The Basics of Purgatory

Today I wanted to talk about Purgatory.  What is it?  Is it in the Bible?

Short Answer: The Church and Just War

Dear Apologist, What does the Church teach about the justifiability of war?

Mary, Mother of the Baptized

I once had a chimney contractor over to my house to fix the fireplace.  As it turned out, she also wanted to talk about Jesus.  We had a great conversation… until I asked her a question that made her visibly uncomfortable.  I asked if she’d given thought to the role Mary (the mother of Jesus) plays in the Christian life. 

I’d barely gotten the question out before she suddenly had to leave. 

That experience stuck with me.  It was my introduction to the fact that Jesus’ mom is a very divisive figure outside the Catholic bubble.  So today I want to examine the question I naively asked the chimney lady…  

What is the relationship between Jesus’ mother and Jesus’ disciples? 

Hail, Queen Mary

If you examine Catholic and Orthodox piety, you'll notice a crazy amount of attention given to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  They (we) regard her as the mother of all Christians and as a queen. 

For many this can seem a bit odd.  The Bible presents her as a blessed woman, a holy woman... but a queen?  Is that supported in the text of Scripture?

That's what I wanted to look at today. 

Why do People Go to Hell?

One of the first things people learn about the Christian faith is the two eternal destinations: Heaven and Hell.  

The basic formula we learn is that good people go to Heaven - where everyone lives on fluffy clouds and plays harps.  Bad people, on the other hand, will go to Hell - where they will undergo an eternity of fiery punishment. 

The concept of Hell can be very confusing.  Most of us don’t want to see harm come to other people – even those we dislike.  The idea of condemning a person to an eternity of misery and torment seems a bit… psychotic.  Yet, Christianity posits that our infinitely good, infinitely loving, and infinitely merciful God is prepared to do just that.

So… what’s that about?  How could a loving God do that to someone?

Why Listen to Saint Paul?

I was recently talking to a fella about some Bible topics. I mentioned a few things from the writings of Saint Paul and he replied, (paraphrasing):

“I don’t go by what Paul said.  Paul was an invasive influence in the early church and his philosophy contradicts was Jesus taught.  I only go by what Jesus said.”

And then, curiously, I ran into this same idea a few more times.  So today I wanted to take on this “Jesus only” ethic and answer the question of why should we listen to Paul.

Can Christians Consume Crayfish?

A few weeks ago I ran across an online post called, "11 Things the Bible Bans, But You Do Anyway". It was a fascinating list that included things like tattoos, eating shellfish, and trimming one’s sideburns.  A formidable list!  And indeed, all of those prohibitions can be found in the pages of Scripture.  But the post invites a question…

 What does it mean when someone says “the Bible forbids” something? 

Answering the Violinist Argument:

I’ve been answering pro-life questions since I arrived at the position in high school.  Most questions boil down to dissecting slogans, resolving tough ethical dilemmas, and identifying red herrings.  Answering an actual argument in favor of the ethicalness of abortion is a very rare thing.

Today I want to talk about one attempt to do that.  It is called the  Violinist Argument.

A Reflection on the Side of Christ

Today I wanted to examine an occurrence found in the crucifixion account of Saint John: 

“Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath.  The Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. 

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”  - John 19:31-34

I want to examine three significant meanings of this event:

What Constitutes Christian Persecution?

In recent months the persecution of Christians worldwide has become more publicly known. 

There are some who would even say there is persecution of Christians in the United States.  Those claims are largely laughed off as the self-righteous equivocations of pampered Christians bemoaning the loss of cultural dominance. 

But could there be any validity to those assertions?  What exactly constitutes persecution? 

Welcome!

Welcome to the ACTS Apologist Blog.  My name is Steven O'Keefe.  I'm a Catholic layman with a passion for writing short, efficient explanations of the Christian faith. 

By trade I'm a mechanical engineer, but I volunteer as a high school youth minister and amateur apologist for my local parish.  I plan to post regular essays of roughly 700 words, augmented by short weekly snippets of 300 words. 

Topics will include current events, philosophy, theology, history, and Biblical exegesis.  Thanks for stopping by.