John Calvin’s Erroneous Mystical View of the Eucharist

(4-9-04,  9-7-05, abridged and re-edited on 11-30-17) *** [see the original series of three debates (one / two / three) with Reformed Protestants] [John Calvin’s words will be in blue] *** Either Jesus’ body and blood are substantially present or not. If they are, then they are really there! You can’t deny that the elements are transformed […]

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Are We Allowed to Rebuke and/or Mock the Devil?

I received some comments regarding my article for National Catholic Register: “Satan is Highly Intelligent—and an Arrogant Idiot” (11-27-17). These are my replies. *** John Hickey: Hmmm! Perhaps some meditation upon the Letter of Jude is called for – – – verses 8-10. Here is that passage (RSV): Yet in like manner these men in their […]

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The Cost of Writing the Truth

I remember my mother used to go to bed for the day. The blackness of her mood seemed to darken her room. I don’t know why she left her door open. Maybe she knew, even in her unresponsive state, that she needed to be able to hear us. Maybe she thought it would be less […]

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Pope St. Pius V Claimed to be God (Say Anti-Catholics)

(2-11-11) *** “The Pope and God are the same. So he has all [the] power in Heaven and earth.” — Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay. [seen on a Facebook page tonight, but obviously gotten from somewhere else off the Internet. “The” in brackets is added from the usual “quotation” used, seen below] *** Here […]

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Limited Atonement, Free Will, & Failed Prayers of Jesus

(Book and purchase information) (7-18-14) *** I was informed in correspondence that James White (the Reformed Baptist king of the anti-Catholics) made the following argument: Christ is our Great High Priest. Also, Christ is all-knowing. If in fact Christ died for all men and not just the Elect, wouldn’t that result in Christ interceding as […]

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Did I Take St. Irenaeus Out of Context (Rule of Faith)?

(Book and purchase information) *** Ken Temple is an anti-Catholic polemicist, whom I have debated many times in the past. He knows full well that I don’t waste my time wrangling with anti-Catholic zealots in debates about theology. This has been my policy since 2007, with very few exceptions (for special reasons; in fact, the […]

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Family Food or Family Feud—Surviving or Thriving During The Holidays

The holidays are wonderful, however, as some of us may have experienced during Thanksgiving, they can also be very stressful. Spending time with extended family can often lead to arguments or strained relationships. While we all made it through Thanksgiving, chances are, you’re preparing for Christmas, New Year, and the entire holiday season where you […]

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The Optics of Illusion

Ross told the kids to stare at the splotchy red and blue picture and wait. A dozen elementary-school students tried to sit still long enough to just look. The image could have been a representation of Claude Monet’s last sight of his breakfast nook. Color without definition, intensity without concreteness, depth without distance. For some […]

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“Catholicism Refuted”? (Kevin Cauley): Pt. V: Salvation

(Book and purchase information) *** (12-11-04) *** This is a counter-reply to a response to my best-selling pamphlet for Our Sunday Visitor, Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked, by Church of Christ preacher Kevin Cauley. His words will be in blue. Words from my pamphlet will be in green. *** Complete Five-Part Series: Part I: Introduction and Church […]

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Reply to Comments Re: My Article on Catholics & the Bible

[see book and purchase information] *** “Why Are Catholics So Deficient in Bible-Reading?” was published at National Catholic Register on 11-22-17. I’ve received quite a number of critical comments in the combox underneath the article (along with others in agreement). This is my response to many of those. The comments will be in blue. The article […]

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What Keeps Me From You

What keeps me from you: a meeting with human resources. What keeps me from you: I slept through the night to the dream of shopping. For a board. With wheels. Low to the ground. Lower than other boards. Lower to the ground than most kids. You can skate, you can roll, but you can’t fall. […]

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“Catholicism Refuted”? (K. Cauley): Pt. IV: Mary / Eucharist

(12-11-04) *** This is a counter-reply to a response to my best-selling pamphlet for Our Sunday Visitor, Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked, by Church of Christ preacher Kevin Cauley. His words will be in blue. Words from my pamphlet will be in green. *** II. “Why do you worship Mary?”  1. Catholicism says,  1) “Catholics do not worship Mary. […]

