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The purpose of this web site is to be a repository of quotes and writings from the Early Church Fathers and Saints down through the centuries.
Who are the Early Church Fathers?
They are the very first Christians who lived from A.D. 100 to A.D. 787.
The Goal: To demonstrate that the Teachings of the Catholic Church are not inventions or something made up by a Pope, Cardinal, bishop, or cleric of the Church, but, in fact, have always been part of what Catholic Christians call the Deposit of Faith — The Deposit of Faith is the collection of [teachings/beliefs] left by Jesus, His Apostles, and His Church before His Glorious Ascension into Heaven.
When a man and woman consummate their marriage by the conjugal embrace, many times, if not most of the time, the result is a new fetus in the mother's womb. The fetus, with time and love, grows up to be an adult.
In the same way, the Catholic Church started in seed form, and while being divinely protected on issues of faith and morals, as Jesus promised St. Peter, She grew to become the Church Faithful that it is today. The Church Faithful is what practicing Catholics hold on to and love today in the twenty-first century. This does not mean that everyone who calls themselves a Catholic, practices the Faith as they should. We are all sinners to some degree, but we are called to love the sinner, while hating the sin.
- Why the name BibleBeltCatholics?
Because the name reflects our desire to share the writings of the Early Church Fathers, i.e., the very first Christians, with those who love and cherish the Scriptures in the Bible Belt of the United States. Simultaneously, we have the desire to share these writings with Catholic brethren who live in the South, but who may never have heard of them. The only inconvenience you will find is in reading certain passages that I quoted. The three volume set of PDF books I told them from used an Old English style language, so some passages may be hard to read at times.
St. Jerome tells us:
- "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ."
We strongly agree!
- Catholic Christians, who attend Sunday Mass, hear most of the Scriptures within a three-year period. If you include the Psalms, we hear four readings each Sunday from the Scriptures. Why? Because the Scriptures were intended to be read within the Church from the very beginning so the various passages would be interpreted correctly.
- Those that are able to attend daily Mass hear most of the Bible within a two-year cycle of readings.
- In addition, there are many Bible studies that are held in Catholic parishes around the world.
Nevertheless, in many places, private, personal reading of the Scriptures, guided by the Church's understanding of them, could be greatly increased among the Faithful in the Church. The Church acknowledges and admires the love our separated brethren for the Scriptures.
That said, we have to keep in mind that there was no known canon of the Scriptures until A.D. 382. From A.D. 33 to A.D. 382, almost 350 years after Our Lord's Ascension, no one had a Bible, and hardly anyone could read one, even if they could afford it!
- How was the Faith passed on? <By Oral Tradition, Luke 10:16>
On this web site you will be able to read the Oral Tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15) that was passed down by word of mouth, by the very first Christians after Jesus' Ascension into Heaven; it is the same Oral Tradition that is practiced in the Catholic Church today.
In order to benefit the most from this web site and understand how the Oral Tradition has been organized, it is recommended you read the About this site page.
The audience we hope for and welcome with open arms are:
- Christian preachers from the mega churches down South
- Members of those mega churches
- Our own Catholic Faithful who may never have heard of the Early Church Fathers
- and, others
Unlike our other web site, AskACatholic.com, this web site is 100% quotes and writings. If you have questions about what the Catholic Church believes and why, check out AskACatholic. We have a knowledge base of over 3,000 postings where you can search for answers, and if it's not there, you can ask us using the shortcut:
http://www.AskACatholic.com/AskUs
To date, we have won four awards for our work.
Each member involved in my web apostolates strives to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit by:
- spreading the Good News of the Catholic Gospel, and
- encouraging others to join the fold of the Church.
Being Catholic is awesome!
On this specific web site, it is our hope that we are providing information you may not have been previously familiar with.
If you happen to be a Catholic, who has a strong devotion to praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, check out this third site:
Helpers of the Holy Souls
We are striving to start Purgatory Prayer Programs across the United States and we can send you a FREE starter kit.
Mike Humphrey
BibleBeltCatholic.com
AskACatholic.com
and Helpers of the Holy Souls.com Web Admin |
