DAY 267

CHALLENGE

“People should be baptized only by immersion: (1) In Greek the word for “baptize” (baptizein) means ‘to dip’; (2) immersion better fits the symbolism of Jesus’ burial (Rom. 6:1–4; Col. 2:12); and (3) when Jesus

was baptized, he ‘came up out of the water’ (Mark 1:10) and the Ethiopian eunuch ‘went down into the water’ (Acts 8:38).”

DEFENSE

These arguments do not show immersion is the only means of baptizing.

First, baptizein doesn’t simply mean dip: “The word that invariably means ‘to dip’ is not baptizein but baptein; baptizein has a wider signification; and its use...

DAY 266

CHALLENGE

“Religion is intrinsically hostile to science.”

DEFENSE

This is a gross caricature that itself exhibits hostility to religion.

There have been conflicts involving science and religion (e.g., the Galileo affair, the Scopes Monkey Trial). There are religious individuals who are hostile to science, but there also are scientifically oriented individuals who are hostile to religion. Looking down on something as “unscientific” displays hostility in the same way dismissing it as “irreligious” does.

The supporters of both religion and science are flawed human beings who are s…

DAY 265

CHALLENGE

“Why would a good God allow natural disasters? It doesn’t seem to be because of original sin, because our telescopes and probes show that floods and quakes have occurred on other planets and moons.”

DEFENSE

Destructive events in nature are morally neutral in themselves.

A flood is just a wave of water passing over dry land. An earthquake is a shaking of the ground, typically caused by the motion of tectonic plates. Other “natural disasters”—volcanic eruptions, heat waves, cold waves, storms, and so on—fit the same pattern. They are changes in an environment caused b…

DAY 264

CHALLENGE

“We don’t need Tradition or the Magisterium to help us understand Scripture. It is perspicuous—i.e., clear and readily understandable.”

DEFENSE

This claim can be understood more than one way.

It may be understood in a strong sense, according to which Scripture is sufficiently clear that every point of theology can be settled by Scripture alone. However, Scripture contains many passages that are very difficult to understand. Anyone with minimal exposure to the Bible knows it is far from perspicuous. If it were, the diverse interpretations and debates about its meaning …

DAY 263

CHALLENGE

“Scripture teaches men can become gods. Jesus said, ‘You are gods’ (John 10:34).”

DEFENSE

Men do not become gods the way Jesus is God.

The Hebrew word ’elohim normally refers to either the one true God or pagan gods (see Day 227). However, it has other, lesser-known meanings.

Thus it can refer to angels. Psalm 8:5 says God made man lower than ’elohim, and the Septuagint translated this as angelous (a plural form of the Greek word angelos, “angel”). This understanding was endorsed by the New Testament (see Heb. 8:7).

Similarly, some Aramaic translations of Old Testam…

DAY 262

CHALLENGE

“Your claim that Tradition determines the canon of Scripture (see Day 247) is false. The books of the Bible witness to one another as Scripture.”

DEFENSE

There are several problems with this view.

Various biblical books do refer to other books as Scripture. For example, Matthew 21:42 quotes Psalm 118:22–23 as being among “the scriptures.” Other passages in Matthew use the formula “it is written,” which commonly introduces Scripture quotations, to refer to Micah 5:2 (Matt. 2:5), Deuteronomy 8:3 (Matt. 4:4), Isaiah 56:7 (Matt. 21:13), and Zechariah 13:7 (Matt. 26:31). F…

DAY 261

CHALLENGE

“Infallibility is a matter of convenience. When it suits Catholic apologists, they declare a teaching infallible, but when it’s embarrassing, they say it’s not. There aren’t objective criteria for when a teaching is infallible.”

DEFENSE

This challenge is false on a number of levels.

First, there are objective criteria for when a teaching is infallible (see Code of Canon Law 749 §§1–2; Vatican I, Pastor Aeternus 4; Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 25).

Second, Catholic apologists are frequently in situations where it would be easier if they did not have to defend infallible …

DAY 260

CHALLENGE

“The Catholic Faith is homophobic. It hates and fears gay people.”

DEFENSE

The Church recognizes everyone, including those with same- sex attraction, as people God loves and for whom Christ died.

Sometimes homosexual activists accuse those who disagree with them of “hate.” Or they may accuse others of irrational fear—of being “homophobic.” Although some individuals may hate or fear homosexuals, these allegations are used indiscriminately to attack those who disagree and to shut down rational discussion. However, merely disagreeing with homosexuality does not involve eithe…

DAY 259

CHALLENGE

“Some people are born homosexual, so it’s in accord with their nature for them to engage in homosexual behavior. God made them that way.”

DEFENSE

The premise of this challenge is shaky, and the conclusions drawn from it are erroneous.

First, the claim that some people are born homosexual is problematic. The origins of same-sex attraction are not well understood.

It may be true that most people with same-sex attraction do not recall a moment where they chose to have this condition, but humans are a highly cognitive species for whom training is important. It would be …

DAY 258

CHALLENGE

“Why do you claim that the biblical authors used a different level of precision than we do?”

DEFENSE

Approximations were more common because of the inability in the ancient world to accurately measure and record things (see Day 248).

We can show Scripture uses many forms of approximation, including:

Numerical approximations: For example, a basin in Solomon’s temple is said to have a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits (1 Kings 7:23; 2 Chron. 4:2), indicating the approximate value of π (pi) as 3 (see Day 197). Numerical approximations are also …