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Blue Collar Apologetics Session 3
Handout Material
“The glory of God is man fully alive” (St. Irenaeus, Lyons).
Website info
“The Catholic faith is like a lion in a cage. You don’t need to defend it. You simply need to open the cage door.”
Rules of Engagement
1. Pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance…pray, pray, pray.
2. You don’t have to know everything
3. Do not be afraid Luke 5:10 (RSV2CE) 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”
4. View questions/attacks as opportunities
5. Don’t get frustrated!
6. Never be afraid to say, “I don’t know….” But then go find out.
4 Strategies
1. The ignorant Catholic, similar to rules of engagement #6
2. Be Aw-fensive and not Uh-fensive, not always on the defensive
3. It’s the principle of the thing!
4. But that’s my interpretation.
Reminder of 2 Essential Layers of Foundation
1. The Bible is a Catholic book!
2. There truly is an answer for every intelligible question about our Catholic faith – it is your responsibility to go find it.
Why should we care about all of this, why do we have to defend our faith?John mentions two very important reasons. First and foremost, and this is critical to understand, not being able to defend our Catholic faith reinforces the false belief that the Catholic faith is contrary to the Bible. Believe me, that is out there. The second reason is closely related to the first, if we begin to question our faith and accept that Catholicism iscontrary to Biblicalteaching, then how long will it before we stop being Catholic. I know many great Catholics that know the “what it is that they believe”, but this class is going to teach us “why” we believe it. Big difference.
The second largest church in the world, after the Catholic Church, are fallen away Catholics, who are dispersed among a bunch of those 33,000 protestant denominations. And most of them left in about the same way we have been talking about. Challenged about their faith and being told that the Catholic’s don’t have an answer from the Bible about this or that…then doubt about all kinds of things begins to come into play. You can guess what the result of that might be.Our fallen away brothers and sisters began to question their faith and started to believe that maybe we Catholics don’t have an answer to whatever the challenge was… and that leads to this question and that question…then finally…what I am doing in the Catholic Church.
But…and that is a big but, the Catholic Church does have the answer to that challenge, and She has all the right answers, from the teaching of the original Apostlesand Jesus Himself, passed down to us for the last 2000 years, from generation to generation.I started watching EWTN when I began to question what I believed as a protestant, and over the years I slowly but surely realized that Jackie and I were wrong, and the Catholics are right. But please remember, most of the folks you rub elbows with don’t watch EWTN like Jackie and I did. So how are they going to get the right answers. You guessed it, from each of us.
Introduction to “it’s the principle of the thing” and a discussion of purgatory in the Catholic understanding
1. There are some very important articles of our faith that the Bible does not expressly speak of by name
2. The word Trinity and the concept of one God in three persons is never named explicitly in the Bible but the principle of the Trinity has been revealed to the Church over time. Eventually the Church was able to connect several scriptures revealing the truth of the Trinity and explain the great mystery of our Triune God
3. Purgatory is another part of our faith that should be understood in this way, the word cannot be found in the Bible, but connecting scripture from the Bible reveals the principle
Purgatory and “it’s the principle of the thing”
1.First Catholic principle of purgatory is the Bible teaches that there is the possibility of punishment for sin even after you have been forgiven. There are consequences to our sin.
2 Samuel 12:13–18 (RSV2CE) 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.”
2.Second Catholic principle for purgatory, nothing with the stain of sin will enter heaven.
Revelation 21:27 (RSV2CE) 27 But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
3.Third principle, there is a process by which the spirits of the just will be made perfect.
Hebrews 12:22–23 (RSV2CE) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
4. Fourth principle, there is a place or state of being other than heaven or hell where we are purged by fire.
1 Corinthians 3:13–15 (RSV2CE)13 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. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Common sense question to ask relating to purgatory, are you perfect in every way right now, in this very moment. No? Of course not, none of us are. So, God forbid, should you die right now in this moment, what do you think would have to happen, for you to get into heaven? Keep in mind the four principles that I have just been talking about.
Let’s look at the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, both and soul. You might point out that the principle of assumption is in the Bible, with at least two previous examples.
Genesis 5:24 (RSV2CE) 24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
And even the author of the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament, the great chapter 11 on faith, used Enoch of as an example of amazing faith.
Hebrews 11:5 (RSV2CE) 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God.
2 Kings 2:11–12 (RSV2CE) 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Revelation 11:12 (RSV2CE) 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud.
These are examples from both the Old and the New Testament establishing the principle that the assumption of a person or persons into heaven, before the end of time, is not contrary to the Bible. They may respond, yes but nowhere does the Bible say Mary (you hardly ever here a protestant referring to Mary as Our Blessed Mother) was assumed to heaven, which you can then share, and nowhere does it say she wasn’t.
How about baptism, why is mandatory for Catholics to be baptized,and do you really believe that something supernatural happens in the waters of baptism? Many protestant churches believe baptism is not essential.
Principle of Baptism #1 – our sins are forgiven, as a gift of God.
Acts 2:38 (RSV2CE)38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 22:16 (RSV2CE) 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
Principle of Baptism #2 – we enter into the Body of Christ through our baptism.
1 Corinthians 12:13 (RSV2CE) 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
That sure sounds like supernatural stuff is happening in the waters of baptism to me.
Principle of Baptism #3 – the Sacrament of Baptism, saves us and gives us a clear conscience.
1 Peter 3:21 (RSV2CE) 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
How do you answeran 11-year-old grandson questioning the existence of God?
How would you handle that one?
Romans 1:20–21 (RSV2CE) 20 Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse; 21 for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. CCC 35-70
Ask Father Mike, or Father Ned, or Father Aaron, or Father Bob. You can ask any priest, or a Catholic catechist or go online and ask Catholic Answers.