Dinner with Dona Adélia

Jessica Goudeau’s translations of the work of Adélia Prado, Brazil’s foremost living poet, appear in issue 91.  The night I met Dona Adélia, she told me my husband was the perfect man. She came to the University of Texas for a poetry reading with her longtime translator and editor, Ellen Doré Watson. At almost eighty, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/dinner-dona-adelia/

Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Our Rumbling Nation

This is an age of the world when nations are trembling and convulsed. A mighty influence is abroad, surging and heaving the world, as with an earthquake. And is America safe? Every nation that carries in its bosom great and un-redressed injustice has in it the elements of this last convulsion. As I was reading [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/uncle-toms-cabin-rumbling-nation/

Poetry Friday: “The Cartographer of Disaster”

Sometimes a poet will take a familiar story but re-tell it from the point of view of a minor character. That’s what Kathleen L. Housley is doing in “The Cartographer of Disaster”: she gives us the biblical story of Noah and the Flood from the viewpoint of the raven that Noah sends out after the [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/poetry-friday-cartographer-disaster/

More2Life Hacks—Bouncing Back from Tough Times in Marriage

It’s all too easy to get caught up in the various problems we all experience in marriage Sometimes, we can get so focused on the problems that we think things will never be different.   Here are three More2Life Hacks that will help you bounce back from tough times in your marriage and re-experience the [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/02/more2life-hacks-bouncing-back-tough-times-marriage/

Arts and Faith Top 10 Films of 2016: Part 2

Continued from yesterday. [Link to yesterday’s post here] Here are the remaining five films in the Art and Faith Ecumenical Jury’s top ten films of 2016 list, as well as Honorable Mentions selected by each jury member:   5. Knight of Cups (Terrence Malick) Knight of Cups is as pure cine-poetry as it is still [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/arts-faith-top-10-films-2016-part-2/

Arts and Faith Top 10 Films of 2016: Part 1

Though the year of 2016 was a weighty year for politics and world events, it was also a great year for movies. The Arts and Faith Ecumenical Jury of 2016 has compiled a list of ten excellent films we found to be especially noteworthy. This year’s thirteen jury members include professors and pastors, professional film [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/arts-faith-top-10-films-2016-part-1/

Kids on My Mind: Parenting Changes Dad’s Brain!

We’ve known for quite a while that parenthood facilitates changes in mom’s brain that help her be more nurturing.  It turns out that being a hands-on parent changes dad’s brain too! “Our findings add to the evidence that fathers, and not just mothers, undergo hormonal changes that are likely to facilitate increased empathy and motivation [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/02/kids-mind-parenting-changes-dads-brain/

Unhappy Marriage? New Study Reveals 1 Simple Trick Can Turn Things Around.

According to a new study by the UK’s Marriage Foundation, 70% of couples who said they were in unhappy marriages reported being happy 10 years later.  Of those, 30% of the formerly unhappy couples were “extremely happy.”  This was especially true for couples who were feeling the strain a growing family can put on the [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/02/unhappy-marriage-new-study-reveals-1-simple-trick-can-turn-things-around/

“Armstrong vs. Geisler” #5: Prayer to Creatures

Photograph by “jclk8888” (7-7-13) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** [This is an installment of an extensive series of mine, in which I interact with the book that I believe is the best Protestant critique of Catholicism in our times: Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences, by Norman L. Geisler and Ralph E. Mackenzie (Grand Rapids, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/armstrong-vs-geisler-5-prayer-creatures.html

“Armstrong vs. Geisler” #4: Prayer for the Dead

Photograph by “jclk8888” (7-7-13) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** [This is an installment of an extensive series of mine, in which I interact with the book that I believe is the best Protestant critique of Catholicism in our times: Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences, by Norman L. Geisler and Ralph E. Mackenzie (Grand Rapids, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/armstrong-vs-geisler-4-prayer-for-the-dead.html

“Armstrong vs. Geisler” #3: Merit & Penitential Suffering

 Norman Geisler vs. St. Paul Regarding the Treasury of Merit and Redemptive Suffering for the Sake of Others’ Salvation   Photograph by “jclk8888” (7-7-13) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** [This is an installment of an extensive series of mine, in which I interact with the book that I believe is the best Protestant critique of Catholicism in [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/armstrong-vs-geisler-3-merit-penitential-suffering.html

