"A Humble Servant's Catholic Blog"

This is a snip from an on-going dialog with an atheist which focuses on an atheistic argument I had not encountered before: whether a theistic model for God is compatible with free will. As the argument goes, God [should He exist] is assumed NOT to have given “free will” to man according to the creation narrative in Genesis. Here’s a paraphrased summary of the position: “If God is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, etc…then the following are true: -He foreknew the fall and His act of redemption; -He allowed His creation to reject Him; -He "authored", (His Word via the hands of men chosen by Him to write them) what we know as the Scriptures; -The "way" it was written is in His control; -The way it's written communicates that God assumes reasoning powers we were supposedly not granted until later.” The last statement in the hinge for this person’s argument. Since theists believe in free will, and since the Scriptures are written in such a way tha...

In several reports regarding “ The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable ” (GCGI), released by the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, media outlets wrongly summarized and reported that Christians “ should not evangelize Jews ”. Blogs and media outlets from every corner burst out with half-informed op-eds, and all the reactionary comments that go with them, reporting and commenting on a wrong conclusion by an  author who chose to write an article on a topic he/she had not taken the time to fact check. Are we surprised? Of course, I won’t pin all the blame on the media. Most Catholics have come to expect statements from our current Pope to be less than crystal clear and easily misrepresented. Most media outlets don’t recognize the difference between the various Vatican documents, either. I doubt that more than a handful would have recognized GCGI “… is not a magisterial document or doctrinal teaching of the Catholic Church, but is a reflection ...

This is a slightly paraphrased transcript of a friendly conversation that took place between Frank Turek and an atheist (see 6-minute video linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynJwvv7wlFc ). This is very similar to what any Christian or atheist could expect in an actual discussion (and very closely mirrors actual discussions I have had...minus the conclusion) about morality and whether morality implies or “needs” a God. Why would a person be an atheist if they ‘might possibly know’ that God exists? - The fact that there are so many terrible things in the Bible, like when God condones/approves the torturing of slaves, even with no reason given for the ill treatment of them. Why would anyone want to follow such a God if He ‘might possibly exist’? Why would you follow such a God? Okay, let’s not even look at the context of the passage you are referring to. Let’s assume what you just said is 100% true. As an atheist, why is that wrong? - Morally, one would...

In THIS article, I discussed fasting and abstinence in Christian tradition and explained how this practice is NOT at odds with 1Tim 4:3. Here, I simply provide some of the Scriptural passages that pertain to fasting, and let the Bible speak for itself. Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went back to Bethel and wept, sitting there before the Lord; they fasted that day until evening. (Judges 20:26) So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. (1Sam 7:6) Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.(1Sam 31:13) They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.(2 Sam 1:12) David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went i...

Many Christians come to face the question of whether it is okay to drink wine/alcohol. The Bible is clear that, while some wine drinking is good and approved by God, drunkenness is not. “Then he said, ‘Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.’ So, he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.” (Gen 27:25) “In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. But if, when the Lord your God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set his name is too far away from you, then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose; spend the money for whatever you wish – oxe...

In Part I , I described the video I had shared which made a logical case against denying God’s existence simply on the basis that “evil” exists and discussed a definition of evil which excludes God and relies on our own subjective opinions. It’s worth repeating that, without an objective definition of “evil”, all you are left with is subjective opinion ( …how I perceive something…which may differ from how someone else perceives the same thing ).   Subjectively defining evil becomes a meaningless mash of opinions which destroys any definition of evil. And this is where the dialog with “MC” comes in.   I had addressed this to another friend of mine [Jay], but it was “MC” who replied.   Dave:   God’s existence can’t logically be denied just because there is evil in the world.   In fact, wouldn’t you agree that the existence of evil implies that there is a way things are “supposed to be” (a.k.a. “good”)?     And if there is a way things a...

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...

The following is a written version/adaptation of Trent Horn’s short 6-minute video “ When Does Life Begin? ” on Catholic Answers. (There is an even shorter version HERE .) I have attempted to maintain the integrity of that video, presenting it here in written form for those who like to have the text available. While this may not be a word-for-word reproduction, it’s fairly close. The question of why abortion is wrong is tied directly to the question of when human life begins. When asked when life begins, abortion advocates will give any number of answers: “ Once the baby has fully formed organs ”; “… when it has a heartbeat ”; “… when it’s identifiable as a human ”; “… the moment a baby can breathe ”; “ we can’t really know when life begins ”, etc. (In fact, I have even heard similar answers from pro-life advocates.) ‘Because we can’t really pin-point when life begins’, so they say, or ‘because it begins at [some random point selected by any given person]’, the imposition o...

I once read a comment from a combox in a discussion about clerical abuse that read something very similar to this: “ When Catholics are attacked about the sex-abuse scandal, we should only focus on the Church, not other organizations, because it only comes across as ‘making excuses’ or trying to draw the focus off of ourselves. It doesn’t help the cause .” I could not disagree more. I think we should focus on ALL areas where child sexual abuse is occurring. Anything less would be hypocrisy.  We should absolutely hold the Church accountable and keep a watchful eye. But ONLY focusing on the Church will only harm the cause, because we otherwise neglect over 62,000 other victims each year . There are an average of 8 reported sex abuse cases each year at the hands of Catholic Priests (see item #3 in that link), according to the CARA report . That’s obviously 8 too many, and we need to continue to do something about it. But in ONLY focusing on the Church here, we are doing tw...

United in Christ: What Can I Do?!? : When I look around I feel like we are losing the fight. Yes, we are in a fight. Evil seems to be winning. There is division everywhere. Our...[click link to continue reading]. Michael Henderson is a husband and father to six beautiful children of God (one of whom is still enjoying the comforts of her mommy's womb at the moment). The Henderson family has recently accepted the call of God to become Catholic Missionaries, and you can find out more about them HERE on their Family Missions Company portfolio page.  Donations to support the Hendersons as they do God's work are welcome, and can be given on that page. 

Some groups of Christians believe that every saved person speaks in tongues, and anyone who does not, isn’t really saved. Here’s an example of what I have been told by such a person: “ When we receive the Holy Spirit or we are filled with the Holy Spirit after being born again, the initial evidence is speaking or praying in tongues . Anyone who cannot pray in tongues does not have the Holy Spirit within them. Acts 2:4, 10:45-46 and 1 Cor 12:28 list the ministry gifts. The last one is diversities of tongues. Praying in tongues is your own personal prayer time for your edification. Every Christian can do it at will (1Cor 14:4,14.). The other 3 gifts are done as the Holy Spirit wills. ” But does the Bible really say that ALL Christians will speak in tongues, or even be able to? Is there any indication that this will be THE sign that a person is saved or has received the Holy Spirit? Let’s look at the passages cited and see what they say. This person (a Pentecostal) cites Acts ...