{"id":187,"date":"2013-10-10T12:25:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2013\/10\/dialogue-on-faith-and-works-and-the-relation-of-each-to-the-final-judgment-vs-bethany-kerr.html"},"modified":"2017-05-25T19:34:47","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T23:34:47","slug":"dialogue-on-faith-and-works-and-the-relation-of-each-to-the-final-judgment-vs-bethany-kerr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2013\/10\/dialogue-on-faith-and-works-and-the-relation-of-each-to-the-final-judgment-vs-bethany-kerr.html","title":{"rendered":"Dialogue on Faith &#038; Works &#038; Final Judgment (vs. Bethany Kerr)"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2013\/10\/WorksofMercy.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3696 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2013\/10\/WorksofMercy.jpg\" alt=\"WorksofMercy\" width=\"580\" height=\"480\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Works of Mercy<\/em> (c. 1680), by Pierre Montallier (1643-1697)<\/span> [public domain \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pierre_Montallier_001.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]\n<p>***<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">(10-10-13)\n<p>***<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">This took place spontaneously in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\/posts\/662296410472014\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">a Facebook post <\/a>announcing a new paper of mine. Bethany is a very friendly evangelical with Calvinist leanings. Her words will be in <span style=\"color: blue;\">blue<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">* * * * *<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">We <i>are<\/i> justified by our faith and our works, and it is not of ourselves. It\u2019s not a contradiction when James says we are justified by works, because if we are saved we will necessarily have works\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>For example, you can\u2019t control your own conception or birth, and Jesus metaphorically explained salvation as being \u201cborn again\u201d.\u00a0 A baby is born, not of his own will, but of God\u2019s. A baby cannot will himself into existence, and neither can one dead in trespasses and sins will themselves into being made alive in Christ.<\/p>\n<p>How do we know a baby is alive? By seeing if he is breathing, kicking, sucking, etc. By the baby\u2019s works, we find evidence he has been born. This is the way we come to the conclusion that he is alive.<\/p>\n<p>In the same way, our works \u201cjustify\u201d in that they provide evidence for our rebirth. A baby can only be born once, and likewise one can be spiritually born only once.<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t disagree on those matters, as I noted.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">So you don\u2019t believe we in any way earn our salvation?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We can\u2019t earn our salvation by our own efforts, considered in isolation from God\u2019s grace (the heresy of Pelagianism). We can, however merit in God\u2019s sight by applying the gift of God that He gave us (as St. Augustine put it: God \u201ccrowning His own gifts\u201d), and working together with Him. After regeneration and initial justification we can do meritorious works, enabled and bathed in God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n<p>These are not abstractly separated from salvation and put in a neat little box of \u201csanctification only,\u201d as Reformed and other Protestants do. Since true biblical justification is infused and transformative, works are part of justification.<\/p>\n<p>Hence we find that, e.g., in 50 Bible passages I\u2019ve found about the final judgment, only works are mentioned and never faith. One cannot help but to find that striking.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">If they\u2019re not completely separated from salvation, isn\u2019t that saying they play a role in achieving salvation?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yes, in the sense I said. The problem is that Protestants almost always misunderstand the exact sense that Catholics believe in. 90% of all such discussions require time spent simply explaining what we believe, because the misunderstandings are so massive and systematic.<\/p>\n<p>If you read my recent paper vs. James White, I explain much of this in it. I wrote in the paper, citing one of my own books [<i>Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths<\/i>]:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p>For the Catholic, justification is not the same thing as salvation or the attainment of eternal life. It can be lost or rejected by means of human free will and disobedience. So, to assert \u201cjustification by works,\u201d even in a qualified sense, is not at all the same as asserting salvation by works. Therefore, it is scripturally improper to assert either salvation by works alone or salvation by faith alone. They are never taught in Holy Scripture, and are both denied more than once. Justification by faith or justification by works can be asserted in a limited sense, as Scripture does: always understood as hand-in-hand with the other two elements in the grace-faith-works triumvirate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Also from the paper:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Catholics believe we are justified by faith and also by grace-based works done by the regenerate believer in conjunction with faith, as a co-laborer with God (1 Cor 3:9; 15:10; 2 Cor 6:1). . . . The Bible elsewhere freely places Rahab\u2019s faith and works together. They are of a piece: neither can or should be ignored:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><b>Hebrews 11:31<\/b> [RSV] By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Notice the \u201cbecause\u201d in the verse? Moreover, it is not foreign Scripture, to expressly state that works are the cause of justification or even a central criterion for eternal life. We\u2019ve already noted this in Paul, above. Here it is again (repetition being a good teaching device):<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><b>Romans 2:13 <\/b>For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\"><br>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: blue;\">So you don\u2019t believe the works themselves in any way merit salvation, except in the sense Protestants believe\u2026 That our works are the fruit of our salvation and not our means of earning or keeping it? <\/span><\/p>\n<p>I did read most of the article\u2026 Okay I skimmed it\u2026 But I do feel confused about what you\u2019re saying because it sounds like you\u2019re saying two things.