“Debate and Oratory”. Image for first page of “Debate and Oratory” section of 1909 Tyee (yearbook of the University of Washington). [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] The following excerpts are from the combox of the article, “It’s Just So Obvious!”: The Case of Torture (Edward Feser, What’s Wrong With the World, 2 May 2009). Mark Shea’s words will be in blue; Francis Beckwith’s in green.* * * * * You seem to me simply to be ignoring everything I said... Read more
Christ’s Descent into Limbo by Albrecht Dürer, c. 1510 [public domain / Wikipedia] *** (1-2-14) *** I received the following letter from one Chris Cole ([email protected]). It’s yet more evidence of the depths of imbecility and slander that anti-Catholics will sink to. If they are this desperate to fault a Catholic, then I think it’s a very good indication of the bankruptcy of their own views. Thankfully, the vast majority of Protestants are neither anti-intellectual nor anti-Catholic. His complete letter... Read more
Salt flats in Death Valley, California [Pixabay / CC0 Public Domain / FAQ] Dave Armstrong vs. Pete Vere, JCL (5-1-14) *** This exchange occurred on Karl Keating’s Facebook page, in a public post (12-25-14). Pete’s words will be in blue; Karl’s in green. * * * * * Karl wrote in his initial post: For a long time Matatics has made it known that he doesn’t think there are any valid bishops or priests left anywhere in the world, unless a few... Read more
The Water Torture.— Facsimile of a Woodcut in J. Damhoudère’s Praxis Rerum Criminalium: in 4to, Antwerp, 1556. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (5-1-14) I agree with what my friend Christopher Blosser had to say in his article in First Things: I have little respect for those who cavalierly lobby in defense of waterboarding — or, for that matter, those who who bring a cudgel to the discussion — tar-and-feathering as the “Rubber Hose Right” (to borrow one well-known term) anyone who... Read more
[completed on 28 December 2014 and published at Lulu (PDF) on the same day. 166 pages] [cover design by Dave Armstrong] — For purchase information, scroll to the bottom — LULU / E-BOOKSITE BLURB My goal in the present volume is to give “balance” and greater overall accuracy to the Catholic treatment of Luther. He obviously wrote a lot of things that Catholics vigorously disagree with. I have dealt at length with those, elsewhere. But if we are to... Read more
(Mary’s Perpetual Virginity) Anonymous 16th century portrait of Calvin. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (10-14-14) (+ partial translation from French by Gregory Fast) [From the French in Corpus Reformatorum, Vol. 74: John Calvin: All the Works That Remain [Opera Quae Supersunt Omnia], Vol. 46, pp. 259-272] MATTH. Ch. I. 22. Or tout ceci a este faict afin que fust accompli ce que le Seigneur avoit dit par le Prophète, disant, 23. Voyci, une Vierge sera enceinte, et enfantera un fils: et appelleront... Read more
. . . An Ecumenical Collection of His ‘Traditional’ Utterances” [see information for this book and its purchase]*** (10-10-14) *** I’ve studied Martin Luther (1483-1546), the founder of Protestantism and specifically Lutheranism, a great deal from the time of my conversion to Catholicism (1990) and even before (I remember reading Roland Bainton’s famous biography, Here I Stand, around the time I got married in 1984). I’ve devoted a book to him, and a large website with scores and scores of... Read more
Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square. November 27, 2013 (by Gabriel Sozi) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** (3-6-14) *** [compiled from remarks of mine in a recent thread on my Facebook page. Thomas Hunt’s words will be in blue]*** It doesn’t matter what Pope Francis does. If he doesn’t care at all or about “PR”, or if he (on the other hand) becomes a master of all the “proper” techniques and media-savvy, it won’t matter a hill... Read more
Possible depiction of Jehu King of Israel giving tribute to King Shalmaneser III of Assyria, on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III from Nimrud (c. 827 B. C.) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** One of the most poorly understood aspects of the Old Testament (hence brought up a lot to us apologists) are the wars where God tells the Israelites to slay every man, woman, and child. This is seen as the equivalent of the evil massacres such as... Read more
. . . How Popes Routinely Consult Bishops, Priests, and Laity Prior to Momentous Decrees [Lulu cover design by Fr. Deacon Daniel Dozier] [my counter-reply to Fr. Deacon Daniel Dozier from Chapter Six of the heavily revised Third (2015) Edition of Orthodoxy and Catholicism: A Comparison] * * * * * I fully, wholeheartedly agree with my friend, Fr. Deacon Daniel’s words in his superb reply. Perhaps that may surprise some. It shouldn’t (for anyone familiar with my past... Read more
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