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If the expression “musical chairs’ could be loosely applied to any of the sacraments, it would have to be confirmation. Not that the Church has ever shoehorned this sacrament’s meaning to fit with all other six sacraments, but the Church has no doubt wrestled a bit with when exactly confirmation should occur, and what is…
Beginning with the Bible, baptism is a concept with some roots in Scripture, yet with no exact timeline regarding its institution. However, when weaving together Christ’s own baptism (Matthew 3:13-17) with his teachings about salvation by water and Spirit (John 3:5), and also with his command to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…”(Matthew 28:19-20),…
Do any of you remember the old, child-like game of describing a typical church? You start with interlocked hands and fingers to represent the church; then, you put your two index fingers together to form a steeple Finally, you turn your hands face up while wiggling your fingers around. During the whole routine, you are…
Introduction In considering the many major events throughout the Catholic Church’s history, this paper will explore three schisms – Donatism versus Catholicism in the Early Church, Eastern versus Western Churches in the Medieval era, the Council of Trent versus the Reformation – while discussing what the Church did well with them, and what it could…
In these modern times, the term “rabbit hole” is used to describe a conversation that can quite easily spill into many different directions. This is usually because all parties in the conversation may have widely opposing views, and that trying to find areas of agreement is often futile at best. The first few centuries of…
When looking at the numerous disputes that the early Catholic church had with splinters movements and sometimes within its own hierarchy, it is almost uncanny that many disputes today among Christians and skeptics mirror situations now hundreds of centuries old. Some examples: Present day skeptic: The God of the Old Testament is a tyrant –…
One time, while I was at Mass, the presiding priest gave an outstanding homily that indirectly, yet coincidentally, fit with the Trinitarian controversy in the fourth century. That is, the homily’s main message (largely based on the Mass readings) was we should recognize and fully embrace that we are *children* of God: we are His…
One thing is for certain about the history of Christianity: There has been no shortage of movements – all the way up to today – that have staked their claim in having the entire truth of Christian belief and practice. The first five centuries alone were a hot mess of various Christian movements locking horns…
My mind almost immediately transforms into an ongoing spider web of thoughts every time I plunge deep into early Christianity and Church history. My latest web of connecting dots between various movements, church influencers, and early Christian practices now includes martyrdom, asceticism, and what constitutes a devoted Christian life. I will start with a Bishop…
Awhile back, a person interested in Catholicism/Christianity asked me to explain the Trinity. This subject can be like getting hit with a piercing brain freeze after taking a swig or bite of something ice cold. And not that I claim to be a master at explaining such an abstract topic; rather studying Tertullian, Thomas Aquinas,…
