Monasticism Defended from Scripture and Reason

There are certainly ample biblical models of “separated” servants doing the “work of the Lord”. *** I was asked: How would you explain monasticism to Protestants who feel Christians should be out in the world, seeking to convert lost souls? To them, monks/nuns are hiding from society’s ills, not helping to mend them. Well, there […]

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Raising of Tabitha: Proof of Purgatory (Tony Gerring)

Interesting & unique argument, made by my friend Tony Gerring in a guest post. *** If you are a non-Catholic Christian, can you provide some insight on how you understand this story in Scripture? In Acts 9:36-42, Peter raises the disciple Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-42). Where did Tabitha’s soul go after she died? […]

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I Promise My Kid’s Not Racist

The waiting room was filled with the kinds of people one sees in my town: an African-American mother on her iPad, an Asian-American father scrolling on his phone, a white mother finishing some work on her laptop, a grandfatherly man wearing a yarmulke reading a book. I was sitting with my kindergarten son while the […]

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Harry Potter: Literary Magic or Magical Mystery Sewer?

On my Romantic and Imaginative Theology web page I have many Harry Potter links. The articles / books / audio files are from all perspectives: some favor the series, some oppose it, and some offer both sides, or ambiguous or uncertain or neutral opinion. Almost all of the links are from a Christian perspective (Catholic, Protestant, […]

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Dialogue on Romanticism & Christianity (w K. Rickert, Jr.)

Including discussion of “natural evil”: diseases, hurricanes, drought, etc. [Words of Keith Rickert. Jr. will be in blue. Words of Mark Kasper will be in green] I am a thoroughgoing Romantic. I am using the word in a sense which means far more than giving your wife or girlfriend roses or going to a restaurant […]

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“He Ain’t Heavy…”: The Death of My Same-Sex Attracted Brother

Guest post by Dave McClow, Pastoral Solutions Institute. “I don’t believe in hell.  If there is a hell, it can’t be any worse than my life here.”  These were the most striking words from my 55-year-old-same-sex-attracted brother Mark in the last two-plus weeks of his life.  He died February 27, 2017, from throat cancer.  I […]

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A Conversation with Gene Luen Yang: Part 2

Gene Luen Yang is the MacArthur genius grant–winning author of graphic novels including Boxers and Saints and American Born Chinese. He also writes graphic novels for kids (the Secret Coders series) and for major comic book publishers (Avatar, The New Super-Man). He is profiled in Image issue #95. Image: Your books have a strong thread […]

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Reactionary Errors as Bad or Worse Than Modernist Ones

[the following is a bit disjointed because it is an initial post (originally on Facebook), followed by various replies of mine in response to comments] *** I would say that the difference between the liberal / nominal / feminist / pro-abort Catholic and the radical Catholic reactionary is that the latter knows much better than […]

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Phil Lawler’s “Lost Shepherd”: My One-Star Amazon Review

[See the review at Amazon. Here the original italics are restored and I have added links and indentation for citations.]   “Peeling an Onion”: Lawler Fails to Prove His Case Phil Lawler was kind enough to send me a review copy of his book. In the Introduction he described Pope Francis and his opinions as […]

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A Conversation with Gene Luen Yang: Part 1

Gene Luen Yang is the MacArthur genius grant–winning author of graphic novels including Boxers and Saints and American Born Chinese. He also writes graphic novels for kids (the Secret Coders series) and for major comic book publishers (Avatar, The New Super-Man). He is profiled in Image issue #95.  Image: In Boxers and Saints, the two […]

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White’s & Hays’ Anti-Catholic Analyses of My Catholic Conversion

Bishop “Dr.” [???] James White (words in brown) made the argument that I was supremely ignorant as an evangelical, and so that amply explained my conversion, which need not give anyone the slightest pause. Hence his description of me in December 2004 as “one who has given very little evidence, in fact, of having done […]

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“Filioque”: Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue (William Klimon)

