33 Empiricist Christian Thinkers Before 1000 A. D.

Last updated on: November 3, 2020 at 6:19 pm By Dave Armstrong

Armillary sphere, constructed by Antonio Santucci, c. 1582. Wikipedia: “The armillary sphere was introduced to Western Europe via Al-Andalus in the late 10th century with the efforts of Gerbert d’Aurillac, the later Pope Sylvester II (r. 999–1003). Pope Sylvester II applied the use of sighting tubes with his armillary sphere in order to fix the position of the pole star and record measurements for the tropics and equator.” [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] (8-5-10) This constitutes Chapter Two of my book, Science and Christianity: Close Partners or Mortal Enemies? (2010, 301... Read more

Galileo, St. Robert Bellarmine, & Scientific Method

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 12:43 pm By Dave Armstrong

Portrait of Galileo Galilei (1636), by Justus Sustermans (1597-1681). [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This mini-debate took place in the combox for my post, Galileo: The Myths and the Facts. See also my recent related post, The Galileo Fiasco & Catholic Infallibility. The words of Andrew G. will be in blue. * * * * * From my initial post (linked above): Indeed, his biographer Giorgio de Santillana stated that “It has been known for a long time that... Read more

Limited Atonement Refuted? (John 12:32 & St. John Chrysostom)

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 12:47 pm By Dave Armstrong

John Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion: manuscript from Geneva: Robert Estienne, definitive fourth edition 1559. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * John 12:32 (RSV) and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. If Jesus died only for the elect (those who are saved in the end), — as the Calvinist / Reformed tradition holds — what does it mean here that all men are drawn to Him? It makes no... Read more

Divorced and Remarried (Etc.) & Holy Communion

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 12:50 pm By Dave Armstrong

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well (1640 or 1641), by Guercino (1591-1666). It was Jesus Who first said (not the Catholic Church): “they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6, RSV) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * The bottom-line question is: “does the Church conform to the larger society and follow all the latest trends and chic fashions, or do we... Read more

The Inquisition, Abortion, & ISIS Terrorists (Connections?)

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 12:54 pm By Dave Armstrong

Portrait of Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license] Lo and behold, in a combox having to do with the Galileo affair, somehow, the atheists wanted to start harping and carping on about the execution of heretics 500-800 years ago (even though not a finger was laid upon Galileo). Now, if you, dear reader, can explain to me how that is on-topic, and relevant, please let me know. But since it was brought up, I also dared to bring... Read more

Christianity: Absolutely Crucial to the Origin of Science

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 12:57 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original title: Christianity’s Central Role in the Conception and Development of Modern Science Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996): (Jewish) philosopher of science and author of the hugely influential work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. In his book, The Copernican Revolution, he wrote: “[M]odern scientists inherited from their medieval predecessors … an unbounded faith in the power of human reason to solve the problems of nature.” [Wikipedia / Fair Use image] (8-1-10) Psalm 19:1 (RSV) The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims... Read more

The Galileo Fiasco’s Relation to Catholic Infallibility

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 1:02 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original Title: Dialogue with an Atheist on the Galileo Fiasco and its Relation to Catholic Infallibility (vs. Jon Curry) St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621); 16th. c. anonymous Italian painter [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (8-11-10) This exchange occurred in the combox (beginning with Jon’s first comment) for the related paper, “No One’s Perfect”: Scientific Errors of Galileo and 16th-17th Century Cosmologies Rescued From Obscurity. I felt that eventually the dialogue broke down into dialogue-killing wrangling about style, methodology, and minutiae, and so... Read more

Galileo Affair: The Myths and the Facts Scrutinized

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 1:04 pm By Dave Armstrong

Nicolaus Copernicus (1773-1543): forensic facial reconstruction, based on his skull. [Flickr / public domain] (5-11-06) From my book, The One-Minute Apologist (2007)* * * * * THE CHURCH The Galileo incident proves that the Catholic Church isn’t infallible It also shows that Catholicism opposes science due to its Aristotelian dogmatism Initial reply The Church’s often misunderstood erroneous proclamations on Galileo do not overthrow the doctrine of infallibility, once the facts are properly scrutinized. Extensive reply The censure of the astronomer Galileo (1564-1642)... Read more

Non-Empirical “Basic” Warrant for Theism & Christianity

Last updated on: May 17, 2017 at 2:13 pm By Dave Armstrong

Alvin Plantinga (b. 1932): widely regarded as the greatest living Christian philosopher, in 2009. [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] * * * * * If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times from atheists and agnostics: “how can I believe in a ‘god’ without direct empirical evidence? Unless ‘he’ appears to me personally or rearranges — before my eyes — the Statue of Liberty into a giant sentence that reads ‘God exists’ then I have no... Read more

My Odyssey from Evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism

Last updated on: April 16, 2018 at 2:59 pm By Dave Armstrong

Yours truly at age 29 in October 1987, three years before I was persuaded of Catholicism. At this time I was an evangelical Protestant campus evangelist / apologist at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University in Detroit. I would have thought that the chance of my becoming a Catholic would have been about as likely as growing wings and flying to Mars (without oxygen). But God had other plans for me! We often don’t know what lies ahead in... Read more