I’m not a Greek scholar, but even St. Thomas Aquinas thought this argument (broadly considered) had force (as we shall see below), so I barge ahead and submit this to the reader’s consideration . . . ***** Luke 1:29 (RSV-CE) And he [the angel Gabriel] came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” I got to thinking today about other scriptural uses of the word, hail (chairō in Greek: Strong’s word #5463). As with most biblical Greek... Read more
This was with Tony Jiang: a non-Christian, and took place spontaneously on my Facebook page today. His words will be in blue. ***** It’s anti-traditional secularism, sexual “freedom”, and head-in-the-sand Marxist drivel that drives the Democrat Party. Yes, because Christian fundies think controlling people’s most private affairs is freedom. Can you elaborate? I don’t know how this applies to my point, and/or the [linked] article. I’m not a “fundamentalist”; never have been. I’m an orthodox Catholic and political conservative. You... Read more
This is a reply to the nicely provocative article, “Why No Roman Catholic Conversions to Protestant Churches?” (8-20-18). It was written by D. G. Hart, who blogs at Patheos in the Evangelical section, called Putting the “Protest” in Protestant. Hart teaches history at Hillsdale College in Michigan: a great politically and culturally conservative college, and is “currently finishing a book on conservative Roman Catholics and American exceptionalism.” His words will be in blue. ***** With the release of Pope Francis‘ letter... Read more
Words of the late Dr. Jan Schreurs will be in blue. ***** If you want a Biblical example, look at the story of Abraham about to kill Isaac (Gen. 22). God, of course, would not command Abraham to commit a sin. In a letter to a theologian, I entertained the following positions: (1) Child sacrifice was not a sin in those days; It was a sin under Old Testament Law, but this was before the Law was given to Moses. Abraham’s... Read more
From discussions in a forum devoted to the question of God’s existence: May 2001. Uploaded with full permission of Sue Strandberg (a very friendly, thoughtful, and impressive person), whose words will be in blue. ***** Hi, Dave; Welcome to the list. As you can tell, the volume of mail can get heavy at times. I began last summer trying to read each and every letter with careful attention: well, that soon went out the window. It’s enough if I can follow the threads that... Read more
Words of the friendly and civil atheist Gavin G. Young will be in blue. This took place in one of my blog comboxes. ***** Dave, are you familiar with what is called the problem of divine hiddenness? It is related to the problem of evil. Namely, if a loving personal god exists why has the god not revealed himself/herself to some people – including people why prayed to the god and called out to the god to provide evidence of the... Read more
Mary Hammond is a Catholic. She wrote all of the words below (save for a few on her page) on my own [public] Facebook page [see the entire unabridged discussion], in April 2017 [see also another related Facebook thread where she was active]. Her words will be in blue. ***** I put forth to you right now that Dave Armstrong, without regard to who trained the ass, educated the ass, is a reflection of exactly what’s wrong with the Catholic... Read more
Elsewhere, I have explained in great detail why I think that public oratorical debates between Catholics and anti-Catholics are unfruitful, unhelpful exercises, for many reasons. I think it is possible to overcome these pitfalls in written exchanges. My view of such public debates has remained constant for at least five years now. I refused “King James” White when he challenged me to a live oratorical formal debate in 1995 (yes, he asked me first — I have the snail mail... Read more
This is an exchange with Protestant “Realist1234” (Peter) in a combox on my blog. As of writing, he still hasn’t responded to my inquiring questions, over 18 hours. If he ever does respond, I will post it here, with my counter-reply. His words will be in blue. ***** The reason why Protestants like myself do not believe the wine and bread used in the Eucharist are not the actual blood and body of Jesus is not because we don’t believe that... Read more
Apostles Paul and Silas, Kings David and Saul, Prophets Daniel and Samuel, Patriarch Joseph Acts 16:29-31 (RSV) And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before [prospipto] Paul and Silas, [30] and brought them out and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” [31] And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Paul and Silas issue no rebuke or clarification: that they... Read more
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