TFTD: Infant Baptism

In Judges 13, we see the story of Samson. His mother is told,

An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: Though you are barren and have had no children, you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful to drink no wine or beer and to eat nothing unclean, for you will conceive and bear a son. No razor shall touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite for God from the womb. (Judges 13:3-4)

What strikes me about this passage is that God chose Samson before birth to be consecrated to God.

Pondering this, I thought of the challenges made against infant baptism. Basically, we are told that baptism is an act of faith which an infant cannot make. As I understand it, those who believe Catholics err think that only someone old enough to know what they are doing can seek to be a Christian.

But God did not tell Samson's mother to wait until he was old enough to make a decision. She was to begin preparation before Samson was born and continue to raise him in this way from birth.

So I find myself thinking, what if baptism isn't merely an act professing faith in God, but is an act dedicating the child to God from the beginning? In such a case, parents baptizing their child are bringing their child and promising to raise the child as a Christian as God calls them to do.

In that case, delaying baptism would be delaying obedience to God who said, "Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."  (Luke 18:16)

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

TFTD: Infant Baptism

In Judges 13, we see the story of Samson. His mother is told,

An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: Though you are barren and have had no children, you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful to drink no wine or beer and to eat nothing unclean, for you will conceive and bear a son. No razor shall touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite for God from the womb. (Judges 13:3-4)

What strikes me about this passage is that God chose Samson before birth to be consecrated to God.

Pondering this, I thought of the challenges made against infant baptism. Basically, we are told that baptism is an act of faith which an infant cannot make. As I understand it, those who believe Catholics err think that only someone old enough to know what they are doing can seek to be a Christian.

But God did not tell Samson's mother to wait until he was old enough to make a decision. She was to begin preparation before Samson was born and continue to raise him in this way from birth.

So I find myself thinking, what if baptism isn't merely an act professing faith in God, but is an act dedicating the child to God from the beginning? In such a case, parents baptizing their child are bringing their child and promising to raise the child as a Christian as God calls them to do.

In that case, delaying baptism would be delaying obedience to God who said, "Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."  (Luke 18:16)

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Tablet Thoughts: The Whole Picture

Introduction

Suppose you saw the series of numbers:

1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5

and were asked what you thought the next three numbers might be.  You might reply "6, 6, 7"

But Do You Have All the Information?

That answer rests on assuming that you have correctly saw the full pattern. But, what if instead the pattern continued as:

10, 10, 20, 20, 30, 30, 40, 40, 50, 50.

You can see that the pattern does logically follow,  though not in a way that was expected from seeing only the first part of the pattern.

It Might be More Complicated Than You Think

The point of this exercise is to demonstrate that just because we think we see a pattern it doesn't mean we can just assume we have the whole picture.  After all, it might turn out that the next set in the sequence is not

100, 100, 200, 200 etc...

It might turn out to be

010, 010, 020, 020 etc...

That is, not based on math at all, but on building symmetrical symbols one character at a time. (I could go on and on finding unexpected but consistent patterns,  but I'll quit here).

Do Critics of Catholicism See All The Details?

By now, you're probably wondering what this has to do with Catholicism or Christianity in general. The answer is, many times the faith is attacked as being "nothing but," based on what the critic sees as a pattern. But, if one's view of the pattern is too limited, the odds are that the critic will miss the big picture.

As St. Thomas Aquinas put it, small error in the beginning,  large [error] in the end (Parvus error in initio magnus erit in fine). If you make an error at the beginning, the calculations based on that error will also be false.

Think about this. If you assume a Catholic teaching on abortion is based on "controlling women" as an initial premise, you'll miss the entire teaching on the value of human life which also leads to the Church teaching on immigration, poverty, euthanasia, trafficking and many other issues. You'll miss the entire concept of respecting human life from conception to natural death. It's a pattern far richer than assumed by the proponents of the "controlling women" theory.

A Historical Case of Missed Facts

Here's another example. In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical, 
Mit Brenender Sorge (With burning sorrow or with deep anxiety) in response to the Nazi regime. I have met people deluded by the "Catholic Church was pro-Hitler" slander to argue that the encyclical did not mention Germany by name. Therefore, they claim, it was not anti-Nazi.

