Clement of Rome (d. 99) vs. Sola Scriptura

Last updated on: December 20, 2021 at 7:18 pm By Dave Armstrong

Protestant apologists, in tackling the topic of sola Scriptura and whether the Church fathers believed in it or not, very often argue as follows: Church Father X believes in sola Scriptura, because, look, see!: he praises Scripture in this place and that, and another over there, and says that Christians ought to read the Bible to learn theology! Obviously, then, he agrees with the formal Protestant principle of sola Scriptura! Who could possibly doubt it? But this is fallacious and illogical through and through. The proper approach to... Read more

Papias (c. 60-c. 130) vs. Sola Scriptura

Last updated on: December 19, 2021 at 5:30 pm By Dave Armstrong

Protestant apologists, in tackling this topic, very often argue as follows: Church Father X believes in sola Scriptura, because, look, see!: he praises Scripture in this place and that, and another over there, and says that Christians ought to read the Bible to learn theology! Obviously, then, he agrees with the formal Protestant principle of sola Scriptura! Who could possibly doubt it? But this is fallacious and illogical through and through. The proper approach to this topic and what a given Church father believed is as follows: Sola... Read more

St. Ambrose (c. 340-397) vs. Sola Scriptura

Last updated on: December 18, 2021 at 12:12 pm By Dave Armstrong

[book and purchase information; the following material is not in this book] ***** Protestant apologists, in tackling this topic, very often argue as follows: Church Father X believes in sola Scriptura, because, look, see!: he praises Scripture in this place and that, and another over there, and says that Christians ought to read the Bible to learn theology! Obviously, then, he agrees with the formal Protestant principle of sola Scriptura! Who could possibly doubt it? But this is fallacious and illogical through and through. The proper approach... Read more

King David and Archaeology

Last updated on: March 22, 2023 at 11:29 pm By Dave Armstrong

The material formerly here has been re-worked, modified, and edited and is now included only in my book, The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible (Catholic Answers Press: March 15, 2023) *** Photo credit: Jastrow (2006). Statue of King David (1609–1612) by Nicolas Cordier (1567-1612) in the Borghese Chapel of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** Read more

Sola Scriptura as Defined by Historic Protestantism

Last updated on: December 15, 2021 at 3:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

[book and purchase information] Martin Luther (1483-1546) This is my answer to those also who accuse me of rejecting all the holy teachers of the church. I do not reject them. But everyone, indeed, knows that at times they have erred, as men will; therefore, I am ready to trust them only when they give me evidence for their opinions from Scripture, which has never erred. This St. Paul bids me to do in I Thess. 5:21, where he says, “Test... Read more

Sola Scriptura: Self-Refuting? (vs. Steve Hays)

Last updated on: December 14, 2021 at 3:57 pm By Dave Armstrong

[book and purchase information] This is a classic apologetics issue between Catholics and Orthodox on one side, and Protestants on the other, and one, I submit, that Protestants have not sufficiently answered, and, indeed, cannot answer. It’s a fatal objection to their position. Let me run through the logic of this devastating critique of sola Scriptura: 1) The question of sola Scriptura has to do with the rule of faith, which is the method by which Christians can know with... Read more

Steve Hays, Onan, Bible Commentary, & Contraception

Last updated on: December 14, 2021 at 12:27 pm By Dave Armstrong

I have written about the issue of Onan and contraception five times: Why Did God Kill Onan? (Bible and Contraception) [2-9-04] Dialogue: Why Did God Kill Onan? (Contraception) [2-13-04] Onan, Contraception, & Two Protestant Bible Dictionaries [2-21-04] Biblical Data Against Contraception: Onan’s Sin and Punishment: a Concise “Catholic” Argument [3-7-14] Bible vs. Contraception: Onan’s Sin and Punishment [National Catholic Register, 5-30-17] It was brought up again today on my blog that the late Steve Hays, a Reformed anti-Catholic apologist, made a “response” to me regarding... Read more

Hippolytus (Early 3rd c.) & a December 25th Christmas

Last updated on: December 10, 2021 at 2:46 pm By Dave Armstrong

Two days ago I posted my article, Christmas & Dec. 25th: Not Derived from Saturnalia (Nor from Sol Invictus . . .). In it, I included one of the earliest (in the opinion of many, including Pope Benedict XVI, the earliest) written Christian confirmations that the birthdate of Jesus was believed to be on December 25th. It came from the Church father Hippolytus (c. 170 – c. 235): For the first advent of our Lord in the flesh, when he... Read more

Pearce’s Potshots #56: Paul & Jesus’ Resurrection

Last updated on: December 11, 2021 at 10:33 am By Dave Armstrong

Atheist anti-theist Jonathan M. S. Pearce is the main writer on the blog, A Tippling Philosopher. His “About” page states: “Pearce is a philosopher, author, blogger, public speaker and teacher from Hampshire in the UK. He specialises in philosophy of religion, but likes to turn his hand to science, psychology, politics and anything involved in investigating reality.” This is a reply to his post, A Spiritual Body Resurrection vs Corporeal Resurrection (12-9-21). His words will be in blue. ***** I have had another interview with Derek... Read more

Christmas & Dec. 25th: NOT Derived from Saturnalia

Last updated on: December 8, 2021 at 5:35 pm By Dave Armstrong

Nor from Sol Invictus . . . These are commonly repeated myths that have become part and parcel of those who like to speculate about history and the alleged connections between pagan Roman festivals and Christmas. I used to accept it myself — and spread it through my writing –, before I looked into it more deeply. In some cases, such “baptizing” of pagan customs do indeed happen, but it looks it’s not the case in this instance. First of... Read more