Summary: We discuss three NT passages that are devastatingly “UnProtestant”: having to do with sola Scriptura and an infallible Church, faith alone (sola fide), and prayer and penances for the dead.
Introduction: Non-Catholics often exclaim, “I just go by the Bible!” and insist that everything they believe can be backed up by Scripture (alone!). But formerly-protestant Catholic apologist and author Dave Armstrong has identified what he calls “The Three Most Un-Protestant Verses in the Bible” and joins former Protestant pastor Kenny Burchard to discuss them one by one (along with a couple of “extra-credit” verses worth highlighting). Read these verses to your Protestant friend and ask him/her to explain what they mean, and learn why a Catholic understanding of them makes more sense.
Related Exchanges in the Combox
Biblical Analogies & the Infallible Church [Facebook, 10-18-25]
Related Books
The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants (Aug. 2004, 235 pages [Sophia Institute Press] )
100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura (2012 / second revised edition: Aug. 2025, 137 pages)
Biblical Catholic Salvation: “Faith Working Through Love” (Oct. 2010, 187 pages)
Revelation! 1001 Bible Answers to Theological Topics (Oct. 2013, 250 pages)
Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths (Aug. 2009, 445 pages [Sophia Institute Press] )
Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical: From Priestly Celibacy to the Rosary: 80 Short Essays Explaining the Biblical Basis of Catholicism (July 2015, 288 pages [Sophia Institute Press] )
Related Articles
My “Number Articles” (“150 Biblical . . .” Etc.)
Faith Alone? 80 Bible Verses Say Otherwise [National Catholic Register, 10-31-24]
Scripture on Being Co-Workers with God for Salvation [72 passages] [2013]
God’s “Fellow Workers” Help Spread Salvation & Grace (We “Impart Grace”, “Save” Others, Win Souls, Help Them “Obtain Salvation”, Etc., In Our “Work of the Lord”) [55 passages] [10-29-21]
Final Judgment & Works (Not Faith): 50 Passages [2-10-08]
Meritorious Works: 50 Biblical Proofs [10-4-24]
24 Biblical Passages on Meritorious Works [National Catholic Register, 9-30-24]
St. Paul on Grace, Faith, & Works (50 Passages) [8-6-08]
Works & Sanctification Partly Cause Salvation: 34 Passages [1-30-25]
Church Fathers vs. “Faith Alone”: Handy Capsule Proofs [30 Church Fathers] [4-9-24]
25 Arguments Regarding Binding Church Authority [1-13-09]
25 Brief Arguments for Binding Catholic Tradition [2009]
Salvation: By Grace Alone, Not Faith Alone or Works [19 passages] [2013]
Perfectly Keeping the Law: 15 Bible Passages [12-12-24]
Quick Ten-Step Refutation of Sola Scriptura [10-10-03]
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