Articles on Apologetics
“Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude of the people also be; even as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” Ignatius of Antioch—Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ch 8
Idol Speculation
I was brought up in Pennsylvania in an independent Bible Church. Our church building was a large auditorium designed for people to listen to Bible-based sermons. At the front was a big central [...]
Who Wrote the Gospels and When?
The other day I indulged in a bit of a rant against the mainstream Bible scholars who have made an industry of de-bunking the gospels and trying to show them to be late compositions [...]
Assuming Infallibility
There’s a scene in Brideshead Re-Visited in which the worldly, but spiritually ignorant Rex Mottram is receiving instruction in the Catholic faith. Father Mowbray recounts how he was unable to explain the dogma of [...]
The Bible: History or Mystery?
It was after my talk at a parish mission that one of the women came up looking a bit flustered, “Father, can I ask you a question?” “Sure.” “I was at Mass yesterday and [...]
Real Religion and Nazi Zombies
What is the difference between real religion and Nazi zombies? It’s the difference between faith and an ideology. Here’s a clue: in The Imitation of Christ Thomas a Kempis wrote, “Why do you wish to change [...]
Mother of God or Mother Goddess?
I can remember my shock, as an Evangelical student, when I heard a German Catholic friend refer to Mary as “GottesMutter”. The phrase means, “Mother of God, but in my ignorance of the German [...]