Catholic Heritage Show W/ Dr. Estrada

To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com The Catholic Heritage Show is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the history of Christianity and historical theology. He also completed a licentiate (S.T.L) in theology and patristic science at the Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome and a S.T.B. at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. If you would like to provide feedback to the show, or if you have any inquiries, you can contact him at feedback@catholicheritageshow.com. iOS or Android App of the CH Show iOS App of CHS Android App of CHS  

In this episode we are continuing our discussion on Providence and the Protestant canon of Scripture. This week, we focus our attention on the criterion of the consistent reception of the books of Scripture as it applies to the Deuterocanonical books of the Old and New Testaments Testament. Ask a Question via Speakpipe Email via Contact Form in the Footer of the Site (audio files welcome)   To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com/episode177 The Catholic Heritage Show is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the history of Christianity and historical theology. He also completed a licentiate (S.T.L) in theology and patristic science at the Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome and a S.T.B.

In this episode, we are continuing our discussion on Providence and the Protestant canon of Scripture. This week, we focus our attention on the criterion of the inspiration of Scripture as it applies to the Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament.   To leave a comment or question about this show, please visit: https://catholicheritageshow.com/claims-to-inspiration-in-deuterocanonical-books-chs-176/ Or you can access the show via our free app on the iOS or Android stores.    Ask a Question via Speakpipe Email via Contact Form in the Footer of the Site (audio files welcome) To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com/episode176 The Catholic Heritage Show is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specialize

175: How Were the Deuterocanonical Books Received? This week we talk about the history of the reception of the Deuterocanonical books in the Old and New Testaments.   How to Connect with Us Comment on the show below Ask a Question via Speakpipe Email via Contact Form in the Footer of the Site (audio files welcome)     To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com/episode175 The Catholic Heritage Show is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the history of Christianity and historical theology. He also completed a licentiate (S.T.L) in theology and patristic science at the Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome and a S.T.B. at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. If you would like to

0174 - Providence and the Protestant Canon of Scripture pt 1   What is the relationship between Providence and the Canon? In today’s episode, I talk about recent arguments in favor of the idea that God positively willed Christians to accept the 66-book Protestant canon of Scripture. This question came up in a recent video I was watching where two Protestant scholars were discussing various views about the canon within the Christian world.   These claims about divine Providence and the Protestant canon of Scripture harkened back to a statement I read in a popular systematic theology penned some time ago. Therein a popular Baptist scholar argued that all Protestant Christians should have confidence in their 66-book canon of Scripture for a variety of theological, historical and experiential reasons.   In this episode, I briefly address the various reasons forwarded in favor of the idea that God positively willed Christians to accept the 66-book Protestant canon of Scripture. Therein, I devote the majority of my

173: What Does the Term Deuterocanonical Mean? - CHS 173   There is some confusion today in certain Protestant circles as to what exactly the term “deuterocanonical” (i.e., pertaining to the second canon) means to Catholics. This question came up in a recently video I was watching where two Protestant scholars were discussing various views about the canon within the Christian world.   One of the Protestant scholars stated that Catholicism relegates the deuterocanonical books (i.e., 7 books accepted by Catholics among the canonical books not—i.e., 1-2 Maccabees, Judith, Tobit etc.) to a second class. The scholar asked whether Catholics believed that the deuterocanonical books were produced as a result of a second level of inspiration of sorts.   In this episode we briefly discuss what the term originally meant when it was coined by the sixteenth-century biblical scholar Sisto di Siena OP and why that meaning is still important for Catholics today.   We also discuss how Catholic ecumenical councils such as Tren

172: The Council of Rome (382) and the Canon of Scripture   Was the Council of Rome the first local council to produce a listing of canonical books? In this episode we briefly discuss this question of the Council of Rome’s role in the production of the canonical list.   In various histories of the canon and the translations of ancient Church documents, the Council of Rome has at times been identified as one of the first local councils to ever produce a listing of canonical books. This council was said to have been gathered under the leadership of Pope Damasus (r. 366-384).   But did Pope Damasus and the Council of Rome (382) really issue the first authoritative list of canonical books? In this episode we address this historical question by looking at the evidence of the manuscripts and the testimonies of late fourth and early fifth-century Catholic authors.   Although we do not believe that the evidence supports the idea that the Council of Rome was the first local council to produce a list of canonical books

Over a decade ago, a prominent Evangelical Protestant church historian set forth the claim that early Christian councils such as the ones that met Hippo (393), Carthage (397) and elsewhere merely recognized the canon of Scripture. They did not bestow authority, these scholars claim, on the books which are now part of the Bible. Instead, their decision to canonize the Scriptures reflected their larger desire to submit themselves to the authority of Scripture.  Their act of canonizing, this scholar argued, reflected their belief in sola scriptura, that is, that Scripture by itself defines the church’s doctrines and morals.   Are these claims true? Did the early councils merely recognize a certain number of books as belonging to the authoritative list of books that now constitute the Scriptures? And, did their canonizing of the Scriptures reflect their belief that their own ecclesial decisions, religious teaching and that of the church as a whole was subject to error?   In this episode I take a second to evaluat

Several decades ago, a prominent Evangelical Protestant scholar set forth the claim that Augustine dominated the Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397). For this reason, the scholar argued, one should not regard the decisions reached by these two councils as truly representative of the North African church.   The scholar made this claim in order to diminish the weight of Catholic appeals to these councils in order to demonstrate the canonicity of the Deuterocanonical books. These two councils have been famous in Catholic circles because they formulated lists of the canonical scriptures that are virtually identical to the ones canonized by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent.   Since the sixteenth century, Catholics have appealed to the witness of the councils of Hippo and Carthage with regard to the inclusion of the Deuterocanonical books. By reframing the true source of this council’s decisions, this scholar would like to challenge the authority Catholics have allocated to these two North African

