Apologetics for the Masses - Issue #21
General Comments
First, I just want to say to anyone who has a problem reading the email version of the newsletter, because of margin problems or such, you can always go to the website (www.biblechristiansociety.com) and read the newsletter there without any of the problems that may show up in the email version. I archive all the issues on the “Newsletter” page, and I usually post each new issue on the website before I email it out to everyone. So, just kind of use the arrival of the newsletter in your inbox as a notice that the newsletter has been posted on the website as well.
Also, just wanted to let you know that I may not get a newsletter out next week. I will be traveling to the Kansas City area to give some talks, and I’m going to try to get something out before I leave town on Wednesday morning, but I can’t guarantee it.
For any of you who may be in the Kansas City area, I will be speaking at St. Michael the Archangel parish in Leawood on Wednesday and Thursday nights. You can contact the parish for more information.
Introduction
This newsletter kind of fits in with the topic one of the last newsletters (Issue #19)…outside of the Church there is no salvation. What about folks who are not Catholic, but living good Christian lives, and they love Jesus and so on vs. folks who are Catholic but seem to bear no fruit?
How can we take the attitude, as Catholics, that we have the fullness of the truth, when these folks have personal relationships with Jesus and so many Catholics don’t?
The problem, as I see it, with a lot of folks who have these kind of thoughts, is that they tend to use their friends’ “love of Jesus” as an excuse not to evangelize them, in essence denying these folks the opportunity to love Jesus even more and to grow into an even deeper relationship with Him through the Sacraments and the other treasures of the Church.
Challenge/Response/Strategy
Greetings!
I have a question that maybe you can explain better than my Catholic friends. First, I’m Catholic myself with some Evangelical Biblical background (spirituality). I love my Catholic faith, the Sacramental life and the deep various spiritualities, and renewal movements in the Church (Focolare, Charismatics, Cursillo, etc.) When I speak to my Catholic friends about the fullness of truth, the fullness of Christ I tell them that some Non-Catholic Christians who are in an intimate relationship with Christ (Union), under grace, have received the fullness of the truth through that relationship from Christ himself. They are living the Gospel of Christ, therefore the living Gospel of Christ himself, the living truth. My Catholic friends’ response seems to always be, and it always comes off as condescending, “We Catholics have the fullness of truth, we are the apostolic church, we have have the Eucharist etc. therefore, only we have the fullness of truth.”
So I kindly ask them if a non-Catholic Christian who is living a fruitful Christian life, walking with Christ only has a part of Christ and they don’t know how to answer this question. They usually get defensive, being the fundamentalists that they are, and begin to distance themselves from me. I’m starting to see that these legalistic Catholics have a hard time grasping intimacy with God and maybe that’s why they cannot understand that Christ can fully reveal himself to other Christians just as he can reveal himself to Catholics. God is no respector of persons right?
I believe that if you are going to say that you have the fullness of the truth, you better have the fruitful life of the Spirit (Fruits of the Spirit) to substantiate what you are saying. In other words back it up with how you live, and your life should be able to speak the fullness of truth better than your words. My non-denominational Christian friends seem to be more hospitable, unifying and open minded about the fullness of truth. They simply say, “some know Christ and some don’t” With them it’s about knowing Christ, not about having a collection of information, or traditions that these intellectual, fundamentallist Catholics I run into at Church seem to have. I Would like to get your comments, thoughts on this please. Reply at your convenience.
May God bless You In Christ
Abel
Hello Abel,
I would say that I have to both agree and disagree with what you are saying. I agree with what you are saying about Catholics, which is, essentially, that you need to walk the walk if you’re going to talk the talk. If you do have the fullness of truth, which the Catholic Faith has, then, as a Catholic, you have a greater responsibility to live the life of Christ than anyone else does. To whom much is given, much will be required.
However, if a Catholic does not live a Christian life…does not live up to the demands of his Faith…that does not mean that his Faith does not have the fullness of the truth. It simply means that he, as an individual Catholic, is not doing what his Faith calls him to do. So, there may be something lacking in the individual, but not in the Catholic Faith itself. Which means, that I would have to disagree with you when you say that there are some non-Catholic Christians who receive the fullness of the truth through their personal relationship with Christ.
What is the truth, Pilate asked. Well, as Christians, we know that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So, Jesus is the truth. The more truth you have, the more Jesus you have. Also, Scripture tells us that the Church is the fullness of Christ. If the Catholic Church, then, contains the fullness of Christ, the fullness of truth, how can a non-Catholic, someone who does not accept all the teachings of the Catholic Church, ever have the fullness of truth? You cannot have both things happen at the same time. If the Catholic Church contains the fullness of the truth, then someone who does not accept all the teachings of the Catholic Church cannot ever have the fullness of the truth.
