G. K. Chesterton in 1919 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (1-25-91) How does a Catholic respond to the astonishing and widespread displays of disinformation, and often sheer malice, such as we see in anti-Catholic rhetoric? We shall take a look at some of the classic examples from great Catholic writers: 1. Archbishop Fulton Sheen There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly... Read more
Brass baptismal font (1590) in “St. Stephen” Lutheran church in Helmsted, Germany. Photo by “Times” (5-17-10) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license] *** Baptismal Ecumenism * “Baptism constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.” — (Catechism of the Catholic Church; 1271). * “That the mystical body of Christ and the Catholic Church in communion with Rome are one and the same thing, is a doctrine based on revealed truth…” – (Pope Pius XII,... Read more
Straw man fallacy, anyone? Photograph by DomenicBlair (6-28-16) [Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons license] ***** I posted an article called “A Biblical Approach to Other Religions” at National Catholic Register (8-9-17). In response, Oakes Spalding from the reactionary Tenth Crusade website posted the critical pseudo-“review”, “Can somebody explain this Dave Armstrong article to me?” (8-9-17). I was more than happy to grant his wish in the combox, and to respond to the host of distortions and false assertions therein. Misunderstandings of these... Read more
Jesus and the Centurion (c. 1571), by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588). Jesus was quite “ecumenical” with those completely outside the Jewish faith. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This is a good dialogue with a Protestant friend, Dustin Buck Lattimore, from my Facebook page. His words will be italicized. ***** How are they [the Orthodox] not “separated brethren” when they deny all of the Catholic particulars concerning the papacy? I wonder if we (Protestants) will achieve an equal level of friendliness 500 years... Read more
Nuclear weapon test Romeo on Bikini atoll: part of Operation Castle. (27 March 1954) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union. — John F. Kennedy, 10-22-62 Note how he said that nuclear attacks not only against the US, but any nation... Read more
St. Augustine, by Antonio Rodríguez (1636-1691) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-1-03) *** For preliminaries concerning my methodology and the burden of proof for showing if a Church Father believed in sola Scriptura, see my paper, Church Fathers & Sola Scriptura. St. Augustine’s words will be in blue. *** Anti-Catholic evangelical apologist Jason Engwer produced the following words of St. Augustine, to “prove” that he believed in sola Scriptura: In order to leave room for such profitable discussions of difficult questions, there is a... Read more
St. John Chrysostom (early 11th century Byzantine), from Hosios Loukas Monastery, Boeotia, Greece [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-1-03) *** For preliminaries concerning my methodology and the burden of proof for showing if a Church Father believed in sola Scriptura, see my paper, Church Fathers & Sola Scriptura. St. John Chrysostom’s words will be in blue. Evangelical Protestant / Anti-Catholic apologist Jason Engwer’s words will be in green. *** But John Chrysostom said that each individual should read scripture and interpret it for himself: “Let... Read more
Siegfried leaves Brünnhilde in search of adventure (1911), by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** This is from a private correspondence with a very friendly and fair-minded atheist, who goes by the nickname, “Comrade Carrot-Blog Vegetarian.” He has agreed that it would be made public. Unlike the vast majority of atheists I have met online, he is actually curious about my spiritual journey, minus any hint of condescension or the usual atheist views of Christians (that we are ignorant, anti-science,... Read more
Photograph by “Imaresz” (7-5-13) [Pixabay / Pixabay license] *** “Ficino” is an atheist, former Catholic, and all-around interesting fellow. This exchange occurred underneath my blog post about sehnsucht. His words will be in blue. ***** Oh again. Do we all desire, as the outermost sphere of the heaven, itself divine and itself eternally in motion, desires the unmoved mover, as the earthly lover desires the beloved from across the agora? Desires the unmoved mover, which thinks nothing but its own... Read more
My very good friend John McAlpine (left), sponsoring my reception into the Catholic Church on 8 February 1991. He had the most personal influence in my conversion. *** [transcribed on 12 January 1999, from the radio interview of 8 September 1997] *** Al Kresta, talk show host (more info. below), is also the author of Why Do Catholics Genuflect? (2002), Why Are Catholics So Concerned About Sin? (2005), and Dangers to the Faith (2012). ***** Introduction I consider myself (in apologetic matters) primarily a... Read more
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