Penance, Redemptive Suffering, & Atonement

Last updated on: December 11, 2023 at 12:38 pm By Dave Armstrong

Chapter 11 (pp. 353-358) of my book, Bible Truths for Catholic Truths: A Source Book for Apologists and Inquirers (Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press, 2009); the paperback is now out-of-print. This book could also be known as Dave’s Topical Bible, and contains 2,051 Bible passages, categorized under 115 thematic headings. I am now offering it online for free. * In these blog posts I use — for readers’ convenience — the original RSV of the manuscript (© 1971 by Division of... Read more

Bible on Sacramentals, Liturgy, & Devotions

Last updated on: December 11, 2023 at 12:38 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 10 (pp. 305-349) of my book, Bible Truths for Catholic Truths: A Source Book for Apologists and Inquirers (Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press, 2009); the paperback is now out-of-print. This book could also be known as Dave’s Topical Bible, and contains 2,051 Bible passages, categorized under 115 thematic headings. I am now offering it online for free. * In these blog posts I use — for readers’ convenience — the original RSV of the manuscript (© 1971 by Division of... Read more

Bible on the Sacrament of Anointing

Last updated on: December 11, 2023 at 12:39 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 9 (pp. 297-301) of my book, Bible Truths for Catholic Truths: A Source Book for Apologists and Inquirers (Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press, 2009); the paperback is now out-of-print. This book could also be known as Dave’s Topical Bible, and contains 2,051 Bible passages, categorized under 115 thematic headings. I am now offering it online for free. * In these blog posts I use — for readers’ convenience — the original RSV of the manuscript (© 1971 by... Read more

Anthropomorphism and Anthropopathism

Last updated on: December 7, 2023 at 12:03 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Non-Literal Biblical Descriptions of God and His Attributes Appendix of my book (available for free online), Inspired!: 191 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved. See the Introduction and ch. 1: How Do Atheists Define a “Biblical Contradiction”? All Bible passages RSV unless otherwise noted. ***** Anthropopathism is a fancy word for the attribution of non-physical human emotions and passions to God. The related term, anthropomorphism, is the attribution of physical human properties (or animal properties such as wings) to God. Historic Christian theology recognized the metaphorical nature of the many... Read more

Jesus’ Burial & Resurrection: Harmonious Biblical Accounts

Last updated on: January 23, 2025 at 12:16 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 9 of my book (available for free online), Inspired!: 198 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved. See the Introduction and ch. 1: How Do Atheists Define a “Biblical Contradiction”? All Bible passages RSV unless otherwise noted. **** How could Jesus be killed on a Friday and rise from the dead on Sunday, when Matthew 12:40 states: “so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”? In Hebrew idiom, the phrase “one day and one night” meant a day, even when... Read more

Jesus’ Passion & Crucifixion: Supposedly Clashing Reports

Last updated on: January 23, 2025 at 12:14 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 8 of my book (available for free online), Inspired!: 198 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved. See the Introduction and ch. 1: How Do Atheists Define a “Biblical Contradiction”? All Bible passages RSV unless otherwise noted. ***** Was money Judas’ motive for betraying Jesus (Matt. 26:14-15) or not (Mark 14:10-11)? The claim here is that Mark doesn’t mention money as Judas’ motive. He proposed a betrayal to the “chief priests” and then they “promised to give him money.” But in Matthew’s account, the demand for money is... Read more

Jesus’ Infancy: Allegedly Contradictory Accounts

Last updated on: January 23, 2025 at 12:11 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 7 of my book (available for free online), Inspired!: 198 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved. See the Introduction and ch. 1: How Do Atheists Define a “Biblical Contradiction”? All Bible passages RSV unless otherwise noted. ***** 135. Why do only Matthew (1:18, 20, 23) and Luke (1:35) know of the virgin birth; shouldn’t we expect other writers to mention this, too? Arguments from “expectation” or plausibility are not, strictly speaking, the same as establishing a logical contradiction. This is the argument from silence, too, which is... Read more

Bible on God’s Revealed Nature & Character

Last updated on: January 23, 2025 at 12:09 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 6 of my book (available for free online), Inspired!: 198 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved. See the Introduction and ch. 1: How Do Atheists Define a “Biblical Contradiction”? All Bible passages RSV unless otherwise noted. ***** How can God regret or change his mind about what he has done (Gen. 6:6-7; 1 Sam. 15:10-11, 35), if he is omniscient and knows all things? What does it mean for God to say, “I regret”? Can God change his mind? Is God ignorant about the future? Is he... Read more

Biblical “Contradictions” Based on Ignorance of Logic

Last updated on: January 23, 2025 at 12:08 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 5 of my book (available for free online), Inspired!: 198 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved. See the Introduction and ch. 1: How Do Atheists Define a “Biblical Contradiction”? All Bible passages RSV unless otherwise noted. ***** Did Jesus (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10) or John the Baptist (John 1:32) see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove at his baptism? They both saw the same thing. So what? If my wife and I both see a meteor lighting up the night sky, that’s somehow a “contradiction”?! Remember, that’s what all of... Read more

Scientific Biblical “Contradictions” & “Errors”

Last updated on: January 23, 2025 at 12:07 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Chapter 4 of my book (available for free online), Inspired!: 198 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved. See the Introduction and ch. 1: How Do Atheists Define a “Biblical Contradiction”? All Bible passages RSV unless otherwise noted. ***** Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” doesn’t assert that God created everything out of nothing (ex nihilo). I submit that it is quite reasonable and straightforward to interpret this verse as describing creation of everything out of nothing. In any event, many passages in... Read more