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lucybeebee
Guest
My dad (who is not religious) asked me how do I know that Catholicism is the Truth when every other religion claims the same thing. How can I answer this?
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I
I_A
Guest
Ask him to wear a miraculous medal.
E
Eileen_T
Guest
I can’t think of another religion where the founder claimed to be God. The fact that He lived is a matter of historical record, no arguments there.
My journey back to the Catholic Church involved searching through the claims of the Catholic Church to be the One True Church.
Jesus claimed to be God. That was the main reason the Jewish leaders wanted him put to death, for what they belived was a most heinous blasphemy.
Pilate desperately wanted a reason to let Him live. If Jesus had backed down He would probably have got away with it. But He didn’t
People who say Jesus was a good man, but not the God-Man, haven’t thought it out. He was either God, as He claimed, a political insurgent (a liar looking for power), or a lunatic (a megalomania).
He was crucified and sealed in a tomb. His followers later claimed that He came back from the dead under His own power. Nobody raised Him as He had raised others.
So, how do we know it really happened? All we can do is look at the evidence. The apostles were there when He died. If it was all faked they would have been the ones who did it. But they were the ones who preached Christ crucified. They underwent horrendous torture and death for a fake resurrection?
Not likely!
Was the early Church Catholic? Read the writings of the early Church Fathers and you will have the answer. I did, and I went into it hoping it wouldn’t be the True Church (no contraception, no divorce & remarriage, having to go to Mass** every** Sunday come hell or high water
).
That is why I am a Catholic. I have no choice. Where else would I go?
My journey back to the Catholic Church involved searching through the claims of the Catholic Church to be the One True Church.
Jesus claimed to be God. That was the main reason the Jewish leaders wanted him put to death, for what they belived was a most heinous blasphemy.
Pilate desperately wanted a reason to let Him live. If Jesus had backed down He would probably have got away with it. But He didn’t
People who say Jesus was a good man, but not the God-Man, haven’t thought it out. He was either God, as He claimed, a political insurgent (a liar looking for power), or a lunatic (a megalomania).
He was crucified and sealed in a tomb. His followers later claimed that He came back from the dead under His own power. Nobody raised Him as He had raised others.
So, how do we know it really happened? All we can do is look at the evidence. The apostles were there when He died. If it was all faked they would have been the ones who did it. But they were the ones who preached Christ crucified. They underwent horrendous torture and death for a fake resurrection?
Not likely!
Was the early Church Catholic? Read the writings of the early Church Fathers and you will have the answer. I did, and I went into it hoping it wouldn’t be the True Church (no contraception, no divorce & remarriage, having to go to Mass** every** Sunday come hell or high water
).That is why I am a Catholic. I have no choice. Where else would I go?
J
JonathanKinsman
Guest
Lucy,
The history of Mankind is replete with terrible things done in the name of some god or gods: witness the Egyptians, the Aztecs, the Mayans, the pagan cults of the tribes of prehistoric Europe, Asia and Africa. Many of these pagan cults believed that human sacrifice (of captured soldiers of another tribe; first born sons; daughters; a king {ancient Celts}) might appease their gods and lead to a favor of some sort. Like a better harvest, victory against their enemies, the eradication of some disease or ‘evil spirit.’
The ancient Hebrews trace their religion of monotheism (one God) to Abraham. Their oral traditions (taken from many sources as testimony to their many locations: Sumaria, Babylon, Cana, Egypt) were committed to written form in about 1250 BC. These documents, among other things such as lines of descent and historical events, delineate what the Hebrews must do to be “God fearing” people. Some of these scrolls also predict the coming of a Messiah, one who will lead all nations (that is, tribes of people) to worship and follow the One God (called ‘El’ usually, meaning “the Eternal One”).
Christianity (after the death and Resurrection of Jesus) is a result of that historical process begun with the Hebrews. The great majority of early christians were Jewish. As the ‘ecclesia’ or Church grew, certain rites and rituals were followed to ensure everyone got the same message (the Good News). Early writers and Christians called this Church the Catholic Church because ‘catholic’ meant ‘universal’ or for all people. The Roman Empire persecuted Christians to a degree unlike that of other tolerated religions. During this time, documents with names like the Acts of Paul and the Acts of Pilate started to circulate. Remember: there were no printing presses, so all these writings were read in gatherings, an early form of our Mass. Well, things started to get out of hand. There were stories of Jesus as a child turning his playmates into frogs for making fun of him, or exterminating them with a glance.
