June 12th, 2006
Da Vinci Code
(Danny)
Jeannine and I each did a class on the Da Vinci code at the parish recently. We went through the errors in historical fact that Dan Brown makes in his novel. Things like Constantine put the bible together, the divinity of Christ was unknown before the council of Nicea when it was voted on and approved by a close vote and the church has been conducting a smear campaign on Mary Magdalene. These are all easily refuted from history and the bible. It was interesting to see the different thoughts of people out there in the parish. It is unfortuneate how many people don't know history so they just accept as fact what is in the book.
For the record, the bible was essentially agreed upon in the 150's though there was debate over about 4 books (Revelation, Hebrews, one of the letters and The Shepard of Hermas). The four gospels were almost universally agreed upon and would be in the next 30 years. The church only offically made the list in the 300s with the councils of Carthage and Hippo in 393 and 397 respectively (some people add the council of Rome in 384 or 386). After that there was no debate about what was to be included until Martin Luther dropped books in the 1500s.
The divinity of Christ was established in the bible and the writings of the Fathers. The debate at the council of Nicea was about the Arian heresy of different substance from the Father or the same substance. The vote for the divinity of Christ was 218-2 at the worst and maybe even more in favor, the total number of bishops present at the council being uncertain. Talk about confusion after a council. The Arians were defeated and much of the world that had followed that heresy now needed to change. And then semi-Arianism came about that caused even more troubles until the council of Constantipole helped clarify the nature of Christ even further.
And for the smear campaign, why would the church include Mary Magdalene 12 times in the new testament and the first appearance of Jesus after the resurrection be to her? In the middle ages she was very highly regarded (almost more than the mother of Jesus).
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February 2nd, 2006
Genesis Chapter 1
(Danny)
Have you ever wondered, "How are we to interpret Genesis 1?" There is a post at Jimmy Akin's site that is a help to understanding this part of the bible.
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January 25th, 2006
Pope's New Encyclical
(Danny)
The pope's first encyclical is out. It can be downloaded from the Vatican or a .doc file or a .pdf file or a MP3 file. Did I really put an MP3 file? Yes, you can listen to the document! More information on this can be found at Jimmy Akin's blog.
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December 14, 2005
Second Sacraments
(Danny)
Well we have finally made it to a child having two sacraments. John made his first confession tonight. We weren't sure if he would be able to do it but he did!
Saved by Danny in Catholic Faith