We’re saved apart from Baptism. Baptism is only a public expression of faith.
Why then does First Peter 3:21 say, "[Your] baptism … saves you now"? And why does Titus 3:5 say, "He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit"? ...
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All those Catholic doctrines get in the way of a simple faith in Jesus.
The Bible says, "The truth will set you free" (John 8:32). If the truth sets us free, then error enslaves us. The Church's doctrines keep us from believing error about Jesus so that we can be free to follow Him. If someone loves Jesus, but believes something false about Him, then he is not yet as free as Jesus wishes Him to be.
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Why do Catholics believe the bread and wine at Mass become the Body and Blood of Christ?
In First Corinthians 11:27, Saint Paul says those who "eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord." How can the unworthy eating and drinking of ordinary bread and wine be called "profaning the body and blood of the Lord"? ...
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How can I know that God exists?
Have you seen my phone? I found it while walking down the street the other day. All the different pieces just came together out of nowhere and formed this phone on the sidewalk at my feet. … I can see that you don’t believe me. Well, if you don’t believe that a phone could come together on its own, how then can you believe that you — something far more beautiful and complex — came into being without a Creator? ...
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In Luke 8:21 Jesus says, "My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Exactly. Earlier in the same Gospel, Mary is described as she who heard the word and believed it (1:45). So Jesus is confirming that she is blessed not merely because of her biological ties to Him, but primarily because of her perfect faith. ...
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An annulment is just a Catholic divorce.
An "annulment" (or decree of nullity) is something entirely different from a divorce. A divorce is the attempted break up of a valid marriage. An annulment is the acknowledgement that the marriage was invalid from the start because the things that are necessary for a valid marriage were never present. Therefore, an annulment is not the attempted break up of a valid marriage. ...
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In Matthew 16:18, two different words are used for "Peter" and "rock". Peter is not the rock; Jesus is the rock.
Jesus is the rock; and He conveyed His rock-likeness upon Peter. Matthew’s Gospel was originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, not Greek. The reason why two different words for rock appear in Matthew 16:18 has to do with the fact that the Greek word for rock, petra, is a feminine word, unfit to serve as a man’s name. To solve the problem the translators gave it a masculine ending, making it Petros. But all of this is irrelevant since Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek. And, as John 1:42 proves, He called Peter Cephas or Kepha, which ...
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I confess my sins directly to God, not to a man. Mark 2:7 says, "Who can forgive sins but God only.”
In that passage, Jesus uses the power to heal to prove He also has the power to forgive sins. The same account in Matthew’s Gospel says the crowd "glorified God, who had given such authority to men" (9:8) — the authority, that is, to heal and to forgive sins. One could also say, "Only God can heal." Yet certain individuals have been given the ministry of healing. In reality, God is working through them to heal; they are His instruments. It is the same with the forgiveness of sins, which Paul calls "the ministry of reconciliation" ...
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All Christians are priests — "a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Pet. 2:9).
It is true that all Christians share in the priesthood of Christ through Baptism, but this common priesthood is different from the ministerial priesthood. First Peter is referring back to what was said of Israel in Exodus 19:6, "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Within the priestly nation of Israel, however, existed a distinct ministerial priesthood, the priesthood of Aaron. It’s the same for God’s people in the New Covenant. ...
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Doesn't the idea of purgatory add to Christ's work on the Cross?
On the Cross, Jesus earned infinitely more saving grace than every human being who has ever lived or ever will live could possibly need for salvation. Purgatory is not for people who failed to be saved on earth. The souls in purgatory are saved, but need to be purged of their attachments to sin before entering heaven. It is not something added to Christ's death on the Cross. The merits applied to the souls in purgatory were also earned on the Cross by Jesus. ...
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Why do Catholics have statues when the Bible forbids them?
The Bible does not forbid the making of statues, but the worship of statues. In Exodus 25:18, God commands the Israelites to make statues of the cherubim for the Ark of the Covenant. We don't worship statues. We simply use them as holy reminders when we pray. ...
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Have you been saved?
I was saved the Bible way — through Baptism. John 3:5 says we must be born again "of water and Spirit" to enter into heaven. First Peter 1:10 says we should "be the more zealous to confirm [our] call and election." Therefore, as Paul says in Philippians 2:12, I'm working out my salvation "with fear and trembling."...
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Hasn't the Catholic Church changed its teaching over the years? For instance, the Church used to put a greater emphasis on not eating meat on Fridays.
We distinguish between "Big T" Traditions and "little t" traditions. "Big T" Traditions are doctrines — what we believe; while "little t" traditions are customs or practices — what we do. The Church does not have the authority to change "Big T" Traditions, such as the Holy Trinity or the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. But the Church can institute or change "little t" traditions, such as fasting from meat or the Rosary, to fit the needs of the time. ...
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