“New” vs. “Old” Pro-Life Strategies (vs. John Cavanaugh-O’Keefe)

Image by “geralt” (10-29-12) [Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons license] * * * The following dialogue is a continuation of my earlier interaction with Mr. O’Keefe: Are “Old” Pro-Lifers Racists & “Anti-Woman”? His words (posted on my Facebook page) will be in blue: ***** A few days ago, I wrote about a bitter division within the […]

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THIS “Conservative” is VERY Passionate About Social Justice

The Good Samaritan, by Théodule Ribot (1823-1891) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * Mark Shea put up a post called, “Bp. Robert Barron on the pro-life/social justice split in the Church” (8-30-17). It consisted entirely of comments from Bishop Barron in an interview. The thing is, I completely agreed with the good bishop, […]

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1 Timothy 3:15: Sola Scriptura or Visible Church Authority?

Chartres Cathedral, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. The north façade. Photograph by “Tango7174” (9-27-08) [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license] *** (10-2-07) ***** “. . . the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” (RSV) * * * * * Some Protestants have argued […]

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Are “Old” Pro-Lifers Racists & “Anti-Woman”? (vs. John Cavanaugh-O’Keefe)

2017 March for Life; photograph by James McNellis (1-27-17) [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license] ***** John Cavanaugh-O’Keefe has been involved in pro-life rescues and related groups, that block the doors of abortion clinics, in order to save lives. Indeed, he is even thought to be the founder of such pro-life sit-ins. I was heavily involved in […]

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My Tears Had Names

Guest Post The phone rang. My newborn must have been asleep—I have no recollection of her at that moment—but my two preschoolers were with me, and I realized later that I had repeated the horrific news aloud. Thus, for months, my kids sat together at their play table to reenact the conversation. “What do you […]

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Was Luther “Bloodthirsty” & Violent? (James Swan & I Agree!)

Just Reward for the Most Satanic Pope and His Cardinals: “hanging” woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553), commissioned by Martin Luther in 1545. Luther’s accompanying text reads: “If the pope and cardinals were to receive temporal punishment on earth, their blasphemous tongues would deserve what is rightly depicted here.”  * * * * * Reformed […]

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The “Problem of Good”: Great Dialogue with an Atheist (Part Two)

(the Flip Side of the Problem of Evil Argument Against Christianity) + the Nature of Meaningfulness in Atheism (vs. Mike Hardie) Image by “geralt”. Uploaded on 6-6-15 [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] *** (6-5-01) *** See Part One *** [Mike Hardie’s words will be in blue]   How about committing genocide or child molestation, or deliberately oppressing people through […]

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Can We Decrease Anxity By Changing The Tone of Our Inner Voice?

We all have an inner voice. I’m not necessarily referring to the “Jiminy Cricket, conscience” type of inner voice, but rather, an inner sense that helps us identify emotions, opinions, make decisions, and so on. Because we have this constant inner voice, however, it is easy for us to get caught up in our personal […]

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An All Too Ghostly Ghost Story: Part 2

Continued from yesterday. Four years ago, my wife and I moved into our red brick cottage. The living room and bedroom walls were a bright pink; the kitchen floor was green linoleum; a small yellow ball with a star rolled around, but we had no pet to play with it. It was as if we […]

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The “Problem of Good”: Great Dialogue with an Atheist

(the Flip Side of the Problem of Evil Argument Against Christianity) + the Nature of Meaningfulness in Atheism (vs. Mike Hardie) Image by “geralt”. Uploaded on 6-6-15 [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] *** (6-5-01) *** New introduction (9-11-15): I consider this the best dialogue I have ever been involved in (out of 700 or more), with […]

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God’s Immutability, Omniscience, & Timelessness (Atemporality)

Can God “Change His Mind”? Image by “geralt” (2-27-15) [Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons license] *** (1-17-09) *** This is a re-edited version of earlier material from two long papers and comboxes, minus the “polemical” aspects involving another person. I want my arguments to be considered on their own apart from all the needless, fruitless […]

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Five Reasons Why Spiritual Direction Might be Right for You

Guest post by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, Ph.D. A life lived in faith has only one final goal, intimate communion with Jesus Christ. Without Him, life is empty and stripped of its ultimate meaning. With Him, we gain a sense of fulfillment and purpose. While perfect communion only exists when, at the end of our lives, […]

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Did Martin Luther Advocate & Praise the Raping of Nuns?

