The well-known Protestant reference work, New Bible Dictionary (edited by J. D. Douglas, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1962, “Sackcloth,” p. 1112), describes biblical sackcloth: A coarse cloth . . . usually made of goat’s hair . . . Sackcloth was worn as a sign of mourning for the dead . . . , or of mourning for personal or national disaster . . . or of penitence for sins (1 Ki. 21:27; Ne. 9:1; Jon. 3:5; Mt.... Read more
Far too many Protestants make such a big stinking deal about how Catholics like to have “certainty” and how silly and foolish — almost “infantile” — that supposedly is (as if it were some foreign concept in Scripture). It’s not at all! One anti-Catholic tonight even ridiculously compared this to being nearly mentally ill, or on the path to same, anyway. Catholics have only a deluded certainty and mental illness . . . How dare we actually believe that God... Read more
This topic is tough to concisely explain, as with all “large and lumpy” issues or inquiries. In a nutshell, I would say that there are big differences in the two approaches to Christianity and the Christian life. Bear in mind, first of all, that whenever one is talking about “Protestantism,” one must necessarily generalize, and there are always exceptions, since Protestants disagree with each other about virtually everything except the existence of God and the fact that they are not... Read more
Bishop “Dr.” [???] James White had fun on his blog (5-18-04), with his “New Reformed Catholic Translation” (NRCT), directed towards his fellow Reformed Protestants who don’t follow his anti-Catholic line and unbiblical antipathy to sacramentalism and Church history. As a lover of satire myself, I could hardly resist presenting bits of a new translation I am working on, for the benefit of my Reformed Baptist fundamentalist friends like Bishop White: the Revised Fundamentalist Baptist Version (RFBV), to be published by... Read more
“Explicit_Atheist” came onto my blog, commenting underneath my article, Miracles, Materialism, & Premises: Dialogue w Atheist. I replied. His words will be in blue. ***** Empiricism is grounded in the historical record of success versus failure. Science relies on empirical methods because they are the only methods that have been successful. I didn’t claim that this wasn’t the case (though I deny the exclusivistic “only”). You’re simply talking past what I wrote. This is usually the case: 1. The Christian or... Read more
with Deacon Steven D. Greydanus (words in blue) [sarcastic] Teach your children that all atheists are atheists because they hate God and Christians and besides they had a bad relationship with their father. The bad father —> atheist argument cannot be dismissed so easily, as there is a lot of historical evidence for it, that I have noted (Dr. Paul Vitz’s argument). The same often holds in cases of homosexual children, but we are not allowed to say that anymore. It’s... Read more
This exchange occurred with my (former evangelical) atheist friend Jon Curry, in a Facebook combox for my post, Atheists, Miracles, & the Problem of Evil: Contradictions. His words will be in blue. ***** I wouldn’t say miracles are contrary to science. Science is just a method by which we evaluate hypotheses. No miracle has yet been evidenced in a manner sufficient to meet the standards of the scientific method. I’m always open to it, [but] for whatever reason God is unwilling... Read more
“SolusChristus”: a Calvinist, responded underneath my (former) blog article, 25 Biblical Passages Against Limited Atonement. His words will be in blue. ***** Many of these are not even support for universal atonement, but actually support Monergism (or Calvinism) such as the first one Luke 19:10 Christ has come to seek and save that which is lost. It shows that Christ has the ability to save whomever He wills, therefore possibly promoting limited atonement since salvation is up to Christ Himself... Read more
This is a discussion with Gavin G. Young, who recently wrote of himself: “I am an ex-Christian. I am now an atheist and scientific naturalist and in most respects I am also now a secular humanist.” It originated in the blog combox of my paper, Atheists, Miracles, & the Problem of Evil: Contradictions. ***** When atheists talk science, no miracles are permitted or even imaginable. But when they talk problem of evil or getting evidence for God that even they will accept, the... Read more
“Anthrotheist” (words in blue below) responded to my paper, Miracles, Materialism, & Premises: Dialogue w Atheist. This continues our discussion. He has been perfectly congenial and a worthy dialogue partner for at least eight months now. ***** It occurs to me, after taking some time to think about your responses, that I had missed a critical assumption underlying my biases (which are surely shared by many atheists and secularists): if every phenomenon has a natural cause, that cause can be investigated... Read more
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