Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics House rules/notes… 1. Meetup is www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy Zoom Meeting Logon info is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952 2. Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can ask in the chat, email the Meetup group, or me directly at ron@hallagan.net. 3. Unedited recaps of meetings are posted via Meetup after our meeting. The final edited recap is posted on our Catholic Catacombs Light website www.catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps a week later. You will be notified via Meetup of both. 4. See The Chosen. Knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check it out: The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7. 5. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between religions and between Christian denominations, and agree to be respectful at all times. Specifically, Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ, and I personally owe part of my return to the faith to them. 6. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn the Bible, explain the Catholic faith, and help members develop a closer relationship with the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. 7. Catholic Prayer, Fellowship, and Spirituality Meetup led by fellow member Jason Goldberg: https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/ 8. Prison fellowship – opportunities to volunteer one Saturday per month for 2 hours (12-2 or 2-4) serving Catholic prisoners at the Fairfax County Jail. Ask Ron (ron@hallagan.net) or Gina (gmasterson99@gmail.com) for details. Why? "I was in prison and you visited me." – Matt 25:36 9. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending or just reading the notes afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give us recognition, which will draw others to us, which is our way of evangelizing! Bible Study Format: 5 min prayers, 10 min Catholic topic, 45 min main topic from the weeks listed below Week 1: Gospel Week: Make friends w/dishonest money? (Luke 16:1-15); “To be my disciples, you must hate your parents”? (Luke14:26) Week 2: Oct 11 – Bible Week (Gen àRev): Exodus, the 2nd book of Moses–2 Week 3: Oct 18 – Survey Topics Voted on by Members: We are currently graduating from Purgatory.
Ö 1) Jesus’ Greatest Parables 2) Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3) Christian Comparisons 4) Great Women in the Bible 5) World Religions 6) Book of Revelation 7) Major Heresies and Church Councils
Week 4: Sept 27 – Open Mic Week
1. How should we celebrate/honor the Christian Sabbath Sunday?
2. What is justice? Is it always good? Does God cause bad things to happen? If one suffers but the results are good, is that justice?
3. The History of the Mass going back to Cain & Abel, and the sublime meaning of the Eucharist now.
4. The love and unity of the Holy Spirit are two of its Trinitarian descriptions. How are they different? How does they affect us?
5. The knowledge of God is “participatory.” Is that why nonbelievers have difficulty?
6. Are Charity and Love synonymous? How are they different? What are the 4 highest forms of Charity?
7. Do we have suffering for a reason? How do we offer up our sufferings? When should we embrace the cross vs wait for a miracle?
8. Jesus says to love God with all our minds, hearts and souls, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. How do we love ourselves, how do we love God, and how do we love our neighbors/enemies?
9. What’s the difference between racism and prejudice?
10. Anatomy of a sin.
Today’s Questions are:
- How do we know we are hearing God?
- What is Jesus’ race?
- How does the possibility of other intelligent life in the universe affect our Catholicism?
- Can you provide me with an elevator response for the Crusades?
Next Holy Days
Solemnity of All Saints – Nov 1
Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day) – Nov 2
"He who refuses to pass through the door of my mercy must pass through the door of my justice."
- Words of Jesus to St. Faustina (Diary, 1146)
-
Opening Prayer
O Lord
Thank you for your promise that where two or three of us are gathered in your name, you are there.
We welcome you among us today.
We ask that you open our ears to hear you, open our minds to receive your wisdom,
and open our hearts so that we may be changed to become more like you.
Lord, bless our lives, our health, our work, our families, and our friends…
for all those less fortunate than us, and for all those suffering in our world today.
And as Jesus taught us to pray:
Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily Bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us all. Amen.
1. The question was asked: when talking to God, how do we know it is His responses, or not Him?
Great question. This is referred to discernment and there are many books written on it, so it is worth investigating. Some quick start suggestions, or meditative thoughts, from my own experiences/learning:
1. Make sure it is within Church teachings, which are derived from Christ in scripture and Apostolic tradition. If you travel outside these teachings, you run the risk of starting your own religion (“heresy”) or listening to your ego, or Satan, not God.
