Catholics’ Underemphasis on Justification by Faith

Last updated on: August 28, 2018 at 11:27 pm By Dave Armstrong

It’s true that Catholics have heard this message of justification by faith relatively less than Protestants (a lot less, in fact). I think this is because of the natural human tendency (which I’ve often noted) of dichotomizing things and going to extremes in overreaction to opponents. Why this happened in history is obvious: 1) Protestants went too far and adopted faith alone (sola fide), so Catholics — in practice — tended to go too far in the other direction and overemphasize the importance of... Read more

Romans 1:26-27 Condemns Homosexual Sex

Last updated on: August 28, 2018 at 1:22 pm By Dave Armstrong

Sorry to be so untrendy and unfashionable. I happen to believe in God’s inspired revelation; and I don’t “hate” anyone. I love all people, as a disciple of Jesus Christ. I hate sin and how it destroys lives and cultures and makes human beings miserable and despairing and without meaning in their lives. Folks may think they are “happy” for a while, in bondage to sin (of whatever serious type), but it won’t last. They’ll end up broken, and in... Read more

Abp. Vigano / Pope Francis Crisis: Three Current Reactions

Last updated on: August 27, 2018 at 8:18 pm By Dave Armstrong

1. “The pope is more plausibly and likely guilty than innocent, and I strongly believe he is guilty.” 2. “The pope is more plausibly and likely innocent than guilty, and I strongly believe he is innocent.” 3. The charges are worthy of serious consideration. Wait till a full and impartial investigation is made to make a judgment. Every man — even a lowly and/or despised pope! — deserves the right to defend himself (and/or to be defended). Innocent until proven guilty.... Read more

Does the Bible Condemn Homosexual Sex?

Last updated on: December 9, 2019 at 1:01 pm By Dave Armstrong

Photo credit: The Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah (1852), by John Martin (1789-1854) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] This article has been re-uploaded under the title, Does the Bible Prohibit Homosexual (Non-Procreative) Sex? ***** Read more

Novelist Anne Rice’s Deconversion: Straw Men & “Baby / Bathwater”

Last updated on: August 24, 2018 at 3:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

[see Anne Rice’s website and Wikipedia entry]. According to the latter: “On April 14, 2013, Rice stated in a Facebook post that she was a secular humanist. On July 28, 2014, Rice stated in a Facebook post that Christ is still central to her life, but not in the way he is presented by organized religion.” So we’re not talking about atheism, but rather, a strong rejection of Catholicism and institutional and doctrinal Christianity (using some of the arguments that atheists habitually use).] ***** I don’t read fiction... Read more

Is the Catholic Church “Against” Gay Priests?

Last updated on: August 25, 2018 at 9:35 am By Dave Armstrong

First of all, before I cite Church documents, I’d like to clarify as to what is meant and (especially) not meant by every respectable Catholic commentator I have seen who has noted that homosexuality is a statistically significant factor in the current sexual abuse scandals that are wreaking havoc in the Church. In our day and age everything is so polarized, and people so often jump to wrong conclusions about what someone is even maintaining in the first place, that a... Read more

Dialogue with Atheist Dr. Jim Arvo, on Deconversion

Last updated on: August 23, 2018 at 8:09 pm By Dave Armstrong

This exchange took place on the ExChristian.Net site, in response to my critique of the webmaster Dave Van Allen’s “anti-testimony.” Dr. Arvo’s words will be in blue. My older cited words will be in green. Dave Van Allen’s words will be in brown. * * * * * Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You start by responding to Dave’s comment “None of this proves or disproves Christianity…” with the statement “If such stories give no reason whatsoever to reject Christianity then (not to be insulting), I humbly submit: what good... Read more

Critiquing Atheist Deconversions = “Spiritual Predator”?

Last updated on: August 23, 2018 at 6:31 pm By Dave Armstrong

If one dares to critique an atheist’s “deconversion” from Christianity to atheism one will prove oneself (in the eyes of some – dunno how many) atheists, to be evil incarnate, the scum of the earth, and a most unsavory personage. “RubySera Martin”, a former Christian herself, leaves no stone unturned in savaging my person for this outlandishly evil sin that I have committed. The link to her post is now defunct, but I cited it in its entirety. RubySera’s words... Read more

Atheist Joe E. Holman’s Deconversion Story Critiqued

Last updated on: August 23, 2018 at 12:53 pm By Dave Armstrong

Joe E. Holman used to be a preacher in the fundamentalist Church of Christ denomination. He wrote about the reasons why he rejected Christianity and became an atheist in his story: “From Gospel Preacher to Good Atheist”. [the link is now defunct; see several references to Joe on the Debunking Christianity website]. I want to deal with one particular aspect of it, in order to illustrate how fallacious reasoning on one point can lead to adoption of further errors —... Read more

Ecclesiological Certainty (?) & the “Infallibility Regress”

Last updated on: August 23, 2018 at 11:59 am By Dave Armstrong

The so-called “infallibility regress” argument breaks down insofar its tacit assumption that no one can determine (not with finality or “authority”) what the Church is. It is essentially a proposal of radical skepticism or rationalism at the expense (to a degree) of supernatural faith and revelation: it amounts (when closely scrutinized) to a belief that God doesn’t have the power to grant one the faith and grace of finding the apostolic Christian Church, so that he can in turn discover... Read more