On Catholicism: Quotes from Reasons to Believe--How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith, by Scott Hahn

p. 9: "... the laws of God, like the laws of gravity, do not depend upon how I feel about them. They are inexorable, even in the absence of strong emotion or apparent miracles."

p. 14: A list of theologians who inspired this book:

• James Akin
• Dave Armstrong
• Mark Brumley
• Jeff Cavins
• David Cavins
• David Currie
• Fr. George Duggan
• Marcus Grodi
• Fr. John Hardon, SJ
• Thomas Howard
• Kenneth J. Howell,
• Karl Keating
• Peter Kreeft
• Patrick Madrid
• Rosalind Moss
• Fr. William Most
• Fr. Mitch Pacina, SJ
• Stephen Ray
• David Scott
• Mark Shea
• Tim Staples

p. 61: "...apologetic arguments fill volumes of the second-century Fathers Justin, Melito, and Irenaeus...": 

• The Messiah would be born a child, but would be "mighty God" (Is. 9:6-7)
• He would be born of a virgin (Is 7:14)
• He would be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2)
• He would be born into the line of King David (Jer 23:5)
• He would heal the blind, lame, and deaf (Is 35:5-6)
• He would be betrayed by a friend (Ps 55:12-14)
• He would suffer and be despised (Is 53:2-7)
• His flock would abandon him (Zech 13:7)
• He would be "pierced" by nails and by a sword (Ps 22:16; Zech 12:10)
• He would be a "just man" tortured and killed by His enemies (Wis 2:12-20)
• He would be executed with criminals (Is 53:12)
• His enemies tore his garments and gambled for them (Ps 22:18)
• He would rise from the dead (Ps 16:10, 30:3)
• He would bring all nations the light of the true God (Is 60:3)

p. 75: Kenneth Kitchen's book On the Reliability of the Old Testament

p. 76: "The Church preceded the Scriptures... all the New Testament books, except the Gospels, are primarily occupied with describing a community already well established, with distinctive policies, practices, and patterns of devotion -- with its own structures of authority and methods of decision-making.... Here we should note that Jesus himself wrote nothing and, as far as we know, He never asked his disciples to write anything. His significant command to them was "do this" not write this"; and "this" referred to the Church-forming sacrament of his body and blood."

p. 113: Prayers of the mass and the Bible verses they come from:

• Opening blessing: Mt. 28:19
• Apostolic greeting: 2 Cor 13:14
• Amen: 1 Chr 16:36b
• The Lord be with you: Lk 1:28; 2 Thess 3:16; Ruth 2:4
• Lord, have mercy: Mt. 17:15; 20:31; Ps 123:3
• Glory to God: Lk 2:14
• Alleluia: Rev 19:1-6
• Lift up your hearts: Lam 3:41
• Holy, holy, holy: Rev 4:8; Is 6:3; Mk 11:9-10; Ps 118:26
• Eucharistic prayer: 1 Cor. 11:23; Mt. 26:26-8; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:17-20
• The great amen: Rev 5:14
• The Lord's Prayer: Mt 6:9-13
• Peace be with you: Jn 14:27; 20:19
• Lamb of God: Jn 1:29; Rev 5:6
• This is the Lamb of God: Rev 19:9
• Lord, I am not worthy: Mt. 8:8
• Go in peace: Lk 7:50; 2 Chr 35:3
• Thanks be to God: 2 Cor 9:15

p. 114: "the gestures of the Mass are biblical, too... When the priest makes the sign of the cross, he is making the mark described in Revelation 7:3 and 14:1. When he stretches out his hand, he evokes Moses during the battle with Amalek (Ex 17:12) and Jesus on the cross. At the end of mass, when the priest extends his hands, he is doing what priests have done since the days of Israel's sojourn during the desert: "Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. ...

The early Christians, such as Ignatius of Antioch and Tertullian, recognized that the Church established its altars on earth in order to imitate heaven's altar (see Rev 8:3). The church's priests wear vestments in order to imitate the robed presbyters who worship in heaven (see Rev 4:4). ... the church continues to use candles in order to evoke the lampstands depicted in the Bible's most vivid heavenly visions (Rev 1:12). The same is true of the use of incense in worship (see Rev 5:8) and chalices (Rev 16) as vessels)."

p. 115: "Christian worship does involve rituals and ceremonies, but the Gospel does not forbid rituals and ceremonies... A practice becomes an ism only when people make it an end in itself. But these rites are not ends in themselves. God himself established them for our good, and they are ordered to his worship."

p. 121: "Ignatius defined heretics as those who 'refrain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our savior Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father in his goodness raised up". cf. Philadelphians 4; Smyrnaeans 6:2 by Irenaeus.

p. 182: "The Son of David is not enthroned in the earthly Jerusalem, but the heavenly... the Kingdom has been transposed from earth to heaven, even though it continues to manifest itself on earth as the Church. The kingdom - the Church - exists simultaneously on earth and in heaven. The king is enthroned in heaven, but His ministers (the Apostles) are active on earth. Meanwhile, the heavenly king is united to his earthly officers and subjects by the Holy Spirit and by the Sacraments, especially baptism and the Eucharist (Acts 2:38-42). ... Peter makes it clear that Christ's present rule is not from the earthly Jerusalem, but from the heavenly (Acts 2:33). Nonetheless, his reign expresses itself in the earthly realm by what can be "seen and heard"."

p. 185. "unless we include both the earthly and the heavenly, we are not seeing the Church (or the kingdom) as Jesus wants us to see it. For there aren't two Churches, one in heaven and one on earth. Nor are there two kingdoms, one on earth and one (for the moment) present only in heaven. The Church exists in two states, but it is one Church. It is one kingdom. There is, as we profess in the creed, only one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 

The kingdom has come and it is the Church... His parables make sense only if the kingdom is the church as we know it--one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, full of sinners, some of us repentant."

p. 185: "This is what happens when we celebrate the Eucharist: the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven-- and God and his angels lift us up to divine life. ... The kingdom of heaven touches down whenever we go to mass. There we are served by apostolic ministers, vice-regents of Christ..."