Katharina von Bora (1499-1552), former Catholic nun and Luther’s wife. Portrait (1529) by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (11-3-16; revised on 8-26-17) ***** The Toronto Catholic Witness blog put up an article on 10-31-16, entitled, “Martin Luther advocated the raping of Nuns ~ how can any Catholic praise him, […]

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Church Fathers & Justification: Martin Chemnitz vs. Catholicism

Martin Chemnitz (1522-1586) was an eminent second-generation Lutheran theologian. 16th century anonymous portrait [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (9-9-07) ***** This is one of a series of replies to the prominent 16th century Lutheran theologian Martin Chemnitz’ Examination of the Council of Trent, Part I (St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1971; translated by Fred Kramer). *** Chemnitz’s […]

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Poetry Friday: “Love’s Alchemy”

The first thing I’m drawn in by in Margaret Rabb’s “Love’s Alchemy” is the lusciousness of the language. Alliteration and rhymes abound, and the iambic pentameter of the sonnet form holds the sounds together. Then as I re-read, I see that at the poem’s center is the wife of the 17th century poet John Donne. […]

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Calvin the “Destroyer” of Servetus: James Swan Misses Forest for Trees

John Calvin on his deathbed, with members of the Church in attendance. Lithograph by W.L. Walton after Oakley, c.1865. This file comes from Wellcome Images, a website operated by Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom. Refer to Wellcome blog post (archive). [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license] ***** Anti-Catholic reformed Protestant polemicist James […]

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John Calvin: Torment of an Inept Execution “Special Will of God”

Portrait of John Calvin (French school, 17th century) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (3-23-10) *** [Calvin’s own words will be highlighted in blue]   From: Williston Walker, John Calvin: The Organiser of Reformed Protestantism, 1509-1564, New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons; The Knickerbocker Press, 1906 [a non-Catholic work], pp. 353-355: The Comparets, who were in […]

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Global Neighbors

This post originally appeared in Good Letters on October 20, 2011 In the last few years, my school has made a huge push towards what our Global Studies’ Director refers to as “glocalism.” In essence, glocalism encapsulates the idea that we are all of us citizens of various communities, both local and global, and that […]

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Martin Luther: “Our manner of life as evil as that of the papists”

Martin Luther, 31 December 1525 (age 42), by Lucas Cranach the Elder [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * (12-29-07) ***** Version 1: Our manner of life is as evil as is that of the papists. Wickliffe and Huss assailed the immoral conduct of papists; but I chiefly oppose and resist their doctrine; I […]

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The Sweetness These Days

  On the phone, he says, Your mother throws me over her shoulder and carries me across the parking lot to the club house, the dining room. (She rolls his walker to a corner of the dining room where it won’t obstruct the servers and other residents who have come tonight for dinner.) His sense […]

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My Luther Research Lied About Again (James Swan & CARM)

Photograph of Pinocchio, by “sferrario1968” (1-3-16) [Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons license] ***** I‘ve gone through this nonsense repeatedly through the years. The “logic” seems to run as follows: 1. Dave Armstrong writes critically about Martin Luther. 2. Dave Armstrong is  a Catholic, and worse still, a Catholic apologist! 3. Therefore, his research is immediately questionable […]

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Dialogue on “Natural Evil” (Diseases, Hurricanes, Drought, etc.)

Photograph of a cyclone by “Comfreak” (March 2017) [Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons] ***** (2-15-04) ***** The words of Catholic Mark Kasper will be in blue. ***** Compliments on your Romanticism discussion. Growing up on a midwestern farm, I never had much use for ‘nature-mysticism.’ Tornadoes, blizzards, -25 F nights, and +105 F days teach […]

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When Sex Isn’t About Sex: 3 Things You Need To Know

The Church’s teachings on sex and love are among most provocative and the least understood things in Catholicism.  What difference does it make what we do in the bedroom?  Does God really care about our sex lives that much? St John Paul’s Theology of the Body reminds us that the Church’s teachings on love and […]

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John Calvin & St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Comparative Eucharistic Theology

Historical Mixed Media Figure of John Calvin produced by artist/historian George S. Stuart and photographed by Peter d’Aprix (9-18-07). This image, from the George S. Stuart Gallery of Historical Figures archive (http://www.galleryhistoricalfigures.com) is provided for all uses with appropriate attribution. Any derivatives must be shared in the same manner. Contributor mharrsch is webmaster for the […]

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Susan B. Anthony: Failure is Impossible

Just a few miles from my home in Rochester, NY, is the house where Susan B. Anthony lived for most of her adult life. Her house is now a National Historical Landmark, though I remember what a struggle it was for local women to attain that designation for the house some thirty to forty years […]

