Is Mary’s Assumption Able to be Inferred from Scripture Alone?

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 5:59 pm By Dave Armstrong

Titian’s Assunta (1516-1518) [public domain / Wikipedia] *** I believe that the Bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be inferred from Scripture based on the consequences of the Immaculate Conception, which is directly taught in its essence (sinlessness) in Luke 1:28 (looked at very closely in the Greek). If the Blessed Virgin Mary was not subject to original sin, then she would not have to suffer bodily corruption, and that is the Assumption: received bodily into heaven and... Read more

Protestant-Catholic Differences Re the Rule of Faith & “Sola Scriptura”

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 6:01 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Book of Kells, c. 800 (Ireland): folio 292r: the beginning of the Gospel of John [public domain / Wikipedia] Protestantism: Scripture is the only infallible authority (sola Scriptura). Catholicism: “three-legged stool” comprised of Bible-Tradition-Church, with the assumption of apostolic succession, and including ecumenical councils and popes. I’ve written two books, and lengthy parts of several others, just about that. This is one fundamental principle of both versions of Christianity, and probably the one from which everything else might be... Read more

Was Jesus “Spiteful” When He Said, “Shake the Dust Off of Your Feet”?

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 6:03 pm By Dave Armstrong

Sermon on the Mount, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1876 [public domain / Wikipedia] . . . against those who refused the gospel? Is this a refusal to “meet people where they are at”? If we think that something Jesus said is “spiteful” we clearly have taken a wrong turn in our exegesis. This isn’t consigning folks to hell. It’s a typically Jewish figurative-but-concrete expression of protest against rebelliousness, hardheartedness, and stubbornness (perhaps the leading theme of the entire Old Testament).... Read more

Top Ten Remarkable “Catholic” Beliefs of Martin Luther

Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 4:35 pm By Dave Armstrong

Luther as an Augustinian Friar (Workshop of Lucas Cranach) [public domain / Wikipedia] 10. Luther believed that crucifixes were a good and edifying thing. 9. Luther believed in the value of private confession. 8. Luther believed that good works were a necessary expression of the authenticity of true faith. 7. Luther believed that the sacrament of baptism regenerated and saved men. 6. Luther believed in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, in adoring the consecrated host, and that the sacrament... Read more

About Apologist Dave Armstrong / Donation Information

Last updated on: May 1, 2025 at 11:31 am By Dave Armstrong

Dave & Judy Armstrong, 7-23-09; photograph by fellow Michigander apologist, Steve Ray, taken at fellow apologist Gary Michuta’s Michigan home! Dave Armstrong is a Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon,... Read more

Final Judgment Always Has to Do with Works; Never with “Faith Alone”

Last updated on: May 21, 2017 at 6:10 pm By Dave Armstrong

Stefan Lochner, Last Judgement, c. 1435. [public domain / Wikipedia] A Presbyterian pastor once asked me: “If you were to die tonight and God were to ask you why He should let you into heaven, what would you tell Him?” The problem here is: I don’t see anywhere in the Bible where God speaks like this. In all the passages we can find concerning judgment, we never hear about the “faith alone” that many Protestants tell us is the sole criterion... Read more

What to Do About Mediocre, Milky Homilies at Mass

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 1:37 pm By Dave Armstrong

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, drawn by George Richmond, 1844 [public domain / Wikipedia] *** A friend of mine complained about priests failing to actually present Catholic teachings in their homilies and the scarcity of sermons about contraception and the Real Presence and other Catholic doctrines. He thought that many homilies were feel-good pep talks that are at best marginally Catholic. Insofar as this occurs (sometimes it is a greatly exaggerated problem, and some folks are never pleased, no... Read more

“Who is Dave Armstrong and Why Should I Read His Stuff?”

Last updated on: June 3, 2017 at 1:07 pm By Dave Armstrong

With Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin in my home in early 2004 [photo by my wife, Judy Armstrong] *** I’m delighted to be part of the Patheos roster of bloggers. I thought I’d share a little bit about myself, for those of you unfamiliar with my writing. I’m a full-time Catholic apologist. Catholic apologetics was a very “sexy” endeavor about twenty years ago when the Catholic world was abuzz with the phenomena of Karl Keating’s Catholic Answers, Scott Hahn’s conversion, Catholic... Read more

Argument for Veneration of Saints & Angels from Prohibition of Blasphemy

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 1:50 pm By Dave Armstrong

Vision of Cornelius the Centurion (1664) by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (1621-1674) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-8-15) *** The Bible looks negatively on what it describes as “blasphemy” — not just against God, but against holy persons or those set apart for His purposes (Moses: Acts 6:11; St. Paul: Acts 13:45; 18:6; saints in heaven: Rev 13:6; Christians in general: 1 Pet 4:4), and against angels (2 Pet 2:10; Jude 8; Rev 13:6). The same words for blasphemy are... Read more

Dialogue with an Atheist on My Semi-Satirical Critique of Atheism

Last updated on: June 3, 2017 at 1:08 pm By Dave Armstrong

It’s satire folks; like Monty Python (four of the six members of the British comedy troupe above) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** (7-10-15) *** This came about as a result of an atheist responding to my paper, Why Atheists Are Far More Religious Than we Think. It occurred on a public Facebook page. His name will remain anonymous (unless he requests otherwise), but all the words are his, and will be in blue. * * * *... Read more