2. God does not often tell us what we want to hear. What we want is usually focused on some short-term gain. This is not necessarily bad, but God is more interested in our eternal growth and well-being, so it will have to satisfy that goal primarily.
3. Is it love? Love is about service, humility, sacrifice for others or the greater good.
4. If you have a spiritual director, or spiritual advisor, or even a friend who is grounded in Catholicism, it is good to run your thoughts by them and get their reaction and feedback.
5. Remain open. The reason Jesus told his disciples to be like children was because children don’t have preconceived notions that can sometimes block openness, and children are dependent. We must be the same in our relationship with God.
6. In the end, even when you are unsure, hand it back to God and say, “Please give me wisdom, Lord. May Your will be done.” Then move on and return to it at a later time.
7. If a timely decision is required (i.e., a job), make sure you have collected any relevant information you can so that you are as informed as you can be. Once you’ve prayed, considered 1-3 above, and discussed it with an advisor (or person you trust), then make the best decision and ask God to stick with you. Once the decision is made, throw yourself into it. Do not let fear overcome you, but you can throw yourself into your decision with reasonable fear. Make use of the necessary resources to undertake what you have decided. Ask for feedback from the beginning and learn as much as you can, especially the first 90 days. Continue to review, learn, pray, love, and act. God is the God of light and order, and we are His offspring, which means always giving your best and improving from here to heaven.
2. Can you provide us with an elevator response for the Crusades?
Q: What were the Crusades?
The Crusades were expeditions undertaken to deliver the Holy Lands from Islamic tyranny, which had been taken forcefully after 600 years of Judeo-Christian control.
The urban legend about the Crusades is that of a ruthless, intolerant Church driving Europe into a barbaric war of aggression and plunder against a peaceful Islamic world. Opponents of the Catholic Church often use the Crusades as evidence for the corruption of Catholicism and for the violence of religion in general.
There is no way to have intelligent conversation about events in history unless both sides are willing to at least try to put themselves in that moment and understand those events as the people of that age did. However, not many people who are desirous of discrediting the church really want to take the time to understand the event. Instead, they’re content repeating myths they’ve been told, which doesn’t take much intelligence or effort. But that doesn't need to be true for us.
Let's begin with what they were. They were European expeditions to the Holy Land, backed by the popes, beginning with the Council of Clermont in 1095, and ending with the fall of Acre in 1291. Historians number anywhere from these 8 to 15 crusades, depending on the author’s motives, but a safe number is eight.
What constitutes a crusade has been greatly expanded over the years, such that in modern literature it includes any war of a religious nature from the 7th to the 16th centuries, if it involved Christians. For instance, the expedition of Heraclius against the Persians in 682 and the conquest Saxony by Charlemagne in 785 are now called crusades. Likewise, the European conflicts organized against the Prussians starting in 1618 are also called crusades. The Spanish wars against the Moors, which spanned five centuries, are called crusades as well. None of these are within the description of the original crusades provided in the previous paragraph.
Here are three myths perpetrated - and perpetuated - against the Church:
1) "The Crusades were an unwarranted European invasion of innocent Islamic people."
2) "The Crusades were an exercise in Church-inspired anti-Jewish riots throughout Europe."
3) “The sack of Constantinople took place under the indirect orders of Pope Innocent III as a means to recapture Byzantine Christianity for the Western Church
Any reasonable reading of history will show these are demonstrably false.
Q: Why are such myths directed, or fabricated, against the Catholic Church?
The Crusades only became specifically “Catholic” after the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Prior to that, they were "Christian Crusades" because all Christians were Catholic - they were one and the same. In fact, all of Europe proudly called themselves “Christendom.” To have been part of the Crusades was considered a badge of honor and memorabilia from these wars, or battles, were on displays in European cities. The negative connotation didn't begin until the Protestant Reformation. It was then that they became the "Catholic Crusades."
By the way, you will notice that Spain is treated nearly as disparagingly as the Catholic Church. Why? Because concurrent to the Protestant Reformation was the ascendency of the British Empire (Protestant) and the descendency of the Spanish Empire (Catholic). In the history books thereafter, nothing Spain did was put in a favorable light. They were "papists."