Preliminary background: the filioque (Latin for “And the Son”) is the theological notion that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, Jesus. This clause is included in the Nicene Creed — seen as a legitimate development — in the Western Catholic Church, but not in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which regards it as a […]

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Papal Participation in the First Seven Ecumenical Councils

The following evidence documents papal presence (personally or through legates) at the first seven councils: 1) Nicaea, 325 [papal legates; possibly including Hosius or Ossius, who presided] The recommendation for a general or ecumenical council . . . had probably already been made to Constantine by Ossius [aka Hosius], and most probably to Pope Silvester […]

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Poetry Friday: “The Preacher Addresses the Seminarians” by Christian Wiman

I once met a beer-guzzling goat like the one in Wiman’s poem. His name was Clay Henry, and he was elected the honorary mayor of Lajitas, Texas in 1986. But my deeper resonance with “The Preacher Addresses the Seminarians” lies in my identity as a seminary dropout who backdoored his way into the preaching life. […]

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Shock! Former Catholic Rod Dreher Loves Lawler’s Pope-Bashing Book

Sin in the Church and Dreher’s Inadequately Explained Rejection of Catholic Doctrine Rod Dreher, over at The American Conservative, wrote on 2-12-18: For a TAC review, I re-read Ross Douthat’s forthcoming book To Change The Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism. It really holds up, and as this papacy falters further—now the sex abuse scandal has directly […]

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Papal Succession: A Straightforward Biblical Argument

Why would there be a leader of the Church only for the lifetime of Peter? No other offices of leadership work that way. Someone commented on my Facebook page: Protestants always say that just because Peter was the leader, doesn’t mean that the leadership was passed down, because there is no mention in the Bible […]

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The Rhythm of Not Sleeping

I often rock my baby to sleep at the witching hour. These can be the hours when thoughts, either darkly vivid or hazily formed out of interrupted sleep, stray to mournful or anxious things. But on this night, my mind is pleasantly occupied with thoughts of my beloved grandmother who died a decade ago. My […]

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My Conversion: NOT Due to Hostility to Evangelicalism

I converted precisely for the reasons that I have explained in my four or five different accounts. It wasn’t because I was ignorant of evangelical Protestantism. It wasn’t because I despised or hated same or came to regard it as worthless. It wasn’t because I was disenchanted with where I was. My journey began out […]

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Catholic-Protestant Common Ground (Esp. Re Good Works)

A Lutheran wrote, in response to my paper, “Gratefulness For My Evangelical Protestant Background and its Wonderful Teachings and Blessings”: “It is comforting to know that you still have respect and good memories from your years in the Evangelical Protestant church.” I’m delighted that this was edifying for him. I’m not an exception to the rule, […]

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Dissolving the Borders Between Self and Other

The Buddhists have four stations of the heart: Metta (kindness), Mudita (compassion), Karuna (joy in the joy of others), and Upeka (equanimity). The Jews have four matriarchs: Sarah, a mother who laughs and who does not speak when her husband takes her son before dawn to offer him as a sacrifice in the place God […]

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Reply to a Lutheran on Tradition & the Patristic Rule of Faith

The Catholic rule of faith has always been the “three-legged stool” of Scripture-Tradition-Church. *** Words of Pastor Ken Howes (LCMS) will be in blue. *** 553 is when the fifth Great Council [Constantinople II] said that tradition was an independent basis of doctrine. You beg the question with your assertion that Roman teaching was the apostolic […]

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Mass Baptisms in Acts & Future Binding Church Decrees

It’s amazing what can be found in Holy Scripture, if you dig deep enough. *** Nicholas Cardinal Wiseman (1802-1865) made the following brilliant argument: Acts 2:41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. We read, in the Acts of the apostles, of three, or […]

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A Conversation with Marilyn Nelson: Part 2

Marilyn Nelson is the author or translator of twelve books and three chapbooks. Her honors include two NEA creative writing fellowships, the 1990 Connecticut Arts Award, an A.C.L.S. Contemplative Practices Fellowship, a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, a fellowship from the J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, three honorary doctorates, and the Commander’s Award for Public Service from the […]