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“Catholicism Refuted” (?): “Father” / Purgatory / Statues / Confession

(12-11-04) *** This is a counter-reply to a response to my best-selling pamphlet for Our Sunday Visitor, Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked, by Church of Christ preacher Kevin Cauley. His words will be in blue. Words from my pamphlet will be in green. *** Part III of the series *** III. “Why do you call your priest ‘Father’?”  […]

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The Chopin Stitch

In a recent New York Times interview, pianist Steven Osborne discussed the strange experience of playing Olivier Messiaen’s composition “Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus,” strange because the twenty movements are entirely different creatures changing shape when experienced with different senses. The first movement, “Regard du Père,” comprises simple chords that build harmonic complexity interspersed with Messaien’s […]

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Laymen’s Greek & Hebrew Bible Resources for Free

(22 January 2002; addendum of linked sources: 11-28-16) *** Laymen (like myself) ought to be encouraged to use lexical, linguistic biblical reference works such as Kittel, Vine, Vincent, Robertson, Thayer, Wigram’s Englishman’s Greek Concordance, Strong’s Concordance, etc., even though they don’t know Greek themselves. This is, after all, the purpose of these works. For example, […]

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Assurance of Instant Salvation? / Apostasy / Falling Away

(c. 2000) [Bible Verses: RSV] *** 1 Samuel 18:12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. Ezekiel 18:24 But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the […]

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Refutation of “Catholicism Refuted”: Pt. II (Tradition, Papacy)

This is a counter-reply to a response to my best-selling pamphlet for Our Sunday Visitor, Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked, by Church of Christ preacher Kevin Cauley. His words will be in blue. Words from my pamphlet will be in green. *** (12-10-04) *** DISCUSSION:  I. “Are your beliefs found in the Bible?”   1. Quotes […]

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Luther and the Origin & Nature of “Instant” Salvation

(1991) *** [Martin Luther’s words will be in blue] *** 1. Martin Luther’s Novel Assurance Doctrine (Hartmann Grisar) “In the printed Commentary on Galatians we already have Luther’s new doctrine of the absolute assurance of salvation by faith alone. “This later discovery he insists upon, with wearisome reiteration, . . . as the only means […]

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Refutation of “Catholicism Refuted” (K. Cauley), Pt. I

(12-9-04) *** This is a counter-reply to a response to my best-selling pamphlet for Our Sunday Visitor, Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked. It is found on a web page called “The Preacher’s Files,” for Berryville church of Christ in Arkansas (be sure to see Part Two also). In the two-part paper, all ten of my topics (which I only […]

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Poetry Friday: “Saint Francis Appears at the Scene of an Accident, Then Joins the Murmuration”

Reflecting on a strange or disturbing story as a distant narrator can often have a lasting impact. This poem by Becca J.R. Lachman is eerie and curious—it may or may not have actually happened but her storytelling is powerful. From the title we know there has been an accident. We also are asked to “Imagine […]

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Thankfulness as Our Model in Holy Scripture

[written for Thanksgiving 2017] [all Bible verses RSV] *** 1 Chronicles 16:4 Moreover he appointed certain of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the LORD, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel. 16:7-8 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD by Asaph and […]

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A Tradition Without Tryptophan

November is always an interesting time for a family of vegetarians. While my three children have never lifted turkey to their lips, they’ve come home from school with a multitude of smiling birds cut out in the shapes of their hands, illustrated plates labeled peas, potatoes, and turkey, and all manner of pilgrims and Indians sitting before bulbous, […]

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Why I am Critical of Radical Catholic Reactionaries

(8-20-13) *** [reply on another page from a mainstream “traditionalist” who objects to these writings of mine, but it’s not public, so I can’t quote the other person’s queries. You can tell pretty much what was asked (nicely, this time), by my replies] *** All serious and dangerous errors are well-worth refuting. The devil can […]

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Dialogue on “Mere Christianity” and “THE Church”

Dave Scott is a “low church” / evangelical / non-denominational Protestant, who is a good friend. We had this casual and enjoyable chat today on my Facebook page. His words will be in blue. *** We’re saying that grace and faith save and that works are intrinsically part of that faith. I wouldn’t disagree with […]

