This book is the most thorough, complete and popular catechetical summary of Catholic belief in print that is based on the universal Catechism. Handbook of Catholic Apologetics is the only book that categorizes and summarizes all the major arguments in support of the main Christian beliefs. Also included is a Protestant-friendly treatment of Catholic- Protestant issues. The Catholic answers to Protestant questions show how Catholicism is the fullness of the Christian faith.
Handbook of Catholic Apologetics is full of the wisdom and wit, clarity and insight of philosophers Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli. This is an informative and valuable guidebook for anyone looking for answers to questions of faith and reason. Whether you are asking the questions yourself or want to respond to others who are, here is the resource you have been waiting for. Follow the incredible journey through the streets of Jerusalem to Calvary and the tomb, to the Resurrection and Pentecost.
Gain a deeper appreciation for our Savior and the salvation he purchased for the world. All this in a fast-paced, entertaining biography, travel documentary, Bible study, apologetics course and Church history study rolled into one remarkable adventure! Find a parish to call home. Search Now. However, it is not. First, saving faith in Catholic theology is not merely trusting completely in the finished work of Christ at Calvary for salvation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,.
Faith is a personal adherence of the whole man to God who reveals himself. What does the Catholic Bible say? Second, Catholic theology differs from a fundamentalist view of saving faith on the sufficiency of faith.
But is this all that needs to be said about how one may be saved? The Catholic Church has historically recognized the importance of explaining further the means through which salvation is offered through Christ. When speaking of salvation, Jesus offered more details than just his words quoted above. For example, consider these three verses:. Notice that in these three verses Jesus associated salvation with baptism, confession, and the Eucharist, respectively.
Catholics recognize that these sacraments are administered through the Church. In fact, in the case of the latter two, a validly ordained priest is necessary for their administration, so the sacrament of ordination must also be associated with salvation. A primary role of the Catholic Church in conjunction with salvation is becoming quite clear.
Since the sacraments are the ordinary means through which Christ offers the grace necessary for salvation, and the Catholic Church that Christ established is the ordinary minister of those sacraments, it is appropriate to state that salvation comes through the Church. This is not unlike the situation that existed prior to the establishment of the Catholic Church. He pointed the woman of Samaria to the body of believers existing at that time, through which salvation would be offered to all mankind: the Jews.
Recognizing this, we can see why the Church, especially during times of mass exodus such as has happened in times when heresies have run rampant , has been even more forceful in the way it has taught this doctrine. Instead of simply pointing out how God offers salvation from Christ, through the Church, the Church has warned that there is no salvation apart from Christ, outside his Church.
Since Jesus established the Catholic Church as necessary for salvation , those who knowingly and willingly reject him or his Church cannot be saved. Having said all this, we must recognize that this doctrine is not as far reaching as some imagine it to be. The Church recognizes that God does not condemn those who are innocently ignorant of the truth about his offer of salvation. This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation.
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