Baqash : To Seek

I recently was provided a set of objections to Catholicism from Protestant Family and Friends. In this series of articles titled “Defending Catholicism”, I will go through a set of objections, provide exactly what the church teaches on the topic, then provide a primarily scriptural defense of the stance of the church. I will also use early church writers and theologians when relevant to bolster what I see in scripture.

The first set of Claims deal with Confession, and Mary. I have detailed articles on these two topics which give more depth to the topic: Confession Here, and Mary Here

Claim 1

Claim: Mark 2:7 and Luke 5:21 teach “God alone can forgive sins”

-My response: Jesus gave His authority to forgive sins to the Apostles in John 20:21-23: “ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” The apostles, known as sinners just like us could forgive or refuse to forgive sins.

Claim 2

Claim: Matthew 23:9: “Call no man Father”

-My response: Paul calls himself a Father to the Corinthian Church, and addresses them as his children. 1 Corinthians 4 

“¹⁴ I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel…¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord.”

The term “Father” refers to pastoral leadership. 

–Ignatius of Antioch who personally knew the apostles and died in 108 AD “Let everyone revere the deacons as Jesus Christ, the bishop as the image of the Father, and the presbyters as the senate of God and the assembly of the apostles. For without them one cannot speak of the Church

Claim 3

Claim: Matthew 13:55-56 “lists Jesus’ brothers+Sisters – Mary was not a virgin when she died”

My response: The Greek word for “Brothers” and “Sisters” here is “Adelphoi(ἀδελφοὶ)” and “Adelphai(ἀδελφαὶ)”. This does not indicate Full Biological brothers and sisters. It can and more often means anything other than those including: kinsmen, cousins, “spiritual brothers”, or even aunts/uncles. The text itself in Matthew singles out Jesus as Mary’s Son as a relationship apart from the others. The names of the parents of some of these people are found in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40: 

“Mary the mother of James and Joseph,^[a] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons…Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,^[a] and Salome.”

CCC 500, 501: “500 Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. ¹⁵⁷ The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, “brothers of Jesus”, are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls “the other Mary”. ¹⁵⁸ They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression…501 Jesus is Mary’s only son”