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Fargo: The True Story

This is a true story. Those are the words that have begun every episode of the television series, Fargo, for the past three seasons. The events that took place occurred in Minnesota and the Dakotas during 2006, 1979, and 2010—or so the writers say. The names have been changed in deference to the living, but […]

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Catholicism = “False Gospel”?: Exchange with Anti-Catholic

(3-18-17) *** [words of my anti-Catholic brother in Christ will be in blue] *** [my words were cited, about one of James White’s innumerable swipes at me] “he started making out that I was an ignorant Protestant who hadn’t read anything (Protestant) of any worth, and that this is why I converted” That is the more […]

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“Knowing Jesus as we Ought to”: A Catholic Perspective

(7-10-09) *** Tim Roof, a Presbyterian (OPC) wrote: My Catholic upbringing militates against the idea that I was not, in at least some sense, a believer in Christ while a member of the RCC. On the other hand, there is sufficient biblical and internal witness to evidence, in my view, that I did not, in […]

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The Night I Read Flannery O’Connor’s College Journal

I am. This is not pure conceit. My tea (Irish Breakfast, decaf, as it’s nearly 9 p.m.) is still warm, thankfully—I’d left it in the kitchen to steep, knowing full well I’d forget it once I checked my phone, remember it once I’d scrolled through apps long enough to be disgusted with myself, and wonder […]

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Sacrifice of the Mass: Reflections on Theology & Patristics

(9-22-05) *** [originally stimulated in debate with a Lutheran professor of history] *** Once real presence and sacrifice are directly merged (as is the case even with the early Church fathers in many instances), then it is necessarily a propitiatory sacrifice, not merely the bread and wine, by definition. The bread and wine have been transformed […]

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Does President Trump = Frankenweinstein?

This is essentially a follow-up to the earlier “Dialogue on Roy Moore: Sex, Facts, Ruined Lives, & Law.” *** Groupies have flocked around every rock star, actor, and rich guy in the history of the world. Does that prove that they are “sexual predators”? Are such people who argue that way prepared to say that almost […]

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St. Anna of the Walking Dead

Plures efficimur, quoties metimur a vobis (We multiply whenever we are mown down by you) —Tertullian, Apologeticus A few years ago, I became obsessed with a dead Russian woman. I never had the chance to meet her—she was murdered before I even knew her name—but sometimes I imagine she and I are having conversations. This […]

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Catholic Ecumenism + Apologetics (James Swan’s Cluelessness)

[Anti-Catholic reformed Protestant polemicist James Swan wrote about the stamp put out by the Vatican with Luther and Melanchthon at the foot of the cross and crucified Jesus. His words will be in blue.] *** I do feel sorry for many of Rome’s defenders. A lot of them “converted” from Protestantism, and in their early […]

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Praying to Saints: Brief Exchange with Sincere Inquirer

(5-27-08) *** As this was from a private letter, my correspondent’s exact words will be paraphrased, not cited. Her “words” will be in blue. * * * * * What exactly is worship, according to Catholics? I know that you say you worship only God, but how is this defined? How do you distinguish between worshiping […]

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Dialogue on Roy Moore: Sex, Facts, Ruined Lives, & Law

This was a dialogue with Mark Shea and Deacon Steven Greydanus from a public Facebook thread on the latter’s page. They granted express permission (after I asked) to cite their words (Mark’s will be in blue and Deacon Steven’s in green). ***** My concern in connection with Moore (as I’ve said over and over and over, sometimes IN […]

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I Condemned Society-Wide Sexual Coercion in 2007

  I’m delighted to see liberals and/or feminists starting to do the same thing now. The fact of these recent revelations shouldn’t surprise anyone in the slightest: not one bit. The only surprise is: why did it take liberals and mainstream (largely liberal and secular) society so long to finally say “enough is enough“? Could it be, […]

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Poetry Friday: “Flying Letters”

I admire the way this poem speaks indirectly to the incomprehensible loss of military life through direct imagery from the natural and domestic worlds. The speaker’s civilian perspective here is captured in a swirl of motion and silence made audible: the mouths of flowers are not real mouths, and yet their blooming right in the […]

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Do 70% of Catholics Deny Transubstantiation? NO!

