Comments on: Ten Facts Most Catholics Don’t Know (But Should!)

By: boleggs49

boleggs49 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:30:55 +0000

The idea of a Dark Age originated with Petrarch in the 1330s.[5][4] Writing of those who had come before him, he said: “Amidst the errors there shone forth men of genius; no less keen were their eyes, although they were surrounded by darkness and dense gloom”. Christian writers, including Petrarch himself, had long used traditional metaphors of “light versus darkness” to describe “good versus evil”. Petrarch was the first to co-opt the metaphor and give it secular meaning by reversing its application. Classical Antiquity, so long considered the “dark” age for its lack of Christianity, was now seen by Petrarch as the age of “light” because of its cultural achievements, while Petrarch’s time, allegedly lacking such cultural achievements, was seen as the age of darkness.

As an Italian, Petrarch saw the Roman Empire and the classical period as expressions of Italian greatness. He spent much of his time travelling through Europe rediscovering and republishing classic Latin and Greek texts. He wanted to restore the classical Latin language to its former purity. Humanists saw the preceding 900-year period as a time of stagnation. They saw history unfolding, not along the religious outline of Saint Augustine’s Six Ages of the World, but in cultural (or secular) terms through the progressive developments of classical ideals, literature, and art.

By: boleggs49

boleggs49 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:19:51 +0000

The term was not applied because of the Church as johnpaul87 said. And, yes, I know that modern scholars do not use the term any longer. However, you are incorrect in saying that the Church controlled or was responsible for civilization following the collapse of the Roman Empire. It was a several centuries before the Church gained the prominence it was later known for.

By: Mary Kochan

Mary Kochan — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:03:18 +0000

boleggs49, it is not quite accurate to to say that the Dark Ages had nothing to do with the Church. The Church was the entity that preserved civilization through that period. When the barbarians overran Europe, they destroyed a lot of the libraries and Roman infrastructure. Waves of invasions and disease greatly reduced the populations and because so many teachers were also priests who cared for the sick, a lot of teachers died and this greatly reduced the education that was available for several generations.

In response, the monasteries, as well as some convents, became centers of economic activity and technological advancement. They started schools and hospitals. (The entire modern university system began in the monastery schools.) But most importantly, the Church set about converting the barbarian tribes to Christianity.

In fact modern historians have learned so much about this that they no longer even use the term “Dark Ages” — they call it the medieval period now.

By: boleggs49

boleggs49 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:27:42 +0000

johnpaul87, if I am your brother as you suggest, then the Blessed Virgin Mary is your mother. Though, in fact, she is because while Christ was on the cross, one of His seven final words was when He said to Mary, “Woman, behold your son.” Then He said to the disciple He loved, “Behold your mother.” Looking at these verses from John 19, we learn two things. First, Mary had no other children, only Jesus, because if she had other children, Jesus would not have needed to give her into the care of the Apostle John. Second, by giving Mary into John’s care, He is also giving her to all of Jesus’ brothers and sisters, His followers, as their mother, too. Those were very powerful and very important words Christ uttered as He was dying on the cross for our sins. I would very much like to carry on an intelligent discussion with you, however, all one has to do is look at your sentence construction, spelling, punctuation and ridiculous claims to see that you are just a fool trying to look important. That is probably why you distort the meaning of the Scriptures so badly. Remember the words of our Lord, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord.’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’” Matthew 7:21-23 How do we know that we are doing the will of His Father? By following the guidance of His holy Church, the Church He established upon Peter when He said in Matthew 16:18-19, “And so I say to you, you are Peter(Kephas in Aramaic, which means large rock or boulder), and upon this rock (again Kephas, meaning large rock or boulder) I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” And Jesus promised His Church the guidance of the Holy Spirit when He said, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.You know Him because He abides with you, and He will be in you.” John 14:16-17 And, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” John 14:25-26. And again in John 15:26-27, Jesus said, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who comes from the Father, He will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.” Therefore, it is truly said that the Spirit of Truth resides in Christ’s Church, the Catholic Church. Protestant churches cannot claim to have the Holy Spirit residing in them because they have departed from the Truth, and there is no unity of Truth among them since each preaches their own doctrine and holds their own interpretation of the Scriptures. I will continue to pray for you. May God have mercy on you.

By: boleggs49

boleggs49 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:26:07 +0000

By the way, johnpaul87, here is what Wikipedia has to say regarding the dark ages, “”Dark Ages” is a term referring to the perceived period of both cultural and economic deterioration as well as disruption that took place in Western Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire.” It had nothing to do with the Catholic Church. You may go to the corner now and put your dunce cap back on. May God have mercy on you.

By: boleggs49

boleggs49 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:22:38 +0000

johnpaul87, Christ gave us His Church, the Catholic Church, as His instrument of Salvation. You dismiss all of the great early Fathers of the Church because they confirm that the Catholic Church is the one and only Church Christ established upon Peter and the other Apostles. You are so full of yourself that you cannot see the Truth. You interpret the Bible to fit your own perverted views, twisting the true meanings of the Scriptures to promote your own agenda. As a matter of fact, I did take courses on the Old Testament and Church History, and you know what I found? That the Catholic Church has been true to the teachings of Christ for all these years since He began His mission. Given the choice, I will always choose to believe the Church Christ established over all of the Protestant churches that have been established by fallible men like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and all the rest of the Protestant heretics. Can you explain why there are now over 25,000 Protestant denominations in the USA now? I can, it’s because of people just like you who think you know more than Christ’s own Church and who prefer their own personal interpretations of the Scriptures to the interpretation and guidance of the Church who gave us the Bible in the first place. You don’t talk a good game because you cannot back up any of your claims with real proof, not even from the Scriptures because you distort the true meaning of those Scriptures. You need to crawl back in your hole and pray that God will have mercy on your soul. I pray for you. May God have mercy on you.

By: johnpaul87

johnpaul87 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:46:43 +0000

Bro Bolegg, you talk a good game. Where were you when your history professor went over medieval history? A cold perhaps? Tell me mr bible scholar, why was the reign of the Cc called the dark ages?

By: johnpaul87

johnpaul87 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:40:53 +0000

Ignatious of antioc wrote this that and the other thing.He said this that and the other thing. Therefor it is all true.Where ever Christ is, there is the catholic church. Talk, thats all it is. Your salvation is a matter between you and Christ personally. Not some org.

By: boleggs49

boleggs49 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:34:52 +0000

Ignatius of Antioch wrote, “Let no one do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop or by one whom he ordains [i.e., a presbyter]. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church” (Letter to the Smyrneans 8:2 [A.D. 110]). This is the earliest text we have that refers to the Church as the Catholic Church, so this shows that the Church was known as the Catholic Church while it was in it’s early years and not from the 4th century or later as some Protestants claim. They do this trying to say that it is not the same Church Jesus established upon Peter, but a “Roman” church, usually established by Constantine or someone else. Some even deny that Peter was ever in Rome, however, Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:13, “The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting,as does Mark, my son.” Babylon was code for Rome.

God bless you.

By: boleggs49

boleggs49 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:55:16 +0000

Yes, Louis, Jesus established His Church, the Catholic Church, just for the purpose of bringing salvation to man. To those who say that the Catholic Church is not the same Church that Jesus established, the Greek word καθολικός (katholikos), from which Catholic is derived, means “universal”. It was first used to describe the Christian Church in the early 2nd century. That means that the Catholic Church is that same Church that Jesus established with Peter as His first pope.

There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church, which is, of course, quite a different thing. (Bishop Fulton Sheen)

God bless you.