So what happened?
The actual Crusades were ones undertaken in the name of Christendom from 1095 to 1291, to deliver the Holy Land from Islamic tyranny. These expeditions were announced by preaching, solemn vows were made, warriors received a cross from the hands of the pope or his representative, indulgences were granted, civil protections were given, and the soldier was therefore considered a soldier of the Church, even though the crusades actually conducted by the European countries themselves (the Church did not have military skills or personnel).
Context/history
Similar the question about the Inquisition we covered last month, we need to have some historical context, which begins after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 536 AD to barbarian invaders. The next thousand years (roughly 500 to 1500) are called the “Middle Ages,” and during this time, Christianity was the only glue holding Europe together. In fact, the name “Christendom" came to represent all of Europe during the Middle Ages. From the Fall of Rome onward, Christians developed a tradition making pilgrimages to the Holy Land to see Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and especially the Holy Sepulchre.
Q: What is the Holy Sepulchre?
The Holy Sepulchre is the tomb in which the Body of Jesus Christ was laid after His death upon the Cross in Jerusalem. The "Church of the Holy Sepulchre" was built over the tomb of Jesus by Emperor Constantine.
Q: How was this site determined?
If you recall, the tomb was provided by Joseph of Arimathea, which he had hewn out of a rock, and it was closed by a great stone rolled to the door (Mt 27:32), in a garden near the crucifixion.
The next historical mention of the Holy Sepulchre is in 326 when the Emperor Constantine marked the site for future ages by erecting over a basilica over the Tomb of Christ which, according to an unbroken written tradition, now stands the church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Many pilgrimages and much trade with the region ensured. Colonies of Syrians had introduced Christian religious ideas, art, and culture from the East into the large cities of Gaul and Italy. The Western Christians in turn journeyed in large numbers to Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, either to visit the Holy Places or to follow the ascetic life among the monks of the Sinai. Itineraries of pilgrimages from Bordeaux to Jerusalem, dated 333, still survive. In 385 St. Jerome and St. Paula founded the first Latin monasteries at Bethlehem.
Even the Barbarian invasion in Europe did not dampen the ardor for pilgrimages to the East. The Itinerary of St. Silvia shows the organization of these expeditions, which were directed by clerics and escorted by armed troops. In the year 600, St. Gregory the Great had a hospice erected in Jerusalem, and although the deplorable condition of Eastern Christendom after the Arab invasion rendered this journey more difficult, it did not by any means cease.
*Note: Hospice - a house of shelter or rest for pilgrims, strangers, etc., especially one kept by a monastic order. It is the same root that we get the word "hospitality" and "hospital." Recall that hospitality was expected to be given by Jews to strangers, so it's part of our heritage as well. Also, caring for the sick and dying motivated Christians to develop the first hospital. “Hospice” for the aged and terminally ill did not come into use until 1879.
Though the Western Roman Empire had declined in the 5th century because of being overstretched, corruption, and the constant barbarian attacks, the Eastern Roman Empire (also called the Byzantine Empire) based out of Constantinople still thrived.
Islam came into being about this time and after Mohammed died in 632 their armies, which drew from all Arab countries in North Africa, expanded greatly. Over a period of about 50 years, Arab warriors, riding fast horses and camels, conquered the entire Persian empire as well as Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, which had been part of the Byzantine Empire, as well as Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) by 711.
(Note: "Palestine" was the name the Romans gave to Israel (origin Greek: Philistia, from Philistines).
As you can imagine, the Arab takeover of these lands complicated Western pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Nevertheless, they still they continued.
Part I of II of the Crusades is complete. Next month, Crusades will conclude with the elevator speech.
3. What race was Jesus?
Throughout history, people have depicted Jesus as a reflection of their own race. In the Middle Ages, many artists began depicting Jesus as Caucasian with light brown, wavy hair and blue eyes. But this image is imaginary.
