So, I’ve accepted a debate invite with Dr. Sonny Hernandez. The topic is “Is Roman Catholicism Biblical?”. I am an aspiring apologist, but I’ve never done this before. He looks to be pretty light on his feet and aggressive but based on our conversation he’s open to having more of a constructive dialogue than a combative debate. He claims to be fluent in NT Greek and he’s a traditional Reformed Christian, raised Catholic.
Do you have any tips or resources that would help me out? Books to read? The debate is in April 2018, so I have plenty of time to prepare.
youtube.com/watch?v=ekMQL3JdXzM
I’d be careful. You say that you’re an amateur apologist. Desiring to debate is great and all, but you have to remember that you are representing Catholicism, Christ’s Church on Earth, and the bastion of all Truth. You should only enter into this debate if you’ve had sufficient training, and a handful of months really isn’t enough…
I encourage what you’re doing insofar as engaging with Protestants to help show them the Truth is great, but be careful. You don’t want to be responsible for someone failing to come to the Truth.
As to your actual question about preparation, are you allowed notes? If so, I would prepare references and Biblical passages that point to the most common objections to Catholicism. I personally would focus on:
- The establishment a central authority to lead Christ’s people, the primacy of Peter in the NT (Upon this Rock, by Steve Ray is an excellent resource for this)
- The historicity and Biblical basis for a limited, sacramental priesthood, as opposed to a universal lay-priesthood like in Protestantism.
- The authority to forgive sins being given to the Apostles and passed on through apostolic succession.
- The Biblical support for the other sacraments.
- Biblical support for praying to the Saints, and by extension for the Communion of Saints.
- Most importantly, the Biblical support for the Eucharist as the True body and blood of Jesus Christ.
On the offensive side, I would focus on:
- The lack of historical evidence in support of Protestantism’s claims of a “Great Apostasy,” and the unbroken chain of Catholic Dogma going back to teh very foundations of Christianity. (We have never reversed on a Domga. No Protestant ecclesial body can make that claim.)
- The lack of Biblical support for the Protestant belief in Sola Scriptura or Sola Fide. (There is clear support for capital “T” Tradition in the Bible, considering that when Jesus commanded the Apostles to go forth and teach, there was no Bible. The Apostles also write about the believer following what they are TOLD, not what they READ. Also, show the clear support for salvation being something we can lose.)
- The fragmentary nature of Protestantism, and the lack of cohesion among its adherents, despite the clear call for Christian unity throughout the NT.
- The EXTENSIVE historical record of the Early Church Fathers, and the direct relationship between their witness of early Christianity and its correlation to modern Catholicism (since they are one in the same).
This list is by no means exhaustive, but these are common talking points. Beyond that, I would listen to other Catholic vs Protestant debates on this subject and see what they generally try to pull to disprove Catholicism. There are many common threads of thought and misconceptions that underline most Protestant attacks against Catholicism. The role of authority in Christendom is a big one, as are the issues of Sola Scirptura and Sola Fide. I’ve heard Protestants try to claim that the Church is un-Biblical because they don’t believe those things, despite the fact that neither of those things is found anywhere in the Bible, and are in fact actively denounced by various passages throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Also, be careful of people who claim to be fluent in NT Greek. I’m not saying they’re not, but there is a load of trouble you can get into by mistranslating something, or translating it through a particular worldview. (i.e., how many Protestant Bible’s translate Gabriel’s blessing to Mary as something like “Hail, favored one,” when in actuality the closest translation is “Hail, full of Grace,” or “Hail, she who has been perfected in grace.” It makes a big difference.) I would keep some translations for the more important passages at the ready.
