This is my own original draft for a chapter that was to appear in my book, The One-Minute Apologist (2007). It’s very different from the final draft, so that it amounts to an alternate approach to arguing the Catholic position. ***** MARY * Calling Mary “Mother of God” makes her greater than God * How can someone be greater or older than God? It makes no sense! ***** Initial Reply * The title “Mother of God” (Greek, Theotokos, or “God-bearer”) refers to the indisputable... Read more
This is an installment of a series of replies (see the Introduction and Master List) to much of Book IV (Of the Holy Catholic Church) of Institutes of the Christian Religion, by early Protestant leader John Calvin (1509-1564). I utilize the public domain translation of Henry Beveridge, dated 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin; available online. Calvin’s words will be in blue. All biblical citations (in my portions) will be from RSV unless otherwise noted. Related reading from yours truly: Biblical Catholic Answers for John Calvin (2010 book:... Read more
This is an installment of a series of replies (see the Introduction and Master List) to much of Book IV (Of the Holy Catholic Church) of Institutes of the Christian Religion, by early Protestant leader John Calvin (1509-1564). I utilize the public domain translation of Henry Beveridge, dated 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin; available online. Calvin’s words will be in blue. All biblical citations (in my portions) will be from RSV unless otherwise noted. Related reading from yours truly: Biblical Catholic Answers for John Calvin (2010 book:... Read more
The latest tempest in a teapot is the claim that Pope Francis supposedly denied the Immaculate Conception of Mary. It’s nonsense, and ably dealt with by my friend, Fr. Matthew Schneider, in his article, The Pope Didn’t Deny the Immaculate Conception. Anyone can read his reasoning there, but I’d like to highlight the quotations from Pope Francis that Fr. Matthew found: In view of this motherhood, Mary was preserved from original sin, from that fracture in communion with God, with others... Read more
This was a blog dialogue, underneath my post, Baptized for the Dead: THE “UnProtestant” Verse (1 Cor 15:29). My dialogue opponent, Rod Bristol, started making his argument about how Paul supposedly allows all these different doctrines. At length, I discovered that he rejected both original sin and eternal hellfire: thus illustrating perfectly that if one goes down this road of “pluralism” and “secondary doctrines” that one will end up denying clear biblical teachings and Christian orthodoxy. His words will be in blue.... Read more
These lively exchanges occurred on my Facebook page underneath a link to my post, Baptized for the Dead: THE “UnProtestant” Verse (1 Cor 15:29). Both men are Lutheran pastors (LCMS). Ken Howes’ words will be in blue; Eric Phillips’ in green. ***** He [Presbyterian Matt Slick, commenting on the passage] gives it the old college try, and e for effort, but I find it quite a stretch. In context, Paul is not rhetorically disagreeing with the practice he mentions in passing,... Read more
[from my 2004 book, The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants] 1 Corinthians 15:29 [RSV] “Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?” Many Protestant commentators (I will provide examples shortly) think this is one of the most obscure passages in the New Testament, even the single most mysterious passage. As such, it is particularly relevant for our study. ... Read more
As a native of Detroit and lifelong resident in the city or close suburbs (I currently live right outside the southwest side of the city, where I grew up), there are things we are extremely proud of, music-wise: Motown (of course), Aretha Franklin (the Queen of Soul), John Lee Hooker, and Bob Seger (born in 1945), recent long-overdue inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eminem and Kid Rock? Yuck! We knew of Seger’s greatness ten years before... Read more
I’d like to call attention to Bob Seger’s early work, that is, unfortunately, very unknown outside of my home town of Detroit (where we knew of his music and owned the record albums in the late 60s and early 70s; he even outsold the Beatles in metro Detroit). Most of his pre-1975 work isn’t even available on CD (amazingly enough, for one who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). He hit it big nationwide only in 1976,... Read more
Introductory Thoughts * This is intended as an overview of several interesting tidbits (some of which I discovered last night) concerning Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). I am an unashamed, enthusiastic admirer of 19th-century German-Austrian romantic orchestral music (Wagner, Beethoven, and Mahler being my musical “trinity”). I played trombone in the orchestra and band (1973-1976) at Cass Technical High School in Detroit: a public school that has been nationally renowned for its musical program. Bruckner can plausibly be regarded as the last of the great... Read more
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