Dan's pathetic response

Once again, my words are in Red, his are in Blue

Anyway, I ran out of time this morning so I won't be able to have as much fun with John's screw-up as I had hoped, but Benko's reasoning is blown to bits quite easily, whoever he is.

Lol this should be fun....watching this knucklehead trying to formulate a cogent thought...

He spends time trying to refute my syllogism by saying that each person's task depends upon the other person's task and therefore renders them "not alone".

First of all, let me explain to this knucklehead what a syllogism is because nowhere, in this long incoherent diatribe does he ever approach one.

A syllogism is a natural consequence that can be drawn from multiple, relevant facts. For example A= B and B=C, therefore A=C.

One of the greatest syllogisms ever, works like this.

Jesus is God
Mary is the Mother of Jesus
Therefore, Mary is the Mother of God.

To deny this is to look silly.

No argument he presents is a syllogism...nevermind a sound one.

In reality, he has established the perfection of God's salvation in the 5 Solas, not refuted it. Of course each task is dependant upon another, that is a given.

and this one simple fact refutes the assertion that any of these parts of the job are performed alone. Any attempt to suggest they are only succeeds in making him look more foolish.

A person is alone or he is not alone, in the same manner that a woman is pregnant or she isn't.

For there to be faith in a person's heart, one must have grace poured upon them, for one to know Christ, one must have the Scriptures, for one to take joy in the glory of God, one must be saved by grace through faith.

THIS FACT IN NO WAY CHANGES THE REALITY THAT THEY WORK ALONE IN THE TASK THAT THEY DO!!!! THAT WAS THE VERY CLEAR EVIDENCE MADE REAL BY THE SYLLOGISTIC ANALOGY OF THE MEN POURING CONCRETE!!!

Again, where is the syllogism? He seems to like the word but has no clue what it means. A syllogism and an analogy are two very different things. Jesus actually uses both in the Scriptures.

Dan is actually not either using syllogistic logic or analogoustic logic. Rather, he is employing a type of fallacious device known as greedy reductionism. Since his feigned analogy falls flat, in the respect that everyone can see clearly that the one job-laying a concrete slab- is involving 5 persons working together (and zero persons working alone), he attempts to redefine each part of the job as a job in itself. In essence, he is trying to argue that 5 different people are acting separate and autonomous...and working together at the same time.

Anyone can see that what Dan is doing is attempting to redefine the situation into what it clearly isn't, rather than simple relay the truth of what is actually going on.

In doing so, Dan hopes to make the same false depiction of the unrelated issue- Salvation- by means of a false analogy. Anyone can see his argument breaks down on both sides.

The man finishing concrete is finishing concrete quite alone. If someone else puts their hand to his trowel, then he is not doing his task alone!

Again,we can see that this is a falsehood. Should the driver of the concrete not have arrived, there clearly would be no concrete to finish. The argument is pure foolishness. If you asked the neighbor across the street if the concrete finisher was working alone, he would obviously say no.

In all fairness, the Romanist is so brainwashed that he can't understand how something could work alone and be ALONG WITH SOMETHING ELSE.

In all fairness, the Calvinist is so muddled in his heretical mush that he cannot see the plain contradiction in his words. He is so wrapped up inside his own rhetoric that he sees what looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck and insists it's a kangaroo. It is quite simple. If one man is by himself, he is alone. If he is not, he is not alone. A 3rd grader can see this. He is so married to his deformed, satanic mush theology that he has to pretend to be an idiot to convince himself true what his very common sense denies.

That is why Reformed theology(authentic, Biblical Christianity) is so effective in standing against the onslaught of Romanism.

He keeps repeating this and yet he has never (and will never) produce a single line of scripture supporting his idiocy.

At the very least, the truth here presented in the 5 Solas, cause automatic red flags to go up in a Romanist's mind and he runs around like a chicken with his head cut off.

More hyperbole? more empty rhetoric? When is Dan going to actually make an argument? Oh, wait...he can't.....

What is happening in the very clear, unnassailable creed of the 5 Solas is that the pagan idolatry spoken of in the Bible more than any other topic is always exposed in those false systems which it is laid over against; such is the case with Roman Catholicism.

Unassailable, yet you still have not tried to defend it. Hmmmmm More unsubstantiated piffle, more hyperventilated blather, yet not even an attempt to defend his position on Biblical grounds. Kind of ironic for Mr. sola scriptura, yes? The fact is the "five solas" are so much theology garbage and you know it as well as I do, little man.

Of course, John's claim that all those doctrines of demons exposed by the Solas are actually real, and provable from Scripture, and the apostle's believed them...blah, blah, blah....is all hot air and couldn't stand for two seconds in the cleansing fire of God's holy Word.

and yet it is you who is too much of a coward to debate them. Interesting.

