Seminar Information:

  • 1

    Welcome & Instructions

    • Instructions for accessing this seminar

    • Seminar Handout
  • 2

    Session 1

    • "What Must I Do to Be Saved?": Reflections of a Catholic Convert by Vern Steiner
  • 3

    Session 2

    • "He Is the Atoning Sacrifice for Our Sins": Catholic and Protestant Perspectives on Christ's Achievement by Chad Steiner
  • 4

    Session 3

    • "Partakers of the Divine Nature": Salvation as Participation by Joshua Burks

This is the recording and study notes for the Fall 2020 Seminar of The Emmaus Institute for Biblical Studies entitled, "Are You Saved: The Fullness of Salvation in Catholic Teaching." The seminar was held on Saturday, October 24, from 8:30 to noon, and was hosted by St. Teresa Catholic Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. The seminar features three talks, one by each of the Emmaus teaching staff, on themes that lie at the heart of our Catholic faith:

  • Emmaus president, Dr. Vern Steiner,  begins the seminar by considering the jailer’s question in Acts 16:30: “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”, and offering a few reflections on the theology of salvation as a Catholic Convert;
  • Chad Steiner explains some of the similarities and differences between Protestant and Catholic understandings of the concept of ‘propitiation’ (sometimes ‘atoning sacrifice’, or ‘expiation’) in the statements found in 1 John 2:2; 4:10: “He is the propitiation for our sins,” asking the question: What exactly did Christ achieve on the cross?;
  • Joshua Burks concludes the event by exploring what it means to be “partakers of the divine nature,” which we read in 2 Peter 1:4, and what it means to conceive ‘salvation’ as in some sense ‘participation’ in the life of the Trinity.

The content promises to be informing, inspiring, and accessible to people at all levels who are interested in exploring the fullness of salvation in Catholic teaching. Total recoding time is 2 hours and 45 minutes. May God richly bless you!

Presenters:

President

Dr. Vern Steiner

Prior to entering the Catholic Church in 2015, Vern enjoyed a long career as an evangelical protestant pastor, seminary professor, and founder and president of a Bible institute. His teaching specializations include biblical introduction and interpretation, languages and exegesis, and exposition and theology. He focused on Bible, History, and Philosophy in his undergraduate studies; he holds masters degrees in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Literature; and he earned his Ph.D. in Exegetical Theology. Vern has authored a number of published and unpublished materials at both general and technical levels. When he is not in his study, he enjoys watching sports, woodworking, and especially spending time with his wife Carol, their two married children, and their ten grandchildren.

Associate Teacher

Chad Steiner

Chad completed his undergraduate studies in Philosophy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while studying the biblical languages and biblical introduction and interpretation on the side. Following graduation, he taught with his father at a small Bible institute in Lincoln for a number of years before moving to England with his wife Kacy to begin graduate work in biblical studies. Upon their return to Lincoln in 2005, Chad resumed teaching and writing full time with the institute where he remained until its closure in 2013. His interests lie especially in cultivating Christian unity, and in sharing the task of interpreting Sacred Scripture with Christians across denominational lines. He and his family were received into the Church at the Easter Vigil at St. Peter in 2011. Since then he has enjoyed singing in the choir and helping as an occasional catechist for the RCIA program at the parish. He and Kacy have eight children, two dogs, two guinea pigs, a rabbit, and many Legos.

Joshua Burks