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Veneration of Relics: A Short Catholic Apologia

From one of my papers on the topic: Examples of second-class relics (objects that came into contact with holy people) are also clearly found in passages about the prophet Elijah’s mantle, which parted the Jordan River (2 Kings 2:11-14), and Peter’s shadow (Acts 5:15-16) and Paul’s handkerchief (Acts 19:11-12), used by God to heal sick […]

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Veneration of & Bowing Before an Angel (Joshua 5:13-15)

Veneration of an angel occurs in this passage: if it is Michael, as Augustine & Jerome thought. *** Joshua 5:13-15 (RSV) When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood before him with his drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua went to him and said to […]

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A Conversation with Marilyn Nelson: Part 1

The daughter of a Tuskegee Airman and a teacher, Marilyn Nelson was brought up primarily on military bases and started writing while still in elementary school. She earned her BA from the University of California, Davis, and holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (MA, 1970) and the University of Minnesota (PhD, 1979). Her long […]

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LeBron Declines One-on-One Challenge w Laura Ingraham

NBA superstar LeBron James took it upon himself to blast President Trump, in a video. Conservative Fox News talk show host Laura Ingraham criticized him. Then, of course, she had to catch hell as a supposed “racist.” As a result, she invited LeBron onto her show to talk about it.  What follows is my commentary […]

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Dialogue: Conservatives & “Old” Pro-Lifers & the Poor

The claim is that conservatives & “old” pro-lifers lack any appreciable concern for poor people. Words of Dr. Edwin Woodruff Tait will be in blue; Scott Eric Alt’s in green; Vicki Clark in purple; others identified. *** God cares for the poor, and so should we. I’d like to see documented, any Catholic with a […]

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Dialogue: Is the Mass Similar to Jeroboam’s Idolatry?

It’s not images per se that God expressly forbids in worship, but graven images (Jeroboam) *** Pastor Tim Gallant (Presbyterian), was responding to certain comments of mine in my post, “Reply to Pastor Steve Schlissel’s Reflections on ‘Romanism.'” His words (initially written in the thread, “What Thinkest Thou?” on the Reformed Catholicism blog) will be in blue: […]

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Is the Mass Equivalent to OT Golden Calf Worship?

Some critics compare the Mass to the idolatrous worship of the Golden Calf by the wandering Israelites. ***The following is my dialogue with an anti-Catholic (i.e., one who regards Catholicism as non-Christian) evangelical Protestant (his words are in blue), in a public online list. ***The Israelites . . . made a golden calf, but they […]

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Poetry Friday: “Buried Treasure”

Literary reader of faith: I urge you now, as I’ve urged friends, students, and anyone who would listen for over a decade, toward the poetry of Adélia Prado. She is without question one of our greatest living poets, her inimitable voice at once earthy and mystical, unassuming and ecstatic. In her introduction to The Alphabet […]

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Bad Popes: Replies to a Sincere Inquirer

 God made an everlasting covenant with King David, even though he was an adulterer and murderer. As this was originally private correspondence, my correspondent’s exact words will be paraphrased, not cited. Her “words” will be in blue. * * * * * How can you believe in a succession of popes since so many have […]

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“New” & “Old” Pro-Lifers: Roundtable Discussion About Divisions

This took place on a public thread on my friend Scott Eric Alt’s Facebook page (later continued on a second one). Scott’s words will be in blue; words of Mark Shea [aka “Chuck Militant”] will be in green, and words of Rebecca Bratten Weiss [aka “Danaerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons”] in purple. I was looking […]

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Grace and The Good Place

In my first church job, I rarely had to serve communion so, every month I’d get a few moments to remember what church was like before I had come on staff. In The United Methodist Church, the way we celebrate communion is fairly standardized. I’ve heard arguments that this standardization (read: boring; unwilling to change) […]

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Dialogue w Calvinists on Prayer for the Dead & Purgatory

