[completed on 2 August 2014; 245 pages. Accepted for publication by Sophia Institute Press on 11 November 2014; to be released in August 2015]

FACEBOOK INTRODUCTION / ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACCEPTANCE FOR PUBLICATION

[Read my public Facebook post]
TABLE OF CONTENTS  

Dedication I. Bible and Tradition (Authority) 
1.Tradition is Not Always a Bad Word in Scripture +2. The Catholic “Three-Legged Stool” vs. Sola Scriptura 3. Tradition: Short Reflection & Basic Explanation4. The Bereans & “Searching the Scriptures” 5. Ten Deuterocanonical References in the New Testament  II. Doctrine of the Church (Ecclesiology)
6. The Catholic Church: Why we Accept Her Claims7. Catholic Ecclesiology & the Jerusalem Council [read original longer dialogue]8. Three Biblical Arguments for an Authoritative Church +9. “Call No Man Father” & Calling Catholic Priests Father * 10. We Believe All that the Catholic Church Teaches11. On the Scandal of the Outrageous Claim to be a Church 12. On Whether God Would Protect His Church from Error [read original longer dialogue]13. Are Church Councils More Authoritative than Popes?
III. Priestly Celibacy
14. Short Exposition on Catholic Priestly Celibacy 15. The Celibate Priesthood as a Higher Calling 16. A New (?) Argument for Mandatory Priestly Celibacy [read original post and Facebook discussion]
IV.Theology of Salvation (Soteriology)
17. Works Can be Good or Bad, Just as Traditions Are 18. Faith & Works (But Not Justification) in Isaiah Ch. 1 19. Catholic Soteriology in John 3:36 (“Disobey the Son”) 20. Hebrews 3:14 (Lots of Catholic Theology on Salvation) 21. Unanswered Prayers of Jesus as a Counter-Reply to Limited Atonement 22. John 12:32 vs. John Calvin & Limited Atonement 23. God Doesn't Predestine the Damned (2 Thess 2:10-12)
V. Purgatory and Penance
24. Prayer, Penance, & the Eternal Destiny of Others 25. The Abundant Biblical Support for Lent *26. Divine Chastisement (or, Purgatory in ThisLife) *
VI. The Holy Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass
27. Mystery is No Basis for Rejecting Transubstantiation *28. On the Nature of Idolatry 29. “The Apostle Paul Says He is a 'Priest'?! Where?!”
VII. Sacramentals, Devotions, and Worship
30. Sacramentalism & the Bible +31. Biblical Support for Ritualistic & Formal Worship +32. Is the Rosary “Vain Repetition”? *
VIII. The Communion of Saints and Angels
33. Asking Saints to Intercede is a Teaching of Jesus *34. Praying to Angels & Angelic Intercession *35. Worshiping God Through Images in Holy Scripture36. Martin Luther's Belief in the Invocation & Intercession of Mary & the Saints, as Late as 1521 [read online]37. The False Doctrine of “Soul Sleep”38. New (?) Biblical Argument for the Veneration of Saints: God “In” & “Through” St. Paul
IX. The Blessed Virgin Mary (Mariology)
39. Biblical Arguments for the Perpetual Virginity of Mary *40. Holy Ground & the Perpetual Virginity of Mary *41. Rationalist Objection to the In Partu Virginity of Mary42. Martin Luther & the Immaculate Purification of Mary*43. Mary's Immaculate Conception & the Bible*44. Quick Biblical Proof that Mary is the Mother of God 45. The Bible & the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary *46. Mary the “Queen Mother” & “Queen of Heaven”47. Mary as the Woman in Revelation 12 [read longer original dialogue]48. Biblical Analogies for Marian Apparitions
X. Papal Infallibility
49. Protestant Difficulties Regarding Papal Infallibility50. The So-Called “Infallibility Regress” Objection [read original longer dialogue]
XI. Christology and Trinitarianism
51. The Bible “Never Says that Jesus is God”? Wrong! +52. The Holy Trinity Proven from Scripture + 53. Is Trinitarianism Demonstrable from Scripture Alone? 54. Trinitarian Baptismal Formula & “Jesus Only” Baptism 55. Should God the Father be Visually Depicted in Paintings? 56. Satan's Tempting of Jesus as a Proof of His Divinity57. Jesus' Divinity & Matthew 21:16 (cf. Psalms 8:2) 58. Jesus is Explicitly, Directly Called “God” (Romans 9:5)59. Jesus' Agony in the Garden vs. “Be Not Anxious” [read original longer article]
XII. Marriage and Sexuality
60. Annulment is Not Catholic Divorce 61. Contraception: “Be Fruitful and Multiply” * 62. Contraception: God Blesses Parents with Children * 63. Contraception: Onan's Sin & Punishment [read online]64. Reply to an Attack Against NFP & Spacing of Children65. Contraception, Murder, & the Contralife Will66. Does the Bible Condemn Homosexual Acts?67. St. Paul's Argument from Nature Against Homosexual Acts (Romans 1) [read original longer 
version]68. The Prohibition of Premarital Sex in the New Testament 69. Does 1 Corinthians 7:36-38 Sanction Premarital Sex? [read original longer dialogue]70. Thoughts on Women's Ordination
XIII. Hell, the Devil, and Demons
71. Philosophical Defense of the Necessity of Hell [read original longer dialogue: Parts One and Two]72. The Stupidity of the Devil 73. Demon Possession & Modern Bible Translation Bias 74. The “Conditional” Possibility of Universalism Refuted
XIV. Philosophy, History, and Apologetics
75. Thoughts on a Perfect God Creating an Imperfect World 76. Can God be Blamed for the Nazi Holocaust? 77. The Inevitability of Development of Doctrine *78. New Testament Proofs of Noah's Historical Existence * [read online] 79. Jesus' Use of Socratic Method in His Teaching [read on my Facebook page]80. Apologetics Isn't Saying You're Sorry for Your Faith! + [read online]
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* = originally published in Seton Magazine : The Premier Online Magazine for Catholic Homeschoolers (from March to July 2014). See my author page with links to all the articles.

