[quote:mho4883k]come on guys, all you can say is to say that I’m assuming my beliefs? We
know that the Bible is truth, yet you say I’m only “assuming” my stand.[/quote:mho4883k]First, allow me to commend you for acknowledging that Catholics know and accept the Bible as truth. It surprised me because the last time I had a similar conversation, he turned the conversation into an attack on my belief in the Bible (as though to take issue with his argument for Scripture was an attack on Scripture itself).

Second, we say that you are assuming your belief because, in large part, you are. Your theology holds that the Bible is the sole and final rule of faith and so you learn about the Bible based on what the Bible says. “Scripture is the inerrant word of God because Scripture says it is” makes all the sense in the world to you, right? Now, you do make progress when you state that its prophecies have been fulfilled and its historical record is accurate but notice that in your initial response those reasons are mentioned as an afterthought, as secondary to “because Scripture says so.”

But then in your latest post, you go on to argue that the Quran is not true because it conflicts with the Bible. That is a total step backward in reasoning and a complete misstep with regards to the topic (that is, the Quran was only introduced as part of the reductio ad absurdum refutation of your criteria; showing that the Quran is not inspired would only serve to further disprove the argument it was introduced to disprove – shooting oneself in the foot).

And do not get so caught up in distancing yourself from the world. Christians are called to live in the world because that is where everyone else happens to be.

In other related news, I am reading the book “That’s Just Your Interpretation” by Paul Copan. It is an apologetic handbook on how to deal with skeptics. As I have never lacked a belief in God, theist and Christian apologetics (that is, arguing for a belief in God in general and Christianity in particular) has never been a strong suit of mine (I cannot relate to the atheistic position at all).

How is this on-topic? Well, throughout the author has quoted or footnoted references to the Deuteroncanonicals. The reference that inspired this post (the response to Ron above was just because he posted since I last read the thread) was about the lack of reference to God in the Old Testament as [i:mho4883k]abba[/i:mho4883k]. In the OT, God is referred to as a Father, for sure, but His Fatherhood is collective (Father of Israel) rather than individual (my heavenly Father). However, Wisdom and Sirach (two of my favorite books) both contain such references and bridge the gap between the testaments.

Given how often the author has to reference the Deuteros in defending Christianity, you think he would figure it out.