Set A

1. What are Sola Scriptura and Sola Fedi? Give your stance on the former.

Answer:

Sola Scriptura and Sola Fedi are the fundamental doctrines during the
Reformation that helped the medieval church regain its footing.

Sola Scriptura is a theological doctrine held by some Protestant Christian

denominations that posits the Christian Scriptures as the sole infallible source of authority
for Christian faith and practice. In addition, it rejects any original infallible authority
other than the Bible. In this view, all subordinate authority is derived from the authority
of the Scriptures.

Sola Fide or Justification by Faith Alone provides that we are judged

righteously in the sight of God purely on the basis of our faith. The atoning sacrifice of
Christ leads to righteousness being imputed to us as sinners through a legal declaration of
God.

My stance on Sola Scriptura is that it is an assertion that the Holy Scripture is

the entirety of faith and the Bible is the only authority for all true Christians.

2. What is Salvation and Justification? Distinguish it from one another.

Answer:

Salvation refers to being saved from the penalty of committed sin but even
greater also from the root of sin, from the bondage was into the body of sin. The Holy
Spirit comes to dwell in a person and works in him, leading him to overcome sin before it
is committed while Justification is the forgiveness, the clearing of all of a person’s guilt
and the deserved penalty for committed sins, through faith in Jesus Christ who took on
the penalty for his sins and paid the price by dying in my place that leads to salvation.

3. What is Grace? How Grace is correlated to Faith and Salvation?

Answer:
 Grace is a spontaneous gift from God to people which is generous, free and
totally unexpected and undeserved that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency
and a share in the divine life of God. It is an attribute of God that is most manifest in the
salvation of sinners.
Grace is correlated to Faith through God’s Word which says that a person is
saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by his own efforts or works. With
that, grace alone and faith alone.

Grace is correlated to Salvation because salvation is by grace that an

individual may rest all his hope in God. God does not and cannot change and His grace is
completely reliable. God’s gifts and salvation by grace means that salvation is God’s free
gift are never taken back.

4. Is it probable that all of us would be saved and return back into the loving arms of the
Father? What must you do in order to be saved?

Answer:
Yes, it is probable that all of us would be saved and return back into the
loving arms of the Father. The thing that I must do in order to be saved is believing in the
Lord Jesus. Belief means to put my faith and trust on Him with an implication that
actions based on that trust may follow, Additionally, belief encompasses more than just
knowing about Jesus. I must also act on this knowledge, combining faith and trust and
acting on it.

5. Is Faith without works Biblical? Stretch your religious belief on the matter.

Answer:

No, Faith without works is not Biblical.

Faith without works is a dead faith because the lack of works reveals an
unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart. Whereas, the true saving faith will result in a
transformed life, that faith is demonstrated by the works that a person does. The way he
lives reveals what he believes and whether faith he professes to have is a living faith.

6. What are the three (3) essential dimensions of Faith? Comprehensively elucidate each by
giving examples.
 Answer:
The three essential dimensions of faith are doctrine, morality and worship.
Doctrine is a set of accepted beliefs held by a group and set of true beliefs that
define the parameters of that belief system. Like for example, the Creed (set of beliefs).

Morality refers to the distinction between right and wrong of what should be
done and what should not be done. Like for instance, doing God’s will based on His
Commandments.
Worship is the obligation of God’s creation to give to Him all honor, praise,
adoration and glory due Him because He is the Holy and Divine Creator. Like for
example, Prayers.

7. What are some basic characteristics of Christian Faith? Briefly explain each but precise
and give examples.

Answer:

The basic characteristics of Christian Faith are Total and Absolute,

Trinitarian, Loving, Maturing and Missionary, Informed and Communitarian and
Inculturated.
Total and Absolute – this characteristic is patterned after Christ’s complete
surrender to the will of the Father. Like for instance, only faith in God. For us Christians,
faith is our adherence to the One and True God through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is our
friendship with Christ and through Christ with Father, in their Holy Spirit.
Trinitarian – is recognizing that God is not a solitary person but a community
of love and Christ is our entry point to this community. Like for example, worship and
praise are offered to God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Blessings are given in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Loving, Maturing and Missionary – refers to not stagnant but dynamic, and
this dynamism is manifested in growing knowledge of Christ and in imitation of his
example of selfless service. Like for example, to be Christian, love must be inseparably
love of God and love of neighbor like the Lord Jesus Christ.
 Informed and Communitarian – pertains to believing all the words and
teachings of Jesus and that these words are safeguarded for us by the Church. The
example is, believing in Jesus’ words, accepting His teachings and trusting that He has
the words of eternal life.
Inculturated – is manifested in the affairs of daily life especially in human
relationships. Like for instance, we live out our faith in God in our daily relationships
with family, friends, fellow workers and other people.

