Luther’s Projection of His Depression & Crises Onto St. Paul

Last updated on: April 19, 2017 at 10:56 am By Dave Armstrong

Statue of Martin Luther [public domain / Pixabay] *** (6-1-06) *** I don’t maintain any particular position as to Luther’s mental health, though I understand that it is pretty much the consensus of historians that he at least suffered fairly regular (if not cyclical) bouts with severe depression, wrestling with the devil (actually or imagined), etc. His overscrupulosity in the confessional and generally during his monastery days is also common knowledge and may, I submit, possibly suggest neurosis or personality... Read more

Martin Luther: Faith Alone is NOT Lawless Antinomianism

Last updated on: December 28, 2016 at 5:44 pm By Dave Armstrong

Luther at the Diet of Worms [1521] (1877), by Anton von Werner (1843-1915) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** (2-28-10) ***** Recently, I made this statement in a post about Luther: Luther taught the absolute necessity of good works in the Christian life, as an inevitable manifestation of an authentic faith. He didn’t separate justification and sanctification to the degree that Calvin (or even his successor Philip Melanchthon) did. But Luther also did a very poor job of communicating the... Read more

How Catholics View Protestants (Ecumenical Unity)

Last updated on: April 19, 2017 at 11:01 am By Dave Armstrong

Yours truly, in my Protestant evangelical days: February 1984, doing my “Bob Dylan” routine . . . ***** (9-4-03; rev. 10-9-03 and 1-5-05; abridged on 11-14-16) ***** Vatican II is binding on all Catholics. Here is what Vatican II says (note how Protestants — and Orthodox — are repeatedly referred to as “Christians” and part of the Body of Christ): Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio, 21 November 1964)— Capitalized emphases added presently — The restoration of unity among all Christians... Read more

Protestants: Are They Christians, Heretics, or Both?

Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 1:52 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original title: How Protestants Can be Brethren in Christ (Christians) and [Partial] Heretics at the Same Time, According to Trent Protestant evangelist Billy Graham (1918 – ): 11 April 1966 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (1-4-14) ***** There are serious heretics (like Arius, who denied the Trinity) and partial heretics (like Protestants). “Heresy” literally means “pick and choose.” But the latter can be and are called “brothers in Christ” by the Church, because of their trinitarian baptism, which incorporates them... Read more

My Successful May Predictions About the 2016 Election

Last updated on: April 19, 2017 at 11:09 am By Dave Armstrong

[Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** I wrote earlier today, on my Facebook page: “I’ll be making a much more in-depth post-mortem analysis later today, not to gloat, but to at least bask a little in my success at predicting this, which goes back (explicitly) to a May article, where I provided 15 reasons for why Trump would win.” This article will be a summary analysis of what I got right in that article. I’m truly not trying to boast... Read more

Dialogue with Deacon Steven Greydanus on Voting & Pro-Life

Last updated on: April 19, 2017 at 11:11 am By Dave Armstrong

Photograph by Elvert Barnes at the 33rd March For Life in Washington, D.C.: 22 January 2006 [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] ***** Deacon Steven D. Greydanus writes renowned film reviews and also articles for National Catholic Register. I appreciate his thoughtful, civil, charitable thoughts on this political campaign. It is possible to engage in constructive dialogue! He is a Never-Trumper; I voted for Trump this morning. These exchanges spontaneously occurred on my Facebook page yesterday. His words will be... Read more

Debate on Catholicism & Homosexuality (vs. a Lawyer)

Last updated on: April 19, 2017 at 11:13 am By Dave Armstrong

– Photo credit: ‘Theodoranian’, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons *** This exchange came about in response to comments underneath my National Catholic Register article, “History of the False Ideas Leading to Same-Sex ‘Marriage'” (11-2-16). Mark is a lawyer (actually a former one and currently a PhD student). I love tangling with legal minds, so that makes it all the more fun. But I think I demonstrate below that even great legal minds somehow miss the most crucial details in opposing views,... Read more

Dialogue on 2016 Presidential Polls (Outliers, Accuracy, Etc.)

Last updated on: December 28, 2016 at 5:56 pm By Dave Armstrong

vs. Scott P. Richert [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] ***** Scott is the Catholicism expert at About.com and executive editor of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. He majored in political science at Michigan State University and Catholic University of America. His words will be in blue. This exchange occurred on my Facebook page on 11-2-16. ***** [I originally posted an article about Trump being ahead by 5.4 points in the LA Times / USC tracking poll.] *** Yes, her... Read more

Peter the Rock: Protestant Contra-Catholic Exegetical Bias

Last updated on: April 19, 2017 at 11:15 am By Dave Armstrong

St. Peter (1326), by Simone Martini (1285-1344) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (7-7-09) *** Matthew 16:18 (RSV) And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. This curious phenomenon was one of the central themes of my book, The Catholic Verses (2004). I wrote in its Introduction: No one comes to the Bible as a completely impartial and objective “observer” or reader.... Read more

Relation of Baptism to Baptism of Desire

Last updated on: December 28, 2016 at 6:00 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Good Thief on the Cross, by Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (3-3-07) *** A certain Protestant objection is made that Catholics make baptism necessary for salvation, so that if someone doesn’t receive baptism they are necessarily damned, and that this is the Council of Trent’s teaching (Canons on the Sacrament of Baptism). The Catholic replies that baptism is the normative means of regeneration; however, in extraordinary cases, baptism of desire may suffice, and a person... Read more

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