***** All biblical citations from RSV. ***** Nehemiah 9:20 Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them, . . . [teaches us] Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. [gives us understanding] Job 33:4 The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. [is the Creator] Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from... Read more
This is a reply to the first section of Jason’s article, “The False Doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration” (Dec. 1998). His words will be in blue. I use RSV for Bible citations. ***** If baptism is a requirement for salvation… Why do so many passages refer to salvation through faith, but mention nothing of baptism (John 5:24, John 6:29, Acts 13:39, Acts 16:31, Romans 1:16, Romans 4:5, Galatians 3:24, 1 Peter 1:5, etc.)? Because they’re not required to. Not every passage... Read more
+ His Belief in Her Virginity During Christ’s Birth (In Partu) As anyone who has followed my apologetics career would know, I’ve done a great deal of research on Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, including writing a book about him, and editing another consisting of his “traditional” or “Catholic” utterances. In the early 1990s, right after I became a Catholic and immediately launched into Catholic apologetics and study of Luther and the Protestant Revolt, I sought citations of Luther... Read more
Regeneration is Only the Beginning . . . [all verses RSV] Transformation / New Life / Newness / Renewal Luke 5:37-38 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. [38] But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. (cf. Mt 9:17; Mk 2:21-22) Romans 6:4, 6 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so... Read more
[all passages RSV] Philippians 2:12-15 . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; [13] for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. [14] Do all things without grumbling or questioning, [15] that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 and may the... Read more
This is a common “slogan” among Protestants, in attempting to make the point that we are all totally depraved (what Calvinists believe), or fallen to such an extent that we can never even possibly rise above sin. Catholics already agree that no one can save themselves (over against the heresy of Pelagianism). What I’m particularly referring to, however, is the notion that no one ever has, or could, perfectly keep the Mosaic law (with its 613 commandments). Protestants then go... Read more
C. S. Lewis, the famous Anglican apologist, once wrote: The very possibility of progress demands that there should be an unchanging element . . . the positive historical statements made by Christianity have the power . . . of receiving, without intrinsic change, the increasing complexity of meaning which increasing knowledge puts into them. (God in the Dock, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1970, 44-47) The Catholic Church, in agreement with Lewis, defines doctrinal development as a growth of depth and clarity... Read more
In October 2024, I started regularly appearing in videos (usually posted on Fridays) on the YouTube channel Catholic Bible Highlights, hosted by my friend Kenny Burchard, a former pastor. We discuss “distinctive” Catholic doctrines in a casual, friendly, spontaneous fashion, in an effort to help proclaim and defend the Catholic faith. Our goal is to demonstrate that Catholicism is fully supported by the Bible — and Church history — in many ways that usually surprise Protestants and may delight Catholics.... Read more
Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-10, 13; 6:22; 8:13, 17; 10:16; Hebrews 11:8-9 On 10-8-24, I published my article, Bible vs. “Faith Alone”: 100 Proofs (100 Bible Passages On Catholic Justification, Sanctification, and Faith + Works [from 22 out of 27 NT Books]: All Disproving Protestant “Faith Alone” Soteriology). Later, I got the idea of inquiring as to how John Calvin (1509-1564), one of the two the most influential founders of Protestantism, along with Martin Luther, would react to these passages in his Commentaries (and... Read more
This exchange took place in the combox of the video, “Did Martin Luther Remove Books from the Bible? With James Swan” (Weidner Institute, 10-24-24). The words of my dialogue opponent (“frennynikki2447“) will be in blue. ***** I’ve noticed this among Romanists since my early teenage years. . . . Are you a Genevist or a Wittenberger or Henry VIIIist? Hello there, I haven’t heard those designations before though I can get their gists by “Genevist” you mean “Calvinist”, “Wittenberger” a... Read more
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