Help me with Apologetics Please

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connecian

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This is my dilemma, though raised in the faith, I did not hear about apologetics till , oh a year or so ago. I did not pay much mind to it.

However, I am on a Fatih Formation committee at my church, and the discussion has come up more than once about apologetics, and it has been a HUGE debate.

Some feel that there is no place in the church for apologetics, others feel that every one should know how to defend their faith.

A prominant member of our staff feels that , as an educator, there is no room for apologetics, that we do not need to defend ourselves with apologetics, just to know our faith better and live it.

My priest is border, he beloeves that there is a place for this, but it is not for everyone.

SO>>> A FEW QUESTIONS
  1. Is apologetics just about us defending our faith? and if so, if we do not have others questioning us, what is the purpose?
  2. The prominant staff member is someone I deal with on a regular basis, if I find apologetics something of intrest,what may I do? As I have a CD of Scott Hahn, and she deeply frowned on it.
  3. as a ministry leader, especially RCIA adapted for Children, is this something I should explore more?
Maybe a but confusing, but some direction and information will be most helpful.
Thanks
 
Apologetics is certainly a part of our faith or how else would you discuss the faith and get people to understand that there is reasons for what we believe.

St Paul was an excellent apologist, St Peter recommended it in his epistle.

Here is an excellent series which even contains a workbook so that a class can be taught and people can follow along.
shop.catholic.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-B0400.html?E+scstore

You can buy the whole set or one by one.

There are many progressive Catholics who don’t like Scott Hahn, they think he is too conservative. They usually want women priests and other wacky stuff like that.
Scott Hahn also is questioned for some of his musings in some books of his but there is no reason to no like him.
He has made a tremendous impact in trying to bring people to the Church.

In Christ
Scylla
 
connecian said:
However, I am on a Faith Formation committee at my church, and the discussion has come up more than once about apologetics, and it has been a HUGE debate.

Some feel that there is no place in the church for apologetics, others feel that every one should know how to defend their faith.

A prominant member of our staff feels that , as an educator, there is no room for apologetics, that we do not need to defend ourselves with apologetics, just to know our faith better and live it.

It is unclear what the objection is here: is it that apologetics need not be taught to the children or is it that none of the teachers need to be prepared to defend their beliefs? Also, apologetics is not about defending OURSELVES, it is about defending the TRUTH and the CHURCH.

My priest is border, he beloeves that there is a place for this, but it is not for everyone.

While true this does not sound like someone who is prepared to lead.

SO>>> A FEW QUESTIONS
  1. Is apologetics just about us defending our faith? and if so, if we do not have others questioning us, what is the purpose?
It is about defending our faith, which is simultaneously about spreading the Truth, which is necessary to win souls for God.
Most are not called to formal apologetics. But every Catholic should be able to give a solid reason for believing in, for example, the Church and the Sacraments
  1. The prominant staff member is someone I deal with on a regular basis, if I find apologetics something of intrest,what may I do? As I have a CD of Scott Hahn, and she deeply frowned on it.
She frowns on it? What does that mean exactly? Has she declared herself empress and that she alone decides what God is calling each of us to do? She is correct that we need to know our faith better and to live it better, but we are also called to be prepared to give a reason for our belief (1st Peter). She has probably dealt with some who like to argue more than anything else and that is their drive in apologetics.
Motivation is the key to discerning what you are called to do. Apologetics requires that you engage in it out of love of God and one another.
  1. as a ministry leader, especially RCIA adapted for Children, is this something I should explore more?
Just teach them the faith, but do it with a personal understanding of some of the controversies that have come about in Christianity, and be sure to teach clearly those things which have caused division. Faith alone, for example, make sure they know that our mission as Christians is to know, love and serve God and that serving God during this life is through serving others in love.
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connecian said:
This is my dilemma, though raised in the faith, I did not hear about apologetics till , oh a year or so ago. I did not pay much mind to it.

However, I am on a Fatih Formation committee at my church, and the discussion has come up more than once about apologetics, and it has been a HUGE debate.

Some feel that there is no place in the church for apologetics, others feel that every one should know how to defend their faith.

