Atheist Irrational Demands for “Empirical” Proofs of God

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 3:09 pm By Dave Armstrong

Or, Vigorous Critique of Irrational, Incoherent, Excessive, Arbitrary, & Relentless Atheist Demands for “Empirical” Proofs of God’s Existence 50s Movie poster mad scientist style, by Glen Edelson, 8-30-08 [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] * * * * * This comes from another one of my gigantic discussion threads, that atheists have participated in with great vigor (331 comments in two days, as I write): underneath my post, Blind Faith? Dialogue w an Atheist. I would have preferred to have made a... Read more

Luther on Theosis and its Relation to Sanctification

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 3:13 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original title: Martin Luther: Strong Elements in His Thinking of Theosis and Sanctification Linked to Justification [public domain / Pixabay] (11-23-09) [see also a highly related article: “Justification as Healing: The Little-Known Luther” (Ted M Dorman) ] St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: Now the gift of grace surpasses every capability of created nature, since it is nothing short of a partaking of the Divine Nature, which exceeds every other nature. And thus it is impossible that any creature should cause grace.... Read more

Teleological Argument for God (Copious Resources)

Last updated on: June 12, 2018 at 4:58 pm By Dave Armstrong

Spiral galaxy NGC 1232 with NGC 1232A at lower left; photograph by European Southern Observatory (ESO): 12-31-97 [Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0 license] Alphabetical by Author Experimental Support for Regarding Functional Classes of Proteins to Be Highly Isolated from Each Other (+ Part II) (Michael J. Behe, 1992) Response to K. John Morrow, Jr. on Immunology and Teleology (Michael J. Behe, 1992) Darwin Under the Microscope (Michael J. Behe, 1996) Evidence for Intelligent Design from Biochemistry (Michael J.... Read more

Atheism: More Rational and Scientific than Christianity?

Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 4:32 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original title: On Whether Atheism is Inherently More Rational and Scientific, and Less Dogmatic and Axiomatic Than Christianity Joseph Stalin: card-carrying atheist, in 1902 at age 23. He stated: “You know, they are fooling us, there is no God… all this talk about God is sheer nonsense.” Scientific views? He supported the quack pseudo-“genetic” supposed “science” of Lysenkoism, and had scientists killed who rejected it and preferred mainstream genetics, founded by the Catholic monk Mendel. Pretty irrational, dogmatic, & unscientific... Read more

St. Athanasius Was a CATHOLIC, Not a Proto-Protestant

Last updated on: December 1, 2021 at 11:14 pm By Dave Armstrong

+ Counter-Reply to Protestant anti-Catholic Apologist James White on Athanasius, Tradition, etc. St. Athanasius: Coptic portrait [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (12-26-07) St. Athanasius (c. 296-373) is almost certainly the second favorite Church father of more polemically-minded Protestants (who want to counter or oppose Catholicism at every turn), after St. Augustine. They wax eloquently about the famous saying Athanasius contra mundum (“. . . against the world”), referring to the Arian crisis in the Church, and equate this with a Luther-like scenario: speaking... Read more

Church Fathers: Closer to Protestantism Than to Catholicism?

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 3:52 pm By Dave Armstrong

Philip Schaff (1819-1893): fair-minded and objective Protestant Church historian (photo, c. 1880) [public domain / Wikipedia] * * * Here is a chapter which wasn’t included in my 2007 book, The One-Minute Apologist (probably because it had too many lists). I still think it is a handy little reference guide for this topic, which comes up often. Certainly I can at least share it here rather than waste all the work I did on it! * * * * * CHURCH FATHERS... Read more

Christian Blind Faith? (Dialogue with a Blind Faith Atheist)

Last updated on: April 12, 2019 at 2:51 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original title: “Blind Faith” (?): Dialogue with an Atheist, Challenged to Produce Any “Positive” Rational Evidence for Atheism (vs. Jon) Blindman’s Bluff at The Nephew’s Soiree; photograph by Willo Hausman, from A Christmas Carol (12-29-11) [Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0 license] (4-6-12) Jon is a former evangelical, now an atheist, with whom I have had cordial relations and a few amiable debates. He’s been at my house in a group discussion (and probably will again), and I’ve attended his atheist /... Read more

Biblical Evidence for Veneration of Saints and Angels

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 3:57 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original title: John Calvin’s Antipathy to Veneration of Saints and Angels vs. Explicit Biblical Evidences of Same [public domain / Pixabay] (10-1-12) [complete sub-section from Chapter Seven of my book, A Biblical Critique of Calvinism] It may be proper here more particularly to attend to the subtleties which superstition employs. In revolting to strange gods, it avoids the appearance of abandoning the Supreme God, or reducing him to the same rank with others. It gives him the highest place, but at the... Read more

Is Invocation of the Saints Equivalent to Necromancy?

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 6:28 pm By Dave Armstrong

Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (1509-1510), by Raphael (1483-1520) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (10-18-08) * * * * * Critics of these Catholic practices will argue: “It is still not clear at all that these Catholic practices are any different from séances and wicked, forbidden occultic techniques. What’s the difference? Catholics are messing around with dead spirits, too, but the Bible condemns any sort of magic, sorcery, necromancy, or witchcraft.” The Catholic answers as follows (from my book, The One-Minute... Read more

Biblical Evidence for Prayers of the Righteous Having More Power

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 6:30 pm By Dave Armstrong

The prophet Elijah being fed by the ravens. James 5:16-18: “. . . The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. Eli’jah was a man of like nature with ourselves and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, . . .“ [Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0 license] (3-23-11) Protestants often assert that all... Read more