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Harvard / MIT Study: Breitbart & Bannon NOT Alt-Right

Dr. Samuel Green, Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, at an initiation ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia (July 24, 1948) [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license] ***** I have thoroughly dealt with this topic once before, in a copiously documented article (11-18-16). A key to the problem here is that “alt-right” as the title of a movement […]

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Prowling the Woods

My father told me that when he used to bird hunt through the Kilgore Hills in Northeast Mississippi, he would sometimes come upon a whisky still or two. This was back in the late thirties and forties, long after prohibition had ended, but the whisky makers were still easily spooked. Revenuers were still on the […]

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Church Fathers and the Sacrifice of the Mass (Thoroughly Catholic!)

Chapel of Saint Ananias in Damascus, Syria, is believed to be the remains of the home of Ananias, who baptized St. Paul. Archaeological excavations in 1921 found the remains of a Byzantine church from the 5th or 6th century. Photograph by Titoni Thomas (2006) [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** (12-11-09) ***** John Calvin described the Sacrifice of the […]

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St. Augustine’s Eucharistic Doctrine and Protestant “Co-Opting”

The Consecration of St Augustine, by Jaume Huguet (1412-1492) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (9-25-10) *** “Sola Scriptura‘s” words will be in blue; my cited words will be in green. *** This came about as a result of a vocal Protestant at the Catholic Answers forum (in the thread: “SPLIT: The Real Presence”). Randy Carson, a Catholic regular there, cited several […]

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Poetry Friday: “The Fire Tower”

This summer is marked by smoke, our town covered in an urgent haze from nearby wildfires. I sympathize with the neighboring communities that are directly impacted. Homes burned, life plans changed, suddenly, and without much warning. In Carrie Jerrell’s narrative poem “The Fire Tower” we first meet a willful girl determined to make the steep, […]

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Vatican II on Effectively Sharing the Fullness of Catholic Faith

St. Peter’s Basilica at sunset (Vatican City) (Photograph by Livioandronico2013: 4-14-15) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license] (2-18-08) *** Words of anti-Catholic polemicist Steve Hays will be in blue. *** Vatican II urges Catholics to speak in terms that Protestants can understand (when talking to them): We must get to know the outlook of our […]

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Life, Death, Bread, Host

Guest Post by Laura Bramon This post originally appeared at “Good Letters” on August 18, 2008. The birds’ wings shake out the smell of the men who sleep in the park: the smell of meat, sweat, and bread. The birds lift up and fly away as I ride my bike through the park’s courtyard, and […]

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Internet Evangelism & Apologetics: Catholic Church Approval

Pope St. John Paul II in Cali, Colombia (June 1986) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license] ***** (compiled by Dave Armstrong on 12-26-05) ***** PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS: The Church and Internet (link) 22 February 2002 [for all three sources below: footnotes removed: consult the link for further documentation] 1. . . . Quoting Pope Pius […]

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Us Weird Catholic Apologists & the “Real Jobs” We Oughtta Get!

Workers on the first moving assembly line put together magnetos and flywheels for 1913 Ford autos in Highland Park, Michigan [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *****  (3-23-06) ***  This is loosely based on an exchange with a Catholic. The words of the usual criticisms heard in this regard will be in blue. * * * […]

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Entering the Age of Subtraction

I am entering the Age of Subtraction. Almost as if there existed an imperceptible fulcrum I had to get over, and I’m now finding myself sliding on the downside. So much of adult life until now was about Addition—collecting experiences and perspectives—countries been to and books read, bands seen—and then a husband and family and […]

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Mary’s Assumption: Brief Explanation, with a New (?) Biblical Parallel

Photograph by “dimitrisvetsikas1969” (3-31-17) [Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons] *** (3-1-07) *** A Protestant (words in italics henceforth) asked: Now, if you believe that Scripture is the highest authority, why do believe in the bodily assent of Mary? It is not in Scripture. First of all, it is an assumption, not an “assent” (proper spelling: […]

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Blessed Virgin Mary & Revelation 12: Debate with a Protestant

Coronation of the Virgin (c. 1636), by Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (5-28-12) *** This was on a public Facebook discussion thread. Greg Still describes himself as a “”skeptical Pentecostal” and is a former Catholic. His words will be italicized. ***** The Bible does mention the “woman clothed with the sun” in heaven […]

