Dialogues with Karl Keating Regarding Pope Francis

Should Pope Francis be censured and corrected for teaching heresy or heterodox practices? And should it be public? This is a direct continuation of the exchanges in my previous post, Dialogues with Karl Keating & Phil Lawler on Pope Francis. These all occurred on Karl’s public Facebook page. His words will be in blue. ***** My […]

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Dialogues w K. Keating & P. Lawler on Pope Francis

Has Pope Francis strayed from Catholic tradition? Currently, a big debate is taking place among Catholics about that. It has even infected the  ranks of apologists (my field), with prominent figure Karl Keating now being openly critical of Pope Francis, in a way that I think far exceeds the proper bounds of propriety and established fact. We’re […]

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Listening to My Life: 17 Listens for 2017

First, a note: I think this might be the last time I do this. If you’ve followed my writing about music for the last twenty years (in which case you are my mother, so thanks) you’ve heard me say things like this off and on for at least the last ten, so I don’t mean […]

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“The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail” Against the Church

Matthew 16:18 (RSV): “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” (KJV):  “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall […]

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Quasi-Defectibility and Phil Lawler vs. Pope Francis

Neither the Church nor the pope can fall away from the faith. It’s never yet happened in 2000 years, and will not. This is the doctrine of indefectibility. Catholics believe in the indefectibility of the Church, which includes the pope, on a biblical basis, as well as a traditional one. St. Robert Bellarmine (in teaching that was […]

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The Jealous Prayer

In the first days of my MFA program, one of the mentors—a fiction writer I hadn’t studied with yet—said she’d taken to sending letters to other writers when she found herself feeling jealous of their success. This struck me as worthwhile, both in terms of maintaining literary friendships and, you know, being a decent human […]

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Did St. Paul Seek St. Peter’s Approval for His Ministry?

+ Does The Word Order in Galatians 2:9 Suggest a Lowering of Peter’s Primacy? The answer is yes: Galatians 1:15-24 (RSV) But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, [16] was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him […]

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On Rebuking Popes & Catholic Obedience to Popes

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman’s approach to this topic was vastly different from many (and the most fashionable, chic opinions) today: I have said that, like St. Peter, he is the Vicar of his Lord. He can judge, and he can acquit; he can pardon, and he can condemn; he can command and he can […]

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Martha Stewart: Entertaining for Millions

Quick: before 2017 ends, I want to mark an anniversary that has somehow been missed in the surfeit of commemorations that have rained like confetti all year long on the Internet. We’ve had the twentieth anniversary of Radiohead’s OK Computer, the thirtieth anniversary of the Iran-Contra hearings, and the fortieth anniversary of the July 1977 […]

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Invocation & Intercession of Saints & Angels: Bible Proof

Contrary to many non-Catholic claims, biblical evidence for these practices is abundant. *** 1) We ask others on earth to pray for us. 2) Angels (many passages) and dead saints (Rev 6:9-10) care very much for us. 3) Angels are aware of earthly events (Lk 15:10, 1 Cor 4:9, and many other passages); so are […]

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Statues in Relation to Bowing, Prayer, & Worship in Scripture

Some Protestants tell us that all such images are “graven images” and “idolatry”. John Calvin thought even statues of Christ were idols. But is it true that they are never connected to prayer, bowing (using them as aids to devotion), or worship in the Bible? No . . . ***** The ark of the covenant […]

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Jews Without Jerusalem

Unimaginable. That’s precisely why I will imagine it. Shake them, shake the books, shake the siddur, prayerbook, shake the Tanakh, the Bible, shake them vigorously until the word is shaken loose, Yerushalayim, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Yerushalayim. Titgadal v’titkadash b’toch Yerushalyim irkha: May You be exalted and sanctified in Jerusalem. Having arrived at the heart of our […]

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The Christmas I Sat Next to a Sex Offender

Last year my husband and I celebrated our first Christmas with our infant daughter. She couldn’t understand the holiday, of course, but that didn’t stop us from discussing Advent calendars, wreaths, and Jesse Trees in depth, continuing a friendly argument about Santa Claus that has been going on since our engagement. Citing our childhood experiences […]

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Were the “Judaizers” Jewish Christians (“Messianic Jews”)?

