2017 Class

Class date: 6/3/18

Here's the handout from the final class of this academic year, covering some important distinctive beliefs and general information on the Mormons and on the JW's.

Class date: 6/3/18

Brief history

Founded: 1879 by Charles Taze Russell

Background:

Before he got his religious career well underway, Russell promoted what he called "miracle wheat," which he sold at sixty dollars per bushel. He claimed it would grow five times as well as regular wheat. In ...

Class date: 6/3/18

Brief history

Founded: 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr.

Background: As a young man, Smith was confused by all the competing varieties of Protestantism (apparently Catholicism was out of the question for him).

Founding:

• Smith claimed that in 1820, in immediate response to prayer, he saw ...

Class date: 6/3/18

1. The qualities of infallibility, authority, and indefectibility are closely intertwined.
   • Authority means __? (Christ gives Church power to act in His name to teach, govern, and sanctify.)
   • Infallibility means __? (When teaching ex cathedra, the Pope is protected from error by the Holy Spirit. A similar ...

Class dates: 5/6/18 and 5/20/18

1. Develop your understanding by reviewing the cheatsheets from class.
2. Invite questioner to pray with you – ex: “may the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth”
3. Keep focus on finding the truth, not on winning the argument.
4. Stay on topic – one topic at a ...

If you missed class or want to review:

• “How to Make Sound Arguments for the Faith” by Matt Fradd, Catholic Answers Magazine, Mar-Apr 2012 **
• Also see class notes post, below.

More helpful articles and sites:

• Crusades:
  • Three-part series of short posts on the Crusades, by Steve Weidenkopf: Why the ...

Class date: 5/6/18

• Begin with prayer

1. “Sound Arguments” article

2. Scandals of one kind or another often figure into fallacious arguments or replies to arguments.
   1. Examples:
      
      1. Crusades
      2. Inquisition
      3. sex abuse scandal
      4. Galileo case
      5. grossly immoral lives of certain Popes
   2. The accuracy of claims about these topics varies, but often older events ...

Class dates: 4/8/18 and 4/22/18

To catch up or review, please read the class notes plus the ** articles.

Faith & Works (Justification):

• "We Can Work It Out" By Tim Staples, Catholic Answers Magazine, Nov-Dec 2009. **

• "Are Good Works Necessary for Salvation?" By Tim Staples, Catholic Answers Magazine, Online ...

Class date: 4/22/18

Not only was "sola fide" one of the slogans of the Protestant Reformation, the differences in understanding the closely-related concepts of justification and salvation often lie at the root of other disagreements, for example the necessity and value of Purgatory.

Salvation / Justification / Faith Alone

A ...

Class date: 4/8/18

The class watched and discussed several sections of the Tim Staples video Defending Your Faith: How to Counter Standard Objections to Catholicism. Tim is a dynamic speaker who covered several hot topics, including Confession, statues, the role of works, and calling priests "Father."

He also shared ...