This series, which draws on Klaus Schatz’s phenomenal Papal Primacy, will attempt to paint an accurate picture of the development of papal authority. I will do so by trying my best to present an honest history of the pope’s role. Because to understand the pope’s authority, one has to understand the reasons why this office accumulated so much power, which requires a good historical perspective.
"Jesus was seen and heard by multiple people at different times, as well as at the same time. Jesus was the victim of violence. His presence instilled fear and doubt in some participants. He spoke fairly briefly and offered comfort before disappearing. He gave guidance, made requests, and issued commands. He seemed quite real and solid. He appeared and disappeared in unusual ways, such as walking through doors. His presence was not perceived as unusual at the beginning of His apparition, such as during the Emmaus walk. His appearance was so convincing that it resulted in the percipient’s change of conviction. And He was seen less as time passed. These are all things that have been reported by people in the aforementioned studies. There is nothing unusual about them when compared to other appearances of deceased ones."
"Allison argues, as do most historical Jesus scholars, that even Jesus misunderstood His Father’s plan for Him. This would make sense given His statement in Mark that not even the Son will know when the resurrection will happen."
"Pope Gregory the Great, a highly intelligent man, once heard a story that a dead Roman craftsman, who was buried in a church, began shouting “I burn! I burn!” The next day his clothes were found but no body was there. Pope Gregory believed that this man had gone to Hell. This shows that mystical missing bodies are not just a phenomenon confined to ancient myths and legends; rather, there are examples of communities reporting missing bodies soon after their deaths without any logical explanation. This proves that it may be possible for a community to invent a dramatic legend without anything actually having happened." Dr. Allison's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Jesus-Apologetics-Polemics-History-ebook/dp/B08WK5H6T6?ref_=ast_author_mpb
"Most scholars agree that Jesus was tortured and killed in perhaps the most humiliating fashion of the age. If Christians didn’t bother covering that up, why would they obsess over how He was buried? It would make no sense to let the embarrassment of the crucifixion stand but take issue with how He was buried. I’ve mentioned in previous episodes how many of the stories the Gospel writers use to fill in narrative gaps are repackaged Old Testament stories. Had Jesus’s burial been a sheer invention, Dr. Allison believes that they would have drawn parallel after parallel with other Old Testament burial stories, such as Jacob’s, especially considering how the men who buried both Jesus and Jacob were named Joseph." Dr. Allison's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Jesus-Apologetics-Polemics-History-ebook/dp/B08WK5H6T6?ref_=ast_author_mpb
"The evidence is abundant. The fish-catching story in Luke 5 actually belongs after Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb, and this is significant. As I’m about to explain, it means that I lied in last episode. We actually DO know when the first appearance to Peter was that Paul mentions. It was during this story! And there’s a very simple explanation for why." Dr. Allison's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Jesus-Apologetics-Polemics-History-ebook/dp/B08WK5H6T6?ref_=ast_author_mpb
"As we covered in our segment on memory research, this does NOT imply Mary didn’t see an empty tomb. On the contrary, given how little the two accounts share, it is more plausible that Mary saw an empty tomb, told this experience to several people, and we ended up with two very separate accounts about the same event." Dr. Allison's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Jesus-Apologetics-Polemics-History-ebook/dp/B08WK5H6T6?ref_=ast_author_mpb
"If I said, “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He wanted to find India but instead arrived in North America,” you could probably tell that the first half of the sentence came from a different source. And you’d be right. “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” is a pre-existing nursery rhyme that helped schoolkids memorize this fact. Likewise, there are certain phrases in the New Testament that were meant to help Christians memorize beliefs about Jesus. These statements are called “creeds,” and there are a few of them that are easy to identify. And just as I didn’t invent the Columbus nursery rhyme, it can be said with very high confidence that St. Paul and the other New Testament writers did not invent these creeds."
