Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 72

12b Israel: Comments & Farewells

Wonderful and emotional final comments and farewells. They speak for the. Enjoy!

The post 12b Israel: Comments & Farewells appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

12 Israel: Museum, Jordan River, Jericho, Qumran, Dead Sea, Camels

We call today, the Optional Day, because some people prefer to use it as a free day, while others go on the planned itinerary. Today, 36 of our 56 decided to choose the Optional Day and we had a blast.

The 1/4 acre Temple Model from the time of Christ and the Dead Sea scrolls were seen at the museum. Then we drove to the lowest place on the face of the earth which is 1250 feet below sea level to put our feet in the Jordan River, renew, baptismal vows, and pray the 1st Luminous Mystery.

Qumran and our talk about the involvement of John the Baptist in the Essene community, floating in the Dead Sea which everyone always loves and riding the camels. Then we drove back up into Jerusalem got to bed early so everyone would be ready to depart first thing tomorrow morning, back to the USA.

EXCELLENT FINAL MASS BELOW

The post 12 Israel: Museum, Jordan River, Jericho, Qumran, Dead Sea, Camels appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Atheism or God? You are the Detective! My Chart to Use with Family and Friends

Atheism is growing in America and around the world. But is there a good reason for its popularity? Do they know something we don’t know — or do they just not want some supreme being or a “God” to tell them what to do and not to do?

Is it reasonable to be an atheist? Which takes more faith: atheism or theism (belief in a God)?

I gave a talk a while ago called “Atheism: What You and Your Kids Need to Know.” You can purchase the MP3 of this talk here. The talk was fun and hard-hitting. In a simple way I helped the audience understand the reasons and implications for atheism and theism.

OK, you are the detective and you have clues. There are very few possible options so it is really quite easy. My 3-page chart below helps you work through the clues.

I used this chart in my talk to help people look at the clues and decide for themselves. Hope you find it helpful.  (To have this talk at your parish or conference, visit www.InviteSteve.com)

Click image to see the whole 3-page chart below.

The post Atheism or God? You are the Detective! My Chart to Use with Family and Friends appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

11 Israel: Gethsemane, Mt. Olives, Upper Room and more

It’s always a moving experience to begin the day at Gethsemane, with Mass at the rock where Jesus sweat drops of blood. Amer and I give our talks there about the meaning and agony of the garden.

Then we drive up the Mount of Olives to the Church of Paternoster, from which Jesus ascended into heaven, and taught the disciples how to pray the Our Father. Lunch was delicious local pita sandwiches before heading over to Mount Zion.

The Church of the Dormition is closed for renovations, but we showed people the church from the outside then we go to the Upper Room which is the origin of 4 of the 7 Sacraments. From there to Peter in Gallicantu where Peter denied Jesus on Holy Thursday night, and where Jesus was kept in prison before his procession to Pilate.

Some free time in the afternoon for folks to regroup and rest, and prepare for our last day tomorrow.

The post 11 Israel: Gethsemane, Mt. Olives, Upper Room and more appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Free Timeline of the 1st Century

The past is shrouded in a fog for most people. What was really going on in the 1st century during and after the live of Christ and the birth of the Catholic Church? Here is a simple Timeline of First Century Christianity.

I created the Timeline to help my students understand their heritage as Catholics. It shows the key events that took place in the first Christian century. Understand your history!

Click here or on the image to right and download and print the PDF file. Free for the using (but not for selling).

The post Free Timeline of the 1st Century appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Israel 10: Calvary, Tomb, Western Wall

We started early today and it’s one of the most meaningful day for many folks. The bus rolled out of the parking lot at 5 AM and we walked the Via Dolorosa through the Old City of unimpeded.

After a tour of the Holy Sepulchre, we had Mass on top of Calvary. After walking back for breakfast, we had a group picture and then some free time before driving to the Western Wall where I gave a talk to explain its meaning and significance.

We had the nice café reserved just for our group. There were 420 other people jockeying for the buffet line in the cafeteria. Then most of our folks went back to the Holy Sepulchre to get in line and enter the tomb. Free afternoon before we had dinner at the Cheese & Wine Restaurant looking out over the Old City of Jerusalem.

The post Israel 10: Calvary, Tomb, Western Wall appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

What Translation of the Bible Should You Use?

No translation is perfect. Translating ancient and foreign languages into English is not as easy as it would seem. There are ambiguities and linguistic hurtles.

Picture a sliding scale from left to right. Every translation fits somewhere along that scale. At one end of the scale literal  translations and on the other extreme are dynamic translations.

Literal translations relay the actual words used in the original language without being overly concerned with ease of reading or conveying the authors’ meaning. Emphasis: what did the original author say word-for-word verbatim.

Dynamic translations try to relay the authors’ meaning without being overly literal—they express what the author means, not what he said. Emphasis: what does the author mean without concern for using their actual words.

Here is a good example. A man speaking English says, “I shot myself in the foot.” What did he mean? For those sho understand English “figures of speech” will know he was saying he made fool of himself or did something stupid. For a non-English speaker, they will look down at your foot and ask, “Is your foot OK?”

If you are translated the English into Russian literally you will render it “I shot myself in the foot.” But if you do, the Russian gets the completely wrong message They think we are talking about a medical condition.

But if you want the Russian to understand the meaning of the author’s text you will not use the literal words but translate it to something like, “I did something stupid and made a fool of myself.”

With our example, the first is literal and the second is dynamic. The first emphasizes what the author says, the second what the author means. All translations fit somewhere in between.

