Atheism and Atheology (Copious Helpful Resources)

Last updated on: June 16, 2018 at 3:55 pm By Dave Armstrong

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011): one of the most famous of the “new atheists”; image by Surian Soosay (12-16-11) [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] * * * * * Alphabetical by Author ATHEISM, CRITIQUES OF Atheist Demands for “Empirical” Proofs of God (Dave Armstrong, 2015) Atheism: More Rational & Scientific than Christianity? (Dave Armstrong, 2015) On Critiquing Atheist “Deconversion” Stories (Dave Armstrong, 2015) The Atheist Obsession with Insulting Christians (Dave Armstrong, 2015) Atheism: the Faith of “Atomism” (Dave Armstrong, 2015) The... Read more

Reply to Robin Phillips’ Essay, “Why I’m Not a Catholic”

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 12:51 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original Title: Comprehensive Response to Protestant Robin Phillips’ Essay, “Why I am Not a Roman Catholic” Crepuscular Rays at Noon in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City; photograph by Alex Proimos (7-11-11) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license] (1-31-12) Robin Phillips is co-director of the Reformed Liturgical Institute. he studied philosophy at London University and received a B.A. in Western Civilization from the UK’s Open University. He was a history teacher at the Classical Christian Academy in Idaho, where he developed a six year curriculum spanning... Read more

Zwingli’s Belief in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Sinlessness

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 1:05 pm By Dave Armstrong

Portrait of Zwingli by Hans Asper (1499-1571) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (9-30-10) Huldreich (or Ulrich) Zwingli (1484-1531) was one of the founders of Protestantism. Note: since he rejected the orthodox Christian doctrine of original sin, he cannot be said to have espoused Mary’s immaculate conception, because that doctrine presupposes original sin (in order to remove it from Mary by grace). [Zwingli’s own words are in blue] * * * * * 1) Hans Joachim Hillerbrand, Encyclopedia of Protestantism, Volume 3 (Taylor &... Read more

Two Forms of ONE Roman / Latin Rite (Pope Benedict XVI)

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 1:12 pm By Dave Armstrong

Pope Benedict XVI: 7 June 2006 [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license] * * * * * This exchange occurred on my Facebook page today, in discussion under my post about Michael Voris’ criticisms of the Novus Ordo Mass. Words of Michael Bradley will be in blue; words of James Layne in green. Abbreviations: OF = ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass, or New Mass, or Novus Ordo Mass, or Mass of Pope Paul VI EF = extraordinary... Read more

Why Should We Believe in Mary’s Perpetual Virginity?

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 1:17 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Rest on the Flight Into Egypt (c. 1510), by Gerard David (bet. 1450-1460-1523) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] The following is based on a chat on a blog with two Protestants (both Presbyterian, I believe, and one a pastor). It is, therefore, written in the first person. Their thoughts are paraphrased in blue. (2-28-04) * * * Nothing in the New Testament “even remotely suggests” the perpetual virginity of Mary. But there is nothing in the Bible that even remotely suggests the... Read more

“Why Should Anyone Care About Early Protestant Mariology?”

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 1:21 pm By Dave Armstrong

[Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] [from a Facebook post of 16 October 2014] * * * * * This is a question often raised by Protestant apologists, who misunderstand the reason why Catholics note these historical facts about the Protestant founders’ beliefs and aspects of “distinctive Catholicism” that they retain. * * * Primarily, it is a matter of historical fact or absence of evidence for same. Hence I wrote in the thread at CA where Tim Staples... Read more

Michael Voris vs. the Ordinary Form Mass & Pope Benedict XVI

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 1:23 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original Title: Michael Voris’ Denigration of the Ordinary Form of the Mass vs. Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 Decrees Pope Benedict XVI celebrating the Easter Vigil Mass on 7 April 2007 in St. Peter’s Basilica [Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0 license] (11-16-12) The following is a critique of Michael Voris’ video, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Pt. 1. Excerpts follow, with his words in blue. * * * * * 29:10 “In the meantime a New Mass is being engineered that almost totally downplays all Catholic worship in favor of a... Read more

Science & Christianity (Copious Helpful Resources)

Last updated on: June 12, 2018 at 11:07 pm By Dave Armstrong

Daguerreotype of Charles Darwin from 1842 (age 33), with oldest son, William Erasmus Darwin [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * I. ADAM AND EVE / MONOGENISM Adam and Eve, Cain, Abel, and Noah as Historical Figures (Dave Armstrong, 2008) Fr. Robert Barron Denies that Adam Was a “Literal Figure” (Dave Armstrong, 2011) Defending the Literal, Historical Adam of the Genesis Account (Dave Armstrong vs. Eric S. Giunta, 2011) Adam & Eve of Genesis: Historical & the Primal Human Pair? (Dave... Read more

15 Theistic Arguments (Copious Helpful Resources)

Last updated on: June 10, 2018 at 5:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

Hungarian-British philosopher and polymath Michael Polanyi (1891-1976) in 1933: vanquisher of a moribund positivism, and developer of the notion of tacit knowledge, which has strong similarities to Cardinal Newman’s illative sense [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * THEISTIC ARGUMENTS 1. AESTHETIC ARGUMENT Beauty as a Road to God (Eleonore Stump, 2007) [PDF download] 2. “PROPERLY BASIC” BELIEF / INNATE KNOWLEDGE / TACIT KNOWLEDGE / PLATONISM Must Christianity be Empirically Falsifiable? (Dave Armstrong, 2010)... Read more

Acts 16:4 vs. Sola Scriptura & John Calvin? (Conciliar Authority)

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 1:38 pm By Dave Armstrong

Is Conciliar Authority Binding on Protestants (Especially When it is Guided by St. Paul and St. Peter?) Sts. Peter and Paul, by Guido Reni (1575-1642) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * Jerry Walls is an evangelical philosopher who is writing an upcoming book on Catholicism. He has written or edited a dozen books and over eighty articles. His words (in blue) following, come from his public Facebook post, Roman Apologetic Overreach: An All Saints Day Meditation. * * * * *... Read more