(4-18-09) *** It’s often heard that 7 out of 10 Catholics disbelieve in the Church’s teaching on the Holy Eucharist. A quick Google search along these lines shows that many Catholics have accepted these figures, based on polling data. It’s nothing new or unknown among Catholics at all. I have accepted this bit of “common […]

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Replies to the Problem of Evil as Set Forth by Atheists

(10-10-06) *** I reply to the comments of “drunken tune” (never was there a more apt nickname) on the Debunking Christianity blog: *** Here’s some short answers that most Christians will have trouble with. Us atheists need not answer them because they do not contradict with [sic] atheism,  Well, you have plenty of your own to deal with, so […]

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“High Places” in the OT: Were They Always Wicked?

(4-9-06) *** I’d like to deal with a proposed dilemma. A Lutheran professor of history with whom I was debating, stated: “Samuel, Elijah, young Solomon, etc.) did precisely what Hezekiah and Josiah felt commanded by the word of God to reject.” This was a fascinating line of inquiry. Were the righteous prophets Samuel and Elijah actually on the […]

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A Feminine Corollary To Machismo? Part 2

My companions and I had overstayed our moment in the bishop’s suite, which was by now devoid of beer, wine, tequila, and perhaps wisdom. We decided to meet outside the hotel for a cigarette. On the way down, the bishop’s assistant, a young man in his twenties, asked about my music. My ensemble was going […]

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OT Levites & Priests: Closer to Sola Scriptura or Catholicism?

(4-9-06) *** The original 2006 version of this material was a very lengthy dialogue with a Lutheran professor of history, in five parts. It’s available on Internet Archive (allow time to upload): parts one / two / three / four / five. The first, basic part of that, summarizing relevant biblical passages, is also available […]

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Dialogues on Church Rubrics (Laws) & Hand-Holding at Mass

This occurred on my Facebook [public] page underneath the posting of the related article, Holding Hands at Mass During the “Our Father”. One man’s words will be in blue, and a woman’s in green. She blocked me after our exchange. See also my in-depth treatment of the rubrics (citing many liturgical experts: which I am assuredly […]

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A Feminine Corollary to Machismo? Part 1

After the keynote speaker at the conference, everyone in my immediate vicinity wanted a drink, including the bishop. Location was an issue. It needed to be discreet for his sake. It needed to be cheap for our sake. It needed to be comfortable for the sake of the pregnant woman with swollen ankles along for […]

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Holding Hands at Mass During the “Our Father”

(2-19-14) *** [originally a short post on Facebook, followed by a huge discussion: 334 comments; the Facebook thread also includes a sub-discussion on clapping for musicians — or anyone else — at Mass. I have collected my comments from the discussion] *** [see also my very popular in-depth article on this topic (7497 shares): Posture During the […]

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Sacraments & the Moral Responsibility of Their Recipients

(8-26-06) *** [This was a chapter intended for my book, The One-Minute Apologist (2007), but not included in the final draft] SACRAMENTALISM Catholics believe that sacraments give grace even if one is in unrepentant sin Isn’t that the point of ex opere operato? Initial reply Sacraments possess an inherent power to give grace, yet the effect […]

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Remembering Father George

My priest has died. Or rather, in Eastern Orthodox terminology, he has reposed. He has fallen asleep. It’s funny how this death both echoes, and completes, the death of my biological father forty years ago. Throughout my childhood, for years after my father died, nothing irked me like people’s vague references to somebody “passing away.” […]

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Grace, Faith, Works, & Judgment: A Scriptural Exposition

(12-16-09; reformulated and abridged on 3-15-17) *** Catholics believe in sola gratia, but reject sola fide as an unbiblical innovation. The fact remains that works are profoundly involved in the salvation (ultimately by grace) in some sense: St. Paul’s Teaching on the Organic Relationship of Grace / Faith and Works / Action / Obedience (Collection […]

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David T. King Ignores Sola Scriptura Biblical Disproofs

Including a Lengthy Analysis of 2 Peter 1:20: “no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” Anti-Catholic polemicists David T. King and William Webster produced a self-published three-volume series entitled Holy Scripture: The Ground and Pillar of Our Faith (2001). Volume 1 from David T. King is entitled A Biblical Defense of the Reformation […]

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Letter from an Underground Karamazov to His Couple’s Therapist

Dear Dr. E, My, but you’re a clever one, aren’t you? You sit there looking so kind and compassionate, smiling and nodding, affirming and encouraging us, and so on, but I’m onto your little game. I’m a clever one, myself. Therapy, I know, is not really about feeling heard and receiving good relationship advice. It’s […]

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“In Him”: An Expression of the Oneness of Theosis?

(3-13-14) *** Some of the texts brought forth as evidence of theosis / deification / divinization, or the attainment of a profound oneness with God, are the following (RSV): Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like […]

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St. Paul’s Use of the Term “Gift” & Infused Justification

(2013) *** Initially, I got this idea for this chapter from Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, Lectures on the Doctrine of Justification (1838), chapter 6. Following the lead of his analogy and exegetical argument, I expanded upon it with my usual Scripture study and comparison of words. The argument, briefly stated, is an analogical one. […]

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New Testament on the Jewish Background of Christianity

From my book, Revelation!: 1001 Biblical Answers to Theological Questions (2013). Bible verses in KJV unless specified. *** Did Jesus destroy or fulfill the old covenant law? Matthew 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. [18] For verily I […]

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“Unanimous Consent” of the Church Fathers (Steve Ray)

(1996) *** The Church sees the Fathers as the successors of the apostles, the closest source to the apostolic teaching and tradition, and therefore authoritative. One must ask, why should I trust Protestant Joe X’s interpretation, or his pastor’s, when we can go back to the source and listen to those who knew the apostles? […]

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Luther’s Fascinating Correspondence from 1518 to 1520

(6-11-08) *** Let’s briefly review the relevant timeline and background for these events. Martin Luther tacked up his 95 Theses in Wittenberg, Saxony on 31 October 1517. This is almost universally considered the beginning of the Protestant “Reformation”. The papal bull Exsurge Domine was issued by Pope Leo X on 15 June 1520, and demanded that Luther retract 41 errors: some […]

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Jack Chick’s Lies: The Real Alberto Rivera Exposed

(7-9-03) *** —— “The most godly man I ever met” ———- Jack T. Chick *** Alberto Rivera, the alleged former Catholic priest, bishop, and anti-Catholic hero of Jack Chick comic strips, was exposed as a total fraud by non-Catholic (evangelical Protestant) Gary Metz, in two articles appearing in evangelical magazines: 1) “The Alberto Story,” Cornerstone, vol. 9, […]

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Poetry Friday: “Camp Meeting”

We’re familiar with the genre called “historical fiction.” But in “Camp Meeting: Old Saybrook, Connecticut, April 1827,” Marilyn Nelson has created what we could call “historical poetry.” She invents a narrator who attended this mammoth camp meeting with her evidently upper class girlfriends, and describes the meeting through the narrator’s eyes. The narrator is a bit […]

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Sola Scriptura, Cyril of Jerusalem, Logic, & Anti-Catholics

This comes from a vigorous combox on the great site Shameless Popery, under the post, “Reformation Day Ironies, 500th Anniversary Edition” (by Joe Heschmeyer). Anti-Catholic Barry Baritone’s words will be in blue. Words of “Irked” will be in green. I had written two papers about this general topic before. The first was raised by someone […]

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Fr. Bart Brewer’s Initial “Reason” for Ditching Catholicism

(8-15-00) *** Bart Brewer, former Catholic priest (d. 2005), was a leading anti-Catholic “missionary” (Mission to Catholics, International, San Diego). I thought it would be interesting to take note of something he wrote about himself: the first reason which he felt compelled him to make a move out of Catholicism: * * * Bart Brewer, […]

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Everything I Know

Everything I know fits inside my body, but where does my body end? Is it as deep and wide as the lake in which I swim? Is it as thin as an electric guitar’s high E string? The lead guitarist solos; my body bends, ascends, and descends with the notes. He’s playing a Gibson SG, […]

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William Webster vs. Tradition, Development, & Truth

(4-10-03) *** William Webster is a prolific opponent of the Catholic Church and author of many papers and published books along these lines. This is a response to his Internet essay, “Rome’s New and Novel Concept of Tradition: Living Tradition (Viva Voce – Whatever We Say) A Repudiation of the Patristic Concept of Tradition,” which […]

