Deconversion of Dave Van Allen (ExChristian.Net)

Last updated on: March 29, 2017 at 2:24 pm By Dave Armstrong

Sign at a “gay rights” protest at Federal Plaza, Chicago on November 15, 2008. Photo by Andrew Ciscel [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license]* * * (9-27-07) * * * * * ExChristian.Net is a flourishing atheist site. Dave Van Allen was formerly the webmaster. I have an ongoing interest in demonstrating how these common “deconversion” stories of former Christians do not rationally explain why they or anyone else should forsake Christianity. The task is to “defeat the defeater” — as philosopher... Read more

Paul Prayed for Dead Onesiphorus (Protestant Commentaries)

Last updated on: March 29, 2017 at 2:27 pm By Dave Armstrong

Apostle Paul (1633?), by Rembrandt (1606-1669) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (7-14-09) ***** 2 Timothy 1:16-18 (RSV) May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiph’orus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, [17] but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me — [18] may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day — and you well know all the service he rendered... Read more

Baptizing the Dead? (Odd Verse 1 Corinthians 15:29)

Last updated on: December 27, 2018 at 12:20 pm By Dave Armstrong

Baptism: fresco on the catacomb of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Via Labicana, Rome, Italy [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** Uploaded on 5 June 2002. ** This discussion took place on a public Internet bulletin board, with six Protestants. Their words will appear in various colors, with my primary opponent’s words in blue. * * * * * How does a Protestant interpret this verse?: 1 Corinthians 15:29 (RSV) Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the... Read more

Mary: Ark of the New Covenant (Biblical Evidences)

Last updated on: March 29, 2017 at 2:32 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Madonna of the Roses (1903) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (7-9-09) *** Here are the actual biblical passages where this notion was drawn from (taken from the first draft of my upcoming book, Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths): Luke 1:35 (RSV) And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of... Read more

The Bible on Receiving One Species in Communion

Last updated on: February 13, 2019 at 1:03 pm By Dave Armstrong

Chalice from the Reims Cathedral, 12th century [public domain / Wikimedia Commons]*** (3-11-08 and 6-24-11) * * * Catholics have the option to often partake of the cup, but it is not always offered and not required (my own parish rarely offers it, if at all). The reason is that God (being God) cannot ever be divided. The “division” is only symbolic or conceptual (with the cup representing blood). The reality of transubstantiation, however, is that God is present Body,... Read more

Thoughts on Communion in the Hand

Last updated on: November 20, 2019 at 1:02 pm By Dave Armstrong

Photo credit: [source] This article has been re-uploaded under the title, “Can Communion in the Hand be Equally Reverent?” ***** Read more

Trump & Reagan: Shocking Similarities

Last updated on: March 29, 2017 at 2:41 pm By Dave Armstrong

President Ronald Reagan in 1985 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * I have a strange personality characteristic. I can’t stand it when someone is misrepresented, treated unfairly, mischaracterized, subjected to mere irrational rants and emotional outbursts: much of which clearly flow from prejudice. I think it’s partially because I have been subjected to this sort of thing so many times, myself, as a public (and very vocal, unafraid, unashamed) Catholic apologist these past twenty years. If... Read more

Dialogue with a Lutheran on Ecclesiology & OT Indefectibility Analogies

Last updated on: March 29, 2017 at 2:52 pm By Dave Armstrong

[Lutheran] Augsburg Confession: session of 25 June 1530 (1630), by Johann Dürr (1600-1663) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (11-22-11) * * * * * Nathan Rinne is a friendly Lutheran theological adversary. Nathan’s latest reply — one portion of which I am now responding to –, is entitled, Round 2 with RC apologist Dave Armstrong: the unattractive body of Christ. His words will be in blue. I will be changing what I regard as excessive bolding in Nathan’s replies (harsh on the eyes) to italics.... Read more

Orthodox & Catholic Ecclesiology: Possible Synthesis?

Last updated on: March 29, 2017 at 2:55 pm By Dave Armstrong

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Bulgaria. Photo by Dennis Jarvis, 13 June 2013 [Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0 license] (11-23-11) * * * Some Orthodox Christians have proposed something like the following scenario for a healing of the breach between Orthodoxy and Catholicism: 1. Bishops ought to do nothing of consequence without the consent of the pope. 2. The pope cannot do anything of momentous significance without the consent of the consensus of the bishops and the totality of the Church.... Read more

Papal Succession and the Bible: An Exchange

Last updated on: March 29, 2017 at 2:57 pm By Dave Armstrong

Venerable Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-1958) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (1-27-12) *** [from a Facebook discussion. My opponent‘s words will be in blue ] * * * * * Yet it always hinges on “interpretation” – the keys to Peter is scripturally clear . . . the passing of those keys as an “office” in perpetuity is an interpretation based on human thought rather than scripture . . . perhaps not unreasonable thought, but nevertheless not scriptural. * It is not explicitly scriptural (passing... Read more