The Catholic Verses

by Armstrong, Dave

• ISBN13: 9781928832737
• ISBN10: 1928832733
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-01
• Publisher: Sophia Inst Pr

Summary

Martin Luther ignited the Protestant Reformation by tacking ninety-five anti-Catholic theses to a church door in Germany. Now Dave Armstrong counters with ninety-five pro-Catholic passages from an authority far greater than Luther: the Bible itself. Protestants (and even many Catholics) will be surprised to see Catholicism so strongly supported by these Catholic verses. With humility and care, Dave Armstrong here explains ninety-five key bible passages that confound all who would use Scripture to criticize the Church and her doctrines. These are the verses that have drawn so many serious believers -- including Armstrong -- out of their Protestant congregations and into the Catholic Church. The Catholic Verses is essential reading for all persons seeking to understand God's word in the Bible and to discover the Church that continues to preach His word faithfully today.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
The Church	3	(18)
The Church Is the ``Pillar of the Truth''
The Binding Authority of Councils, Led by the Holy Spirit
The Authority of Oral Tradition
Sinners in the Church
Divisions and Denominationalism	21	(10)
Christians Ought to Be One as Jesus and His Father Are One
A Multiplicity of Divisions Is a Bad Thing
Dissensions and Denominationalism Forbidden by St. Paul
Bible and Tradition	31	(24)
The Necessity of Authoritative Interpretation
The Binding Authority of Tradition, According to St. Paul
Oral and Extrabiblical Tradition in the New Testament
The Papacy	55	(8)
St. Peter as the Rock and Possessor of the Keys of the Kingdom
Justification and Salvation	63	(24)
Faith and Works: Two Sides of One Coin
The Rich Young Ruler's Question About Salvation
God's Fellow Workers?
St. Paul's Plea: ``Work Out Your Salvation''
Obedience Necessary for Salvation
Disobedience Led to Death, Obedience to Justification
St. Paul on Falling Away from the Faith and Salvation
Other Biblical Writers on Apostasy
Judgment and Good Works	87	(10)
The Crucial Role of Works (and Absence of Faith) in Judgment Day Accounts
St. Paul: ``Doers of the Law'' Will Be Justified
Baptism	97	(16)
Baptism of Entire Households (Implying the Baptism of Children)
Baptismal Regeneration
The Eucharist	113	(14)
The Last Supper: ``This Is My Body''
``He Who Eats My Flesh and Drinks My Blood Has Eternal Life''
``Participation'' in the Body and Blood of Christ
Profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord
Penance	127	(6)
Sharing in Christ's Sufferings
Carrying Christ's Afflictions in Our Bodies
The Communion of Saints	133	(14)
The Imitation of Paul and the Veneration of Saints
Saints in Heaven as a ``Cloud of Witnesses'' Watching Those on Earth
The Intercession of the Saints and Their Connection with the Earth
Relics and Sacramentals	147	(10)
Elisha's Bones Raise a Man from the Dead
More Biblical Relics: Elijah's Mantle, Peter's Shadow, and Paul's Handkerchief
Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead	157	(24)
A Fairly Explicit Biblical Argument for Purgatory
Baptism for the Dead: the Most ``Un-Protestant'' Verse in the Bible
The Case of Onesiphorus: Did St. Paul Pray for a Dead Man?
Prayers for the Dead When the Dead Are Raised
The Blessed Virgin Mary	181	(10)
Full of Grace: The Blessed Virgin Mary's Sinlessness and Immaculate Conception
Clerical Celibacy	191	(14)
Voluntary Eunuchs for the Sake of the Kingdom of Heaven
``Each Has His Own Special Gift''; ``Undivided Devotion to the Lord''
Divorce	205	(10)
Our Lord Jesus' ``Strict'' Stance on Divorce
Contraception	215	(8)
The Sin of Onan
Conclusion	223	(4)
Bibliography	227	(8)
Biographical Note: Dave Armstrong	235