“Armstrong vs. Geisler” #2: Purgatory (Lk 23:43)

Photograph by “jclk8888” (7-7-13) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** [This is an installment of an extensive series of mine, in which I interact with the book that I believe is the best Protestant critique of Catholicism in our times: Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences, by Norman L. Geisler and Ralph E. Mackenzie (Grand Rapids, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/armstrong-vs-geisler-2-purgatory-lk-2343.html

“Armstrong vs. Geisler” #1: Purgatory (Mt 12:32)

Photograph by “jclk8888” (7-7-13) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** [This is the first installment of a new series of mine, in which I interact with the book that I believe is the best Protestant critique of Catholicism in our times: Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences, by Norman L. Geisler and Ralph E. Mackenzie [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/armstrong-vs-geisler-1-purgatory-mt-1232.html

Poetry Friday: “Afternoon Swim”

The play of grammar has always lured me. I’ve wondered: why do English sentences take the shape they do? So when I reached line 4 of Lance Larsen’s “Afternoon Swim”—with its bold announcement that he was switching from second person to first—I was hooked. Play with grammar is this poem’s medium. I laughed out loud [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/poetry-friday-afternoon-swim/

Catholics & the Historicity of Jonah the Prophet

Jonah Is Spewed Forth by the Whale (Jon. 2:1-11), 1866, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (6-27-08) *** Regarding Jonah, the straightforward sense would seem to be that he was an actual historical person, as were all the prophets. The book about him, after all, is included in the prophetic writings in [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/catholics-historicity-jonah-prophet.html

“Moses’ Seat” & Jesus vs. Sola Scriptura (vs. James White)

The Pharisees and the Sadducees Come to Tempt Jesus, by James Tissot (1836-1902) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (12-27-03) *** The first section of this paper is from my book, The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants (Sophia Institute Press, Spring 2004) and is a reply to White’s arguments in his book, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/moses-seat-jesus-vs-sola-scriptura-vs-james-white.html

Epiphany in the Memory Unit

The priest’s wife handed me her half full can of beer. It was Christmastime, and the beer she was offering was a Texas IPA, sweating seductively on the table between us. I brought the can to my lips and the slightly bitter taste of the half-warm beer filled me with relief. I needed a drink. [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/epiphany-memory-unit/

Levites & Old Covenant System vs. Sola Scriptura

Moses and the Brazen Serpent (1640), by Adriaen van Nieulandt (c. 1586-1658) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (4-9-06) *** Is it true that in Old Testament times, the people were basically on their own vis-a-vis biblical interpretation, and application of the Mosaic Law. No! Theirs was not a sola Scriptura system. I offer examples below. [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/levites-old-covenant-system-vs-sola-scriptura.html

Anne Fontaine’s The Innocents

After World War II devastated eastern Europe, the Red Army pushed into the countries allotted to them as spoils, such as Poland. There, they continued the destructive work that the Nazis had begun. Among those hardest hit were the women religious of Warsaw. French Red Cross physician Madeleine Pauliac, sent to find and repatriate the [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/anne-fontaines-innocents/

Sola Scriptura is Self-Defeating & False if Not in the Bible

vs. Kevin Johnson A diagram of how arms form in spiral galaxies. Authors: User:Dbenbenn / User:Mysid (11-10-06) [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** (5-4-04) *** I’ve seen many Protestants deny the Catholic counter-reply that if sola Scriptura isn’t taught in the Bible, it is a self-defeating belief, and therefore untrue. It [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/sola-scriptura-self-defeating-false-not-bible.html

Sola Scriptura, the Old Testament, & Ancient Jewish Practice

Ezra Reads the Law to the People (Neh. 8:1-12), by Gustave Doré (1832-1883) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This is from my 2002 book, More Biblical Evidence for Catholicism: the entirety of Chapter Nine (same title): pages 77-88 (I discarded some capitalizations used in the original, added capital letters in the sequential indented lists, and [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/sola-scriptura-old-testament-ancient-jewish-practice.html

Weddings, Women, Sweets, and Wishes

My heirloom cookbook was born during a Washington D.C. snowstorm in February of what was then called “The Year 2000,” in my final months of singlehood before I was to be married in July. That storm barely registers in the city’s memory now: it was neither the Blizzard of 1996, with its eight-foot-high snowbanks, 2003’s [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/weddings-women-sweets-wishes/

