Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #7: Unbiblical / Non-Patristic Purgatory?

Last updated on: October 19, 2017 at 7:08 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 2: “Tradition and the Traditions” — after railing against supposedly untethered, unchecked, unbiblical Catholic traditions — states about purgatory in particular: To rectify this considerable deficit in terms of both earlier church history... Read more

Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #6: Assumption, Queen Redux

Last updated on: October 19, 2017 at 4:37 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 16: “Mary Again: From Dogmatic definition to Co-Redeemer?,” makes the usual objections to Mary’s Assumption being a late-arriving doctrine among the Church fathers. Yes; it developed slowly and relatively late, but this is not some... Read more

Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #4: Mary “Not a Genuine Human Being”?

Last updated on: October 19, 2017 at 10:34 am By Dave Armstrong

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 16: “Mary Again: From Dogmatic definition to Co-Redeemer?,” argues that “if Mary lacked original sin and therefore, lacked a carnal nature, then she was like no other human being who ever lived.” This... Read more

Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #5: The Church “Gave” the Bible?

Last updated on: October 19, 2017 at 10:36 am By Dave Armstrong

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 2: “Tradition and the Traditions” states: J. I Packer [wrote] “The Church no more gave us the New Testament canon than Sir Isaac Newton gave us the force of gravity . . .... Read more

Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #3: Necessity of Immaculate Mary?

Last updated on: October 19, 2017 at 10:52 am By Dave Armstrong

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Kenneth Collins, in his chapter 15: “Mary: Why She Matters,” noted that St. Ambrose: . . . taught that Mary’s virginity, at least in some respect, guaranteed the sinlessness of Christ. So in this configuration, virginity and holiness were... Read more

Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #2: Queen of Heaven

Last updated on: October 23, 2017 at 3:31 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). ***** Collins, in his chapter 15: “Mary: Why She Matters,” note that Catholics started referring to Mary as the Queen of Heaven. In footnote 33 for the chapter, readers are referred to “pagan use” of the term in Jeremiah... Read more

Armstrong vs. Collins & Walls #1: Newman’s Mariology

Last updated on: October 20, 2017 at 1:20 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is one of my many critiques of the book entitled, Roman but Not Catholic: What Remains at Stake 500 Years after the Reformation, by evangelical Protestant theologian Kenneth J. Collins and Anglican philosopher Jerry L. Walls (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017). Jerry Walls wrote about his co-author, Kenneth Collins (p. xxii): We have heard from lots of people who have read Newman’s famous essay on doctrinal development and found his arguments compelling. I thought it might be helpful to hear... Read more

Merit & Sanctification: Martin Luther’s Point of View

Last updated on: October 17, 2017 at 12:55 pm By Dave Armstrong

(11-10-14) *** Merit [L]ove grows by works of love, and man becomes better . . . (The 95 Theses, #44; 31 October 1517; translated by C. M. Jacobs, 1915) Sin and evil inclination must be recognized as truly sin; that it does not harm us is to be ascribed to the grace of God, Who will not count it against us if only we strive against it in many trials, works, and sufferings, . . . (Treatise on Baptism, Nov.... Read more

Pope St. John XXIII & Pope Benedict XVI on “Prophets of Doom”

Last updated on: October 15, 2017 at 5:48 pm By Dave Armstrong

Pope Benedict XVI: Statement to the Seminarians of Rome: 8 February 2013: The second term: inheritance. It is a very important word in the Old Testament, where Abraham is told that his seed will inherit the earth, and this was always the promise for his descendants. You will have the earth, you will be heirs of the earth. In the New Testament, this word becomes a word for us; we are heirs, not of a specific country, but of the... Read more

Dialogues on the Sexual Revolution & Weinstein’s Victims

Last updated on: October 16, 2017 at 12:47 pm By Dave Armstrong

These occurred on my Facebook page with Catholic Deacon Steven D. Greydanus (words in green), and atheist Jon (words in blue). *** My thinking about this issue is built upon two planks: 1. The sexual revolution has had incalculably disastrous effects. 2. Simply “going back” is neither possible nor desirable. There is a reason the 1950s led to the 1960s. You can draw a straight line from Kinsey in the 1940s back to cultural pathologies around sex in the 1890s.... Read more