Apologetics: Defending the Catholic Faith

In the United States, we have been guaranteed the right to freedom of religion by our First Amendment in the Bill of Rights in our Constitution. However, Catholics are still attacked by people of other faiths, including other Christian faiths. We are questioned about our beliefs and traditions. Some fundamentalist churches will even publish literature that tries to "prove" Biblically why we are wrong and they are right! We are even ridiculed and told we are going to hell because we are not following the teachings of the Bible. Of course, Catholics who have studied their religion and know what the Catechism says know that this is not true.

Unless we have gone to Catholic schools and had daily religion classes, we may not have enough information to defend ourselves and our faith. It can be difficult to explain why we do some of the things we do or where some of our traditions came from. Because of this, I am including a list of Biblical references to explain the origins of some of the "hot topics" that fundamentalist Protestants like to argue. So when someone says to you, "Show me in the Bible where it says that...." you can respond with confidence and knowledge to prove the Catholic belief. These Biblical references are categorized by subject, so you can more easily find the arguments you need.

You might also point out to them that the King James Version of the Bible is incomplete. The KJV came into being during the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Bible is the original Bible as our early Church Fathers compiled it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You could recommend that they obtain a Catholic Bible and read the entire thing. The KJV and subsequent "versions" of the Bible are missing 7 entire books and parts of 2 books. Protestants refer to these texts as the "apocrypha," as if they do not rightfully belong to the Bible as the Word of God. What could kings and politicians possibly have learned centuries after the Bible was originally compiled that would make them leave these texts out??? I submit that they did not have divine guidance in their decision to remove these texts, but instead had political reasons that suited their own lifestyles/beliefs.

Sacraments: Baptism; Confession; Holy Communion; Confirmation; Matrimony; Holy Orders; Anointing of the Sick

Roman Catholic Church is Apostolic, Instituted by Christ Himself, with Peter as the first Pope (appointed head):

Mt 16:18-19; -- upon this rock I will build my Church
Mt 18:17-18; -- if he refuses to listen even to Church...
Mt 28:18-20; -- go baptize and teach all nations
Mk 16:16; -- go to the whole world and proclaim the gospel
Lk 10:16; -- whoever hears you, hears Me; rejects you, rejects Me
Jn 14:16,26; -- Holy Spirit is with you always, teach and remind everything
Jn 16:12; -- Spirit of truth will guide you to all truth
1 Tim 3:15; -- Church is the pillar and foundation of truth
Jn 15:16; -- Jesus chose special men to be his apostles
Jn 20:21; -- Jesus gave the apostles their own mission
Lk 22:30; -- Jesus gave them a kingdom
Mt 16:18; -- Jesus built Church on Peter, the rock
Jn 10:16; -- one shepherd to shepherd Christ's sheep
Lk 22:32, Jn 21:17; Peter appointed to be chief shepherd
Eph 4:11; -- church leaders are hierarchical
1 Tim 3:1, 8; 5:17; -- identifies the roles of bishops, priests, deacons
Tit 1:5; commission for bishops to ordain priests

Col 1:18; -- he is the head of the body, the Church
1 Cor 12:20-27; -- you are Christ's body, individually parts of it
Eph 5:30; -- we are members of His body
Rom 12:4-5; -- though many, we are one body in Christ
1 Cor 6:15; -- don't you know your bodies are members of Christ

Jn 10:16; -- there shall be one fold and one shepherd
Eph 4:3-6; -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
Rom 16:17; -- avoid those who create dissensions
1 Cor 1:10; -- I urge that there be no divisions among you
Phil 2:2; -- be of same mind, united in heart, thinking one thing
Rom 15:5; -- God grant you to think in harmony with one another
Jn 17:17-23; -- I pray that they may be one, as we are one
Jn 17: 23; -- that they may be brought to perfection as one
1 Cor 12:13; -- in one spirit we were baptized into one body
Rom 12:5; -- we, though many, are one body in Christ
Eph 4:4; -- one body, one Spirit, called to one hope
Col 3:15; -- the peace into which you were called in one body

