TOV-Sept-Catholic Without Apology
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Theology on the Vine
September 1, 2011
Room 127 (7 to 9 pm)
Catholic without Apology
How do I answer questions about my faith?
Have you been asked questions about your faith that you don't know how to answer?
Have you felt uncomfortable about discussing your faith with others?
Click here to go to the Articles
Why should we bother to answer questions about our faith? Well, how about:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Are plagued by doubts or by failures of imagination? In the article “Faith, Doubt and Imagination” by Ron Rolheiser, he starts with the following:
"J. R. Tolkien, the author of Lord of the Rings, was very influential in C.S. Lewis' conversion to Christianity. As a man of considerable imagination he was not one to easily denigrate this faculty. But he knew its limits. One night, after hours of listening to Lewis object to certain aspects of the faith, Tolkien suggested to him that his problem was not so much one of faith as it was of imagination: "Your inability to understand stems from a failure of imagination on your part.""
Read the full article here: "Faith, Doubt and Imagination"
Often times we are “bold”, yet feel the need to have a ready online resource with answers to our questions or those others have asked us. There are many resources available online. Here is one sample:
Many of us have heard of Dr. Scott Hahn, but did you know he is the Founder and President and Chairman of the Board for the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology? From the Resource Library on this site, we find a list of resources about the faith itself.
Link to the Resource Library at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology
And from this list, here are two selections dealing with frequently asked questions about the Church:
Link to Church Frequently Asked Questions #1
Link to Church Frequently Asked Questions #2
Evangelization demands reinforcement of Catholic identity, says Vatican archbishop
"The president of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, recently explained there is “no recipe for evangelization.” He said that spreading the Gospel requires reinforcing of the identity of Catholics and of what it means to belong to the Church." (from ewtnnews.com) Click below to read the full article
Reinforcing our Catholic Identity and what it means to belong to the Church