Catholic Apologetics
The Apocrypha: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees
The Protestant argument is that the Catholic Church added the 7 books known as the Apocrypha to the Canon Bible at the Council of Trent in the mid-16th century (after the reformation) to back up things the Church taught
Reformation: 1517 Martin Luther
Council of Trent: 1545-48, 51-52, 62-63
The truth is that these books were part of the original Canon. They were there in 1442 at the Council of Florence. These books had beed a part of the Christian Canon dating back to the first Canon developed at the Synod of Hippo in 393.
The Reformers adopted the "Jewish Canon" and rejected the "Christian Canon"...the problem now is that
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First, the Bible was written in Latin for so long because Latin was the lanuage of Eurpoe. If a person in Europe could read at all they could read Latin.
Second, the Catholic Church promoted the translation of the Bible into many lanuages well before the Reformation including High and Low German, Italian, French, Bohemian, Belgian, Russian, Danish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian, and many versions of Spanish.
The preface to the 1611 King James Version of the Bible (written by Protestants) states (reluctantly) that translating the Bible into the common lanuage dated back to centuries before the Reformation.
The Catholic Church does not respect the Bible as divinely inspired
"Job . . . is merely the argument of a fable."
"The book of Esther I toss into the Elbe. I am such an enemy to the book of Esther that I wish it did not exist, for it Judaizes too much and has in it a great deal of heathenish naughtiness."
"The history of Jonah is so monstrous that it is absolutely
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. . freely charges the sacred writers with inaccurate statements, unsound reasonings, the use of imperfect materials and even urges the authority of Christ against that of Holy Writ. In a word, as is admitted by a recent Protestant writer: "Luther has no fixed theory of inspiration: if all his works suppose the inspiration of the Sacred Writings, all his conduct shows that he makes himself the supreme judge of it"
When Scripture Scholars showed Luther he improperly added the word alone to his translation of Romans 3:28 he replied "You tell me what a great fuss the Papists are making because the word 'alone' is not in the text of Paul. If your Papist makes such an unnecessary row about the word 'alone,' say right out to him: 'Dr. Martin Luther will have it so,' and say: 'Papists and asses are one and the same thing.' I will have it so, and I order it to be so, and my will is reason
The Catholic Church leaders had the elitist mentality that only the Catholic clergies, not the laity, were intelligent enough or had the reasonable judgement to read and interpret the Bible in a correct manner. While they placed a ban on the Bible in the pretense of holding the biblical doctrines pure and holy and preventing the spread of the contagion of heresy, the fact of the truth was that they did not want to lose the control over people.
This ties back into the disgust point in that people generally will inflict their disgust response against women who have had sex before marriage and it does not matter if it was the woman's choice or not. In the book, Beck makes a comment about how sex often is looked upon as unclean or impure, “Sex isn’t just ‘wrong’: there is something ‘unclean’ and often disgusting about the activity” (p.160). When outside people look at those who have had sex before marriage, especially in the christian society, they are looked at as being unclean. However, this generally only applies to women. When men have sex before marriage they usually get a “slap on the wrist” or a talking to. Some even are given encouragement. Women are treated much differently in this situation. This can even be seen in the Bible when Mary is found with child after her engagement to Joseph, “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19). Joseph was part of a rare group of people because he did not want Mary to go through the disgrace of the public because the people would not have understood the situation. They would have seen here as disgrace and it would have humiliated her family and back then, engagement was taken very seriously. One could not simply “break up”, it was more like
The Book of Enoch was extant centuries before the birth of Christ and yet is considered by many to be more Christian in its theology than Jewish. It was considered scripture by many early Christians. The earliest literature of the so-called "Church Fathers" is filled with references to this mysterious book. The early second century "Epistle of Barnabus" makes much use of the Book of Enoch. Second and Third Century "Church Fathers" like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origin and Clement of Alexandria all make use of the Book of Enoch. Tertullian (160-230 C.E) even called the Book of Enoch "Holy Scripture". The Ethiopic Church even added the Book of Enoch to its official canon. It was widely known and read the first three centuries after Christ. This and many other books became discredited after the Council of Laodicea. And being under ban of the authorities, afterwards it gradually passed out of circulation.
According to the Bible, a man must leave his parents and be united with his wife forever. The bible never said that a man must leave his parents, find a woman, cohabit with her, and finally marry her. It is true that certain Christians cohabitate before marriage and are still able to have a divorce-free marriage. However, couple to reduce their chance of divorce must follow the Bible and wait until they become married to live together. By doing so, they will be able to see the real value of marriage, really think about if they really want to marry their partner. As an illustration, a Christian who had followed the Bible rules said, “My wife was a great treasure which I had to patiently wait for” (Sargent). Finally, people should avoid cohabitation to respect the Bible
For centuries now Christians have claimed to possess the special revelation of an omnipotent, loving Deity who is sovereign over all of His creation. This special revelation is in written form and is what has come to be known as The Bible which consists of two books. The first book is the Hebrew Scriptures, written by prophets in a time that was before Christ, and the second book is the New Testament, which was written by Apostles and disciples of the risen Lord after His ascension. It is well documented that Christians in the context of the early first century were used to viewing a set of writings as being not only authoritative, but divinely inspired. The fact that there were certain books out in the public that were written by followers of Jesus and recognized as being just as authoritative as the Hebrew Scriptures was never under debate. The disagreement between some groups of Christians and Gnostics centered on which exact group of books were divinely inspired and which were not. The debate also took place over the way we can know for sure what God would have us include in a book of divinely inspired writings. This ultimately led to the formation of the Biblical canon in the next centuries. Some may ask, “Isn’t Jesus really the only thing that we can and should call God’s Word?” and “Isn’t the Bible just a man made collection of writings all centered on the same thing, Jesus Christ?” This paper summarizes some of the evidences for the Old and New Testament canon’s accuracy in choosing God breathed, authoritative writings and then reflects on the wide ranging
...des aid to the husband by completing household duties and by bearing children. Divorce in Christianity is not encouraged; in fact, everything possible is to be done to save the marriage. In fact, the Catholic Church does not grant divorce unless an annulment is allowed. An annulment will be given if there is any type of abuse in the relationship. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church will first try to rescue what remains of the marriage before allowing the couple to divorce. Marriage is viewed as being a relationship that will last till death is the reason that the couple be separated. Unlike Islam, in the Bible there is no definite answer for the question about Jesus ever being married. Lastly, the Christian faith does not allow for marriage to be completed between the same sexes. The only Christian division that allows it to an extent is some branches of Protestants.
