Catholicism is a radically historical religion — one founded in real events, people, and places...

[Michie]

A Faith Deeply Rooted in History​

Catholicism is a deeply unique religion. Something that makes the Catholic faith particularly unique is the claim of its Founder: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Unlike the founders of other religious traditions, Jesus Christ undoubtedly claims that not only is His way the path to salvation, but literally He is the way to salvation. Christ entered into the world in a particular time, place, and culture: born in first-century Judea, governed at the time by the Roman Empire, Jesus entered into human history in “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4), when the world was ripe for His saving intervention. His entrance into human history follows centuries of preparation, anticipation, and longing: all of the history of the nation of Israel (and Judah), and indeed the entire human race, is anticipating His arrival on the scene.

Therefore, the Catholic faith is deeply rooted in world history. It is a radically historical religion, one founded in real events, people, and places. The Gospels tell us that Jesus is the son of Mary and the foster son of Joseph, which are reliable facts that we can trust as historical fact, albeit always having a deeper spiritual truth. Indeed, the Church tells us of the various “senses” of Scripture: beginning with the historical or literal sense, and moving on to the deeper spiritual, moral, and anagogicalsenses. The literal or historical sense begins with the question of: of whom and what does this Scripture passage speak? Moving on from there, what is the deeper meaning? When we read of the journey of ancient Israel and Judah in the Old Testament, we understand this to be the literal sense: Israel and Judah are two ancient kingdoms, originally united under one kingship, founded by the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who established their residence in ancient Palestine over a thousand years before Jesus Christ. We know from archaeology that ancient Israel and Judah truly existed. The remains of the Western Wall of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, which remains to the present day, provides obvious evidence of the ancient kingdoms’ reality.

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A Faith Deeply Rooted in History - St. John Vianney Lay Division

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