The Catholic Church teaches that baptism is “necessary for salvation” (CCC 1257). Some Protestants like to use 1 Corinthians 1:17 to claim that this teaching contradicts the Bible. Paul writes, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not...
If we jumped into a time machine, traveled back to the first centuries of the Church, and asked Christians what they believed about the seven sacraments, would we feel we were among Catholic brethren? Karlo says yes, and he shows, using the writings of the early...
When it comes to the saints, one of the most common questions Catholics get is, “Why would I seek the help of saints when I can go straight to Jesus?” There are two ways that we can answer this question. The first is to address the problematic assumptions. The second...
St. Thomas Aquinas is famous for seeing the most mundane things in our human experience as starting points for reasoning to God’s existence. For example, in the first of his famous “Five Ways” he starts with motion (Summa Theologiae I:2:3). In the second, he starts...
Jesus teaches in Matthew 12:32, “Whoever says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” Catholics have cited this text as support for the doctrine of...