Defense of Bishop Barron (Rubin Interview)

Did He Do Anything Wrong? Was it a Missed Opportunity (Particularly Regarding the “Gay Marriage” Issue)? Bishop Robert Barron: photograph by Frank Licorice (1 May 2012) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license] *** This has (I hear) become a big controversy. Bishop Barron was recently interviewed by the gay atheist political commentator, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/defense-bishop-barron-rubin-interview.html

“Hated by All”, Catholic Evangelism, & the Fullness of Truth

Is it Possible for an Orthodox, Morally Traditional Catholic, Who Shares the “Unabridged” Catholic Message, to be Rapturously Loved and Liked by One and All Radically Secularist Leftists and Atheists? Christ Crowned with Thorns, by Matthias Stom (fl. 1615-1649) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] “If they have called the master of the house Be-el’zebul, how [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/hated-by-all-evangelism-the-catholic-fullness-of-truth.html

Visiting Martin Luther in Minneapolis

A few weeks ago, I visited the Martin Luther: Art and the Reformation exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Before I left to catch the train, I popped my Swedish great-aunt’s small ceramic squirrel into my bag, knowing that she’d want to come in some way. (She’s likely forcing a plate of pepparkakor and [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/visiting-martin-luther-minneapolis/

Defense of 2nd Ecumenical Gathering at Assisi (Mark Shea)

President and Mrs. Reagan meet Pope St. John Paul II, The Vatican, 1982. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (originally edited and uploaded by Dave Armstrong from public bulletin board postings on 6 February 2002) ***** The following thoughts were expressed on the God Talk public bulletin board. An Orthodox respondent’s words are in blue. [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/defense-2nd-ecumenical-gathering-assisi-mark-shea.html

Ecumenical Gatherings at Assisi: A Defense (Fr. Alfredo M. Morselli)

Ecumenism in St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, by Fra Bartolomeo (1472-1517) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (Edited by Dave Armstrong, from forwarded e-mail letters: 1 August 1999) *** The meeting in Assisi (27 October 1986) is a very complex issue: there are a lot of issues here, and it is necessary to study all [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/ecumenical-gatherings-at-assisi-a-defense-fr-alfredo-m-morselli.html

Poetry Friday: “Erasure”

Have you ever felt that your own existence is being called into question? That you might be real but in the next moment disappear? Robert Cording explores this feeling in his poem “Erasure.” At first the poem’s speaker decides that his life is “too neatly drawn” and needs some erasure, some subtleness. So he goes [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/poetry-friday-erasure/

Why I Returned to the Catholic Church (Al Kresta)

. . . Including a Searching Examination of Various Flaws and Errors in the Protestant Worldview and Approach to Christian Living Al (left) with fellow Michigander and good friend, Steve Ray, in the 1990s [from Steve Ray’s website: 9-30-13] (edited and transcribed by Dave Armstrong from Al’s talk dated 4-26-92) Al Kresta was raised Catholic, converted [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/returned-catholic-church-al-kresta.html

Immaculate Heart of Mary & Mary Mediatrix (Excessive Devotions?)

Explanations Especially for New Converts to the Catholic Faith The Coronation of the Virgin (c. 1625), by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (11-25-08) ***** This came about as a result of some questions asked on the CHNI forum, from a few people who are seriously considering conversion to Catholicism. * [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/immaculate-heart-mary-mary-mediatrix-excessive-devotions.html

Ready to Run

Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path… And the reason I had wandered off from the straight path, Brothers and Sisters, was because—for the first time in my forty-eight years on this weary earth, I started doing [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/ready-to-run/

Bible & Tradition Issues: Reply to a “Bible Christian” Inquirer

. . . Particularly St. Augustine’s Position Portrait of St. Augustine (c. 1480) by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (3-1-07) ***** I was made aware of a thread at the blog DeoOmnis Gloria.com: 10 Questions for “Bible Christians.” It seems that that venue has been visited as of late (starting on 4 January [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/bible-tradition-issues-reply-to-a-bible-christian-inquirer.html

Dialogue on “Tradition” in the NT (vs. Dr. Eric Svendsen)

A lovely visual of biblical “tradition”: Torah scrolls at Middle Street Synagogue, Brighton, England. Photograph by “The Voice of Hassocks” (5-5-13) [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication] ***** The following dialogue took place on James White’s sola Scriptura email discussion list in 1996. Eric’s words are in blue. It’s one of [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/dialogue-tradition-nt-vs-eric-svendsen.html

