J.
Duff wrote: |
Hi, guys —
I wonder if you can give me some ideas.
I have a friend who believes in the Creator,
and calls that Creator God. He
comes from a Judeo-Christian background and
believes in Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary
but not necessarily in Jesus as the Son of
God, the second person of the Trinity.
While believing in the Bible, as a book filled
with wisdom and worth, I don't think he believes
it is the Word, or Truth, of God,
at least not the only Work of God's Truth.
Basically, he holds the view that all religions
hold Truth and thus, all are equal. I believe
this comes from his wish not to exclude others
from his beliefs.
- What apologetics exist to address this
type of viewpoint?
I would like, if I can, to show him Jesus
Christ, the Redeemer, but I'm not sure where
to start.
Thank you,
J.
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{ What apologetics can you give me to reply to someone who believes all religions hold some truth? } |
Terry
replied:
Hi, J. —
I suspect you actually need to start
from scratch and build using:
- one
of the many approved apologetic manuals by one of the most colorful and effective Catholic Apologists, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, or just as good:
- "This is the Faith", A Complete Explanation of the Catholic Faith by Fr. Francis Ripley.
I would also recommend the book "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis but it is more intellectual than Ripley's book.
These questions always seem simple,
and indeed they are, but they need
to start from a common beginning.
In fact, try using the basic Catechism (online version) to
see where you have agreements before
moving on to the next step. For
example:
- Belief in God as Creator
- Belief in one God
- Belief in Scripture as the inspired
word of God
Once that is agreed upon, move
on to Biblical texts about Jesus:
- Truly existing and truly Son
of God
- Jesus' promises to be with His
Church until the end of time
- Show how that Church is the
Catholic Church
- Show how Jesus' authentic teaching
is continued in the Councils of
the Church and in the ordinary
Magisterium, thus although all
churches may (but not necessarily) contain elements of truth, only
the Catholic Church contains the
fullness of God's Truth.
In reality, you are talking about
meeting for a couple of hours, once
a week for 6 months, to explore this
properly.
- If your friend is truly
interested, why not suggest this?
Otherwise, try to simply answer (his|her)
questions the best you can. The danger (remember
St. Paul — " when I was a child
I thought like a child, now I am
a man." 1 Corinthians 13:11) is
that too much theological explanation
is given which has not been built
upon appropriate Catholic foundations.
Above all, pray that Almighty God
will use you in his way to explain
in the correct manner.
God bless you and your friend,
Terry
|
Tim
Ouellette replied:
Dear J.,
Great question!
I think the best place to start with
your friend is with a well-researched
study on the historical Person of
Jesus Christ.
People often express
belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior, and they do so after having
either heard the Gospel preached
or after having read the Gospels
in the New Testament. In either case,
an assumption is made that Jesus
Christ is God.
Now, this assumption
is correct, but at this point, it's
still an assumption; after all, it's
based on the belief that the Gospel
proclamation is true, and that the
Bible is inspired. These two beliefs are generally held
on to because of personal conviction,
not a well-researched study.
What
one finds, when studying the Person
of Jesus Christ in history, is that
the existence of Jesus of Nazareth
is attested to by parties (both pro
and con) as having actually existed
in the first century. One can
also take the Bible as, first, a
historical document, without laying
any claim to its inspiration, and
can point to the claims made by this
Jesus of Nazareth (namely, that He
was God). The veracity of the Bible,
as a historical document, is sound;
it's a reliable historical testimony
to the work of Jesus of Nazareth.
Essentially, it comes down to this:
Jesus of Nazareth proved that He
was God by rising from the dead.
The reality of the Resurrection is
unassailable, from a historical point
of view. Once one comes to the realization
that He did, in fact, rise from the
dead and prove He was God, His Words,
as recorded in the Bible take on
a whole new meaning. They're
words that are inspired, as well
as binding on our souls. This is
the point to which every Protestant
must be taken: to see Jesus Christ,
the God-Man, as a real, historical
Person, not simply a character in
a book. It was from the lips of Jesus
that:
- the Church was established
- the Gospel proclaimed, and
- the dead brought
back to life.
These events
are recorded in Scripture, but they
were realities before the New Testament
was even written.
This is the God of history, of reality,
that every man must see:
- the Child born
- the Rabbi teaching
- the Savior Crucified and put
to death for our salvation
- the Glorified One, who reigns
now in Heaven sanctifying us
on earth in the Eucharist.
Hope that helps!
Peace,
Tim Ouellette
|
Robert
replied:
J.,
I would also recommend the book "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis as
a starting point. Some of the
great statements that Lewis made
were (to paraphrase):
The man claimed to be God. Either
he was a megalomaniac of epic
proportions or He was telling
the truth. (He was a Liar, Lunatic or
The Lord.)
Formal
structure:
Premise: Jesus claimed to be God.
If the premise is true, one of the following must be true.
- 1. He was a Lunatic:
- Jesus was not God, but
believed that he was.
- 2. He was a Liar:
- Jesus did not believe he
was God, but spoke as if he did.
- 3. He was the Lord:
- Jesus is God.
Conclusion: From these premises,
it follows that, if not God, Jesus
is not great and not moral.
Those around Him had one of two emotions:
- either they loved Him and wanted
to follow Him, or
- they hated Him.
There was no one standing around
mildly approving of Him.
Robert Coutinho
AAC Grammarian
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