So by 367 AD St Athanasius of Alexandria (Egypt) published for the first time the definitive list, including all 27 books that we know today. His canon was widely accepted almost immediately, although 3 Corinthians kept showing up at various local churches for a long time. This canon was adopted by Pope St Damasus I in the ‘Decretal of Gelasius’ in 382, and it was confirmed by every subsequent council that took up the question. Finally, in 419, the 2nd Council of Carthage again confirmed the canon, and this time Pope Boniface promulgated it officially. The New Testament was born.
This is the basis of our Faith. Since we are the only Christian Church founded by Jesus, we have a duty to teach the Good News. Since we believe Jesus’ teaching to be true, our Church is the true Christian Church.
That in a nutshell, is the basis for why we believe the Church (the one, holy, catholic and apostolic) is the only true Christian Church.
However, that doesn’t mean that others are denied the Grace of God or the ability to earn Heaven. Pope John Paull II spoke many times about this. We cannot say who goes where after they die, nor does going through the motions of being a Catholic get you to Heaven.
Men and women are fallible. There have been evil popes and saintly popes. There are evil priests and saintly priests. But the Church’s teaching has not varied since the Resurrection nor does what she teach exclude people on the basis of who they are (homosexual, Moslem, forgotten Papua New Guinea tribesman) but on what they do: their lifestyle, their “fruit.”
Sorry for the longwindedness. I hope this helps.
Jonathan
The history of Mankind is replete with terrible things done in the name of some god or gods: witness the Egyptians, the Aztecs, the Mayans, the pagan cults of the tribes of prehistoric Europe, Asia and Africa. Many of these pagan cults believed that human sacrifice (of captured soldiers of another tribe; first born sons; daughters; a king {ancient Celts}) might appease their gods and lead to a favor of some sort. Like a better harvest, victory against their enemies, the eradication of some disease or ‘evil spirit.’
The ancient Hebrews trace their religion of monotheism (one God) to Abraham. Their oral traditions (taken from many sources as testimony to their many locations: Sumaria, Babylon, Cana, Egypt) were committed to written form in about 1250 BC. These documents, among other things such as lines of descent and historical events, delineate what the Hebrews must do to be “God fearing” people. Some of these scrolls also predict the coming of a Messiah, one who will lead all nations (that is, tribes of people) to worship and follow the One God (called ‘El’ usually, meaning “the Eternal One”).
Christianity (after the death and Resurrection of Jesus) is a result of that historical process begun with the Hebrews. The great majority of early christians were Jewish. As the ‘ecclesia’ or Church grew, certain rites and rituals were followed to ensure everyone got the same message (the Good News). Early writers and Christians called this Church the Catholic Church because ‘catholic’ meant ‘universal’ or for all people. The Roman Empire persecuted Christians to a degree unlike that of other tolerated religions. During this time, documents with names like the Acts of Paul and the Acts of Pilate started to circulate. Remember: there were no printing presses, so all these writings were read in gatherings, an early form of our Mass. Well, things started to get out of hand. There were stories of Jesus as a child turning his playmates into frogs for making fun of him, or exterminating them with a glance.
So by 367 AD St Athanasius of Alexandria (Egypt) published for the first time the definitive list, including all 27 books that we know today. His canon was widely accepted almost immediately, although 3 Corinthians kept showing up at various local churches for a long time. This canon was adopted by Pope St Damasus I in the ‘Decretal of Gelasius’ in 382, and it was confirmed by every subsequent council that took up the question. Finally, in 419, the 2nd Council of Carthage again confirmed the canon, and this time Pope Boniface promulgated it officially. The New Testament was born.
This is the basis of our Faith. Since we are the only Christian Church founded by Jesus, we have a duty to teach the Good News. Since we believe Jesus’ teaching to be true, our Church is the true Christian Church.
That in a nutshell, is the basis for why we believe the Church (the one, holy, catholic and apostolic) is the only true Christian Church.
However, that doesn’t mean that others are denied the Grace of God or the ability to earn Heaven. Pope John Paull II spoke many times about this. We cannot say who goes where after they die, nor does going through the motions of being a Catholic get you to Heaven.
Men and women are fallible. There have been evil popes and saintly popes. There are evil priests and saintly priests. But the Church’s teaching has not varied since the Resurrection nor does what she teach exclude people on the basis of who they are (homosexual, Moslem, forgotten Papua New Guinea tribesman) but on what they do: their lifestyle, their “fruit.”
Sorry for the longwindedness. I hope this helps.
Jonathan
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LilyM
Guest
Ask him how he knows that you love him when you say that you do (I hope you do, we should often tell our parents that we love them). Or how he knew that the earth is round the first time he was told that it was.
Ask him how he can tell that you’re not lying or mistaken when you say you love him, or that his teachers or whoever weren’t mistaken when they said the Earth is round. That’s how you know the Catholic Church is the Truth.
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