... light responsibility and has to be weighed judiciously before deciding to enter into a marriage. One must ask a potential spouse what their definition of fidelity is, and does their viewpoint and yours reflect the same thing? If not, the better choice would be to delay or cancel any marriage plans or you must then contemplate if this a compromise that you are willing to make? If you decide that it is a compromise you are willing to make can you then live with someone who then says, “You know I lied, I am only going to give you my love, but I will not share X with you.” That leaves a lot up to chance and can come back and haunt you down the road. We must understand as a Christian society that marriage is much, much more than many people think it is and must understand that fidelity in its truest sense, is more than what the common understanding leads one to believe.
The Old Testament Apocrypha can be categorized, depending on the division, by eleven or twelve books. This is base on how the Roman Catholic Church adds or subtracts from the Old Testament. They disagree with how many books that belong to the Old Testament. These books as Holy Scripture was rejected by the Jews. The Apocrypha has different doctrine and practices than the Holy Scripture. The books of the Apocrypha should not be considered as Holy Scripture due to not justifying any evidence as being authoritative. They are not included in the Protestant Old Testament due to having Jewish origins that preceded Christianity (Tullock and McEntire, 2012). However, this was not the case with the Pseudepigrapha's books. The Apocrypha's books are not
...ndard that puts sex within the fidelity and security of marriage is the most responsible code that has ever been developed. You are justified in following it without apology as the best standard for protecting human, moral, and religious values that has been devised.
When a man and a woman come together and bind in holy matrimony, two people become one. In marriage, two people come before the pastor and under God with their partner, to recite promises that are vows. In many religions such as Christianity and Catholicism, sex should be for left only for marriage. Sex is an emotional experience that is for married people to enjoy sexual pleasure together. Love and trust are sacred for the foundation of marriage.
2. The Roman Catholic church did its best to regulate the belief of Catholic Christians from the early church to the Reformation, labeling some beliefs orthodox and some heretical. Discuss at least two examples of instances before 1500 in which the church attempted to control belief and then discuss the career of Martin Luther. Why was Luther able to successfully break with the church when previous dissenters were not? Be sure to support your answer with evidence from our class sources.
Christianity most specifically, the Holy Roman Catholic Church has been involved in the world throughout time. Since Christianity, when if first became a major religion in society the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church has affected many areas of history. The Roman Catholic Church has affected the world historically, as demonstrated by it's impact upon the historical figures like Hypatia, Joan of Arc, and Jan Hus, historical events such as the Salem Witch Trials, and many other eras and events. The Roman Catholic Church slowed down scientific advancement during the Middle Ages when they had the greatest control over society, due to their personal beliefs. Finally, the Roman Catholic Church for a time changed the world ethically for women and homosexuals, although this is not inclusive. Without the extreme control the Roman Catholic Church had, the world would be a completely different place to live in. To prove this, topics such as the effect the Roman Catholic Church has had throughout history, how science has been affected by the Roman Catholic Church, and how the Roman Catholic Church has affected society ethically to a small and temporary degree.
These questions arise from our own desires as Christians to reflect a biblically sound attitude towards sexuality and relationships. That same desire to act according to biblical scriptures is subject to opposition from today’s culture and views about sexual relationships, gender, and roles. A new definition of marriage, sexual orientation, and sexual practices is challenging our relationship with God and our view of human sexuality. Bishop John Spong defines sex and its impact on relationships: “Sex can be called at once the greatest gift to humanity and the greatest enigma of our lives. It is a gift in that is a singular joy for all beings and enigma in its destructive potential for people and their relationships.” (Spong, 1988)
address a problem, which the Corinthians had concerning an interpretation of sex and marriage. Paul's words in these verses of Scripture should be understood in light of the broader teaching of the Bible concerning sex and marriage. Before devoting our attention to the distorted views of sex and marriage held by some of the Corinthians, we must understand what the Bible has to say about the subject of marriage.
Unlike salvation, Jesus made it clear in Luke 20:34 that marriage was only during this lifetime. Moreover, Jesus told His followers that after the resurrection, people would not get married or arrange to get married. However, that does not mean Jesus did not hold marriage in a high regard. This is reflected in how Jesus approached current issues during His lifetime regarding divorce and remarriage. Moreover, Paul made it clear that those who get married “will have worldly troubles.” Nevertheless, Christ personally addressed this issue establishing His view of divorce based on the Scriptures.