In this edition:
1) Sept meeting wrap up
2) Oct meeting agenda
3) ***New from Fidei Defensor: Pamphlets!*

Sept Meeting Wrap up

The Sept meeting was out first meeting using The Essential Catholic Survival Guide.  There were many positive comments about the reading.  We never quite got to formulating the information into a memorable conversation - that will be part of next months meeting.  We ended up having a great conversation about talking to people with little or no faith at all.  Here's a blog I did a while back that covers much of what we talked about: http://fideidefensorgb.blogspot.com/2015/09/street-evangelization-are-you.html

Oct meeting: **Next Meeting is Oct 24th.  8:00, Gehl Center**  Mark your calendars!

Agenda:  1) How to easily remember and talk about Peter's authority
Reading about it is one thing, but actually explaining it to another person is quite another.  We'll explain how to do it and even practice a bit.

2) Grace: How we are saved.  ***Reading Assignment Chapters 28, 29, 30 and if we get time 31.
Getting a proper understanding of what Grace is and what it does helps us have conversations with people about things like: Salvation, Justification, Sanctification, Baptism, the Eucharist, being "Born Again" etc.  In the spirit of putting first things first, we're going to be learning about Grace - God's life living in us.

 **New** we now offer pamphlets. 

We have quite a number on various topics from St. Paul Street Evangelization but we're just rolled two pamphlets of our own: "Abortion: Some Questions to Consider" and " 'Rome vs the Bible' vs Reality"

"Abortion: Some Questions to Consider" takes the emotion out of the equation.  It deals with the intellectual arguments, agreeing with the valid concerns of Pro-choice advocates, where possible, but showing how those concerns actually point to a Pro-Life view.  Great to hand out at Pro-Life rallies.

" 'Rome vs the Bible' vs Reality" is a response to the popular anti-Catholic pamphlet "Rome vs the Bible".  It takes each argument and shows where the writers of the pamphlet failed to either present actual Catholic teaching, or failed to take into account the Whole Bible... or both.  Great to have at Catholic events, like Walk to Mary, where anti-Catholics will be handing out the error filled pamphlet.

Coming soon:  "Sola Scriptura vs the Bible and History"; "Sola Fide vs the Bible and History" and "Protestantism vs the Bible and History"

For information on how to get one of these, or any of the St. Paul Street Evangelization pamphlets on a huge variety of topics, just contact us at this email address.

"Be ever ready with a response for the hope that is in you" can mean having a pamphlet to hand to someone!

God Bless,
Fidei Defensor

"Rome vs the Bible" vs Reality

A Critical Review of a Popular Anti-Catholic Pamphlet

        

       What would you do if you discovered the majority of the bad things you were taught about Catholicism were incorrect and meant to deceive you?

 

 

      The pamphlet “Rome vs the Bible” has many factual errors both blatant and more subtle.  In discovering these errors, will you continue to spread them, or correct them?

 

Authority

 

 

"Rome vs the Bible" (RvB) claims that "the Bible teaches Scripture has authority over the church" and cites 2Tim3:16.  RvB then claims "Catholicism teaches the Church has authority over Scriptures" and cites the Catholic Catechism (CCC) paragraphs 100 and 119.

 

 Reality shows Catholicism teaches that the Church is the authoritative interpreter of Scripture (85, 100, 119) by the power of the Holy Spirit (109-114) but clearly teaches “the Church is the servant of Scripture. "(86)  RvB doesn’t report accurate Catholic teaching.   Why?

 

Also 2 Tim 3:16 says nothing about the church.  It merely shows the high authority, inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture , something that Catholicism teaches (101-141).  But is that the only thing that has authority according to Scripture? 

 

Ask yourself: what do I believe has the authority to decide between arguing Christians?

 

What do I believe is the pillar and foundation of truth for the Christian?

 

What did God plan to use, from the beginning of time, to make known His entire wisdom?

 

RvB would like you to believe it is The Bible.

 

Reality shows, according to that Bible, it is:

 

The Church (Mt 18:15-18; 1Tim3:15; Eph 3:10)

 

 Also ask: How do I know what books belong in Scripture?   Scripture cannot tell you.

 

Salvation / Justification

 

RvB implicitly denies that one can lose salvation.  RvB then derides Catholicism for believing in Mortal sin and the ability to lose salvation.

Reality shows that the Bible explicity teaches there is Mortal sin, or the “sins that lead to death” ('death' = 'mortal' in Latin)(1Jn5:17) meaning a spiritual death.  The Bible teaches that a Christian can, indeed, lose salvation through sinning. Take heed you who think you stand secure, lest you fall.  (1Cor 10:6-8; 11-12) (Rom 11:22; Gal 5:6; 2 Pet  2:20-22) RvB doesn’t address these verses.  Why not?