Why did it take so long for the early Christians to produce the canon of Scripture? In this episode, we continue our discussion about this objection to Christian truth claims.   Some critics of Christianity have raised the objection that because it took early Christians so long to create a canon of Scripture, rational people should not pay any attention to Christian truth claims. Since Christians were unable to decide from themselves what exactly the Scriptures were for so long, these critics reason, why should anyone bother to give Christian truth claims any attention?   In this episode, I explain why this type of objection is not applicable to Catholic Christianity. Catholicism does not accept the Protestant teaching of sola scriptura (i.e., scripture alone) as the sole infallible authority for determining what the Church believes (faith) and how the Church behaves (morals).   Instead, we explore some of the early structures of authority within early Christianity. From the authority of the liturgy to living

A common objection to the validity of Christian truth claims is that it took a rather long time to create the canon of Scripture (i.e., the authoritative list of books to be read in the Churches).   In this episode, we briefly review the practical and unseen factors that were behind the creation of this authoritative list. We discuss such basic aspects as the price of manuscripts, the difficulty of obtaining writing materials and the need for intra-church communication—factors that are often left unconsidered by those who quickly dismiss Christian truth claims because it took the Church a long time to create this list.   Early Christian communities faced many challenges beyond the task of determining which books ought to be included in its authoritative list. From answering claims about the Church’s relationship to Judaism in the Church’s conflict with Marcionism to defining the Church’s relationship to the state, early Christian leaders had to figure out answers to these questions in ways that would satisfy

What does the history of the canon of Scripture teach us about discerning Christian truth claims? In this episode, I approach this question by making the general argument that Scripture by itself (sola scriptura) is incapable of establishing the nature of the canon of Scripture (i.e., the list of scriptural books). I briefly review some of the basic differences in the ways Protestant and Catholic Christians approach the question of how a Christian knows for certain which books belong to the canon of Scripture. I note that generally speaking Protestant Christians rely heavily on a certain number of criteria for determining the canon. Catholics, however, look not only to many of these same criteria but also to the Church’s authority and tradition. In this episode, we argue that Christians need the Church’s tradition and, ultimately, the Church’s authority to determine which books are indeed part of the authoritative list of scriptural books. Apart from the Church’s authority and the Church’s tradition, it becom

Tradition plays a key role in Catholic thinking. Why is this so? In this podcast episode, we briefly discuss the relationship between tradition and our knowledge of the Bible’s contents. I talk a little bit about how tradition played a key role in leading the church’s leaders to include certain books on the list of authoritative books to be read on liturgy. We note that most of the Gospels do not contain autobiographical information on the part of the author, explicitly indicating their connection to apostolic sources. The absence of such information is critical because, without it, another source is needed for confirming the apostolic origins of these statements about the life and ministry of Jesus. In other words, we need tradition in order to know which Gospels indeed emerged from apostolic origins. Join us this week as we talk about the place of tradition in our thinking as Catholic Christians.   To access the show, navigate to your podcast player of choice or our free app on the iOS or Android stores. To

What are some of the major differences in the ways Catholics, Protestants and secular humanists approach the life questions? In this episode we talk about the central role of the authority of the Church, tradition, Scripture and reason within Catholic approaches to these critical questions. We briefly compare and contrast this model of authority with the ones proposed by the Protestant and secular humanist worlds. Join us this week as we discuss some critical differences between Catholic, Protestant and secular conceptions of religious authority. To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com/episode165 The Catholic Heritage is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the history of Christianity and h

Augustine had some very important things to say about the canon of Scripture. This week we look at his statements to the Roman Catholic Christian Laurentius in his attempt to justify his appeal to the Letter to the Hebrews. In this brief episode we talk about the role that the authority the church fathers played in Augustine’s determination of the Scriptures. We note that this appeal to the authority the fathers is significant because of the frequently invoked theory by a good number of Protestant scholars concerning the early formation of the canon. In this episode, we take a critical look at this theory and ask: when was the letter to the Hebrews considered part of the canon of Scripture? In asking this question, we look at the broader implications of the later inclusion of the so-called Catholic Epistles into the canon of Scripture. Join us this week as we discuss Augustine’s thoughts on when the Catholic Epistles were included into the canon of Scripture.   To comment on this show or provide feedback, ple

By the mid-second century, pagans were leveling many accusations concerning Christianity. In addition to the outlandish claims of cannibalism, certain pagans had begun to allege that Jews and Christians were unable to provide any reasons for what they believed about Moses and Christ. In response to the accusation that Christianity was hostile toward reason, the Catechetical School of Alexandria was formed. In today’s episode we talk a little bit about the early founders and teachers of the school, noting their objectives, writings and cultural achievements. Join us today as we continue our discussion about second-century Christianity.   To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com/episode163 The Catholic Heritage is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a

To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com/episode162 The Catholic Heritage is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the history of Christianity and historical theology. He also completed a licentiate (S.T.L) in theology and patristic science at the Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome and a S.T.B. at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. If you would like to provide feedback to the show, of if you have any inquiries, you can contact him at feedback@catholicheritageshow.com. iOS or Android App of the CH Show iOS App of CHS Android App of CHS Newsletter Sign-up for the CH Show To sign up for our podcast’s community newsletter, please navigate to: https://catholicheritageshow.co