The Judaizers were Christians who took a different approach to law and grace than the Church at length decided to take. *** The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church (edited by J. D. Douglas, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zodervan, 1978, “Judaizers”, p. 554), states about the Judaizers: A party of Christians in the early church […]

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Documentary Theory (Pentateuch): Critical Articles

“In the last two decades of Pentateuchal scholarship, the source-critical method has come under unprecedented attack; in many quarters it has been rejected entirely. . . . [various factors] have led scholarship to the brink of abandoning the four sources, J, E, P and D. ” — The Tam Institute for Jewish Studies at Emory […]

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Poetry Friday: “Hope”

I love the broad strokes and sweeping vision of this poem at the same time as I appreciate its specificity, its impressive attention to detail. The forces of good and evil that make up the archetypal beams of this poem create a kind of structural backdrop against which the poem whirs and sparks— from the […]

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Are Sinful Church Leaders a Disproof of Catholicism?

Biblical examples clearly indicate the general principle that offices are not annihilated by sinful occupants. *** A Protestant (words in blue below) asked me: In your section on ‘Rome’ you note that it suffered, ‘periodic moral decadence, a few weak or immoral popes..’ Yet you are not bothered that the holder of an ‘infallible’ office […]

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Do Catholic Sexual Scandals Disprove Catholic Truth Claims?

King David was quite a sinner himself, yet God made an eternal covenant with him, knowing he would commit adultery and murder. *** [Reformed Protestant Anti-Catholic polemicist John Bugay’s words will be in blue] *** Why did I know this would happen? I was watching coverage of the Joe Paterno / Penn State tragedy last […]

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My Last Resort

I’m at the beach with my husband, wining and dining on the company dime for a business meeting he has to attend, which can feel like icing on a cardboard cake for all the travel he has to do without me. I don’t vacation well. I’ve never enjoyed packing, sleeping in beds not my own, […]

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Luther: Confirmation is a Sacramental, Not a Sacrament

Luther accepted confirmation as a sacramental rite like, e.g., holy water, but not as a Scripture-attested sacrament. [Luther’s words will be in blue] *** Lutherans have differed on the question through the centuries, with some observing it and others not doing so (and with different understandings of it). We again find Luther, characteristically, refusing to disallow it, and […]

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Luther’s “Agony” Over Sectarianism (vs. a Lutheran)

A Lutheran apologist says Luther wasn’t “agonized” over rampant sectarianism; I document that he was. This whole “tempest in a teapot / mountain out of a molehill” pseudo-controversy came about as a result of Lutheran blogger Edward Reiss going on and on about one appendix of one obscure book of mine. In my 2007 volume, Protestantism: Critical Reflections […]

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The Play’s the Thing

In a recent interview about some stories I’ve written, the interviewer asked several questions regarding film. One in particular was thought-provoking: whether the medium of the motion picture provides more fictive metaphors, more imaginative opportunities for use in stories and novels than other artistic means. That is, does the motion picture qua motion picture, with […]

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Luther on Early Lutheran Degeneracy & Bad Witness

Documentation of Luther’s opinion of the early Lutherans, during the first period of Protestantism. I think causes of historical events are always extraordinarily complex, just as causes of human behavior in general are. That has always been my position, as long as I can remember. I despise simplistic attempts of positing single causes for things […]

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Dialogue on Prayer to the Saints and Hades / Sheol

Why do Catholics “pray to saints”? Is this “worship”? Does it imply that departed saints have “godlike” powers? These are some of the questions dealt with in a friendly dialogue with two Protestant friends, on my Facebook page. Bethany Kerr’s words will be in blue; Mike Grubb’s in green. *** It doesn’t bother me to […]

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A Theologian Reads Karl Ove Knausgaard

My reading habits, I confess, aren’t literary. I probably lack the training and the gifts necessary to make them so. Instead, they’re theological. I read like a porn addict scours the Internet. Only my pornography is God-talk and my Internet some piece of literature or another. Thus I’m sent into near ecstasy when Stavrogin and […]

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Did Luther Regret Anything About His “Reformation”?