 

RvB states “man is Justified once by faith”.  RvB then condemns Catholicism for teaching that Salvation and Justification are a process, with a one-time event to begin them, but then cooperation needed to continue progressing in them.

Reality shows the Bible says both Salvation and Justification are processes with a past completed event (Rom 8:24; Eph 2:5-8 etc), present application (1Cor1:8; 2Cor2:15; Phil 2:12), and future cooperation needed to get to heaven (Rom 5:9-10; 1Cor 3:12-15).RvB doesn’t address the rest of these Biblical passages.  Why not?

 

RvB implies that faith alone is what saves someone and works will come afterward, but does not have anything to do with salvation.  RvB then claims Catholicism teaches that one can earn “their own salvation” through good works.

 

 Reality is Catholicism teaches that no one can earn their own salvation(2010) .  Catholicism teaches that we are justified entirely by Grace (1996).  Catholicism teaches Grace / Justification is the work of Christ's atoning death on the Cross and by His Blood (1992).  Catholicism teaches that we must have faith in Christ to be saved (161).  Catholicism recognizes that once we have Grace, we must cooperate with God to continue walking in the Light, so that the blood of Christ continues to cleanse us (2006-2029, cf 1Jn 1:7)

 

RvB again does not report accurate Catholic teaching.  Why not?

  

Reality shows the Bible teaches we are saved by Grace which no one can earn (Eph 2:8-9).  But once we are “in Christ” we are commanded to do good works (Eph 2:10).  If we disobey this command, we cannot be saved (Jn 3:36); If we rely only on faith, without good works, that faith cannot save us.  Good works complete our faith, as it did with Abraham, and therefore it was credited to him as righteousness.  Just as a body cannot be alive first and the soul comes later, faith without good works is dead. The only place in Scripture the phrase “Faith Alone” appears it says:  We are justified by works and NOT BY FAITH ALONE (Ja 2:14-24). 

 

 We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in us (Grace) both to will (faith) and to work (good works) (Ph 2:15-16).  We must keep the Commandments to go to heaven (Mk 10:17-22)

 

 Reality is everywhere in Scripture where people are judged to heaven or hell, they are judged by their works (Rom 2:5-11; Mt 25-31-46; Rev 20:12 among many others). 

 

RvB neglects to mention any of these Bible passages.  Why not?

Baptism

 

RvB states that only the Holy Spirit regenerates people.  RvB then implies that Catholicism is opposed to this by teaching Baptism regenerates people.

 

Reality is that Catholicism teaches Christ empowered Baptism to bring the Holy Spirit, which is why it regenerates people (1225; 1987; 2017).

Reality shows that Christ said exactly that.  (Jn3:5) Reality also shows that the Bible teaches Baptism is necessary for salvation and forgives sins (1Pet 3:21-22; Act 2:38-39

 

RvB again fails to give accurate representation of Catholicism and ignores Scripture.  Why?

 

Eucharist / The Lord's Supper

 

RvB states, “the Lord’s Supper is a memorial” implying an intellectual recollection only and cites 1Cor11:24-25.  RvB then implies that the Catholic Mass is re-sacrificing Christ.

Reality shows that the word for “remembrance” (anamnesis) means making a past event present today.  Also the word for “do” implies sacrifice.  Christ also said, “This IS my Body” and “This IS my Blood” not "this represents" (Lk 22:19-20; paralleled in Mk, Mt; 1Cor11:24-25).  Christ also commands us to “Eat My Flesh” and “Drink My Blood” numerous times using language that can only be interpreted literally without doing violence to the text. (Jn 6:51-56).  Paul also tells us this is a literal participation in Christ's Body and Blood (1 Cor 10:16) and to receive without discerning Christ's Body, is to be guilty of His literal Body and Blood i.e. of murder (1 Cor 10:27-30).

Reality is Catholicism teaches Christ’s sacrifice was Once-For-All, and the Eucharist is making that One Sacrifice present today (re-presenting) (1362-1363).

Reality also is all Christians writings from the first EIGHT CENTURIES taught the literal interpretation of Christ’s words.  One cannot find a single Christian writer who states what RvB believes about the Lord’s Supper for 800 years after Christ’s Ascension.

Reality also shows RvB's idea of "the Lord's Supper" was made up by men in the 16th Century.   A warning from Scripture is appropriate here: Gal 1:8.

 RvB only cites one of the dozens of paragraphs of the CCC dealing with this; only one of the Bible verses above and doesn't tell you what those words actually mean.  Why?

Anathemas

  

Anathema merely means to not belong to the community.  RvB would like you to believe it means "condemned to hell." 

 

RvB's own teachings (Faith Alone, Scripture Alone, Symbolic Only Lord's Supper, Once Saved Always Saved, the Rapture etc) were made up by men in the 16th Century or later. Protestant Historians like JMD Kelly acknowledge this.