A prominant member of our staff feels that , as an educator, there is no room for apologetics, that we do not need to defend ourselves with apologetics, just to know our faith better and live it.

**My priest is border, he beloeves that there is a place for this, but it is not for everyone. **

SO>>> A FEW QUESTIONS
  1. Is apologetics just about us defending our faith? and if so, if we do not have others questioning us, what is the purpose?
  2. The prominant staff member is someone I deal with on a regular basis, if I find apologetics something of intrest,what may I do? As I have a CD of Scott Hahn, and she deeply frowned on it.
  3. as a ministry leader, especially RCIA adapted for Children, is this something I should explore more?
Maybe a but confusing, but some direction and information will be most helpful.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Speaking as someone who is very involved in apologetics, I think your priest has the right idea. In a sense apologetics is for everyone, because everyone should know the reasons for their faith and be able to articulate and explain it on some level. However, formal apologetics training is not for everyone. For one thing, not everyone is interested in developing the in depth knowledge a good apologist needs, and not everyone will be exposed on a regular basis to most apologetics issues (people who are interested in apologetics – even those not good at it – tend to insert themselves in situations that call for it).

Having said that, as part of a Faith Formation program, an element of apologetics *can *and, I think, should be included during the course of instruction. For example, yesterday I led a RCIA Rite of Dismissal Scripture study on the Gospel reading, which, as you remember, was Jesus talking about his Second Coming at the End of Time. During the course of the session, I made it a point to explain that the popular “Left Behind” theology was incompatible with historic Catholic teaching on the End Times, and I gave a few brief reasons why. Similarly, when I was helping to teach the Adult Confirmation classes, one of our basic textbooks was Beginning Apologetics 1, from San Juan Seminars. We basically catechised from the CCC and the Bible, but we wanted to make sure they had answers to the challenges to their Faith that they were sure to recieve.

For people who are interested in it, I believe that formal apologetics classes should also be offered. I have led a few of these myself and people tell me they are extremely interesting and helpful. Interestingly, when one teaches apologetics, one can’t help but also use the opportunity to catechise, as it is often the case that modern Catholics do not have the background in basic Catholic teaching to be able to grasp, let alone defend, Catholic teaching. When someone gets pulled out of the Catholic Church for doctrinal reasons, 99 out of a hundred times they never knew the Faith to begin with, except maybe on a grade school level.
 
As a ministry leader for childrens RCIA, it is important to be able to appropriately instruct them in the truths and practices of the Catholic Church. Being in RCIA they are for the most part not challenging the teachings and practices, but have a need to gain this knowledge. Apologetics is more for those situations where one is being confronted and have a need to defend rather than teach the Faith. What you see going on this forum is a mixture of both teaching and apologetics and you can learn much. Another good source is the on-line library at catholicanswers.com. I am not sure where your staff member is coming from. She is correct about what you need and don’t need, but her dislike of the Scott Hahn DVD makes me wonder if she is not one of those new 9 month wonders with a Masters in Theology from a questionable institution. I have met some of those in my lifetime and can’t say I have been impressed.
 
1. Is apologetics just about us defending our faith? and if so, if we do not have others questioning us, what is the purpose?

I don’t think there’s a dichotomy between “Apologetics” vs. “knowing our faith better and living it”. The former would most certainly be a part of the latter.

If we think of Apologetics as being always “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1Peter 3:15) then to avoid knowing how to explain The Faith in answer to objections against it would seem to me to contradict the desire to “know our faith better” - and to live our life such that those around us are not prompted to ask us questions about the faith supposedly guiding our daily words and actions would seem to me a failure to “live The Faith”. Someone “living The Faith better” will always encounter questions from others. Apologetics is a tool for being able to give a good answer - if not to questions asked by someone else - then at least for those that arise in ourselves from time to time.

2. The prominent staff member is someone I deal with on a regular basis, if I find apologetics something of interest, what may I do? As I have a CD of Scott Hahn, and she deeply frowned on it.

