Alleged “Bible Contradictions”: Most Are Actually Not So

Last updated on: June 8, 2017 at 7:06 pm By Dave Armstrong

Photograph of torn Bible pages by George Redgrave (9-30-14) [Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0] *** (2002; portion after five asterisks: 6-7-17) *** A common tactic of biblical skeptics is to question the veracity and historical trustworthiness of the New Testament based on alleged numerous “contradictions” therein. But most of these so-called “problem passages” can easily be shown to be not contradictory, but rather, complementary. This is what might be described as the “1001 Bible contradictions” ploy. In the desperation to... Read more

Catholic Rule of Faith & Binding Authority: Old Testament Analogies

Last updated on: June 7, 2017 at 6:30 pm By Dave Armstrong

Prophet Isaiah, by Antonio Balestra (1666-1740) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (4-9-06) ***** Doctrine was much less developed in Old Testament times. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit as we do, or the full revelation of the New Testament and the gospel. Therefore, apostolic succession and the protections of infallibility are now possible and thinkable and believable. The new covenant brought about a major increase of certainty and ability to ascertain spiritual truth in all things. Yet strong notions... Read more

Catholic Apologists: Response to Inquiring Questions

Last updated on: June 6, 2017 at 1:12 pm By Dave Armstrong

Lay Catholic apologist G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This is my reply to a series of probing, inquisitive questions about the nature of a Catholic apologist, asked by a commenter underneath my article for the National Catholic Register, entitled, “Apologetics Doesn’t Mean Being Sorry for Your Faith”. The questions will be in blue. ***** Dave: I’ve often wondered…1) Is an apologist, by “profession,” bound by certain mandates to defend “everything,” or to speak only to... Read more

Sola Scriptura: Catholic Scholars vs. Apologists on its Illogical Nature?

Last updated on: June 5, 2017 at 1:14 pm By Dave Armstrong

(E.g., Joseph Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI], Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Henri de Lubac) Pope Benedict XVI (6-7-06) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license] *** (11-13-08) *** This particular debate came about as a result of critiques from Protestant graduate student Kevin Davis (see my exchange with him). He and his comrade-in-arms, a Catholic named Mark (words in green), have tried to drive a wedge (quite typical — sadly — of a certain misinformed sort of Protestant and... Read more

Critique of “Denying Sola Scriptura”, by Dr. Gary DeMar

Last updated on: June 5, 2017 at 12:16 pm By Dave Armstrong

Photograph by “stempow” (March 2017) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain]*** (January 1999) *** Dr. Gary DeMar is a Reformed Protestant scholar, and Senior Fellow (former President) at American Vision, a praiseworthy group which concentrates on Christianity and culture issues (and does an excellent job, generally speaking). It produces a worthwhile periodical Biblical Worldview. DeMar has also written much helpful material about the errors of evangelical Protestant dispensationalism, particularly with regard to failed end-time prophetical scenarios. Catholics can benefit from much... Read more

Did Luther Believe that Christ Committed Adultery with Mary Magdalene?

Last updated on: January 7, 2020 at 1:06 pm By Dave Armstrong

Mary Magdalene, by Andrea Solari (1460-1522) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This article has been re-uploaded under the title, Luther Thought Jesus Committed Adultery w Mary Magdalene? ***** Read more

Sgt. Pepper Remix: Beyond the Mono vs. Stereo Debate

Last updated on: June 1, 2017 at 7:02 pm By Dave Armstrong

Image by Nonna Store (3-23-15) [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] *** I published my review of the new 50th anniversary remix of the 1967 Sergeant Pepper album by the Beatles at Amazon, on the same day of the release (May 26th). It looks like I did a decent job, since (as of 6-1-17), there are now 204 reviews posted, and mine is still listed as the second in the “Top Customer Reviews”: with 145 of 158 people having found... Read more

LGBTQ Activist Intolerance on Display Again

Last updated on: June 1, 2017 at 1:05 pm By Dave Armstrong

Image by “OpenClipart-Vectors [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** Melinda Selmys is a fellow Patheos blogger whose writings I like a lot. She is thoughtful, insightful, intelligent, and a great stylist. That’s not to say I always agree with her. I don’t. But I agreed with her recent post, entitled, “Thou Shalt Not be Gay” (5-26-17). She protested against the firings (by Catholic institutions) of proclaimed gay persons who are also celibate, and who defend Church teachings regarding same. She wrote... Read more

Analogical Reasoning, and Reasoning from Plausibility

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 3:47 pm By Dave Armstrong

(Using the Example of my Paper, “Biblical Evidence for Marian Apparitions”) Dimensions are used as an analogy to the Holy Trinity. This is a drawing of the first four dimensions. On the left is zero dimensions (a point) and on the right is four dimensions (A tesseract). Drawing by “NerdBoy1392” [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license]*** Link to my National Catholic Register article, “Biblical Evidence for Marian Apparitions”. Two commenters wrote the following: Geert ter... Read more

Dialogue with a Protestant: Authority of the Jerusalem Council

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 11:15 am By Dave Armstrong

The Conversion of St. Paul (1600), by Caravaggio (1571-1610) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** Joshua Scott is a Protestant who responded to my challenge to interact point-by-point with one of my articles. He chose to wrangle with the section on the Jerusalem council from my book, The Catholic Verses (2004), and some additional material in an older paper on this topic. His words will be in blue. My words from the book will be in green, and my present... Read more

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