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We don’t even have to appeal to extra-Biblical doctrines or events to find accord with Protestants on the validity of extra-Biblical traditions—we can just use Scripture. In the New Testament, there are numerous affirmations of extra-Biblical traditions:- The Old Testament does not name the magicians in Egypt who tried to discredit Moses, but Paul calls them Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim 3:8). - Jude expects his readers to be aware that Michael the Archangel disputed with Satan over the body of Mos …

Catholicism teaches that the doctrines contained in Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and Sacred Tradition (the Church) are authoritative because God’s revelation is the source of both. The Catechism puts it this way: “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God” (97).This means that “both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence” (82).To some Protestants, this might sound blasphemous. The idea th …

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).In and of itself, this is a remarkable passage, although much is lost in translation. The Enduring Word biblical commentary remarks on this verse that “Satan wanted to completely crush and defeat Peter.” But this fundamentally misunderstands the verse.It’s about Satan’s plan to crus …

To outsiders, Catholicism is weird.Protestants, especially, often have a hard time comprehending the Catholic world of popes, Mary statues, prayer cards, vestments, smells, bells, and Jesus’ actual body and blood in the Eucharist—especially if they have been taught that these are unbiblical additions to the pure Christian faith.Of course, all of Christianity can seem pretty weird, can’t it?All Christians believe in a God that is one yet somehow also three. We think that a man who is also God phy …

The famous parable of the Good Samaritan is found only in the Gospel according to St. Luke. It speaks especially of works of mercy, a theme dear to the heart of Luke and his companion St. Paul, who was especially mindful of the poor (see Galatians 2:10).A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers who also stripped him, and having wounded him went away, leaving him half-dead. And it happened that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. In l …