Not Listening! Three More2Life Hacks for How to Get Your Feelings Heard

Sometimes it feels almost impossible to get your family, friends, or significant other to listen to your feelings and meet your needs. Here are three More2Life hacks, inspired by my book, God Help Me, These People Are Driving Me Nuts! that will help you effectively communicate your needs and start living a happier, healthier life! [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/02/not-listening-three-more2life-hacks-get-feelings-heard/

Literacy Class: Learning the Language of Love

This past week, I taught my last English class for quite some time. Three years ago, I moved to my new city in the Midwest. Almost right away, I started teaching literacy to people (mostly women, mostly older, all East African refugees) who have been denied access to education. The levels of trauma, displacement, oppression, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/literacy-class-learning-language-love/

Erasmus’ “Hyperaspistes” (1526): Luther’s Dissembling, Arrogance, Polemics, Etc.

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-13-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part VII: Erasmus’ Hyperaspistes (1526): Luther’s Dissembling, Arrogance, Polemics, Etc. * From: Peter Macardle and Clarence H. Miller, translators, Charles Trinkhaus, editor, Collected Works of Erasmus, Vol. 76: Controversies: De Libero [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/erasmus-hyperaspistes-1526-luthers-dissembling-arrogance-polemics-etc.html

Erasmus’ “Hyperaspistes” (1526): Sola Scriptura & Perspicuity of Scripture

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-12-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part VI: Erasmus’ Hyperaspistes (1526): Sola Scriptura and Perspicuity of Scripture Critiqued * From: Peter Macardle and Clarence H. Miller, translators, Charles Trinkhaus, editor, Collected Works of Erasmus, Vol. 76: Controversies: [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/erasmus-hyperaspistes-1526-sola-scriptura-perspicuity-of-scripture-critiqued.html

Almost Two-Thirds of Children Worry “All The Time”

We tend to assume that kids have it better than ever, but in reality, parents may have reasons to be concerned. New research shows that two-thirds of children worry “all the time.” The mental-health charity Place2Be surveyed 700 children, all ten or eleven years old, across twenty schools throughout England, Scotland, and Wales. The results [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/02/almost-two-thirds-children-worry-time/

The Song of the Desert

“The Word of God which is his comfort is also his distress. The liturgy, which is his joy and which reveals to him the glory of God, cannot fill a heart that has not previously been humbled and emptied by dread. Alleluia is the song of the desert.” —Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer When the hospice [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/the-song-of-the-desert/

Erasmus’ “Hyperaspistes” (1526): Excoriation of Luther’s Personal Insults

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-11-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part V: Erasmus’ Hyperaspistes (1526): Excoriation of Luther’s Personal Insults * From: Peter Macardle and Clarence H. Miller, translators, Charles Trinkhaus, editor, Collected Works of Erasmus, Vol. 76: Controversies: De Libero [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/erasmus-hyperaspistes-1526-excoriation-of-luthers-personal-insults.html

Erasmus’ “Hyperaspistes” (1526): Luther’s Anti-Traditional Elements

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-10-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part IV: Erasmus’ Hyperaspistes (1526): Luther’s Anti-Traditional Elements * From: Peter Macardle and Clarence H. Miller, translators, Charles Trinkhaus, editor, Collected Works of Erasmus, Vol. 76: Controversies: De Libero Arbitrio / [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/erasmus-hyperaspistes-1526-luthers-anti-traditional-elements.html

3 Ways To Be A More Peaceful, Joyful Parent

Parenting is tough work,  But there are lots of joys too–even if we can sometimes lose sight of that. If you are feeling a little fried in your parenting life, here are 3 simple habits  you can practice to reclaim the joy of parenthood and celebrate a more peaceful family life. 1.Find the Eye of [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/02/3-ways-peaceful-joyful-parent/

How To Arm Yourself Against Irrationality

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. —1 Corinthians 13: 1 My four-year-old enthusiastically agreed to another term of gymnastics with the parks and rec department. He’s not particularly athletic, but he enjoys climbing over obstacles, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/how-to-arm-yourself-against-irrationality/

