I alluded to the biblical evidence above, and would refer you to my book if that piques your interest. Cherry picking means you take one line from the entire Bible and make that your argument. . Dr. Horrell explains, “Usually, it’s related to… the large house of cardinals and the leading theologians in the movement; but finally, that all comes under, of course, the pope himself.” Besides providing a trusted, unified voice to guide Catholics, this body also allows the church to make official pronouncements on contemporary issues which Scripture might not directly address. However, this is incorrect. This is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and thorough defense of the Catholic Church against Protestant objections in print. Catholics are not uncomfortable at all because they understand that Christ saves us, but He chooses to use different means to do so, like Baptism. That fragment itself dates to 170, and it’s describing the 140s, so both it and the testimony of Hegesippus seem to debunk the idea that this is all a fabrication or anachronism from the 180s. Moreover, it requires assuming that the Apostles established a Protestant-style church in Rome, but that the Christians got rid of it and replaced it with an episcopal/papal structure, all while paying lip service to the apostolic origins of their structure of governance. But there’s a second problem with this reasoning as well. Capturing Christianity, Cameron Bertuzzi’s YouTube platform, recently released a 90-minute video called “The STRONGEST Argument Against Catholicism w/ Dr. Jerry Walls.” In it, Bertuzzi sits down with Dr. Jerry Walls, a philosopher at Houston Baptist University, who presents what he views as the best argument against the Catholic claim. 20:21-23) and last rites is Biblical too (James 5:16). “Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths & Misconceptions About the Papacy” by Patrick Madrid. Your email address will not be published. He offers three possible reasons: first, because they’re historians; second, because they represent the scholarly consensus; and third, because they’re Roman Catholics. The enormous difficulty, however, is that historians reject miracles—not just in the Bible but consistently in any book that claims to be history. A Catholic and a Protestant debate Two theology professors — one Catholic, one Protestant — get to the heart of … And that leads to the second part of Walls’ case, the argument from skepticism. The most obvious evidence is from St. Irenaeus, who responds to heretical arguments by appealing to apostolic succession, saying “we are in a position to reckon up those who were by the apostles instituted bishops in the Churches, and [to demonstrate] the succession of these men to our own times; those who neither taught nor knew of anything like what these [heretics] rave about.” Tertullian likewise says that if any heretics want to claim apostolicity. Walls appears to be basing this claim off of both Eno and Duffy, the latter of whom says that Ignatius of Antioch “wrote a series of letters to other churches, largely consisting of appeals to them to unite round their bishops. And your works help me much to combat this activity of the protestant. Let them exhibit the origins of their churches, let them unroll the list of their bishops, coming down from the beginning by succession in such a way that their first bishop had for his originator and predecessor one of the apostles or apostolic men; one, I mean, who continued with the apostles. Remember the story of Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon? Acts 26:26). This list was in peaceful possession in the Western Church until the Reformation, and it was necessary to reaffirm it at the Council of Trent (DS 1502–03) and at Vatican I (DS 3029). An evangelical discovers Catholic Tradition” by Mark Shea. Really BAD arguments against the Catholic Church As stated above, most of these assertions are just made up – invented. Indeed, Walls (a graduate of Notre Dame) has written a book defending the idea of Purgatory from a Protestant perspective. Luke 5:1-11; Matt. Nor was it only Rome: every apostolic church made similar claims about apostolic succession. But as St. Thomas Aquinas notes, “The proof from authority is the weakest form of proof.” (And if Aquinas says it, it must be correct . Walls thinks that this outweighs the biblical evidence for the papacy, saying “I think they [Catholics] need more than to say, ‘I read my Bible, and when I read my Bible, it seems to me that Jesus is making Peter the pope, and that settles it for me.’” At numerous points, both in his journal article and in his conversation with Bertuzzi, he compares Catholics with young-earth Creationists who hold on to their biblical interpretation at the expense of scholarly evidence to the contrary. **“Bible Basics for Catholics” by John Bergsma, Scott Hahn. I have a library of books (Catholic and anti-Catholic) that I have read, and I’m passing it on to you…, As always, thanks for reading! **Rome Sweet Home (Militant anti-Catholic becomes Catholic, **Where We Got The Bible, by Henry Graham –. The picture above quotes one verse that says we are saved by “believing in Jesus,” which is true. When Protestants read a verse like that, they immediately get uncomfortable and retract saying, “No, only Christ saves you.”