Jesus’ “Brothers” (Not Siblings) 0101: vs. Jason Engwer

Last updated on: September 23, 2021 at 2:52 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Actual Biblical Data Brought to Bear, Rather Than Late (Post-Luther and Post-Calvin) Protestant Traditions of Men Protestant anti-Catholic apologist and polemicist Jason Engwer follows the standard theologically liberal take that Jesus had literal blood brothers / siblings. This was not Martin Luther’s or John Calvin’s view. It didn’t come from classic, original Protestantism, but from skeptical theological liberalism hundreds of years later. Jason wrote an article entitled, “Some Undesigned Coincidences Related To Peter’s Names” (9-19-21) that presupposed the existence... Read more

Brief Exchange with Atheists (Including Archaeology)

Last updated on: September 25, 2021 at 7:08 pm By Dave Armstrong

These took place in a combox on anti-theist atheist Jonathan Pearce’s A Tippling Philosopher blog. JMallett‘s words will be in blue, Traveller‘s in green, Geoff Benson‘s in brown, Erp‘s in purple. ***** [I posted a link to a recent article of mine]: OT & Archaeology: 25 Fascinating Confirmations (“From Noah to Joshua”: the Hebrew Scripture is Extraordinarily Accurate & True to History). Your blurb reads like a National Enquirer headline, Mr. Spam. Thanx! If it’s spam, then I’m sure Jonathan... Read more

Pope Francis Did NOT Say EWTN = “Work of the Devil”

Last updated on: September 22, 2021 at 5:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

Case Study in “Conservative” Catholic Media Bias, Which is Becoming as Problematic as Mainstream Liberal Media Bias Here we go again. The slant alluded to in my title is (surprise!) a distortion of what the pope said. As a matter concerning media bias, this will provide a helpful example: with different levels of “anti-Francis” bias or lack thereof readily observed, depending on the viewpoint of the commentator. It’s always good (and the best “policy”) to simply write and print truth,... Read more

Reply to Fr. Thomas Weinandy: Pope Francis a Heretic?

Last updated on: September 21, 2021 at 2:25 pm By Dave Armstrong

I shall be responding to Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M. Cap. and his article, “Is Pope Francis a Heretic?” (First Things, 5-7-19). His words will be in blue. ***** Nineteen theologians and academics recently released a letter to all Catholic bishops throughout the world, accusing Pope Francis of being a heretic and urging the bishops to take action, even canonical, in order to rectify this dire state of affairs. That sounds impressive, doesn’t it, until one realizes that at least... Read more

OT & Archaeology: 25 Fascinating Confirmations

Last updated on: September 30, 2021 at 6:49 pm By Dave Armstrong

“From Noah to Joshua”: the Hebrew Scripture is Extraordinarily Accurate & True to History For preliminary background information on the dispute about biblical maximalism vs. minimalism, and the dates of the patriarchs and major OT events, see my article on those topics. This paper is basically a chronological “bullet-point” survey of some of the fascinating things I have found in studying archaeology (and in several cases, science in general) in relation to the Old Testament over the last six months... Read more

Vatican II: Documentation of Bishops’ Voting on its Documents

Last updated on: September 17, 2021 at 1:04 pm By Dave Armstrong

Ranked in Order from Most Dissenting Votes to Least Dissenting Votes I am drawing this from: Vatican II — Voice of the Church: The Sixteen Documents and their Consequences. My interjections will be in blue. ***** DECREE ON THE MEDIA OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION: December 4 [1963]: Solemn final voting (1960 for, 164 against) [7.7% dissenting or a 12-to-one ratio in favor] DECLARATION ON NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS: October 28 [1965]: Solemn final voting (2221 for, 88 against) [3.8% dissenting or a 25-to-one... Read more

Seidensticker Folly #74: Omniscient God & Clueless Bob

Last updated on: September 17, 2021 at 11:47 am By Dave Armstrong

Atheist and anti-theist Bob Seidensticker runs the influential Cross Examined blog. He asked me there, on 8-11-18: “I’ve got 1000+ posts here attacking your worldview. You just going to let that stand? Or could you present a helpful new perspective that I’ve ignored on one or two of those posts?” He added in June 2017 in a combox: “If I’ve misunderstood the Christian position or Christian arguments, point that out. Show me where I’ve mischaracterized them.” Delighted to oblige his wishes . . . Bob (for the record) virtually begged and pleaded with... Read more

Rarity of Non-Biblical Mentions of King David Explained

Last updated on: September 16, 2021 at 11:10 am By Dave Armstrong

The Scottish evangelical Protestant Egyptologist and archaeologist Kenneth A. Kitchen (b. 1932), is author of the magisterial On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids and Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003). I will be drawing my arguments from this book. People complain loudly, “Why no mentions of David or Solomon? Where is their power and splendor?” . . . The main reason things are so “bright” from 853 onward is that the kings of Assyria commonly named their adversaries in... Read more

Pope Francis Talks of Gospel Freedom; Naysayers Go Bonkers

Last updated on: September 17, 2021 at 10:14 am By Dave Armstrong

1 Peter 2:17 (RSV) Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the [pagan, anti-Christian, persecuting] emperor. Ecclesiastes 10:20 Even in your thought, do not curse the king, . . . Titus 3:1-2 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for any honest work, [2] to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all men. We live in an age where everything is now... Read more

Moses and (Natural?) Water from a Rock

Last updated on: March 22, 2023 at 11:15 pm By Dave Armstrong

The material formerly here has been re-worked, modified, and edited and is now included only in my book, The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible (Catholic Answers Press: March 15, 2023) *** Photo credit: osamaabdo (8-27-14). Sandstone canyon in the Sinai Peninsula [Pixabay / Pixabay License] *** Read more

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