Vs. Lutheran Johann Hülsemann: Sola Scriptura

January 10, 2025 By Dave Armstrong

Johann Hülsemann (1602-1661) was a German Lutheran theologian and one of the most eminent Lutheran scholastics. In 1646 he became professor of theology at Leipzig, and served as pastor of St. Nicholas Church in town. He was excellent in the field of systematic theology, and during his lifetime many regarded him as the leader of German Lutheranism. I will be critiquing many parts of his book, Extensio brevarii theologiae [Extension of the Brevarium of Theology, 555 pages, Leipzig, 1655], which is available... Read more

Reply to Lutheran Johann Gerhard (1582-1637) #2

January 9, 2025 By Dave Armstrong

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De Fide Dogma on Communion in One Species Only; Theological Discord; Sola Scriptura Many Lutheran scholars and apologists consider Johann Gerhard (1582-1637), a Protestant scholastic, to be the most knowledgeable Lutheran apologist in history. What’s particularly notable about him is that he actually directly interacted with the best Catholic apologetics and theological sources (such as St. Robert Bellarmine: 1542-1621). According to the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article on Gerhard, he was “regarded as the greatest living theologian of Protestant Germany.” And it described his multi-volume book,... Read more

Reply to Lutheran Johann Gerhard (1582-1637) #1

January 8, 2025 By Dave Armstrong

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Ecclesial Infallibility; Trent: Protestants Are Regenerated Christians By Virtue of Baptism; Total Clearness of Scripture?; St. Bernard & the Catholic Church on Meritorious Works Lutheran scholars and apologists widely consider Johann Gerhard (1582-1637), a Protestant scholastic, to be the most knowledgeable Lutheran apologist in history. What’s particularly notable about him is that he actually directly interacted with the best Catholic apologetics and theological sources (such as St. Robert Bellarmine: 1542-1621). According to the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article on Gerhard, he... Read more

601+ Bible Passages Disprove Sola Scriptura

January 6, 2025 By Dave Armstrong

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Featuring an Emphasis on the Scriptural Data Regarding the Strong Influence of Jewish Tradition in Early Christianity The material below was partially derived from a withdrawn book of mine, entitled 501 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura: Is the Bible the Only Infallible Authority? (2009). I wrote it as a direct result of a Protestant claiming that there were no arguments against sola Scriptura in the Bible (!). It was condensed and modified into my book, 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura... Read more

Newman & Early Church Papal Infallibility & Supremacy

January 2, 2025 By Dave Armstrong

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Reply to Jordan Cooper’s Miscomprehensions of St. Cardinal Newman’s Views on the Development of the Papacy & the 1870 Dogma Rev. Dr. Jordan B. Cooper is a Lutheran pastor, adjunct professor of Systematic Theology, Executive Director of the popular Just & Sinner YouTube channel, and the President of the American Lutheran Theological Seminary (which holds to a doctrinally traditional Lutheranism, similar to the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod). He has authored several books, as well as theological articles in a variety of publications. All my Bible... Read more

Reply to Jordan Cooper on Newman & Development

January 2, 2025 By Dave Armstrong

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Rev. Dr. Jordan B. Cooper is a Lutheran pastor, adjunct professor of Systematic Theology, Executive Director of the popular Just & Sinner YouTube channel, and the President of the American Lutheran Theological Seminary (which holds to a doctrinally traditional Lutheranism, similar to the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod). He has authored several books, as well as theological articles in a variety of publications. All my Bible citations are from RSV, unless otherwise indicated. Jordan’s words will be in blue. This is my 20th reply to Jordan (many... Read more

Catholic Salvation: 1871 Bible Passages

December 27, 2024 By Dave Armstrong

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***** “Faith Alone” Error Bible vs. “Faith Alone”: 100 Proofs (100 Bible Passages On Catholic Justification, Sanctification, and Faith + Works [from 22 out of 27 NT Books]: All Disproving Protestant “Faith Alone” Soteriology) [10-8-24] Final Judgment & Works (Not Faith): 50 Passages [2-10-08] Banzoli’s 45 “Faith Alone” Passages; My 200 Biblical Disproofs [6-16-22] Sanctification / Infused Justification Transformation of Believers in the NT: 150 Passages (Regeneration is Only the Beginning . . .) [12-16-24] “Blameless” & “Pure” in the Bible (Sinless?): 40 Passages [12-12-24] Biblical “Power”:... Read more

The Holy Spirit is a Person: 125 Bible Passages

December 26, 2024 By Dave Armstrong

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***** All biblical citations from RSV. ***** Nehemiah 9:20 Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them, . . . [teaches us] Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. [gives us understanding] Job 33:4 The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. [is the Creator] Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from... Read more

Baptismal Regeneration: Refuting Jason Engwer’s Attacks

December 19, 2024 By Dave Armstrong

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This is a reply to the first section of Jason’s article, “The False Doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration” (Dec. 1998). His words will be in blue. I use RSV for Bible citations. ***** If baptism is a requirement for salvation… Why do so many passages refer to salvation through faith, but mention nothing of baptism (John 5:24, John 6:29, Acts 13:39, Acts 16:31, Romans 1:16, Romans 4:5, Galatians 3:24, 1 Peter 1:5, etc.)? Because they’re not required to. Not every passage... Read more

Luther & Mary’s Perpetual Virginity: More Context

December 17, 2024 By Dave Armstrong

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+ His Belief in Her Virginity During Christ’s Birth (In Partu) As anyone who has followed my apologetics career would know, I’ve done a great deal of research on Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, including writing a book about him, and editing another consisting of his “traditional” or “Catholic” utterances. In the early 1990s, right after I became a Catholic and immediately launched into Catholic apologetics and study of Luther and the Protestant Revolt, I sought citations of Luther... Read more