. And that’s applicable here: one of the major arguments that Brown relies upon (which we’ll look at in more depth) is that, since St. Ignatius of Antioch frequently mentions bishops in his writings to the churches of Asia Minor, this “insistence” shows that the episcopacy must be some new thing that he is trying to defend; and that since he (allegedly) doesn’t mention bishops in his letter to Rome, the episcopacy must not exist there. Counter-Reformation, the Roman Catholic efforts directed in the 16th–17th century against the Protestant Reformation and toward internal renewal. Catholicism, by contrast, teaches that God ultimately accepts people because Christ’s righteousness is poured into them (infused or imparted), thus making them actually righteous. And this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved in the Church from the apostles until now, and handed down in truth. Learn more about the history, key reformers, educational and missionary endeavors, and legacy of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. And it requires assuming that these twentieth-century skeptics had a better idea of what the Church looked like in Rome in the first and second century than did the actual Christians of the second century (including both Roman Christians and visitors to Rome, like Hegesippus). Let us look at a few of them. That is what Catholics believe! The crux of Walls’ claim goes something like this: Christ establishing the papacy upon Peter is the distinctive claim that Catholicism makes relative to all other forms of Christianity; but this claim is poorly-supported by the evidence of the early Church, where (he claims) there wasn’t even a Bishop of Rome until nearly 200 AD. . I am not Roman Catholic because Rome denies the gospel. But believing in evolution on scientific evidence is a far cry from rejecting apostolic succession simply because Fr. You’ll see that he never mentions bishops or elders at any point (much less conflating the two), because he’s arguing about the truth of Christianity over paganism, not describing the structure of the Church. For example: Many Protestants say (like in the picture above) that Baptism doesn’t save you. ++, **My recommendations based on this article. Only His body and blood forgives us our sins, and without it, we cannot be saved. We see no clear evidence of change, and no one bemoaning (or praising, or even acknowledging) some change in governance structure. Walls supports this claim principally by citing two Catholic historians, Fr. Flesh and Blood: What Are We Willing to Give of Them? The Bible says in James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another a. Thanks to the Word on Fire team. So how does Duffy disprove these historical claims? There are also numerous other places in which Peter is listed first among the Apostles, and even as somehow distinct from the other Apostles (e.g., calling the Twelve “Peter and the Eleven,” [see Acts 2:14]), etc. I agree with Walls that this is precisely the question that we ought to be discussing, but if his case is the strongest argument against Catholicism, it’s hard to see how anyone can resist becoming Catholic. Walls calls the question a “family dispute” between Catholics and Protestants, and he’s not afraid to acknowledge those things that he thinks Catholicism gets right. The parallels between the nation of Israel and the Catholic Church are hard to miss: both have been involved in scandal, sin, … **Catholicism and Fundamentalism: Attacks on “Romanism” by “Bible Christians.” (One of the BEST books on defending the Catholic faith against Protestants and anti-Catholic arguments). Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, “will save his people from their sins”. For example, there are not one but four gospel accounts. However, salvation is not a one time event. But the Bible clearly states that “Baptism saves you.” Do not ignore the verse because it makes you feel uncomfortable or you do not understand it. When Bertuzzi points out that this seems to just be an argument from silence, Walls replies: How so? It’s Ignatius setting his final affairs in order as he approaches certain death. There are so many arguments against the Catholic Church that are false or skewed. “Did Jesus have a last name? But the same is true of the arguments against the early papacy. There’s actually a lot to like about the video. God bless Bishop Barron. In every succession, and in every city that is held which is preached by the law and the prophets and the Lord.” So notice that each of these authorities says that all of the apostolic churches keep lists like this: that fact will become salient in a moment. Edwards is seeking to defend the historicity of the Protestant Bible, and protect it against criticisms from both Catholics and modern Biblical critics. Robert Eno and Eamon Duffy (a third, Fr. One of the most formidable Jesuit polemicists for Catholicism was Robert Bellarmine, whose Controversies profoundly influenced Church thinking for more … “Handbook of Catholic Apologetics” by Peter Krett, Ronald K. Tacelli. . En route to martyrdom, Ignatius passed through the Roman provinces of Asia Minor and Thracia (present-day Turkey and Greece). The notion of a church choosing its church order is unheard of in Christian tradition until the sixteenth century with the Reformation in Switzerland, and the choice between presbyteral and episcopal government is church-dividing to this day. As St. Paul might say, such changes couldn’t have escaped the notice of the rest of the world’s Christians, “for this was not done in a corner” (cf. We would expect Ignatius to mention bishops in his letter to the Romans; Ignatius says “nothing whatever about bishops” in this letter; Therefore, there must have not have been a bishop in Rome at the time that Ignatius wrote (c. 107 AD). in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on behalf of men.”(430, 1992). Yet on all of this the New Testament is silent. Rome has a gospel but not the gospel and, in reality, their gospel damns not saves because it explicitly denies that justification comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. To strengthen his position, I’ve supplemented their conversation with a journal article that Walls wrote (and which he mentioned in the conversation) called “‘If Christ be not Raised’; If Peter was not the First Pope: Parallel Cases of Indispensable Doctrinal Foundation.” (Since they’re the same argument by the same author, I’ve interspersed quotes from each throughout this response). (This is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and thorough defense of the Catholic Church against Protestant objections in print). Catholics Worship Mary as a Goddess. Period. It’s not the water that saves, but Jesus Christ who saves us through Baptism, which is why Scripture (in Romans 6 and other verses) talks about being born again in Christ through Baptism. She’s going to love it. Ignatius’ seven letters are written on his way from Antioch (the city over which he was bishop) to Rome (the city in which he was martyred), and were written somewhere around AD 107. If they could respond to him by pointing out that his own Church was in the process of innovating a papacy and rewriting its own history, don’t you think that they would? points out: A first problem with this scenario is its lack of historical plausibility. Thank you. 13:47-50; John 21:1-13); the promise that he will gather the Gentiles into the Church so that there will be “one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16) followed by his commissioning of Peter (individually) to “feed my lambs,” “tend my sheep,” and “feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Also, Scripture is clear that we must have more than an intellectual faith. The STRONGEST Argument Against Catholicism w/ Dr. Jerry Walls. For example, the Catholic Church does not teach that we are saved by Peter or that Peter gets us to heaven. And Anicetus was succeeded by Soter, and he by Eleutherus. Many Protestants think Roman Catholics teach a works-gospel that cannot save, while Roman Catholics think Protestants teach easy-believism that requires nothing more than an emotional outburst brought on by manipulative preaching. So he mentions bishops in every other letter, he’s almost obsessed with the authority of the bishop. If you read it, you’ll find the Catholic church teaches things which are contrary to … Seven years ago, I myself was an emotional and excited Protestant convert to Catholicism (though also a revert, as my parents left the Church shortly after my first communion). It is a life long journey of Christ saving us. Walls claimed that several figures (Clement, Ignatius, Hermas, and Justin) described (1), but that’s simply false, as shown above. And if not, on what basis are we compelled to accept his claims about the evidence for the papacy or apostolic succession? Christ it adds the work of Mary his fisherman brother make more money Francis de Sales ” Mark... 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