CATHOLIC BIBLICAL APOLOGETICS

Apologetics without apology!

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What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why?

This book surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries.

This is a set of lecture notes used since 1985 to teach the basis for key doctrines and dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. The objectives of the course were, and are:

  • To present the biblical basis for the origin and development of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • To present the development of the canon of Scripture and evolution of biblical teaching in the Church.
  • To understand the role of paradosis/tradition in the oral transmission of revelation.
  • To study the Council of Jerusalem, described in the 15th chapter of The Acts of the Apostles and its role in the development of doctrine in the conciliar movement in the Church.
  • To understand the revelation, doctrinal development and practice of the sacramental life in the history of the Church.
  • To study the role of the Holy Spirit as teaching authority in the Church.
  • To study the revelation and development of hierarchical authority in the Church.
  • To understand the hierarchy of truths in the Church as well as the role of private devotion and personal growth in holiness.

Some key areas covered include:

The course grew out of the need for the authors to continually answer questions about their faith tradition and their work. (Both authors are active members of Ascension Catholic Community in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Robert Schihl is a Professor on the Communications faculty of Regent University. Paul Flanagan is part of the executive administration of the Christian Broadcasting Network.) The authors were spending time in their faith community answering questions about their Protestant Evangelical workplaces, and time in their workplaces answering similar questions about their Roman Catholic faith community. These notes are the result of more than a decade of facilitating dialogue among those who wish to learn more about what the Roman Catholic Church teaches and why.


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Catholic Biblical Apologetics, © Copyright 1985-1997, Paul Flanagan and Robert Schihl
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture texts are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament, © 1986, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Email comments to pdflan@mindspring.com