 

RvB's own warning (Gal 1:6-9) applies to them, not to the Catholic Church whose biblical teachings have stayed consistnent for 2000 years.  One only need to read the writings of the students of the Apostles to see this is true.

 

By believing - and pushing -  these brand new, non-biblical teachings RvB proves they 'do not belong' to the Church Christ founded.

 Saints / Priests

RvB claims that Catholicism doesn’t teach that all Christians are priests and saints.

 

Reality: The Catholic Church explicitly teaches the priesthood of all believers and that all Christians are saints (priesthood: 1141; 1268; 1546 / saints: 946-962).  RvB did not bother to take 10 seconds on a internet search to find this out. Why Not?

 

Reality: Recognizing what Scripture tells us, Catholicism teaches  Christ also set up a ministerial priesthood by giving it much of His Authority (Lk 10:16; Jn 20:21-23 cf. 2Cor 5:18; Mt:18:18 and many others) and that the “Holy Ones” in heaven (1 Thes 3:13) (the Latin word ‘holy’ is where ‘saint’ comes from) / the souls of Just men made perfect can now, because of Christ, be address and approached (Heb 12:22-24).  Since: the Church is the Body of Christ(Col 1:18); Christ only has one Body, not multiple (1Cor 12:12); Death cannot separate us from Christ (Rom 8:37-38); and we, in Christ, are commanded to pray for one another (1Tim2:1-4), therefore those members of the Church in Heaven are praying for us, and presenting our prayers before the Throne of God (Rev 5:8).

RvB does not present the full Biblical picture and presents a completely FALSE representation of Catholic teaching.  WHY?

 

 Final Thoughts

RvB does NOT want to present accurate Catholic teaching, nor the full Biblical teaching on these topics.  WHY?

They have believed the Traditions of Men: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, John Smyth, John Wesley, and the tens of thousands after them.  They have not held fast to the Traditions of God, which includes Sacred Scripture, (2Thes2:15; 3:6; 1Thes3:13; 2Tim2:2; 1Cor11:2) passed on faithfully for 2000 years by the Catholic Church!

 

We encourage you to read your denomination's teaching charters / documents / confessionals and compare them to   1) History: the writings of the 1st Christians after the Apostles 2) The WHOLE Bible 3) The Catechism of the Catholic Church.

We welcome your charitable comments or questions.

Fidei Defensor


Bulk pamphlets available upon request.Pamphlets coming soon:  Sola Scriptura vs the Bible, History and Logic; Sola Fide vs the Bible; Protestantism vs. the Bible and History.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statues and Icons and Art... OH MY!

Talking about the Catholic Practice of Statues

"What don't you Catholics understand about Exodus 20:4-5?  'You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.   You shall not bow down to them or worship them...'  You guys have statues and you bow to them!"  Catholicism has also been charged with changing the commandments to hide this from the people.

          This is a great topic and is often a starting point in conversations with non-Catholic Christians (Protestants).  This article is broken up into three parts: a 'bumper sticker' answer; a mid-length explanation; and an in-depth yet still remember able answer.

The "Bumper Sticker" Answer

          As a practicing Catholic, I have never worshiped a statue; I have never seen anyone worship a statute; I have never been taught or counseled to worship a statue.

          A full study of  Scripture shows that God was not forbidding the making of art, but was forbidding Idolatry  [the worship of that stone, wood, metal or paint in and of itself as a god] .  Catholicism uses religious art as many use family pictures -  to remember family and events better than they would without them - or as an instrument to teach the stories of the Bible to the illiterate.

The Mid-Length Answer

          Catholicism has always taught that the first Commandment is "You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them."  Ex. 20:3-5.  However a close look at Scripture will show that shortly thereafter (5 chapters) God commanded the making of 2 gold cherubs (Ex 25:18).  There is also the story of the Brass Serpent in which God, again, commands the making of a Brass or Bronze Serpent where anyone who looks upon it will be saved.  Jesus uses this as an example of himself.

          We can also see from Scripture that bowing is not reserved for worship alone.  Jacob bowed low to Esau seven times (Gen 33:3) and Solomon - a prefigurement of Christ - bowed to his mother, the queen (1 Kgs 2:19).

          Some may ask: 'Show me one place in Scripture where someone bows to a statue?'  Joshua 7:6 shows Joshua and the Elders prostrating themselves (a form of  bowing) in front of the Arc of the Covenant.  What is on the Arc?  Those two gold cherubim mentioned before.

          In Exodus 20:3-5, God was not forbidding the making of art, or forbidding honoring anyone the art depicted.  He was forbidding Idolatry.  Catholicism uses religious art as many use family pictures -  to remember family and events better than they would without them - or as an instrument to teach the stories of the Bible to the illiterate.