So for all this person's grandstanding and boasting in the fantasy of Romanistic falsehood, all we have is just another peeved antagonist, throwing stones at the impenetrable breastwork of God's strong tower of refuge.

Hrrumph Hrrumph Hrrrump. Don't confuse me with the facts! Calvin is my God! Calvin is my God!


Lol

Away with you, heretic. *shakes the dust from my feet as testimony against you*

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*Best of DTB #102* Refuting Dan Peterman, Calvinist.

Dam Peterman presented this article to me. His arguments are in Blue, while mine are in Red.

Concrete Reasoning

If something is existing by itself in order to do a task, and then another thing is doing a separate task alongside the first thing , is the first thing alone or together with the second thing??
Think about it for a minute.
I suppose after you finish shaking your head, you will say that of course whatever thing is first alone is obviously no longer alone when anything else joins it. Right? Confused?

So for example, let's say one guy shows up to lay a slab of concrete out on the ground. At present, he is alone. He begins to guide the shoot of the concrete truck in order to run out the concrete mud into the right spot. Then let's say another man shows, and he begins to rake the mud around with a mud rake into a more level form within set boundary boards. Now, the first man and second man are together on the job. We would not say they are alone right?

Let's say a third man shows up, and then a fourth man, and then a fifth man. The third man is there to start screeding the concrete or leveling it out with a long bar or "screed". The fourth man is there to use a hand float or "mag" to smooth out the edges. The fifth man is there to run a large bull float over the majority of the slab to get a smooth finish.

It is natural for us to look at this scenario and say, "Hey, those guys are pouring a slab together." In other words we would not look at the group of guys and say they were alone.

Here is where it gets interesting and we move to the heart of my point. In logical, reasonable actuality we can safely say that the first man is "pouring out the slab" alone. He is at the shoot behind the truck alone and sliding out the concrete onto the ground. We can say that the second man is raking the mud alone. It is right to say that the third man is screeding the concrete alone. We can easily say that the fourth man is floating the edges alone, and we know it is obvious that the fifth man is bull floating the main slab....alone. You see, the minute that an additional person actually puts their hand to the exact task that any one of these men are performing, then that specific task is being done not alone, but by more than one person. Even though all the men are operating in unison to perform the act of laying the slab, each has his own task and is doing it all by himself.
This is pure reason and causes us to think in ways that we do not always think.

On the contrary, sound reasoning is not being used here. Dan is attempting to establish a premise that runs exactly counter to the facts presented.

There are not 5 jobs being done here, there is one job. Each of the 5 workers are engaging in a part of that activity but each is cooperating with the other and each is dependent on the other.

The fifth man cannot run the bull float to get a smooth finish if the first man has not shot the concrete into the grid. The first man cannot continue shooting the mud into the grid unless the second is there raking it and the third screeding it and so on. In attempting to establish the premise of each person acting alone, he has, instead established the very premise of interdependence.

Here is why this exercise is so very important. When we look at God and the way He works in the lives of the elect, we see various elements operating entirely by themselves, and at the same time in perfect unison.
This is actually how life works, but for some reason when we look at God, we say,
"No that can't be right."

Once again, you have only succeeded in disproving the very precept you aim to prove. When a man is single, he is alone. When he marries, he has a partner. The two are individual but they are not alone. They cooperate and work together. In the example you cited above, it is very unlikely that one person would always do the same part of a job and only that part. The way "life works" clearly refutes the "on an island" mentality that your religion dictates.

In salvation as described by the Bible, God is on display, not man.

Again, you make a false claim, as though God's prescence and Man's are mutually exclusive. If we believe (and I assume you do) that God is Omnipresent, than man must be able exist in God's presence. If man could not exist in God's presence, then he should have nowhere to exist for God exists in all places. In the story of salvation, from the point of the fall, to the point of the ascension, we do, indeed, see God on display. However, we see man on display as well. From Eve, the woman who brought sin into the world, to Mary, the woman who brought salvation into the world and a whole host of others. In fact, it is precisely your vision of salvation- God acting alone, to the exclusion of humanity- that is wholly alien to scripture.

We know from the accuracy and innerancy of God's Holy Word that the Almighty is more than capable of getting His instructions into our hands.

A silly and circular argument. You deny the necessity of the church even though you cannot historically deny that the Catholic church is the only reason you have a Bible. Whether or not God was capable, should He have chosen, to deliver the written word by another means is both uncontested and irrelevant.

It was God who chose to build a church and deliver His word through that Church.