Luther never said that the “Reformation” as a whole was a failure, or shouldn’t have happened, but he said quite a bit about how the new Protestants were miserably failing in manifesting the  superiority of their system over Catholicism. The following is taken from the book by Henry O’Connor, S. J.: Luther’s Own Statements Concerning His […]

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Difficulties of Authority: Luther, Calvin, & Protestantism

Catholics hold that Scripture is a fairly clear document and able to be understood by the average reader, but also that the Church is needed to provide a doctrinal norm (an overall framework) for determining proper biblical interpretation (specifically, for “vetoing” that interpretation which is erroneous because it leads to doctrinal error). Both Luther and […]

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Mystical Rose Among Thorns

Maria walks amid the thorn Kyrie eleison. Maria walks amid the thorn, Which seven years no leaf has born. Jesus and Maria.  —From the hymn “Maria walks amid the thorn” Sometimes there is a song underneath the deepest silence. In the birthing room, I went to that place where there is such quiet that the […]

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Quiz on Early Protestant / “Reformation” Eucharistic Harmony

Who said this?: 1) It is enough for me that Christ’s blood is present; let it be with the wine as God wills. Before I would drink mere wine with the Enthusiasts, I would rather have pure blood with the Pope. And this?: 2) . . . Zwingli, Karlstadt, Oecolampadius [Protestants] . . . called […]

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Did God Command Jephthah to Burn His Daughter?

This is an exchange from the Coming Home Network forum, with a Catholic who was troubled by difficult Old Testament “genocide” and “commanded killing” passages. His words will be in blue. * * * * * I am a Catholic who is coming back to his faith, that being said I am having some trouble with […]

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Poetry Friday: “Meditation on Soteriology”

Karen An-Hwei Lee lays out her poem “Meditation on Soteriology” so that it looks at first like prose. But you don’t have to read far before you see the wild conjunction of images as poetry. “Paradises of flora and flame,” for instance, takes us aback, since we’d expect to read “flora and fauna.” Similarly with […]

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Dialogue on Development of Doctrine (Esp. the Papacy)

vs. Protestant apologist and anti-Catholic polemicist Jason Engwer The following is a reply to Protestant [anti-Catholic] apologist and polemicist Jason Engwer’s paper, A Response to Roman Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong Regarding Development of Doctrine. His piece purports to be (I think?) a critique of my paper, “Refutation of William Webster’s Fundamental Misunderstanding of Development of Doctrine.” […]

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“Romanists” Killed 100 Million? David T. King & Other Geniuses

“Many historians on both sides have said Rome killed as many as 35 million, others say 1/10th of a billion.” This pathetic exchange took place in the public chat room of the website (Alpha and Omega Ministries) of the prominent anti-Catholic polemicist James White, on 29 June 2000. I think it splendidly illustrates the sad, deluded, […]

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The Sentences of William H. Gass

Last week, one of my favorite authors, William H. Gass, died at ninety-three. He was an elder statesman of postwar American fiction. His novels include the lauded Omensetter’s Luck, The Tunnel, and Middle C, and he also wrote a number of insightful essays on the craft of writing. His prose is difficult, brooding, and deeply […]

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The Inquisition Killed 4.9 Million? (John Bugay’s Whoppers)

This was drawn from a discussion on the Inquisition (that is, a gross caricature of the real thing) in a combox for the Reformed Protestant Green Baggins website (starting at comment #218). The words of John Bugay: now a regular contributor at the notoriously anti-Catholic and perpetually fact-challenged Boors All blog, will be in blue. *** The same famous Oxford reference […]

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“Working Out” Salvation & Protestant Soteriology (vs. Ken Temple)

Philippians 2:12b-13 (RSV) . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. My original (non-satirical) comment about the passage in the other paper was: “If someone says that God is mentioned in the second part, the Calvinist […]

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Martin Luther’s Belief in the Perpetual Virginity of Mary

+ Reformed Apologist James Swan’s Belittling Contempt of Luther 1) From: That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew [1523] from Luther’s Works [“LW”]: Vol. 45, pp. 199, 205-206; translated by Walther I. Brandt: A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a […]

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Lucia in the Dark

Every year after the clocks fall back, I read Lia Purpura’s essay “Sugar Eggs: A Reverie” from her collection On Looking. In the essay, Purpura is concerned with the space created when one looks into another world: the panorama built inside a sugar egg, a snow globe, a “horse’s scummy water trough,” cells massing to […]

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Dialogue on Tradition: Good or Bad, How Much?, Etc.

Kim Bishop is a member of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. We have been friends online for many years , and recently engaged in the following (public) dialogue on my Facebook page. I think it brings into focus many basic Catholic-Protestant differences in outlook. Her words will be in blue. *** I have a question for […]

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Christmas Trees: Where & When Did They Originate?