Such people overlook some crucial facts when it comes to solving the pattern. For example:

1) instead of the usual Italian, this encyclical was written in German.
2) the Vatican smuggled the encyclical into Germany to get it past Nazi censors.
3) Pope Pius XI ordered to be read from the pulpit in every Church in Germany on 3/14/1937 (Passion [Palm] Sunday -- a very heavily attended Mass). This order was not made for any other country.
4) After it was read, the Nazis confiscated all the copies they could find and priests were harassed and even arrested.

These facts show that the Catholic Church did want Germans (especially German Catholics who were obligated to follow this teaching, and that the Nazis knew who was being condemned.

Conclusion

Without knowledge of the pattern, we can't avoid reaching the wrong conclusion. Likewise, without knowing the pertinent facts, the judgments we make will end in error. When people make accusations against the Church, we can only consider them credible if they have the pertinent facts and see the correct patterns.

Tablet Thoughts: The Whole Picture

Introduction

Suppose you saw the series of numbers:

1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5

and were asked what you thought the next three numbers might be.  You might reply "6, 6, 7"

But Do You Have All the Information?

That answer rests on assuming that you have correctly saw the full pattern. But, what if instead the pattern continued as:

10, 10, 20, 20, 30, 30, 40, 40, 50, 50.

You can see that the pattern does logically follow,  though not in a way that was expected from seeing only the first part of the pattern.

It Might be More Complicated Than You Think

The point of this exercise is to demonstrate that just because we think we see a pattern it doesn't mean we can just assume we have the whole picture.  After all, it might turn out that the next set in the sequence is not

100, 100, 200, 200 etc...

It might turn out to be

010, 010, 020, 020 etc...

That is, not based on math at all, but on building symmetrical symbols one character at a time. (I could go on and on finding unexpected but consistent patterns,  but I'll quit here).

Do Critics of Catholicism See All The Details?

By now, you're probably wondering what this has to do with Catholicism or Christianity in general. The answer is, many times the faith is attacked as being "nothing but," based on what the critic sees as a pattern. But, if one's view of the pattern is too limited, the odds are that the critic will miss the big picture.

As St. Thomas Aquinas put it, small error in the beginning,  large [error] in the end (Parvus error in initio magnus erit in fine). If you make an error at the beginning, the calculations based on that error will also be false.

Think about this. If you assume a Catholic teaching on abortion is based on "controlling women" as an initial premise, you'll miss the entire teaching on the value of human life which also leads to the Church teaching on immigration, poverty, euthanasia, trafficking and many other issues. You'll miss the entire concept of respecting human life from conception to natural death. It's a pattern far richer than assumed by the proponents of the "controlling women" theory.

A Historical Case of Missed Facts

Here's another example. In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical, 
Mit Brenender Sorge (With burning sorrow or with deep anxiety) in response to the Nazi regime. I have met people deluded by the "Catholic Church was pro-Hitler" slander to argue that the encyclical did not mention Germany by name. Therefore, they claim, it was not anti-Nazi.

Such people overlook some crucial facts when it comes to solving the pattern. For example:

1) instead of the usual Italian, this encyclical was written in German.
2) the Vatican smuggled the encyclical into Germany to get it past Nazi censors.
3) Pope Pius XI ordered to be read from the pulpit in every Church in Germany on 3/14/1937 (Passion [Palm] Sunday -- a very heavily attended Mass). This order was not made for any other country.
4) After it was read, the Nazis confiscated all the copies they could find and priests were harassed and even arrested.

These facts show that the Catholic Church did want Germans (especially German Catholics who were obligated to follow this teaching, and that the Nazis knew who was being condemned.

Conclusion

Without knowledge of the pattern, we can't avoid reaching the wrong conclusion. Likewise, without knowing the pertinent facts, the judgments we make will end in error. When people make accusations against the Church, we can only consider them credible if they have the pertinent facts and see the correct patterns.

Tablet Thoughts: Hypocrisy and Hooters

"We believe women should be treated with respect."

--Statement made by San Diego restaurant,  Hooters

There's no denying the mayor of San Diego is a major sleaze in his treatment of women. Nothing can justify harassment

But I found it bizarre that the local franchise of Hooters issued the statement it did in barring him from their establishment.

Hooters, is a restaurant which uses scantily clad women as a selling point. Essentially turning women into sexual objects..

...which is how the San Diego mayor views women.

Again, nothing justifies the mayor's behavior. The existence of businesses who use sleaze does not exempt people from acting like decent human beings.

But businesses like Hooters have to recognize their role in pandering to Lust which reduces women to the level of sexual objects for men to fantasize over... and sometimes harass... or worse.