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Is Catholicism Christian or Not? (vs. James White): Pt. 5

Part V: My 36-Page Second Counter-Reply (15 May 1995) and Mr. White’s One-Page “Reply” (10 November 1995) My book (2013, 395 pages; available for as low as $2.99). * * * * * Complete Debate: Part I: Introduction and My Initial Form Letter (23 March 1995) Part II: Mr. White’s 7-Page Initial Reply (6 April 1995) Part […]

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You Can’t Hide from Winter

Winter is coming. All of northern Michigan seems to whisper the warning. The sun is slower to rise each day, and the mist clings to the lakes when I drive my children to school in the darkness. Our neighbors have been anticipating the first snowfall since we arrived here in August, when it was ninety-two […]

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Is Catholicism Christian or Not? (vs. James White): Pt. 4

Part IV: Mr. White’s 17-Page Second Counter-Reply (4 May 1995) My book (2013, 395 pages; available for as low as $2.99). * * * * * 4 May 1995 Dear Mr. Armstrong: Over the years I have attempted to establish “standards” to guide me in how I should invest my very limited time. Working, as I do, with Mormons, […]

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Is Catholicism Christian or Not? (vs. James White): Pt. 3

Part III: My 16-Page First Counter-Reply (22 April 1995) My book (2013, 395 pages; available for as low as $2.99). * * * * * 22 April 1995 To: James White Dear James, I hope this letter finds you well. Thank you very much for your extensive reply (dated April 6, 1995) to my letter — the […]

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Nostalgia for Stranger Things

In July 2016, I watched season one of Stranger Things with my younger brother. I didn’t encounter a Demogorgon in the small town where we grew up, but I did use walkie-talkies, grow infatuated with girls from school, and roam the neighborhood on my bike. Last week, I watched season two with my wife, the […]

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Is Catholicism Christian or Not? (vs. James White): Pt. 2

Part II: Mr. White’s 7-Page Initial Reply (6 April 1995) My book (2013, 395 pages; available for as low as $2.99). * * * * * April 6, 1995 To: Dave Armstrong Dear Mr. Armstrong: I am in receipt of your letter of March 23rd, which, it seems, was sent to a number of ministries listed in […]

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Is Catholicism Christian or Not? (vs. James White): Pt. 1

Part I: Introduction and My Initial Form Letter (23 March 1995) My book (2013, 395 pages; available for as low as $2.99). * * * * * This newer Introduction was written in 12-2-15 and re-edited a bit on 11-6-17. *** James White: Reformed Baptist elder and director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, is the most influential anti-Catholic […]

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Arcade Fire at the Empty Tomb

The end of Arcade Fire’s latest album finds the band somewhere unexpected: the tomb of Christ. “Mary, roll away the stone,” frontman Win Butler rasps as “We Don’t Deserve Love” approaches its climax. “The men that you love always leave you alone.” Many reviews of Everything Now—the band’s worst-received effort by far, according to Metacritic—take […]

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My Conversion: Apathy, Occult, Evangelicalism, & Catholicism (Pt. 10)

Part Ten: Thomas Howard & Liturgy, My New Catholic Apologetics Career, and the Long-Awaited Fulfillment of My Calling (1990-1991)   This is the ten-part story of my complete religious history, from nominal Methodism (1958-1967), to the occult and practical atheism (1968-1976), through evangelical Protestantism, counter-cult, pro-life, evangelistic, and apologetics work (1977-1990), and finally on to the […]

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“Faith and Works”: Unbiblical, Semi-Pelagian Terminology?

