Definitive Roman Catholic positions

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Hi Matt! Good to see you!
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What!!

What are you doing here, RR? 😃

Good to see you too. Man, I’m running into friends all over this place.
 
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banjo:
If your not already overwhelmed, David Currie, Mark P. Shea, Stephen K. Ray, Patrick Madrid, Marcus Grodi, and others, not necessarily recommended more highly but highly recommended!
One other book I would suggest is The Sources of Catholic Dogma,
Denzinger, currently offered by Loreto Publications…you can find them on the net at www.LoretoPubs.org
Thank you for those. I’ll be looking for those names when browsing the bookstores. šŸ™‚
 
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proud2bcatholic:
To have a proper understanding of the Catholic point of view on grace, I would highly recommend ā€œGlories of Divine Grace,ā€ by Fr. Matthias Scheeben. I read it for the first time about a year and a half ago, I decided to pick it up again recently, and it is an awesome book. Not only will it give you a good idea of how we view grace and our relationship to the Trinity, but it will also give you a good kick in the butt to persevere in grace, and it will make you desire grace.

I think it is a book that every christian should read.
Sounds good. Every Christian needs a good kick every once in a while. Or maybe most of the time. 😃 Thanks!
 
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Matt14:
What!!

What are you doing here, RR? 😃

Good to see you too. Man, I’m running into friends all over this place.
Came here a few days ago. Kind of doing the same thing you are, just wanting to learn what Catholics believe, and also help explain what Protestants believe as well.
 
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roadrunner570:
Came here a few days ago. Kind of doing the same thing you are, just wanting to learn what Catholics believe, and also help explain what Protestants believe as well.
Excellent. God bless you! There seems to be lots of friendly people here, so you’ll probably get what you’re looking for.
 
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Matt14:
Excellent. God bless you! There seems to be lots of friendly people here, so you’ll probably get what you’re looking for.
Yeah, everyone is playing pretty nicely so far šŸ‘
 
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roadrunner570:
Came here a few days ago. Kind of doing the same thing you are, just wanting to learn what Catholics believe, and also help explain what Protestants believe as well.
Glad to have you both here! You both seem to be very polite and I welcome you as a fellow brother in Christ.

Peace of Christ be with you, and may the Holy Spirit open all of our hearts and guide us into that unity that Our Lord, Jesus, pray to the Father for.
 
Amen. šŸ™‚

Roadrunner is a seminary student as well. I think you’ll find we are only interested in service to God, and His truth.
 
I’m going to recommend the Vatican II documents.

From the time of the Council of Trent up until Vatican II, the emphasis of the Catholic Church was on distinguishing Catholic teaching from Protestant viewpoints, in order to point out and highlight exactly where Protestantism was in error. For example, Eucharistic Adoration was essentially a development in doctrine driven by the motivation to show those who denied the Real Presence just how wrong they were.

However, Vatican II represented a radical shift in this approach. The emphasis now became to highlight the vast commonality between Catholics and Protestants, who went from being labelled ā€œhereticsā€ to being called ā€œseparated brethrenā€. Many of the Vatican II documents can be viewed as trying to explain Catholicism and Catholic teaching in terms that Protestants could relate to.

For example, if you want to know what Catholics think about how the Bible fits in with the Church’s Tradition, then read Dei Verbum. If you want to know what the Catholic Church really teaches about the Blessed Virgin Mary, then read Lumen Gentium, paragraphs 52 to 69.

Ironically, some Catholics left the Church over this newfound ecumenism, in essence becoming modern day Protestants themselves. They failed to understand how the teachings of Vatican II could be reconciled with magisterial documents from centuries ago, as if those documents could be read in isolation, without understanding the historical context they were written in. Other Catholics stayed in the Church but complained about the changes brought about by Vatican II. For example, they might gripe that certain aspects of how the Mass was modified resemble Protestant worship services, as though that were a bad thing. On the other extreme, still other Catholics treated this new ecumenism as a fait accompli, ignoring the real differences that still exist between the Catholic Church and Protestants. So I can understand how you would find it difficult to pin down exactly what Catholics believe.
 