The Bible does not mention what Jesus looked like. Some say that’s because he must not have been much to look at. That’s possible. But that’s also a worldly comment. It may be that the last thing Jesus wanted us to judge him for was by the superficiality of looks. So perhaps the “inspired writers” were inspired not to.
Q: So, what do we know?
Joseph – from the line of King David who was from the tribe of Judah; but he was not his biological father. “Legally,” Jesus is of the
tribe Judah, son of Jacob who was the grandson of Abraham.
Mary – was of the tribe of Levi. We know this because her cousin Elizabeth who was married to a Temple priest, Zachariah, and Temple priests were from the tribe of Levi. Marrying within the tribe was cultural protocol. Levi was also a son of Jacob, grandson of Abraham, who was a descendent of Shem, son of Noah, and so on. So Jesus was a Semite (comes from the name Shem, the “father” of the Semitic people”).
Holy Spirit – Trinitarian blood line is kind of cool, definitely unique, but it is Spiritual.
Conclusion: Limiting ourselves to earthly races, Jesus was from the ancient Semitic-speaking people from the Mesopotamian-Mediterranean region of west Asia-north Africa (or “middle eastern”). Characteristics (stereotypically): olive skin, darker in the summer; strong nose; dark hair, thick eyebrows.
In the spirit of the universal incarnation and that Jesus came for the whole world, different peoples are free to create images of him that show him to be one of their own.
Several months ago, the Pentagon announced the creation of a UAP office, for “unidentified aerial phenomena” (formerly UFOs).
Let’s remember that “other life forms” is not something new. It has been going on for 2500 years.
Our dialogue tonight is not about whether or not currently sighted UFOs are alien or not. I was asked my personal opinion and I will give it to you, and you can take it or leave it. My opinion is that aliens have not visited Earth. If advanced intelligent life could travel vast distances, expend massive resources living for generations on a spaceship with the goal to connect and communicate with intelligent life, they would likely show themselves. Or else move on (if they didn’t like what they saw). But they wouldn’t sneak around playing cat and mouse. That is not a sign of superior intelligence. Put the shoe on the other foot; if we traveled to another star system, would we sneak down and build pyramids and crop circles and then hide?
The fastest human rocket goes about 100 miles per second; the speed of light travels at 300,000 miles per second. Even if an advanced civilization could travel the speed of light, it would take 30,000 years to reach us from Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system (and the two planets there do not appear to be habitable). The probability strongly suggests that aliens would have to come from much further away.
On the other hand, secret spaceships getting seen unintentionally is a sign of earthly intelligence. By that I mean what people are seeing are likely military experiments by governments, natural cosmic occurrences, or just one’s imagination – which we all know is very powerful.
Now you may feel strongly otherwise, and I will respect that; however, that isn’t the subject. This is a Bible study group, and so we are evaluating the question presented above: How does the possibility of other intelligent life in the universe affect our Catholicism, such as:
- the Fall of Man
- that God came to this planet as a human to save us
- that humans have the opportunity to join God in Heaven after this life? Did God – or would God – do the same for them?
The universe is likely over 14 billion years old and there are now billions of galaxies. I doubt there were billions of galaxies when the universe began, which means creation hasn’t stopped. God is always going to be creating because that’s His nature, just like it is ours. Moreover, since God is omnipotent, He can create other life, too. This is not a problem for us Catholics.
Q: Since there was a “Fall of Man” on Earth, would there have to be a “Fall of Alien” on their planets, also?
I’m presuming we are talking about intelligent life that has free will and awareness of good and bad, which is the highest being we know – which is also how the highest of all beings – the angels - are.
Q: Okay, a fall wouldn’t make any sense if they didn’t have free will. So, if they had free will, would they choose against God, like us?
Well, we don’t really know anything for certain, but we can suppose it’s likely, because even a third of the angels fell, and they are much more intelligent than finite beings. But, let’s just say for the heck of it that they got it right and didn’t walk away from God. Well, then, God really struck gold, didn’t He?
IF they never fell, then they would have continued on in God’s grace (via their own Paradise) and advanced towards their ultimate destiny in Heaven, without any concern for Purgatory or Hell.
