Question: Should the Bible be taken literally? Is any of it metaphor? Answer: Well, it depends. Besides the literal sense of Scripture there is also a spiritual sense. This in turn is divided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses. Each one brings a different layer of meaning to the text. The literal sense is the sense that the human author wished to convey to … Continue reading
Question: A friend recently told me that the Book of Maccabees shouldn’t be in the Bible because it has prayers for the dead in it. How should I respond to that? Answer: There are a handful of books in the Catholic bible that are not included in Protestant bibles. These are Sirach, Tobit, Wisdom, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Baruch, as well as additions … Continue reading
Question: I always hear people speak of Mary’s “fiat” and her “magnificat.” What are these things? Answer: Mary’s fiat is found in Lk 1:38. It is her “yes” to God, which she declared once the Angel explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Her specific words were, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done … Continue reading
Question: What does Gen 3:15 mean when God says that he will place “enmity” between the serpent and the woman? Answer: In order to answer this question, we need to know what “enmity” is, as well as the identities of the “serpent” and the “woman.” First, some background information. So, Eve has been persuaded by the serpent to disobey God and eat from the Tree … Continue reading
Question: What is a prophet? Answer: In the Old Testament, a prophet was someone who brought the word of God to the people by the power of the Holy Spirit. “He has spoken through the prophets,” as we say in the Nicene Creed. Sixteen books in the Old Testament (the “prophetic books”) are by these prophets. The four “major prophets” are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and … Continue reading
Question: What is Purgatory? Answer: People tend to think of Purgatory in a variety of ways: “Purgatory is a place where souls who don’t deserve heaven get a second chance to be with God”; “Purgatory is the best that I can hope for in the afterlife, since heaven is only for really holy people”; “Purgatory is a place where souls work their own way into … Continue reading
Question: What is the difference between mortal and venial sin? Answer: The “Glossary” in the back of the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines mortal sin as: A grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life (or “sanctifying grace”) in the soul of the sinner, constituting a turn away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be … Continue reading