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Miscarriage

Guest Post One of the first official symptoms of pregnancy is an out of character desire to work story problems. If Eve is forty-one when she discovers she is pregnant, how old will she be at the infant’s birth, and when baby starts kindergarten, and when baby leaves for college? If Eve is sixty when […]

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Luther’s 1522 Blast Against Henry VIII: Extreme Anti-Traditionalism

Luther posting his 95 theses in 1517 (1872), by Ferdinand Pauwels (1830-1904) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** (6-17-09) *** Recently I discovered an entire online translation of Martin Luther’s tract, Against Henry [VIII], King of England (15 July 1522), translated by E. S. Buchanan, and published in New York by Charles A. Swift in 1928. It is hosted […]

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Dialogue w Friendly Atheist #3: Music, Longing, & Mysticism

Brünnhilde (1910), by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** This is from a private correspondence with a very friendly and fair-minded atheist, who goes by the nickname, “Comrade Carrot-Blog Vegetarian.” He has agreed that it would be made public. Unlike the vast majority of atheists I have met online, he is actually curious about my […]

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An American Body Politic

In recent months several of us have quipped that the drama surrounding the Trump campaign and presidency would make for a great plotline on the FX drama, The Americans. A show about Russian spies living in D.C. during the Cold War easily brings to mind our present-day episode of America-Russia relations. If you watched the […]

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Catholic Conversion: Classic Analyses (Chesterton, Belloc, Pelikan)

George Bernard Shaw, Hilaire Belloc, & G. K. Chesterton [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** [originally compiled in 1991] Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), a famous convert to Catholicism, wrote brilliantly about three phases of conversion, which seem to be fairly typical of many, if not most, converts (including myself): The convert commonly passes through three stages […]

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Classic Anti-Catholic Polemicists (Chick, Boettner, & Hislop)

Cover of a 1919 edition of Hislop’s The Two Babylons [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (1-25-91) The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, is a particularly venomous and well-known book simply teeming with ignorance and falsehood. This “scholarly” work, published in 1858 (Neptune, New Jersey: 1959, 2nd American edition, 330 pages), gives its “thesis” in the Introduction: […]

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Anti-Catholicism: Classic Catholic Replies and Retorts

G. K. Chesterton in 1919 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (1-25-91) How does a Catholic respond to the astonishing and widespread displays of disinformation, and often sheer malice, such as  we see in anti-Catholic rhetoric? We shall take a look at some of the classic examples from great Catholic writers: 1. Archbishop Fulton Sheen […]

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Baptismal Ecumenism: A New Evangelistic Paradigm (Rod Bennett)

Brass baptismal font (1590) in “St. Stephen” Lutheran church in Helmsted, Germany. Photo by “Times” (5-17-10) [Wikimedia Commons /  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license] *** Baptismal Ecumenism * “Baptism constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.” — (Catechism of the Catholic Church; 1271). * “That the mystical body of […]

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Poetry Friday: “Psalm as Frustration I Can Live With”

Like the biblical psalms, Nicholas Samaras’s “Psalm as Frustration I Can Live With” speaks for the human condition. And, like many of the biblical psalms, Samaras’s psalm finds the human condition one of being thrust between opposite experiences. “I feel [God’s]presence only to lose it, / lose his presence only to feel it return.” And […]

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Defending Ecumenism & Vatican II vs. Reactionary Catholics

Straw man fallacy, anyone? Photograph by DomenicBlair (6-28-16) [Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons license] ***** I posted an article called “A Biblical Approach to Other Religions” at National Catholic Register (8-9-17). In response, Oakes Spalding from the reactionary Tenth Crusade website posted the critical pseudo-“review”, “Can somebody explain this Dave Armstrong article to me?” (8-9-17). I was […]

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Guns N’ Roses in This Lifetime

The first time I encountered Guns N’ Roses, it was a flag hanging on the bedroom wall of a kid I barely knew. You’ve likely seen the image—a cross, adorned with representative skulls for each member of the band. I hadn’t heard Appetite for Destruction at that point, but I knew this was something to […]

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Ecumenism vs. No Salvation Outside of the Church?

