Dialogue with a Polymath Agnostic on Root Premises

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 4:28 pm By Dave Armstrong

Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (a polymath) by Francesco Melzi (1493-1570) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] This exchange occurred in the combox for my post, Clarifications re: Atheist “Reductio” Paper. My opponent’s (JD Eveland’s) words will be in blue. He has very impressive credentials: a Ph.D. and various professorships. He claims to be a “polymath” too: which means a great genius, with expertise in many fields. This title has been applied to men like Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, and Isaac Newton. I’m honored to have been... Read more

Provocative (?) Thoughts on Radical Catholic Reactionaries

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 4:41 pm By Dave Armstrong

Bishops at Vatican II (photo by Lothar Wolleh) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] . . . including reflections on traditionalist objections to the term, “Radtrad.” (23 August 2013) As in all such discussions, I always have to clarify that I draw a very sharp distinction between mainstream, legitimate Catholic traditionalists (whom I often agree with) and radical Catholic reactionaries (my own coined term), with whom I rarely agree when they get into preaching / reforming mode. I wrote... Read more

Defending God (The Atheist Blame Game Routine)

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 4:44 pm By Dave Armstrong

[Pixabay / CC0 Public Domain] This exchange took place in the combox of my post, Why Did a Perfect God Create an Imperfect World? The words of “MountainDewFan4” will be in blue. * * * * * So many people think they could do a better job at being God than God does. Atheists love to do this; but not a few Christians fall into the same foolish trap, too. OK, I can agree that god can not create perfect humans. Otherwise they would also be gods … but why didn’t... Read more

Why Didn’t C. S. Lewis Become a Catholic?

Last updated on: May 18, 2022 at 11:27 am By Dave Armstrong

The great Anglican apologist C. S. Lewis was raised in Belfast. I believe it’s “hearsay” evidence, but for what it’s worth, I once heard Catholic philosopher and apologist Peter Kreeft in a radio interview speak about a discussion between Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien (of Lord of the Rings fame), in which Lewis was asked why he hadn’t become a Catholic. Lewis is reputed to have replied (paraphrase): “If you had grown up in Belfast, you would understand... Read more

The Book of Revelation Utterly Annihilates Universalism

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 4:47 pm By Dave Armstrong

Fire sunset hd wallpaper [http://widehdwalls.com] This is a follow-up to my post, Analysis of “Hoping All Will be Saved” / …Hell is Empty”; specifically, the following portion in it: We know that hell is not empty from the following passage (among others): Revelation 20:13-15 (RSV) And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; [15]... Read more

God: Is His Existence No More Reasonable than Leprechauns?

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 4:50 pm By Dave Armstrong

Leprechaun, by Ignacio Leo [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] This was a discussion in one of my comboxes, under my post, Why Did a Perfect God Create an Imperfect World? * * * * * Mark Moore: I have heard students of Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and other fictional tales discuss them in a similar way, parsing the language, making inferences. Arguing over what an orc or a Klingon might or might not do. Logic without testing... Read more

Top 15 “Catholic” Beliefs of Protestant Leader John Calvin

Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 2:35 pm By Dave Armstrong

Calvin, by Georg Osterwald (1803-1884) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] It’s usually thought that, among the founders of Protestantism, Martin Luther was the most (relatively) “Catholic” and “traditional.” That is true; however, it may surprise many to know how many traditional (literally or substantially Catholic) beliefs that John Calvin also retained. He was probably even more influential on the history of subsequent Protestantism than Luther was. The following quotes were all taken (save #2 and #1) from his quintessential work, Institutions... Read more

John Calvin: All Fathers But One Wrong Regarding Free Will

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 4:54 pm By Dave Armstrong

Portrait of Jean Calvin, by Titian (1490-1576) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] [A]lthough the Greek Fathers, above others, and especially Chrysostom, have exceeded due bounds in extolling the powers of the human will, yet all ancient theologians, with the exception of Augustine, are so confused, vacillating, and contradictory on this subject, that no certainty can be obtained from their writings. It is needless, therefore, to be more particular in enumerating every separate opinion. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book II, 2:4)... Read more

Dialogue: “Anthropological Advocacy” of Same-Sex Marriage, Part II

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 5:00 pm By Dave Armstrong

Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene (by Simeon Solomon, 1864) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] See Part I And by the way, I studied all this stuff about society, in college. I majored in sociology and minored in psychology. College was great insofar as I thoroughly learned how secular minds think. Few fields are as secularized as sociology and psychology. Consequently, I have utilized that background ever since in my Christian apologetics. I understand my opponents. I used to think the... Read more

Were “50-68 Million” People Killed in the Inquisition?

Last updated on: November 20, 2021 at 12:29 pm By Dave Armstrong

Apologetics (defending Catholicism and sometimes general Christianity) is usually very fun. I love my work, but at times it is maddeningly frustrating. This very week I had an experience that provides an opportunity to clarify some relevant historical facts about the Inquisition (actually, there were several Inquisitions). Non-Catholic Christians and the secular world have used the Inquisitions, the Crusades, and the Galileo incident, as “clubs” to bash the Church for almost 500 years. I did so myself, in my... Read more