“Trinidad” commented underneath my article for National Catholic Register: “Biblical Evidence for Catholic Justification”: Faith and works is the problem. The use of the word “works” creates a false dichotomy. Faith in action or Faith in love is a better description of what you find in the New Testament, the Catechism and the papal audience addresses […]

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My Conversion: Apathy, Occult, Evangelicalism, & Catholicism (Pt. 9)

Part Nine: The Slow But Inevitable Paradigm Shift, Fr. John A. Hardon, and Another View of the “Reformation” (1990)   This is the ten-part story of my complete religious history, from nominal Methodism (1958-1967), to the occult and practical atheism (1968-1976), through evangelical Protestantism, counter-cult, pro-life, evangelistic, and apologetics work (1977-1990), and finally on to the […]

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Poetry Friday: “Speculation: Along the Way”

Did you ever try finding words for the experience of prayer? Or for the sense of mysterious contact with the divine? That’s what Scott Cairns is attempting in “Speculation: Along the Way.” He tries out a metaphor of a distant thunderstorm — which might however be within. “Might” is in fact a key word in […]

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Astrology: Philip Melanchthon’s Enthusiastic Espousal

(5-21-06) *** Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) was a compatriot of Martin Luther, author of the Augsburg Confession, and Luther’s successor. *** Historian Philip Schaff: Calvin’s clear, acute, and independent intellect was in advance of the crude superstitions of his age. He wrote a warning against judicial astrology or divination, which presumes to pronounce judgment upon a […]

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Is “Lay People Suck” the New Teaching of the Church?

I’ve grown more than a little weary of the progressive trope that any confusion caused by chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia is simply a matter of conflict between people who want an “adult church…a mature people of God” versus those who are childish, rigid, and “afraid of the unknown.” Puh–lease. Let me just lay my […]

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Luther & Melanchthon: Bigamy of Philip of Hesse is Biblical

(edited on 2-14-07 and abridged and reformatted on 11-2-17) *** From: Hartmann Grisar, S. J.: Luther (translated by E. M. Lamond, edited by Luigi Cappadelta, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1915) [these excerpts are from Vol. 4 of 6, pp. 3-30, 36-63, 71-79. It is available online. Luther’s words will be in blue; […]

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The Poetry of Richard Wilbur

I don’t remember when I first starting reading Richard Wilbur’s poetry. But his death on October 14th, at age ninety-six, has returned me to my favorites among his immense output of poems. At the top of my list, indeed one of my favorite of all twentieth century poems, is the magical “Love Calls Us to […]

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Homeschooling: Response to Kevin Johnson’s Criticisms

(7-12-05) *** This is a reply to a blog post by Reformed Protestant Kevin Johnson, entitled, “The education God gave…” His words will be in blue. I have cited his article in its entirety. My wife homeschools our four children, and has done so for the last ten years [now, 22 years], since our oldest child […]

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Was Luther a Neurotic? Protestant Biographers Say Yes

(4-28-10) *** 1) Mark U. Edwards, Jr., in Donald K. McKim, The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003), p. 205: Most scholars freely concede the unusual and perhaps even abnormal aspects of Luther’s personality, without accepting the diagnosis that attributes these traits to an underlying psychosis. By most standards, Luther was a […]

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Virtue-Focused People Better Decision Makers, Study Says

It’s common knowledge that people tend to be better at solving other people’s problems than they are at addressing their own.  But a new study  finds that people who think, not in terms of what they personally feel or think they should do about their problems, but in terms of what attempting to live up to a […]

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Blaming God for the Holocaust (+ Other Such Bum Raps)

[discussion on a public Facebook page] *** Raymond Viernes: All suffering is a God given opportunity for individual sanctification. Blessings abound. Eric Taylor: Crippling depression, crippling polio, car accidents, mass shootings. Let’s not forget atomic fire, holocausts, Holocausts, and parents who hate and alienate their children because they think Jesus told them to on account […]

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Critique of Ten Exaggerated Claims of the “Reformation”

This is a reply to “10 Great Consequences of the Protestant Reformation” by Andrew Dragos (Seedbed, 10-9-17). I wrote it on 31 October 2017: the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Revolution.  Andrew’s words will be in blue. ***** “Ecumenical Introduction”: Before all the disagreement I will express below, I’d like to actually begin on a positive, conciliatory note.  […]

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Remembering Richard Wilbur (1921-2017), Part 2

Richard Wilbur was always a formalist at heart, but one attuned to the rhythms of a living language. Like Frost and Stevens, he insisted on an underlying meter in his verse—most often a loose iambic pentameter line. In Williams’s free verse he often heard an underlying metrical beat which undergirded his poems. He grew up […]

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