Hot off the press

I just received a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church last Friday. I'm a bit behind the power curve considering this is my first Catechism and I am now striding into middle age.

Last year, during Jeff Cavins' bible study, we were supposed to get a copy of the Catechism for a reference and use it to answer our study questions. But the weekly study questions that we would discuss in our small group typically only had one question where you needed the Catechism, so I would just use the internet (since you can get the Catechism online at various sites.) This year, however, the bible study I am taking requires the Catechism to answer at least five of the ten questions. Initially, in my short-sighted way, I found this irritating because I figured the questions should come from the section of the bible we were studying, not the Catechism.

Then the light went on and I realized that these bible study authors were pretty smart fellas. One of the admirable strengths of some Protestants is their ability to quote from scripture, whereas Catholics haven't been instructed in this manner. Having the Catechism is one of the best, if not the BEST, ways to learn our Faith and see how biblical it is.

How I managed to get this far in life and not have a copy is amazing and almost scandalous. Now I use the Catechism all the time. For someone who's not such a great apologist and a poorly catechised cradle Catholic, the Catechism is a great apologist tool. Every paragraph spells out what the Church believes on a particular subject AND cites the scripture that underlies it. But, you knew that already. Sometimes it takes me awhile to get on board.

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And, another thing I just received from Ray is this picture of Terry Nelson and his evil twin, Terry Nelson.


I'm not sure if that is Terry on the right or left, and Ray didn't clarify. It's hard to tell from the picture.