Mt 28:18-20; -- Jesus delegates all power to apostles
Jn 20:23; -- power to forgive sin
1 Cor 11:24; -- power to offer sacrifice (Eucharist)
Lk 10:16; -- power to speak with Christ's voice
Mt 18:18; -- power to legislate
Mt 18:17; -- power to discipline
Jn 16:13; -- guided by Holy Spirit into all truth
Jn 14:26; -- Holy Spirit to teach and remind them of everything
Lk 10:16; -- speak with Christ's own voice
1 Tim 3:15; -- church called "pillar and foundation of truth"
1 Jn 2:27; -- anointing of the Holy Spirit remains in you
Acts 15:28; -- apostles speak with voice of the Holy Spirit
Mt 28:20; -- I am with you always

Is 9:6-7; -- of Christ's government there will be no end
Dan 2:44; -- God's kingdom shall stand forever
Dan 7:14; -- His kingdom shall not be destroyed
Lk 1:32,33; -- no end to Christ's kingdom
Mt 7:24; -- Jesus is like a wise man who built his house on a rock
Mt 13:24-30; -- let wheat and weeds grow together until harvest
Mt 16:18; -- gates of hell will never prevai against Christ's church
Jn 14:16; -- Holy Spirit will be with you always
Mt 28:19-20; -- I am with you always

Mt 16:18; -- upon this rock (Peter) I will build my church
Mt 16:19; -- I give you the keys of the kingdom; power to bind and loose
Lk 22:32; -- Peter's faith will strenghthen his brethren
Jn 21:17; -- given Christ's flock as chief shepherd
Mk 6:7; -- angel sent to announce Resurrection to Peter
Lk 24:34; -- risen Jesus first appeared to Peter
Acts 1:13-26; -- headed meeting which elected Matthias
Acts 2:14; -- led apostles in preaching on Pentecost
Acts 2:41; -- received the first converts to Christianity
Acts 3:6-7; -- performed first miracle after Pentecost
Acts 5:1-11; -- inflicted first punishment; Ananias and Saphira
Acts 8:21; -- excommunicated first heretic, Simon Magnus
Acts 10:44-46; -- received revelation to admit Gentiles into the Church
Acts 15; -- led first council in Jerusalem
Acts 15:17; -- pronounces first dogmatic decision
Gal 1:8; -- after conversion, Paul visits chief apostle
Gal 2:11-14; -- I opposed Cephas to h is face, for his hypocrisy
Mt 10:1-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16; Acts 1:13; -- Peter's name always heads the list of the apostles
Mt 18:21; Mk 8:29; Lk 12:41; Jn 6:69; -- Peter speaks for all the apostles
2 Chr 19:11; -- high priest is over you in everything of the Lord's
Mal 2:7; -- seek instruction from priest; he is God's messenger
Eph 2:20; -- church built upon foundation of apostles and prophets
Eph 4:11; -- God gave some as apostles, others as prophets
1 Cor 12:29-29; God designated in church: apostles,....
Acts 1:20; -- let another take his office
Acts 1:25-26; -- Matthias takes Judas's apostolic ministry
1 Tim 3:1, 8; 5:17; -- qualifications for bishops, priests and deacons
1 Tim 4:14; -- gift conferred with the laying on of hands
1 Tim 5:22; -- do not lay hands too readily on anyone
Acts 14:23; -- they appointed presbyters in each church
2 Tim 2:2: -- what you heard from me entrust to the faithful teachers
Tit 1:5; -- appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed

1 Cor 11:2; -- hold fast to traditions I handed on to you
2 Thess 2:15; -- hold fast to traditions, whether oral or by letter
2 Thess 3:16; -- shun those acting not according to tradition
Jn 21:25; -- not everything Jesus said is recorded in Scripture
Mk 13:31; -- heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word won't
Acts 20:35; -- saying of Jesus not recorded in the gospels
2 Tim 1:13; -- follow my sound words; guard the truth
2 Tim 2:2: -- what you heard, entrust to faithful men
2 Pet 1:20; -- no prophecy is a matter of private interpretation
2 Pet 3:15-16; -- Paul's letters can be difficult to grasp and interpret
1 Pet 1:25; -- God's eternal Word is the Word preached by you
Rom 10:17; -- faith comes from what is heard
1 Cor 15:1-2; -- being saved if you hold fast to the word I preached
Mk 16:15; -- go to the whole world, proclaim the gospel to every creature
Mt 23:2-3; -- chair of Moses; observe whatever they tell you
Mt 15:3; -- break commandment of God for your tradition
Mk 7:9; -- set aside God's commandment to uphold tradition
Col 2:8; -- seductive philosophy according to human tradition
1 Cor 11:2; -- commends them for following Apostolic tradition
2 Thess 2:15; -- commands them to keep traditions
2 Thess 3:16; -- shun those acting not according to tradition

