A Catholic correspondent wrote to me:*The person with whom I am debating is Jim McCarthy, author of The Gospel According to Rome. He quotes Dogmatic Theology for the Laity by Matthias Premm as follows, It is universally accepted dogma of the Catholic Church that man, in union with the grace of the Holy Spirit must merit heaven by his good works . . . we can actually merit heaven as our reward . . . Heaven must be fought for; we have to... Read more
Craig Kott was a friend of mine at the non-denominational, evangelical Arminian church that I used to attend (1980-1982, 1986-1989). His words will be in blue. ***** I agree that there must be some fundamental philosophical difference between us which is causing us to see things so differently . . . Good. On that, at least, we are in full agreement. Let me make this plain: the requirement that I must DO ANYTHING (whether it’s lighting candles before St. Dionysus, or... Read more
. . . and a bit of unsolicited advice to young couples, if I may . . . Today is our 34th anniversary. I wrote this 14 years ago on our 20th anniversary. ***** Twenty years! It’s unbelievable how one’s perspective of time changes as you get into your 40s. Twenty years now seems like five did when I was 20 or 25. I think it is neat that today it is a sunny, gorgeous fall day in the Detroit... Read more
Trust is an important element of faith, but faith cannot be reduced to it. It is the constant Protestant reductionism and either/or mentality that we object to. See: The Catholic Encyclopedia: “Faith”. Excerpt: In the New Testament the meanings “to believe” and “belief”, for pisteon and pistis, come to the fore; in Christ’s speech, pistis frequently means “trust”, but also “belief” (cf. Matthew 8:10). In Acts it is used objectively of the tenets of the Christians, but is often to be rendered “belief” (cf. 17:31; 20:21; 26:8). In... Read more
In became aware of a post by a man, Michael Boyle, who recently left the Catholic Church for Anglicanism, entitled, “For the Letter Kills, but the Spirit Gives Life” (10-5-18). He writes (mentioning yours truly): In the last week, I have found articles from two writers who I have discussed in these electronic pages–Melinda Selmys and Damon Linker–announcing that they are leaving the Roman Catholic Church. While there are differences in the rationales offered by both for their decisions, I... Read more
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 also made a general statement on 6-22-17: “In this blog, I’ve responded to many Christian arguments . . . Christians’ arguments are easy to refute . . . I’ve heard the good stuff, and it’s not very... Read more
This is a little spontaneous exchange with my atheist friend, Anthrotheist (his words in blue). He was initially responding under an atheist’s post, “12 Times I Felt The Christian Love.” It detailed the very worst sort of (real or imagined) Christian / “Christian” behavior (venomous hatred, anti-gay [person] filth, etc.). I thoroughly agreed with the point of this article in the combox. ***** I’m more frightened by the possibility that some people really would be rape-happy murder-monsters if they didn’t... Read more
I received notice of a reply to a comment of mine made on Bob Seidensticker’s rabidly anti-theist / anti-Christian blog, Cross Examined. I had written over there on 8-21-18, replying to Bob: “If you think I’m a troll, then ban me, since you say you have banned dozens of people. What stops you?” So today, “BeeryUSA” replied (link): It’s no wonder that Dave Armstrong, a guy who bans anyone who disagrees with him, thinks that others should do... Read more
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 also made a general statement on 6-22-17: “In this blog, I’ve responded to many Christian arguments . . . Christians’ arguments are easy to refute . . . I’ve heard the good stuff, and it’s not very good.” He... Read more
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 also made a general statement on 6-22-17: “In this blog, I’ve responded to many Christian arguments . . . Christians’ arguments are easy to refute . . . I’ve heard the good stuff, and it’s not very good.” He... Read more
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