One of the most important truths we can ever come to grips with is that God does not need us. He is actually God.

Straw man. No one has argued that God needs us. Quite the contrary. We need God. Should God chose not to give us a path to salvation, we would be doomed with no recourse whatever.

Further, it defies human logic, in consideration of who God is, to understand why He should be predisposed to show us mercy after we have offended Him.

Nevertheless, this is how He is predisposed to us. Therefore, we must meet God where He is and not where we would have Him be (metaphorically of course).

Down through history, so many have tried to pervert the truth of God by adding to who He is, how He does things, and what it is that He does.

True. You non-Catholics need to stop doing that.

In fact, when Constantine merged Christianity with Roman statism and paganism, we ended up with a very grotesque beast that festooned the precious words of God with every kind of man-made trappings available.

Unsubstantiated, hyperbolic polemics.

False doctrines such as the Eucharist, Baptismal Regenertion, baptizing of and praying for the dead, Purgatory, Indulgences, Tradition and extra-Biblical revelation, and works-based faith became rampant.

Not one of those is a false doctrine and it is a demonstrable, historical fact that the early church believed every one of those doctrines. Further, in a Biblically based argument, on any one of those doctrines, you would lose. The Biblical basis for all of those doctrines are all plainly present in Scripture.


In the 1500's men began to raise up in faith and strength from God to declare these doctrines false and exhort the church and all those who would listen back to authentic, Biblical Christianity.

This was the time of the Reformation.

Actually, what happened in the 1500 was the great apostasy. Godless heretics who bore no resemblance to what a Christian is, either by doctrine or lifestyle, foisted upon us the age of ear-tickling, man made religion. It is no coincidence that the "protestant reformation" began on the high holy day of Satanism- October 31st.

If you call yourself a Christian, you can thank the Reformers that you do not kiss the ring of a priest on Sunday and say your "hail Marys". You do not attend a Catholic Mass, because brave men stood up against the spirit of totalitarian, self-righteous maligning of God's word that the Christ Himself had faced in the religious men of His day. Like the Ark from the flood, a bright hope of true believers emerged from the flood of apostasy that had threatened to destroy all of Christendom.

What you lack in substantive fact and credible history, you make up for in hyperbole and rhetoric. I will give you that. Yet, the facts that remain, unmolested are these;

1. None of the teachings of the "reformation" find their root in Scripture. In fact, they contradict the plain words of the Bible.


2. None of these teachings can be found to have existed prior to 1571.


3. None of the teachers of the protestants can establish any historical or authoritative link to the person of Jesus Christ.


4. The very Bible you twist to support your fallacious nonsense was given to you by the Catholic church and no matter how much you ruminate about the many other means God could have chosen to deliver the Scriptures to you, the method He chose was the Roman Catholic Church. That is a fact and it cannot be disputed.

Of the many precious confessions of sound, Biblical faith that emerged from the Great Reformation as lenses peering into the endless depths of Scripture, one amazing creed stands out. It is that of the Five Solas.

Once again, short on substance, long on grandstanding. The fact is that there isn't one jot or tittle of support for any of the 5 solas. In fact, each one is explicitly refuted by Scripture.

Sola is Latin for alone and is used in this creed to describe the secret workings of God. In Scripture, when we see the word "mystery" it is always describing that which is being revealed.

Sola does indeed mean "alone". The other two assertions you make are absurd and you will not attempt to support either one by any means, Biblical or otherwise. You know it, I know it. The preeminent example is that James 2:24 explicitly, and with no doubt, refutes Sola Fide. It doesn't even give you wiggle room.

We have everything that God wants us to have of Himself and these things are clearly defined in Scripture

Another contention that you cannot provide one line of scriptural support for.

It is quite OK to speak of such things, and to determine by God's Holy Word the right and wrong ways of perceiving them.

According to who? Where in Scripture is such authority given to you? Chapter and verse, please.
Paul conferred his office on to Timothy by the laying on of hands (2 Timothy 1:6). Thus it was the same with every Priest, Judge, Prophet and Apostle and every successor to the Apostles. Nowhere in Scripture is it suggested that Martin Luther, John Calvin or you have been given the authority to speak for God. Matthew 18 tells us that the Church, not you, has this authority. (Matthew 18:15-18).

A great mystery revealed is how God operates in the lives of those He elects unto salvation. This mystery is easily defined in the Five Solas. They are as follows:

If this is a great mystery revealed by God, why was it not revealed by Him when He walked the earth in flesh? Nowhere, in the entire history of Christianity, prior to the so-called reformation do we see the church embracing any of these silly doctrines. Further, you defend them with rhetoric and hyperbole because, you know- just as I do- that they are wholly alien to Scripture.