Holy Scripture offers massive indication of the existence of purgatory. *** This dialogue on my Facebook page was kicked off by this posting: Anglican Newman on St. Paul’s Prayer for the Dead (Onesiphorus) [W]hat does St Paul mean when he says of Onesiphorus ’The Lord grant him to find mercy of the Lord in that […]

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Dialogue w Atheist John Loftus on the Problem of Evil

Former Christian pastor, now atheist John W. Loftus is a big name now in the atheist world, with lots of books, and his popular blog Debunking Christianity. The following is drawn from remarks made on his blog. His words will be in blue. His older words will be in purple, and my past words in green. * * * * […]

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Is YOUR Marriage A Long Lent? Time for A Resurrection

This is the first time Ash Wednesday and St. Valentine’s Day have fallen on the same day since 1945.  On this auspicious occasion, perhaps it’s time to give up the bitterness, anger, and petty grievances that prevent us from experiencing the loving marriage God wants for us.   My latest column for OSV Newsweekly. The correspondence […]

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Suffering and Ash Wednesday

Suffering is the most dissociative word in the Christian lexicon. Raised Catholic, I was taught to “offer up” my suffering for the salvation of a soul in purgatory. The sooner I embraced my suffering, which meant releasing or suppressing it, the sooner suffering would turn to joy. Joy was the preferred endgame, and it was […]

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On Irrational Hostility to Conversion Stories (Esp. Scott Hahn’s)

How is it a bad thing to give testimony of why one became a Catholic? *** The following (in my opinion, rather astonishing) exchange took place in comments on Justin Nickelsen‘s excellent blog, Ressourcement: Restoration in Catholic Theology, with a Catholic named John Lowell. His words will be in blue. ***** Sorry, Justin, but I […]

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Anti-Catholic James Swan’s Goofy Anonymous “Reviews” of My Book

Documenting (for fun) just one of the many ridiculous things that anti-Catholic polemicists do . . . *** Anti-Catholic Reformed Protestant Polemicist and World Class Insulter James Swan has recently communicated to me privately that he looks forward to a time where my name will no longer be mentioned on his blog, Boors All. This […]

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Lent is For Lovers?

So, Ash Wednesday falls on St. Valentine’s Day this year.  What to do?  Well, you could sit around penitentially eating clear broth in heart-shaped bowls, OR you could discover how two great things that don’t seem to go together…really do! That’s where the Lent is For Lovers program comes in.  The Dominican fathers in Cincinnati […]

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The Liturgy of the Stars: Part 2

The 1960s were the years of the Gemini and Apollo missions. I doubt I missed the television coverage of a single launch, spacewalk, or splashdown. For someone who did not live through that era, it is difficult to convey the aura of excitement and adventure that these missions conjured. They were scientific enterprises, to be […]

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Tending the Fire—Hey Married Couples, Here are 3 Ways to Keep The Spark Alive!

God gave us the gift of marriage so men and women could learn to truly cherish each other and feel loved, supported and treasured in each other’s arms.  In Christian marriage, especially, passion and romance shouldn’t feel like an optional add-on. But some days, it can feel more difficult than others to cultivate that peace […]

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Dialogue: Double Predestination, Total Depravity, & Limited Atonement

It’s possible for Catholics and Calvinists to dialogue and to even be friends! *** This is drawn from statements made by my Reformed, Presbyterian (OPC) friend Tim Roof (words in blue throughout). Tim’s a great guy, who was charitable and fair to me on one notorious anti-Catholic web page, when virtually everyone else was slanderous […]

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“Withstand”! Satan Exploits Errors & Falsehood for His Nefarious Ends

I think we greatly underestimate the capacity of people being led astray. I don’t know why that is, considering the fact, that millions already are adhering to religions that purport to be “Christianity” and are not. Many, if not most people are sheep, in terms of ideas. They are influenced by what is around them, […]

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189 English Catholic Martyrs & Heroic Confessors: 1603-1729

