What is the Timeline in the Gospels?

 I remember the first time I read the John's Gospel.  I was horribly confused by different it was from the other Gospels.  How did it fit together with the others?  

In fact, it wasn't even clear how Matthew, Mark, and Luke fit together.  

Recently I've spent some time laying out the various events and trying to piece them together. The citations marked with a '*' are those which had to be moved out of the sequence in which they appear in their own Gospel.  

Here goes:

Is Social Welfare the True Way to be Pro-Life?

The core assertion of the Pro-Life movement is that children in their mothers’ wombs are real human beings whose lives should be protected.  The Catechism states the following:

“The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. [It] must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority” - CCC 2273  

Therefore, it is mandatory for Catholics to demand the total abolition of abortion. Whether it happens all at once or gradually, it must be our goal.

The Welfare-State Alternative:

Unfortunately, many people feel a tension between various political commitments and want to find a way out of this duty.  The most common tactic is to claim the economic policies of Pro-Choice politicians will “reduce the need for abortion”.  And thus the Pro-Choice politician is the more practical option for a true Pro-Life voter.

Now, whether or not a robust welfare state is a good policy choice is besides the point.  Catholics can disagree on that in good conscience.  But there are huge problems – (both practical and philosophical) - with using the goal of a social welfare state to dismiss the need for legally protecting the unborn.  

Three Questions on God and Time

Today I thought I'd round out some common questions about how God relates to time and space. 

How Do the Resurrection Accounts Fit Together?

The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the most important event in the Christian faith.  Without it, we all might as well sleep in on Sunday.  But how does the story of the Resurrection, spread across four Gospels and Acts, look when you put them all together?

That's what I intend to lay out today...

The Passages which Say Salvation Can be Lost

As one travels the world of Christian theology, one encounters an idea which has several names.  It is called "Blessed Assurance", "Once-Saved-Always-Saved", or "Perseverance of the Saints".  This doctrine states that once a Christian comes into a saving relationship with Christ, that status cannot be lost.  The person will ultimately be saved, no matter what.

Of course, we've all encountered people who are "former Christians".  What do people who adhere to this doctrine make of such people?  The standard solution is to say, retroactively, that the person was never a true, regenerate Christian at all.  He may have believed himself to be one, but he was self-deceived.

The weirdest thing about this doctrine is how it is arrived at by those who believe in it.  There is scant evidence in the New Testament for this doctrine.  I've reviewed a couple passages which are used to support it [here].

So how DO people arrive at this belief?  And are there passage which contradict it?  Let's dive in.

How did Jesus take His Final Trip?

A week ago I was preparing some Bible studies for Lent when I stumbled across a Biblical conundrum.  In trying to plot out the events leading up to Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, I encountered a major discrepancy between the Synoptic (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) accounts and John's Gospel.

Today we'll be exploring those differences and how to resolve them.

Answering 5 Myths About the Catholic Church and Salvation

Recently I was asked by a staff member at a Peru, Indiana parish to make something to help rebut the preaching of a local pastor.  He'd been preaching about the Catholic Church's erroneous teaching on the subject of salvation - and apparently urging his congregants to bother their Catholic friends about it. 

So after some brainstorming, I came up with a simple trifold brochure which answers five of the common myths which are spread about the Church's teaching on salvation.  Enjoy!