Were the twelve apostles poor and illiterate? I was leading a Bible Study tonight when one of the people involved made the statement that the Twelve Apostles were probably mostly poor and illiterate. After all, they were fishermen and salt of the earth, and many people did not know how to read or write back […]
Saint Luke 2:1-20
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of […]
On requesting intercessory prayers from the saints
Are there any Biblical and historical quotes that appear to demonstrate that both the Apostles and the Early Church Fathers expected that the saints and angels would be aware of what we are doing and would intercede for us? And is there anything that says that we should revere them and remember them with special […]
Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils, final post
This series of posts began with a post from Caldonia Sun found here related to the autumn book club on mysticism. It triggered me to begin reflecting again on Holy Tradition, what it is, and what it means for our lives. But, behind it was also a whole set of discussions over a several year […]
Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils, part 06
This will probably be the least satisfying posting, both for myself and for those reading this. Remember that it took decades for the Church to work out the four negatives (only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation) that define our Lord Jesus Christ. I have very little faith that […]
Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils, part 05
It took a little longer to return to this subject than I thought. But, what is Holy Tradition? In order to understand more about Holy Tradition, it is very helpful at this time to use a way of speaking that is much more common in the East than in the West. And that is what […]
Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils, part 04
And now, back to our regular programming. As we have been talking about Holy Tradition, part of the problem that I see is that many people want Holy Tradition to be a list of canons, a list of practices, a list of dress codes, a list of personal grooming codes, etc., all of which can […]
Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils, part 03
Let me make some comments, as an aside, in order to make myself clear before I return to what I was discussing. The Holy Spirit works through many means. I am only mentioning three of them: Scriptures, Holy Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils. I list the Scriptures as separate from Holy Tradition, not because I have […]
Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils, part 02
Yesterday I gave examples of how Tradition has vetoed Papal bulls, Roman Catholic Councils, and Ecumenical Councils. In each case, there are still many who would insist that those pronouncements are valid and to be obeyed, even while there is significant disobedience to the pronouncements. That is, Tradition is not a static set of statements […]
Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils, part 01
On Sarx a question came up about that made me think about the relationship between Scripture, Tradition, and Ecumenical Councils. And, not surprisingly, my conclusion is that the relationship is a complex interaction that does not boil itself down to a set of easily memorizable doctrinal statements. I can, however, perhaps give some generalized thoughts […]
