Are Catholics bound to the precepts of the Old Testament, or does the New Testament do away with the old? Moreover, why does it appear that Catholicism selectively adheres to portions of the Old Testament while ignoring others? In the following exposition, I will identify three precepts of the Torah that make up the structure of the old law. I will then seek to show that through Christ, Catholics adhere to the Mosaic law. The Torah The Mosiac law is... Read more
“All the laws of heaven and earth are unable to prevent man from his crimes. Surely relaxing the laws of heaven and earth shall not dispose man to better behavior.” – Doctor Samuel Johnson. The question of morality is one of significant import to philosophy and theology. Specifically, where do our ideas of right and wrong come from? Are these ideas innate and thus part of human nature, or are they social constructs of our creation? In this work, I... Read more
Anyone familiar with the Bible is acquainted with the depictions of violence and slavery. Too often, critics of religion cite these unsavory acts as evidence that religion is dangerous, and if God exists, He is violent. This paper intends to discuss these difficult passages, particularly as they appear in the Old Testament. I will also place such violence in the broader context of the ancient world. Lastly, I will show the link between violence and justice and the need for... Read more
“Behold your mother.” What follows is an introduction to Mary. I will review the four dogmas of the Catholic Church concerning Mary and seek to address some criticisms of Mariology in Catholic theology. Finally, I will show how Mary remains a model for Catholics. Mary of Nazareth Approximately fifteen miles west of the Sea of Galilee, in the northern district of present-day Israel, lies the City of Nazareth. At the time of Mary’s birth, around 18 BC, Nazareth had a... Read more
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven; it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” – Saint Therese of Lisieux. To be a person of faith is to pray. But what exactly is prayer? Is worship the same as prayer? Are there different types of prayer, and what purpose does it serve to pray? The subject of worship and prayer is so rich as... Read more
“Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it.” – Thomas Aquinas. The desire of the faithful is to share in the divine life, the life of grace. But what is grace? What relationship does it have with faith? Can we choose to have faith, or is it an imposition? In the following treatise, I will discuss what Catholicism means by faith and grace. I will also expound on how free will interacts with grace to produce faith. What is Grace?... Read more
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” – John 1:14. In many ways, the stories of the Bible are stories of humanity’s encounters with God. Divine condescension is the phenomenon of God “lowering” Himself to interact with creation. It is this remarkable act that I wish to discuss. I will begin by defining what theology means by divine condescension and review examples of it in the Bible. I will also address divine condescension in relation to the... Read more
“The animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren. All animals are fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect and they are as near to God as men are.” – Pope John Paul II. In part one of this exposition, I began my argument that at least some non-human animals possess spiritual souls that are immortal. I defined the various types of souls and contrasted the soul and... Read more
“Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds. And so it happened: God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was.” (Genesis 1:20-25) It is the intention of this two-part thesis to argue that at least some species of non-human animals possess immaterial, and therefore, immortal souls. This position is certainly not... Read more
“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago. Perhaps no other question in theology is more troubling than the problem of evil. The question may be formulated in... Read more
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