1 Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. (Ephesians 1:3-8)

You will notice that the word "alone" is absent from your citation. That grace is given for a reason- for the purpose of works.

Ephesians 2:8* For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God -- 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

So Grace must be cooperated with. Just as man can choose to cooperate with God's Grace, He can, likewise, choose to turn from it.

2 Peter 21 For it would have been better for them not to have
known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn
back from the holy commandment handed down * to them.
22 * What is expressed in the true proverb has happened
to them, "The dog returns to its own vomit," and "A bathed sow
returns to wallowing in the mire."

This destroys Calvinistic heresy regarding total depravity and irresistible Grace and establishes both the free will to cooperate with God's Grace and to reject it.

Sola fide ("by faith alone")
Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall be blessed in you." So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them." Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." (Galatians 3:6-11)

James 2

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

18 But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21* Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, 23* and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

The Bible explicitly says that a man is not justified by faith alone. Why do you reject the plain and unambiguous words of Scripture?

3 Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")
There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time...For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. (1TI 2:5-6; COL 1:13-18)

There is a world of difference between Christ first and Christ alone. The notion of salvation being of Christ alone negates the meaning of the Covenant. A Covenant is an agreement between persons. The term Covenant appears more than 160 times in the Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments. The term Christ alone appears zero. It, like pretty much everything else Dan believes regarding Salvation, is wholly alien to the Scriptures.

That Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and Man is not in dispute. After all, He being the only person to be both human and divine, He is the only person qualified. Yet, that doesn't mean we do not have obligations under that mediation and it does not mean that mediation nullifies Covenant. On the contrary, the very fact that Jesus choses to mediate between God and man, proves that Salvation is something that must be worked out and that we must contribute something of our own, in order to fulfill our part of the covenant.

Phillipians 2: 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13* for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Colossians 1: 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25* of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26* the mystery hidden for ages and generations * but now made manifest to his saints.
Notice that Paul does not speak of Salvation in the sense of a personal relationship with Christ, as non-Catholics allege, but as a communal relationship, mitigated through Divine office. This destroys the sola nonsense of the reformers.
4 Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (Psalm 119:18; Psalm 138:2; II Tim. 3:14-17)

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.
The usefulness of Scripture for any of the above noted purposes is not in dispute. What is in dispute here is Dan's notion that the books of the Bible are formally sufficient for salvation. This doctrine is utter nonsense and is absent from the text of scripture itself. The very Scriptures he purports to support, not only obliterate this notion but actually establish the Church as the final authority. (1 Tim 3:15, Luke 10:16, Matthew 16:18-20, 18:15-18) Of all the five Solas, this one is by far the easiest to refute. It is historically untenable in the sense that there was no Bible for the first almost 400 years of the Church and it is practically untenable since you must rely on the Church to even have a Biblical table of contents. Sola Scriptura is not merely satanic in it's origin (The Devil seeking to divide), it is silly and unworkable and makes a book into a god instead of a very useful, but very inanimate resource.

John 21:25* But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
5 Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God; Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (1CO 10:31; 1PE 4:11; REV 1:6; 2PE 3:1; EPH 3:21; REV 7:12; ROM 11:36)

God's Glory is made manifest in His creation. Since God has always spoken to us, in one way or another, it is precisely His creation that reflects His Glory. In Luke Chapter 1, the most magnificent of His solely created beings- Mary- is inspired by the Holy Spirit, to say of Herself My soul doth magnify the Lord. This flies in the face of the Calvinist nonsense of total depravity.
If man were totally depraved, he would lack the ability to choose good and reject evil. Thus, the entire notion of evangelization that Dan engages in would be utter nonsense. The source of all glory is, indeed God and the fulfillment of all glory returns to God. Nevertheless, Salvation is about reconciling accounts between God's Mercy and God's Justice. Calvinism asserts that God's choice to save this person or damn that person is solely an act of God's choice, for no discernible purpose. Under this notion of predestination, God creates some people for the eternal joys of heaven and others for the horrible punishments of hell, solely for His good humor. This doctrine of limited atonement makes a loving and just God into a monster. Therefore, I can say, most assuredly, that Calvinism is an abhorrent cult and bears no resemblance to legitimate Christianity. The Bible is clear that the doers of the law will be Justified (Romans 2:1-13)

Dan's article stands refuted. We will discuss this Friday on the Deeper Truth show.

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The Catholic Defender: Arizona, here we come!

This coming 8-9 October, deepertruth's Catholic Defender (Don Hartley) and Dr. Gregory Thompson will be conducting a "SHAKE THE NATION" Mission in Glendale Arizonia just outside of Phoenix.

