Common - but bad - Apologetic Arguments

[MrSnaith]

I have a question regarding sacramentals. I understand that statues/icons are images that remind us of the particular person/saint and call people to devotion, thanksgiving etc.

Do sacramentals likewise serve that function? As in serving as a reminder of God’s glory etc, and then the grace comes from God, or is the sacramental seen as being a vehicle of grace (if that term makes any sense) I understand the sacramental has no power of its own, but I also know that they must be disposed of in particular ways if they become broken etc, and are to be treated with an appropriate measure of respect.

Do they “hold” some of the power/grace of God in themselves, or does it simply move through them when the faithful make use of them?

I recall when I was in high school one of the sisters invited us to touch our rosaries to one that the Virgin at Medrugorge had handled. ( I think that is not an approved vision, but the circumstances of touching a rosary to one blessed by a pope etc might be considered similar). It was unclear to me what effect/grace was being conferred from one to the other.

My understanding is that sacramentals act, as you say, as vehicles of Grace. Not that God needs to use objects in such a way, but that He does so for our benefit.

We humans are body bodies and spirits, a union of the two very un-alike natures. While it is inappropriate to act or worship in body only, it is likewise inappropriate to act or worship in spirit only. It is inappropriate because, being a body-spirit union, our nature is perfected when these two aspects are in proper and perfect unity. Thus, to aspire to behave in either an entirely spiritual manner, or an entirely physical manner is unnatural, and actually destructive.

Therefore, if our relationship with God is spiritual only, it is deficient, and if God dispensed His grace in a purely spiritual manner, that would run the risk of a kind of blindness on our part to His Divine activity in our lives. God respects our nature, as He is its creator. Therefore, He provides us visible signs, physical aids to the spiritual realities that He grants to us.

So, while sacramentals are on the one hand reminders for us, they are on the other hand visible signs of an invisible Grace, through which God acts. It must be remembered, however, that sacramentals are usually tied to a devotion entered into by the user of the sacramental. For example, in an apparition of Mary (on Mount Carmel I believe), we received the Brown Scapular sacramental, and with it the promise that whoever should wear it in devotion at death would not go to Hell. Well, it’s not a “free pass” so to speak. The wearer of the Brown Scapular must enter into its devotion, a devotion to Christ, and must be inwardly disposed to the graces promised. Essentially, it is the devotion that is important, and the sacramental acts as a reminder of the devotion, and outward sign of it, as well as an outward sign of the graces promised.

 

[slh3016]

Good read and points.

I would like to note that not every church within the “denomination” preaches the same doctrine either. First Baptist downtown could have a pastor who preaches against infant baptism while the pastor of Grace Baptist several miles away could be preaching that infant baptism is a-okay.

Absolutely! Some Baptist churches preach OSAS and others do not, etc.

Also, how could he have possibly accounted for every single autonomous “community bible church” that has popped up on every corner all over the Bible Belt each with its own in-house authority? There’s no way he could have possibly researched their doctrine to determine if they believed exactly the same as any other denomination. While denomination seems to indicate plural churches with the same belief and centralized authority, I do think “denomination unto themselves” is a pretty accurate term for these independent churches. I would wager that when taking all this into account, the figure is definitely in the tens of thousands of differing beliefs/doctrines, ALL of which claim to be Holy Spirit inspired.

 

[JRKH]

Randy,
Thanks for that great post and links. I’ve added the link to my notes for later use.

Peace
James

 

[schaeffer]

Thanks everyone for the explanations on sacramentals.

 

[fred_conty]

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=736379&page=8
How many Christian denominations are there?

About 34,000.

There are about 34,000 different Christian groups in the world since AD 30. This is according to the World Christian Encyclopedia published in 2001. 1,200 different Christian denominations exist in the United States alone. Some groups classify Christianity into 8 meta-groups, namely Roman Catholicism (the largest), Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Assyrian Churches, Protestantism, Restorationism, Anglican Communicants, Pentecostal, and others.

numberof.net/number-of-ch…denominations/

 

[Tomdstone]

Good read and points.

I would like to note that not every church within the “denomination” preaches the same doctrine either. First Baptist downtown could have a pastor who preaches against infant baptism while the pastor of Grace Baptist several miles away could be preaching that infant baptism is a-okay.

Does that constitute a different denomination? For example, in Eastern Catholicism they practice infant Holly Communion and Confirmation, but in Roman Catholicism Holy Communion is given at age 7, and Confirmation at about age 12?

 

[adamhovey1988]

Technically, any storefront “church” is a denomination, so if anything I think that number is too low!