So what Translations should we use? For Catholics I recommend reading the Revised Standard Bible – Catholic Edition (RSV) for the literal and the New American Bible (NAB) for the dynamic translation. it is best to read several translations side-by-side to get a much broader spectrum of the biblical passage. The new English Standard Version-Catholic Edition is also a very nice translation.

Want the best? Check out the Didache Bible published by Ignatius Press. I have purchased many of them to give to friends and priests. You can learn about it here. It is on the literal side of the sliding scale but becomes a dynamic translation as well by providing a plethora of footnotes and Catechism quotes.

Many suggested I include the Douay-Rheims translation. I don’t use this much myself because it a translation of a translation and using old manuscripts and language. It is like translating Russian into Spanish and then Spanish into English — a hundred years ago. I use it sometimes for its strong Catholic emphasis in certain passages.

Again, as I said, it is best to read many translations side-by-side and for a strong Catholic emphasis, the Douay-Rheims is a good version to have in your stack. Another might be the English translation of the Greek Septuagint which was the Bible of the early Church.

The chart shows many translations, most of which are Protestant translations – but gives you the idea. The RSV is on the left end of the chart whereas the NAB is under the “thought-for-thought category. A  paraphrase is not really a translation but the far extreme of the dynamic where the translator puts things in his own words often with biases and personal opinions.

If you want the best-of-the-best check out the Verbum Catholic Bible Software that allows you to compare many translations side-by-side and to instantly access the original languages with English explanations. Nothing else like it.

Visit www.Verbum.com/steveray. Use Promo Code STEVERAY8  and get 10% off.

Another helpful article on the science of translation and which are preferred.

 

The post What Translation of the Bible Should You Use? appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Israel 9: Bethlehem all day!

On our way to Bethlehem I shared all the levels of history of that city from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob until today. Fabulous history in layers like a birthday cake.

We started out at the Nativity Gift store, which is bright and beautiful with the finest of Christian-made local products, especially olive wood and Jerusalem crosses. From there to the Church of Nativity, where we stood in line while Amer explained the intriguing history of the church, and everyone touched the birthplace of Christ in the grotto below.

Then we had a delicious shawarma lunch. Mass in the caves followed, where the shepherds heard the good news from the angels out in Shepherds Field. Always a favorite for our folks having Mass in a cave. I gave my talk “The Story of Salvation History from Adam and Eve Until Today” overlooking Jerusalem.

Then to the Grotto Restaurant, where we ate a whole lamb, like the Passover lamb, along with lots of salads and wine, and then we had the young Christian Dabka dancers put on a traditional dance for us and then everyone came up to join and dance with them.

Lots of fun. Then back to cross the checkpoint to our hotel in Jerusalem.

DINNER AND DANCING

Click link for Dinner & Dancing in Bethlehem DANCING

 

 

The post Israel 9: Bethlehem all day! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Israel 8: Caesarea Philippi, Beatitudes, Visitation, Jerusalem

Because there’s a big bike race around the Sea of Galilee today all the major roads are closed which complicated our itinerary. So we switched sites around and today we walked for a half a mile from the hotel to access our bus.

Then we drove the hour and a half north to the Lebanese border to visit Banias, which is Caesarea Philippi of biblical times. See Matthew 16:15-20. I gave my talk “Peter, the Rock, the Keys and the Chair”.

We drove to the border with Syria, and gave a talk about the international situation here in the Middle East, while looking across the border into Syria.

Then we drove back to our Ron Beach hotel, since the roads are now open again, and picked up all of the luggage and headed to lunch in the Carmel mountain range. From there to the Visitation before arriving at our hotel, Notre Dame hotel in Jerusalem for the next five nights. I gave my conversion story along the way as we drove south.

The post Israel 8: Caesarea Philippi, Beatitudes, Visitation, Jerusalem appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Who Says the Mass is a Sacrifice? Scripture and the Fathers, that’s who!

Who Says the Mass is a Sacrifice?

Since we are having Mass in Capernaum, at the very place Jesus said, “Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood”, I thought I would share my short study about the Mass as a real sacrifice.

Jimmy Swaggart (made a foolish and unhistorical claim):

The Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation is, without question, one of the most absurd doctrines ever imposed on a trusting public… Roman Catholic errors are inevitably human innovations that were inserted into the church during the early centuries. This teaching on the Eucharist follows this pattern.

In the first century, as described in the New Testament, Holy Communion was a meal of fellowship eaten as a memorial to the death of Christ and a symbol of unity among Christians both with each other and with Christ.

In the second century it began to shift toward a ceremony, in which Christ was present in some undefined form. This was not yet the eventual Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation which was a development of the Middle Ages but it was a beginning in this unfortunate direction.

By the third century the idea of sacrifice began to intrude, whereby Christ’s body and blood were mysteriously produced by an ordained priest for the gratification and benefit of both the living and the dead.” (Catholicism and Christianity)

Oh, really?!?!

Didache (written around 60-100 AD):

“Assemble on the Lord’s Day, and break bread and offer the Eucharist; but first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one. Anyone who has a difference with his fellow is not to take part with you until they have been reconciled, so as to avoid any profanation of your sacrifice. For this is the offering of which the Lord has said, ‘Everywhere and always bring me a sacrifice that is undefiled, for I am a great king, says the Lord, and my name is the wonder of nations” [Malachi 1:11].

For the whole article, click here.

The post Who Says the Mass is a Sacrifice? Scripture and the Fathers, that’s who! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.