The Eucharist: Scriptural, Historical, and Practical Perspective (by Danny Manthei)


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Veneration vs. Worship: Are they the same thing?

Someone was sent the following, explaining how veneration and worship are supposedly the same things, and that venerating the Saints is the equivalent of giving them the worship due to God alone. " The simplest definition of worship is to “ascribe worth.” Worship can be more completely defined as “showing respect, love, reverence, or adoration.” Based on the dictionary, no clear difference between veneration and worship exists. In fact, veneration and worship are often used as synonyms for each other. The Catholic Church has different degrees of worship: dulia, hyperdulia, and latria. Dulia is the honor given to the saints. Hyperdulia is the honor given to Mary alone, as the greatest of the saints. Latria is the honor given to God alone. In contrast, the Bible always ascribes honor, in the context of worship, to God alone [ 1 Chronicles 29:11; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; Revelation 4:11 ]. Even if there were biblical support for different levels of worship, there still would be no bi...
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Why is there Temporal Punishment for Sin; Didn't Jesus Pay Our Debt?

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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 ...
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Refuting Mike Gendron's "Are Catholics Deceived?"

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Refuting Matt Slick's "Did the Roman Catholic Church Give Us the Bible?"

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On his CARM website, Matt Slick argues that the Catholic Church did not give us God’s Word.   And so, the Church would agree, because we believe the source of God’s Word is God.   He also is the source of authority in His Church.   However, Mr. Slick seems willing to misrepresent the Church’s claims and teachings, and so is willing to engage in deception in order to make his point.   This deception will be evident throughout his article, and will show itself no more than two sentences into his argument.   The Catholic Church, what many people today call the “Roman Catholic Church”, did indeed decide which books and letters were to be included in the Canon of Scripture.   Martin Luther, one of the so-called "Pillars of the Reformation” made this point clear.   To claim otherwise, there are some things that Mr. Slick is going to have to explain.   Among them are:   1) how did the Church come to know, without doubt, which books belong ...
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The Church Fathers on: Indulgences (by Daniel Marcum)

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The Early Christians Believed in Hell - Refuting John Lilley

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I was recently directed to a website belonging to John Lilley, an author of at least three books on Christianity. One of those books is titled “ Hell is a Mistranslation ”. One article on his website, titled “ The Early Christians did not Believe in Hell ” served as a sort of prologue to the book, explaining why Lilley believes “hell” to be a mistranslation and explaining that neither Christ nor the early Christian writers from the first several centuries believed in “hell” as we understand it today. I have attempted several times to re-access his webpage lately, but have been unable. I continue to get a message that the webpage (johnlilley.org) has expired. Whether the page will come up again, I do not know. What I do know is that there are at least a handful of people who have recently read his article and were misled by it, and so I am going to refute it. Actually, I’m going to let Jesus and the early Christians refute it; I’ll just post their words. Christ, Himself, as w...
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Defining "Evil" on My Own Terms, and Using it Against God: Part I

It began with a video posted to a friend’s FB wall.   https://www.facebook.com/joshua.feuerstein.5/videos/549242585178428/?pnref=story In this short [scripted] video, a young lady demonstrates that evil and suffering in the world are not sufficient evidence to deny the existence of God (logically).   One might as well not believe in dentists because of all the tooth problems, she claims.   The dentist remarks that he can’t help those who don’t come to him for help, and thus the analogy is made that evil is simply the result of people not turning to (or turning away from) God. Obviously the analogy falls short, because analogies tend to do that.   She couldn’t really deny the existence of the dentist because she’s at his office.   (Though, that wouldn’t stop someone who has never experienced a dentist from not believing.)   But the point is a logical one.   Denying God’s existence because of the evils of the world is fallacious because 1) it pres...
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