Oct 31 2013
No, Halloween is NOT a pagan holiday adopted by Catholics and passed on to Protestants. That’s a myth perpetuated by anti-Catholics and those who, contrary to the Bible, fear what has been offered to pagan gods. So, in reality, Halloween is a safe and fun secular practice with Christian origins. If you don’t believe that, or dislike the type of Christian faith it originated in, follow Paul’s advice. If you don’t feel you can go that far yet, don’t complain about those who have a stronger faith.
Oct 30 2013
If you ask the average Christian, “Should we obey the 10 Commandments?” they will likely say “Yes.” Enter the Adventist, who then asks why the average Christian doesn’t keep the 4th commandment, which states that we should keep the Sabbath. … The Decalogue was the actual set of words making up the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was replaced with the New. Even Paul acknowledges that the law written on stone has been replaced.
Oct 27 2013
St John Chrysostom makes a very interest point: 9 of the 10 Commandments were part of natural law, known to man before the 10 Commandments, and therefore not in need of any explanation. The Sabbath commandment was not like this – it needed to be revealed, and that is why it did not remain binding when the Mosaic Law came to an end – it was not part of natural law.
Oct 26 2013
As the symbol of the Church, and as the first Christian, Mary is now what we will become. She birthed God into the world; we are called to bring God to others. She was sinless; we will be made spotless. She was taken body and soul into heaven; we will ultimately be resurrected and our bodies reunited with our souls in heaven.
Sep 08 2013
“Cathoolic – New Evangelization and Apologetics. Countering “sheep-stealing” from the Catholic Church” Cathoolic is run by Godwin Delali Adadzie from Ghana, and he also runs two other sites on Catholicism – About the Rosary and Are Catholics Christian? He’s got a short book on the Rosary – visit his Rosary site to get it for your Kindle / PC / other reader.
Sep 08 2013
Continuing my posts on young Catholic apologists/evangelists, this is part 2 of 3. A young guy called Joseph has a YouTube channel with (currently) 38 videos defending various Catholic teachings. “To all Catholics in good standing with the Church, I hope that you learn something from these videos that will help you in your life later on. To all non-Catholics and cafeteria Catholics, please be opened to the truth and let God show you the correct path.”
Sep 08 2013
“New Catholic Generation is an organization composed of all Catholic Teenagers on YouTube testifying to their faith in Jesus Christ.” These people are clearly Catholic apologists in their own right. They know what they believe and share it with others. Most Catholic apologists I follow are older than I am. These apologists of the future are probably all just under half my age. If the Jesuits had the vibrance and spirit of these people, the world would be converted in a matter of weeks.
Sep 08 2013
The Latin Mass is growing in popularity around the world, and over the last few years I’ve seen several reports of how young Catholics are attracted to the ancient Mass. This is a growing movement that I don’t believe can be stopped.
Aug 17 2013
This is a series of e-mails I got from a lady who converted from Anglican to Adventist, spent 20 years as an Adventist, realised how wrong it was, went back to the Anglican church for a while, and then finally converted to the Catholic faith. … “I have only recently discovered your Catholic help webpage on the net and wish to thank you for your courage in sharing your faith, plus the extensive biblical/Early Church Fathers debunking of SDA teachings re Catholic Christianity, salvation, the role of Jesus Christ etc. that you have made available.”
Aug 09 2013
Catholics (and most other Christians) believe Sunday is a special day to be celebrated, because it is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The Jews kept the Sabbath on Saturday, and this is reflected in the 10 Commandments. However, only the moral code of the Old Testament is applicable to Christians – we don’t need to sacrifice animals, keep Passover, Yom Kippur, or the Sabbath, and we are free from the dietary restrictions as well.
Aug 09 2013
I have been planning to write a series of posts over the next year or so that will cover some of the major points on which Catholics get hassled by non-Catholics, and in particular by Adventists and other Sabbath-keeping groups. Finally I have managed to get round to it. My intention is to present or explain what the Catholic Church believes, what the biblical evidence is, and why the commonly heard objections are faulty. I will not be writing a complete thesis on each topic, but hope to present the basics of what we believe and why we believe it. I will also not be producing a complete encyclopedia of Catholic teaching, and I will not necessarily be writing on the various topics in any specific order.
Jul 24 2013
When one group of Christians needs to lie about another group of Christians in order to look good and promote their cause, what does that say about them? The commandment not to lie is part of the same set of 10 that contains the commandment to keep the Sabbath. Yet some Sabbath keepers are more than willing to tell lies about the Catholic Church to promote their agenda.
Jul 21 2013
In his new book, Waking Up Catholic, Chad Torgerson describes his journey into the Catholic Church. He discusses how his faith in Christ developed over the years, from Lutheran, to agnostic/atheist, to born-again Protestant, and finally Catholic. Specifically, he brings in how his relationship with Christ was influenced by his study of Catholic teachings and practices, and shows how they can bring one closer to Christ. The book is easy to read, but gets to the point of complex issues remarkably well without becoming too complex on the one hand, or being too simple on the other.
Jun 30 2013
As mentioned previously, a priest, Fr Noel, from the Archdiocese of Cape Town recently attended the Latin Mass training course at Ratcliffe College in England, which was organised by the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. Fr Noel has kindly given me some photos to share.
Jun 25 2013
Adventism is well know for those members and clergy who misrepresent the Catholic faith. Not all Adventists are dishonest, and I’ve had apologies from Adventists who acknowledge and regret their church’s dishonesty. Unfortunately, via Tesa Beem at “It’s Okay NOT to be a Seventh-day Adventist”, I’ve seen another example of gross misrepresentation of Catholicism by Adventists.
May 24 2013
The two videos below show the differences between some modern Catholic and Orthodox Masses / Divine Liturgies. Eastern rite Catholics are similar to the Orthodox.
May 21 2013
One of Teresa and Arthur Beem’s turning points in their conversion from Adventism to Catholicism was the issue of abortion. Adventists neglect the commandment against murder. Tesa has a lovely post on her blog about this.
May 01 2013
On the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Holy Father will preside over a special Eucharistic adoration that will extend at the same time all over the world involving the cathedrals and parishes in each diocese. For an hour, at 5 PM (Rome time), the whole world will be united in prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
May 01 2013
There is a website called Come, Pray the Rosary that is an “online Rosary for participation in worldwide or individual prayer” – a perpetual Rosary. I’m not sure how many people use it.
Apr 29 2013
I’ve posted new videos of the Mass / Divine Liturgy / liturgical celebrations on my page The Mass – video collection.
