Category Archives: Apologetics
Apologetics
Apologetics is a Greek word compounded from apo and logos, meaning “to give a reason for.” St. Peter uses it in his first epistle: “But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason (apologian) of that hope which is in you” (3:15). Some of the Fathers of the Church called the treatises that they wrote in defense of the Catholic Faith “apologia.”
Brother Francis explains in his course on the subject that there is more to apologetics than having enough knowledge to defend the Faith. There is an art or science to the presentation one is making, which comes from logical thinking. Apologetics is not polemics — the latter art being the employment of authority, such as the Bible, in winning an argument.
As you will see in the articles filed in this section the authors have a certain art and logic in the way they present their sound arguments in defense of the Faith. They demonstrate the reasonableness of our holy religion and the goodness of God in revealing Himself to man through the patriarchs and prophets and, finally, through His Son. The writers, each with their own style, confront the major obstacles, lies, and fallacies that deceive people in our times into thinking that Christianity is unreasonable, or that it is an “opiate” for simple folk who put their hope in a better life to come. Such obstacles as arise from modern science (which attempts to discredit the veracity of the scriptures), from the errors of modern subjectivism, from psychological, social and political trends, as well as from the claims of the false religions in the world today, are handled with deft and intelligence by authors who all qualify as good Catholic polemicists.
The Great Revolt Against Christ
Editors Introduction: Father Müller, a heroic, learned, and orthodox Redemptorist Priest, was the 19th century Father Feeney. His book The Catholic Dogma, from which we here extract the entire third chapter, is an excellent defense of Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus.
The Gift of Purgatory
We live in an age that has largely lost its sense of sin. Conduct that would have invited public scorn and repudiation in holier and saner eras earns fame and fortune today.
The Devil’s Doctrine
There is a doctrine so diabolical, so sinister and wicked that it deserves, in this author’s opinion, a unique claim to the name “The Devil’s Doctrine.” This teaching is sheer poison to the soul which embraces it.
The Infallibility of the Pope — Basic Facts About an Essential Dogma
Infallibility: What does it mean? The word itself means exactly what the dictionary tells us, “incapability of error or deception.” Interestingly enough, no person on the face of the earth, except the Vicar of Christ, would dare insist on such a prerogative of office, and get away with it.
Our Patriarch Abraham and the Continuity of Religion
Picture this. A conversation is going on at the coffee machine at work.
The Pope, the Church, and the Bible
The first millennium in the history of the Catholic Church witnessed victory over the major persecutions by the Roman Empire, followed by the conversion of Rome and its becoming the champion of the Faith, the defender of the Church, and the center of missionary activity throughout the known world. Nation after nation was evangelized, and millions of people were being led to the way of … More →
Saint Peter – The First Pope
“They who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” (Ps. 125) To Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, these were very sacred words. It is a tradition that Saint Peter’s cheeks were furrowed by the streams of repentent tears which flowed until the day he entered his eternal glory.
