Lord Acton: Philip Melanchthon Persecuted Eucharistic Heretics

Last updated on: June 30, 2020 at 11:04 am By Dave Armstrong

In my continuing searching for material regarding Philip Melanchthon’s policies of persecution (particularly regarding the Real Presence: see my previous paper on the subject), I ran across the following material from Lord Acton (1834-1902), the famous historian: [note: Acton cites “Bretschneider”. He was the editor, along with Bindseil, of the Latin Corpus Reformatorum, Melanthonis Opera, 28 volumes: 1834-1860. Footnotes below will be Acton’s own, incorporated by means of brackets and blue coloring into the text exactly where he places them. Bolded emphases in the text are... Read more

Veneration of Saints and Angels (vs. John Calvin)

Last updated on: June 29, 2020 at 12:00 pm By Dave Armstrong

[excerpt from my book, A Biblical Critique of Calvinism (Oct. 2012, 178p), pp. 87-95. Follow the link for content and purchase information] *** I’ll be using, the (public domain) translation of Institutes of the Christian Religion by Henry Beveridge, produced for the Calvin Translation Society in 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin; reprinted by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 1995, and available online at the wonderful Christian Classics Ethereal Library site. My own Bible passages are from RSV. Calvin’s words will be in blue. ***... Read more

“Graven Images”: Unbiblical Iconoclasm (vs. John Calvin)

Last updated on: June 29, 2020 at 11:43 am By Dave Armstrong

[excerpt from my book, A Biblical Critique of Calvinism (Oct. 2012, 178p), pp. 59-72. Follow the link for content and purchase information] *** I’ll be using, the (public domain) translation of Institutes of the Christian Religion by Henry Beveridge, produced for the Calvin Translation Society in 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin; reprinted by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 1995, and available online at the wonderful Christian Classics Ethereal Library site. My own Bible passages are from RSV. Calvin’s words will be in blue. ***... Read more

My Sister, Judy All (1952-2020)

Last updated on: June 28, 2020 at 12:17 pm By Dave Armstrong

My sister Judy peacefully passed away this morning, from kidney failure and related complications, with her husband Tom at her side, and daughter Kristen and son-in-law Steve and grandson Alexander able to see her through the window near the end (having to be cautious due to the pandemic) and to communicate by phone. Please pray for her soul and for her family. Over the past several weeks she was (at times) comatose and unable to talk, but we were told... Read more

Me Me Me (My Earliest “Apologetics”)

Last updated on: June 27, 2020 at 6:17 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is my earliest attempt at a sort of indirect apologetics writing: critical commentary on the current zeitgeist or “spirit of the age” and what was often called the “Me Generation” (from which I got my title). It’s dated 6-5-81. It’s more or less unique in my entire output of writing: a free-form, non-rhyming poem about the modern age and the attitudes of the typical secularist and nominally religious person, or agnostic (which I had been myself for about ten... Read more

Can Only Regenerate Men Perform Truly Good Works?

Last updated on: June 27, 2020 at 11:29 am By Dave Armstrong

vs. John Calvin [excerpt from my book, A Biblical Critique of Calvinism (Oct. 2012, 178p), pp. 22-28. Follow the link for content and purchase information] *** I’ll be using, the (public domain) translation of Institutes of the Christian Religion by Henry Beveridge, produced for the Calvin Translation Society in 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin; reprinted by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 1995, and available online at the wonderful Christian Classics Ethereal Library site. My own Bible passages are from RSV. Calvin’s words will... Read more

Is God the Author of Evil? (vs. John Calvin)

Last updated on: June 27, 2020 at 11:04 am By Dave Armstrong

[excerpt from my book, A Biblical Critique of Calvinism (Oct. 2012, 178p), pp. 13-22. Follow the link for content and purchase information] *** I’ll be using, the (public domain) translation of Institutes of the Christian Religion by Henry Beveridge, produced for the Calvin Translation Society in 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin; reprinted by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 1995, and available online at the wonderful Christian Classics Ethereal Library site. My own Bible passages are from... Read more

Catholic Mystics & Contemplatives on Purgatory

Last updated on: June 27, 2020 at 8:40 am By Dave Armstrong

[From my book, Quotable Catholic Mystics and Contemplatives (April 2014, 304p), pp. 224-230. Follow the link for book and purchase information] The Servitor’s own father, who had led a very worldly life, appeared to him after death, and with a woeful aspect showed him his agonising purgatory, and the chief sins for which he had incurred it, and explained to him distinctly how he was to help him. The Servitor did this; and afterwards his father appeared to him, and told him... Read more

Catholic Mystics & Contemplatives on Hell

Last updated on: June 26, 2020 at 9:41 am By Dave Armstrong

[From my book, Quotable Catholic Mystics and Contemplatives (April 2014, 304p), pp. 145-151. Follow the link for book and purchase information] [I]n Hell, the souls have four principal torments, out of which proceed all the other torments. The first is, that they see themselves deprived of the vision of Me, which is such pain to them, that, were it possible, they would rather choose the fire, and the tortures and torments, and to see Me, than to be without the torments and... Read more

Have Heterodox Catholics Overthrown Official Doctrine?

Last updated on: June 25, 2020 at 3:09 pm By Dave Armstrong

Dialogue with anti-Catholics James White (words in green), Eric Svendsen (blue), Andrew Webb (brown), and Phillip Johnson (purple). This series of exchanges took place on Bishop “Dr.” [???] James White’s sola Scriptura discussion list (which was by invitation only). It occurred between 23 May and 3 June 1996. *** The Catholic unity of belief is itself a myth. Catholic apologists would like to paint the Catholic church as a monolithic organization where everyone agrees on every point of dogma. Nothing could be further... Read more