Ask a Catholic Theologian

Hello, brothers and sisters! I'm very excited to be part of such a passionate group of people.

I have noticed in the past that a lot of other Christians are confused or unsure of what my church is all about. I was in the same boat for most of my life, as I was raised Lutheran before I found my way to Catholicism. It took a lot of careful study to unravel the confusion and misinformation I had grown up with, so I just want to be available to foster honest dialogue.

Ask me anything you want about Catholicism, and I will answer respectfully and honestly. And if you want to answer the same question about your denomination, I would love to hear what you have to say on the subject as well.

Some Notes

1. This is not a discussion meant to shake anyone's faith or question anyone's theological foundations. It is just meant to allow us to understand each other better.

2. Abusive language is not dialogue, as per the Kommunity Guidelines. Be nice, but ask any questions you have.

3. Other Catholics are welcome to answer the questions posted here as well, but please make sure you know the answer. I will be using Sacred Scripture and the Catechism to explain Catholic Theology, not my personal opinions on the subject. The Catholic Church is a big place with a diversity of personal takes, but I want to focus on the core of our theology as that is my field of study.

4. I'll pray for everyone who posts here. Please return the favor and pray for me. I know of no soul who is not aided by prayer.

Let's get to it!

Yours in Christ,

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by EG Norton (Siris) on February 27, 2015 at 9:35pm

Fantastic! I spent my day with a ton of Catholic teenagers as their substitute teacher, so that was fun. But I'm looking forward to continuing our dialogue on any topic you'd like to discuss.

Permalink Reply by Lee Marie Griswold (Blindevlerk) on February 27, 2015 at 8:55pm

Greetings spiritual comrade in Christ and fellow mythical beast:

I hail from the Eastern Orthodox Church and am glad to see this kindly dialogue within Christendom. Cheers and many blessings!

Permalink Reply by EG Norton (Siris) on February 27, 2015 at 9:33pm

Woo! The East is in the house! Good to hear from you. Blessings and peace to you as well!

Permalink Reply by Hannah Joy on March 1, 2015 at 6:04pm

Next topic: the way of salvation. Why does man need saving? Saving from what? What is the way to be made right with God? What role, if any, do the following play: faith, sacraments, the Church, good deeds? How does a person know if they are saved? Is assurance of salvation a biblical concept? What happens to those who reject the way of salvation? That's a lot of questions! ;) Feel free to answer whichever ones you want to at your leisure. I'm interested in knowing the Catholic Church's official position on this topic...

Permalink Reply by EG Norton (Siris) on March 6, 2015 at 3:30pm

Hey, Hannah!

Just letting you know that I am still working on a response. Things got a little crazy this week. :)

Permalink Reply by Hannah Joy on March 6, 2015 at 3:33pm

You're sweet to let me know. I know I asked some big questions. And that you have a lot of other responsibilities. No worries! :) I'll look forward to your answer whenever you're able to write/post it.

Permalink Reply by EG Norton (Siris) on March 18, 2015 at 11:11am

Ok. I haven't had time to tackle all the facets of this topic, but here's what I was able to squeeze in while studying for my midterms. All the hyperlinks are to my old blog, where I covered those areas in greater detail.

Why does Man need saving? From what?

Man requires salvation because of the stain of Original Sin. When our ancestors Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they left a permanent stain on all their progeny. We are all born under this curse, and are thus unable to reach for heaven ourselves.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the First Sin in this way:

Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. […] Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They become afraid of the God of whom they have conceived a distorted image. (397, 399)

Sin and Death are the obvious results of the Most Expensive Fruit Salad, but the insidious force of concupiscence comes along with these results. Concupiscence is the desire within us that draws us towards evil no matter how much we wish to fight it. The enemy is already within the gates, and it will truly take a miracle to save the city now. If it is taken completely, nothing will remain but darkness.

What is the way to be made right with God? What roles are played by sacraments, faith, good deeds?

Due to the corruption of the human soul, man cannot find his way to God on his own. I describe this to my students as a brick wall separating us from heaven, God, order, life, and all good things. Jesus’ sacrifice, torture, death, and resurrection forms a bridge over this wall that allows us to be united once more with God.

However, because God loves us so much, He wants us to choose to love Him. Were we forced to love Him, it would not be love, but slavery. Free Will means that we must decide to cross the bridge or stay in the fires of torment we have found ourselves in. This decision must be made every minute of every day. All thoughts, words, actions, and inactions bring us either closer or farther from God.

This is where the Catholic belief in works comes in. We do not believe that our good deeds save us. We believe that they illustrate the interior acceptance of our salvation through faith. They are a symptom of the vaccine, not the vaccine itself. Thus, we praise charitable acts as an exterior sign of a life of faith.