8. How are we predestined to be saved? What is the doctrine of predestination? What are
the three (3) basic parts of predestination? Profound it by comprehensive argumentation.

Answer:

We are predestined to be saved by according to the Bible, Jesus’ forgiveness

is eternal and anyone who accepts Jesus into their life is eligible for salvation. If a person
wants Jesus’ gift of salvation, there are few things he has to commit doing, like
confessing his sins and asking for forgiveness.
The doctrine of predestination refers to the doctrine that God has eternally
chosen those whom He intends to save. Additionally, it pertains that all events have been
willed by God, with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul.
The three basic parts of predestination are the prevision of the end, a
determined grade or degree of glory and the ordination of the means.

9. Do you agree that God is powerful? Muscularly support your argument. And explicate
the “Mystery of God’s apparent powerlessness.”

Answer:
Yes. I agree that God is powerful.
God is powerful because He can do all things and no purpose of His can be
thwarted or prevented. He is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He
will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can comprehend. He made the
 heavens and earth by His great power. Nothing is hard for Him. All things are possible
through Him.
Mystery of God’s apparent powerlessness. It can be explained through the
faith in God in which the Father Almighty can be put to the test by the experience of evil
and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil. But
in the most mysterious way God the Father has revealed His Almighty power in the
voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of His Son by which He conquered evil. Jesus
Christ crucifixion is thus, the power of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men
and the weakness of God is stronger than men. It is in Christ’s Resurrection and
exaltation that the Father has shown the immeasurable greatness of His power in us who
believe.

10. Give at least ten (10) common misconceptions about catholic faith. Briefly expound but
precise and use catholic teachings to support your explanation.

Answer:

The ten common misconceptions about catholic faith are the following:
1. The Papacy is a medieval invention.
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and from beginning of
Christianity he was considered as the head of the church. This fact is
alluded in many of the early Church documents and in the Bible itself:
“And I say to thee: That thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my
church”. (Matthew 16:18). Peter was the first Bishop of Rome and he led
the Church until his death in 64 AD wherein at that point St. Linus became
the second pope.

2. The Church added books to the Bible.

The Catholic version of the Old Testament differs from the
Protestant version in that the Catholic edition contains seven more books
than Protestant Bibles. These extra books are the reason that many people
consider the Church to have added to the Bible. But in fact, these books
were considered the official canon or list of books by all Christians until
the Protestant reformation during which Martin Luther (leader of the
revolution) removed them. Some of these books contain affirmations of
Catholic doctrines which Luther rejected. The reason that the Catholic
Church uses the Greek edition is because the apostles used it exclusively
in their preaching.
3. Catholic priests can’t get married.
Within the universal Church there are sections which are also
called churches but in the sense they are separate. The most common one
is, the Roman Catholic Church. Then the Eastern Catholic Church. Both of
these churches fall under the jurisdiction of the pope and all believe the
same doctrines. There are a lot of differences between the two groups but
these are all in matters of style and worship and certain rules. In Eastern
Church, priests are allowed to be married but a married priest can’t
become a bishop.

4. Emperor Constantine invented the Catholic Church in 325 AD.

In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine announced toleration of
Christianity in the Edict of Milan, which removed penalties for professing
Christianity. At the age of 40, he converted to Christianity and in 325 AD
he convened the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Because of the
importance of this council, many people believe that Constantine created
the Church, but in fact, there had been many councils prior to Nicaea and
the structure of the Church already existed. Constantine was at the council
as an observer and the bishops and representative of the pope made all the
decisions.

5. Indulgences let you pay to have your sins forgiven.

The Catholic Church teaches that when a person sins, he gets two
punishments: eternal (hell) and temporal punishment on earth while alive
or in purgatory after death. To remove eternal punishment, a person can
receive an indulgence. This is a special blessing wherein the temporal
punishment is removed if a person performs a special act such as doing
good deeds or reading certain prayers.

6. The Catholic Church is opposed to science and rejects evolution.

Catholic Schools all around the world teach scientific evolution
as part of their science curriculum.

7. The pope is infallible in all things.

This means that when the pope is speaking on matters of science,
he can make errors. However, when he is teaching a matter of religion,
Catholics consider that the decree is equal to the Word of God.

8. Catholics are not Christians.

In fact, Catholics are the first Christians. In the early Christian
writings, we can see that their doctrines and teachings are the same as the
Catholic Church today.
 9. Catholic worship Mary and are therefore committing idolatry.
In Catholic theology, there are three types of worship. One of
which is condemned in the Bible if offered to anyone but God.

10. The Church discourages Bible reading.

At every mass in the world everyday, the Bible is read aloud by
the priest. In the traditional mass, there is one reading from the general
body of the Bible and two from the Gospels. In modern Catholic mass,
there are two readings from the general body of the Bible and one from the
Gospels. All Catholic homes have a Bible and the Bible is taught in
Catholic schools.