Saturday will primarily be apologetics as deepertruth will explain the teachings of the Church regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist among many other things.

Sunday's focus will be on the Culture of Life and today's challenges to the family.

This promises to be a great opportunity for deepertruth but more importantly, we pray that people will benefit from these discussions. We have a guest speaker from Ohio, "Coach Dave Daubenmire" will also be part of the team.

The event is going to be at St. James Catholic Church beginning with Mass and Confessions at 16:30 and will cover until 8:30 or later.

Sunday begins with Mass and will cover until 4:00. Another Church is interested in deepertruth giving a mini series Sunday night.

Friday night's radio show will focus on these events As Dr. Gregory Thompson and myself will join John from Arizona. The following is from one of the organizers of the Jefferson City March for life at the Missouri State Capital Building!

Nan, can you make this an event in facebook for me? These are awesome speakers and I hope that you might be able to attend some or all of them!

Family and friends, Mike and I work with Dr Gregory Thompson, have heard the Coach and Don. They are awesome speakers and I know that you will be energized and thrilled to be a part of this.

THEY WILL INSPIRE YOU AS YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN INSPIRED!


PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL YOU THINK MAY BE INTERESTED.


You are in our prayers,'
Love, Kathy

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*Best of DTB #101* The history of the Bible and current Bible studies

One of the arguments most often used against Catholicism is that it is supposedly not a "Bible" church. The fact is that exactly the opposite is the case. The reason our protestant/ non-Catholic brothers and sisters don't see us splashing around in the Bible pool is not because we are not in the water, and they are. It is because they are still splashing around at the surface instead of going into the deep water with us, where true Biblical understanding is found.

In fact, diving into that deeper water is the entire mission behind Deeper Truth. We don't want you to not know your Bible. On the contrary,we want you to know it much better. It is our contention that the more you truly know and love the scriptures, the more likely it is that you will be Catholic.

This article is a companion guideline to this blogtalkradio show. We sure hope you find this informative and edifying.

So, getting started, we intend to focus on 10 principles of effective Bible study that we hope will enhance your growth in knowing the scriptures.

1) The Bible is not a book. This must be clearly understood. The Bible is a library or collection of books. Many people make the mistake of seeing the Bible as a single work, compiled by a single author. It is not. Though all of the Bible's 73 books (66 if you are a protestant) share the same Divine inspiration and doctrinal infallibility, they were written by human authors and display a wide range of literary forms, writing styles, linguistic differences and cultural idiosyncrasies.

As a Library of books, the books of the Bible were cataloged and placed in a specific order, for the specific purposes of the types of books.

Briefly, the entire Bible takes it's division in the human person of Jesus Christ. Those 46 (or 39 if you are protestant) books that were recorded before the coming of Jesus are known as the Old Testament. Those 27 books that record the events of, and immediately after, Jesus earthly life are known as the New Testament.

The Old Testament is further divided into the Pentateuch (the first 5 books) which center around the mosaic law. Following that are the historical books, then the wisdom/poetical books and, finally, the Prophets. The Prophets are further divided into major prophets and minor prophets.

The New Testament starts with the 4 Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, followed by the Acts of the Apostles, then 14 letters from the Apostle Paul, followed by a handful of letters from John, Peter, James and Jude. Finally, the Bible ends with the Book of Revelation.

2) The Bible is only as good as the translation you are reading. There are two principle types of Bible translations- Literal translations and Dynamic translations. Of themselves, there is not a good or bad choice. Each type reflects a specific purpose. It is a good idea to have at least one quality translation of each type.

Let me explain.

The English Bible you hold in your hand went through a myriad of language translations to get to you. Your Old Testament books, such as Genesis, were originally written in Hebrew. Then they were translated into Greek in a version called the Septuagint. This was the version must used by Jesus and the Disciples. The New Testament books were almost certainly first written in Aramaic. At the very least, we see that the accounts were first handed down in Aramaic before being penned into Greek (see Matthew 27:46, John 1:42).

In the late 4th century, these books were first compiled into a single volume or Bible in Latin. This first Bible was known as the Vulgate.

The first English Bible compiled was the Douai Rheems in 1609 and all other English versions (including the King James) owe a debt to the Douai.

So, if you are reading a passage from Matthew, for example, you are reading a passage that was originally Aramaic, translated to Koine Greek, later to Latin and ultimately, the English. These translations took place over centuries and involved the translation of linguistic and cultural influences as much as the events themselves.

The terminology and phrases of one time and place do not automatically translate to another. Therefore, there are two ways to tackle this, and that is what comes down to dynamic and literal translations.

