Apologetics conference offers Catholic responses to tough objections



Sterling Heights — Twenty years ago, Steven Piskorowski never could have imagined himself as a Catholic. It was unthinkable.

In fact, 20 years ago, Piskorowski was helping Dave Hunt, a vehement anti-Catholic writer and speaker, prepare to prove how Catholicism was leading people astray in a local debate with Karl Keating, founder of the well-known Catholic apologetics apostolate Catholic Answers.

As a Protestant, Piskorowski was used to using the Bible as a tool for disproving the claims of Catholics — praying to saints, the Eucharist, faith vs. works, and especially the Marian dogmas.

Ultimately, though, it was a question about the Scriptures themselves — namely, how they came to be — that had Piskorowski rethinking his assumptions.

“I remember lying in my bed looking up at the ceiling when I realized how the (scriptural) canon had come together, thinking ‘My gosh. I’ve gotta become Catholic,’” said Piskorowski, who on Jan. 18 helped organize the first Midwest Catholic Apologetics Conference at SS. Cyril and Methodius (Slovak) Parish in Sterling Heights.

Piskorowski’s realization that the contents of the Bible were the result of an authoritative Church — the Catholic Church — was the result of a type of argument known today as “apologetics” (from the Greek “apologia,” meaning “defense”). It’s a ministry Piskorowski said today is needed more than ever, which is why the SS. Cyril and Methodius parishioner felt the call to put together the conference featuring such “heavy hitters” as Patrick Madrid, Gary Michuta, Marcus Grodi and Steve Ray, who addressed nearly 1,200 people on topics ranging from how to respond to atheism to where Church authority comes from.

Madrid, a well-known Catholic apologist who’s written more than 20 books and hosts a radio program, “Right Here, Right Now,” on EWTN, spoke about the typical arguments of today’s atheist, and how Catholics can counteract them using science, logic and reason.

“Certainly your atheist brother-in-law who’s read a few Richard Dawkins books will have some snappy comebacks. Don’t be afraid of that,” Madrid told the audience. “You’ve got reason on your side, because you’ve got truth on your side if you believe in God.”

Madrid went on to discuss how belief in God is compatible with today’s science, knocking down standard arguments such as the “God of the gaps” rejoinder, which claims Christians simply insert God into the “gaps” of scientific knowledge, which one day will have all the answers.

“Christians are not doing that. We don’t believe in a ‘God of the gaps’ theory. We don’t accept that,” said Madrid, who added that Christian knowledge of God works hand-in-hand with nature, along with philosophy. “But atheists themselves are actually guilty of it (inserting science where gaps in knowledge exist).”

The conference was organized by SS. Cyril and Methodius and Army of Apostles, a podcast apostolate started in 2007 by Paul Thomas, who hosted a radio program on 1090-AM before transitioning to an online format (www.armyofapostles.com) along with Piskorowski; Lisa Campbell, a parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth; and Catholic apologists Michuta and Bobby Hesley. Dan Rakowski also helped put on the event.

In an increasingly secular world, Campbell said more and more Catholics are beginning to recognize the need for scriptural and logical explanations of their faith.

“I think it’s part of the New Evangelization — you have to have answers to your faith,” she said. “Apologetics is critical to knowing your faith and knowing how to defend it.”

But as important as having the right answers is, it’s not for the sake of being right that Catholics should practice apologetics, said Grodi, one of the conference speakers and host of “The Journey Home” on EWTN.

“We can have all the apologetics right,” Grodi said. “We can defend our faith, but if we do so without love, it’s worthless. It’s important to have the truth so we know how to love.”