.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hid from God after they had sinned (Gen 3:8).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In Genesis 16, Hagar is in disbelief that she had “seen God and remained alive.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Moses at the burning bush was afraid to look at God (Ex. 3:6).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There are those who will reject this idea of the need to be pure in the face of God because this evidence is all from the Old Testament.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Well the same idea is brought back in Revelation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We are told, quite plainly, that “nothing unclean shall enter [the New Jerusalem].”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There will still be an objection to all of this.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“I am saved. My sins are forgiven. My sin-debt is paid in full!”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This objection sounds like a good one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If we persevere to the end we will be saved.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was rightly said of Jesus by John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Let us look at the nature of sin.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is best done in an analogy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(This is not my own.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This came from of Mother Angelica’s many, many television appearances.):<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">There was a little boy who was given some brand new clothes to wear to Mass.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>On the way home from Mass, he asked if he could play outside, as it was such a beautiful day.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His mother replied, “Yes, you may, but you need to change your clothes first.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I don’t want you to get them dirty.” The little boy agreed, but when they got home, after they had lunch he went straight outside without changing clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As luck would have it, he fell down, while running outside and his clothes became covered with mud.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He immediately realized that he forgot to change clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Sullen and downcast, he went inside.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Mama,” he said, “I’m sorry, but I forgot to change clothes and I got them all muddy.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His mother looked down at him and said “You are forgiven, just go change right now, OK?” <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The point of this story is that he sinned through his own fault, he repented, he was forgiven.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But only one thing remained: his clothes still needed cleaned.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The same is true with us and our sin. We are forgiven, that is true enough, but the soul is still dirty.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The sin leaves foul gunk behind that needs to be cleansed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When we are baptized, that is all washed away if we had committed of any personal sin before our baptism, as would be the case of an adult convert.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But when we commit sin after our baptism, the remnants of sin are left that need cleansed and purified.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some of my readers might say, “That is a cute story, but it isn’t Scripture, so has no value for the establishment of a doctrine.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will concede the point that it isn’t Scripture, so let us find the concept of cleansing in the Scriptures.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(I will even stick to the New Testament to keep the dispensationalists happy!)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The clearest passage is 1 Corinthians 3:10-15:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in">According to the commission of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building on it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Let each man take care how he builds upon it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man‘s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This passage says that all of our works in our life will be tested.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And for those works which are not of God will be burned away, and the key here is that we will suffer loss, though we will be saved.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is the process the Church names Purgatory.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the beginning of this post I said that the dissension over Purgatory is really about Church authority.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That is because the main objection to this last Scripture is not that could not possibly be about Purgatory, but rather that is not how Protestants choose to interpret the passage.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To be honest, this passage is murky.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There are multiple ways to interpret it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Church interprets it as an indication of Purgatory.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When Jesus gave the power to Peter, and then the Apostles, to “bind and loose,” what he was doing was giving the Church the authority to interpret the Scriptures authoritatively when needed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And that is really the crux of the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We need to listen to the authority given to us by Jesus.