Dialogue w Calvinist Re: Falling from Grace or Salvation

John Calvin (anonymous: 1550s) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (7-28-09) *** Calvinist “Michael” commented (three typos corrected): If it is God who saves sinners, then who might arise and declare unjust what the Lord of Glory has made anew? If it is God who regenerates (1 Pet 1:3), if it is God who justifies [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/dialogue-w-calvinist-re-falling-grace-salvation.html

Erasmus’ “Hyperaspistes” (1526): Luther’s Extreme Dogmatism

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-10-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part III: Erasmus’ Hyperaspistes (1526): Luther’s Extreme Dogmatism * From: Peter Macardle and Clarence H. Miller, translators, Charles Trinkhaus, editor, Collected Works of Erasmus, Vol. 76: Controversies: De Libero Arbitrio / [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/erasmus-hyperaspistes-1526-luthers-extreme-dogmatism.html

Can a Pope be a Heretic or Authoritatively Declare Heresy?

Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953), by Francis Bacon (1909-1992) [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] *** Dustin Buck Lattimore is a fair-minded, articulate, inquiring Protestant, who has been commenting a lot lately on my Facebook page. He asked me some questions about this topic. His words will be in blue. *** [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/can-popes-heretical-authoritatively-declare-heresy.html

Poetry Friday: “Bewilder”

This is a poem about scale, about the awesome power of the Creator, who in turn gave humanity the power to create. And it’s about the power of a created being, and its potential to do good or evil. Here we have a whale sighting, her powerful fluke useable for constructive or destructive acts—“so many [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/poetry-friday-bewilder/

Making MARRIAGE Great Again: 3 Ways to Supercharge Your Relationship

Working on your marriage isn’t some selfish enterprise that just benefits you and your spouse.  In his Theology of the Body, Pope St. John Paul the Great reminds us that marriage plays a critical role in God’s plan for saving the world and that creating a beautiful marriage is the primary way that married people [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/02/making-marriage-great-3-ways-supercharge-relationship/

Holy Scripture: Honor and Respect Political Rulers

Trial of the Apostle Paul (1875), by Nikolai Kornilievich Bodarevsky (1850-1921) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] St. Paul showed respect and deference to the Jewish high priest, even after he had him struck on the mouth (Acts 23:5)\ *** [obviously tons of sin going on constantly every day on Facebook and elsewhere online. Pray for those [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/10020.html

Luther’s Insults of Erasmus in “Bondage of the Will” & “Table-Talk”

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-6-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part II: Luther’s Insults of Erasmus in Bondage of the Will & Table-Talk * The Bondage of the Will (1525) * [from the 1823 Edward Thomas Vaughan translation; available online] * [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/luthers-insults-erasmus-bondage-will-table-talk.html

Erasmus-Luther Correspondence: 1517 to 1534

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-6-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part I: Erasmus-Luther Correspondence: 1517 to 1534 * [ see the index of topics at the end ] [Erasmus’s words are in black, Luther’s in blue; those of others are in [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/10009.html

Wrestling

My son who is autistic wrestles in high school because he doesn’t mind pain. My other kids would cry when they stubbed their toes playing in the yard, but this son of mine, more than once came to me with gaping wounds needing stitches and hardly a tear in his eye. Now he has a [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/wrestling/

Christianity, Sarcasm, Satire, Irony, Jesus & Paul

Sir Thomas More (1527), by Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497 – 1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] St. Thomas More (1478-1535) was one of a long, illustrious line of great Christian humorists / satirists. He once said to his son-in-law, William Roper: “Two years ago you were a loyal Churchman. Now you have fallen [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/christianity-sarcasm-satire-irony-jesus-paul.html

Simcha Fisher, Swearing, St. Paul, & Evangelizing

St Paul Preaching in Athens (1515), by Raphael (1483-1520) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** Simcha writes in her article, “So your favorite blogger has gone insane” (1-31-17): More times than I can count, I’ve been told that we’re called to be good evangelists, and that, as such, we have to present our best, brightest, prettiest, perkiest, [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/02/how-to-be-all-things-for-evangelisms-sake-reply-to-simcha-fisher.html

John Slater’s Lean

What is poetry, anyway? I found myself musing about this as I sat with John Slater’s stimulating new collection, Lean. First I recalled what I’d once heard poet Li Young Lee say at a reading: In poetry, language is not the only medium; silence is also a medium. This is a difference of poetry from [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/02/john-slaters-lean/