Jesus and the Centurion (c. 1571), by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588). Jesus was quite “ecumenical” with those completely outside the Jewish faith. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This is a good dialogue with a Protestant friend, Dustin Buck Lattimore, from my Facebook page. His words will be italicized. ***** How are they [the Orthodox] not “separated […]

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Rhetorical US Nuclear Threats Are Nothing New At All

Nuclear weapon test Romeo on Bikini atoll: part of Operation Castle. (27 March 1954) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full […]

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Possessed

It refused to rain during the hot, middling July weeks the summer I turned fifteen. The clouds hung low over the Plains. My mother and I fought nearly every day during that dry month, even if our fighting was mostly silent, threats drawn from taut eyes and skin. I pushed always, every day, against an […]

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St. Augustine (d. 430) vs. Sola Scriptura as the Rule of Faith

St. Augustine, by Antonio Rodríguez (1636-1691) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-1-03) *** For preliminaries concerning my methodology and the burden of proof for showing if a Church Father believed in sola Scriptura, see my paper, Church Fathers & Sola Scriptura. St. Augustine’s words will be in blue. *** Anti-Catholic evangelical apologist Jason Engwer produced the following words of [Read More...]

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St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) vs. Sola Scriptura as the Rule of Faith

St. John Chrysostom (early 11th century Byzantine), from Hosios Loukas Monastery, Boeotia, Greece [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-1-03) *** For preliminaries concerning my methodology and the burden of proof for showing if a Church Father believed in sola Scriptura, see my paper, Church Fathers & Sola Scriptura. St. Basil the Great’s words will be in blue. Evangelical Protestant [Read More...]

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The Iron Cross, Part 2

This post originally appeared on “Good Letters” on October 14, 2014. Continued from yesterday. The Way of Saint James—El Camino de Santiago—is a pilgrimage that began in the Middle Ages and remains popular today. Each year pilgrims from all around the world walk from points throughout Europe to reach the tomb of Saint James in [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/08/iron-cross-part-2/

Dialogue w Friendly Atheist #2: Music, Longing, & Mysticism

Siegfried leaves Brünnhilde in search of adventure (1911), by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** This is from a private correspondence with a very friendly and fair-minded atheist, who goes by the nickname, “Comrade Carrot-Blog Vegetarian.” He has agreed that it would be made public. Unlike the vast majority of atheists I have met online, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/dialogue-w-friendly-atheist-2-music-longing-mysticism.html

Argument for God from Desire: Atheist-Christian Dialogue

Photograph by “Imaresz” (7-5-13) [Pixabay / Pixabay license] *** “Ficino” is an atheist, former Catholic, and all-around interesting fellow. This exchange occurred underneath my blog post about sehnsucht. His words will be in blue. ***** Oh again. Do we all desire, as the outermost sphere of the heaven, itself divine and itself eternally in motion, [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/argument-god-desire-atheist-christian-dialogue.html

The Iron Cross, Part 1

This post originally appeared on “Good Letters” on October 13, 2014. I didn’t know Julia well. The first time I saw her, she was sitting at the far end of the table around which our language class met. Although I knew the instructor, Chiara, it was my first day with this group of students who [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/08/iron-cross-part-1/

My Catholic Conversion (Radio Interview w Al Kresta)

My very good friend John McAlpine (left), sponsoring my reception into the Catholic Church on 8 February 1991. He had the most personal influence in my conversion. *** [transcribed on 12 January 1999, from the radio interview of 8 September 1997] *** Al Kresta, talk show host (more info. below), is also the author of Why [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/my-catholic-conversion-radio-interview-w-al-kresta.html

Abortion and a “Progressive and Humane Nation” (By Al Kresta)

Burial of the dead after the massacre of Wounded Knee (29 December 1890). At least they were buried. Aborted preborn children are thrown into the garbage. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (11-28-00) ***** For America, abortion is the morally defining issue of this generation just as race was the morally defining issue of the [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/abortion-progressive-humane-nation-al-kresta.html

On Sehnsucht & Longing (C. S. Lewis & the Romantics)

Sehnsucht (Träumerei [dreaming]) (c. 1900), by Heinrich Vogeler (1872-1942) [public domain / Wikimedia Commmons] *** [compiled and edited by Dave Armstrong; uploaded on 11-13-01] ***** [Joy, or Sehnsucht is a] . . . wistful, soft tearful longing. (Matthew Arnold, On the Study of Celtic Literature, New York: Macmillan, 1907, 117-118) * [Joy, or Sehnsucht is] a special kind of longing [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/c-s-lewis-romantics-sehnsucht-longing.html

“Pro-Abortion”: “Bad Faith” Term or Fair Description?