"Every memory a person forms undergoes distortions, and the more time that passes, the more distortions occur. And remember, Jesus died roughly around 33 AD. St. Paul’s letters, the earliest written accounts of Jesus, did not appear until around 51 AD. That’s 18 years of distortion, and though the Catholic Church teaches that God inspires scripture, we also teach that He works within the laws of nature. And the laws of nature dictate that memory distorts over time. So God, working through the laws of nature, allows for distortion to occur. And the Church believes that these distortions are deliberate; the Holy Spirit guides the Gospel writers not as strict historians but as theologians who want to inform us about God’s nature and laws." Dr. Allison's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Jesus-Apologetics-Polemics-History-ebook/dp/B08WK5H6T6?ref_=ast_author_mpb
"Popes discouraged Catholics from getting involved with historical Jesus studies. In fact, there were dozens of decrees throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries forbidding Catholics from studying the Bible outside of Church-sanctioned activities. As harsh as this sounds, I don’t blame the popes. By this point, from a Catholic perspective, scholars had shred Jesus apart. They severed His teachings from His Church’s. They divided Him and His teachings into historical and mythical categories. They severed Jesus from His Jewish roots, though one could argue that Catholics did that too. Point being, the mission to either disprove or vindicate Christianity through scientific and historical tools only seemed to threaten the Church’s intimate relationship with the Word of God." Dr. Allison's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Jesus-Apologetics-Polemics-History-ebook/dp/B08WK5H6T6?ref_=ast_author_mpb
Some of you may recall from my Ecumenical Councils series that the Church spent hundreds of years discussing, deliberating, and murdering each other over the identity of Christ. There’s a big difference between Jesus being some wise guy and Him being the incarnate Son of God. Even within His divinity, if you believe in that, there are huge differences between a hippy messiah and a political-revolutionary one. This is why historical Jesus studies are important. To know Jesus means to know His character, as well as the time period He lived in.
"But do these treatments work? Lawrence Mayer and Paul McHugh write 'Adolescents with gender identity disorder have poor anxiety tolerance. Seeking sex reassignment surgery is a defensive solution and a mechanism for control of anxiety. The thought of not having a solution for their distress increases their anxiety, thus making it very difficult to achieve a therapeutic alliance.' Basically, this means, according to their analysis, that giving adolescents a sex change doesn’t actually treat their underlying anxieties or depression, rather it sweeps their emotional distress under the rug by providing a temporary bandage that makes them FEEL like they are in control." Studies Mentioned: Alexander Danvers, “Serotonin Imbalance Found Not to Be Linked to Depression,” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202207/serotonin-imbalance-found-not-be-linked-depression#:~:text=New%20research%2C%20reviewing%20huge%20bodies,SSRIs%2C%20remain%20an%20effective%20treatment. Darlynne Gehring and Gail Knudson, “Prevalence of Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Population of Transsexual People,” https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-05206-002 Kenneth Zucker and Susan Bradley, “Gender Identity Disorder and Psychological Problems in Children and Adolescents,” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697020/#:~:text=Gender%20identity%20disorders%20(GID)%20can,clinical%20course%20is%20highly%20variable. Lawrence Mayer and Paul McHugh, “Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences,” https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/executive-summary-sexuality-and-gender Lawrence Mayer and Paul McHugh, “Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences,” https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/executive-summary-sexuality-and-gender Paul McHugh, “Transgenderism: A Pathogenic Meme,” https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/06/15145/ Giulia Giacomelli, “Bone Health in Transgenderism: A Review,” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9150228/ Janella Hudson, Leena Nahata, Elizabeth Dietz, and Gwendolyn P. Quinn, “Fertility Counseling for Transgender AYAs” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5979264/#:~:text=Cross%2Dsex%20hormones%20have%20many,which%20can%20lead%20to%20azoospermia. Jennifer Block, “Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement,” https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382
"Today’s media makes pornography one of the most difficult addictions to break. Even scrolling through social media surrounds us viewers in temptation. There is nothing liberating about being trapped by our base sexual desires. If anything, containing sex to marriage actually liberates us, as it helps us appreciate the more fulfilling aspects of sex and helps us love our partners more."