“The executioner could not find the martyr’s heart, and the butchery with appalling cruelty was prolonged for nearly half an hour. After this the Puritans played football with his head.” *** [biographical information was obtained in most cases from Wikipedia and/or the Catholic Encyclopedia. The martyrs are listed chronologically by date of execution] [See a gruesome description of […]

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The Liturgy of the Stars: Part 1

Growing up as I did amidst the dazzling lights of New York City, it is strange that even as a small child I was madly in love with the stars. The city’s glare effectively canceled out the night sky, admitting only the rare glimpse of the brightest heavenly orbs. Beyond the moon and Venus, you’d […]

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Poetry Friday: “Relic”

They say the flu circulating this season begins with the sensation of having swallowed a tiny sword. For the relief of such ailments, some Catholics seek the Blessing of the Throats in February on the Feast of St. Blaise, patron saint of sufferers of throat diseases. The narrator of  Matthew Thorburn’s “Relic” describes his schoolboy […]

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Protestant “Reformer” Zwingli Denied Original Sin

Some Christian “reformer.” This guy was an inveterate womanizer, too . . . *** One never knows what heresy one will discover next, upon perusal of the history of the Protestant Revolt. I was simply reading a biography of Luther’s successor Philip Melanchthon today and discovered (quite by accident) that Huldrych [or, Ulrich] Zwingli (1484-1531), […]

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In a Funk

You’re not sorry you’re alive, just embarrassed. Aware of the burden of your body. How often do saltshakers tremble when you cross your unwieldy legs under the table? How many times do you hug an acquaintance too soon and feel their shoulders droop like dead wings? You don’t want to die. You want everyone to […]

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Communion of Saints: Biblical Introduction & Overview

Written in 1995; published in The Catholic Answer (Nov / Dec 1998). [Bible passages: KJV] * * * * * The Mystical Body of Christ, according to Catholicism and universal Christian Tradition before the arrival of Protestantism in 1517, has three levels of existence, and communication and cooperation (in differing degrees) occurs between all of them. […]

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430 Catholic Martyrs Murdered by Henry VIII (1534-1544)

[biographical information was obtained in most cases from Wikipedia and/or the Catholic Encyclopedia. The martyrs are listed chronologically by date of execution] [Learn more about the English punishment of being hanged, drawn, and quartered] See related papers: 312 Catholic Martyrs & Confessors Under “Good Queen Bess” (Queen Elizabeth: r. 1558-1603) 444 Irish Catholic Martyrs and Heroic Confessors, Persecuted by […]

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Dialogue: Contraception vs. NFP: Crucial Ethical Distinctions

Discussion with a Catholic woman. Her words will be in blue. ***1. Something occurred to me about your argument against people saying that God can interfere with artificial contraception if he really wanted you to have kids. You said, I could hold my breath and choke myself and say God would intervene if he wanted me […]

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Homeopathy, Pragmatic Medicine, Reason, & Science

Is homeopathy scientifically established? Even if not, it’s rational to try it. *** 1. I freely acknowledge that there is a great deal of quackery which pretends to be science. This is true even in so-called “respectable” circles. When homeopathy was flourishing in the mid-1800s, “conventional” medicine was routinely engaging in such practices as blood-letting. […]

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Fear, Men, and The Locked Doors of Our Hearts

Guest post by Dave McClow, Pastoral Solutions Institute Men are more wired to assess threats than women; maybe that is partly why the disciples hid in fear behind locked doors after Jesus’ crucifixion (see John 20:19-23).  Fear perceives the other as the enemy.  Fear underlies all sin—any attack on the dignity of the human person.  […]

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Paddington to the Rescue

As immigrants fall to the fury of fearmongers, could it be Paddington the bear (a household name for families who cherish children’s books) who reawakens the heart of England to compassion, cooperation, and community? As if designed to shame isolationists, Paddington 2 sends its hero (a soft-spoken immigrant himself) stumbling into a case of mistaken […]