Photograph by “cherylholt” (10-16-15) [Pixabay / Pixabay license] *** This discussion took place underneath one of my blog posts. Erinys Trace is an atheist. Her words will be in blue. ***** I thought you liked to debate in “good faith”, at least that is what you claimed before. Calling pro-choice position “pro-abort” is NOT good faith argumentation. [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/pro-abortion-bad-faith-description.html

Poetry Friday: “My Life as an Open-Air Temple”

In Dolin’s poem we wake up abruptly inside the walls of an ancient temple. Walls are all we have to orient ourselves here in this place, which is without roof or pillars. “I don’t know how” this transformation took place, the unnamed speaker confesses almost shyly, but suddenly she seems to have so much space [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/08/poetry-friday-life-open-air-temple/

Dialogue w Friendly Atheist #1: My Pagan / Occultic Period

+ Circumstances and Factors Regarding my Evangelical Conversion in 1977 at age 18 Yours truly (center) in April 1977: right before my existential crisis, leading to my evangelical conversion, with my brother Gerry and sister-in-law, Judy (both, sadly, deceased). That’s about the longest I ever grew my hair, too! ***** This is from a private [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/dialogue-w-friendly-atheist-1-pagan-occultic-period.html

Smelling A Rat

This post originally appeared on “Good Letters” on October 15, 2014. About a year ago I felt an overpowering urge to say the “Our Father.” I’m still not sure why. I never knew my biological father, so I’ve always been indifferent to this prayer, the only prayer Jesus taught us. In the back of my [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/08/smelling-a-rat-2/

Basil the Great (d. 379) vs. Sola Scriptura as the Rule of Faith

Fresco of St. Basil the Great in the Church of the Theotokos Peribleptos in Ohrid, Macedonia (13th century) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-1-03) *** For preliminaries concerning my methodology and the burden of proof for showing if a Church Father believed in sola Scriptura, see my paper, Church Fathers & Sola Scriptura. St. Basil the Great’s [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/basil-great-d-379-vs-sola-scriptura-rule-faith.html

Simcha Fisher’s “New” Pro-Life Critique of “Old” Pro-Lifers

Paradox (image by Nick Youngson, June 2016) [The Blue Diamond Gallery / CC BY-SA 3.0 license] *** [Reply to certain aspects of her article, “Dems Ditch Pro-choice Litmus Test; Secret Thoughts of Many Laid Bare” (8-1-17) ] This is a woman, remember, who voted for Hillary Clinton (Planned Parenthood’s selected “Champion of the Century”). But I don’t classify her as a “pro-lifer in [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/simcha-fishers-new-pro-life-critique-old-pro-lifers.html

Rules for the Male Gaze

Once, in high school, a guy in the trombone section brought a Playboy to band practice and passed it around the horns section. I was on tympani and could see over their shoulders the airbrushed bodies, the unnatural poses, the phony backdrops. Even as a hormonal adolescent I could see the images were crass, gaudy [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/08/rules-male-gaze/

Simcha Fisher’s “New” Pro-Life Critique of “Old” Pro-Lifers

Paradox (image by Nick Youngson, June 2016) [The Blue Diamond Gallery / CC BY-SA 3.0 license] *** [Reply to certain aspects of her article, “Dems Ditch Pro-choice Litmus Test; Secret Thoughts of Many Laid Bare” (8-1-17) ] This is a woman, remember, who voted for Hillary Clinton (Planned Parenthood’s selected “Champion of the Century”). And she wants [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/simcha-fisher-lectures-conservatives-pro-life.html

Theodoret (d. c. 458) vs. Sola Scriptura as the Rule of Faith

Russian icon of the Church fathers (11th century) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-1-03) *** For preliminaries concerning my methodology and the burden of proof for showing if a Church Father believed in sola Scriptura, see my paper, Church Fathers & Sola Scriptura. Theodoret’s words will be in blue. Evangelical Protestant / Anti-Catholic apologist Jason Engwer’s words will [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/theodoret-d-c-466-vs-sola-scriptura-rule-faith.html

Dionysius (d. c. 264) vs. Sola Scriptura as the Rule of Faith

Pope St. Dionysius of Alexandria (anonymous icon) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-1-03) *** For preliminaries concerning my methodology and the burden of proof for showing if a Church Father believed in sola Scriptura, see my paper, Church Fathers & Sola Scriptura. Dionysius’ words will be in blue. Evangelical Protestant / Anti-Catholic apologist Jason Engwer’s words will be [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/08/dionysis-d-c-264-vs-sola-scriptura-rule-faith.html

Our Lady of Czestochowa

Before a metastasizing cancer had fully whittled away her quality of life, my mother left me, on a cold November morning. I found her slumped over the bathtub in my New Hampshire home, just steps away from the guest room where she often slept. I did not rush to her rescue, or to move her [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/08/11595/