James M. Seghers - The Fullness of Truth: A Handbook For Understanding and Explaining The Catholic Faith Biblically

THE FULLNESS OF TRUTH:

A HANDBOOK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLAINING THE CATHOLIC FAITH BIBLICALLY

BY

JAMES M. SEGHERS

TheFullnessOfTruth.com - Email: info@thefullnessoftruth.com

2010

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In 1983, I read Ralph Martins book, A Crisis of Truth: The Attack on Faith, Morality and Mission of the Catholic Church. It was a soul-searching experience to realize that I had naively accepted false ideas under the pretext they were taught in the spirit of Vatican II. It was the beginning of my reconnection with the Catholic faith as proclaimed by the Churchs teaching authority for two thousand years as opposed to distortions propagandized by some false teachers within the Church.

A few years later my brother-in-law James and I attended an apologetic seminar conducted by Patrick Madrid at St. Dorothys church in Glendora, California. The room was crowded with well-educated Catholics who were clueless about how to explain or defend the Catholic faith biblically. That experience triggered in me a determination to begin a serious study of the biblical underpinnings of the Catholic faith.

In Gods providence, I met Terry Barber that evening. Terry is the founder of St. Joseph Communication. He was handing out audiotapes of Scott Hahns conversion together with catalogues of the audiotapes available through St. Joseph Communication. Scott opened the Scriptures for me in a way that made the Word of God come alive. I began listening to audiotapes, studying and attending the wonderful Family Conferences sponsored by St. Joseph Communication. Subsequently, I attended an apologetic seminar with Scott at Christendom College. I feel very much indebted to Ralph, Patrick, Terry and Scott. I am also profoundly indebted to Dr. John Thompson and Mark Sanborn whose continuing support makes available the tools I need for research and writing.

This workbook is the fruit of the study that began eighteen or more years ago. Mrs. Melody Barousse, the principal at St. Peter School, and Mrs. Celie Clark, the director of St. Peters Parish School of Religion, gave invaluable insight into the format and structure of this workbook. Katie Montelepre, Matt and Glenda Hardey and my daughter, Audrey Seghers, proofed the typing and made insightful suggestions to improve the clarity of the finished product. Their help was invaluable. Ron MacInnis designed the beautiful cover. His work is always wonderfully creative. I need to acknowledge my gratitude to my wife, Michelle, who supports my work and creates a home environment that allows me to spend many hours studying and writing. Finally, I need to express my profound appreciation to the generosity of Dr. Herb Flood and Matt Hardey who made the electronic edition of this work possible.

James M. Seghers

The Jesus Prayer

By St. John Gabriel Perboyre, C.M.

O my Divine Savior, transform me into yourself.

May my hands be the hands of Jesus.

May my tongue be the tongue of Jesus,

Grant that every faculty of my body may serve only to glorify you.

Above all, transform my soul and all its powers,

that my memory, my will and my affections

may be the memory, the will and the affections of Jesus.

I pray you to destroy in me all that is not you.

Grant that I may live but in you and for you,

and that I may truly say with St. Paul:

I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20).

INTRODUCTION

There are not a hundred people in the world who hate the Catholic Church, but there are thousands who hate what they mistakenly believe the Catholic Church to be. Bishop Sheen

This handbook is intended as an aid to instructing students how to understand, explain and defend the Catholic faith biblically. Therefore the content presented here is targeted to adults, although older children could benefit for reading and studying it. The material presented here could form the basis of a stand-alone course in the later years of grammar school or in high school, but that is not its primary purpose.

This handbook is structured to supplement the schools normal religion curriculum. Therefore the various segments will dovetail well with the Religion courses taught in traditional Catholic schools and parish schools of religion. It will also be an invaluable aid to Catholic homeschoolers. Individual topics are developed in each of the first five major parts. They begin with a one-page cliff note that summarizes the topic. A short essay on the same topic follows each cliff note, providing a more detailed development. The Addendum contains short essays on six different topics.

All references to teachers are intended to include parents. The Church affirms the vital role of parents in the formation of their children in the faith:

Tragically, many Catholics have been drawn out of the Catholic Church because they could not explain or defend Catholic beliefs and practices biblically. In these circumstances they are led to believe by well meaning Protestants that many unique Catholic beliefs are unbiblical.

Understanding the biblical foundation for Catholic beliefs guards Catholics from this deception, and empowers them to evangelize non-Catholic Christians so they can embrace the complete Christian message, instead of one of the numerous truncated Protestant versions.

Bob Sungenis tells how he was persuaded to leave the Catholic Church:

Protecting children and adults from distortions of the Christian faith is important, but there exists a more pressing reason to teach the Catholic faith biblically. In the Word of God one encounters the Word who is God.

Finally, Catholics are called to evangelize all those who do not have the fullness of truth. The Church has a missionary mandate to preach the Gospel to all men. Thus, the Catechism makes its own the words of St. Thomas Aquinas:

Sacred Scripture is also the indispensable meeting ground to have a meaningful discussion with non-Catholic Christians about matters of faith and practice. Therefore when Catholics do not understand their faith biblically they leave the impression on non-Catholics that Catholic beliefs are not based on Gods revelation. Furthermore, Catholics are left tentative and even afraid to engage in serious religious discussions with Bible-believing Protestants, when they lack an understanding the biblical basis of their faith.

Many Catholics are also unaware that a great deal of anti-Catholic propaganda is circulated in some Protestants circles. Yet the vast majority of Protestants have never heard the Catholic faith authentically presented. Steve Wood, a former Presbyterian minister, wrote: