The TL;DR Bible: First and Second Thessalonians

A while ago I had the idea to begin summarizing some of the epistles in the New Testament.  Today we're going to do 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.

The TL;DR Bible: The Letter to the Hebrews

The New Testament is not a long collection of books.  Most of the books can be read in just a couple hours.  Still, we have short attention spans.  A lot of folks look at the sacred texts and say:

"Too long; didn't read"

So I had the silly idea to start summarizing the New Testament letters.  What are the key points and assertions when you boil it down?   That's what I want to try today.

We'll start with one of my favorites...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Summary of Afterlives - Old Testament

What happens to us after we die?  

This question has occupied the minds of men for ages.  The texts in the Bible go a long way to illuminate the matter, but at no point do we get a systematic explanation. Therefor we have to piece things together.

There are three different periods we need to look at - each hinging on the actions of Jesus Christ.  Today I wanted to explore what happened prior to Christ's death.

Twelve Questions Students Get From Secular Friends

I was in high school in the early 2000's.  Back then it was still common for a Catholic to get questions about Catholic/Protestant issues.  What is Purgatory?  What's the deal with Mary?  So on, so forth.

Now all that stuff seems like a memory.  Today Christians are getting along much better and secularism is the new cultural norm.  Thus, our highschoolers are faced with an entirely different set of questions - ones which come from the standpoint of unbelief.

Here are the 12 most common questions which our highschoolers receive from their irreligious secular peers.

[Feel free to leave you own if you think I missed something.]

Can We Know When Life Begins?

Discussions about the ethics and legality of abortion tend to follow certain patterns.  One of these patterns works like this:

• The defender of abortion legality (called "Pro-Choice") will admit that the debate hinges upon when an individual human life begins.  

• However, he/she will assert that this knowledge is totally obscure, subjective, and unknowable. 

• Thus, he/she concludes abortion should remain legal.

In fact, that is the very logic used in Roe vs Wade when the court decided upon a constitution right to abortion.  Justice Blackmun wrote:

"When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer."

So that's what I want to look at today.  Is this really the case?  Or are folks just trying to deny an inconvenient truth?

No Divorce? What About Abusive Marriages?

Dear Apologist, can a Catholic get divorced if her husband is abusive?  And what would her status in the Church afterward?

Can a Christian Go it Alone?

Dear Apologist, my friend says she can be a good Christian without going to a church.  What should I say?