Protestant Myth Busters :- They believe in Sacred Tradition

I am making a huge assertion with the title of this post, I know, but I sincerely believe it to be true.  I believe that Non-Catholics, Protestants, and Anglicans (hehehe) all believe in Sacred Tradition.  Before continuing, let us define what Sacred Tradition is:

The teachings of Tradition are not written down, but are lived and are handed on by the lives of those who lived according to its teachings, according to the example of Christ and the Apostles (1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15). This perpetual handing on of the teachings of Tradition is called a living Tradition; it is the transmission of the teachings of Tradition from one generation to the next. [1]

In other words, Non-Catholics do not really believe in Sola Scriptura, or Scripture Alone.  They can't.  It is completely impossible for them to believe that.  I am sure by now you are wondering how I came to this conclusion, so let me tell you...

All Non-Catholic believers say that their authority is in Scripture and in Scripture Alone.  They all believe that the Bible is the inerrant inspired Word of God.  If they really believe that....then someone must have told them.  As far as I know, there is not one infant born into this world that inherently knows that the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God and the Book of Mormon is not.  No.  Instead, they have had an encounter with someone that they know and trust, and that someone had to tell them that Scripture was the inspired Word of God.  Someone had to "instruct" them that the Bible was the inerrant, God breathed Word of God.  Isn't that instruction the same as Sacred Tradition?  Doesn't that instruction make up part of the Sacred Tradition that has been passed on down through the centuries (about 20 to be exact)?  How is that really any different than Sacred Tradition?  My assertion is that it is not.

Therefore, Non-Catholics do in fact believe in Sacred Tradition and not in Scripture Alone.  What do you think?  Am I on to something, or am I completely off base?  Is my logic sound or no?

God bless...

[1] - Wikipedia :- Sacred Tradition

Am I my brother's keeper?

Ezekiel 33:7-9
Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.

YES, I AM!!!!

Peter Kreeft coming to Grand Rapids

It is with great pleasure that I share with you that Peter Kreeft, one of my favorite theologians / philosophers, is coming to Grand Rapids Michigan on January 28th 7:30p.m. at Immaculate Heart of Mary. His talk titled Wisdom of Jesus, is sure to inspire and challenge us all. To learn more about his talk and this event, please visit our website.

I was first introduced to Peter Kreeft by way of C.S. Lewis. After looking online for more information on C.S. Lewis, I happened upon a couple of Peter Kreeft's talks where he comments on many of C.S. Lewis writings. While looking through all of the talks that are available on the Featured Audio section of his website, I noticed a talk on ecumenism. Since ecumenism is one of my passions, I listened to his talk Ecumenism without Compromise, and I have been hooked ever since.

Here is a couple of other talks of his that I have enjoyed:

• A Refutation of Moral Relativism
• Making Sense out of Suffering
• Mere Christianity
• Prayer for Beginners
• Seven Reasons to be a Catholic

Needless to say, I am very excited to see him live, and I hope that I get an opportunity to meet him face to face.

God bless you all...

Catholic Answers :- Open Forum for Non Catholics

I remember the time when I was not a Catholic, but I was taking steps (okay not steps, but leaps) learning more and more about the Catholic faith.  I had plenty of questions (still do), and I had a group of friends that had a lot of answers.  Some of the answers were perfect, others I found still wanting.

In search of Truth, I found a radio program called Catholic Answers Live.  It is a radio program where they bring in priests and lay apologists onto the show and they talk about various topics.  Every month, they do one show where the discriminate against their Catholic audience called Open Forum for Non Catholics.  They ask all of the Catholics not to call in and they devote a whole hour to fielding questions from Non-Catholics.  I have to admit, this is my favorite show of the month and I look forward to it.

Tim Staples, renowned Catholic Apologist and fellow convert to the faith, was the guest for January's Open Forum for Non Catholics.  His conversion story can be found in Surprised by the Truth, but more than that, he is someone that loves God and loves His Church.

If you are interested in listening to this month's episode, where Tim talks about the biblical precedence for Purgatory and the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, amongst other things, you can find it here.  If you are interested in listening to more Open Forum for Non Catholics, then feel free to use the search functionality on their website, which you will find here.  (Search for "non catholic" in the title if you are interested in more Open Forum for Non Catholics / Tough Questions from Non-Catholics)

Thanks and God bless...

Does the Bible teach abstinence from alcohol?

I had one of the best weekends.  A friend of mine that I grew up with, came to stay with my family this weekend.  I was very glad to hear that he is growing more and more in his faith.  It was very inspiring.

As a new Christian, he has a lot of questions.  One of his friends had told him that the Bible is against drinking alcohol.  His friend also told him that every reference in scripture where it talks about wine, is not fermented and pretty much amounts to grape juice.  For this reason, he abstains from alcohol altogether.

If someone believes that abstaining from alcohol brings them closer to God, I am all for it.  I think that sacrifice / fasting is one of the ways that we grow in our faith and get closer to God.  However, with that being said, I do not think that it is necessary to misinterpret scripture in order to support this practice.

In order to debunk this false interpretation of Scripture, we discussed many different verses - however, the most important verse that we found together was the following:

Luke 7:33-34
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." '

There are a couple of obvious things that we can gain from this verse.  Wine is alcoholic in scripture.  It is not just grape juice.  It must be, since they slandered Jesus saying that he was a drunkard.  Which of course leads us to our next fact.  Jesus drank wine.  Jesus drank alcohol.

There is plenty of support in scripture that we are not to drink alcohol in order to get drunk.  We should never let drinking get out of hand to where it impairs our judgement.  But it is completely in line with Scripture to drink alcohol.

God bless...

Woman knocks down Pope

During our family's Christmas celebration, I was shocked to hear that someone had knocked down the Pope during Christmas Eve Mass.  Evidently, during the procession, when the priest and altar servers begin the Mass celebration by walking down the center aisle with the crowd joining the beginning of the Mass by standing, someone hopped over the pew, and knocked down the Pope.  The Pope is fine and was able to celebrate Mass.

At the same time, this whole incident got me thinking.  Here we have the Leader of the Church, arguably the man in the most influential office in the world, about to share the Good News of the Birth of our Savior with his congregation / family.  Just before he gets a chance to do so, someone attacks him - attempting to disrupt the gospel.  How many times has that happened to all of us?  Just when you are about to share the Gospel with someone, the enemy attacks, disrupts, causes confusion?  How many times has that happened to me, when I try to share the Gospel, the enemy tries to take me down - if not through an external threat but an internal one?  "You don't know enough about your faith to share it......Only a fool would believe in God....How and Why would God, the all powerful God come down and suffer the most horrendous death for you.....you who have sinned against Him so many times....".  How many times have I allowed the enemy's attacks to succeed....?

Please pray for me and I will pray for you - that we will not allow the enemy's empty threats disrupt our conviction in the Gospel.  That in 2010, we will all share the Good News of Jesus Christ, and His Church, no matter who comes up against us, no matter what form the enemy's attack may take.

God bless you all.....

Long time no blogging....

Some of you may be wondering where I have been all of this time. Truth be told, I have not been feeling that much inspiration to blog as of late. Instead, during this Advent, I am focusing more on my own spiritual growth as oppose to the apologetics nature that this blog has undertaken.

With that being said, I am definitely interested in the following topics. You can expect to hear more about them later...most likely after Christmas and New Year.....

• Fulfullment of All Desire - Ralph Martin
• Personal Ordinates for the Anglican Church
• Great Schism

If I do not write again before 2010....

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year....God bless