As for sacraments, we believe that those are gifts from God that help us understand supernatural truths better. They allow us to be united with Him in a singular way that helps us continue to fight the good fight. Catholics have seven sacraments, and each has a sacred truth behind it.

Baptism: That we are marked as adopted children of God

Eucharist: That we take part in the death of Jesus so we may also take part in His Resurrection. (I assume

we will talk about transubstantiation in a later installment)

Confirmation: That our choice to be united with God allows the Holy Spirit to work in and through us

Reconciliation: That God is both all-just and all-merciful, and forgives those who ask for it

Anointing of the Sick: That healing is for all four parts of the human person (mind, soul, body, heart), and that God cares for all

Marriage: That we are united in love in a reflection of the Trinity (Man, Woman, God)

Holy Orders: That we share in the sacrifice and personhood of Christ, our brother

The easiest way to look at the relationship between Faith, Works, and Sacraments is this: Faith is key. Sacraments aid us in deepening our faith by helping us grasp at the unseen. Works come about because of a strong Faith.

How does man know he is saved?

Faith. Obedience. Prayer. Living a life of heroic virtue.

If you walk the walk, talk the talk, and trust above all in the mercy of God, you can be reasonably sure that you will be saved through the Grace of God.

In my very first theological blog post ever, I called Grace the greatest gift of God to us, and Free Will our greatest superpower. This is because we believe angels have Free Will, but God did not give them any do-overs. We can come back to him at any time. Angels only get the one shot, and if they fall, they are lost forever.

Permalink Reply by Hannah Joy on March 30, 2015 at 4:13pm

Thanks for your great response! I definitely agree with a large portion of what you wrote, though i suspect our views differ in some ways as well. :) Here are some of my thoughts...If I recall, this was actually a significant issue during the Protestant Reformation. I believe the Catholic Council of Trent was the official response, particularly to the Protestant idea of justification by faith alone. Am I correct in thinking that more so in Catholic teaching than in Protestant teaching there are the following ideas:
- justification must be "maintained" or is a process
- the church is in some sense a guardian of salvation (I.e. salvation is found in the context of the Catholic church)
- assurance of salvation is a little presumptuous (Even Mother Teresa said she was not sure if she was saved.)
Theologically conservative Protestants, on the other hand, really emphasize salvation/justification by faith alone, that salvation is given solely by God (apart from any church or sacrament), and that a person can truly have assurance of salvation.

Quotes from Catholic writings:
"If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9).
"If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema." (Canon 14).
"Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification." CCC 2010
"Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as 'the second plank (of salvation) after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace," (CCC, par. 1446).

I would suggest that the Protestant view more closely resembles the Bible's teaching of salvation. The following is a great summary with biblical references by Matt Slick.
"Justification is a divine act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his sins. It is a legal action in that God declares the sinner righteous--as though he has satisfied the Law of God. This justification is based entirely on the sacrifice of Christ by His shed blood: " . . . having now been justified by His blood . . . " (Rom. 5:9). Justification is a gift of grace (Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:7) that comes through faith (Rom. 3:28; 5:1). Christians receive Jesus (John 1:12) and put their faith-filled trust in what Jesus did on the cross (Isaiah 53:12; 1 Pet. 2:24) and in so doing are justified by God. The Bible states that justification is not by works (Rom. 3:20, 28; 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9) because our righteous deeds are filthy rags before God (Isaiah64:6). Therefore, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone." -Matt Slick (quote from https://carm.org/roman-catholic-view-justification. I also used this webpage to find the above Catholic quotes.)
I'm interested in any thoughts or clarifications you have in response to what I've written or just related to this topic in general. :)

Permalink Reply by Hannah Joy on March 1, 2015 at 6:05pm

I'm curious what you mean when you say you are a theologian..? :)

Permalink Reply by EG Norton (Siris) on March 1, 2015 at 9:20pm

Dear Hannah,

I'll get to your questions tomorrow when I have more time to answer them fully, but this is an easy one. :)

I am a graduate student in Theology at a Catholic university, and will be completing my Master's by next May. So I'm a theologian in the same way that a blue belt is a martial artist. I don't have my black belt yet, but as a student of the art I can use the title.

I plan on eventually getting my doctorate in Religion and Culture and teaching at the college level, but for now I'm studying and getting as many hours as I can in Youth Ministry, 4th-5th grade Religious Ed, and substitute teaching in the local Catholic high school. So you could say that Theology is basically my life right now. But it's a lot of fun and I wouldn't trade it for the world.