Catholic Encyclopedia (“Christmas”, 1908, C. C. Martindale): [T]he tradition that trees and flowers blossomed on this night is first quoted from an Arab geographer of the tenth century, and extended to England. In a thirteenth-century French epic, candles are seen on the flowering tree. . . . the Christmas tree [was] first definitely mentioned in 1605 at Strasburg, and introduced into France and England in 1840 only, by Princess Helena of Mecklenburg and the Prince Consort respectively. “History of […]

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Arts & Faith Top 25 Films on Waking Up, Part 2

There are, arguably, many ways in which we need to wake up, hence the need for the variety of stories in this list. Some of these films (Something, Anything; Marty; Punch-Drunk Love) involve meek people waking up from lives dominated by peer pressure and social expectations from their friends or family. Other selections on the […]

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Reply to Pastor Steve Schlissel’s Reflections on “Romanism”

This is my response to Steve Schlissel‘s article: “What Thinkest Thou?” (no longer online).  I initially replied: Pastor Schlissel might do even better in his ecumenical maturation process if he would drop the antiquated and baggage-laden terms “Romanism” and “Romanists” (much beloved of anti-Catholics; all we need is “Romish” too) Even James White can agree to that […]

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December 25th Birth of Jesus?: Interesting Considerations

Fr. William Saunders, in one of his consistently excellent articles for The Arlington Catholic Herald (12-19-13), wrote: St. Luke related the announcement of the birth of St. John the Baptist to his elderly parents, St. Zechariah and St. Elizabeth. St. Zechariah was a priest of the class of Abijah (Lk 1:5), the eighth class of […]

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Arts & Faith Top 25 Films on Waking Up, Part 1

“My father says almost the whole world’s asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says only a few people are awake. And they live in a state of constant total amazement.” —Patricia, from Joe Versus the Volcano It seems that we now live in an increasingly polarized, disenchanted, fragmented, and […]

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Is Facebook Beyond All Hope As Regards Dialogue?

(6-2-14) ***   I totally agree that there are very serious problems in the blogosphere, and particularly, these days, on Facebook, which is just about as bad now as the old Internet discussion boards, that I left for good in October 2003 (and explained why at the time). In 2003, Internet discussion boards were all […]

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G. K. Chesterton and Charles Dickens on Christmas

(12-14-06) *** G. K. Chesterton    On Christmas and its Modern Detractors * If ever a faith is firmly grounded again, it will be at least interesting to notice those few things that have bridged the gulf, that stood firm when faith was lost, and were still standing when it was found again. Of these really […]

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Sinless Mary: Dialogue w Old Testament Professor

(12-8-14) *** Jonathan Huddleston (see Facebook / resume) is an ordained Church of Christ minister, and has been assistant professor of Old Testament at Abilene Christian University. He obtained his doctorate in Hebrew Bible / Old Testament from Duke University and he speaks biblical Hebrew, koine Greek, Ugaritic, Aramaic, German, French, and Swahili. That’s extremely impressive. […]

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Immaculate Conception of Mary and Protestantism

(12-7-06; final two paragraphs added on 12-8-17) *** Many of our esteemed Protestant brethren have a big problem with Catholic beliefs concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary. Catholic convert Kimberly Hahn once gave a great talk (one of my own favorites) about her own past struggles, entitled, “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.” Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception is one […]

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Poetry Friday: “Self Portrait as a Lighthouse”

Thomas Merton wrote, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” I feel like this sentiment is especially potent when the literary and visual arts intermingle. Elizabeth Spires employs aspects of ekphrastic poetry as well as persona poetry in order to both lose and find herself in this imaginative poem. Inspired, […]

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Treatise on Transubstantiation in Reply to Protestants

(2-4-05; abridged and very slightly edited / added to otherwise, on 12-7-17) *** This is drawn from what was originally a very extensive dialogue with a friendly and learned Reformed Protestant, Alastair Roberts. At first, he himself asked me to respond to a series that he wrote on the topic. I was happy to oblige. […]

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What Child Is This?