The In-depth Answer

          Look around yourself right now.  Are there any images " of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth"?  Any pictures of family?  Any paintings?  Carvings?   Look carefully: children's toys, food labels, movies, T.V.... Are these all forbidden by this commandment? 

          But some may object, God was speaking of religious objects in a religious context.  Unfortunately Scripture does not make this distinction.  But even if it did, look around many Protestant church buildings:  there are images and statues of Jesus, Mary, the Apostles, doves, grapes, angels, lambs, etc.  Even the most Fundamentalist of denominations will have at least a cross.  How about Cress Scenes?  Children's Picture Bibles?  The movie, "The Passion of the Christ?"  Are not all of these, including the cross, an image of anything that is in heaven, in the earth or in the water?

          But the objection continues, Catholics kneel before, bow to and even kiss these images.  Again, in everyday life we recognize that kneeling, bowing and kissing do not equate to worship:  Do soldiers worship the American Flag (another image) when they salute it?  Or when the same soldier, deployed, talks to and kisses a picture of his family he is separated from?  Do the Japanese and Chinese people worship each other when they bow in greeting?  Did Reformers commit idolatry when they kneeled before the princes and kings supporting their efforts?  I've talked to Protestants who love the Bible so much, they kneel before it as they read it.  Are any of these committing Idolatry? 

          Through Scripture we can see that God was not forbidding art and other images in general, nor was He forbidding using gestures to give honor to people or situations even those depicted in art.  He was forbidding the worship of those images in-and-of-themselves; in a word: Idolatry. 

          The Catholic Church has always recognized and taught this distinction.  In Part 3, Chapter 1, Article 1 of the Catholic Catechism, the Catholic Church teaches that the First Commandment is " I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them..."

          However, that is not the last word, or only word, Scripture has on images.  In Exodus 25:18, a mere five chapters later, God commands the making of statues:  "And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat [of the Arc of the Covenant]."

          In Exodus 26:1God commands that cherubim be woven into the tabernacle curtains.

          In Numbers 21:8-9 God again commands the making of a bronze image:  "And the LORD said to Moses; 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.'  So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live."  Christ later uses this as a prefigurment of himself (Jn 3:14).

          Some objections then say we are only to make religious art / statues when God commands us to.  This also does not take into account all of Scripture:  1 Kings chapters 6 and 7 describe the temple with many images in it:  cherubim, palm trees, flowers, gourds, oxen, lions, and wreaths (6:23,29,32, 35, 7:24, 25, 29, 36).  None are explicitly commanded but God blessed the temple by His presence. Even in Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly temple, Ezekiel also sees many statues and carvings: palm trees, cherubs, a man's face, a lion's face, leaves etc.  Can God be contradictory?  Catholicism recognizes that especially since Jesus became the "icon" of the Father, He blessed all art, even religious art in churches (Col 1:15).

          But, some continue, it's the bowing, kneeling and kissing of these images that make the problem.  I would ask: is bowing, kissing or kneeling always "worship" in Scripture?  Did not Jacob bow himself to the ground seven times to Esau (Gen 33:3)?  Did not Solomon, a prefigurement of Christ, and the King of all Israel, bow down to his mother (1 Kgs 2:19)?  Was Judas' kiss worshiping Christ or betraying Him?

          But can you show me, says the objector, even ONE place in Scripture where someone bows to a statue?  Joshua 7:6 shows Joshua and the Elders going prostrate - an extreme bow - before the Arc.  But don't forget what's on the Arc: two 5' tall gold statues.  To the Protestant onlooker this would be Joshua bowing to a statue.

          What's the difference?  The difference is in the heart.  The Catholic Church is clear that if someone bows before a statue thinking it, in-and-of-itself is the source of power, that is Idolatry and in the Catholic Church that person could lose their salvation for doing so.  But one can also, properly disposed, bow before a statue to honor, not worship, the person or situation that statue or artwork depicts.

          If an objector is still insistent that a Catholic is committing the sin of Idolatry after this explanation, the objector is claiming to read hearts, something only God can do, and is therefore setting themselves up equal to God, which is Idolatry of self.

          Why do Catholics have artwork, statues and other images?  Catholicism uses religious art as many use family pictures -  to remember family and events better than they would without them - or as an instrument to teach the stories of the Bible to the illiterate.  The Catholic Church recognizes that throughout the history of the world, and even world-wide today, the majority of people cannot read.  The Catholic Church is committed to getting Scripture to the people anyway possible.  So, in addition to reading it to them every day [at a rate of virtually the whole Bible per year] the Catholic Church puts art and statues that depict the various people, places and events from the Bible in the churches so the illiterate can still learn the stories and teach them to their children.  We can thereby honor and worship God more fully through the honor of the people and events depicted, than we could without these pieces of art.

          I hope this helps you understand the Catholic Church's possession on religious statues and artwork.  For further information please go to www.catholic.com keyword search 'statues'.