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I have talked to many Catholics who believe that you must work in order to enter heaven\u2026 Not as a result of salvation but the cause of it. I once had a friend who I asked, if you were standing before God and he asked you why he should let you into heaven, what would you say? She replied, not mentioning Christ once, but listing her various works.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And she was very scriptural, because that is what the Bible always gives as a reason to enter heaven. I found 50 of these passages.<br>\n<span style=\"color: blue;\"><br>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: blue;\">But in the case of Rahab the harlot, the Bible also refers to her faith, which was the cause of her works.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I will send you my book on salvation: e-book in a PM. I also have lots of material on my Justification and Salvation page that goes over all these sorts of questions.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">Thanks Dave, I\u2019ll read it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">If we can tell God that he should let us in on the basis of our works, then that nullifies, \u201clest any man should boast.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Why does Scripture mention works only every time it discusses the last judgment and being let into heaven or sent to hell? Matthew 25 is the classic . . . I wouldn\u2019t argue that this means faith is <i>no<\/i> factor, but the fact remains that it is <i>absent<\/i> in all those accounts. Therefore, works cannot be separated from the equation of final salvation. But they are always accompanied by faith and enabled by God\u2019s free grace.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not boasting about works, but showing one\u2019s genuine faith via works, as in James; showing that it is a real faith and not dead, lifeless, unfruitful faith.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">It\u2019s showing faith that on the basis of works, and not Christs atonement, God should allow you into heaven though. The question was \u201cwhy should I let you in heaven\u201d. If the answer to \u201cwhy\u201d is \u201cbecause I was good\u201d, that is boasting in your works to enter heaven.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">The Bible talks about works the same reason I say a baby is alive because of his works (breathing, crying, etc.) Could a baby boast that he breathes? Or cries? Those abilities only came through the credit of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Whatever you call it; it\u2019s scriptural. Our answer to God\u2019s question of why we should go to heaven when we stand before Him, could incorporate any one or all of the following 50 responses: all perfectly biblical, and many right from the words of God Himself:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p>1) I am characterized by righteousness.<br>\n2) I have integrity.<br>\n3) I\u2019m not wicked.<br>\n4) I\u2019m upright in heart.<br>\n5) I\u2019ve done good deeds.<br>\n6) I have good ways.<br>\n7) I\u2019m not committing abominations.<br>\n8 ) I have good conduct.<br>\n9) I\u2019m not angry with my brother.<br>\n10) I\u2019m not insulting my brother.<br>\n11) I\u2019m not calling someone a fool.<br>\n12) I have good fruits.<br>\n13) I do the will of God.<br>\n14) I hear Jesus\u2019 words and do them.<br>\n15) I endured to the end.<br>\n16) I fed the hungry.<br>\n17) I provided drink to the thirsty.<br>\n18) I clothed the naked.<br>\n19) I welcomed strangers.<br>\n20) I visited the sick.<br>\n21) I visited prisoners.<br>\n22) I invited the poor and the maimed to my feast.<br>\n23) I\u2019m not weighed down with dissipation.<br>\n24) I\u2019m not weighed down with drunkenness.<br>\n25) I\u2019m not weighed down with the cares of this life.<br>\n26) I\u2019m not ungodly.<br>\n27) I don\u2019t suppress the truth.<br>\n28) I\u2019ve done good works.<br>\n29) I obeyed the truth.<br>\n30) I\u2019m not doing evil.<br>\n31) I have been a \u201cdoer of the law.\u201d<br>\n32) I\u2019ve been a good laborer and fellow worker with God.<br>\n33) I\u2019m unblamable in holiness.<br>\n34) I\u2019ve been wholly sanctified.<br>\n35) My spirit and soul and body are sound and blameless.<br>\n36) I know God.<br>\n37) I\u2019ve obeyed the gospel.<br>\n38) I\u2019ve shared Christ\u2019s sufferings.<br>\n39) I\u2019m without spot or blemish.<br>\n40) I\u2019ve repented.<br>\n41) I\u2019m not a coward.<br>\n42) I\u2019m not faithless.<br>\n43) I\u2019m not polluted.<br>\n44) I\u2019m not a murderer.<br>\n45) I\u2019m not a fornicator.<br>\n46) I\u2019m not a sorcerer.<br>\n47) I\u2019m not an idolater.<br>\n48) I\u2019m not a liar.<br>\n49) I invited the lame to my feast.<br>\n50) I invited the blind to my feast.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\"><br>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: blue;\">Where does Jesus get glory in all of that list?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not boasting. We understand that it is from God. Yet we still <i>did<\/i> them, working with God\u2019s grace, as Paul says: \u201cworking together with him . . . \u201d \u201cBoasting\u201d in the sense that Paul condemns would be saying that \u201c<i>I<\/i> did these works with no help from God\u2019s grace at all; therefore I have earned heaven.\u201d That is the Pelagian heresy.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">What he did on Calvary just seems ignored\u2026 And that is my main problem. He became sin for us. All of our sin was laid on him. By his stripes we were healed. Sin was inputed to him, and righteousness was imputed to us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He gets the glory as the source of the grace that enabled all the works. This is what the <i>Bible<\/i> says: all that is straight from biblical accounts. If you say it is not giving God glory then your beef is with <i>the Bible itself<\/i> and Jesus and Paul\u2019s and other\u2019s words, not with Catholicism. Read Jesus\u2019 words in Matthew 25:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><b>Matthew 25:31-46 <\/b>When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.\u2019 Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?\u2019 And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.\u2019 Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.\u2019 Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?\u2019 Then he will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.