tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45889057055066058752024-03-15T09:07:17.480-07:00NICK'S CATHOLIC BLOGNickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.comBlogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-6522331953003286602024-01-13T23:49:00.000-08:002024-01-13T23:49:50.312-08:00Does religion get passed down from the mother or the father?I came across the official teaching of Orthodox Judaism (the most strict/traditional form) that Judaism teaches that a person's "Jewishness" depends strictly on whether his mother was Jewish. This is called "matrilineal descent", which is opposed to "patrilineal descent" where the child's religion is determined by the father's religion. The only exception to this is if someone formally converts Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-54971228771719723532023-09-12T17:09:00.007-07:002023-09-12T17:10:26.772-07:00Was Jesus "cursed" to Hell (Gal 3:13 - Part 2) - More problems with Penal SubstitutionYears ago I had written about Galatians 3:13 and whether it supported the Protestant doctrine of Penal Substitution (see HERE), which I've written many posts on this blog about. The basic claim of Protestant advocates is that when St Paul says Jesus "became a curse," they say this 'clearly' teaches that Jesus suffered the eternal spiritual torments of hellfire that we deserved. One of the most Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-89394617545005907342023-08-15T12:35:00.003-07:002023-08-15T12:39:56.871-07:00Why Catholics MUST believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture For those who don't know, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is a Catholic dogma that Protestants took from us and turned it into a heresy. The Protestant doctrine of PTR teaches that Christians (specifically White Evangelical Americans) will be taken away to safety in Heaven before the world gets too difficult to endure, because they think true Christians shouldn't have to suffer in this life. But the Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-17193333229447478162023-06-24T07:24:00.002-07:002023-06-25T21:22:01.895-07:00One mediator between God and men - Does 1st Timothy 2:5 teach Sola Mediatora?The main goal of this blog is to help improve our understanding of what the Bible is teaching, and not merely to 'refute' opposing claims. For example, one major theme of this blog is to address the Protestant doctrine of "justification by faith alone" by delving into what Paul is actually saying in the exact same texts Protestants bring up, rather than running elsewhere to other verses (e.g. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-4198663960866287792023-05-26T21:41:00.000-07:002023-05-26T21:41:00.834-07:00Does Rom 5:19 prove the Protestant doctrine of Imputation?Saint Paul says: "By one man's disobedience many were made/appointed sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made/appointed righteous." (Rom 5:19). Some Protestants claim this is an important proof text for their doctrine of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness, because here Paul speaks of believers being "appointed righteous," which they say is different fromactually being made Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-15834762010318388072023-04-05T15:25:00.004-07:002023-04-05T15:25:49.094-07:00Update: Google-Blogger "hiding" posts I have been very busy with life the past month or so, meaning I wasn't able to post anything new. As I was looking up my powerful 2 Corinthians 5:21 article to share with someone, I noticed it was missing. It turns out the Google/Blogger automatic scanners had flagged some of my posts as violating community guidelines, and reverted them back to Drafts. This is obviously a mistake and so I Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-37400919420035328902023-02-25T07:47:00.003-08:002023-02-25T07:47:00.165-08:00How Seventh Day Adventists changed the Sabbath (and blamed Catholics) - kind of a big deal Pt.3From my recent posts (here) and (here) discussing the clear distinction between what takes place at the synagogue versus what takes place at the Temple, it has led me to consider the Seventh Day Adventist's claims about the Sabbath. One of the SDA's central accusations is that the Catholic Church allegedly "changed God's day of worship from Saturday to Sunday". But if "worship" wasn't taking Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-34896877257589928982023-02-18T07:30:00.009-08:002023-02-18T07:30:00.173-08:00Synagogues aren't Temples - kind of a big deal Pt.2From my recent post (here)
discussing the plain distinction between the
