1. TOP TEN MYTHS ABOUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 120 MINUTES

2. Lay Formation Presentation I February 21, 2015 Msgr. Michael John Witt

3. WHY DO THEY LIE ABOUT US? Atheists seek to discredit the Church. Ex-Catholics seek to justify themselves. Protesting Protestants seek to find a pre- Constantine, pure Church of Christ.

4. But it’s all about Matthew 16: 18! And upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. “Prevail” doesn’t mean they won’t try!

5. To strike the Church is to strike Christ For if salvation offered by God is in fact the salvation of the human race, since this human race lives and develops in time, any account of this salvation will naturally take a human form ---

6. It will be the history of the penetration of humanity by Christ.” Catholicism: A Study of the Corporate Destiny of Mankind. Henri de Lubac.

7. TO STRIKE THE CHURCH IS TO STRIKE CHRIST

8. THE CHURCH’S DEFENDERS ARE APOLOGISTS NOT JIHADISTS The ancient assaults

9. 1. The Myth of Pantera Invented by the anti-Christian philosopher Celsus. (around 177 AD) Tiberius Pantera was a Roman soldier who got Mary, the mother of Jesus, pregnant. Joseph divorced her. Mary took Jesus to Egypt to raise him.

10. Tiberius Pantera Origin of Alexandria counters in Against Celsus.

11. 2. Myth of Marcion (144 AD) The Old Testament needs to be rejected. The god of creation is a demiurge, powerful but god of the Jews, the law- god, who created leprosy. The good God is revealed in Christ. Christ is God but not God Incarnate. He is the God of love, who cures leprosy.

12. Marcion is a docitist, denying the human nature of Jesus Christ. Marcion is a dualist, seeing the universe in an epic struggle between the demiurge and the God of love.

13. Origin, Tertullian, Hypolytus Defended the messiah, thus Jewish, nature of Jesus Christ. The bodily nature of Jesus Christ, who really died on the cross and rose physically. All four Gospels, not just Luke. The bodily resurrection of all those saved.

14. 3. The Gnostics Esoteric knowledge (gnosis) will redeem the human spirit. Matter is evil and must be combated by becoming pure spirit. Writings found in “lost books of the Bible.” Nag Hammadi “library”

15. Catholic Response Saint Paul in 1 st Timothy“ Profane novelties of words and oppositions of knowledge …” Justin Martyr Hegesippus Ireneus of Lyon Tertullian

16. Medieval Assaults

17. 4. The Dark Ages: An age of light Diane Mozcar:

18. “One long dark age of ignorance and superstition” The light of the Classical World

19. The Dark, Middle Ages The Light of the Renaissance

20. Oh, those bad old Catholics!

21. Two Books for every Catholic Thomas E. WoodsRodney Stark

22. Consider this: 37,000 Benedictine Monasteries: “was an agricultural college for the whole region in which it was located.” A. C. Flick. Cistercians created the medieval industrial revolution with cams, water wheels, husbandry. Jean Gimpel. Scriptoria preserved ancient writings.

23. And this: The monks created monastery schools which led to cathedral schools which led to universities. Every European university except Naples was founded by the Catholic Church. Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes

24. And this: Christian faith in reason was influenced by Greek philosophy. But the more important fact is that Greek philosophy had little impact on Greek religion. -R. Stark. The Church abolished gladiatorial games and human slavery.

25. And this: