What About...?

What about the Catholic Church when the question is not "Is it right or wrong?" but "What has Christ been faithfully preserving here—and what is he still calling to repentance and renewal?" This question is profoundly important and reflects a mature theological posture—one that seeks to discern Christ's ongoing work rather than simply rendering verdict. When we approach the Catholic Church through the lens of sacred space, divine presence, and Christ's cosmic mission, we discover a complex and beautiful reality: a tradition that has faithfully preserved essential truths while also bearing marks of institutional corruption and theological drift that require ongoing reform. What Christ Has Faithfully Preserved in the Catholic Tradition 1. The Continuity of Apostolic Witness The Catholic Church has served as a crucial guardian of the apostolic faith across centuries. From the early councils that articulated Trinitarian and Christological orthodoxy (Nicaea, ...

What about demonic possession—not first as spectacle or superstition, but as a form of human exile and captivity where the image of God is suppressed, agency is displaced, and Jesus' response is authoritative presence that restores the person to themselves and to community? Demonic possession in the Gospels is not religious theater, ancient superstition, or primitive misunderstanding. It is portrayed as profound captivity—a spiritual invasion in which a person's agency is overtaken, their identity suppressed, and their humanity exiled within their own body. The possessed become occupied territory: trapped, silenced, cut off from themselves and their community. And Jesus' response is not primarily exorcism as power display, but authoritative presence that liberates and restores—bringing the person back to themselves, back to their community, and back into the presence of God. Part One: Possession as Exile and Captivity The Suppression of the Image of God When Scripture descr...

What about the resurrection of Jesus—not first as a fact to defend, but as God’s act of ending exile and restoring embodied life through the crucified Son? The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not primarily an apologetic problem to be solved or a miracle to be defended against skeptics. It is the hinge of history—the moment when God invaded enemy-occupied territory with such force that the Powers trembled, death itself convulsed, and the entire cosmos lurched toward its restoration. The empty tomb is not the end of a ghost story but the beginning of new creation. To grasp the resurrection rightly, we must understand what it accomplishes in the biblical story: it is the reversal of Eden's exile, the vindication of Israel's crucified Messiah, the defeat of the Powers, the firstfruits of bodily redemption, and the inaugural act of God's new world breaking into the old. The resurrection is God's thunderous "Yes!" to embodied life, His decisive "No!" to de...

What about divorce—not first as a rule to enforce, but as a grievous rupture of covenant within the story of exile and restoration? Marriage, in the biblical worldview, is not simply a social contract or legal arrangement—it is a covenant that mirrors God's own faithful presence with His people. From the garden where "a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24), to the prophetic imagery of God as Israel's husband, to Paul's declaration that marriage reflects Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32), the one-flesh union is sacred space in miniature. It is a living parable of covenant love, permanence, and mutual indwelling. And yet, we live in a fractured world. The Powers have distorted God's good design. Sin—both personal and structural—invades the most intimate spaces. Marriages can become sites not of sacred presence but of violence, abandonment, addiction, cruelty, and betrayal. The bibli...

What about the prosperity gospel—does it proclaim God's generosity or reshape God into a means of personal gain? The prosperity gospel is one of the most seductive distortions of Christianity in the modern world. It promises health, wealth, and success to those who have enough faith, give enough money, or speak the right confessions. It fills stadiums, dominates Christian television, and has spread globally—particularly in the developing world where economic desperation makes its promises especially attractive. But beneath its glossy exterior and feel-good messages lies a profound theological poison: it transforms God from the sovereign Lord who calls us to costly discipleship into a cosmic vending machine dispensing blessings in exchange for our faith-coins. It reshapes the gospel from "die to yourself and follow Christ" into "use God to get what you want." And in doing so, it doesn't proclaim God's generosity—it blasphemes it. What Is the Prosperit...