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

Humanae Vitae (1968): Infallible Teaching Against Contraception

Last updated on: October 28, 2017 at 11:16 am By Dave Armstrong

(12-31-07) *** The teaching against contraception as a grave sin was already firmly entrenched in Catholic tradition, having been strongly asserted again in 1930 by Pope Pius XI in response to the Anglicans [Casti Connubii]. Such declarations often come in response to heresy. No one (not even any Protestant body) had officially disagreed with the prohibition until 1930, so it was a non-issue. Once the Anglicans started sanctioning sin, then it was time to clarify the constant teaching. Hence, the... Read more

Why Did God Kill Onan? (The Bible on Contraception)

Last updated on: December 31, 2019 at 1:54 pm By Dave Armstrong

(2-9-04) *** Photo credit: Judah and Tamar (anon., Italian, 17th c.) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] This article has been re-uploaded under the title, Why Did God Kill Onan? (Bible and Contraception). *** Read more

Contraception: Early Church Teaching (William Klimon)

Last updated on: October 27, 2017 at 11:40 am By Dave Armstrong

(1998) *** St. John Chrysostom St. John Chrysostom condemned contraceptors as “stand[ing]” with heretics (On Galatians 5, PG 61:668-669) and as doing the work of “murderers” (Homily 62 on Matthew 19, PG 58:599). St. John is referring to castration. Castration is, of course, an extreme form of contraception–but it is nonetheless a form of contraception, one that has been fairly widely used during this century in population control, e.g., in India and China. In fact, sterilization is the most popular... Read more

Luther Believed in Soul Sleep; Thus He Rejected Purgatory

Last updated on: October 27, 2017 at 9:53 am By Dave Armstrong

(2-9-08) *** Just when I think that I’ve discovered pretty much all of Martin Luther’s many false beliefs, and that there couldn’t possibly be any more, lo and behold, here comes another one out of nowhere. Today I came across someone mentioning English Protestant William Tyndale’s acceptance of “conditional immortality” (a sort of synonym for, or notion associated with, soul sleep, or psychopannychia). Curious, I started Googling, and soon found that Martin Luther also espoused this false doctrine, in overreaction to supposed excessive “Greek... Read more

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