Wow Catholic2003, awesome post, lots of info and background. I will definitely bookmark to read those entries.

Again, ya’ll are going above and beyond and I really appreciate it!
 
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Matt14:
I’m still learning, so what does ā€œvademecumā€ mean?
Latin for ā€œhandbookā€ or ā€œEverything you always wanted to know about this topic but were afraid to askā€. I think it literally means, that which you cannot do without.
 
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puzzleannie:
Latin for ā€œhandbookā€ or ā€œEverything you always wanted to know about this topic but were afraid to askā€. I think it literally means, that which you cannot do without.
vade = go
me = me
cum = with
 
Matt – from your original post:
Often I’ll see a protestant quote from a catholic source, or cite instances of worship practices, but the catholic will often respond that these sources are not definitive catholic positions.
Right. That does happen and it is often the case that people will cite as authoritative something that is not.

Another thing that happens a lot is that a Protestant will get hold of a Catholic source but will quote (innocently or otherwise) it in a way that changes the meaning by leaving out what came before or comes after. This is particularly common with statements from the Council of Trent. The Tridentine documents are extremely meticulous in their wording and it is often necessary to read with painstaking care lest one lose an important point. The Chapter on Justification is one that is misused and abused with wild abandon. I have known people to read the text and say: ā€œThat’s not what it means! Catholics believe in Justification by works!ā€ :whacky:

We also get bombed with ā€œquotationsā€ of perfectly appalling things from supposedly ā€œCatholicā€ documents that nobody can find any reference to on the face of planet earth before the year 1927 and which appear only in anti-Catholic literature . . .
 
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Matt14:
I suppose if a threat to the church arose based on the interpretation of Jonah, we might get a new council. šŸ™‚
It would only be heresy if it were against *existing * doctrine.
The wording of doctrine sometimes (throughout history) gets nitpicked and twisted. The purpose and substance of the doctrine may need to be clarified.

Be cautious about when the Church makes a statement to realize whether doctrine is being defined or clarified.

Cheers and WELCOME!!

michel
 
😃

Patrick Madrid has a couple of other books, as well.

ā€œWhy is that in Tradition?ā€
and
ā€œAnswer Me Thisā€

Along with ā€œWhere is That in the Bible?ā€, these three books give quick answers to the most common questions.

I do love the intro to ā€œWhy is That in Tradition?ā€

Cheers!

michel
 
Hey Matt! It’s good to have you here! Personally, I love books by Peter Kreeft, especially Fundementals of the Faith.
 
Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know I ordered four books. One is the official catechism. I also got Karl Keating’s ā€œWhat Catholics Really Believe,ā€ and Dave Armstrong’s ā€œA Biblical Defense of Catholicism.ā€

ā€œFundamentals of Catholic Dogmaā€ is on its way. šŸ˜‰

Of all these, I think I’m going to like Armstrong’s book the best, since he focuses on scriptural arguments for ā€œtrouble areasā€ of doctrine where catholics and non-catholics disagree.

I’ll let you know what I think of these books. Thanks again for all the feedback! šŸ™‚
 
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Matt14:
Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know I ordered four books. One is the official catechism. I also got Karl Keating’s ā€œWhat Catholics Really Believe,ā€ and Dave Armstrong’s ā€œA Biblical Defense of Catholicism.ā€

ā€œFundamentals of Catholic Dogmaā€ is on its way. šŸ˜‰

Of all these, I think I’m going to like Armstrong’s book the best, since he focuses on scriptural arguments for ā€œtrouble areasā€ of doctrine where catholics and non-catholics disagree.

I’ll let you know what I think of these books. Thanks again for all the feedback! šŸ™‚
Of all the titles mentioned on this thread, you picked four good ones. Ott is outstanding.
 
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