Set B

Case # 1
One day, while going to Church you met someone who is not a Church goer. To your stunned,
inadvertently he caught your attention and asked, is your Church will save you? I do not believe
in God and I have no Church for fellowship; but I am righteous man in my own rights. But your
Catholic teaching articulates “outside the Church there is no salvation.” Defend your religious or
catholic faith.

Answer:
I will say to him that all salvation comes from Jesus Christ the Head through the
Church which is his Body. When speaking of salvation, Jesus offered more details, like for
example He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16); Unless you repent you will
all perish. (Luke 13:3); He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day (John 6:54). Finally, those who knowingly and willingly reject Him
or His Church cannot be saved.

Case # 2
Today we are pebbledash the most atrocious spate after centuries, the Covid-19 pandemic. Many
have victimized and loss lives because of this deadly virus. Your neighbor and at the same time a
close relative friends was plague-ridden by the virus and one of their loved ones died. They grief
and mourn. One of the family members went to you for relief, hopeless and his faith to God
seems was vanished. In your chat, he raised qualms and queries to you; why there is evil
suffering when God is powerful? If God the Father Almighty, the creator of the ordered and
good world, cares for all His creatures, why does evil exist? Why God did not create a world so
perfect that no evil could exist in it? What are your responses to the enquiries as apologist?

Answer:
My responses to his enquiries are there is evil suffering when God is powerful
because God’s overall purpose is to help us become more like Christ. This is the message of
Jeremiah 29:11 where we are told that God has a plan for us and it is a plan for hope not harm.
Secondly, it is a test of faith. In 1 Peter 1:6-7 says “You may have had to suffer grief and all
kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith, may be proved genuine. Another reason for
existence of evil and suffering is to bring us closer to God. Suffering or hardship in our lives
draw us closer to Him.
God did not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist because God created a
world of freedom. In a world of freedom, things can and do wrong. God’s answer to the hard
truth was to enter the world, in the person of His Son, to redeem the world of its evil and restore
creation to its true trajectory which is the path that leads to eternal life within the light and love
of the Trinity.

Case # 3
The protestant pastor visited you at home one morning of Monday for evangelization expose.
The context of his evangelization expose is to discredit the catholic teaching on the dogma of
Holy Trinity, addressing the issue on the work of the Holy Trinity on Creation. The pastor
extremely indoctrinated that the Creation according to the Scriptures God the Father is the sole
Creator of the world and everything exist in it. How would you respond or defend your religious/
catholic Faith?

Answer:

I would respond to him by saying that the dogma of Holy Trinity is the unity of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine is considered to be
one of the central Christian affirmations about God and these three, all form the same God. The
Holy Trinity is important as it helps people to understand the complex nature of God. The three
persons of the Trinity teach better about the nature of God and the roles He plays. The purpose of
the doctrine of Trinity is to draw us to intimate worship and submission in reverence to the
revelation of God to us of Himself.
Case # 4
You were invited by your protestant best friend and classmate in the college of law in one of
their church meeting and worship. The topic is about salvation and it was thoroughly shared and
conversed by your best friend that in order to be saved Faith alone works. After the presentation
of your best friend, you were introduced by him to his fellow protestant members and recognized
to give your stance and religious belief on the doctrine that faith alone can save us. As catholic
faithful or apologist, how and what is your response?

Answer:
As catholic faithful or apologist, my response is that good works are good because
they spring not from a lifeless faith but on a true and lively faith. We are justified by grace alone
through faith alone in Christ. However, the faith that saves is never alone but is accompanied by
spiritual life and loving obedience. Christ is the ground of our salvation, faith is the instrument of
our salvation and works are the fruit of our salvation. Whenever the gospel takes root in our
lives, it always produces Spirit-wrought fruit. The spirit enables us to walk in a manner worthy
of our calling to pursue Christlike lives.

Case # 5

In your Barangay there was a group of anti-catholic and they preach that because God is
transcendence and omnipotent. He never had the juncture to divulge His name to any man,
hence, God has no name. But in the Lord’s Prayer, it states there; “Our Father in heaven, Holy be
your name”, thereby, God has a name. In your existence as of today, did you really know the
name of your God? and if the anti-catholic asks you, did God reveal His name? And what is the
name of God? Explain and address the questions properly as apologist.

Answer:
I would address the questions as apologist by saying that the Bible usually uses the
name of God. Scripture presents many references to the names for God, but the key names in the
Old Testament are El Elyon, El Shaddai and Yahweh. Yahweh is the principal name in the Old
Testament by which God reveals Himself and is the most sacred, distinctive and incommunicable
name of God.