Blessed (soon to be Saint) John Paul II once said, “There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person. In short, the problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little.”

The mayor of San Diego eliminates the human dimension of women. But so does Hooters.

Perhaps each person should consider this well when considering what businesses to support...

Tablet Thoughts: Hypocrisy and Hooters

"We believe women should be treated with respect."

--Statement made by San Diego restaurant,  Hooters

There's no denying the mayor of San Diego is a major sleaze in his treatment of women. Nothing can justify harassment

But I found it bizarre that the local franchise of Hooters issued the statement it did in barring him from their establishment.

Hooters, is a restaurant which uses scantily clad women as a selling point. Essentially turning women into sexual objects..

...which is how the San Diego mayor views women.

Again, nothing justifies the mayor's behavior. The existence of businesses who use sleaze does not exempt people from acting like decent human beings.

But businesses like Hooters have to recognize their role in pandering to Lust which reduces women to the level of sexual objects for men to fantasize over... and sometimes harass... or worse.

Blessed (soon to be Saint) John Paul II once said, “There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person. In short, the problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little.”

The mayor of San Diego eliminates the human dimension of women. But so does Hooters.

Perhaps each person should consider this well when considering what businesses to support...

Tablet Thoughts: Thoughts on anti-Catholic attacks

Introduction: The Form of the Attack

One of the attacks against the Catholic Church, whether from non-Catholic believers or from unbelievers is the citation of certain texts to prove their claims. Whether it is a case of citing Scripture to argue Church teaching contradicts it or whether it is the citation of a Church document from a previous century to portray the Church in a bad light, we have cases where the anti-Catholic tries to use texts as proof of their claims.

Begging the Question

There's a problem however. That the cited text actually means what the anti-Catholic claims it means. Or that the Church teaching being attacked is actually what it is accused of being. To be a valid challenge, we need two conditions met:

1) The text cited must be taken in context, and
2) The belief challenged must actually be what the Church teaches.

Unless you have both, you don't have a case.

So the problem with these attacks is that they assume they are showing proof when they actually need to prove they met these conditions.

These attacks are an example of the begging the question fallacy.

The Personal Interpretation Assumption

One of the red flags is when someone assumes that they have the ability to know the meaning of a text written centuries before in a different language in an entirely different culture just because of the "plain sense" they claim they see.

It's actually a bad mistake to assume that people of a previous century always think in the same way as 21st century Americans. We have an entirely different political structure, technology, cultural influence etc. Things seen as serious attacks on society then seem harmless now (and vice versa).

The result is things can be expressed in one era in a way which is harder to understand in another because we don't share their experiences. It is then foolish to presume that just by reading the text without seeking to understand context can give us a proper understanding of what is meant.
Context please?

This is why I tend to roll my eyes when an anti-Catholic slings quotes, whether from the Bible or from Church documents. The problem is not that things were said. Rather the problem is whether the citation actually is properly understood as intended and properly cited against Catholic beliefs.

For example, it makes no sense to try to cite the Biblical texts forbidding the worship of images against the Church because Catholics don't worship images. A person who worships a statue of Mary or a crucifix sins in the eyes of Catholic teaching.

Understanding What One Opposes

The attempts to attack what one opposes cannot do any good unless one understands what one opposes. This means that the person who would denounce the "evils of Romanism" needs to understand the Catholic teaching, not merely denounce what he or she thinks it means.

We can also ask the challenger to prove what level of authority the Church authority intends to teach. Not everything the leaders of the Church say is made as an infallible statement (free of error). So one can't claim that two Church teachings contradict and disprove infallibility unless they can demonstrate both statements were intended to be infallible -- and it is the Church (not an indivifual) which has that authority to declare what they intended to teach.

Conclusion

The important things to remember in all this are:

1) the anti-Catholic person is not an authority when it comes to what the Church intends to teach in one of her documents.

2) the anti-Catholic person has an obligation to prove his or her accusations are true and not just expect us to accept it as proven.

3) accurate knowledge of what the Catholic Church teaches is required before any attack on that teaching can be accepted as true. Not hearsay and rumor.

I write this article because it is so common to see attacks on the Catholic Church where Scripture is taken out of context, Church documents are taken out of context, Church teachings are grossly misrepresented -- and the resulting mess is presumed by the attacker to be proved... when the mess needs to be proven in the first place.

We wouldn't tolerate uninformed people to make uninformed statements on law or medicine. Why should we tolerate these uninformed statements when made about our faith?