2017-09-15T18:00:50-04:00

*** (2-16-06) *** The following is an edited, abridged edition of the chapter by the same name (with a few additional non-chapter citations), by Protestant church historian Roland Bainton, who is most well-known for his famous biography of Martin Luther, Here I Stand (1950). It comes from the book, Studies on the Reformation (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963). The chapter in that work runs from pages 20-45. I shall cite from the following pages (in order of citations): 211-212, Foreword (no page number), 21-24, 26,... Read more

2017-11-05T16:38:35-04:00

Part One: Nominal Methodism, Occult, and the Seeds of a Serious Christian Commitment (1958 – early 1970s) This is the ten-part story of my complete religious history, from nominal Methodism (1958-1967), to the occult and practical atheism (1968-1976), through evangelical Protestantism, counter-cult, pro-life, and campus evangelist work (1977-1990), and finally on to the fullness of the Catholic faith  in 1991. It is found complete (75 pages) in my 2013 book, Catholic Converts and Conversion. See All Ten Parts: Part One: Nominal Methodism, Occult, and... Read more

2021-11-22T16:01:10-04:00

(originally written in 1991. Revised: 10-31-03 and 3-7-07. Greatly abridged and re-typeset on 9-14-17) * * * * * Disclaimer and statement of intent: Unfortunately, the religious “scandal score” needs to be evened up now and then, and the lesser-known “skeletons in the closet” need to be rescued from obscurity, surveyed, and exposed. I take no pleasure in “dredging up” these unsavory occurrences, but it is necessary for honest, fair historical appraisal. This does not mean that I have forsaken ecumenism,... Read more

2017-09-18T14:29:53-04:00

It isn't unusual for Protestants to think that the Catholic Church doesn't give a whit about what Scripture says. Read more

2020-09-09T11:08:05-04:00

1 Timothy 4:1-4 (RSV) Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, [2] through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, [3] who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [4] For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it... Read more

2017-09-12T17:37:38-04:00

* * *  (1-10-08) * * * I’ve noted in the past, Martin Luther’s utter disdain for the “sacramentarians”: people who denied the Real Presence in the Eucharist: folks like Zwingli and Oecolampadius. He thought they were damned. I just discovered today something I hadn’t noticed before: these Swiss “reformers” (along with comrade Martin Bucer) apparently had denied that Luther and his Lutheran comrades were Christians before Luther had made his negative judgment on them (thus, perhaps accounting for some of the... Read more

2017-09-12T17:33:46-04:00

* * * (2-22-06) * * * “CPA”‘s words will be in blue. Martin Luther’s words will be in green. He wrote about me (7-12-05): “Dave Armstrong is a former Protestant Catholic who is in fact blessedly free of the kind of “any enemy of Protestantism is a friend of mine” coalition-building . . . he’s pro-Catholic (naturally) without being anti-Protestant (or anti-Orthodox, for that matter).” * * * ***** Thanks for your (as always) thoughtful reply. I’ll just reply... Read more

2017-09-11T15:10:24-04:00

Photograph by Ally Aubrey (4-26-08) [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] * * * (2-21-04) * * * * * The frequent argument of Protestants on this score is that the Catholic Church makes a requirement out of something that Paul merely recommends. Catholics — so we are told — are guilty (once again) of smuggling in their “traditions of men” and (in this instance) their (alleged) “animus against sexuality and marriage, because virginity is so exalted in Catholicism,” etc.... Read more

2020-01-07T12:38:59-04:00

Portrait of John Calvin (1509–1564); anonymous, 1854 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * *  This article has been re-uploaded under the title, John Calvin and the Anti-Protestant Sodomy Rumor. *****   Read more

2021-11-20T15:34:54-04:00

The church is like a family. Our Lord said, "A man's foes will be those of his own household" (Matthew 10:36). Read more

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