“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, Our Lord.”
The Apostles’ Creed
What Do I Believe?
Everyone has a religion or worldview, a belief system on which they base their words and actions. What we need to ask ourselves is, “What is the basis for my worldview?” Is it my feelings? My personal preferences? To quote an apologist friend, “In some cultures, they love their neighbor. In other cultures they eat them. Tell me sir, what is your personal preference?” All worldviews teach some truths, or they wouldn’t have any adherents. Citing the same apologist, “Every worldview must answer four questions: Origin (where did I come from?), meaning (why am I here?), morality (what’s right and what’s wrong?), and destiny (what happens to me when I die?).” These answers must be coherent, match observable reality as far as is possible, and bear reasonable scrutiny.
Why Be Christian?
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain [and] all those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished [and] we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ HAS been raised from the dead!”
1 Corinthians 15: 14, 18-20
I propose that only Christianity satisfactorily answers those four questions. We have more than enough proof for the existence of God, the divinity of Jesus, the historicity of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and the authority and reliability of direct and natural revelation to trust in those scriptural promises that we can NOT objectively prove. Faith in God is reasonable. We have a sinful nature and we cannot save ourselves This is not an unreasonable claim. We need forgiveness. Christianity promises us redemption through the sacrifice of God’s own Son. Jesus did that for you and for me, but the story doesn’t end there. We worship a risen Savior. That risen Savior has redeemed us that we too may one day rise and live in his presence. Christianity not only promises us a future filled with hope, but Christianity works right here and right now! Christianity changes lives. Genuine Christian behavior makes your family, your neighborhood, our world a better place.
Why Be Catholic?
1. Scripture and Apostolic Succession
As Catholics, we profess what we believe at every Sunday Mass, and have Scripture and thousands of years of written teachings handed down through apostolic succession to explain why we believe it. Scripture is God’s direct revelation to us, in which He reveals who He is, who we are in Him, the problem of sin, our need of a savior, and the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. The Apostolic teaching office is called the Magesterium, in which a direct line of Church leadership authoritatively guides us and gives us intellectually and spiritually sound teaching for things that were not directly and clearly revealed to us in Scripture. No other Christian group can claim uninterrupted apostolic authority.
2. The Sacraments
Those same Apostles were given authority by Jesus to “bind and loose” (Matthew 16:19), to anoint and lay on hands. Their successors continue to ordain priests, to baptize, to anoint, to join in matrimony, and to forgive sins in the name of Jesus. The sacraments, most especially the Eucharist, are more than symbolic. They actually bring about what they symbolize. All strengthen and nourish us in our earthly journey, and point to the sum and summary of the faith – the Real Presence of Jesus and the highest form of worship on earth: The celebration of the Eucharist, also known as the Mass.
3. The Eucharist – The Wedding Feast of the Lamb
We recently attended a lovely graduation service at a Christian church of a different faith tradition. While speaking to a nice lady seated nearby, she indicated that they had a communion service once a quarter, and asked how often our church celebrated the Eucharist. “Every Sunday,” was my automatic answer, and then it hit me, no, my answer should have been “every day.” But wait, the Spirit prompted – the true answer is “every hour of every day” for two thousand years and counting. In the beauty and timelessness of the Church, the Sacraments instituted by Jesus have been continuously offered by his ordained ministers and celebrated by his disciples both openly and clandestinely in every corner of the world. In this, the greatest sacrament, we join with our faithful ancestors in the eternal “Wedding Feast of the Lamb.” (Revelation 19:9) The celebration of the Eucharist is heaven on earth! What a gift!
Goodness, Beauty, Truth
The Catholic faith is beautiful. The Catholic faith is timeless. The Catholic faith contains “the fullness of truth,” passed down, explained, and administered through Jesus by His Apostles and their successors for two thousand years. Do we have some doubts and questions? Of course! But we also have faith, and it is far from blind. Our definition for faith (purloined from a priest/teacher) is “God’s work in me to which I respond.” How, then, should I respond?
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