Wow…I hate that kind of thing…I just don’t understand how a faithful Catholic can be opposed to learning the “why we believe what we believe” and the “how to effectively communicate the reasons for our beliefs” to others. If I were you I would make all the allies I could, most hopefully with the pastor, and from there work at befriending those inclined to give you resistance - learning why they are opposed and seeing where you might be able to change their minds. Hopefully you won’t have to battle heresy. But if that be the case, don’t give up. Study on your own and wait for an open door from God to move into the ministry God seems to be laying upon your heart.

There are many good Catholic Apologetics web-sites. I recommend Dave Armstrong’s The Biblical Evidence for Catholicism at: ic.net/~erasmus/RAZINDEX.HTM - and of course, Catholic Answers: catholic.com/

3. As a ministry leader, especially RCIA adapted for Children, is this something I should explore more?

By all means…for the most part, I believe, the battle is won or lost during a child’s formative years and you can be sure THEY are getting asked all kinds of questions about The Faith from their peers!

Keep the Faith
jmt
 
Thank you for your answers, it was a large help.

I feel that I know my faith, and that I am able to defend it, but always looking for answers above the ‘basic’ knowledge. I have seen the Apologetics Series, and a few people I know have really enjoyed it.

Part of the reason, is some of you touched on it, the instiution that this person went to, is not one our current Bishop supports, nor is some of her reading materials.

Also, in many ways I am considered a ‘liberal’ Catholic, as I believe in groups for young adults and lay ministers helping priest when neccessary,yet conservative because I still believe in veiling and other ‘older’ church traditions.

I do have parents that ask questions, and for the most part I am able to answer them, some I have to look up and get back to them.

As for our Faith Formation comittee, it is for adults faith foramtion. We have discussed an apologetics group, which she shot down,saying that there was no place for it. Also groups such as CHIRP and RENEW. Our committee is for helping adults to become more knowledgable and active in their faith.

I have been reading a lot today, and with the posts that have been made, I do wnat to explore apologetics more,and learn at least the basics of what it is that way I know what it is and how to answer basic questions at my next meeting.

Yet from reading what you have posted, I think on another level, it is better to know in case it does come up in a discussion.

As for the children, thank you . Yes, I do teach from a lectionary based program for our BOTW and Sacramental Preparation. I also encourage my catechist to use personal experiences and church backed information. Not personal opinions on church doctorine.

Thank you all and I will look deeper into the information provided. All information is still welcomed and apprecated also 🙂
 
Someone glanced over this passage above, but ask the person who believes there is no place for apologetics what St. Peter means in 1 Pet 3:15 “Always bge prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentoeness and reverence…”
Catholics are being challenged on their beliefs at every turn; at work, at parties or gatherings or even from other Catholics, as is shown by your associate.
I use and teach apologetics, and I always consider apologetics to be “stealth study,” because one must have at least a basic understanding of Scripture in order to use it to defend the faith, and Catholics can always be better at Scripture.
Also, try John Martignoni’s site at www.biblechristiansociety.com. His tapes and CD’s are free, and he’s even got one explaining why Catholics should be fmiliar with apologetics.
 
Apologetics isn’t just about defending the faith and it certainly isn’t just about winning arguments. It’s about working in union with Jesus Christ to save souls and bring them into the fullness of the faith.

Being the only Catholic in my family I get plenty of opportunities to practice this (not that I’m always real good at it). When someone asks me a question about the Catholic Church even if in a confrontational way, I usually try to briefly state why we believe what we believe and may bring up a couple of Bible passages to support it, then I try to move on and hopefully give them a little something to think about. The seed may die right there or it may sprout years later or even on their death bed. Who knows?

Remember, no one has even been “argued” into the Catholic Church and none of us can convert anyone by our own merits. All we can do is allow ourselves to be instruments for Jesus Christ as best we can and let Him do the converting.
 
Priests used to be taught apologetics in the seminary. For whatever reason (perhaps to get them to a parish quicker) much of the study was dropped for the last 30 or so years. We see the consequences.

Now, however, with the coming of CDs and books defending the faith, and sharing what we know, Apologetics has caught the attention of more laity and more priests too.