"There’s something beautiful, almost magical about the realization that what you are doing is participating in a procreative action. That is something that same sex intercourse cannot do. The point of this episode isn’t to say that people with same-sex attraction should be demonized, hated, or unjustly treated. Rather, the point is that awareness needs to be raised of the health risks, both psychologically and biologically, that are associated with homosexual and bisexual lifestyles. There are people who are born with same-sex attraction and can live holy and healthy lives. If we love them, then we ought to help them, not by forcing them to do anything, but by providing resources and information that they could willingly choose to accept or reject."
Studies Mentioned: Sara Reardon, “Massive Study Finds No Single Genetic Cause of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior,” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/massive-study-finds-no-single-genetic-cause-of-same-sex-sexual-behavior/
Andrea L. Roberts, M. Maria Glymour, and Karestan Koenen, “Does Maltreatment in Childhood Affect Sexual Orientation in Adulthood?” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535560/
Richard Fitzgibbons, Phillip Sutton, Dale O’Leary, “The Psycopathology of ‘Sex Reassignment Surgery: Assessing its Medical, Psychological, and Ethical Appropriateness,” http://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/dam/laityfamilylife/Documenti/donna/culturasocieta/english/psychopathology-of-sex-reassignment-surgery.pdf
Ron de Graaf, Theo Sandfort, Magreet ten Have, “Suicidality and Sexual Orientation: Differences between Mena and Women in a General Population Based Sample from the Netherlands,” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16799841/
Kevin Heslin, Johanna Alfier, “Sexual Orientation Differences in Access to Care and Health Status, Behaviors, and Beliefs: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, National Survey of Family Growth, and National Health Interview Survey,” https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr171.pdf
Stephen Russell, Jessica Fish, “Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth,” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4887282/
Kevin Heslin, Johanna Alfier, “Sexual Orientation Differences in Access to Care and Health Status, Behaviors, and Beliefs: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, National Survey of Family Growth, and National Health Interview Survey,” https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr171.pdf
Jeffrey Parsons, T. Starks, K. Gamaarel, C. Grov, “Non-monogamy and Sexual Relationship Quality among Same-Sex Male Couples,” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22906124/ Center for Disease Control, “Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” https://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/STD.htm#:~:text=the%20United%20States.-,Gay%2C%20bisexual%2C%20and%20other%20men%20who%20have%20sex%20with%20men,who%20have%20sex%20with%20men.
"More sexual partners seems to correlate with higher divorce ratings. In 2000, the Center for Disease Control began tracking women who had reported different numbers of extramarital partners. Within five years, only 5% of women with 0 sexual partners before marriage had divorced. Women who had reported just one single sexual partner before marriage jumped up to a 22% divorce rate. That’s a 17% increase due to just one partner. The average for 2-9 partners was 30%, and above 10 partners was 35%." Studies Mentioned: Mary Eberstadt, “Adam and Eve After the Pill,” https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Eve-After-Pill-Revolution/dp/1586178229 Nicholas H. Wolfinger, “Counterintuitive Trends in the Link between Premarital Sex and Marital Stability,” https://ifstudies.org/blog/counterintuitive-trends-in-the-link-between-premarital-sex-and-marital-stability “Sexually Transmitted Diseases — Reported Cases and Rates of Reported Cases*, United States, 1941–2021,” https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2021/tables/1.htm “Reported STDs in the United States,” https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/fact-sheets/std/std-us-2021.html Scott Stanley and Galena Rhoades, “Premarital Cohabitation is Still Associated with Greater Odds of Divorce,” https://ifstudies.org/blog/premarital-cohabitation-is-still-associated-with-greater-odds-of-divorce Michael J. Rosenfeld and Katharina Roesler, “Cohabitation Experience and Cohabitation’s Association with Marital Dissolution,” https://web.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe/Rosenfeld_and_Roesler_Cohabitation_Experience_NSFG.pdf Colleen N. Nugent and Jill Daughtery, “A Demographic, Attitudinal, and Behavioral Profile of Cohabitating Adults in the United States,” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29874161/ Meg Jay, “Downside of Cohabitating before Marriage” https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-downside-of-cohabiting-before-marriage.html
