Daily Defense Podcast

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#276 Who Is the Greatest? - Jimmy Akin Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

DAY 276 CHALLENGE “During the Last Supper, the apostles argued over who was the greatest (Luke 22:24). Jesus shamed them, indicating that none of them was the greatest—not even Peter.” DEFENSE This misreads the text. Jesus gives a threefold response indicating that Peter was the disciples’ leader. Responding to the dispute, Jesus says three things. These form a single, continuous quotation of Jesus (they aren’t even interrupted by breaks like “then he said”). It’s all one block, indicating all three parts form his answer to the dispute about greatness. First, he tells them the principl...

#275 Between Two Robbers? - Jimmy Akin Oct 02, 2023

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DAY 275 CHALLENGE “The Gospels say that Jesus was crucified between two robbers (Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27), but this is inaccurate. We know that the ancient Romans only crucified people who committed acts of rebellion.” DEFENSE Romans did crucify robbers, but these two were likely rebels. Robbery isn’t the same as theft. Theft is taking someone’s property, but robbery is taking it by force. There’s an inherent element of violence in robbery that differentiates it from theft. When robbery is committed on water, it’s called piracy. Pirates are robbers who travel by water, and we know the ...

#274 Justification in James 2 - Jimmy Akin Oct 01, 2023

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DAY 274 CHALLENGE “Catholics misunderstand James 2. When James talks about faith, he’s referring to dead faith, and when he talks about justification, he’s referring to justification before men.” DEFENSE This isn’t supported by a careful reading of James 2. James says “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26), but it does not follow from this that he is talking about “dead faith.” Read the passage and substitute the phrase “dead faith” where James says “faith.” This will result in absurdities. Thus James 2:18b would read, “I by my works will show you my dead faith,” and 2:22a would...

#273 The Canonicity of the Deuterocanonicals - Jimmy Akin Sep 30, 2023

Show notes

DAY 273 CHALLENGE “Why should we think the deuterocanonicals are Scripture?” DEFENSE Multiple lines of evidence support this conclusion. The deuterocanonicals are seven books (Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Sirach, Wisdom, 1–2 Maccabees) and parts of two others (Daniel, Esther) considered canonical in the Catholic Church and many Eastern Orthodox and other Eastern Christian Churches but not in the Protestant community. They were included in the canonical tradition represented by the Septuagint, the major Greek translation of the Old Testament. Where the Septuagint was translated is unclear. ...

#272 The Use of Religious Images - Jimmy Akin Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

DAY 272 CHALLENGE “Catholics use statues and pictures, but the Ten Commandments prohibit such religious images (Exod. 20:4–6; Deut. 5:8–10).” DEFENSE The Ten Commandments prohibit making idols, not religious images. Idols are manufactured objects that people falsely believe to be deities. Their use was commonplace in paganism, and God rightly prohibited the Israelites from making them. However, not all religious use of images is idolatry, and God commanded the religious use of images in the Old Testament. At one point the Israelites are being bitten by serpents, and God had Moses make ...

#271 Jesus the Rock - Jimmy Akin Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

DAY 271 CHALLENGE “Peter can’t be the rock in Matthew 16:18 because Scripture says God is the rock (Isa. 51:1). Further, Peter describes Jesus as a stone (1 Pet. 2:4–8). Therefore, Jesus must be the rock.” DEFENSE This challenge does not understand the way metaphors work. Although Isaiah does refer to God as “the rock from which you were hewn,” there is nothing about this passage indicating that only God can be described as a rock. If only God could be described as a rock then Jesus could not have given Simon bar-Jonah the nickname Cephas/Peter/Rock (John 1:42; Matt. 16:18). The fact...

#270 The Concept of Sola Scriptura - Jimmy Akin Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

DAY 270 CHALLENGE “Catholic apologists misrepresent the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura (‘Scripture alone’). It merely means that Scripture contains everything necessary for salvation.” DEFENSE This is not how the teaching is understood by most Protestants, who apply it to all Christian doctrine. Salvation-based explanations of sola scriptura are sometimes found in popular-level writings of Protestant apologetics, but they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Anglican Articles of Religion state: “Holy Scripture containeth all things neces...

#269 Judging Others - Jimmy Akin Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

DAY 269 CHALLENGE “Christians shouldn’t criticize others’ lifestyles or actions. Didn’t Jesus say not to judge?” DEFENSE Jesus didn’t tell us that we should close our eyes to moral evil in the world. The exhortation not to judge is found in Jesus’ major ethical discourse (Matt. 5:1–7:29, Luke 6:17–49). The point of the discourse is to give moral instruction. In it, Jesus discusses what conduct counts as good and bad, and he expects his followers to acknowledge the difference. Not only does he expect them to distinguish between good and evil in their own behavior, he also expects them...

#268 Praying to the Saints - Jimmy Akin Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

DAY 268 CHALLENGE “Catholics shouldn’t pray to the saints. Prayer is an act of worship, which is due only to God.” DEFENSE This involves a confusion of terms based on how the English language developed. In contemporary American English, “pray” indicates an act of worshipping God. However, Catholics do not give divine worship to the saints. The root of the confusion lies in the fact that the English word “pray” is derived from the Latin word precare, which meant “to ask/ implore/entreat.” By the 1300s, the English phrase “I pray thee” was used as a way to make a polite request—i.e., “I ...

#267 Immersion Only? - Jimmy Akin Sep 24, 2023

Show notes

DAY 267 CHALLENGE “People should be baptized only by immersion: (1) In Greek the word for “baptize” (baptizein) means ‘to dip’; (2) immersion better fits the symbolism of Jesus’ burial (Rom. 6:1–4; Col. 2:12); and (3) when Jesus was baptized, he ‘came up out of the water’ (Mark 1:10) and the Ethiopian eunuch ‘went down into the water’ (Acts 8:38).” DEFENSE These arguments do not show immersion is the only means of baptizing. First, baptizein doesn’t simply mean dip: “The word that invariably means ‘to dip’ is not baptizein but baptein; baptizein has a wider signification; and its use...

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