Sticky: Index of Posts

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The African Bishops' Clever Gambit

The release of Fiducia Supplicans has been difficult for many in the Church.  As I noted in my Youtube video, a proper understanding of the document requires some technical reading.  

You can't read the stuff in paragraph 31 in the most intuitive way.  Instead it must be understood in light of stuff from way back in paragraph 8.  When one does that, the resulting reading is orthodox.  But how many people were going to do that? Confusion has abounded.

This left bishops around the world in a tough position:

1.  Pope Francis doesn't hesitate to punish those who question his authority 
2.  Pope Francis is also swift to punish those who critique him from the ideological Right
3.  Fiducia Supplicans has been a massive failure in terms of communication

So... how do you deal with document while not stepping on the toes of the Pontiff?  

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo found an interesting way to do it.  It has been described as a rejection of FS, but its far more subtle than that.  Let's take a look.

My Thoughts on Fiducia Supplicans

 Everyone is talking about it.  So here is the video I've made on the new Vatican document on blessings.

Under the Mission?

The New Testament presents us with many teachings which are difficult to accept.  Among the most difficult in our era pertains to the relationship between husbands and wives. There are four places [Col 3:18, Eph 5:22, Titus 2:5, 1Pet 3:1-6] where the New Testament states that a wife should be in submission to her husband. 

Today I wanted to look at a way folks try to obscure the difficulty of this teaching and why it doesn't work.

Re-Reading James 2:18

I was recently preparing to lead my students through James 2.  I was going through it sentence-by-sentence when I discovered something confusing in verse 18.  It reads:

"But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith." - James 2:18

Why was this confusing?  And what was the solution?

Paul's Soteriology in Thessalonians

Last evening I thought I'd do a study on both the letters to the Thessalonians.  Specifically, I wanted to see what can be gleaned from those two letters concerning Paul's soteriology.  

There wasn't a lot; only 5 passages.  But those 5 provide an interesting summary which can used as an interpretive key to Paul's larger works.

So let's dive in!

Two Places Where Jesus Talks about Purgatory

It is often said by Protestants that they cannot find Purgatory in the Bible.  It could be retorted that it is harder to see something you're not looking for - even harder when you are opposed to finding it.

The typical passage which Catholic appeal to for a description of Purgatory is 1Corinthians 3:10-15.  But today I want to look at two other passages which come from the mouth of the Lord Himself.