My wife is holding my hand to her stomach, gently gliding my fingers just beneath her ribcage where two small feet have been kicking against skin. She is thirty-two weeks pregnant with our third child, due in early December, an Advent baby. Sitting on our bed, she guides my hand as if across a globe, […]

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Romans 13:4 & Capital Punishment (Contra Ed Feser)

See the previous related papers: Capital Punishment: I’ve Changed My Mind Genesis 9:6 & Capital Punishment (Contra Ed Feser) *** [Dr. Edward Feser’s words will be in blue] *** Romans 13:1-4 (RSV) Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted […]

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Genesis 9:6 & Capital Punishment (Contra Ed Feser)

Preliminaries and Whether Genesis 9:6 is Proverbial Literature My post, “Capital Punishment: I’ve Changed My Mind” (12-5-17) has generated vigorous discussion on Facebook and in its own combox. Dr. Feser showed up in the latter, last night. We had a very minor dispute about how many (and which) links of his I provided in my […]

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Lady Bird Ascending: Part 2

Lady Bird finds its rhythm by the quick wit of its characters’ banter and succeeds especially because of its excellent performances. Director Greta Gerwig adds to characterization as she frames and arranges their relationships. Lady Bird and her mother have a memorable argument at the thrift store, and it’s as if they are nearly submerged […]

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Lady Bird Ascending: Part 1

I graduated from Bellefonte Area High School in 2004. During my senior year, I indulged my role as a star basketball player, taking in all of the attention that came with it. I was careful, though, to reject the label of jock because I didn’t want to be perceived that way. I noticed the eyes […]

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Indiscriminate Nuclear Destruction: Condemned by the Magisterium

(1-23-06) ***** Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man. This citation appears in the CCC #2314, which in turn is citing Vatican II, Gaudium et spes: 80:3. The remark in that document was preceded by the following statement: . . […]

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Capital Punishment: I’ve Changed My Mind

My position for as long as I can remember has been against the death penalty, except in the case of mass murderers and terrorists. I was more generally in favor of it in the past (not sure how long ago that was). Thus, in more recent years I have been basically opposed to it, with […]

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Advent Lights

The highways that snake down and around rural Iowa are dark. Enough that, if you are driving at the right time of night, and there isn’t a lot of traffic, you can catch moments of brilliance in the sky. Stars forever. An impossibly deep night. The opportunity to take a breath. My wife and kids […]

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Catholic “Three-Legged Stool”: Scripture, Tradition, & Church

Dialogue with an Anglican on the Catholic Rule of Faith (vs. Jon Jacobson) (10-31-02) [Jon’s words will be in blue] *** I do think Scripture is largely clear PROVIDED people are willing to follow it wherever it leads. Sounds like you have evolved from a believer in the perspicuity of Scripture to a believer in the […]

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The Freedom of the Catholic Biblical Exegete / Interpreter

+ Bible Passages that the Church has Definitively Interpreted [I wrote 44 apologetics inserts one-page articles for this: my best-selling book. They are available separately on my e-booksite, for $2.99] *** (9-14-03) *** Contrary to the bogus claims of some anti-Catholic Protestant polemicists I have run across, Catholics are not at all obliged to read the […]

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1 Corinthians 4:6: Is it a Prooftext for Sola Scriptura?

[Book and purchase information] *** (5-7-13; expanded on 12-1-17) *** [This analysis was part of my discontinued book, 501 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura and didn’t make it into the revised, much more compact 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura (Catholic Answers, 2012). I had also dealt with it in A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (Sophia Institute Press, 2003), […]

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Bibles & Catholics, Sunday School?, Memorization, Etc.

[Book and purchase information] (9-25-08) *** These thoughts of mine come from a (requested) critique I did today of a zealous friend’s proposals for Catholic Bible Study and “Sunday School” sorts of methods, that he would like to present to bishops for consideration. I disagreed in some emphases and presuppositions, though I agreed overall, in […]

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Poetry Friday: “Scale”

As I read and re-read this poem, I enjoy noticing exactly when I’ve realize that it’s about the speaker’s pregnancy. If I know that “linea nigra” in the second verse is the dark line that appears on a pregnant belly from belly button downwards, then I’ve already caught on. If I don’t know this, I […]

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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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Martin Luther’s Outrageous Views Regarding Women

(2-22-10) *** The following are all Luther’s words. The excerpts from Table-Talk (“TR” or Tischreden in German) were taken down by others; thus they are in a bit of a different category from his other writings, but nevertheless, Luther scholars regard what is found in Table-Talk as his words. Some might be jokes; who knows? […]

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Luther on the Deaths of Zwingli, St. Thomas More, & St. John Fisher

(11-30-07; expanded on 10-31-17) *** The heroic, inspiring stories of St. Thomas More (1478-1535) and St. John Fisher (1469-1535; the only bishop in England who resisted Henry VIII’s tyranny and butcheries) are well known, so I won’t recount them here. Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) was Luther’s fellow Protestant “reformer”, who differed from him especially on the […]

