The Catholic Charity Challenge

Official Rules

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Topics
  1. This challenge is to prove any of the following:
      2. a. That the Catholic Church has explicitly taught contrary to a verse or passage in the Bible.
      b. The Catholic Church has contradicted itself or changed its official teaching in areas where it expresses the charism of infallibility
  2. The top of each submission should first include the Bible verse, passage, or pericope. Or it should include the two supposed contradictory statements. It should quote or reference the official teaching of the Catholic Church. Then you should give your own commentary or reasons on why you believe you are right. A form have been included to help you in your submission.
  3. The commentary on any one submission is limited to 2,500 words.
Submissions
  1. Respondents must be at least 18 years of age or older.
  2. Submissions to this challenge must be submitted to the following email address: apologetics@catecheticsonline.com
  3. Submissions should include the real name of one person or organization who is submitting the response. First name and first letter of last name are also acceptable.
  4. Catechetics Online may not be able to respond to every submission, but will make every effort to cover every topic or passage submitted. If two submissions cover the same topic or passage, the earlier submission will be accepted.
  5. If Catechetics Online is ever overwhelmed with more responses than it can handle to respond to in a reasonable time, the email address for responses may be temporarily disabled until staff members are able to catch up. Catechetics Online will attempt to post a list of submission topics so others don't spend time on something that has already been submitted.
  6. Submissions to this contest become the sole property of Catechetics Online, and therefore only original material may be submitted as part of the commentary. Do not submit copyrighted material as the commentary for your response. Catechetics Online may publish whole submissions by any means and at its own discretion.
What to think about before writing
  1. Before submitting a response, it may be helpful to research the topic to see if any adequate answers have already been given.
  2. Before submitting a response it also may be helpful to ensure a correct reading of a Bible passage or Church document. It is important to read in the context of what something is written. Remember that Arius tried to proved in one Bible passage that Jesus is not God. If the Bible consisted only of that Bible passage, he may have been right.
  3. It is best to avoid logical fallacies in your response. The Internet offers many websites which cover what logical fallacies are and how to avoid them. Logical fallacies severely weaken your argument. Examples are ad hominems, appeal to emotion, appeal to popularity, appeal to ridicule, begging the question, guilt by association, personal attack, post hoc, red herring, straw man, etc.
Permitted Sources
  1. Any one of these resources may be used as official resources from the Catholic Church towards which responses may be directed.
  2. The Holy Bible, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the official documents of the Ecumenical councils, other writings which the Church has proclaimed in its ordinary or extraordinary competency. Sources of Catholic Dogma and Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma are good places to find where the Church has spoken about your topic, but may not be used as sources themselves. Look for places that the Church has exercised its infallibility in either its ordinary or extraordinary capacity. Example: An encyclical is fine to use. A priest's homily is not.
Claiming the Prize
  1. We realize that no judge is completely 'unbiased'. In order to ensure a contest that is fair as possible, we are imposing a limit of 90 days on the judges to answer each submission once they start reviewing it. If Catechetics Online determines a winner we will contact the person or organization who made the submission and asked for the name and address charitable organization of their choice.
  2. Judges are limited to a 2,500 word response.
  3. A check will be mailed to the organization within 30 days of receiving the name. If the winner does not respond with a charity within 60 days the funds will be given to a charitable organization of our choosing.
  4. The charitable organization must be approved at the sole discretion of the webmaster of Catechetics Online. No charity that supports a moral evil in its purpose may be chosen as the recipient of this prize (Example: Planned Parenthood). The organization must have 401(c)3 status in the United States of America.
Examples of submissions
  1. Example A: John Smith believes that the Catholic Churches teaching on transubstantiation is expressly anti-biblical. He believes that it violates Luke 22:19. John Smith should then take a look at the submission form filling out the contact information. He should first quote Luke 22:19, using any Bible version he wishes. He should then quote the official teaching of the Catholic Church on transubstantiation. The easiest way to find this is for John Smith to search the Catechism of the Catholic Church online. John Smith can then submit up to 2500 words of commentary explaining his reasoning.
  2. Example B: John Smith believes that the Catholic Church at one time taught that the Jesus was only symbolically present in the Eucharist, but has since changed its teaching. He should submit two quotes from the official teaching of the Church which exemplifies the discrepancy. Each quote must include a source for verification purposes. He can then give up to 2500 words of commentary explaining the discrepancy.