<o:p></o:p></p></div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-77507444532677365832010-06-22T20:32:00.000-07:002010-07-17T09:27:30.432-07:00The Sacraments--"Earning Salvation"?<blockquote></blockquote>As mentioned in my last installment, there is a charge that the Sacraments are somehow added to the Gospel, and therefore a different Gospel. Something that must fist be brought to attention is that the Sacraments <i>not an exclusively Catholic doctrine.</i> Thats right. The attack on the Sacraments are not simply an attack on Catholicism, but an attack on the vast majority of Christianity. The two main differences are the nature and the number of the Sacraments. Catholics, of course, recognize <i>exactly</i> seven. The Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes that there are <i>at least</i> seven. Even most Protestant denominations (Baptist and Fundamentalist Evangelicals tend to be the exceptions) that there are no sacraments, but there are two ordinances. Before this discussion on the nature of the Sacraments, and what they are and what they are not, it is necessary to have a definition of a Sacrament. According to the <i>Catechism of the Catholic Church:</i> <i><blockquote>The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted by the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions. <span style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="Apple-style-span">(1131)</span></blockquote><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="Apple-style-span"></span></i><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="Apple-style-span">There are some things of which to take note. First sacraments are signs. A sign is something which represents something else. Some signs, like exit sins, are merely informative, but other signs, like wedding rings, carry a deeper significance. This deeper significance is the kind of sign that a Sacrament is. It represents something deep and profound and mysterious about our faith in Jesus Christ. We call them "efficacious" because they bring about a specific result. Baptism is a ritual washing, and it has the effect of washing away original sin, as well as personal sin and all temporal punishment due this sin. A normal bath or shower is not capable of this result, but is only possible through the sacrament.</span></i><br /><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="Apple-style-span">Next, a sacrament was instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church. All of the Sacrments are mentioned is Scripture, although some are more difficult to find than others. This will be dealt with in detail in future posts, as a detailed description is beyond the scope of this short article. </span></i><br />My final point is that the sacrments are signs tht actually do something. The important thing to remember is that it is God that is the actor. The person receiving the sacrament is doing nothing but making himself avialable. The minister of the sacrament is doing something insofar as he is an instrument of God. I willl use baptism as an example. The person being baptized isn't doing anything. He is simply presenting himself to participate in the sacrament. The minister of the baptism is also not doing anything under his own power. If it was simply a human action between minister and catechumen, all that would happen is the catechumen would get wet. God, using the minister as an instrument, cleanses the catechumen of sin. It becomes clear that the sacraments are not work, because it is God that is doing everything.<i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br /></span></i><i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="Apple-style-span"></span></i>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-35997346532008892022010-06-11T18:23:00.001-07:002010-06-13T16:11:11.689-07:00Salvation by Works?<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium;">While trolling the internet looking for more anti-Catholic claims, I came across an <a href="http://cnview.com/on_line_resources/the_truth_about_roman_catholics_final.htm">article</a>, naturally titled "The Truth About Roman Catholicism," which contained the following statement:<blockquote></blockquote></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><blockquote>Roman Catholicism, although teaching that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, actually denies the truth of the Gospel by adding sacraments, good works, and purgatory as additional requirements for forgiveness of sin and eternal life. This amounts to the preaching of a false Gospel which places the Roman Catholic Church under God's curse.</blockquote></i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">Is there any merit to this claim? Does Catholicism require a "works-based" salvation? Do Catholics reject the idea that salvation is by grace through faith, as is put forth in Ephesians 2:8-9? In other words, according to Catholic doctrine, how does one gain eternal life? The charges expressed in this statement are actually too large for a single post in this blog. The first post will be dealing with the relationship between faith and works. The second will address the Sacraments, and the last post will focus on the (entirely Biblical) doctrine of Purgatory.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The first issue to be resolved is this idea of "works." Works is mentioned by Jesus, and St. Paul, and St. James. For instance, Jesus says this: <blockquote><i>Truly, truly, I say to you , he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the father.</i> (John 14:12)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">and: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><blockquote><i>For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.</i> (Matthew 12:50). </blockquote> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">St. Paul, too, speaks of the need to act upon our faith:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i></i><blockquote><i>Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.