Catholics & Justification by Faith Alone: Any Common Ground?

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 4:06 pm By Dave Armstrong

Is There a Sense in Which Catholics Can Accept “Faith Alone” and/or Imputed Justification (with Proper Biblical Qualifications)? Conversion of St. Paul (1767) by Nicolas-Bernard Lépicié (1735-1784) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (9-28-10) The following is an excerpt from my book, Biblical Catholic Salvation: “Faith Working Through Love” — Chapter One. * * * * * Many Protestants (and Catholics) are unaware that the Council of Trent does not absolutely rule out all notions whatever of justification by faith alone or even of imputation of... Read more

150 Reasons Why I Became (and Remain) a Catholic

Last updated on: November 20, 2021 at 1:23 pm By Dave Armstrong

The choir of Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, England. Photograph by David Iliff, 29 July 2014. [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] (1992; revised on 9-28-05) *****Featuring 300 Biblical Evidences Favoring Catholicism***** 1. Best One-Sentence Summary: I am convinced that the Catholic Church conforms much more closely to all of the biblical data, offers the only coherent view of the history of Christianity (i.e., Christian, apostolic Tradition), and possesses the most profound and sublime Christian morality, spirituality, social ethic, and philosophy. 2. Alternate: I am a Catholic because I sincerely believe, by... Read more

Jesus vs. the “Faith Alone” Doctrine (Rich Young Ruler)

Last updated on: January 4, 2023 at 1:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

[Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] Matthew 19:16-24 (RSV) And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” [17] And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” [18] He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear... Read more

My Claims Regarding Piltdown Man & the Scopes Trial Twisted

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 4:14 pm By Dave Armstrong

Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935) in 1919: sadly mistaken Nebraska Man and Piltdown Man enthusiast [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * Dr. Gary S. Hurd received a doctorate in Social Science (emphasis in Anthropology) from the University of California, Irvine in 1976. For the next 10 years he was a medical researcher and professor of psychiatry leaving the Medical College of Georgia in 1985. He held numerous adjunct appointments and returned full-time to archaeology, his first interest. He has received honors... Read more

Atheist Premise-Driven Misunderstandings of Theistic Arguments

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 4:16 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Piltdown Man hoax (a jaw of an orangutan attached to a human skull). It took 41 years for the scientific community to debunk it. [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license] * * * * * I get sick and tired of people not reading in context. It’s not rocket science to grammatically connect sentences together, and to logically connect thoughts and concepts. I don’t think it is by any means solely an atheist shortcoming. I would contend that it occurs... Read more

Christian Devotion to Jesus Explained to Atheists & Agnostics

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 4:19 pm By Dave Armstrong

Jesus Christ: portrait by Ariel Agemian, based on the image on the Shroud of Turin. [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] * * * * * Manuscript evidence and reliability and verification from archaeology of the New Testament (and the Old Testament) leads to the conclusion that we can be assured that we have the actual words of Jesus. Before we even get to the question of miracles, or a purported resurrection, we have to deal with that. This person,... Read more

Manuscript Evidence: New Testament vs. Plato, Etc.

Last updated on: November 20, 2021 at 1:26 pm By Dave Armstrong

The verso of Rylands Library Papyrus P52 from the Gospel of John; its most probable date is 117-138 AD, making it one of the earliest NT manuscript fragments. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] The following are exchanges from the combox for my paper, God, Empiricism, & Atheist Demands for “Evidence”, with new material added presently. My opponents’ words will be in green and blue. They are either atheist or agnostic. * * * * * JGravelle: The following is a list of accounts written about Yeshua by His contemporaries: –... Read more

Simultaneously Dumb & Smart Christians, Atheists, & Scientists

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 4:23 pm By Dave Armstrong

Reply to atheist Neil Carter’s article,“Why Do Intelligent, Well-Educated People Still Believe Nonsense?” (10-9-15) Galileo Galilei (1564-1642); portrait (c. 1605-1607) by Domenico Tintoretto (1560-1635) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] Neil Carter’s cited words will be in blue. * * * * * Last night for the third time in as many months I found myself explaining to someone raised outside of a devoutly religious environment that religious people are not stupid simply because they believe nonsensical things. . . . Very often they flatly disagree and insist that anyone... Read more

God, Empiricism, & Atheist Demands for “Evidence”

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 4:24 pm By Dave Armstrong

How can an empirical spirit be directly empirically tested? It makes no sense. [public domain / Pixabay] Brad Feaker: I am an agnostic atheist. I leave open the possibility of evidence for a god, therefore I must be agnostic about such a beings existence. But as for my belief? I could really care less about how you define your god. There is simply no reliable evidence for any of them, Catholic or Protestant. So yes – I proportion my belief to... Read more

John Loftus’ Deconversion and Feuds with Atheists

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 4:27 pm By Dave Armstrong

Mt. St. Helens volcanic eruption (1980) [public domain / Pixabay] * * * * * John W. Loftus runs a large and influential site, Debunking Christianity, and has authored many books of atheist polemics. Previously I had posted my critique of Loftus’ online “Cliff’s Notes” deconversion story, which detailed his odyssey from a Christian pastor to atheism. I also have posted about his ridiculous response to my critique. In that he characterized me as an “idiot . . . joke... Read more