+ = originally published in The Michigan Catholic : the official newspaper for the Archdiocese of Detroit (from May to August 2014). See my author page with links to all the articles.

INTRODUCTION

 This is a collection of writing that is precisely described in the book title: essays that are 1) short (usually two or three pages), 2) characterized by lots of biblical argumentation, and 3) in defense of Catholicism (apologetics). Most of them came about as a result of my ongoing efforts to comment on issues that regularly come up in “worlds” of Catholic apologetics and theology online.The relative brevity of the chapters are indications of the trend in my apologetic writing for many years now: precise, “quick” answers to apologetics questions. For better or ill, this is the world that we live in, and the apologist must make efforts (as St. Paul did, and as Vatican II stressed) to “meet people where they are at.” I don't deny the continuing utility and necessity of longer treatments (my “corpus” still contains plenty of those!), but most people prefer shorter essays, and their interest in theology and apologetics generally doesn't extend to treatise-length expositions. This is all the more true for beginners in theology.Many of these essays were written as columns for Seton Magazine, which is devoted to Catholic homeschoolers. Those were all around 800 words. Others (1000 words in length) came from my regular column in The Michigan Catholic: the official newspaper for my archdiocese of Detroit. Additionally, some were originally posted as part of my work in the Internet forum of The Coming Home Network from 2007-2010 (I was the head moderator during that period), and several were initiated on Facebook as well.What all have in common is the desire to answer the questions that people ask, and to make the Catholic faith more understandable, leading to a confident belief, and the ability to “make a defense” (1 Peter 3:15) for this faith as opportunities arise. By God's grace I hope I have accomplished these goals.Thanks so much for reading, and God bless you!

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