Court of Appeals Albany, New York, 14 October 2009 [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license] * * * The following exchange is from the combox of my post, Alvin Plantinga’s Refutation of the Logical Problem of Evil. Atheist John Donohue‘s words will be in blue. * * * * * A theist cannot sensibly claim theistic belief is rational without showing it is true. Moreover, the burden is on the theist, not the atheist. The burden is on anyone who... Read more
Photo by Robert Nyman, 4-7-06 [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] [from 6-9-15] Atheist Jon Curry’s words will be in blue. Reports and rumors and bald assertions that I supposedly can’t get along with any atheist or that none would possibly put up with my alleged arrogance and disingenuous polemics (I was accused of those two things just two days ago), are (like Mark Twain’s death) greatly exaggerated. Here are some facts (for those interested in such trivialities). * * *... Read more
The Confession (1838), by Giuseppe Molteni (1800-1867) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] * * * * * One technique or method I have come up with in the course of my apologetics, is to answer questions about theology with Bible passages only, in order to demonstrate how intensely “biblical” Catholic teaching actually is. Regarding this particular question, Catholics are often accused of “inventing” confession and absolution alike (i.e., aspects of the sacrament of penance). In fact, no... Read more
The Apostle Paul (c. 1657), by Rembrandt (1606-1669) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * Catholics believe in Jesus Christ and His all-sufficient saving work on the cross (ours to receive by Grace Alone), just as Protestants do. We only deny an extreme Faith Alone position (which does not deny Grace Alone, since they are distinct). St. Paul opposes grace and/or faith to works in Scripture, only in a particular sense: the “works” of Jewish ritualism... Read more
René Descartes (1596-1650), the great theistic philosopher; portrait by Frans Hals (c. 1582-1666) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * This took place in the combox for my post, “Fairies, Atheism, God, & Ad Populum Fallacy.” The words of the always stimulating and interesting JD Eveland will be in blue. * * * * * An atheist asked: “How do you differentiate a trick of a fallible mind from a genuine experience if it cannot be evidenced or corroborated?” I replied: By applying the cumulative... Read more
Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things, by Sophie Gengembre Anderson (1823-1903) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * This took place in the combox for my post, “Fairies, Atheism, God, & Ad Populum Fallacy.” The words of TheMarsCydonia will be in blue. * * * * * P1. A position for which serious thinker have given consideration cannot be blithely dismissed. P2.... Read more
[public domain / Pixabay] * * * * * A widespread perception exists, among Protestants, secular society, our Orthodox brethren, and even too many Catholics, that annulment is simply a sophisticated, “playing with words” equivalent of divorce. This is untrue. The distinction between divorce and annulment is one that is routinely made even in civil law. It is not unique to, nor was it “invented” by Catholicism. For example, The Oxford Companion to Law (edited by D. M. Walker, 1980;... Read more
Sub-Title: Development of Doctrine, Tradition, Sola Scriptura, and Implicit vs. Explicit Biblical Proofs (The Papacy as a Test Case) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** [7 October 2003] * * * * * I would argue that the office of the papacy is explicitly indicated in the Bible itself. Everything we need to establish the papacy in all essentials is in the Bible. The papacy is explicit in the same way that the Trinity is explicit: there are solid proofs... Read more
G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936): the greatest Catholic apologist in the first third of the 20th century. He made very good apologetics arguments! [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (5-14-09) * * * Ben Douglass is a friend, fellow apologist, and orthodox Catholic of the self-described “traditionalist” variety. Recently, he posted on his site an interesting and provocative essay entitled Unsound Sticks, or, Arguments Catholics Shouldn’t Use (co-authored by David Palm and Nick E.). I thought I’d give my $00.02 worth and see how... Read more
Dr. Theodore Drange (b. 1934): prominent atheist philosopher and anti-theist, with whom I sparred several times in the early 2000s. Photo from the mid-1990s [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] (18 March 2003) Introductory comments will be in green. This is one of those instances where the person refused to have his words cited, so I paraphrased them. * * * * * One person on the atheist list where I conducted the discussion in the paper above (agnostic, I... Read more
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