synagogue versus the Temple, it has let me to look into the "Biblical details" more of each institution, including the key passages which were already cited. This study is important because if the Bible does use worship type language in regards to the synagogue, then it would mean the prior post would have to be Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-5066693640757342642023-02-11T06:27:00.001-08:002023-02-11T06:27:00.171-08:00The synagogue is not the Temple - kind of a big dealThe New Testament speaks often of Jesus and the Apostles visiting various synagogues, but the synagogue is not mentioned in the Old Testament. Isn't that strange that a major facet of Jewish life in the New Testament doesn't get any (clear) mention in the Old Testament? This got me thinking about the origins and meaning of the Synagogue.The various encyclopedias that I've come across say the Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-75122110826328245132022-12-08T07:34:00.008-08:002022-12-08T07:34:00.189-08:00By a single offering he has perfected them - Does Hebrews 10:14 refute Catholicism?I was reading an article where a Protestant pastor cited Hebrews 10:14 as his primary proof text against the doctrine of Purgatory. The verse says: "For by a single offering he [Jesus] has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." The pastor's interpretation was something along the lines of: by that one single sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus has perfectly saved us, leaving nothing Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-28911702396385806522022-11-01T09:15:00.004-07:002022-11-01T09:15:00.178-07:00Introduction to Old Testament "Feast Days"I think it is tragic how unaware we are of the basic details of the Old Testament holidays. I think it would greatly improve our education as Catholics to learn a bit about them, especially so we can see that living liturgically has deep roots in the Old Testament, and how these OT holidays were foreshadowing of Jesus. For this post, I have decided to do some research and share what I've found, Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-22388225897550953802022-10-13T17:50:00.000-07:002022-10-13T17:50:19.749-07:00Abraham and the Sacraments - another beautiful example of typology in the OT As I was reflecting upon the fascinating chapter 17 of Genesis, where God first introduces the covenant of circumcision, I realized that the very next chapter introduces even more:Genesis 17:26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, were circumcised with him. 18:1 And the Lord appeared to him as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-5587534733631582392022-09-22T18:58:00.001-07:002022-09-22T18:58:27.591-07:00Does the Bible limit the Sacraments to only Baptism and Eucharist? (Sola Scriptura)Protestants generally hold to only two Sacraments, claiming that Baptism and Eucharist are the only two "ordinances" that Jesus commanded. Reformed pastor R.C. Sproul's ministry has a reflection on this, which says (here):Now that we have explored the sacraments in a general sense, we are prepared to look at each sacrament in more detail. Yet before we do that, we must determine the number of Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-74112327665404788942022-05-20T06:14:00.001-07:002022-08-11T06:23:19.185-07:00Did Clement of Rome teach Faith Alone? - Revisiting Abraham's faith reckoned as righteousness - Part 6I am excited to have yet another unexpected post in my Revisiting Abraham's Faith Reckoned as Righteousness series (see the prior series HERE). This short essay was inspired by a Lutheran channel who had recently posted a YouTube video (here) arguing that Clement of Rome taught the Protestant doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone. This Lutheran was quoting a well-known passage within the earlyNickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-33476071020252802312022-05-04T18:56:00.002-07:002022-05-04T18:56:54.539-07:00Were David's future sins forgiven at the moment of his conversion? (Quickie Apologetics)I'm not sure if I have posted this before, but I want to make a quick post about it. I'd say that 'moderate/intermediate' level of Catholic apologetics knows that when Romans 4:6-8 speaks of the justification of David in Psalm 32, that this prayer in Psalm 32 was not the first time that David came to faith. Instead, David had been converted to God since David was a young man (1 Sam 17:33-37). In Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-18546275506255454732022-04-07T17:16:00.005-07:002022-04-07T17:16:00.198-07:00The Achilles Heel of Seventh Day Adventism: 1844The Seventh Day Adventists are best known for their promotion of "Seventh Day" (Saturday/Sabbath) Worship (which I've discussed Here), but surprisingly that Sabbath teaching isn't even their most important doctrine! Since SDAs are quite often militant against Catholics, I think this apologetics piece will be quite handy in stopping them dead in their tracks. The key is to look at the other half Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-16885924454150009282022-03-24T07:08:00.008-07:002022-03-24T22:18:39.248-07:00The limitations of the Nicene Creed in the Filioque debateThere is a great Catholic channel on YouTube called Reason & Theology and they recently featured a discussion on the Filioque (here). They