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Simple Tips for Living a More Joyful Life

We tend to think that joy is a product of stepping away from life and finding little ways to take a break or enjoy ourselves. While that can be important, just doing this only leads to fleeting moments of happiness. But how do we find real joy in our daily life without having to take […]

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Remembering Richard Wilbur (1921-2017), Part 1

It was back in the summer of 1995 during Image’s Glen Workshop that I had the opportunity to interview Dick Wilbur for Image. Wilbur was someone whose poetry—I am especially thinking here of poems like “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World”—I’d read in my late teens and been drawn to, especially because […]

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Martin Luther and Lutherans on Mortal & Venial Sins

Martin Luther . . . open, mortal sins, such as adultery, homicide, fornication, theft, robbery, usury, slander, etc. The purpose to avoid these sins belongs properly to sacramental Confession, and to confession before God it belongs at any moment after the sins have been committed; according to the word of Ecclesiasticus, “My son, hast thou […]

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Does God Ever Judge People by Sending Disease?

Yes He does: God sent the plague of boils to the Egyptians: Exodus 9:8-11 (RSV) And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of ashes from the kiln, and let Moses throw them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. [9] And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, […]

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Parenting in the Age of Weinstein

Almost every day, new allegations of sexual harassment are in the headlines. The #metoo campaign has exposed the abusive behavior of power-brokers in Hollywood and DC helped victims, who have been silenced for too long, find their voices again. One parent, despairing at the onslaught of depressing headlines and salacious stories recently asked me, “What […]

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These Bones

My son Sam, like many six-year-olds, is a devout observer of Halloween. He loves the candy, of course, but he also thrills to the other accoutrements of the holiday: the decorations, the parties, the music (his favorite song is Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”). Sam is also an unusually dogmatic trick-or-treater, […]

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Regensburg (1541) & Poissy (1561): Protestant “Ecumenism”?

(4-27-04) *** Catholic historian Warren Carroll writes: Reform-minded Cardinal Contarini attended the Diet of Regensburg and its religious discussions, and managed to obtain agreement on both sides on a statement on justification, but only by using a new concept of “duplicate justice,” which recognized that God gave justifying grace to men in baptism, but also […]

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Humanae Vitae (1968): Infallible Teaching Against Contraception

(12-31-07) *** The teaching against contraception as a grave sin was already firmly entrenched in Catholic tradition, having been strongly asserted again in 1930 by Pope Pius XI in response to the Anglicans [Casti Connubii]. Such declarations often come in response to heresy. No one (not even any Protestant body) had officially disagreed with the […]

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Why Did God Kill Onan? (The Bible on Contraception)

(2-9-04) *** Genesis 38:9-10: “But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife he spilled the semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he slew him […]

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Contraception: Early Church Teaching (William Klimon)

(1998) *** St. John Chrysostom St. John Chrysostom condemned contraceptors as “stand[ing]” with heretics (On Galatians 5, PG 61:668-669) and as doing the work of “murderers” (Homily 62 on Matthew 19, PG 58:599). St. John is referring to castration. Castration is, of course, an extreme form of contraception–but it is nonetheless a form of contraception, […]

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Poetry Friday: “Notre Dame”

I love it when poems speak to each other and expand on a shared theme. The epigraph here references the well-known poem “Church Going” by Phillip Larkin. Both poems describe churches, their architecture and unique interiors. However, they also explore more universal questions about the role and relevance of organized religion. Brown doesn’t mince words. […]

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Luther Believed in Soul Sleep; Thus He Rejected Purgatory

(2-9-08) *** Just when I think that I’ve discovered pretty much all of Martin Luther’s many false beliefs, and that there couldn’t possibly be any more, lo and behold, here comes another one out of nowhere. Today I came across someone mentioning English Protestant William Tyndale’s acceptance of “conditional immortality” (a sort of synonym for, or notion associated […]

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Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #13: “Reformed” Censorship & Intolerance

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Jerry Walls wrote on his Facebook page on 10-24-17: “apologetics gets its […]

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Luther: Execute Adulterers, Witches, Frigid Wives, & Prostitutes

(12-20-07 and 2-22-10) *** Just when you think you’ve discovered all the weirdest things about Luther that could possibly be found, ol’ Martin springs another goofy, wacko idea on ya!: . . . God commanded in the law [Deut. 22:22-24] that adulterers be stoned . . . The temporal sword and government should therefore still […]

