Evidence for the Historical Jesus, by PhilVaz (BibleCatholic)

For all my Christian brothers and sisters who have been accused of circular reasoning for only believing in Christ "because the Bible says so".  Phil has gathered and assembled some great info from multiple sources based on the most common, and not as common, arguments.  The following link will take you directly to his website:

Evidence for the Historical Jesus

http://www.biblicalcatholic.com/apologetics/JesusEvidenceHistorical.htm

In Christ,
Dave

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why is there Temporal Punishment for Sin; Didn't Jesus Pay Our Debt?

Image
I was discussing Penance, purgatory, and indulgences (among many other topics) with a friend, and the topic of temporal punishment came up. Temporal punishment happens to be closely linked to indulgences, which happen to be linked to the effects of Sacramental Penance, so it was only natural that it be next in line for discussion. In case you aren't familiar with what I'm talking about: " An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven ..." ( CCC 1471 , emphasis mine). Anyone not familiar with that might respond with, " Whoa! Hold up there on the 'temporal punishment'! What's that all about? " I'll explain what it's all about, but you can also get a good idea by reading the very short Catechism paragraphs 1471-1473, especially in light of the three paragraphs immediately preceding those, and 1478-79. ( HERE's that link.) Anyway, my friend actually read ...
Read more

The Church Fathers on: Indulgences (by Daniel Marcum)

The Doctrine of Indulgences in the Early Church Fathers ~57 A.D. - St. Paul - “For such a one this punishment by the majority is enough...you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him...I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. … What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:5-10) ~197 A.D. - Tertullian - “Some, not able to find this peace in the Church, have been used to seek it from the imprisoned martyrs. And so you [imprisoned Christians] ought to have it dwelling with you, and to cherish it, and to guard it, that you may be able perhaps to bestow it upon others.” (Ad Martyras Chapter 1) 222 A.D. - Tertullian - “[N]ow you are ascribing this power [of granting indulgences] even to your dear martyrs. As soon as someone of his own accord has taken on the fetters...at once the adulterers are swarming about…[and] prayers are humming in the air... Men and women crowd [them]...beg for [their] blessing...and ...
Read more

Pastor Charles Lawson on the Virgin Birth

Image
My wife and I were sent a video link to a Fundamental Baptist preacher's sermon on the Virgin Birth, and what that means for Christians. ( The Virgin Birth as explained by pastor Charles Lawson.)  I half-expected the sermon to be the usual anti-Catholic hate-speech that I am sent from time to time by anonymous readers.  But instead of an anonymous person, this was sent to us by a good friend of my wife's, someone who genuinely cares about us and for whom we also care and pray daily.  So it should not have surprised me when the sermon was far from the usual.  While he did accuse Catholics of "worshipping" Mary a couple times, he spent most of his time sounding Catholic on the topic of Mary.  Compared to the usual, it was music to my ears.  In watching the video, I was excited to find that we have so much common ground on such an important person as Christ's Mother. I couldn't help but wonder if this pastor kn...
Read more

Refuting Mike Gendron's “The Controversial Pope Francis”

(I wrote this in letter format so you can see exactly how Mike Gendron will see it.  My responses are in blue.)   Mr. Gendron, in regards to your latest newsletter, I am genuinely interested in hearing your explanation of why you chose to only report tiny bits of fact and then mix it with generous amounts of speculation, unsupported assertion, and logical fallacies. For example, the very first claim is that Pope Francis suppreses the Truth of God's Word. But doesn't this beg the question (even if not in the formal sense)... who is interpreting the Truth of God's Word, and under what Authority . Doesn't one need to establish that he or she has some authority to interpret God's Word before accusing someone else of suppressing It? Secondly, please cite, in its full context from an actual Catholic source, ANY Catholic Doctrine which the Pope has opposed or contradicted...and provide the full context of the alleged contradiction/opposition. I believe yo...
Read more

Did God Give us a Religion, or a Relationship?

I continue to see comments lately that pit “relationship” against “religion”, as though there’s a new trend with Christians trying to distance themselves from “rules” that they might be expected to follow. The latest I heard was " Religion gets you to church, but relationship helps you grow in your faith ".  Other examples are, “ Having a religion is against my relationship ”, or “ God gave me a relationship, not a religion to follow ”, or “ I have a personal relationship with Christ, I don’t need a religion’s rules to tell me what to do ”. There are various ways of saying it, but the main message is that “ Christ gave us a relationship with Him, not a religion to follow”, and it's an incredibly short-sighted and incorrect view of what Christ has given us.  The religion that Christ gave us to follow is a reflection of our relationship with Him .  "Religion", from the Latin "religio" means to  bind oneself  [to something]. In this case, our Christian ...
Read more

Pray for the Souls in Purgatory

Image
Purgatory is that state of final purification for the souls of the just, being made clean, before they enter into Heavenly bliss ( 2Samuel 12:13-14; 2Macc 12:46; Heb 12:22-23; 1Cor 3:13-15; Rev 21:27; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030-1032 ).  Think of it as the “mudroom”, or a hot steaming shower, before showing up to the great marriage feast of Christ.  Except the water in this case is more like lava.   The souls in purgatory likely have some sense of joy or hope, because they know they are bound for Heaven.  But first they must undergo temporal punishments and be purged of their imperfections and worldly attachments.  And unless you and I are living in perfect holiness at the time of our death, we will need to be purged as well.  Mystics who have communicated with these souls reveal that this purification is extremely painful, as through a fire to which nothing on earth can compare (see, for example “ An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ”, or ...
Read more

More than Ever, The World Needs the Luminous Mysteries

Image
Using pebbles or beads as tangible prayer minders was nothing new by the 9th century, when Monks had begun making a daily or weekly recitation of all 150 Psalms.  It made perfect sense, then, when the lay faithful, who wanted a way to participate in this pious practice, yet had difficulty learning the Psalms due to various reasons (e.g., widespread illiteracy), instead recited 150 prayers daily or weekly and kept track of them by means of pebbles or beads.  Eventually this practice evolved into beads being strung together on a cord.  The daily prayers would typically be the "Pater Noster" (the Lord's Prayer, found in Lk 11:2-4 or Mt 6:9-13) or the "Ave [Gratia Plena]" (the "Hail, Full of Grace" found in Lk 1:28, 41-42).  Gradually, the second half of what we know today as the "Hail Mary" was added, reflecting Lk 1:43 and passages regarding praying for one another (e.g., James 5:16).  This recitation of prayers on beads would eventually evolve...
Read more