Liberal “Christians”

Pope Pius IX - The Greatest Enemy of Liberal Catholicism

Pope Pius IX – The Greatest Enemy of Liberal Catholicism

Over a year ago, I was doing some pro-life work back in my hometown. I engaged a woman in conversation about pro-life issues while holding a picture of an aborted fetus. She claimed that she was a practicing Catholic and a mother of four. She then said that she was pro-abortion and said that the Church needed to change. When I heard this I responded in a way that I shouldn’t have. I should have focused on the humanity of the unborn child and universal human rights but I decided to get into a religious debate. Though that wasn’t the time to do it, I will discuss this topic here.

Islam And Red Herrings

Peter the Venerable - Twelfth Century Christian Scholar of Islam

Peter the Venerable – Twelfth Century Christian Scholar of Islam

With over a billion muslims in the world today, it is not uncommon to come across muslims to dialogue with. I have been to two muslim countries as well as muslim majority regions of other countries. Islamic apologetics is a big field but one does not need to study it in any great depth to know the most important issue in talking with them. In fact, most professional apologists don’t know this trick.

Christianity, Islam, and History

When one looks at the two largest religions in the world, we see that one is historical and one is not. What do I mean by that? Both can easily be traced from their origins in history but what I refer to is the scripture.

The Bible is a historical document. It starts with the Creation, goes through early civilization, the history of Abraham and the descendants of his Covenant. The Life of Moses is covered in detail as the Israelites leave Egypt and go into the Promised Land. After the conquest of the Holy Land, the Kingdom of Israel is set up and the Temple is built. More Prophets come until the time of Christ.  One cannot deny that it is a historical book.

The Attacks In Paris And The Anti-Christian West

St. Francis of Assisi and the Sultan of Egypt

St. Francis of Assisi and the Sultan of Egypt

Over the last 24 hours, we have heard endless talk of the Paris attacks. Many in the West ask themselves and their fellow countrymen what the future holds for their nation. They see Islam as an invading force imposing itself on the modern secular democratic western culture. Deep down, they know that a weak secular West won’t win against Islam. They are correct. It won’t.

The Anathemas Of The Council Of Trent

The Council of Trent in session.

The Council of Trent in session.

Ecumenical Councils are the main way in which the Christian Church settles doctrinal issues. There have been well over a dozen of these councils throughout the course of church history. They are for doctrinal issues and usually only surface when the Christian world is in crisis.

An Early Church Giant

St. Ignatius of Antioch Bishop and Martyr

St. Ignatius of Antioch
Bishop and Martyr

Many Catholics study early Church history and Church fathers. There are many fathers that are worth reading. St. Augustine and St. Athanasius come to mind but there are many others. One that cannot be ignored is St. Ignatius of Antioch.

St. Ignatius of Antioch was the Bishop of Antioch in the early second century. He was martyred in Rome in about 107 AD and gives an early witness to many church doctrines. Doctrines such as the deity of Christ, monarchial ecclesiology, transubstantiation and others.

Dating The Gospels – Refuting The Liberals

Saint Jerome - Patron Saint of Biblical Studies

Saint Jerome – Patron Saint of Biblical Studies

Liberal Biblical scholarship as I have mentioned before has been very damaging to the faith of many in the Church. The average churchgoer has not been directly exposed to this, but indirectly. A seminarian will learn these liberal interpretations of the Bible and then this will come through when he is a priest and is preaching to the congregation. The congregation will have no clue and could likely swallow this poison whole.

Scripture Study – No Liberals Allowed!

Scripture is extremely important in the life of every serious Catholic. Though the Church has always condemned private interpretation of scripture, it strongly encourages the reading of it.

Many in the Church have a warped view of scripture. While professing the Catholic faith, they will claim that the scriptures are full of contradictions, errors, forgeries and other problems. This is contradicted by the entire history of the Church. In Providentissimus Deus, Pope Leo XIII clearly states: “But it is absolutely wrong and forbidden, either to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or to admit that the sacred writer has erred.”

In the modern era, many people sadly believe this. They have been led astray by liberal scholars such as Fr. Raymond Brown, Fr. Joseph Fitzmyer and others. It is very important for every Catholic to reject these men and their heretical scholarship.

The Golden Age of the Papacy

Pope Pius VIII One of the great Popes of the 19th Century.

Pope Pius VIII
One of the great Popes of the 19th           Century.

The 19th Century produced some of the greatest Popes in the history of the Church. If one had to pick a century for the best Popes, the 19th Century would be my pick. At the end of the 18th Century, the diabolical abomination known as the French Revolution spread through Europe and completely overwhelmed Pope Pius VI and the Catholic Church.

Pius VI died in 1799 and in 1800, Pius VII was elected to combat these demonic ideas. The ideas of the French Revolution would be the target of many encyclicals throughout the 19th Century and even until the mid-20th Century. The ideas of Freemasonry were condemned.

Many good encyclicals were written in the 19th Century but here are my top 5 picks. They can all be found online.

5) Traditi Humilitati by Pope Pius VIII (May 5, 1829)

Although his pontificate was only 20 months, Pope Pius VIII published an amazing encyclical. It was short, sweet, and to the point. Indifferentism is viciously attacked as completely contrary to the faith. Pius VIII also condemns the publishing of Bibles without Church approval and patristic commentaries. A most excellent encyclical by an almost forgotten Pope.

4) Mirari Vos by Pope Gregory XVI (August 15, 1832)

In this document, Gregory XVI mercilessly goes after liberalism and indifferentism. Two of the many evils that came out of the Revolution. He taps into tradition by quoting the Councils of Florence and Trent. Two of the most important Councils of the Church. He also tells his fellow bishops to defend clerical celibacy and refers to the movement against it as an “abominable conspiracy”. In paragraph 13 he unambiguously comes out against indifferentism. In the next paragraph he clearly states: “This shameful font of indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims that liberty of conscience must be maintained for everyone.” Pope Gregory XVI is without a doubt, one of the strongest Popes since the Council of Trent. He didn’t compromise one bit to the heresy that confronted the Church in his day.