</i> (1 Corinthians 15:58)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">and: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><blockquote><i>Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. </i>(Philippians 2:12-13)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">and lest we forget:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><blockquote><i>For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.</i> (Romans 2:13)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">We must also remember that St. James also wrote of the role of works in salvation:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><blockquote><i>You believe God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish fellow, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works , when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and Scripture was fulfilled which says "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the Harlot justified by works by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart form the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.</i> (James 2:19-26)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">Why have all of these verses been repeated here? And trust me, there are many more. To show that it is a Biblical teaching that work is a component of faith. Of course the <i>Sola Fide </i> crowd, never one to give up a fight easily will chime in with their own Scriptures. Probably the first one will be the most well-known verse in the entire Bible, thanks to giant signs at televised sporting events:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i></i><blockquote><i>For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life</i> (John 3:16)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">It does seem convincing, at least on the surface. The problem is that it seems to be in direct contradiction with the second chapter of James, previously quoted. Faith or faith plus works? We know that the Bible cannot contradict itself. Si what we must do is final out how to reconcile these two passages. One passage is not "more inspired" than the other. It is all God's Written Word. The two passages can be reconciled first by looking at what John 3:16 does <i>not</i> say. There is no indication of belief being the only requirement, or a t least a faith devoid of good works. In fact if a few more verses are read, a reference to behavior can be found in connection with salvation:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i></i><blockquote><i>And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light , lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.</i> (John 3: 19-21)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">With this addition, it seems that faith alone is less certain. The closing verse in the chapter is even more direct to the connection between faith and works:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i></i><blockquote><i>He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Sonshall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.</i> (John 3:36) </blockquote>It becomes absolutely clear with this verse. Belief in the Son carries with it an obligation to obey the Son. The supporter of <i>Sola Fide</i> will not give up easily, for he has more references in his arsenal. For example, he may quote Ephesians 2:8-9:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i><blockquote>For by grace have you been saved through faith; and this is not your own dong, it is the gift of God--not because of works. lest any man should boast.</blockquote></i> Here it clearly says (or so it seems) that works has no role whatsoever in salvation. It is a gift that cannot be earned. As a Catholic what is the proper response? We do agree that in no way can salvation be earned. but these verses in nay way do not relegate works done as nothing. If reading is continued to the next verse, we will see that works are a vital part of our Christian life:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i></i><blockquote><i>For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. </i>(Ephesians 2:10)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">Isn't that interesting. Not only are works simply a good thing to do, but God has prepared works for us that He wants us to do. <i>Sola Fide </i>fails here as well. At the risk of flogging a deceased equine, one further example will be provided to finish the discussion of works in this vein:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i></i><blockquote><i>But if it is not by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.</i> (Romans 11:6)</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">Again, this seems fairly clear that salvation has no basis on works whatsoever, as works nullify the doctrine of grace. But it is not so, as this passage is not even discussing salvation at all. This passage is explaining that God has not turned His back on Israel, and there is a faithful remnant who were saved by the grace of God, and not of their own merits. In other words those who are saved are saved by the grace of God, and not because they are righteous, but the mere presence of obedience and works does not nullify the idea of grace. If we think of works as "faith in action," as is inferred by Ephesians 2:8-10 and James 2:19-26, it becomes illogical to think that works have no role whatsoever in our salvation.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">If this is true,we must ponder on the source of this confusion between faith and works. I believe it is to be found in the understanding of the use of the word "law" in the writings of St. Paul. St. Paul does not use this word consistently in his writings, which makes his epistles challenging to properly interpret. St. Peter bears witness to this in the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-16). Here are some of the differing ways St. Paul uses the word "Law" (all of these references are form his letter to the Romans):</span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i>When Gentiles who have not the law...