Where is that in the Bible?

Summer Institute 2008Charlie A. Roy

Purpose:

•Understand Biblical Origin of Catholic Beliefs▫Marian Beliefs▫Divinity of Christ▫Establishment of Sacraments▫Primacy of Peter▫Other Items

Purgatory, Relics, Images in Worship, Call no man Father, other fun facts!

Ground Rules for all discussions•Charity•Love and Concern•Respect for all

Marian Beliefs

•Immaculate Conception▫Genesis 3:15▫Luke 1:28

Mary still saved.•Assumption of Mary

▫Revelation 12:1▫Apocrypha

•Mother of God▫Who is Jesus

Divinity of Christ

•Core Questions of our Faith?▫Why does it have to be Christ who saves

us?▫Why does he have to die to save us?

Why Christ?

•Every religion claims to have the answer to some problem?▫Hinduism – Cycle of Samsara▫Buddhism – Suffering▫Islam – Moral Ignorance

•Christianity claims the problem is “sin”.

Christ the answer to sin?

•Every sin creates a gap.•Offense between God creates an infinite

gap.•Gap cannot be bridged by us. •Only someone who is true God and true

man can bridge that gap.

Why death?

•Out of old covenant into a new one.•Only way out is death.•Crucifixion Greatest moment of love

between God and humanity.

Interesting Events at Christ’s Death•Temple veil torn in two.•Josephus records the collapse of the

temple gate.

Divinity of Christ: Either God or a bad man•Divinity Claims

▫“Before Abraham was, I AM” John 8:58-59▫“Title Son of Man”

Reference to Daniel 9 of the Messiah – a Divinity claim

▫Confession of Thomas “My Lord and My God” – Joen 20:28-29

Eucharist

•John 6 “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood

you have no life in you.” John 6:66 – one stayed who did not believe Prefigured in Ezekiel 36 – a new heart He will

give us Mathew 26:26 – The Last Supper

Confession

▫ John 20:23 On Easter Sunday “If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any they are retained.”

▫ Matthew 18:18 "Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.“

▫ The human element as well is therapeutic and comforting.

▫ Confession is often described as “whispering into the ears of Christ.”

Anointing of the Sick

•James 5:14-16▫“Is anyone among you sick. He should call

for the elders who will pray and anoint him with oil…”

Primacy of the Pope▫ Kings in the line of David had what is called an

al-bayyit or someone who is “over the household”

▫ When Jesus speaks of giving the keys to Peter he is speaking of making him the al-bayyit.

▫ Jesus needs to establish and guarantee a way that his grace and teachings would be brought to all generations without being corrupted.

▫ This guarantee we call papal infallibility and began with Matthew 16 where Jesus after giving Peter the keys says, “the gates of hell will not prevail against you”.

Papal Infallibility•What it is:

▫Guarantees infallibility regarding faith and morals when the pope speaks: Intending to be binding. From the chair of Peter – meaning as the

pope. On an issue of faith and morals.

•What it is not: ▫A license to do whatever whenever.▫Does not guarantee personal holiness or

salvation of the pontiff.

Question of Authority

•Who can interpret Scripture?•This question is one of the dividing

questions between Catholics and are fellow Christians.

•Catholics it is the Magesterium – the successors of the Apostles who can interpret

•Acts 8 – Phillip and the Ethiopian•2nd Peter 3:16-18 – •Example of errors - Revelation 16:15

Authority continued…

•Catholic View of Scripture•Deposit of Faith•Primarily passed on in an oral tradition.•Some of the oral tradition committed to

writing and becomes the cannon of Sacred Scripture

•2nd Thes 3:16

Purgatory

•2nd Maccabees 12:46•1st Corinthians 3:15•Pray for the dead is a sign of belief in

purgatory

Images Worship•A common misconception.• Images to remind and inspire.•Nativity Set example.•God himself commands the making of

images: ▫ 1) Exodus 25:18-19 "And you shall make two

cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.

▫ 2) 1 Kings 7:29 "and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. Upon the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreathes of beveled work."

Relics

•Acts 5 – shadows•Acts 19 – handkerchief of Paul heals

Call no man on earth FatherPoint of this is to claim that Catholics willingly violate

Matthew 23:9 “And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.”

• Luke 2:48 – When Mary says, “Your father and I have been looking for you.” Jesus doesn’t correct her.

• 1 Corinthians 4:15 “I became your father in faith through the Gospel.”

• Jesus is using Hebraic Hyperbole to make a point. • Hebraic Hyperbole: A strong point with strong

language that is not intended to be literal. Other examples▫ Matthew 5:36-38: “Simply let your yes be yes, and your no be

no, anything else comes from the evil one.” ▫ Mark 9:47: “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out for it is

better to enter heaven with one eye, than hell with two.”

Questions?