In our bible study on ACTS, we have often, very often, employed apologetics’ approaches to answering verses we discuss. It has awakened a desire in many of the attendees to pursue apologetics further, outside the Bible study.

.
 
Your priest should listen to the words of Peter: “Always be ready to give a defense (apologia) of the hope that is within you.” Apologetics is more than a hobby. It is a calling by St. Peter himself, and, through him, by God.
 
connecian said:
  1. Is apologetics just about us defending our faith? and if so, if we do not have others questioning us, what is the purpose?
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It has a missionary purpose. Being Christian is not simply about being justified by faith, but also includes a participation as a missionary for Christ. We DO have others questioning us, and this will not cease until Christ comes again. If we fail to prepare the faithful so that they can effectively explain the reasons for believe, we fail in our task as catechists.

John Paul II, in his Apostolic Exhortation on catechesis in our time, Catechesi Tradendae, explains:
All in all, it can be taken here that catechesis is an education of children, young people and adults in the faith, which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life. Accordingly, while not being formally identified with them, catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church’s pastoral mission that have a catechetical aspect, that prepare for catechesis, or that spring from it. These elements are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching through the kerygma to arouse faith, apologetics or examination of the reasons for belief, experience of Christian living, celebration of the sacraments, integration into the ecclesial community, and apostolic and missionary witness. (Catechesi Tradendae, no. 18)
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Proper catechesis will always include apologetics.
  1. The prominant staff member is someone I deal with on a regular basis, if I find apologetics something of intrest,what may I do? As I have a CD of Scott Hahn, and she deeply frowned on it.
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I would show the staff member and your pastor that, from the above replies, and also from John Paul’s exhortation on catechesis above, it is clear that apologetics is a valid element of catechesis and should in no way be “deeply frowned” upon.
  1. as a ministry leader, especially RCIA adapted for Children, is this something I should explore more?
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Most definitely. I would also encourage you to obtain and provide the following to your pastor and catechetical staff members:

Search and Rescue - How to Bring Your Family and Friends into - or Back into - the Catholic Churchby Patrick Madrid

http://www.aquinasandmore.com/images/items/509sm.jpg

**Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York: **“How do you bring someone back into the Church? First, you pray. Then, you follow Madrid’s advice.”
 
I recently submitted a question along these lines in the Ask an Apologist forum of this website. I asked the difference between an Apologist and a Catechist.

The answer was helpful in your situation, I think.

A catechist teaches the faith to those who are open to receiving it.
An apologist teaches the faith to those who are not.

This was my “take-home” from the response anyway. You can read Michelle’s answer to see what you get from it.

As a convert, I believe that every Catholic needs to learn how to defend the faith. In the context of working with kids, I would say that younger kids need catechesis, while high school kids need both. Exposing them to the attacks they absolutely without doubt will face on a college campus - along with the answers to those attacks - in advance is probably the best preparation a religious education program can give to them.

Evangelical campus ministries are LOOKING for poorly prepared Catholics, and their arguments are very polished. Catechesis is not enough to protect them…they need specific answers to specific questions or many will be lost. Conversely, through apologetics these kids can begin to win back the souls that have been misled by errors of the Reformation.
 
I strongly feel that anyone who teaches the faith, especially in RCIA, should have at least some training in Apologetics. Those who teach need to be able to answer questions accurately.

My recent RCIA experience was thoroughly disappointing and disturbing. None of the “team members” (and there were many) knew anything. Every session basically degenerated into “how did this scripture passage make you feel?” And then heretical speeches by the deacon who rushed out immediately after he was done talking so he couldn’t be questioned. Of course, none of the team members could answer questions and the practically worshipped the deacon, assuming that he was right about everything. Fortunately for them, all of the other candidates were mindless sheep who didn’t ask any questions and I already had studied the faith and so already knew the correct answers. If there had been someone there sincerely questioning they couldn’t have handled it. The whole thing was a mess. And if I wasn’t already sure of the Catholic Church as a whole that experience probably would have turned me off from Catholicism entirely.

So in my opinion all teachers at the very least should be given apologetics training.
 
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