\u2019 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">But notice that the sheep asked him, when did we do these things? They did not recall their goodness for merit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">I hope you know I\u2019m not trying to be annoying with these questions.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re not interacting with the biblical data . . . . this was the same problem with White\u2019s chapter. He read into the text things that weren\u2019t there, whereas I exegeted it and gave relevant cross-references.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">When we stand before a righteous and holy God, can we really see ourselves as righteous except by his imputed righteousness? Isaiah cried, I am a man of unclean lips\u2026 Was he not a righteous man?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yes, and now you\u2019ve stumbled into why purgatory is so necessary. Thanks! We make it to heaven because we\u2019ve exercised faith by God\u2019s grace, in Jesus; accepting His death on the cross on our behalf; exhibited by works. Now we have to be made actually holy and without sin, and that\u2019s where purgatory is necessary for almost all of us.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">No; that is the reason that atonement is necessary. That is why when God asks, \u201cwhy should I let you into heaven?\u201d I can say , \u201cthank you for providing a lamb to take place of me, taking on the full penalty for all of my sins, so that I could enter heaven. Thank you for your promise, your free gift.\u201d Purgatory implies that Jesus payment was not enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>You can say that; sure. My point was that whenever Scripture deals with this exact topic, that is <i>never <\/i>what it describes as being said; rather, it\u2019s always works. And that is what you have to grapple with: <i>why <\/i>that is. The same Jesus also said:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><b>Matthew 7:16-23 <\/b>You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? [17] So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. [18] A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will know them by their fruits. [21] \u201cNot every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,\u2019 shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?\u2019 [23] And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">Ok well I will agree to disagree for now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Like I said, you\u2019re not disagreeing with me, but multiple instances of inspired Scripture. All I\u2019ve done is cite Scripture on this. James explains all of this nicely, and that was the topic of White\u2019s chapter that I replied to:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><b>James 2:14-26<\/b> What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? [15] If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, [16] and one of you says to them, \u201cGo in peace, be warmed and filled,\u201d without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? [17] So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. [18] But some one will say, \u201cYou have faith and I have works.\u201d Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. [19] You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe \u2014 and shudder. [20] Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? [21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? [22] You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, [23] and the scripture was fulfilled which says, \u201cAbraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness\u201d; and he was called the friend of God. [24] You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. [25] And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? [26] For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Echoed by Paul:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><b>Romans 2:5-13<\/b> But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God\u2019s righteous judgment will be revealed. [6] For he will render to every man according to his works: [7] to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; [8] but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. [9] There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, [10] but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. [11] For God shows no partiality. [12] All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. [13] For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">I\u2019m sorry I realized that sounded abrupt. I didn\u2019t mean it to sound that way. <\/span><span style=\"color: blue;\">I had a baby crying in the background so had to tend to him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: blue;\">We have both cited Scripture. You more than me since I was basically asking questions, but I agree with all the scripture you post. We have disagreement on the interpretation of those scriptures. You agree there, I\u2019m sure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>No problem, Bethany!<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">*****<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Works of Mercy (c. 1680), by Pierre Montallier (1643-1697) [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons] *** (10-10-13) *** This took place spontaneously in a Facebook post announcing a new paper of mine. Bethany is a very friendly evangelical with Calvinist leanings. Her words will be in blue. * * * * * We are justified by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":3696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[2342,2346,973,2344,2343,974],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salvation-justification","tag-faith-alone","tag-faith-and-works","tag-good-works","tag-justification","tag-sola-fide","tag-works-and-the-final-judgment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dialogue on Faith &amp; Works &amp; Final Judgment (vs. Bethany Kerr)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bethany wasn&#039;t disagreeing with me regarding faith &amp; works, but rather, with multiple instances of inspired Scripture. 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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, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. 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Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dialogue on Faith & Works & Final Judgment (vs. Bethany Kerr)","description":"Bethany wasn't disagreeing with me regarding faith & works, but rather, with multiple instances of inspired Scripture. 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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, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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