If they did fall, a good question might be: Would it be a collective fall like what happened with us, or an individual fall like what happened with the angels?
My guess is that the “individual fall” had something to do with the angels’ spiritual life, in which case the aliens would be a collective fall like us. But that’s just my guess.
Q: If the aliens fell, would God come to save them just like he did with humans?
Why not? God is love, so why would He create other beings with no chance of being saved?
Q: But doesn’t that mean there would be more than one Jesus?
No.
The Second Person of the Trinity – the Word, or Logos, of God, through whom all things in the universe were made (John 1:1-3) – would be the same “Person” to accomplish this task, regardless of what planet.
My guess is he would not be incarnated there as a human :) but rather incarnated into whatever intelligent being it was. But, regardless, it would be the one and same Second Person of the Trinity.
Thomas Aquinas responded to the question: “Could God have redeemed us in some other way?” He said, “Sure, He’s God.” This logic would not only apply to whether God decided to be incarnated or not, but also whether to be incarnated more than once!
Q: Jesus makes many references to the “end of time,” and “Judgment Day.” How would this affect other intelligent life that was created, say, 10 billion years ago? Is this a problem? Do they have to wait longer?
We know that time is not the same in this lifetime as it is in the next.
I read somewhere that the ‘end of time’ is not a limitation; it is a consummation.
As it says in 2 Peter 3:8 and Pslam 90:4, a thousand years is like a day, which means time is not the same as here.
In any event, if other intelligent life got there before us and are waiting for us, then we’ll have a much greater victory parade to look forward to.
Q: What if they are completely different than us, in ways we can’t even imagine?
Well, God is omnipotent, right? He can do whatever He wants. I would just look at that as we are all part of a great Symphony. There will be different instruments than us, perhaps totally amazing!
Q: If there are other intelligent beings in the universe, then maybe we aren’t as special as we thought we were.
I can see the reasoning but consider a parent and his/her children. Do you not love each one the same as the other?
To quote Augustine: “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
Q: I was asked by a member of this group: How do we know that we aren't being tricked, and there is a supremely intelligent alien being behind creation, and not God?
That’s two questions. First, how do we know we aren’t being tricked by aliens, and second, how do we know the alien being isn’t behind creation, not God?
1) How do we know we aren’t being tricked?
There's an incongruency with the idea of "deceiving us" into believing the truth and pureness of God’s agape love, truth, justice, and mercy. As Jesus said, if you lie or cheat in small things, you will lie and cheat in big things. You can’t sin your way to goodness.
2) How do we know intelligent aliens aren’t behind creation, rather than God?
It sounds like you may be defining the aliens as God. If they can create something out of nothing, rise from the dead, and honestly teach absolute love and forgiveness as the path to Heaven, that sounds like God, and I can’t wait to meet them. But if there is no Heaven, then why bother with all this disappointing human stuff – for what? That would not be “intelligent” alien life.
Q: Non-Catholics (especially fundamentalists) are likely to say, “No Way” to any of these positions, because it’s not in the Bible. To many of them, this would suggest these are demons, acts of the devil. What do we say to that?
Granted, those Protestants who strictly follow Sola Scriptura ("the Bible only") are going to have great difficulty dealing with issues of creation, evolution, and alien life. They have kind of boxed themselves in.
However, a reasonable question we could ask them is this: “Why are demons, who are spiritual, flying around in spaceships?”
Q: How can I find out more about this topic?
“Catholic Perspective on Aliens,” by Dr. Paul Thigpin.
Closing Prayer
Fix My Heart Lord
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
a humble heart, a meek heart, a sturdy heart, a devout heart,
a kind heart which does harm to no one,
which does not repay evil for evil,
but overcomes evil with good,
a heart which loves you above all things, thinks about you always,
and speaks to you and about you,
a heart that gives you thanks, delights in your psalms and hymns,
and has its citizenship in heaven. Amen.
Dear Lord
Thank you for the knowledge that makes us wiser.
Thank you for the forgiveness every time we ask.
Thank you for the help you offer along our journey
For it is through our trial and errors with you that we learn your ways and raise ourselves up closer to You.
Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Comentários