Are there non-Catholic Christians who live more godly lives than some, or even many, Catholic Christians…yes. Does living a godly life necessarily mean that you have the fullness of truth…no. If you believe, as a Catholic, that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, how can you believe that someone who denies that, has the fullness of the truth? If Jesus has truly revealed the fullness of truth to someone who is not a Catholic…then why are they not a Catholic?
From John, chapter 4, we see that it is possible to worship what you do not know. In other words, you can worship God, you can think you know God, yet not really know Him as well as you thought you did. And, it is possible to know Him, but not open your life up to Him. You say these friends of yours are living the Gospel of Christ…yet, part of Christ’s Gospel is that you must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life within you…John 6. Part of Christ’s Gospel is that God gave men the authority on earth to forgive sins…Matthew 9 and John 20. Part of Christ’s Gospel is that He founded the Church on the Rock of Peter…Matthew 16. And so on. Your friends do not believe and practice these things, so how can you say they have the fullness of truth?
In essence, you cannot have the fullness of truth both within and without the Catholic Church at the same time…that is not possible. If the fullness of truth resides within the Catholic Faith, as the Catholic Church claims, then those outside of the Catholic Faith cannot have the fullness of truth…regardless of how godly their lives may be. If someone outside of the Catholic Faith does indeed have the fullness of truth, then no Catholic can have it. Two people who have contradictory beliefs cannot both have the fullness of truth.
One other thing…you stated the following: “They usually get defensive, being the fundamentalists that they are, and begin to distance themselves from me. I’m starting to see that these legalistic Catholics have a hard time grasping intimacy with God and maybe that’s why they cannot understand that Christ can fully reveal himself to other Christians just as he can reveal himself to Catholics.”
Again, Christ can fully reveal Himself to anyone whom He chooses to reveal Himself to…just look at the example of Paul. However, a sign that He had fully revealed Himself to someone would be that they start believing and practicing the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church…just look at the example of Paul. I would also say that these fundamentalist, legalistic Catholics who have a hard time grasping intimacy with God may be distancing themselves from you because they believe you to have a self-righteous, judgmental, and holier than thou attitude towards them. Maybe you don’t, but that’s the attitude that seems to be coming through in your email to me. So, if you do have that attitude towards them, you may wish to change. If you don’t have that attitude towards them, you may wish to examine yourself to see if you possibly are offending people by your words and your actions when you don’t really mean to. Do you wish to evangelize your Catholic friends and help them to a closer relationship with Christ, or do you wish to condemn them?
I would say that you and your non-denominational friends are probably much more “open” about the fullness of the truth, as you say, because you are not really asking questions about the truth and you do not realize that two people who believe different things about Jesus, about the sacraments, about the Pope, about the Church, about the Bible, about the means of salvation…both of those two people cannot have the fullness of the truth. Ask them some questions about the Eucharist, the Pope, Mary, and see if they truly are “open” to the fullness of the truth. I hope they are and I hope you can bring them around to seeing, through your words and your example, that the fullness of the truth does indeed reside within the Catholic Church.
In Christ,
John Martignoni
In Conclusion
Comments are welcomed and all will be read. Please share this newsletter with a friend or friends and let them know about all the resources available to them at our website (www.biblechristiansociety.com)
One last thing, but the most important thing, please read the following about a little boy named Peter, and please pray for the little guy. Thanks!
Dear Friends,
I’m writing to ask for your prayers for a little boy named Peter. Peter is almost one year-old, but has been in the hospital for most of his life. He has had many surgeries to try and fix a number of complications in his abdomen. Over the last week, things have taken a turn for the worse, and Peter needs your prayers.
The doctors had planned to perform a surgery to put him “back together” for lack of a better term. His bowels and intestines are all disconnected because of previous surgeries, and they have been feeding him directly into his intestines. This surgery was to be a big step in his road to recovery.
The problem is, they found a small hole in one of his intestines, and now the surgery needs to be postponed. If this hole doesn’t heal in the next couple of weeks, they’ll continue to feed him only through an IV, and that may result in his liver eventually shutting down, forcing them to do a liver transplant.
I ask that you please pray for the specific intention that this hole in the intestines heals, so the doctors may be able to do the surgery that is needed. Peter’s family has four children, and they have a very heavy cross to bear, so I thank you so much for your prayers and support.
Please pass this on to anyone you may know that could pray for Peter and his family.
Sincerely in Christ,
Matthew Pinto
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