"The problem with introducing sex into stages one or two is that we still view others as tools for pleasure. The purpose of Christian marriage is to provide a guide and framework for sex to occur appropriately. Marriage, in the Church’s eyes, ensures that sex is a mutual expression of self-sacrifice that culminates in the creation of children. Throughout this series, we will explore how the Christian paradigm of marriage really does lead to the healthiest and most fulfilling expressions of sexuality." Studies Cited: “United States Population and Number of Crimes 1960-2019,” https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm Lizzie Crocker, “There’s Been a Huge Increase in Campus Sex Assaults. Why?” https://www.thedailybeast.com/theres-been-a-huge-increase-in-campus-sex-assaults-why National Sexual Violence Resource Center, “Statistics about Sexual Violence,” https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics/statistics-depth#:~:text=Both%20female%20and%20male%20youth,rape%20prior%20to%20age%2018 Lauren R. Taylor, “Has Rape Reporting Increased Over Time?” https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/has-rape-reporting-increased-over-time Ana Swanson, “144 Years of Marriage and Divorce in the United States, in One Chart,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/23/144-years-of-marriage-and-divorce-in-the-united-states-in-one-chart/ Zach Schonfeld, “Wives are Cheating 40% More Than They Used to, but Still 70% as Much as Men,” https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/wives-cheating-vs-men/313704/ Rebecca Lake, “Infidelity Statistics: 23 Eye-Opening Truths,” https://www.creditdonkey.com/infidelity-statistics.html David Atkins and Elizabeth Allen, “The Association of Divorce and Extramarital Sex in a Representative U.S. Sample,” https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0192513X12439692
"In having relations with someone of the opposite sex, you are 1) admitting you desire them, 2) admitting they can fulfill you in a way you cannot fulfill yourself, 3) renouncing the possibility of having sex with anyone else and giving yourself to them and your children, and 4) imitating God’s creativity by participating in the creation of new life. Thus, a good marriage engages all four levels that Spitzer describes."
Studies Cited:
David Briggs, “5 Ways Faith Contributes to Strong Marriages, New Studies Suggest,” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-ways-faith-contributes_b_6294716
"I believe that Zubiri’s work has aptly demonstrated that Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics are no longer a sustainable backbone for theology to rest upon. Essentially, it’s time for the Church to move on from a sola-Thomistic approach. Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics make too many assumptions about how the world functions; they fail to account for a dynamic universe and their overemphasis on the soul threatens to upend the body-soul unity that Christians profess exists. Just as Platonism needed to be replaced by Aristotelianism at the beginning of the second millennium, I believe that Aristotelian-Thomism is no longer sufficient to account for what science tells us about biology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. We need to shift to a new paradigm or else the divide between philosophy and the hard sciences will continue to bleed into a divide between theology and the hard sciences."
"Thus, knowledge depends on reason, which depends on being, which depends on truth, which depends on judgment, which depends on logos, which depends on reality, which depends on real content. Basically, a thing’s explanation depends on the real content of said thing. But, since we can never exhaust the totality of said thing, our search for a comprehensive explanation of reality, much less any one real thing, is endless. Basically, the real world is so rich that it not only inspires us to pursue comprehensive knowledge, but it is so rich that we will never reach that which we seek. Thus, knowledge is an infinitely expanding horizon that rests upon the real, but given the fundamental richness of the real, will never be exhausted."
"Now, reason has three moments. First is inquiry or searching. This means that reason has an inquisitive character. The second is in-depth intellection, which means its search is for a more thorough understanding of reality. The third is called intellective measuring. This means that reason not only sets up its own searches or problems, but it determines the conditions by which that search will be resolved. If reason compels me to figure out how many jelly beans are in a jar, it also dictates the conditions by which I’ll figure that out, which is counting the jelly beans. The most deep seeded of these measures by which we reason are called principles."