Let's look at one example from our current lexicon and that of the British. It just so happens that in American English, the meanings of the words honor and worship are reversed with respect to our British counterparts. Where we would call a judge "Your honor", a British citizen would call Him "Your worship". Does this mean that British people consider their judges to gods? No. It means that they define the words differently.

One more example. If today, you went to a play and described it as "awful", the actors would be insulted. However, if you did so in Elizabethan English time, the actors would have been humbled at such a positive review.

Taking these two examples, you would tend to translate the events dynamically. That is, you would seek to overcome the language barrier and translate the intention of the speaker.

Therefore, the beginning Bible student will do better with a good dynamic translation because he/she may not yet understand the historical and linguistic influences at play and simply wants to know what reality the Biblical writer was trying to convey.

The downside is that the Dynamic translation- in essence- interprets the passage for you and this can be very dangerous if the translator has a particular bias. Here is an example from the New International version.

Luke 11
²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

²⁸ He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

The passage itself, is never addressed towards the person of Mary, but merely to her maternity.

²⁷And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.

²⁸But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.

(Douai)

This changes the meaning of the passage from a question of why Mary was blessed to whether She was. (She was, of course Luke 1:28, 42, 45, 48)

So a dynamic translation is only helpful if it is accurate.

Literal translations seek to do just what the name implies- translate the passage in as literal a form as possible. However, you can run into the same problem. The King James Version is a literal translation that takes quite a few liberties with it's translations.

For example, translating the Greek Kecharitomene (which is a perfect, past participle meaning "endured with perfected grace") as "highly favored" is patently absurd.

However, even with a good literal translation, you can have problems if you take the English rendering of a passage to literally.

Luke 14
25 Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, 26* "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

3) There is no scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation. (2 Peter 1:20). The scriptures are clear that they are no open to individual interpretation. There is only 1 truth. In interpretation a passage, it is always a good idea to go back and examine how the early church interpreted that passage and why. All manner of aberrant doctrines have been invented due to individual interpretation. Among them- the "rapture", being "born again" (in the pentacostal sense) and salvation by faith alone.

4) Context is key. There is little that is more frustrating for a Catholic than an anti-Catholic flinging out of context Bible verses at them. Most of the time, the entire meaning of the passage is changed by the few verses left out that immediately preceded or followed the passage given. Take the time to read at least the entire chapter in which the verse is contained. For example, Ephesians 2:8-9 is often given to suggest that salvation is freely given and no good works are required from the believer. However, if you continue to v 10, you see that it is Grace that is the free gift and that it is given, through faith for the specific purpose of accomplishing the very, prepared works that we are required to do to obtain salvation. Another example is the context of Matthew 23:9 (which is addressing comparing God to men). "Call no man father" is not a ban on the use of the term "father" for earthly religious figures our Jesus would be violating that ban Himself in John 8:56.

5) Authority. The scriptures, themselves point to earthly ecclesiastical authority. There is no escaping it. You have only to read to see this. In the Book of Acts this is especially clear. The word "Church" appears more than 100 times in the New testament

6) Community. When you read the scriptures, try to see if the common "alone" thread of protestantism jibes with the Scriptures. Protestants contend that salvation is a matter of grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, by the authority of scripture alone, for His Glory alone.

I challenge you to challenge yourself to see if this form of spiritual isolationism squares with scripture. What is the answer to the question Cain asks in Genesis 4:9.

It is my contention that, if you search honestly, you will find Martin Luther's five solas (alones) to be wholly alien to scripture.

7) Follow the plan in order. If you believe that the Bible is the blueprint for salvation then follow that premise logically. When I hear people recommend a path of Bible study, I often hear "start with the Gospel of John" or "start with the Psalms". For me, the best approach is to start at the beginning and that means Genesis chapter 1, verse 1. Don't skip ahead. Go in order, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book.

Along your journey, you will be surprised how much your view changes. There will be times that you will be immersed in deep allegorical language and fables and parables. Other times you will find yourself shocked by violent imagery. Other times you will have to push yourself through paragraph after paragraph of laws and of historical accounts and lists of names. other times you will be amazed by beautiful wisdom and poetry and other times find yourself even frightened by God's anger.

Keep moving.

From Genesis to Malachi, the Old Testament lays the very foundation by which you can understand the New Testament. In your study take notes at things that jump out at you. Here is some food for thought. Count how many times you see the term "Covenant". Try to find what this means.

8) Take a break after you finish the Old Testament and study what the catholic church teaches about Old Testament typology.

You may find yourself rereading some sections or passages. Then begin reading the New Testament with this in mine. Leave the prophecy to the prophets and concentrate on what the Scriptures mean by "Covenant"

There are two questions to ask yourself. a) What is God's response to the problem of sin? B) What is supposed to be my response?

