DAY 117

CHALLENGE

“Leviticus mistakenly describes insects as having four legs, but everyone knows they have six.”

DEFENSE

Everyone does know they have six. The Hebrews knew it, too.

Little boys everywhere have the curiosity and cruelty needed to count and pull off the legs of insects. Hebrew boys were no exception. Even for children who don’t do this, the discovery that insects have more legs than the four we see on other animals is a notable discovery everyone makes in childhood.

So what does Leviticus 11:21 mean when it refers to insects that walk “on all fours” (Hebrew, ‘al ’arba‘…

DAY 116

CHALLENGE

“The idea that God is free makes no sense. Anyone all-knowing would see the best solution to every problem. Anyone all-good would implement that solution. Therefore, God has no freedom.”

DEFENSE

This presupposes that there is a best solution to every problem, but often this is not the case.

Sometimes there are many solutions, all of which are equal. If the problem is to pick a random number between one and ten, there are ten possible solutions. If it is to be a random number, there are no criteria by which to judge one number better than another. Therefore, all choice…

DAY 115 

CHALLENGE

“The Resurrection accounts are contradictory. Luke indicates that Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem on the same day, but Matthew and Mark indicate he appeared later in Galilee.”

DEFENSE

This is not a contradiction. Jesus appeared in both places.

Paul indicates that Jesus made multiple post-Resurrection appearances (1 Cor. 15:5–8). In Acts, Luke indicates he appeared repeatedly over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3). Consequently, the evangelists needed to make choices about what appearances to include in their Gospels.

Luke chose appearances Jesus made the sam…

DAY 114

CHALLENGE

“The Catholic Church is too inclusive when it says non-Christians can be saved. Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me’ (John 14:6), and Peter declared, ‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).”

DEFENSE

Salvation is through Christ alone, but that does not mean that only Christians can be saved.

When Peter says that salvation is not found in anyone besides Jesus, he asserts that there is no Savior besides Jesus; when Jesus sa…

DAY 113

CHALLENGE

“How can Catholics and other Christians be so exclusive when it comes to salvation? The idea that God would damn people to hell just because they never heard of him is abhorrent.”

DEFENSE

That’s not the teaching of the Catholic Church.

The Church holds that “those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation” (CCC 847).

Altho…

DAY 112

CHALLENGE

“The Catholic Church is wrong to teach that its Magisterium is superior to the word of God.”

DEFENSE

The Church teaches that the Magisterium serves the word of God.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus commissioned his apostles and others to teach in his name, telling them: “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10:16).

He further commissioned this teaching authority to continue to the end of the world, saying: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, te…

DAY 111

CHALLENGE

“Catholicism is wrong to say the Eucharist involves a sacrifice. Jesus was sacrificed ‘once for all’ (Rom. 6:10; Heb. 7:27, 9:12, 26, 10:10; 1 Pet. 3:18).”

DEFENSE

Jesus died only once, but this does not exhaust his sacrificial ministry.

Hebrews acknowledges Christ’s once-for-all death on earth as well as his ongoing sacrificial ministry in heaven, saying the heavenly things must be purified “with better sacrifices” (plural) than those offered in the earthly temple (Heb. 9:23; cf. George Wesley Buchanan, The Anchor Bible: To the Hebrews, 162).

Protestant historian J…

DAY 110

CHALLENGE

“Catholics’ use of Tradition and the Magisterium is wrong. In the Bible, God says we must neither add to nor take away from Scripture (Deut. 4:2, 12:32; Rev. 22:18–19).”

DEFENSE

These passages do not prove what is claimed.

The two from Deuteronomy deal with the Israelites’ observance of the Mosaic Law. The first says: “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (emphasis added).

The second reads: “Everything that I command you you shall be careful to do; you shall no…

DAY 109

CHALLENGE

“Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John didn’t really write the Gospels. We have no idea who actually did. They are anonymous, and names weren’t attached to them until the second century.”

DEFENSE

The evidence suggests Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did write the Gospels.

Ultimately, the important thing is not who wrote the Gospels but whether they are reliable.

Anonymity is no barrier to reliability, and there are many anonymous works that scholars rely on for knowledge of the ancient world. For example, scholars use the Itinerarium Burdigalense, an important travel narrativ…

DAY 108

CHALLENGE

“Science and religion seem antagonistic. How can they coexist?”

DEFENSE

We elsewhere cover the fact that the two fields aren’t intrinsically hostile (see Day 266). This, plus the fact that they largely deal with different subjects, makes their coexistence possible.

Scripture does not dwell on the details of creation for, when inspiring the biblical authors, the Spirit of God “did not wish to teach men these facts that would be of no avail for their salvation” (St. Augustine, The Literal Meaning of Genesis 2:9:20).

Similarly, Cardinal Caesar Baronius is credited with s…