Pope Francis Defended: Resources for Confused Folks

Last updated on: June 6, 2026 at 12:25 am By Dave Armstrong

Pope Francis, 8-17-14 in South Korea [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license] *** See also my 242 articles: Replies to Critiques of Pope Francis See also my book, Pope Francis Explained: Survey of Myths, Legends, and Catholic Defenses in Harmony with Tradition. *** I wrote on 9-20-13: For all of you out there worried about the pope. Relax; chill. All is well. We have a pope who says the unexpected: a lot like Jesus. And, like Jesus, those who... Read more

Apologetics-Oriented Biblical Commentary on Colossians (RSV)

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 1:59 pm By Dave Armstrong

Folio from Papyrus 46, (dated between 175 and 225) containing 2 Corinthians 11:33-12:9 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (1998) Chapter 1 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colos’sae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of... Read more

Refutation of Dr. John MacArthur’s Defense of Sola Scriptura

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 2:02 pm By Dave Armstrong

John F. MacArthur, Jr. (born 1939) in 2013 [Wikimedia Commons /Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication] (15 September 2003) Dr. John MacArthur is an influential and well-known radio preacher, Bible expositor, and author, well-worth listening to (until he gets to the subject of Catholicism . . . ). I will quote a great deal of his article, but not all. Dr. MacArthur’s words will be in blue. The subtitles are his own (in brown). * * * * * Teaching... Read more

Critique of Chris Ferrara’s Criticisms of Pope Francis’ Environmentalism

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 2:20 pm By Dave Armstrong

Mud volcano in Qobustan, Azerbaijan (Bruno Girin) [Flickr / Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license] *** (6-20-15) *** Radical Catholic reactionary and quasi-schismatic Christopher A. Ferrara published a critique of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si at the reactionary Remnant website. It’s entitled, On the Pope’s Encyclical, ‘Laudato Si’: Talk to the Animals – After All, You’re One of Them (6-18-15). I shall proceed to write a rebuttal of it. Ferrara’s words below will be in blue. * * * *... Read more

Intro.: “Cardinal Newman: Q & A in Theology, Church History, & Conversion”

Last updated on: April 11, 2019 at 3:15 pm By Dave Armstrong

[public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (5-23-15) *** Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman wrote in a letter dated 10 February 1869: * I am not a theologian. A theologian is one who has mastered theology – who can say how many opinions there are on every point, what authors have taken which, and which is the best – who can discriminate exactly between proposition and proposition, argument and argument, who can pronounce which are safe, which allowable, which dangerous –... Read more

Dialogue with an Anglican Philosopher on Catholic-Protestant Ecumenism

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 2:39 pm By Dave Armstrong

(vs. Dr. Jerry Walls) President Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan Meet with Pope St. John Paul II (7 June 1982) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (5-13-15) *** Jerry Walls is a philosophy professor at Houston Baptist University, and received his doctorate from Notre Dame. He himself is Anglican. He will be shortly publishing a book which is a critique of Catholicism. He is not an anti-Catholic. This exchange took place on my (public) Facebook wall. His words will... Read more

What I LIKE (a Lot!) About Calvinism and Calvinists

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 2:42 pm By Dave Armstrong

Charles Colson (1931-2012): great Presbyterian writer [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (June 2009) I have a rather high view of Calvinism and many Calvinists. I state this in several places on my website. I “hate” certain beliefs or strands of Calvinism (particularly supralapsarianism) — as I hate all error –, but other aspects I highly admire (the scholarly approach, the more historically oriented view, the retention of sacramentalism, the appreciation for Covenant theology, a superior ecclesiology to many evangelicals, a... Read more

Dialogue with a Baptist: Infant Baptism in the New Testament?

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 2:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

Photograph by Nancy Heise (30 Sep. 2008) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (4-29-15) This occurred on a public Facebook page, that shared a post I had shared, having to do with a Baptist pastor baptizing an infant. The pastor’s words will be in blue. I made a dumb and unnecessary remark (though not intended as a personal attack) that offended the pastor. I later apologized for it, and explained exactly what I meant (and he decided to return and continue... Read more

Broad Exchange with a Former Catholic, Bible-Only Protestant

Last updated on: June 3, 2017 at 1:10 pm By Dave Armstrong

(vs. John Hallman) Presbyterian church building in Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia, 1826 [Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0] *** (4-13-15) *** This occurred in the combox of an article I did at Catholic365: What to Do About Mediocre, Milky Homilies at Mass (4-11-15). John Hallman’s words will be in blue. * * * * * Read the Bible, and teach it, and you can’t go wrong. I agree! And teach it within the framework of approved Catholic apostolic tradition, so there... Read more

Can We Honor Jesus Christ Through His Mother Mary?

Last updated on: May 24, 2017 at 2:56 pm By Dave Armstrong

(vs. John Cranman) The Virgin of the Lilies (1899) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (4-9-15) The following dialogue took place on my Facebook author page. I posted a meme which read: “We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek — Jesus, her Son.” [St. Louis... Read more

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