Rom 8:24; -- for in hope we are saved
Eph 2:5, 8; -- by grace you have been saved through faith
2 Tim 1:9; -- He saved us, called us, according to His grace
Tit 3:5; -- He saved us through bath of rebirth, renewal by the Holy Spirit
Phil 2:12; -- work out your salvation with fear and trembling
1 Pet 1:9; -- as you attain the goal of your faith and salvation
Mt 10:22; -- he who endures to the end will be saved
Mt 24:13; -- he who perseveres to the end will be saved
Mk 8:3-5; -- whoever loses his life for My sake will save it
Acts 15:11; -- we shall be saved through the grace of Jesus
Rom 5:9-10; -- since we are justified, we shall be saved
Rom 13:11; -- salvation is nearer now than first believed
1 Cor 3:15; -- he will be saved, but only as through fire
1 Cor 5:5; -- deliver man to Satan so his spirit may be saved
Heb 9:28; -- Jesus will appear a second time to bring salvation
Jam 2:24; -- a man is justified by works and not by faith alone
Jam 2:26; -- faith without works is dead
Gal 5:4-6; -- only thing that counts is faith working in love
1 Cor 13:2; -- faith without love is nothing
Jn 14:15; -- if you love Me, keep My commandments
Mt 19:16-17; -- if you wish to enter into life, keep My commandments
Mt 7:21; -- not "Lord, Lord," but he who does the will of the Father
Jn 14:21; -- he who keeps My commandments loves Me
Rom 2:2-8; -- eternal life by perseverance in good works
Eph 2:8-10; -- we are created in Christ for good works
Jas 2:14-24; -- man is justified by works and not faith alone

Rom 2:5-8; -- God will repay each man according to his works
2 Cor 11:15; -- recompense according to what you did in body; their end will correspond to their deeds
1 Pet 1:17; -- God judges impartially according to one's works
Rev 20:12-13; -- dead judged according to their deeds
Col 3:24-25; -- will receive due payment for whatever you do on earth
Rom 11:23; -- remain in His kindness or you will be cut off
1 Cor 9:27; -- drive the body for fear of being disqualified
1 Cor 10:11-12; -- those thinking they are secure may fall
Gal 5:4; -- separated from Christ, you've fallen from grace
Hb 6:4-6; -- describes sharers in the Holy Spirit who have fallen away
Heb 10:26-27; -- if you sin after receiving the truth, judgment remains

Mt 5:48; -- be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect
Heb 12:14; -- strive for that holiness without which we cannot see God
Jam 3:2; -- we all fall short in many respects
Rev 21:27; -- nothing unclean shall enter heaven
1 Jn 5:16-17; -- degrees of sins are distinguished
Jm 1:14-15; -- when sin reaches maturity, it gives birth to death
2 Sam 12:13-14; -- David, though forgiven, was still punished for his sins
Mt 5:26; -- you will not be released until you've paid the last penny
Mt 12:32; -- sin against the Holy Spirit is unforgiven in this life and the next
Mt 12:36; -- account for every idle word on judgment day
2 Macc 12:44-46; -- atoned for dead to free them from sin
1 Cor 3:15; -- suffer loss, but saved as through fire
1 Pet 3:18-20; -- Jesus preached to the spirits in prison
2 Tim 1:16-18; -- Paul prays for his dead friend, Onesiphorus
1 Cor 15:29-30; -- Paul mentions people baptizing for the dead

Is 33:11,14; -- who of us can live with the everlasting flames
Mt 25:41; -- depart, you accursed, into the eternal fire
Mt 25:46; -- these will go off to eternal punishment
Lk 3:16-17; -- the chaff he will burn in unquenchable fire
2 Thess 1:6-9; -- these will pay the penalty of eternal ruin

