DAY 207

CHALLENGE

“Why can’t we explain the Resurrection by saying that the disciples simply went to the wrong tomb—a tomb that was empty?”

DEFENSE

There are multiple problems with this hypothesis.

First, the Gospels indicate the women who visited the tomb were also eyewitnesses of the burial, and even name the women involved (Matt. 27:61; Mark 15:47; cf. Matt. 28:1, Mark 16:1). The women thus knew where Jesus was buried.

Second, the tomb’s location was publicly known. It was in the place where Jesus was crucified (John 19:41–42), so the women merely had to return to the site of the Cr…

DAY 206

CHALLENGE

“There’s no good evidence that Jesus actually rose from the dead.”

DEFENSE

The Resurrection explains the evidence we have better than any alternative hypothesis does.

According to the Christian message, Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. He rose from the dead, his tomb was found empty, and he appeared to his disciples. Finally, he ascended into heaven in their presence.

The pivotal claims here are that he died, rose from the dead, and ascended. The latter is often overlooked, but it was a key part of the Christian message, both for its theological significance…

DAY 205

CHALLENGE

“Purgatory cannot exist because on the cross, Christ told the good thief, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’ (Luke 23:43).”

DEFENSE

This assumes that purgatory involves being separated from Jesus and that it takes time.

Purgatory may not involve being separated from Jesus but may be an encounter with Jesus.

Paul says our works will be tested by fire, and, if a man’s works are burned up, “he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). Commenting on this, Benedict XVI stated:

Some recent theologi…

DAY 204

CHALLENGE

“Catholic teaching on justification is false. Paul says, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast’ (Eph. 2:8–9).”

DEFENSE

This passage does not disagree with Catholic teaching.

Catholics agree we are saved through faith and by grace: “Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God” (CCC 1996).

Neither salvation nor faith is ou…

DAY 203

CHALLENGE

“The pope’s title Vicarius Filii Dei (‘Vicar of the Son of God’) adds up to 666, identifying him as the beast of Revelation.”

DEFENSE

Vicarius Filii Dei is not one of the pope’s titles (see Day 175), and a careful study of Revelation shows that the number likely refers to a Roman emperor.

Revelation 13:18 says 666 is the “number of a man” (literal translation). Revelation gives several clues about who this was.

He likely was alive in John’s day. Revelation 1:1 and 22:6 say the vision John sees “must soon take place.”

The beast has seven heads that represent seven hi…

DAY 202

CHALLENGE

“Even if we grant that the unborn are living human beings, that doesn’t mean abortion is wrong. Why would it be?”

DEFENSE

A fundamental principle of morality is that you can never deliberately kill an innocent human being. It is a human universal that you cannot slay the innocent. If a society failed to recognize this principle—so its ordinary, innocent members could be killed at will—then that society would descend into anarchy and break apart.

The basic moral intuition that killing innocents is wrong is so strong that when genocides have killed large numbers of inno…

DAY 201

CHALLENGE

“I can’t imagine being happy for all eternity in heaven. Sitting on a cloud playing a harp sounds boring.”

DEFENSE

The reality of heaven transcends human imagination, and popular images of it are only pointers.

The depiction of robed saints sittting on clouds and playing harps is a modern one. It is found in art and on greeting cards, but it mashes images together in a way not found in the Bible.

Scripture uses many images for heaven. The most fundamental is the sky. John Paul II explained: “In biblical language ‘heaven,’ when it is joined to the ‘earth,’ indicates …

DAY 200

CHALLENGE

“The Catholic Church teaches a false gospel by saying you need to be baptized. We are saved by faith without works.”

DEFENSE

Baptism is not a “work.” The New Testament teaches—and many Protestants agree—that baptism is important for salvation.

Scripture unambiguously teaches that baptism is important for salvation (see Day 20).

If one accuses Catholics of holding a false gospel because they see baptism as a means of salvation, then one must make the same charge against Orthodox, other Eastern Christians, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and others. Only a comparative…

DAY 199

CHALLENGE

“Matthew states that Joseph ‘knew her [Mary] not until she had borne a son.’ This implies that he did have sexual relations with her later.”

DEFENSE

This overtaxes the meaning of “until.”

The term “until” (Greek, heōs) commonly indicated a particular state existed to a certain point, as in “John worked at his desk until five o’clock.”

The existing state often changes when the point is reached (thus, at five o’clock, John may go home). But change is not always indicated.

In 2 Samuel 6:23, Saul’s daughter Michal scoffed at King David’s enthusiasm for the Lord, and …

DAY 198

CHALLENGE

“I can’t take the idea of hell seriously. The idea that a loving God would confine people to a fiery place deep in the earth where devils poke them with pitchforks in a torture chamber is ridiculous.”

DEFENSE

The next world transcends our ability to imagine, and, even at their best, the images we use aren’t meant to be more than pointers.

Like some popular depictions of heaven, popular depictions of hell owe more to artistic imagination than they do to Scripture. The im- age of devils poking people with pitchforks—or otherwise torturing them—is not found in Scripture …