</i>: The Old Testament ceremonial law (2:14)</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i>They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts</i>: Natural law (2:15)</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><i>So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand</i>: principle (7:21)</span></li></ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The challenge now becomes to determine in which sense the word "law" is being used. I find it to be true that when St. Paul refers to "works of the law," which is the source of the confusion, he is referring to the Mosaic Covenant, that is, to the ceremonial Old Testament Laws which are insufficient for the forgiveness of sins.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"></span></div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-23421672021286055172010-06-10T13:38:00.000-07:002010-06-10T17:09:24.275-07:00The Holy Sacrifice of the MassThis post is somewhat of deviation from the others. Rather than refuting a false claim, I will try my best to explain what I believe to be one of the more difficult teachings to grasp: The Mass as a sacrifice. I will first say what it does not mean. Catholics do not re-sacrifice Christ over and over again at the Mass. That is a gross oversimplification of the rite. If we do not re-sacrifice the Lord, then what is going on? I will first direct you to the word "eternity." Eternity is not simply "always has been, is, and always shall be." It includes that concept, to be sure, but that it is not all that it is. What "eternity" truly is, is a state that exists outside of, and is thereby unaffected by, time. So what does this mean? It is kind of difficult to wrap your brain around, but everywhen is right now from God's perspective. Another way to think about it is that God is not just omnipresent in space, but also in time. Yet another way to approach it is to say that eternity is not all time, but is the place where time does not exist. One reason that this is so difficult to grasp is that although time exists in this reality, it is not an <i>a priori</i> truth, that is, it is not a strict and absolute necessity that time exists in all realities.<div><br /></div><div>Of course you may ask, "What does this have to do with the Mass?" If every moment in time is "right now" from God's perspective, then it follows that for God, the Crucifixion is happening right now as well. And if you look into the Scriptures, we actually get a description of Heavenly worship. This is found in the very last book of the Bible: the Revelation of St. John. What is at this worship? the pertinent information is to be found in Revelation 5:6. We see the Lamb, standing as if slain. We know, from John's Gospel, that Jesus is "the Lamb of God, come to take away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). So there it is, right in the Scriptures, that the Sacrifice of Jesus is re-presented (as opposed to represented) in the heavenly worship, which is the model for earthly worship. SO do we "re-sacrifice Christ" as Catholics? No! <b>It is the same sacrifice!</b> The bread and wine are a presentation of the bloody sacrifice in an unbloody manner. Does this fully explain the Sacrament of the Eucharist? Not by a longshot. But that it is whay it is a Sacrament. It is a mystery. The human mind cannot fully comprehend the Mass. But perhaps it is somewhat easier to see how it truly is a sacrifice.</div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-31047470200250085792010-06-08T19:57:00.000-07:002010-06-09T07:04:01.221-07:00The Catholic Church and Scripture<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_swbxBeSLMpU/TA8DuOSDsLI/AAAAAAAAAC4/zUTijP5E3Qc/s1600/0074_13.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 165px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_swbxBeSLMpU/TA8DuOSDsLI/AAAAAAAAAC4/zUTijP5E3Qc/s320/0074_13.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480603364175884466" /></a><br />This is an actual page from one of Jack Chick's more well known tracts, <a href="http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0074/0074_01.asp">"The Death Cookie"</a>. Though the tract is largely a charge against the Eucharist, the page I want to draw your attention to alleges that the Catholic Church has tried to keep the Scriptures out of the hands of the faithful. This shows ignorance of not only of official Catholic doctrine, but also of practices within the Church, as well as an ignorance of historical context.<div><br /><div>I will freely admit that the Church used to chain Bibles. This is to be viewed as a positive thing, rather than a negative thing. It must be remembered that before the consumer society in which we now live existed, things were done manually rather than through automation. In the modern world, the production of a book is fairly inexpensive, but before the invention of the Gutenberg press it was not so. Bibles were painstakingly transcribed, many times with elaborate illustrations, <i>by hand</i>. The cost of a single Bible was astronomical. Most parishes only had access to a single Bible. Since Bibles were rare and monetarily valuable, they were the targets of thieves. Therefore, measures were take to prevent this theft. Bibles were chained in the parishes, not to keep them out of the hands of the faithful, but to ensure that all had access.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another myth concerning the Scriptures is that the Church tries to keep the Bible out of the language of the people. This is also blatantly false. By the fourth century, Latin had replaced Greek as the common language. Those people that could read had Latin as their first language and Greek, if they knew it at all, as their second. It was for this reason that St. Jerome was commissioned to translate the Scriptures from their original tongues into the Latin of the people: the Latin Vulgate. The translations did not stop there. The Bible used by Martin Luther,before he issued his own truncated version of the Scriptures, was a Catholic Bible in German. The Douay-Rheims was an English translation that predated the King James Version. SO you see the Church has also made continuous efforts to keep the Scriptures in the language of the people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Though the Scriptures are not intended for private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20), knowledge of the Scriptures is encouraged. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives guidelines for proper Biblical hermeneutics (109-133). St. Jerome, one of the 33 Doctors of the Church is oft-quoted as saying "Ignorance of the Scriptures is Ignorance of Christ." This is reflected in the Mass. The <i>Novus Ordo</i> Mass, the Mass most commonly celebrated in the Church today has more Scripture directly read than in any other Christian worship service. There are no fewer than three readings (Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel, except during the Easter Season, where the Old Testament is replaced by a reading from Acts of the Apostles) plus a responsoral Psalm. Certain Masses (most notably the Easter vigil) can have even more readings. If the Church is trying to keep the Scriptures away from the people, then making sure the faithful have access to the Scriptures in their native language coupled with extensive readings during worship is an awfully odd way of achieving this end.</div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div></div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-41975824540012199042010-06-02T20:19:00.000-07:002010-06-06T09:05:26.879-07:00The Whore of BabylonThe Church has been identified with the Whore of Babylon since the Reformation. The charge is frequent enough in Evangelical Protestantism that no citation is really needed, but just in keeping with my own guidelines here are some references:<div><br /><div><a href="http://www.remnantofgod.org/whoreofbabylon.htm">http://www.remnantofgod.org/whoreofbabylon.htm</a></div><div><a href="http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp">http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp</a></div><div><a href="http://www.thechristianexpositor.org/page101.html">http://www.thechristianexpositor.org/page101.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I think that should be sufficient to substantiate that there are some who call themselves Christian that make the claim that the Whore of Babylon is to be identified with the Catholic Church. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Before this particularly old and slanderous claim is refuted, some explanation is in order. Who or what is this "Whore of Babylon"? This imagery comes to us in the Revelation of St. John. In the seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of that work we are told of a vision of a woman, clothed in purple and scarlet who is described as being the mother of abominations. She is riding a beast with seven heads and ten horns, who later devours her. This post will go through and show that the "Whore of Babylon" is not the Catholic Church, but apostate Jerusalem.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first piece of the puzzle is that the whore is a symbolic representation in a vision, and she represents a city. She does not represent a "one world church" or "false religious system" as purported by Chick and others. We know this because of what the scriptures say about her:</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b><blockquote>And he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out this purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:15-18)</blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">She is a "great city." Of course, more information is needed. She could be Rome. Or Jerusalem. Or Alexandria. Or Cyprus. Or Athens. You get the idea. The idea of "dominion" does seem to point to Rome, but only in a temporal sense. In Hebrew cosmology, Jerusalem, or more specifically, the Temple, was the center of the universe. God ruled the earth form the Holy of Holies. Would this not place dominion in Jerusalem? More interestingly, if we take the Beast to be Rome, Jerusalem makes even more sense. The power that Jerusalem held was supported by the Roman Empire. But in AD 70, Jerusalem was burned to the ground by the Roman Legions. The pieces are starting to fall into place. If it also taken with the Old Testament Prophets who describe Jerusalem as a harlot, then it makes completely logical sense that the Whore of Babylon is apostate Jerusalem, who is later turned on by Rome, and has no connection with the Catholic Church whatsoever.</span></b></i></div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-58760620094128576512010-05-28T10:21:00.000-07:002010-05-28T12:03:59.737-07:00Mary the main focus of Catholic worship?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">I found this little statement at the close of an "</span></span><a href="http://www.chick.com/bc/2009/purgatory.asp"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">article</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">" on purgatory:</span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Most Roman Catholics are not that familiar with Jesus since the Virgin Mary goddess is the main focus of their worship.</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">This short statement has a lot to unpack. I see three things that need to be addressed:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;">The claim that Roman Catholics are unfamiliar with Jesus.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;">The claim that the Virgin Mary is regarded as a goddess.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">The claim that Mary is the focus of Catholic worship.</span></li></ol><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;">Each one of these could be post unto themselves, but I will handle all three here. To the mind of a Catholic all three of these points defy all reason. I feel compelled to address them, not in order to correct Catholics who are guilty of these, but rather to show that the author of this article really has no knowledge of Catholicism. