“If our church is not marked by caring for the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy.” – Saint Ignatius of Loyola. As Catholics, we are called to work toward bringing about the Kingdom of God. This is done through prayer, it is done through participation in the Sacraments, and it is done through works of mercy. In the following paper, I will delineate and discuss the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy. I will then seek... Read more
Is Christianity built upon a myth? One of the enduring claims of atheists and skeptics is that Christianity rehashes the ancient world’s stories of gods dying and rising. In this work, I will discuss the subject of mythology and examine the stories of dying and resurrecting gods in pagan thought. I will then explore what relationship the biblical world had to myth. Finally, I will juxtapose Catholicism with mythology. Of Dying And Rising Stories of kings and gods dying and... Read more
This paper is the third and final in a series on the Creeds of the Catholic Church. I have previously expounded on the Apostles and Nicene Creeds. The third is the Athanasian Creed. In this work, I will provide a history of the Creed and the text itself. Lastly, I will endeavor to analyze the Athanasian Creed. History And Purpose Of The Creed The purpose of the Athanasian Creed is to summarize those essential doctrines for salvation affirmed by the... Read more
In my previous paper, I commenced a series on the Creeds of the Catholic Church. Having treated the Apostles Creed, I now turn to the Nicene Creed. I will begin by reviewing the history of the Nicene Creed. I will include the Creed in the text and, finally, analyze the Creed. History And Controversy The Nicene Creed (or the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) appears to have been a product of the Council of Constantinople in 381. However, it would not be officially... Read more
“Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 198. What we believe matters. Much more than science or syllogisms does the content of what we believe inform how we live. Of course, what one believes is particularly important when speaking of faith. So to properly instruct Catholics on the content of the Catholic faith, the Catholic Church has developed... Read more
“There is but one unbegotten Being, God, even the Father; and one only-begotten Son, God, the Word and man; and one Comforter, the Spirit of truth.” – Ignatius of Antioch. Any discussion about God is a discussion about a great mystery. And at the core of this mystery is the rather extraordinary Christian claim that God is a trinity. In this work, I will endeavor to provide an introduction to this mystery. I will discuss each of the three persons... Read more
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” – Matthew 5:17. In the three hundred years following the Enlightenment, organized religion has steadily declined in affiliation and popularity. While a rise in atheism has accompanied this decline, there has also been an increase in the nones. The nones are people who do not identify with any religion. Within the category of the nones are those... Read more
The beauty of the Catholic faith has inspired and created some of the greatest works of art in history. From the art of Michelangelo and Donatello to crucifixes and rosaries, the use of art and symbols are an indispensable part of understanding Catholicism. Often too, art and images provide a path to bringing people to the Catholic faith as well as disposing individuals to worship. Yet, their use has also been met with criticism and controversy. In the following exposition,... Read more
Virtue, like common sense, is a quality we all think we possess in abundance. But what exactly is virtue? For Aristotle, virtue was the habit of both knowing what is good and acting toward achieving that good. Interestingly, Aristotle thought that virtue involved the action between two extremes. For example, courage is virtuous in that it is the median between cowardice and rashness. (See Aristotle. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. University of Chicago Press, 2012). The Catholic Church enumerates seven virtues; four... Read more
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7. The words of Christ in the ninth chapter of John are rather strange and even startling. “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” (See John 9:39). In this work, I hope to provide an interpretation, if not an explanation, for how we are to understand this statement of Jesus. In... Read more
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