Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Do you believe that the Catholic Church is really the true Church of God? Are you confused embarrassed when non-Catholics ask you defend a Catholic truth? Can you give a reasonable explanation of the Church’s teachings? If not, it’s about time you learned to be a warrior for Christ.
The Importance of Apologetics
Apologetics is the theological science concerned with the defense of the Christian religion. Apologetics means, broadly speaking, a form of apology. The term is derived from the Latin, apologeticus, which in turn has its origin in the Greek “apology,” or “defense.”
During the second century, Christians were meeting an ever-increasing hostility in every area of public life due to misinformation about their beliefs and system of worship. In order to counter this negative attitude on the part of pagans, apologists wrote more or less extensive explanations, providing a more accurate picture of Christianity in the hope they would receive equitable treatment. Such writing was called “apologia,” or speech for the defense.
The object of modern-day apologetics is to give a reasonable scientific answer to the question: Why should I be a Christian? This question involves two others.
The first is: Why should I be a Catholic Christian rather than a Protestant, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness or an adherent to any other religious system? The other question is: Why should I profess any religion at all?
The history of religious thought shows that there are two absurd positions—faith without reason and reason without faith. The truthful position is the one which holds that reason proves the appropriateness and necessity of faith.
Before a religion can claim to speak to divine authority, it must prove that it was given that authority by God. It cannot simply demand that people assent to its doctrines unless it can be shown that there is a solid foundation for this faith. Before anyone speaks, he must present his credentials. If the speaker demands faith without presenting these credentials, he is simply asking for submission to his personal authority.
An Outline of Apologetics
Proofs for the existence of God.
Proofs for the existence of the Soul.
The relationship between God and man engenders in man the obligation to practice religion.
Religion can be either Natural or Supernatural.
If supernatural revelation is a fact, then man cannot reject it in favor of tenets of natural religion.
Man must inquire into religions, which claim to be agencies that impart to man the doctrines of supernatural revelation.
Christianity claims to be one of these religions.
The Gospels are said to be documents which furnish some of the credentials of Christianity.
Apart from inspiration, the Gospels can be pronounced as trustworthy when inquiry is made into their integrity, authorship, and historicity.
The theme of the Gospels is Jesus Christ.
Christ appealed to his miracles and prophecies as furnishing authority for his mission and teaching.
Christ’s miracles and prophecies do establish the truthfulness of his teaching for it can be prove to have God as their origin.
It follows that miracles and prophecies prove that Christ was what he claimed to be, namely God.
Since Christ is divine, he has a good reason for all that he does.
One of Christ’s reasons for coming to earth was to teach men of all ages those things which they must believe and do in order to be saved.
Christ did not intend to remain on earth to do this teaching.
So that his doctrines would be transmitted to all men Christ founded a teaching agency called his Church.
To prevent anyone from making an error in finding the True Church, Christ impressed on it four marks of identification.
Christ intended His Church to be:
- One in doctrine and government.
- Holy in Founder, doctrine and members.
- Universal in time and place.
- Traceable to the person of Peter as its first ruler, instituted by Christ.
The Church which has these four marks and whose name corresponds to them is: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.
Since this Church was founded by Christ and endowed with his authority to teach, it follows that under certain conditions it is infallible when teaching and explaining matters pertaining to Faith (what a man must believe to be saved and Morals (what a man must do to be saved).
The Church using her infallible teaching authority has said that there is but one font of divine revelation and that font is God. Yet, God has communicated these teachings to us in two different forms: Sacred Scripture, (the written word of God) and Sacred Tradition (the oral teachings of Jesus and the apostles). These oral teachings were eventually written down by their disciples.
Act of Faith. Submission to the authority of God and His chosen representatives – the Magisterium of the Church.