50 Bible Passages on Purgatory & Analogous Processes

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 11:44 am By Dave Armstrong

[public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * The following is drawn from my book, Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths (2009): excepting this new introduction and one added verse (1 Peter 4:12). All passages are from the KJV. When defending the doctrine of purgatory (which most Protestants reject, and Orthodox conceptualize in quite different terms), it’s relevant to include recurring motifs in Scripture that describe the same thing as what happens in purgatory: a cleansing or purging of sins, in... Read more

God: Historical Arguments (Copious Helpful Resources)

Last updated on: May 18, 2020 at 10:53 am By Dave Armstrong

Head of Christ (c. 1648), by Rembrandt (1606-1669) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * Alphabetical by Author JESUS: DIVINITY OR DEITY OF Jesus is God: Biblical Proofs (Dave Armstrong, 1982) The Validity of a Categorical Syllogism Supporting Christ’s Deity (Francis J. Beckwith, 1986) Jesus Christ, God Manifest: Titus 2:13 Revisited (Robert M. Bowman, Jr., 2008) The Deity of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels (Daniel Doriani, 1994) Jesus as God in the Second Century (Paul Hartog, 2006) Cosmic... Read more

Mary’s Assumption: Eleven Relevant Bible Passages

Last updated on: August 15, 2019 at 11:08 am By Dave Armstrong

[from my book, Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths (2009), except that RSV is used for the Bible verses, rather than KJV] * * * * * This paper has been re-uploaded as: Mary’s Bodily Assumption: Eleven Related Bible Passages [2009] *** Photo credit: The Assumption of the Virgin, by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** Read more

“Beatles Heaven” Again (Review of New “1” Album)

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 11:54 am By Dave Armstrong

From Billboard Magazine: 1 May 1965 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * [posted also as an Amazon review, where I added the description: “Sonic Ear Candy”. I’ve only written three reviews there, and one of the other two was a review of the 2009 Beatles stereo and mono box sets] * * * I’m a bona fide Beatles fanatic, as well as an audiophile. They’ve been my favorite band for almost 52 years now: ever since... Read more

Purgatory is the Waiting Room for Heaven, Not Hell

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 12:01 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original Title: Purgatory is the Waiting Room for Heaven, Not a Temporary Hell (1st C. Understanding of “Gehenna”) [public domain / Pixabay] (4-25-09) The following friendly exchange took place on the Coming Home Network board with a self-described “Hebrew Catholic.” His words will be in blue. * * * * * The reason that Purgatory is not mentioned in the New Testament is the same reason that neither hell, nor heaven are mentioned in the NT–The NT is written in Greek. All... Read more

25 Bible Passages Indicating or Suggesting Purgatory

Last updated on: November 20, 2021 at 1:20 pm By Dave Armstrong

[public domain / Pixabay] * * * From my bestselling 1996 book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism, pp. 123-145. The introductory material of the chapter (definitions) is omitted; also a few quotations. Footnoting numbers are from my original manuscript and differ from the present Sophia edition. All Bible passages are from RSV. * * * * * Psalm 66:12 Thou didst let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet thou hast brought us forth to a... Read more

John 6: Literal Eucharist Interpretation (and Bad Contrary Exegesis)

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 12:25 pm By Dave Armstrong

. . . (Analogical Cross-Referencing and Insufficient Counter-Arguments) The Last Supper (c. 1562), by Joan de Joanes (1510-1579) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (8-15-09) * * * John 6:47-66 (RSV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. [48] I am the bread of life. [49] Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. [50] This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. [51]... Read more

Catholic Virginity: Is it Merely an “Anti-Sex” Viewpoint?

Last updated on: February 9, 2020 at 5:17 pm By Dave Armstrong

Photo and photoshopping by Jonathan Thorne, 6-23-08 [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] * * * This article has been re-uploaded under the title of Dialogue: Is Catholic Virginity an “Anti-Sex” Viewpoint? *** Read more

The Bible, Luther, & Calvin on Calling Mary “Blessed”

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 12:34 pm By Dave Armstrong

Annunciation (1608-1610), by Caravaggio (1571-1610) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (1-27-12) * * * Luke 1:26, 28 (RSV: non-Catholic version): . . . the angel Gabriel . . . [28] . . . came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Luke 1:41-42, 45 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit [42] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and... Read more

Critique of Criticisms of the New Mass (Pauline / Ordinary Form)

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 12:43 pm By Dave Armstrong

Official Vatican photograph of Pope Paul VI, 1963 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * These are (slightly modified in places) follow-up comments I made on Facebook, under the cross-posting of my paper, Two Forms of ONE Rite (Pope Benedict XVI). * * * * * Abbreviations: OF = ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass, or New Mass, or Novus Ordo Mass, or Mass of Pope Paul VI EF = extraordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass, or Tridentine Mass NO = Novus Ordo Mass *... Read more