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The Erasmus Option, Part 2

For Erasmus, Thomas More, and the other humanists of that era, literature and figurative language were the key to preventing people from falling into abstraction, moralism, and incessant warfare. Pagan literature, the humanists held, could be read with profit by Christians because it is possible to absorb and be enriched by the artistry without embracing […]

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John Calvin: Authoritative Council Needed to Unite Protestants

(1-18-08) *** John Calvin figured out that only a council would unite Protestants doctrinally at war with each other. And he was only talking about agreement on the Eucharist. It never happened. But it’s fascinating that Calvin thought this council (I assume he would regard it as sub-infallible, in accordance with sola Scriptura; which wouldn’t work, […]

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Martin Luther’s Remarkably “Pro-Tradition” Strain of Thought

(1-18-08) *** It’s inaccurate to contend that Luther despises councils altogether. Rather, he denies their infallibility and makes them formally subordinate to Scripture, which alone is infallible. This perhaps explains (at least in part) how Luther can rail against councils in one breath and espouse a quasi-Catholic principle of authority and tradition in the next. He has […]

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Condemnation of the Anti-Protestant Spirit (A Sad Dialogue)

This took place on my Facebook page, with a Catholic woman, under a post called, “My Respect for Lutherans.” Her words will be in blue. *** Mark Wilson: Now people may lump you together with the Pope who said something nice about John Wesley. Yeah, they might. Some people never learn that truth is truth, wherever […]

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The Erasmus Option, Part 1

Picture The Old Humanist standing at his desk. The year is 1533. Desiderius Erasmus is living in Freiburg, as he says to a friend, “like a snail in its shell.” It’s another temporary stop on his long, peripatetic march through northern Europe, as he seeks to avoid persecution at the hands of Reformers and Catholics […]

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312 Catholic Martyrs & Confessors Under “Good Queen Bess”

Queen Elizabeth (r. 1558-1603) (2-8-08) *** [biographical information was obtained in most cases from Wikipedia or the Catholic Encyclopedia. The martyrs are listed chronologically by date of execution. All are English except where noted] *** [See the Wikipedia article for a gruesome description of the English punishment of being hanged, drawn, and quartered] *** Queen Elizabeth is often regarded as a […]

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Odd Trio: Jerry Walls, Ken Collins, & Anti-Catholic John Bugay

Walls and Collins Hurt Their Pro-Protestant Cause and Ecumenical Effort by Enlisting John Bugay as a Comrade-in-Arms I have written twelve critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant (Wesleyan) theologian and historian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls […]

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Fit for Transformation

When my sister first told me about Orangetheory Fitness, I was intrigued. “You’d probably dig it,” she said. “It’s like personal training, but in a group.” Admittedly, it did sound like something I would like. But I was the heaviest I’d ever been and had spent the last three years committing myself to a level […]

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“Roman But Not Catholic”: Defense of My Amazon Review

I wrote twelve critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant (Wesleyan) theologian and historian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). The complete list can be found on my Calvinism and General Protestantism web page (scroll […]

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Causes of the Protestant “Reformation” (vs. a Lutheran Pastor)

(11-20-07; abridged somewhat on 10-23-17) *** Pastor Larry A. Nichols is the author of several books, including Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions, and the Occult (Zondervan Publishing House, 1993, with George A. Mather & Alvin J. Schmidt), Masonic Lodge (Zondervan, 1995; with George A. Mather & Alan W. Gomes), Discovering the Plain Truth: How the Worldwide Church of God Encountered the Gospel […]

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The Best in Bedtime Reading

A therapist I once went to for help with insomnia advised me: “Stop reading a novel at bedtime; it stimulates the mind.” When I recounted this to my wise sister who knows me well, she protested: “No! A novel takes you out of yourself; that’s just what you want before trying to go to sleep.” […]

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Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #12: Salvation (Soteriology)

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 17: “Justification Roman Style” writes: What’s so remarkable […]

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Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #11: Good & Bad Monothelite Heretics

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in chapter 12 (“Machiavellian Machinations and More: The Later History of […]

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Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #10: St. Peter & the Papacy

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 11: “The Papacy”, states: Indeed, the notion […]

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Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #9: “Apocrypha” (Jerome, Athanasius, Etc.)

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 3: “Scripture: No Greater Authority?” states: […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/10/armstrong-vs-collins-walls-9-apocrypha-jerome-athanasius.html