AM+DG

Apologetics 101
The Catholic Faith is Eminently Reasonable!

I. God
a. Giver of Existence – How do things exist? This desk? What makes it not nothing?
What makes anything be? God gives both life and existence. Humans cannot give
existence, make something be or not be. They cannot even control their own
existence. Existence is a perfection. It must be given. There are many things that
could exist, but do not – they have not been given existence. Everything must be
sustained in existence that is not sustaining its own existence. But nothing in the
universe is sustaining its own existence.
b. Source of all Order – All order requires an intelligence that orders. It would be
utter foolishness to drive into Chicago and say, “This is the result of a random
series of occurrences.” Nemo dat quod non habet. What is not intelligent cannot
work intelligently.
Meanwhile, the universe reflects an order beyond the human to fathom. Man and
animals are directed to ends outside of themselves. Just as we did not choose our
parents or our physiognomy, we did not choose our end or our pattern of operation.
Everything is interconnected. There is an entire structure of laws, immensely
complicated, e.g. position of the Earth, bees and hummingbirds, the human eye.
II. Our Lord Jesus Christ – Is He God? The Gospels are the most reliable of
historical documents. Why was a Redeemer necessary? Because finite man offended
an infinite God. Reparation is needed, but is impossible on the part of man. A God-
man must come. But how to know who He is?
a. Prophesied – Our Lord fulfills over 70 prophecies in the NT. He was born in
Bethlehem, of a virgin, of the tribe of Juda, during the reign of the first non-Jew
king, exiled to Egypt, his way prepared by a prophet, he preached in the region of
Nepthali and Zabulon. He also fulfilled His own prophecies:
Personal prophecies – He will be betrayed by the chief priests, put to death,
crucified, mocked, scourged, spit upon, and rise on the third day. He would be
denied by Peter and betrayed by Judas. He would send the Holy Ghost. His
followers would be persecuted; the Church would grow up into a great tree. Others
have tried to so prophesy, but they are all false prophets like Mary Baker Eddy.
b. Holiness and Doctrine – He taught matchless truths and led an impeccable life.
His teachings are respected by all, even atheists.
c. Miracles – “No one hath done works as this man hath done.” He worked wonders
whenever and however He wanted. The raising of Lazarus from the dead after four
days in the tomb was the clincher. “Otherwise believe for the very works’ sake.”
d. Church – Persecuted, harangued, established by 12 unlearned Apostles, taken on
by one of the greatest powers in history, the Roman Empire. At the Cross, there was
a mere handful. In a few centuries, the Church had conquered. She establishes the
greatest civilization and culture in the history of man. “Greater works than these
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shall you do.” “I will be with you all days.” In 2005, the Church is still around in
spite of everything. How could She and Her founder not be divine?
III. The Church and Her Marks – The Old Law was incomplete, imperfect, and
contained innumerable shadows of a new and Perfect Law to come. As the OT had
priests, ceremonies, sacrifice, worship, commandments and laws, so does the NT, but
in a more perfect way. OLJC had to establish a Church to be the vehicle of salvation in
the new dispensation. He gave Her incredible, beautiful means to save souls – the
Truth and the Sacraments being the most important – and certain marks by which all
might know Her to be the One and Only Church.
a. One – There are no divisions within itself that mar its unity. She is a seamless
garment – you are either in or out. She is one in that She is a) wholly unique; b)
wholly unified. Any defection leaves a Church and a sect. Christ has but one Body
and one Spouse. The Church is intrinsically one, as God and OLJC are one. There
is only one Truth. Anyone holding the Truths of the CC but not in it are not the
Church. They have not been espoused.
b. Holy – 1) Doctrine: anyone examining Catholic doctrine must admit that it is
admirable and conducive to living a perfect life. The Church asks one not only to
be good, but to be perfect. The Church has always stuck to the Truth in spite of
immense pressure. 2) Fruits: Christian civilization and culture, and an immense
army of saints. They are those who truly practiced what the Church teaches. The
Church cannot be judged by those who do not live the Faith, any more than a
doctor’s remedies can be judged by those who don’t take them. The saints worked
extraordinary miracles and lived incredible lives. They cannot be found in any
other religion.
c. Catholic – If the Church is established by God, it must be adaptable to every race
on the face of the planet. We find Catholics of every nation, each with their racial,
cultural, and ethnical differences, but all professing the same faith, united under
one head and one worship (though rites are different). Protestantism and pop
culture, meanwhile, destroy these differences. The Church takes its members from
every walk of life. Members freely join and are offered no reward, only the cross.
The Church belongs to no age, race, culture, class or place. She is universal in
every respect. This has to be from God, as there is no natural explanation for it!
d. Apostolic – If OLJC founded the Church, then we must be able to trace her back to
Him and those whom He chose to guide it – the Apostles. He gave them the
Deposit of the Faith; we must believe the same things the Apostles and the first
Catholics did. The Apostles were also given the Sacraments, the Mass, and
authority over the Church. Which institution has all of these today? If the Church
“defected,” then OLJC failed and has not kept His promises. But we can compare
the doctrine and easily see it is the same.