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Having a Plan for Lent

Guest post by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, director of the Pastoral Solutions Spiritual Direction Services It’s very easy, amid the hustle and bustle of life, to allow Lent to sneak up on us. As a result, we may find ourselves receiving ashes without any clear idea how to participate in the grace that is Lent. Like many, […]

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Arts & Faith Top 10 films of 2017: Part 2

Cinema at its best has the power to transform minds, to inspire generations, and to speak across geographical, intellectual, and educational borders. Cinema can encourage, motivate, and challenge the hearts, minds, and souls of anyone willing to engage within the visual journey. We’ve witnessed stories of faith, sacrifice, redemption, and persecution. We’ve discovered the call […]

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Arts & Faith Top 10 films of 2017: Part 1

Cinema at its best has the power to transform minds, to inspire generations, and to speak across geographical, intellectual, and educational borders. Cinema can encourage, motivate, and challenge the hearts, minds, and souls of anyone willing to engage within the visual journey. We’ve witnessed stories of faith, sacrifice, redemption, and persecution. We’ve discovered the call […]

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Unlimited Children for Catholics? Reply to a Slanderer

The Church: couples can postpone or stop having children, for appropriately serious reasons. The following occurred in the combox of my recent article for National Catholic Register: “Sex and Catholics: Our Views Briefly Explained”.  First, I replied to a nice, sensible comment, in agreement (her words in green). Then I responded to a very judgmental […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/02/unlimited-children-catholics-reply-pharisee.html

Dr. Fastiggi Replies to Dr. Feser on Capital Punishment

The debate among equally orthodox Catholics on the death penalty continues . . . *** Dr. Robert Fastiggi has made a series of replies (in the combox), to Dr. Edward Feser’s article, “Capital punishment and the infallibility of the ordinary Magisterium” (Catholic World Report, 1-20-18).  Dr. Feser (who seems to have much more time for […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/02/dr-fastiggi-replies-dr-feser-capital-punishment.html

Inept Satire Case Study: Dr. Edward Feser’s “Lexicon”

Satire can be done well, or badly. I critique an example of the latter. ***** First of all, let me preface this by saying that I love satire and sarcasm (done in the right way). I’ve analyzed it, and I’ve often utilized it in my apologetics. I’ve satirized atheists, and caught hell for doing that. […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/02/inept-satire-case-study-dr-edward-fesers-lexicon.html

Poetry Friday: “Prodigal”

Jones’ poem “Prodigal” welcomes us into an inviting family scene. We can easily visualize the speaker and his father “watching the children / playing tag on the lawn and running in circles,” and we can feel the immediacy of the “aged father” as he “leans toward me ever so slightly / and out of nowhere […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2018/02/poetry-friday-prodigal/

Salvation, Eternal Security, & Grace: Dialogue w Bethany Kerr

Constructive, amiable Protestant-Catholic discussion on many key aspects of salvation. [see the original, somewhat longer Facebook exchanges, with a few more helpful participants, too] ***** This dialogue was kicked off when I cited Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman on the difference between Protestant and Catholic doctrines of original sin: Catholics hold that Original sin is […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/02/salvation-eternal-security-grace-dialogue-w-bethany-kerr.html

I Coined “Reactionary” [Catholic], Not Michael Voris

I  coined the term, “Radical Catholic reactionary” on 3 August 2013. “Daniel” wrote (underneath a Chris Ferrara post of 12-31-17 that trashed myself and Karl Keating): “I think Michael Voris got the credit in using the Communist term “reactionary” in describing all faithful Catholics who refuse to follow the teachings of Francis so now all Novus […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/02/i-coined-reactionary-catholic-not-michael-voris.html

My Frankenstein

My Frankenstein is first and foremost a novel. A custard-colored Pound Classic published by Penguin UK, to be exact. Though I’ve taught from several editions, as the novel turns two hundred it’s to that tiny, flimsy volume with which I first made contact that my thoughts turn. My wife and I were in Oxford, England, […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2018/02/my-frankenstein/