Older Luther’s Illness and Frustrations and His Writing

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 4:38 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original title: Did the Older Luther’s Illness and Frustration Significantly (and Negatively) Impact His Writing? Luther Historians Say Yes Portrait of Martin Luther (1532), by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (6-12-13) * * * * * I made the following statement in another paper of mine: Another relevant factor to take into consideration is Luther’s ravings when he was an old, embittered, sick man (disgusted even with most Protestants, including his own party, let alone Catholics):... Read more

Martin Luther: Catholicism is Christian

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 4:40 pm By Dave Armstrong

Chartres Cathedral: north transept rose window, c.1235. Photograph by Guillaume Piolle, 2-7-09 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (6-12-13) *** These are excerpts from a larger dialogue that also discussed Calvin’s view (with this new introduction and summary). All words are Luther’s except for a few comments from scholars on his views and positions, or my introductory comments, which will be in blue, and the bibliographical source information: in green. It should be noted that Luther also makes tons of negative... Read more

Did Luther and Calvin Think Catholicism was Christian?

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 4:49 pm By Dave Armstrong

Original Title: On the Definition of “Christian” and Whether Luther and Calvin Regarded Catholicism as Christian (vs. Anti-Catholic Calvinist Austin Reed) Cologne Cathedral [Flickr / CC BY2.0 license] *** (6-14-13) *** Austin’s words [see his Facebook page] will be in blue. We had an exchange on 1 May 2013 on Facebook about the definition of Christian (which is included as the first part below). The latest dialogue began in June 2013 on one Facebook thread, spread to another, and... Read more

Rorate Caeli’s Pope-Basher, Marcelo González: Holocaust Revisionist

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 4:52 pm By Dave Armstrong

Wagon loaded with corpses outside the crematorium of the Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, following its liberation (4-16-45) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (4-8-13) *** This is another highly disturbing example of anti-Semitism among radical Catholic reactionaries (RadCathRs). One thing is for sure: there are numerous examples of outrageous anti-Semitism online, emanating from radical Catholic reactionary community (however large the problem is in “real life”). Catholic apologist and journalist Mark Shea has been documenting and decrying it for years now.... Read more

Books by Dave Armstrong: “The Quotable Eastern Church Fathers: Distinctively Catholic Elements in Their Theology”

Last updated on: November 30, 2023 at 3:16 pm By Dave Armstrong

[completed on 8 July 2013, 303 pages, and published at Lulu on the same day] [cover design by Dave Armstrong]— For purchase information, go to the bottom of the page — *** Misc. *** Introductory Post [Facebook] * Discussion and Justification of Some “Western” Terminology Used in the Book (Particularly “Sacrifice of the Mass”) [Facebook] * Favorable Review by Matthew Celestis (1-25-15) * Introduction and Sources *** This collection is devoted to documentation of examples of “distinctively Catholic” theological beliefs... Read more

Books by Dave Armstrong: “Catholic Converts and Conversion”

Last updated on: November 30, 2023 at 3:29 pm By Dave Armstrong

[237 pages. Completed on 8 April 2013 and published by Lulu on the same day] [cover design by Dave Armstrong] *** — for info. on purchasing a paperback or e-book, go to the bottom of the page — INTRODUCTION *** The early 1990s were a very exciting time in the Catholic world, in terms of an increasing flow of converts into the faith, and the advent of the “modern apologetics movement.” Dr. Scott Hahn, a former Presbyterian minister (and... Read more

“Dialogue” on Obamanomics (vs. Bruce Townley)

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 4:55 pm By Dave Armstrong

Image by Edalisse Hirst (11-14-09) [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] *** (3-1-13) *** This occurred in a public Facebook thread on my page. I’ve edited it for more compact presentation. Bruce Townley is an atheist and former Christian (though those things don’t have any direct relation to the present discussion), with whom I’ve had many (attempted) debates on theological topics, going back several years (he used a pseudonym in those). Unfortunately, the exchanges were always of the unsavory character... Read more

Informal Worship vs. Formal Catholic Liturgy

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 4:57 pm By Dave Armstrong

A modern Western worship team leading a contemporary worship session. Photo by David Ball (Sep. 2006) [Wikipedia / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license] *** (3-4-13) *** The following are remarks come from a Facebook thread. Others’ words (all Catholics) will be in different colors. All of my Facebook posts are public, so there is no violation of confidence or privacy. * * * * * In my non-denom, “Jesus people” / “Jesus movement” days, that’s exactly what we did: rock... Read more

Dialogue with a Lutheran on the Immaculate Conception

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 5:00 pm By Dave Armstrong

The Small Cowper Madonna (c. 1505), by Raphael (1483-1520) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (2-18-13) * * * Chuck Wiese (Lutheran) wrote an article on his blog (The Lamb on the Altar), entitled, “Dave Armstrong’s Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception” (17 February 2013). I shall cite it in its entirety below and reply to it, point-by-point. His words will be in blue. * * * * * The Roman church teaches that when Mary was conceived in the... Read more

Definition of “Sola Scriptura” (We Must Get it Right!)

Last updated on: May 27, 2017 at 5:04 pm By Dave Armstrong

Statue of Southern Baptist pastor and great preacher, W. A. Criswell (1909-2002) at Criswell College, Dallas, Texas. Photo by R. Huggins: 11-29-11 [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license] *** (2-15-13) *** What Protestants mean by sola scriptura is that the Bible alone is the infallible written authority for faith and morals —Evangelical Protestant apologist Norman Geisler (Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1995, 178; co-author, Ralph E. Mackenzie) It is important to notice that... Read more