Words of “drunkentune” will be in blue. Rated “R” for subject matter; not for the faint of heart. Don’t come complaining to me about the paper; those of you who don’t care for the discussion. Just stop reading now if you are in that category. * * * * * How is homosexuality (not homosexual sex) “deficient”? It’s an arbitrary distinction that you make. Mere love between the same gender is fine; nothing wrong with that. But eros (of the four loves: the... Read more
[see book and purchase information; only $2.99 for e-book] I. DEFINITIONS 1. Justification: Catholic Definitions A. Ludwig Ott (On Trent) “On the negative side it [justification, according to the Council’s teaching] is a true eradication of sin; on the positive side it is a supernatural sanctifying and renewal of the inner man . . . The Reformers’ teaching of the merely external imputation of Christ’s justice was rejected, by the Council of Trent, as heretical.” (3:250) B. Servant of God... Read more
In my paper, Mary Mediatrix vs. Jesus Christ the Sole Mediator?, I wrote: My argument (in the paper, Mary Mediatrix: A Biblical & Theological Primer must not be taken to prove more than it intends to prove. It was basically an exercise in creating what I call a plausibility structure and to show that the notion of Mediatrix is not immediately able to be dismissed as contrary to Scripture in the sense that it blatantly contradicts it. In no way do I claim that Scripture Alone proves Mary... Read more
1 Corinthians 3:9 (RSV) For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. The following is from John Calvin’s commentary on Corinthians: 9. For we are fellow-laborers with God. Here is the best argument. It is the Lord’s work that we are employed in, and it is to him that we have devoted our labors: hence, as he is faithful and just, he will not disappoint us of our reward. That man, accordingly, is mistaken who looks to... Read more
The position of many Protestants (particularly many Calvinists) on this issue is hopelessly contradictory and incoherent, with regard to the soteriology of Arminianism and/or Pelagianism and semi-Pelagianism. The definition of the latter is as follows (from two highly authoritative non-Catholic sources): [Semi-Pelagianism], while not denying the necessity of Grace for salvation, maintained that the first steps towards the Christian life were ordinarily taken by the human will and that Grace supervened only later. (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by F.... Read more
Dialogue from a public Internet Discussion Board with a Protestant, whose words are in blue. * * * * *If the Holy Spirit “inspires,” “enables,” “prompts,” “causes,” “initiates” (or whatever synonymous term you like) our good works, how then, can it be said (of Catholic theology) that they originate with us? All we’re saying is that the human being in good graces can cooperate with God. This is — it seems to me — an explicit, undeniable, Pauline doctrine. God begins... Read more
Atheist and anti-theist Bob Seidensticker, who was “raised Presbyterian”, 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: “Christians’ arguments are easy to refute . . . I’ve heard the good stuff, and it’s not very good.” He added in the combox: “If I’ve misunderstood the Christian... 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: “Christians’ arguments are easy to refute . . . I’ve heard the good stuff, and it’s not very good.” He added in the combox: “If I’ve misunderstood the Christian position or Christian arguments, point... 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
The argument (critical of either God or the Bible) runs as follows: 1) God can’t command the killing of children because that is an absolute evil. 2) Yet Old Testament passages refer to this kind of thing. 3) From that we conclude that either A) God is evil, or B) the Bible is in error and is being inaccurate about what God has done and His good and benevolent and all-loving nature. I’ve written about this general issue many times,... Read more
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