Acts 6:14, 7:2; -- St. Stephen calls Jewish leaders "fathers"
Acts 21:40, 22:1; -- St. Paul calls Jerusalem Jews "fathers"
Rom 4:16-17; -- Abraham called "the father of us all"
1 Cor 4:14-15; -- I became your father in Christ through the gospel
1 Tim 1:2; -- my true child in the faith
Tit 1:4; -- my true child in our common faith
Heb 12:7-9; -- we have earthly fathers to discipline us
Lk 14:26; -- if anayone comes to me without hating his father...
1 Thess 2:1; -- we treated you as a father treats his children
Philem 10; -- whose father I became in my imprisonment
1 Jn 2:13-14; -- I write to you, fathers, because you know Him

Gn 1; -- complementarity of sexes reflects God's inner unity
Gn 2; -- transmission of life through total self donation; one flesh
Gn 19; -- original sin deteriorates to Sodom's sin, destroyed
Lv 18:22; -- called abomination, cut off from the people
Lv 20:13; -- both shall be put to death for abominable deed
Rom 1:27; -- called unnatural, shameful, and a perversity
1 Cor 6:9; -- active homosexuals won't inherit the kingdom of God
1 Tim 1:10; -- those who engage in such acts are called "sinners"

Gn 27:25; -- Isaac brough Jacob wine, and he drank
Dt 14:23-26; -- spend money on sheep, wine, and strong drink
Prov 20:1; -- wine is a mocker, and it is unwise to be led astray by it
Eccl 9:7; -- drink your wine with merry heart; God approves
Is 25:6; -- God will provide feast of rich foods and choice wines
Is 5:11; -- woe to those who rise early and run after strong drink
Is 5:22; -- woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
Lk 7:33-34; -- Son of Man eats and drinks; behold the glutton and the drunk
Jn 2:2-9; -- miracle at Cana; water turned into wine by Jesus
Eph 5:18; -- do not get drunk with wine; that is debauchery
1 Tim 5:23; -- drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach

Mal 2:14-16; -- for I hate divorce, says the Lord
Mt 5:32-33; -- to divorce or marry divorced wife is adultery
Mt 19:4-6, 9; -- to divorce wife and remarry is adultery
Mk 10:11-12; -- if either divorces and remarries, it is adultery
Lk 16:18; -- to divorce and remarry or marry a divorced person is adultery
Rom 7:2-3; -- if a wife consorts, she is adultress if husband is alive; if dead, not
1 Cor 7:10-11; -- if a wife separates, she must stay single or reconcile
Mt 19:5; -- leave father and mother, join a wife; the 2 become 1 flesh
Mk 10:7-12; -- what God has joined together, no man can separate
Eph 5:22-32; -- union of man and wife is the image of Christ and His Church
1 Thess 4:4; -- acquire a wife for yourself in holiness and honor

Lk 1:28, 30; -- angel Gabriel: "full of grace....found favor with God"
Lk 1:40; -- Elizabeth: "most blessed among women"
Lk 1:48; -- Mary: "all generations wil call me blessed"

Mary as the Mother of God:
Lk 1:43; -- Elizabeth calls her "mother of my Lord"
Mt 1:23; -- a virgin will bear a son, Emmanuel (means "God is with us")
Lk 1:35; -- child born will be called holy, the Son of God
Gal 4:4; -- God sent His Son, born of a virgin

The Assumption of Mary's Body into Heaven after her Death:
Gn 5:24; Hb 11:5; -- Enoch taken to heaven without dying
2 Kg 2:11; -- Elijah assumed into heaven in a fiery chariot
Mt 27:52; -- many saints who had fallen asleep were raised
1 Thess 4:17; -- caught up to meet the Lord in the air
1 Cor 15:52; -- we shall be instantly changed at the last trumpet
Rom 6:23; -- for the wages of sin is death
Rev 11:19; 12:1; -- ark in heaven is a woman clothed with the sun

Immaculate Conception (Mary was Conceived Without Sin):
Lk 1:28; -- hail full of grace, highly favored daughter; the Lord is with you
Lk 1:30; -- you have found favor with God
Lk 1:37; -- for with God, nothing shall be impossible
Gn 3:15; -- complete enmity between woman and Satan (sin)
Ex 25:11-21; -- ark made of purest gold for God's Word