9) Truly examine what the New Testament says about who will be saved and how. Don't just skim over it. Read it. The Gospel of Matthew is a treasure trove of information on how we are saved. Ask yourself if this squares honestly with the protestant notion of salvation by "faith alone". James 2:24 speaks directly to this.

10) After you finish reading the Bible, get a hold of a Catechism of the Catholic Church. Go through it doctrine by doctrine and see how the catholic church's doctrines actually grow from Scripture.

Follow these principles and I think you are on a great journey!

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*BEST OF DTB #100* The Catholic Defender: The New Changes in the Mass

As you compare the new Mass Prayers and Responses you will note the wording changed in the Roman Missal.

I have the changes in blue so it is easy to see the changes from the older version.

One note I want to show is that the basic order and construction of the Mass is not altered or changed.

The Lord's Mass continues to be his order of worship.


Through it we are given the New Covenant totally and undefiled.

In the 1960's I remember some people had problems with changing the Latin Language to the vernacular and so some departed from the Faith.

Please consider this before over reacting.

Allow the Holy Spirit to work through his Church as she journeys into the future.

This is Jesus Church and he will not allow it to go where he is not directing it.

As always the Mass will begin with the procession of the celebrant reminding us that the Church is on journey through time and space.

What a great reminder of this as we prepare for what we are about to participate in. The Liturgy is renewing our commitment to follow and serve the Lord.

Here we are able to keep the Commandments honoring God because he is God. We honor the day of the Lord keeping it holy. We are about to participate with the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist.

The following is taken from our Sunday Bulletin and Our Sunday Visitor:

Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, these will be the new changes for the faithful:

Greeting
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

The New Version
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.

Penitential Act, Form A
I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

The New prayer:
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Penitential Act, Form B
Priest: Lord, have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: Christ, have mercy.
People: Christ, have mercy.

Priest: Lord, have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy.

The New prayer:
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
People: For we have sinned against you.
Priest: Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
People: And grant us your salvation.


The Gloria:
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The New prayer
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

At the Gospel
Deacon or priest: A reading from the holy Gospel according to N.
People: Glory to you, Lord.
The New Response:
People: Glory to you, O Lord.

Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We achnowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The New Version
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The New Version
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Susipiat Dominus
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church.

The New Version
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his holy Church.

Preface Dialogue
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you:
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

The New Version
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right and just.
Sanctus
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power, God of might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The New Version
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power, God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The mystery of faith.
A. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
B. Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.
C. When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.
D. Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world.

The New version
A. We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
B. When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.
C. Save us, Savior of the world, for by your cross and Resurrection you have set us free.

The Sign of Peace
Priest: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
People: And also with you.

The New Version
Priest: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
People: And with your spirit.

Ecce Agnus Dei
Priest: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.
People: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

The New Version
Priest: Behold the Lamb of, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.
People: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.


Concluding Rites
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

The New Version
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.

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*BEST OF DTB #99* The Catholic Defender: The Good Soil

"When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable. A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up" (Luke 8:4-5).

This is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as the sower of the seed. It is the Lord who is planting the seed so that all mankind might be saved.

Unfortunately for this group, the seed of faith does not grow.

They are carried away by every kind of strange teaching and are taken away to another master.

These are people who had heard the word of God but because of the many lures of the world, they easily fall into sin. "Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture" (Luke 8:6).

This group heard the word of God but does not have a foundation. They simply wither and die because their faith was not planted on fertile ground.

Psalms 1:1-3 says, "Happy those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, Nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers. Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy; God's law they study day and night. They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers".

This is key and why people wither because of lack of moisture. Hosea 4:6 tells us that God warns that his people perish because of the lack of knowledge. They do not understand their faith. This is the mission of deepertruth, to know our faith and to spread our faith. "Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew and choked it" (Luke 8:7).

Some who embraced the Lord and his Church fall away because of persecution, some become bitter and cannot forgive others because of terrible atrocities.

This group allows their faith to be chocked off through bitterness. Finally, Jesus gives us this group; "And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold" (Luke 8:8).

This is the faithful Catholic who strives to live a holy life. To study and know the word of God. Jesus explains the meaning of the parable.

"The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance." (Luke 8:11-15).

Jesus stresses this idea of perseverance saying, "But the one who perseveres to the very end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13).

This totally destroys the false doctrine of "Once Saved, Always Saved" which is a man made doctrine developed by men who fell away from the Catholic Faith.

There are many denominations that have arisen as a result of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

By 1900, there were nearly 1900 Protestant denominations, today there are over 42,000 denominations world wide.

