Catholicism Is False

Either something is infallible or it isn't. There are no degrees of infallibility, as there no degrees of truth. Something is either true, or it isn'tActually, you aren't right about infallibility. Infallible and true are similar but not the same. Infallible involves the certainty. There can be different degrees of certainty. Something can be plain and simple infallible, whereas other things can be pretty certain, and others can be mere theological speculation. http://www.beginningcatholic.com...You quoted Dr. Ott's book from an online source. In this very book, degrees of certainty are discussed, for instance de fide vs. sent. certa. Obviously not, as you've just explained yourself.The Catechism is accurate on the whole as it basically contains the Catholic faith. This does not entail that every sentence is itself infallible and every word is true. It just means in chunks it can be considered a pretty accurate representation of Catholicism. The doctrines of the CCC are infallible insofar as they reflect the continued teachings of the Bishops and Popes through the centuries and insofar as they reflect definitive decisions by the Popes in encyclicals or the Church at councils. Hence the CCC contains infallible truths however it is not SIMPLY because they are in the Catechism that they are infallible. Further, a truth can be infallible in the Catechism but the exact articulation may be poor. Hence the Church issues revisions of the CCC. Your best argument is that they are talking about different types of grace, which is an invalid argument seeing as these passages do not claim to be discussing different types of grace Actually, you are just quoting what is used as headings in the book, since I own a copy of the book and quoted the actually original source...It is not so much different kinds of grace but different kinds of works. The first statement is "grace cannot be increased by natural works" The other statements are speaking of "justified man" and "supernatural works" and "merit." All of which (with a sound understanding of Catholic Theology as well as reading Dr. Ott's actual work rather than quoting it out of context) demonstrate there is no contradiction. The first statement is speaking of naturally good works, which are those that a man without grace performs. Supernaturally good works can merit an increase in grace but this is no contradiction. Also, if you really want to see, these "de fide" doctrines are not de fide because Ott listed them as such. They are de fide because Church councils defined them. So if you really want to know, go to the original Church documents. Ott sites a reference guide called Denzinger's sources of Catholic Doctrine. This is also cited by the Catechism. This contains many Church documents so see for yourslef. As for grace, the Council of Trent is the original source: http://history.hanover.edu..."CANON I.-If any one saith, that man may be justified before God by his own works, whether done through the teaching of human nature, or that of the law, without the grace of God through Jesus Christ; let him be anathema. "Emphasis mine However, I argue that the existance of an infinitely merciful God means that no sin is so great that it would end you up in hell without this infinite mercy to forgive youThis is a tough theological question. Yet it does not show Catholicism is false on the face of it. It is not an internal, self-contradiction. It is a difficult doctrine to understand. There are many answers given throughout history by theologians e.g.http://www.catholic.com...http://www.newadvent.org... Although its a deep question, the short of it is like this:If you make a fundamental choice against God through mortal sin, you are decided to reject God and WOULDN"T EVEN BE HAPPY IN HEAVEN because heaven is God's eternal presence. You couldn't enjoy God forever if you made a conscious and deliberate choice against him. A conscious and deliberate choice against God is what is meant by mortal sin in Catholicism. Because of this, God offers you a chance for mercy. He wants you to repent. However, if you chose not too, you cannot recieve God's mercy because you willfully deny it. At death, you step outside this life of change, regular physical time, space, etc. You become what you have chosen and you fully recognize your choice. If you have not repented, you cannot change. Sister Josefa Mendez http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com...; divine.htmlhttp://www.mysticsofthechurch.com...; States that "one act of love would deliver a damned soul from hell yet they refuse to make that act of love" (paraphrase). This means that a damned soul chooses by their own eternal choice to remain apart from God.Finally, human souls are by nature immortal. This is part of what it means to be made in God's image. They have chosen hell, God ratifies the choice. This is truly a mystery, and my answer doesn't even attempt to explain everything. The point is that God's infinite mercy is there for all who want it. If someone doesn't want it, God won't force them to recieve it. This however isn't a debate about the existence of hell, its about whether or not Catholicism is false. Pointing to a tough theological question doesn't falsify Catholicism unless you show an internal logical contradiction. Which there is none here at least. Articles of faith are mysteries beyond our understanding that is why St. Anselm says "faith seeking understanding" not the other way around. Yes, the other arguments are dropped because I didn't know until round 2 that the CCC isn't considered infallible No my 6 step argument in my first post had nothing to do with the CCC. Although, since you have the BOP is not necessary that my argument succeeds, I just wanted to call your attention to it.