Mary Ever-Virgin; Her Perpetual Virginity:
Lk 1:34; -- how can this be, since I do not know man
Lk 2:41-51; -- at age 12, Jesus was apparently the only child of Mary
Mk 6:3; -- "the" son of Mary, not "a" son of Mary
Mt 27:56; -- Mary the mother of James and Joseph is also...
Jn 19:25; -- Mary, the wife of Clopas
Jn 19:26; -- entrusted Mary to John, not a younger sibling
Jn 7:3-4; -- brothers advise like elders: "go to Judea, manifest...."
Mk 3:21; -- set out to seize him, "he is out of his mind"
Mt 28:20; -- I am with you always, until the end of ages

Eph 1:22-23; -- He is head of the Church, which is His Body
Eph 5:21-32; -- Christ is head of the Church, the Saviour of the body
Col 1:18, 24; -- He is the head of the body, the Church
1 Cor 12:12-27; -- if 1 suffers, all suffer; if 1 is honored, all rejoice
Rom 12:5; -- we are 1 body in Christ, individually parts of one another
Eph 4:4; -- one body, one Spirit, called to one hope
Col 3:15; -- you were called in one body
Rom 8:35-39; -- death cannot separate us from Christ
Rom 12:10; -- love one another with mutual affection
1 Thess 5:11; -- encourage and build up one another
Gal 6:2; -- bear one another's burdens
Gal 6:10; -- let us do good to all, especially those in the family of faith

Rom 15:30; -- join me by your prayers to God on my behalf
Eph 4:3; -- pray for us
2 Th 1:11; -- we always pray for you
2 Th 3:1; -- finally, brothers, pray for us
Eph 6:18; -- making supplication for all the saints and for me
Tob 12:12; -- angel presents Tobit and Sarah's prayer to God
Rev 5:8; -- angel offers prayers of the holy ones to God
Mk 12:26-27; -- He is God of the living, not of the dead
Mk 9:4; -- Jesus is seen conversing with Elijah and Moses
Lk 23:43; -- this day you will be with me in paradise
Rev 6:9-11; -- martyrs under the altar want earthly vindication
Heb 12:1; -- we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses
Lk 16:19-30; -- departed rich man intercedes for his brothers
Rev 20:4; -- saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
Wis 3:1-6; -- the souls of the just are in the hand of God
1 Tim 2:1-7; -- offer prayers, petitions for all men
1 Pet 2:5; -- be a holy priesthood to offer sacrifices through Christ
Mk 10:18; -- only God is good
Mt 25:23; -- well done my good and faithful servant
Jn 10:11-16; -- I am the good shepherd; one flock, one shepherd
Jn 21:15-16; -- feed my lambs, tend my sheep
Eph 4:11; -- He gave some as apostles...others as pastors
Heb 3:1; 7:24; 9:12; -- Jesus is the eternal high priest; one sacrifice
Rev 1:6; 5:10; -- He made us a kingdom of priests for God

Jos 5:14; -- Joshua fell prostrate in worship before an angel
Dan 8:17; -- Daniel fell prostrate in terror for Gabriel
Tob 12:16; Tobiah and Tobit fall to the ground before Raphael
Mt 18:10; -- angels in heaven always behold the face of God (We venerate angels because of their great dignity, which comes from their union with God. Saints are also united with God in heaven.)
1 Jn 3:2; -- we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is
1 Thess 1:5-8; -- you became an example to all belivers
Heb 13:7; -- remember leaders, consider and imitate their life and faith

Relics:
2 Kgs 13:20-21; -- contact with Elijah's bones restored life to a dead man
Acts 5:15-16; -- cures performed through Peter's shadow
Acts 19:11-12; -- cures through face cloths that touched Paul

Statues:
Ex 25:18-19; -- make 2 cherubim of beaten gold
Num 21:8-9; -- Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole
1 Kgs 6:23-29; -- temple had engraved cherubim, trees, flowers
1 Kigs 7:25-45; -- temple had bronze oxen, lions, pomegranates

I belong to several webrings, all of which have the intention of being a positive contributor to the internet; and, they contain websites who support the webmasters' ideals. However, occasionally there will be a website that will sneak into a webring and subsequently change their substance to more objectionable material. If you discover one of these sites by visiting one of the webrings I have joined, I would appreciate you emailing me with the URL of the site and the name of the webring it belongs to, so that I may pursue either my association with the webring, or the other website's association. For the most part, I believe webrings are marvelous tools for assisting web-surfers in finding information about the subjects they are interested in! I hope you enjoy all these wonderful rings of love!