The Whore of Babylon; sitting on the seven-headed beast; from a series of 21 woodcuts of the Apocalypse for Martin Luther’s translation of the New Testament (Augsburg: S. Otmar, 1523); by Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473-1431). Color added. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (3-11-10) *** [from Chapter Two, section 17 of my book, Biblical Catholic Answers for John Calvin; pp. 145-148 (complete) ] * * * * * Shall we recognise the Apostolic See where we see nothing but... Read more
“Jack-O-Lantern” pumpkin; photograph by Anders Lagerås, 31 October 2009 [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** (1999; revised in one section on 22 February 2006) * * * * * A non-Catholic wrote to me asking some questions (her words will be in blue): Please help me to understand why the Catholic church mingles pagan practices and feast into their worship? First of all, one would have to define “pagan,” I suppose. All of God’s creation is... Read more
Jesus Christ: portrait by Ariel Agemian, based on the image on the Shroud of Turin. [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] * * * * * I have recently written four posts having to do with the film, The Young Messiah, and the larger (rather important) theological question of Jesus’ knowledge and consciousness: Young Messiah Denies Christological Certainties [3-12-16] Jesus Always Knew He Was God (Young Messiah) [3-14-16] Young Messiah, Dramatic License, & Biblical Theology [3-18-16] Jesus’ Self-Knowledge & the Magisterium... Read more
[CC0 public domain / Pixabay] *** (1995) *** Zeke the “Jesus Freak”: Hey Cathy, why do Catholics baptize babies? It’s pointless since they don’t know what’s going on and can’t repent, according to Acts 2:38 and Mark 6:16. Cathy the Catholic: But where in the Bible does it specifically prohibit the baptism of babies? Zeke: Well . . . I guess it never says that. But . . . Cathy: But don’t you only follow what’s plainly taught in the... Read more
Photograph by Kai Stachowiak [PublicDomainPictures.Net] *** In defending Catholicism during the course of friendly discussions with Protestant brethren in Christ, I come across new arguments and ways of seeing things, as a result of challenges. Recently, it happened again, in a discussion with a Baptist pastor, originally concerning infant baptism. After he stated that he would go by “what Jesus said,” I wrote, “yeah, me, too” and cited passages that referred to entire households being baptized (Acts 16:15; 16:33; 18:8;... Read more
Saints Peter and Paul, from an etching in a catacomb: 4th century [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (2007) *** [slightly modified version of a chapter in my book, The One-Minute Apologist] *** Paul rebuked Peter for hypocrisy. Many non-Catholics claim that this proves that Peter wasn’t infallible, and that Paul had at least equal authority (thus, it is regarded as a disproof of the papacy itself). But this has no bearing on Peter’s authority in proclaiming doctrine. Many seem to... Read more
Ringling Brothers circus clown Emmett Kelly in a bubble bath: Sarasota, Florida; photo by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, c. 1955 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (21 January 2001. Revised terminology on 8-7-13 and 4-2-16) *** [see my definition of radical Catholic reactionary] *** Mario Derksen’s words will be in green. Some time after this dialogue, he became a sedevacantist (0ne who denies the validity of the current sitting pope). I also dialogue with a second reactionary (words in blue). * *... Read more
Posthumous Portrait of Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk (after 1546), from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] ***** Most of the papers formerly listed here are now posted on my web page devoted to Luther. I’ve also written a critical book and a second ecumenical volume (quotations of Luther’s with which Catholics would totally or largely agree). * * * * * Read more
Church Fathers, a miniature from Svyatoslav’s Miscellany, from 1076 A.D. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** [Most of the articles formerly listed here have been updated to my Patheos blog, and are listed on my Fathers of the Church web page] Read more
When Can Laws Properly be Broken? Dialogue with Three Catholic Papal Critics Christ Washing the Apostles Feet (c. 1616), by Dirck van Baburen (c. 1595-1624) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** Now we again have complaints from the usual suspects that the Holy Father “broke the law of the Church” regarding the foot-washing ceremony. Someone tagged my name and I got involved in a public Facebook discussion about this. As usual, it was three on one side of the debate and... Read more
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