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "> </span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><i>Roman Catholics are not familiar with Jesus.</i> At every Sunday Mass and at every Mass that falls on a feast regarded as a solemnity, the Nicene Creed is recited. For those that are unfamiliar with the Creed: </span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "></span><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><b>We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us men and our salvation, he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. </b> We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "></span></div><blockquote><div></div></blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;">Now as for the Catholic Church not teaching about Jesus Christ, the bold text is essentially the Gospel. This is something that all Catholics profess to be considered Catholic. Of course, if this was all that the Church did with regards to the Savior, then she would be failing in her responsibility to teach the faithful, as commanded at the end of Matthew's Gospel: <blockquote>And Jesus came and said to them "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt. 28:18-20)</blockquote></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;">To fulfill this, the Scriptures are read at every Mass, followed by a homily. The last Scriptures read are from one of the four Gospels, and also, because these are accounts from the life of Jesus, particular reverence is given to the Gospel, as the congregation always stands for the reading, and the Gospel is always read by a priest or deacon in the context of the liturgy. Roman Catholics do know about Jesus. They profess faith in Him at Mass, and hear a Gospel reading at all Masses.</span></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i>The Virgin Mary is regarded as a goddess. </i>Mary is never regarded to be equal with God. Catholics do honor her, and this honor is well deserved, as according to the Scriptures, all generations are to call her blessed (Lk. 1:48). Even that nature of the prayers directed to Mary are not really to her, as much as through her. What Catholics ask from Mary is intercession, which is her proper role as Queen-Mother of the Davidic king. (An example of this type of intercession can be seen in 1 Kings 2). As vague as a statement as this is, not much more can be said, other than I am sure that this topic will be revisited in future posts. </span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i>Mary is the focus of Catholic worship.</i>The previous two points do a fairly good job of refuting the last, although some things are to be added. First and foremost, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is an offering made to God alone. It is never made to Mary or any other Saint. We also must point out that the holiness of Mary and the Saints are not of their own doing, but are saintly only because God provided them with the grace to be holy. In fact our devotion to Mary and the Saints are devotion to Jesus. We follow Mary's instruction: "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn. 2:5).</span></span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">It is very clear that the Catholic Church does not teach that Mary is a goddess, neither is Mary the center of our spiritual life. Mary points us to her Son. We worship the Triune God, and not a pantheon of Saints. The Saints are our examples and our intercessors to be sure, but they are not the objects of worship. Dominus Vobiscum!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-68922775041368555022010-05-28T09:42:00.000-07:002010-05-28T09:56:32.056-07:00Why the new blog?Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said, "There are not one hundred people in this country who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly believe the Catholic Church to be." At one time, I counted myself among the latter group. It is easy to understand why this happens. Protestant bookstores outnumber Catholic ones by leaps and bounds. In many of these Protestant stores, books purporting to be about Catholicism are relegated to their sections about the occult or "man-made religions." Anti-Catholic websites abound, and the "information" they supply about Catholicism is full of misrepresentations and half-truths. The purpose of this blog is to address these issues head on. Every article I write will be to correct misinformation, refute false claims, or to clarify the teachings of the Church when they are misrepresented. I will do this in all fairness. I will not make some nebulous claim that "fundamentalists say this" or "I have heard a Protestant say that." To do so would make me no better than those I am trying to counter. I will provide text, images, and links directly to the source so you can see for yourself what claims are being made. Likewise, my arguments will be backed up by direct quotes from the Scriptures, the Catechism, Magisterial documents and so on. This blog is just my attempt, in a small way, to use the gifts the Lord has given me for His glory. Dominus Vobiscum.Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625808891605276957.post-28853992842845705312010-05-28T06:21:00.000-07:002010-05-28T06:29:00.124-07:00Welcome!Well last night on my other <a href="http://carlbetts.blogspot.com">blog</a>, I wrote my first truly apologetic piece. Since that blog has developed into a hodgepodge of various topics, which is how it will remain, I have decided to start this new blog, devoted entirely to apologetic arguments. I will still post apologetics on the other blog, but those will be devoted mostly to general principles; this blog will have have the specific focus of clearing up misconceptions about the Catholic faith! I will post my first article this evening, in all likelihood. God bless you on this journey I like to call life!Carlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061670615704050291noreply@blogger.com0