Luther on Early Lutheran Degeneracy & Bad Witness

Last updated on: December 20, 2017 at 12:07 pm By Dave Armstrong

Documentation of Luther’s opinion of the early Lutherans, during the first period of Protestantism. I think causes of historical events are always extraordinarily complex, just as causes of human behavior in general are. That has always been my position, as long as I can remember. I despise simplistic attempts of positing single causes for things as obviously complex as our topic of the social / theological situation of Germany in the 16th century. All the cited words below are Luther’s... Read more

Dialogue on Prayer to the Saints and Hades / Sheol

Last updated on: December 19, 2017 at 1:13 pm By Dave Armstrong

Why do Catholics “pray to saints”? Is this “worship”? Does it imply that departed saints have “godlike” powers? These are some of the questions dealt with in a friendly dialogue with two Protestant friends, on my Facebook page. Bethany Kerr’s words will be in blue; Mike Grubb’s in green. *** It doesn’t bother me to have beautiful artwork depicting biblical figures (or even Christ). It’s just hard for me to understand what seems to be the cognitive dissonance of people... Read more

Did Luther Regret Anything About His “Reformation”?

Last updated on: December 19, 2017 at 11:16 am By Dave Armstrong

Luther never said that the “Reformation” as a whole was a failure, or shouldn’t have happened, but he said quite a bit about how the new Protestants were miserably failing in manifesting the superiority of their system over Catholicism. The following is taken from the book by Henry O’Connor, S. J.: Luther’s Own Statements Concerning His Teaching and Its Results (New York: Benzinger Brothers, 1884, second edition). The author provides a wealth of information, straight from Luther’s primary works in German (translated... Read more

Difficulties of Authority: Luther, Calvin, & Protestantism

Last updated on: December 19, 2017 at 11:18 am By Dave Armstrong

Catholics hold that Scripture is a fairly clear document and able to be understood by the average reader, but also that the Church is needed to provide a doctrinal norm (an overall framework) for determining proper biblical interpretation (specifically, for “vetoing” that interpretation which is erroneous because it leads to doctrinal error). Both Luther and Calvin underemphasize the guidance of the Church in understanding the Bible and assert the perspicuity, or clearness, and self-interpreting nature of Scripture, in terms of... Read more

Quiz on Early Protestant / “Reformation” Eucharistic Harmony

Last updated on: December 15, 2017 at 6:31 pm By Dave Armstrong

Who said this?: 1) It is enough for me that Christ’s blood is present; let it be with the wine as God wills. Before I would drink mere wine with the Enthusiasts, I would rather have pure blood with the Pope. And this?: 2) . . . Zwingli, Karlstadt, Oecolampadius [Protestants] . . . called him a baked God, a God made of bread, a God made of wine, a roasted God, etc. They called us cannibals, blood-drinkers, man-eaters .... Read more

Did God Command Jephthah to Burn His Daughter?

Last updated on: December 15, 2017 at 2:22 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is an exchange from the Coming Home Network forum, with a Catholic who was troubled by difficult Old Testament “genocide” and “commanded killing” passages. His words will be in blue. * * * * * I am a Catholic who is coming back to his faith, that being said I am having some trouble with certain passages in the Bible where God commands Israel to wipe out all the people of Amalek (essentially Genocide) 1 Sam. 15:2-3. Good question, and... Read more

Dialogue on Development of Doctrine (Esp. the Papacy)

Last updated on: December 14, 2017 at 4:32 pm By Dave Armstrong

vs. Protestant apologist and anti-Catholic polemicist Jason Engwer The following is a reply to Protestant [anti-Catholic] apologist and polemicist Jason Engwer’s paper, A Response to Roman Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong Regarding Development of Doctrine. His piece purports to be (I think?) a critique of my paper, “Refutation of William Webster’s Fundamental Misunderstanding of Development of Doctrine.” Mr. Engwer’s words shall be in blue. I have somewhat abridged the original exchange, which was extremely lengthy. *** I. Preliminaries It is unclear whether Mr.... Read more

“Romanists” Killed 100 Million? David T. King & Other Geniuses

Last updated on: December 14, 2017 at 1:57 pm By Dave Armstrong

“Many historians on both sides have said Rome killed as many as 35 million, others say 1/10th of a billion.” This pathetic exchange took place in the public chat room of the website (Alpha and Omega Ministries) of the prominent anti-Catholic polemicist James White, on 29 June 2000. I think it splendidly illustrates the sad, deluded, bigoted tendencies of many anti-Catholics. When I simply asked for references for the ridiculous historical numerical claims, I was promptly kicked out of the forum... Read more

The Inquisition Killed 4.9 Million? (John Bugay’s Whoppers)

Last updated on: December 13, 2017 at 6:17 pm By Dave Armstrong

This was drawn from a discussion on the Inquisition (that is, a gross caricature of the real thing) in a combox for the Reformed Protestant Green Baggins website (starting at comment #218). The words of John Bugay: now a regular contributor at the notoriously anti-Catholic and perpetually fact-challenged Boors All blog, will be in blue. *** The same famous Oxford reference work from which Catholic apologists draw your “33,000 denominations” number lists the Roman Catholic Church as among the greatest “persecutors,” nearly 5 million over the... Read more

“Working Out” Salvation & Protestant Soteriology (vs. Ken Temple)

Last updated on: December 13, 2017 at 1:11 pm By Dave Armstrong

Philippians 2:12b-13 (RSV) . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. My original (non-satirical) comment about the passage in the other paper was: “If someone says that God is mentioned in the second part, the Calvinist ‘monergist’ still has to explain how a human being can participate at all in what only God can do (according go the monergist).” Blessed John Henry Cardinal... Read more