Monday morning apologist

+ WARNING NOT EDITED (no time and no desire after writing) +

Just a couple of apologetics I have been contemplating lately:

1.       Jesus never said anything about homosexual relations

2.       That you can be a muslim in heaven

3.       Handling of the Eucharist

Both of these topics are of great importance in today’s world. The first is important because it misunderstand who Jesus is in his substance, and the third is important because the substance of our Lord is of infinite value so our handling of such has consequences that we might not be able to perceive now. The second is the most frustrating because… well, come on!

 “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, therefore judge not”

If you listen to apologetical radio or read articles that touch on the issue of what Christ said of this disorder you will find that the typical approach to this is to say something like: “well, Jesus didn’t say anything about X, but not everything that Christ taught was in scripture.”  This is good and true. However, we have a real opportunity here to recognize and teach those who are ignorant something that might have never occurred to the questioners involved, that Christ is God, and God is not against himself on anything because he is one in substance.

The Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God.  These are not three separate gods, rather they are of one substance in the Godhead. The Son is that which the Father (an infinite) gazes upon for all eternity (which would need to be an infinite).  We could say that the Son is the mind of the father.  That the Father can look upon himself for all eternity and knows himself infinity this is a distinct person (an infinite person) that he gazes upon and knows.  But it is his substance because it is his own thought of himself that he knows and begets. The Father cannot disagree with the knowing of himself on the meritorious-ness of Baptism.  Such an action would be a disorder of having multiple personalities which the Godhead has not. When the Father spoke his truth (which is the Son by the way) to his people in the days of Abraham and Moses he did so as God, as the principle member of the Trinity from which the other two persons are begotten and proceed from all eternity.  So in other words when the Father speaks so too the Son and the Holy Spirit.  To say otherwise is to accuse the Trinity of being disordered, having a multiple personality disorder in that which is not corrupt

“Why cant one be a good muslim and be in heaven? Isn’t allah just God anyways?”

I was at a Catholic gathering for young adults the other day (which in general is kind of a mixed bag) and one fellow Catholic came up to me and we were discussing the faith and other small talk.  We had heard a short talk just a few minutes before about the media and The Church and how people misrepresent what the Pope says and how The Church is on the defensive everywhere.  Two quotes came up during the talk, the one about the Pope saying the Atheists can do good and he will meet them there and that there is no Catholic God, only God. The person had asked what I had thought of the talk. Now I’m not good at being vague, so I jumped right in saying that though I enjoyed the talk overall there were a few specifics (those listed above) that bothered me.  Firstly because there is this incessant desire to twist and turn what the Holy Father says in every instance and make it ok, even though its not needed.  Again we don’t need to play the game of everything is going to be perfect in his wording (no such guarantee).  But second, when he said there is no such thing as a Catholic God, though you might be able to play a semantical game, ultimately God is Catholic, in that his truth, his being from all eternity is Catholic in every aspect and this is what he willed to give us because He and His Church are One.  Yet the person I was talking with asked why a good muslim could not be muslim in heaven.  Now this question doesn’t have to be about non Christians, you could beg the question about the baptized non-Catholics.  In heaven you and I will have perfect knowledge because we look upon God who is truth and we see, know and live the truth in a more full measure then we can ever imagine in this life.  One cannot go to heaven and remain a Muslim or a Lutheran because both knowings are insufficient and in error.  And to live in God is to live in truth, that is to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.  The Catholic faith is not a proposition among many just for those interested.  The faith is the only saving knowledge of God, it is his life and it is put there for all men regardless of emotions toward it to be embraced, and to knowingly not follow God in what He has given is to be disobedient and disordered (in error) and no imperfect thing may enter into the beatific vision. Likewise a muslim cannot be in heaven while he denies Christ’s divinity, that would be like Cinderella complaining to her fairy that she only maintains her status until midnight, the fairy need only respond explain how you have this possibility to begin with. So too a person will not be able to stand before the judgement seat of almighty God and say that God saved him apart from everything because he doesn’t believe in free will (calvanists).  Such is not the character of God to destroy ones free will to choose right and wrong to make himself happy.  God does not owe anyone heaven and no one can do good apart from Christ. To be in Christ is to ultimately be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Handling the Eucharist

This is a very specific topic I wanted to hit on. How we treat our Lord here and now when we must have faith in His Real Presence will play a role in how God treats us in eternity.  IF we refuse to confess Christ, He will not confess us to His Father in heaven. But the main point of this apologetic concerns the sacred species when crumbs of the Sacred Host result.  The Gospel gives us an example of how important every bit of this miracle is.  In the foreshowing of the Eucharist, when Our Lord multiplied the loaves and fish he had his disciples go out and collect all the fragments that remained from the miracle.  Every piece that remained was accounted for because it was of great importance.  So too, if but a small particle of Our Lord should fall it is of great importance that reparation be made and Our Lord restored to his proper place.  And its really that simple.