In 325 AD the Christian Church was about 300 years old and was “one holy, catholic, and apostolic church” meaning that it was established by Jesus, God in flesh, was universal, and was led by bishops of the time, successors of the original apostles who were followers of Jesus during his earthly ministry Decades of […]
This post is a change of emphasis from Catholic Theology to a Bible study. The Catholic Church classifies six or seven Bible books as Wisdom Books. The Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition, includes Psalms with the comment that Psalms is “often associated” with the Wisdom books. I have not included Psalms in this list of […]
Baptism, the gateway to membership in the Church, is the first of seven sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony) established by Jesus during his earthly ministry and entrusted to the Church he founded. Baptism is a pre-requisite for reception of the other six sacraments. Basis and Commandment The […]
It is unfortunate that the 21st Century meanings of truth and love do not do justice to the important ancient Greek and Hebrew words translated as truth and love in most English Bibles. Now we tend to talk easily of scientific truth, religious truth, and personal truth, giving the most weight to scientific truth but […]
Two things make the Roman Catholic Church unique, its age and its seven sacraments. This little post uses magisterium.com to answer some key questions about the sacraments. There are hot links to open key sources. What is the Catholic definition of Sacrament? (Magisterium.com) In Catholic teaching a sacrament is a visible, tangible sign instituted by Christ […]
There are many different scholarly views of the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Discussion of them can be found in The Jewish Study Bible, Pages 1198-1199, A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament, Pages 438-439), and in one book all Catholics should have on hand, The Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition, Pages 278-279. The confusion […]
A Theological Journey The Baptist Experience The journey from my early Baptist experience with quarterly celebration of The Lord’s Supper, a simple response to the instruction of Jesus to “do this in remembrance of me,” to weekly celebration of the Eucharist, a reaction to the promise of Jesus that “Those who eat my flesh and […]
Love and Hate I have written recently about how sloppy use of the word “love” has diluted its current meaning. Yes, we are commanded in Sacred Scripture to love God, our families, our neighbors, and even our enemies. Now we easily claim to love peanut butter, our cars, and football even if we ignore God, […]
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[c] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[d] and on this rock[e] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades […]
This post results from expressed interest in different understandings of sacraments by various Christian denominations. The investigation is complicated because there are many churches, and the beliefs of church members sometimes vary significantly from the official positions of denomination leadership. But the issue for this post is not what church members believe but what their […]