Erasmus’ “Hyperaspistes” (1526): Luther’s Extreme Dogmatism

Last updated on: February 3, 2017 at 2:44 pm By Dave Armstrong

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-10-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part III: Erasmus’ Hyperaspistes (1526): Luther’s Extreme Dogmatism * From: Peter Macardle and Clarence H. Miller, translators, Charles Trinkhaus, editor, Collected Works of Erasmus, Vol. 76: Controversies: De Libero Arbitrio / Hyperaspistes I, Univ. of Toronto Press, 1999. * * * * * Do you go so far as to allow no one even to open... Read more

Can a Pope be a Heretic or Authoritatively Declare Heresy?

Last updated on: February 3, 2017 at 1:36 pm By Dave Armstrong

Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1953), by Francis Bacon (1909-1992) [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] *** Dustin Buck Lattimore is a fair-minded, articulate, inquiring Protestant, who has been commenting a lot lately on my Facebook page. He asked me some questions about this topic. His words will be in blue. *** I have a question about this idea, that there are doctrines that “not even the pope can change”. You’ve explained before how not every word... Read more

Holy Scripture: Honor and Respect Political Rulers

Last updated on: September 6, 2018 at 3:55 pm By Dave Armstrong

Trial of the Apostle Paul (1875), by Nikolai Kornilievich Bodarevsky (1850-1921) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] St. Paul showed respect and deference to the Jewish high priest, even after he had him struck on the mouth (Acts 23:5)\ *** [obviously tons of sin going on constantly every day on Facebook and elsewhere online. Pray for those who (willfully and too often, habitually) fall into this, and for me and for yourself] *** 1 Peter 2:17 (RSV) Honor all men. Love... Read more

Luther’s Insults of Erasmus in “Bondage of the Will” & “Table-Talk”

Last updated on: February 2, 2017 at 4:07 pm By Dave Armstrong

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-6-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part II: Luther’s Insults of Erasmus in Bondage of the Will & Table-Talk * The Bondage of the Will (1525) * [from the 1823 Edward Thomas Vaughan translation; available online] * First, we observe Luther’s insincere (?) rhetorical flattery: To the Venerable Mister Erasmus. (subtitle) I am quite ready to yield a palm to you myself,... Read more

Erasmus-Luther Correspondence: 1517 to 1534

Last updated on: February 2, 2017 at 2:51 pm By Dave Armstrong

Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469-1536); portrait (1523) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498-1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (2-6-09) ***** “Luther Meets His Match” (Seven Parts) * Part I: Erasmus-Luther Correspondence: 1517 to 1534 * [ see the index of topics at the end ] [Erasmus’s words are in black, Luther’s in blue; those of others are in green] For a general overview of Erasmus, see the Wikipedia entry. Erasmus: Greek scholar and Christian humanist, is widely regarded as the greatest man of... Read more

Christianity, Sarcasm, Satire, Irony, Jesus & Paul

Last updated on: December 21, 2017 at 2:23 pm By Dave Armstrong

Sir Thomas More (1527), by Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497 – 1543) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] St. Thomas More (1478-1535) was one of a long, illustrious line of great Christian humorists / satirists. He once said to his son-in-law, William Roper: “Two years ago you were a loyal Churchman. Now you have fallen in with the Lutherans on account of being persuaded by their logic. I can only hope that when your head stops spinning it is affixed... Read more

Simcha Fisher, Swearing, St. Paul, & Evangelizing

Last updated on: July 18, 2018 at 10:29 am By Dave Armstrong

St Paul Preaching in Athens (1515), by Raphael (1483-1520) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** Simcha writes in her article, “So your favorite blogger has gone insane” (1-31-17): More times than I can count, I’ve been told that we’re called to be good evangelists, and that, as such, we have to present our best, brightest, prettiest, perkiest, shiniest, most decorous face at all times, because that is the kind of thing that is attractive to people. Well, it is to some people.... Read more

The Catholic “Third Way” in Socio-Political Thought

Last updated on: January 29, 2017 at 5:39 pm By Dave Armstrong

Reflections on the “Great American Mush God” of Civil Religion and Morality Our Banner in the Sky (1861), by Frederick Edwin Church (1826-1900) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (1-24-02) *** [Compiled from various papers and dialogues, which might account for the rambling, somewhat incoherent nature of these thoughts. But the overall theme remains the same throughout. I’ve been a distributist for probably 35 years, and didn’t know it till recently, when my friend Rod Bennett convinced me I was one]***... Read more

Romans 9: Plausible Non-Calvinist Interpretation

Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 3:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

Meeting between Esau and Jacob, by Giovanni Maria Bottalla (1613-1644) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (4-22-10) ***** The Great Calvinist Bible Argument: their favorite by far, and one trumpeted endlessly, is Romans 9. Here is the portion that Calvinists employ to defend their theological system of TULIP: Romans 9:6-24 (RSV) But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, [7] and not all are children of Abraham... Read more

Bible vs. Double Predestination (No Reprobate Parallels)

Last updated on: January 26, 2017 at 3:10 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Great Day of His Wrath (c. 1851), by John Martin (1789-1854) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (4-22-10) *** Hats off to blog regular Maroun for citing a great argument of this sort in an open forum combox, from St. John Chrysostom, who wrote: Of what honor, of what blessedness are these words? And He said not, Take, but, “Inherit,” as one’s own, as your Father’s, as yours, as due to you from the first. For, before you were,... Read more

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