have multiple episodes on the Filioque and other related topics, but this episode stood out for its unique insights by guest speaker Nathaniel. Most discussions on the Filioque tend to cover the same points, so it was great to hear what I now believe is Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-24655148652064163222022-03-09T17:16:00.001-08:002022-03-09T17:16:00.211-08:00Ukraine, Russia, and Jehovah's WitnessesEnd times prophecy is such an important part of the Jehovah's Witnesses that they are one of the few groups who are excited to hear all the "bad news" going on in the world the past few years. Their featured story today on the Jehovah's Witnesses official website has an article "Russia Invades Ukraine: Is Bible Prophecy Being Fulfilled?" In that featured article, they link back to the May 2020 Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-41597436045485118532022-03-05T08:01:00.001-08:002022-03-05T08:01:00.233-08:00Brief thoughts on Fasting during LentI know I'm a few days late with this post, but I've just to share that Fasting has been on my mind a lot leading into this Lent. I've been praying about how to truly Fast this Lent, because too many years have gone by with hardly any effort put in, and that needs to change. Thankfully, I've been noticing various Catholic articles, videos, posts, etc, coming out encouraging "real" Fasting. The Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-34187054711919215102022-01-11T23:23:00.003-08:002022-01-11T23:23:21.865-08:00Is Eastern Orthodoxy's view of the Church tearing them apart? (Autocephaly & Patriarchate)
As many probably know, there was a schism within Eastern Orthodoxy in 2018/2019, when the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) held a synod which decided to sever ties with the Patriarchate of Constantinople (Ecumenical Patriarchate). The cause was that the EP believed it had the authority to grant "Autocephaly" to the churches in Ukraine (which the MP claims is Russian territory), Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-79737826043921346852021-10-01T07:23:00.003-07:002021-10-01T07:23:00.189-07:00Why Mormonism shouldn't be tolerated in UtahWhen people think of Utah they typically associate this with Mormonism (Latter Day Saints). This is because Mormons set up their headquarters in Salt Lake City, where they have been for about 150 years, shortly after Joseph Smith died in 1844 in Illinois. However, what most people don't realize is that Mormonism was never meant to be in Utah. This realization I came upon accidentally, which I Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-40410600274964904272021-09-17T17:32:00.001-07:002021-09-17T17:32:00.217-07:00Was Abraham wicked in Genesis 15:6? (Another look at Rom 4:5)Continuing on the same Romans 4:5 "justifies the ungodly" theme, since this verse is seen as a Protestant stronghold for Imputation of Christ's Righteousness, I want to present multiple reasons why the Protestant reading is untenable. Just as a reminder, the Protestant side insists that "justifies the ungodly" means that Abraham was a wicked ungodly unregenerate vile man at the time of Genesis 15Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-13197575787762283352021-09-10T17:03:00.000-07:002021-09-10T17:03:49.047-07:00Justification of the Ungodly - a Reformed admissionI came across a wonderful admission from a Reformed article online [1] of something I've been saying for a while regarding the problematic situation of the Reformed reading of "justifies the ungodly" (Rom 4:5) that I'd like to share. The article is short, but I trimmed it down at spots to capture the most important points:One of the most striking and comforting expressions in the Scriptures is Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-53760524826127992472021-09-02T07:38:00.007-07:002021-09-03T01:43:27.725-07:00Did God reckon Abraham's heart as faithful? (Nehemiah 9:8 and 13:13)As you probably know, Protestants claim that since Abraham was "ungodly" he couldn't be justified before God by his sinful actions, and instead had to use his faith to receive the "imputed Righteousness of Christ" in order to appear righteous before God. While there are numerous proofs against Protestantism's perverted reading of Genesis 15:6 (Rom 4:3), I want to present two 'new' Biblical proofsNickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4588905705506605875.post-74987979360339126252021-08-25T10:47:00.001-07:002021-08-25T10:47:18.280-07:00Why could Moses not enter the Promise Land? We all know that Moses was one of God's most beloved and important servants of all Salvation History, yet there is something unsettling about God excluding Moses from entering the Promise Land. We know from Numbers 20 and Deuteronomy 32 that God's reasoning for not allowing Moses to enter was because Moses lost his temper at the Israelites and in frustration struck the rock from which water Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01453168437883536663noreply@blogger.com3