Luther & Melanchthon: Bigamy of Philip of Hesse is Biblical

Last updated on: November 2, 2017 at 4:09 pm By Dave Armstrong

(edited on 2-14-07 and abridged and reformatted on 11-2-17) *** From: Hartmann Grisar, S. J.: Luther (translated by E. M. Lamond, edited by Luigi Cappadelta, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1915) [these excerpts are from Vol. 4 of 6, pp. 3-30, 36-63, 71-79. It is available online. Luther’s words will be in blue; Melanchthon’s in green.; Philip of Hesse’s in purple. I haven’t included elaborate source footnoting to German collections; readers may seek out those in the linked book... Read more

Homeschooling: Response to Kevin Johnson’s Criticisms

Last updated on: November 2, 2017 at 12:21 pm By Dave Armstrong

(7-12-05) *** This is a reply to a blog post by Reformed Protestant Kevin Johnson, entitled, “The education God gave…” His words will be in blue. I have cited his article in its entirety. My wife homeschools our four children, and has done so for the last ten years [now, 22 years], since our oldest child (born in 1991) was old enough to be taught. *** It is interesting of course that many if not most “anti” public school advocates are... Read more

Was Luther a Neurotic? Protestant Biographers Say Yes

Last updated on: November 2, 2017 at 12:22 pm By Dave Armstrong

(4-28-10) *** 1) Mark U. Edwards, Jr., in Donald K. McKim, The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003), p. 205: Most scholars freely concede the unusual and perhaps even abnormal aspects of Luther’s personality, without accepting the diagnosis that attributes these traits to an underlying psychosis. By most standards, Luther was a neurotic man who, later in life, suffered from bouts of depression. Given all the evidence of productivity, clarity of thought, and ability to work with... Read more

Blaming God for the Holocaust (+ Other Such Bum Raps)

Last updated on: November 3, 2017 at 1:45 pm By Dave Armstrong

Raymond Viernes: All suffering is a God given opportunity for individual sanctification. Blessings abound. Eric Taylor: Crippling depression, crippling polio, car accidents, mass shootings. Let’s not forget atomic fire, holocausts, Holocausts, and parents who hate and alienate their children because they think Jesus told them to on account of their “choices.” “Here! You sixty people, you get dead. The rest of you miserable bastards? Well, this is your chance to clean up and get right with me. Feel the holy!... Read more

Critique of Ten Exaggerated Claims of the “Reformation”

Last updated on: November 1, 2017 at 2:15 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is a reply to “10 Great Consequences of the Protestant Reformation” by Andrew Dragos (Seedbed, 10-9-17). I wrote it on 31 October 2017: the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Revolution. Andrew’s words will be in blue. ***** “Ecumenical Introduction”: Before all the disagreement I will express below, I’d like to actually begin on a positive, conciliatory note. None of this honest disagreement with grand Protestant claims should be taken to mean that I somehow despise Protestants on a personal level. In fact... Read more

Martin Luther’s Outrageous Views Regarding Women

Last updated on: November 20, 2021 at 2:40 pm By Dave Armstrong

(2-22-10) *** The following are all Luther’s words. The excerpts from Table-Talk (“TR” or Tischreden in German) were taken down by others; thus they are in a bit of a different category from his other writings, but nevertheless, Luther scholars regard what is found in Table-Talk as his words. Some might be jokes; who knows? But even jokes can be in bad taste, and reveal underlying unsavory opinions. * * * * * Men have broad chests and narrow hips;... Read more

Luther on the Deaths of Zwingli, St. Thomas More, & St. John Fisher

Last updated on: November 1, 2017 at 10:20 am By Dave Armstrong

(11-30-07; expanded on 10-31-17) *** The heroic, inspiring stories of St. Thomas More (1478-1535) and St. John Fisher (1469-1535; the only bishop in England who resisted Henry VIII’s tyranny and butcheries) are well known, so I won’t recount them here. Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) was Luther’s fellow Protestant “reformer”, who differed from him especially on the question of the nature of the Eucharist; holding to mere symbolism, whereas Luther accepted the Real (Substantial) Presence. Protestant historian Philip Schaff has written about... Read more

Martin Luther and Lutherans on Mortal & Venial Sins

Last updated on: October 31, 2017 at 9:51 am By Dave Armstrong

Martin Luther . . . open, mortal sins, such as adultery, homicide, fornication, theft, robbery, usury, slander, etc. The purpose to avoid these sins belongs properly to sacramental Confession, and to confession before God it belongs at any moment after the sins have been committed; according to the word of Ecclesiasticus, “My son, hast thou sinned? Do so no more, but ask pardon for thy former sins,” [Ecclus. 21:1] and again, “Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord.” [Ecclus.... Read more

Does God Ever Judge People by Sending Disease?

Last updated on: October 30, 2017 at 1:29 pm By Dave Armstrong

Yes He does: God sent the plague of boils to the Egyptians: Exodus 9:8-11 (RSV) And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of ashes from the kiln, and let Moses throw them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. [9] And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” [10] So they took ashes from the kiln,... Read more

Regensburg (1541) & Poissy (1561): Protestant “Ecumenism”?

Last updated on: October 28, 2017 at 11:45 am By Dave Armstrong

(4-27-04) *** Catholic historian Warren Carroll writes: Reform-minded Cardinal Contarini attended the Diet of Regensburg and its religious discussions, and managed to obtain agreement on both sides on a statement on justification, but only by using a new concept of “duplicate justice,” which recognized that God gave justifying grace to men in baptism, but also stated that “a yet higher justice, that of Christ Himself, becomes necessary in order to attain a perfect renewal, this latter being given and imputed... Read more