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Featured Term (selected at random): LIMBO The abode of souls excluded from the full blessedness of the beatific vision, but not suffering any other punishment. They enjoy the happiness that would have been human destiny if humans had not been elevated to the supernatural order. Catholic theology distinguishes two kinds of limbo. The limbo of the Fathers (limbus patrum) was the place where the saints of the Old Testament remained until Christ's coming and redemption of the world. The limbo of infants (limbus infantium) is the permanent state of those who die in original sin but are innocent of any...

The Early Church Fathers on the Scriptures   The Four Gospelsby Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 2nd century               There are four gospels and only four, neither more nor less: four like the points of the compass, four like the chief directions of the wind. The Church, spread all over the world, has in the gospels four pillars and four winds blowing wherever people live. These four gospels are in actual fact one single Gospel,  a fourfold Gospel inspired by the one Spirit, a Gospel which has four aspects representing the work of the Son of God. These aspects are like the...

The early church Fathers on the Scriptures Prayer is Answering the Word of God Isidore said:   `Anyone who wants to be always united to God must pray often and read the Bible often. For in prayer it is we who are speaking to God, but in the readings it is God speaking to us.   `All spiritual progress is based on reading and meditation. What we do not know, we learn in the reading; what we have learned, we preserve by meditation.   `Reading the Bible provides us with a two-fold advantage. It instructs our minds, and introduces us to the love...

The Early Church Fathers on the Scriptures The Two Meanings of the Bibleby Origen, c. 185-254 The reason why the divine power has give us the Scriptures is not solely to present facts according t the literal interpretation of the narrative.  If one looks to the letter of the text, some of the facts have not actually happened and would be irrational and illogical. Granted , the facts that have happened in the literal sense are much more numerous than the facts that have been added and have only a spiritual meaning. All the same, in the face of certain...

The Early Church Fathers on the Scriptures These Words are the Word of Godby Origen, c. 185-254 The Scriptures that prophesy about Christ, the words that announce his coming and his teaching are inspired by God.  They were proclaimed with power and authority and it is for this reason they have conquered so many people's hearts. However, only with the coming of Christ have the divine character of the prophetic writings and the spiritual meaning of the books of the Mosaic Law become apparent.  Before Christ it was not possible t produce decisive arguments for the inspiration of the Old...

The Early Church Fathers on the Scriptures Guide to the Discovery of Scriptureby Origen, c. 185-254 By what principle ought one to read and interpret the Scriptures?  It is a fact that a number of errors have had their origin in an inability to understand a sacred text in the right way. For example, many Jews have not believed in our Savior, because they have been attached to the literal meaning of the prophecies made about him and have not sen them physically fulfilled.  They have not seen the prisoners set free, (Isa. 61:1) nor the city of God built...

The Early Church Fathers on the Scriptures   The Scriptures are one book in Christ   "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."   - John 1:1   "Irenaeus writes from the 2nd century: "If one carefully reads the Scriptures, he will find there the word on the subject of Christ and the prefiguration of the new calling. He is indeed the hidden treasure in the field — the field in fact is the world — but in truth, the hidden treasure in the Scriptures is Christ. Because he is designed by...

Reading Scripture with the Early Church Fathers   The Nourishing Bread of Scriptureby Servais Pinckaers Patristic ExegesisIt will be helpful to consider the manner in which the Fathers read the Scriptures, drawing from it their moral doctrine. They did not have at their disposal the resources of modern historical exegesis, but they did possess a method of interpretation that enabled them to discover the rich spiritual substance their works contain and that still nourishes us today. Patristic exegesis might be described as a “real” reading of Scripture, as contrasted with a literary or positivist approach. The main object of the...

The Early Church Fathers on the Scriptures   Introduction: Reading Scripture with the Early Church Fathers  What can the early church fathers teach us about Scripture?Why read the early church fathers and what can they teach us about the scriptures? It is easy to underestimate the contributions of the past and to exaggerate the wisdom of the present. Can we trust the Christian teachers of  the early church period? Did they read the scriptures well? Did their own cultural and religious blind spots prevent them from understanding the heart of the gospel? Today there is renewed interest in the...

Featured Term (selected at random):PATRISTICS Originally the same as patrology, and still includes the latter. It is the study of the Fathers of the Church, their lives, writings, doctrine, and theology. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Abortion and the Early Church by Michael J. GormanContemporary Christians neglect the teachings of the Church Fathers on key moral and theological issues to their own peril. The earliest specific written references to abortion in Christian literature are those in the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas. The Didache combines a code of Christian morality with a manual of church life and order, while the Epistle of Barnabas is a more theological tract on Christian life and thought. While both of these probably date from the early second century, they most likely drew on Christian sources which had their origins...

Why do Catholics always talk about the Early Church Fathers (Apostolic Fathers)? Let us take the analogy of a courtroom. When looking for witnesses, we want people who were closest to the action. They have a better perspective than those who are far removed. Catholics feel the Early Church fathers were good witnesses to the Christian faith. They understood Scripture the way Jesus and the disciples taught it. Some of the criticisms of the Early Church Fathers is that they were only human and the Bible is divine so it is a better source. The Catholic Church agrees with this....

Church History Justin Martyr, by Joseph A. Dunney [1945] Nearly a hundred years had passed since the birth of Christ, yet many heathen dwelt in the Holy Land. The district of Samaria, for example, remained much the same as the prophet Isaias described it � "the fading flower, the crown of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim." One thinks of Sicar, the town near Jacob's well, where Jesus had said to the Samaritan woman, "If thou didst know the gift of God, and Who He is that sayeth to thee, "Give Me to drink," thou perhaps would have...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

Many Catholics and non-Catholics alike think that the Roman Catholic Church invented the doctrine of transubstantiation. Transubstantiation means that the bread and wine presented on the altar at the Mass become the the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit at the consecration. The consecration is the time when the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into Christ's Body and Blood. However, the Body and Blood retain the appearance of bread and wine. The Roman Catholic Church, that is, the Latin Rite Catholic Church, and other Catholic Churches...

Could the Roman Catholic Church's sex abuse crisis be tied to embedded Satanic and occult imagery in its artwork - some of it hundred's of years old? That is the seemingly incredible thesis of a new documentary, "Rape of the Soul," made not by anti-Catholic bigots, but by devout followers of the Church. Rape of the Soul is in theatrical release in major cities, including New York and Los Angeles. The documentary explores the prevalent use of satanic, sexual, and occult and anti-Catholic images in historical and contemporary religious artwork. The film also discusses the acceptance of the artwork at...