There are about 170 new ones founded every year. Many of them range far and wide from each other. Many of them are more of a Non-denomination flavor that might be a small group comprised of family members.

Some of them are large groups that have large auditoriums with a large stage with lights and band. A lot of these groups do boast of having a large number of fallen away Catholics.

Former Catholics as a group are the second largest group in the United States. Anti-Catholics parade around these former Catholics like a trophy.

Little do they know that this offends our Lord very much.

Jesus wants to receive all these people to himself,but the turn away from him by leaving the Catholic Church.

St. James states, "My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20).

Jesus would leave the 99 to go find the one who has gone astray. We are called to out and gather them and bring them home to the table of plenty.

All Catholics should be homeward bound!

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The Catholic Defender: Kelly

This article is not like any you have seen from the Catholic Defender. This article is about Kelly, my wife's cat.

If you had the chance to meet Kelly, it could be disputed that we belonged to Kelly.

He was a rather large cat with long fur, his head having the shape similar with a lion, the fur surrounding his neck gave that appearance.

He was primarily gray with some black details in his mane and legs. When he first learned he could go outside, he preferred to be outside.

He would hear that call of the wild and there he went. No matter where we had been, if we stayed with friends, or if we had people over, Kelly was the star attraction. You could wake up one morning to find him asleep in the bathroom sink like he owned the place.

When I was stationed in New Orleans we lived on the Naval Base. I worked with a multi-force where the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Coast Guard worked together. Late at night, Kelly would go down the street where our Senior Chief (Navy First Sergeant) lived to leave gifts for them in the night in the back yard.

The Senior Chief would try everything to keep Kelly out of their back yard. They would leave Orange peels thinking that would keep Kelly away.

But Kelly was undeterred by the Senior Chiefs attempts. Kelly was the great equalizer as the Senior Chief was not the best "First Sergeant" and we found the whole thing amusing.

One night on a hot August evening, the news of Hurricane Katrina was getting close to New Orleans and the Naval Base we were living on were ordering everyone to leave the area.

That night I told family members to make sure Kelly did not get out because we were having to evacuate and we wanted to make sure Kelly was with us.

Unfortunately, Kelly was able to get outside, and as a result, when our curfew came up that we had to leave, we could not find Kelly.

We drove off the Naval Base with tears knowing that Kelly was being left behind.

We traveled as far a way as Houston before we could find a place to stay. Every hotel had been filled up all along the way leading out of the New Orleans area.

It was not long before we knew Kelly was gone. The Hurricane hit the area with full force.

It would be 4 months before we were allowed to come home. We had left Houston when Hurricane Rita advanced threatening Texas so my Command told us to head for higher ground and take care of the family.

That's when we went to Missouri where I had my Mother, Brother and other family members.

From time to time we would remember Kelly, wishing that we had been able to save him, but he was left behind to weather the storm.

It was a humid, hot November day when routes were made passable to come back to our homes near New Orleans.

The damage was devastating. The bridges knocked out, the debre everywhere, the Dome where the Saints play, all of it was totally knocked out.

We finally arrived at our location finding neighbors had already been back a couple of days.

There were no air conditioning so it was hot and humid. We had to get rid of all the damaged items, and save what we could.

My Wife went through the house calling for Kelly, going out the back door hoping he might be back there.

Kelly was no where to be found.

As we were talking to a neighbor, a delightful sight came from around the quarters, it was Kelly, much skinnier, but he was in good shape and was so thankful to have his family back after four months.

We learned from the neighbors that he lived on mice, out flanked and our foxed alligators, snakes, animal control, and starvation.

He survived the terrible hurricanes. Things resumed back to normal as I received orders to Fort Hood Texas and moving there, Kelly found him a new home.

He was especially happy with another female cat living next door.

As time would have it, we would move from this place to another house down the road, about 3/4 of a mile on the same street.

Kelly would not stay at the new home, he would always go back to the old house.

Some neighbors kind of took him in where he felt happy because of the cat next door.

I was in Iraq during the second deployment with the 1st CAV Division when I looked at the local news paper finding a picture of Kelly asking if anyone had seen him. He had become a community cat by this time as he would never stay at home.

He had made his home from where the cat next door lived. It has been several months since anyone had seen Kelly, the neighbors who lived next door still sets out food for him, but even they have not seen him for a long time.

Late at night sometimes when the cool wind blows you can hear Kelly ring out a meow as if to say he is happy.

Every now and again, I will drive past our old place just to see if I can catch a glimpse of Kelly where I prefer to think that he out foxes the hawks flying above or other animals that might come out at night.

Kelly truly is a cat with 9 lives. This is for anyone who grew up loving their pets:

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