This week a man asked me, “Does the big bang make God unnecessary?” One could give a simplistic answer: “Of course not! Where do you think the big bang came from?” But there is a better answer, one more complex and more true. At root, this man’s question reveals a profound misunderstanding of the Catholic […]
Continue readingMore TagMonth: June 2014
“For us Men and for Our Salvation” What the Creed Teaches us about Salvation in the Ancient Church
Church history made me a Catholic. Specifically, the early Church and its doctrine of salvation made me a Catholic. I grew up an evangelical Protestant in Birmingham, Alabama. I “prayed to receive Jesus” at an early age, trusting Christ, and Christ alone, to get me to Heaven. I understood that faith alone could settle the […]
Continue readingMore TagWhy Can’t I Go to Communion?
Last week I spoke to a Protestant woman who wanted to know why she could not receive the sacrament of reconciliation from a Catholic priest. Similarly, I hear sometimes from Protestants who want to know why they cannot receive communion in a Catholic Church. I think these kinds of questions are usually sincere and evidence […]
Continue readingMore TagTwo Words Commonly Misunderstood
There are two words in Catholic tradition that are very often misunderstood. These words are mystical and contemplative. They are misunderstood because they are frequently used in common English to mean something different, but only subtly different, from the Catholic sense. The confusion is important because it obscures important Catholic truths. In common English, mystical, […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat is Catholicism?
In my apostolate, I have the great blessing of routinely answering questions about the Catholic faith. People call or write me with questions, and I do my best to answer. Usually, I get the same ten or twenty questions over and over again. Sometimes I get a question out of left field. (I got a […]
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