The following was drawn from my debate / book, Justification: A Catholic Perspective (Aug. 2023), vs. the Brazilian Calvinist Francisco Tourinho. We discussed the book of James at great length, and for some time I’ve been meaning to compile those portions, because the topic often comes up in debates on justification. I will be excerpting my words only, with slight editing. I use RSV for Bible citations. Breaks in the texts / citations will be noted by five asterisks. *****... Read more
Including Two Examples of Luther’s Espousal of Capital Punishment for Wrong or Aberrant Behavior Prior to 1530 It’s commonly thought by students of 16th-century Christianity (who have an adequate knowledge of the historical facts) that Martin Luther advocated tolerance towards belief-systems and behaviors contrary to what he thought was Christian, and prior to 1530 (i.e., in the first twelve years or so of his proclaimed “reformation”); thus was opposed to persecution up to and including execution on these grounds. Many... Read more
Photo credit: Frontispiece of the first English translation of Martin Luther’s Table Talk, edited by Captain Henry Bell and published in London in 1652 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] Table Talk (in its many forms, of various levels of accuracy) purports to be transcriptions of utterances by Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism. It’s not, technically, his own writing. All agree on that. I’d like to cite at some length, the Introduction to volume 54 of the 55-volume edition of... Read more
Does “Works of the Law” Refer to All Good Works Whatsoever? Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), a Calvinist leader in early Protestantism, or “reformer”, after citing Galatians 2:16, wrote the following in his most significant work, Decades (1551; rep. Cambridge University Press, 1849; first and second decades): This is now the third time that Paul saith, that men are not justified by the works of the law: in the which clause he comprehendeth all manner of works of what sort soever. (p.... Read more
The Anglo-Irish clergyman and scholar Richard Frederick Littledale (1833-1890) wrote a book called Plain Reasons Against Joining the Church of Rome (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1881), which I will critique. His words will be in blue. I use RSV for biblical citations. ***** We have only four examples in the New Testament of acts of reverence being done to Saints, and in all these cases they were promptly rejected and forbidden, showing that they were offensive to the... Read more
Revelation 5:8 (Elders) and Revelation 8:3-4 (Angels) Are Undeniably Involved with “the Prayers of the Saints” Revelation 5:8 (RSV) . . . the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; Revelation 8:3-4 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers... Read more
Karl August von Hase (1800-1890) was a German Lutheran theologian and church historian, who was a professor of theology at Jena from 1829 to 1883, and the great-grandfather of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He wrote many books; his most influential one being A History of the Christian Church (1834; 12th edition, 1900). I will be critiquing one portion of the first volume of von Hase’s two-volume work (one / two), Handbook to the Controversy with Rome (1862; 7th edition, 1900; English translation... Read more
+ Ten Protestant Commentaries in Support of Peter’s Healing Shadow (Acts 5:15): Which Rev. Wright Denied Charles Henry Hamilton Wright (1836-1909) was an Irish Anglican clergyman. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1857, was the Grinfield lecturer on the Septuagint at Oxford (1893–97), vicar of Saint John’s, Liverpool (1891–98), examiner in Hebrew at the University of London (1897–99), and clerical superintendent of the Protestant Reformation Society (1898–1907). He authored a number of books, including The Intermediate State and Prayers for the... Read more
[see also the English version] Sim; uma cura sobrenatural é o que estou alegando, e posso comprová-la tanto com meu histórico de problemas estomacais quanto com a maneira sistemática com que experimentei ao longo de um período de duas semanas, experimentando os vários e numerosos alimentos que não consegui comer — a maioria por muitos anos –, desde o suposto milagre. Eu fiz isso praticamente como a Igreja faz quando investiga supostas ocorrências milagrosas de vários tipos, com um exame... Read more
[see also the Brazilian Portugese version] Yes; a supernatural healing is what I’m claiming, and I can substantiate it with both my history of stomach problems and the systematic way in which I’ve experimented over a two-week period by trying out the various, numerous foods I haven’t been able to eat — most for many years — , since the suspected miracle. I went about it pretty much as the Church does when it investigates purported miraculous occurrences of various... Read more
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