Pope St. John Paul II in Cali, Colombia: June 1986. Photograph by Hernan Valencias [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license] * * (5-16-06) * * * From: The One-Minute Apologist (2007), with additional commentary. * * * * * THE PAPACY How can one man be infallible? We know that all men make mistakes, so this is an unreasonable doctrine Initial reply With God all things are possible. If He chooses to protect a man from error, He can... Read more
My son Michael and his fiancee Anna (July 2015). To be married in May 2016. * * * (12-8-06) * * * * * This topic always generates all sorts of controversy; never fails. This took place in a thread at Debunking Christianity. I was foolish enough to think I could get somewhere with sociological data, in dealing with sex and societal trends regarding same. It seems not. But you never know. Some seed of doubt may have been planted... Read more
Are Christian Women Abused as “Sheep”? St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897): Doctor of the Catholic Church [public domain] (9-20-10) * * * * * This article has been re-uploaded under the title, Dialogue: Sexist, Misogynist Bible and Christianity? (Debate with Five Atheists. Are Christian Women Abused as “Sheep”?) ***** Read more
1730 edition of The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis (1379-1471) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * (6-2-09) *** I was asked to provide a list of “Top Ten List of Books I Think Catholics Should Read”. Here’s what I came up with.All of these have been hugely influential in my own life, and I think they are very important books, that would be of spiritual and educational benefit for anyone (though the Cardinal Newman... Read more
Baptism of St. Augustine, as represented in a sculptural group in Troyes cathedral, France (1549) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * (3-8-06) * * * * * I think the choices with regard to the history of the doctrine of baptism really boil down to: 1) belief that the Apostles had one teaching on the subject, and 2) belief that the Apostles contradicted each other, and/or that the Bible is internally incoherent on baptism, and/or that several contradictory... Read more
A procession of the Blessed Sacrament during the first Annual Southeastern Eucharistic Congress in Charlotte, North Carolina (9-24-05) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * (6-18-07) * * Color codes: [all Lutherans] Rev. William Weedon: blue Tom R.: purple Rev. Paul T. McCain: green John H.: orange Joe.: red * * * * * Note that the Lutherans in 17th century Magdeburg DID continue to observe Corpus Christi – in the sense that the Divine Service on the... Read more
Forest clearing in Alsace, Eastern France. Photo by Jovan Cormac, 6-6-08 [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] * * * * * (written in 1995) * * * Paul the Presbyterian: Hey Dante! What is this nonsense about purgatory [spoken with a grimace] that you Catholics teach? Haven’t you read that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8)? Dante the Catholic: First of all, you’re misreading that verse.... Read more
Fog in Austria. Photo by “E.mil.mil” [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license] * * * (10-13-04) * * * * * In my first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism, I cited Matthew 5:25-26 and then St. Francis de Sales’ excellent commentary on it, in my chapter on purgatory. Here is that portion (pp. 129-130 of the current Sophia Institute Press edition, but the footnote numbers are different): Matthew 5:25-26 [RSV] Make friends quickly with your accuser,... Read more
Salzburg Cathedral. Photo by “Hans” [public domain / Pixabay] * * * (1-13-09) * * * * * 1. Let Protestants produce an express statement in the Bible, informing us that the Church lacks binding authority, or that it cannot be trusted to preserve true doctrine. 2. If the Catholic Church is placing its authority “above God,” then the Church fathers en masse are doing the same, because they all appeal to Church and conciliar authority and apostolic succession. 3.... Read more
The Second Jewish Temple. Model in the Israel Museum. Photo by “Ariely” (1-8-08) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license] * * * * * The “holy place” is a thoroughly biblical notion. Jerusalem was and is a holy city: Matthew 4:5 (RSV) Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, (cf. Neh 11:1, 18; Is 48:2) Matthew 27:53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In