St Leo Icon
St Leo's
HOME PAGE		 St Leo Youth Website Bringing Teens Closer to Christ
Apologrtics
Apologetics for Teens!

BibleChristianSociety  This is a GREAT link for learning apologetics for people of ALL ages,
Don't Forget LIFETEEN has a great list of apologetics questions to check out
WEEK 1 : What does the word "apologetics" mean, and how do I do it?                                            
    The word "apologetics" is from the ancient Greek word apologia, which means, an apology. Not an apology in the modern sense of the word - which is to say you're sorry for something. But rather, an apology in the ancient sense of the word - which is to make a reasoned defense of something or someone. In ancient times, the word apology referred to the case a lawyer would make on behalf of his client.  Apologetics is about building the case for our Faith...learning how to explain and defend our Faith.
    Catholic apologetics focusesthat are specifically Catholic, such as: the papacy; the Sacraments; the Immaculate Conception, etc.
1 Ptr 3:15 which says, "Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you..." Always be prepared Scripture tells us!  How do we do that.. by being ready.  Here are some basic "rules" for apologetics:
Rule #1: Pray. Pray to the Holy Spirit. for the courage to share your Faith & the wisdom to speak carefully and trurhfully.
Rule #2: You don't have to know everything right now! Just learn a little bit more about your Faith each and every day. Read Scripture. Read the Catechism. Listen to apologetics tapes. Read books on or by the Saints. Learn a little bit at a time.
Rule #3: Luke 5:10, "Do not be afraid, henceforth you will be catching men."Jesus said this to Peter, but He's also saying it to us. You WILL make mistakes & you WILL get into tight spots when you share your Faith, but so did Peter! But don't be afraid.. Jesus will find a way to make something good come out of even our mistakes.
Rule #4: Always view a question, or even an attack on your Faith, as an opportunity to share the truth. Stay calm and stay determined to bring light into darkness.
Rule #5: Don't get frustrated.  You might get asked about Purgatory, Mary, the Pope, the Sacraments all in rapid fire succession. Just keep guiding the discussion back to one topic until you've said all you want to say...then move on.
Rule #6: NEVER be afraid to say, "I don't know," when asked a question about your Faith. Don't try to "wing it." However, always follow, "I don't know," with, "But, I will find out and get back to you." And make sure you do!
If you follow these rules, you will be prepared the next time God puts you in a position to explain and defend your Faith.
WEEK 2 : As Catholics, do we have to accept everything the Church teaches?                                 
    In a word, Yes! Here's one good way to understand why.  If you call yourself Catholic, but you want to pick and choose for yourself which teachings to accept or reject, you give everyone else same right.   For example, you believe women should be priests...in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it states "Only a baptized man validly receives ordination...For this reason the ordination of women is not possible!" You don't believe that...well, that's fine...[RIP] just tear that page out of your Catechism...you just made it a Catechism of your Catholic Church...not mine.
    But remember, if you can throw doctrines out, so can everyone else who calls themselves Catholic. That gives Joe Parishioner the right to throw out the Church's social justice teachings...he doesn't feel like feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, and all that other "bleeding heart" stuff -  [RIP]...he just made it a Catechism of his Catholic Church...not mine and not yours.
You believe contraception is okay? Paragraph 2370 says contraception is intrinsically evil! [RIP]
Joe Parishioner doesn't like what the Church teaches on the death penalty - Paragraphs 2266-2267 [RIP]. You don't like what it teaches on pages 55-60 [RIP].
He doesn't like what it teaches on pages 128-140 [RIP]
Can you see what's happening?   We can't all be the Pope or make our own rules! If we don't believe in all of it, if we make ourselves Pope and create our own doctrines, our faith is no longer Catholic.
Week 3 : Is the Pope in the Bible, and why do we have one?                                                       
While the word Pope is not in the bible, the idea and origin of the Papacy clearly are!  Let’s start at the beginning… It is clear that Peter is the leader of the apostles.  The others frequently look to him to make decisions, and rule on proper teachings  of the young church.  It is Peter who usually has the last word on matters, and Jesus saw this in Him.
       When Jesus speaks to Peter in Matthew 16, He is laying the groundwork and appointing Peter the first Pope.   18And I tell you, you are Peter,* and on this rock* I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ (Mt.16:18-19)  We lose part of the significance of the wording in English, but in the Greek of the original text, Peter is Petros and the rock is petras, so we can see the similarity of the word.  Some people think that it is Peter’s faith that is the rock, but it that were so, why would the very next sentence refer to giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven?  You can’t give keys to a “symbolic faith,” so Jesus MUST be talking about the person in front of Him, namely Peter.  The phrase is likely a direst reference to Is 22:22-23 where Eliakim is being given the keys to the house of David (Jesus’ bloodline) 22I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. 23I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his ancestral house.  Again, notice the similar wording?  In Isaiah, Eliakim is being given an office (see vs19-22.)  By using this reference (all Jews then knew the Old Testament), Jesus is inferring that Peter is also being given an office.
       In John 21:12-17 Jesus makes it very clear that He is asking Peter to lead his flock, by asking three times “Do you love me?” and on Peter’s “Yes,” Jesus tells Peter to feed his sheep.  He is giving Peter the job to protect and teach his followers. Now, keep in mind, after Judas was no longer a part of the 12, they did not just stay at 11, they “filled his position” (Acts 1:20-26) with Matthias.  So it is reasonale to assume that if Judas’ position was filled, all the more the leader’s position should be filled, hence the passing on of the seat of Peter.
WEEK 4 : Why are there more books in the Catholic Bible?                                                 
    It is true that the Catholic Bible has more books in it than the Protestant Bible. Protestants will say that Catholics added books to the Bible, while Catholics say that Protestants subtracted books from the Bible. Which one is it, and which one should we follow?
    The books in question are all from the Old Testament: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, I and II Maccabees, and parts of Esther and Daniel. Since the Bible we have today did not fall out of the sky neatly bound in leather, it is important to look at where it came from. We need to briefly examine the history of the canon (the authoritative list of writings).
    There were two canons for the Old Testament: the Hebrew Canon and the Alexandrian Canon. Jewish leaders at the Council of Jamnia officially recognized the Hebrew canon in AD 90. This Hebrew Canon did not contain the 7 books in question. The Alexandrian Canon references the list of books found in the Septuagint. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was translated in 250-125BC. The Alexandrian does contain the 7 books in question.
    "If it was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for us!"So which canon are we to follow? Protestants, desiring to stay true to Christianity’s common heritage with Judaism, will uphold the Hebrew canon. Though it sounds good to say that you believe in the same Old Testament that the Jews believe in, there is one key point that is left out. During the time of Jesus Christ, Greek was the common language. Therefore the Bible that Jesus was using was the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint.
    Catholics uphold this Alexandrian canon found in the Septuagint. The main point: If it was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for us!
-Kelly Wilson