These days, at least in my circles, Catholics are familiar with the concept of apologetics. It is from the Greek apologia, which is not an “I’m sorry” speech, but a defensive speech. It’s more like an explanation than an apology. People who are defending their beliefs usually aren’t sorry they believe those things, anyway! It… [Read More]
Confession and Pentecost; Grace and Power
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6 This verse is not like Confession; this verse is Confession. Four things happen. I entrust myself to God through a spiritual father, a… [Read More]
The Seat of Moses? Did you mean the See of Peter?
Apostolic succession is biblical! That’s the point of the title. The rest will be detail, hopefully tying the two phrases together. Please have the bible with you. First, in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter leads a gathering to select Matthias to take the place or “office” of Judas (Acts 1:12-26). He continues to preach… [Read More]
Catholic Time Travel 101
The call came in at 1:20p.m. on a Tuesday. My professional association had run a nice “member spotlight” on me in its magazine. It wasn’t much, just a few pictures of me and my family and a nice questionnaire about my career and personal interests. So, when a colleague called and mentioned it, I figured… [Read More]
Jesus In the Church?
As viewed from the outside, it’s easy to see the Church as just another big and apparently inflexible institution. Many non-Catholics and even some Catholics no doubt ask the question as to whether the institutional Church is even necessary In his book, The Spirit of Catholicism, Karl Adam reminds us of the purpose and origin… [Read More]
Torn From Our Roots
“No way! The Catholic Church? You gotta be kiddin’ me.” No doubt you’ve heard a variation of that line before. So what in the world would motivate a person outside the Catholic Church to give it the slightest bit of consideration? There is a restlessness that drives people to seek relief through pleasure and distraction, but… [Read More]
Staring at the Walls
Continuing from the previous blog post on the Catholic classic, the Spirit of Catholicism– we continue to look at the introductory Chapter 1. In the introduction to his book,The Spirit of Catholicism, Karl Adam confronts the common misunderstandings of Catholicism that are derived from the remote viewpoint of those who study comparative religion, or look… [Read More]
The Catholic Church vs. the Early Church?
Continuing from the previous blog post on the Catholic classic, the Spirit of Catholicism- we continue to look at the introductory Chapter 1. One of the questions that we are sometimes called to answer is: “WHAT EXACTLY IS CATHOLICISM AND WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES?” Many people THINK they know the answer to this question. … [Read More]
