{"id":38865,"date":"2019-09-18T11:25:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T15:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=38865"},"modified":"2019-09-18T11:25:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T15:25:41","slug":"the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html","title":{"rendered":"The Rosary: “Vain Repetition” or Biblical Devotion?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

A new Catholic convert who was \u201cstruggling\u201d with some things in the faith asked me about the Rosary some years ago:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Mary is most often mentioned in its entirety. I find it difficult meditating on Christ when Mary is so prevalent. Why is Mary so heavily infused into the prayer? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here is my reply:<\/span><\/p>\n

One must understand the nature of the Rosary and the purpose of the repetition. Most of the words of the Hail Mary are, it should be noted, straight from the Bible. And it\u2019s incorrect to say that because \u201cMary\u201d may be the word repeated more than any other in the Rosary, that, therefore, she is considered more important than Jesus, or the focal point of the Rosary meditation. <\/span><\/p>\n

The intent of the repetitions of the Hail Mary prayer is to form a sort of \u201cbackground music,\u201d so to speak, to the meditations on (mostly) the life of Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

It reminds me a bit of an analogy from my past as a trombone player in my high school band and orchestra. We had to play at graduations every year (much to my chagrin), the famous <\/span><\/span>Pomp and Circumstance<\/i><\/span><\/span>, by Edward Elgar. Now, was the purpose of the commencement ceremony to hear <\/span><\/span>Pomp and Circumstance<\/i><\/span><\/span> 71 times? No, of course not. It was to honor the graduates for their accomplishment in achieving a high school diploma. The music was the <\/span><\/span>background<\/i><\/span><\/span>, just as a soundtrack to a movie is. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a perfect analogy (few are), but the Hail Marys in the Rosary are, at least in part, a sort of rhythmic background to the meditations. It\u2019s a way (rather ingenious, when fully understood) to move forward in the prayer, and to avoid distraction (something we are all very familiar with when we try to pray).<\/span><\/p>\n

You say it is difficult to meditate on Christ while repeating the Hail Marys. This is, I would venture to guess, probably mostly a function of the unfamiliarity with the Rosary. It\u2019s very different from much of Protestant piety, just as things like penance and purgatory and prayers for the dead or asking saints to pray for us are quite foreign at first to the typical Protestant mind. It\u2019s a \u201clearned art,\u201d to a large extent. Your experience is common to many converts. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We find in the Bible a similar sort of repetitious, chant-like form. Take, for example, Psalm 136, where the same exact phrase: \u201cfor his steadfast love endures forever\u201d (RSV) is repeated for 26 straight verses! The Hail Marys in the Rosary are somewhat like that. But they are not \u201cvain repetitions\u201d (Mt 6:7 in KJV; cf. \u201cheap up empty phrases\u201d in RSV; also, Sirach 7:14: \u201cDo not . . . repeat yourself in your prayer.\u201d) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Protestants who argue that all formal prayers that repeat phrases are \u201cempty\u201d or \u201cvain\u201d manage to overlook the entire deeper meaning and import of this biblical narrative, in context. Jesus is recommending and exhorting His hearers to a <\/span><\/span>genuine, humble piety of the heart<\/i><\/span><\/span>, as opposed to an empty, shell-like, merely external piety, intended to be seen by men in a spiritually prideful sense. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This theme of authentic vs. sham piety is prevalent in the Sermon on the Mount (see Mt 6:1-6, 16; cf. 7:20-23; 15:9). The same general idea is also observed in Mark (12:38-40) and Luke (20:46-47). It\u2019s not that all long prayers are condemned, anymore than repetitious prayers are, but that prayers made with a pretentious, prideful spirit (showing off in front of men; making people think one is \u201csuper-pious\u201d) are condemned. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, in Matthew 6:7, Jesus qualifies what He is opposing in prayer, with, \u201cas the Gentiles do.\u201d He\u2019s not talking about the Hebrew tradition of prayer (which quite obviously included much repetition, such as in the Psalms and priestly chants and prayers). He\u2019s not even talking about (His frequent target) the Pharisees, but rather, the \u201cpagan\u201d or \u201cheathen\u201d (according to various translations) Romans and Greeks: people who followed a different and ultimately false religion. That element and the aspect of interior piety indicate that the passage is far more than merely a discussion of repetition: let alone <\/span><\/span>all<\/i><\/span><\/span> repetition, as if God is condemning <\/span><\/span>that<\/i><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus Himself used repetition in prayer. For example: \u201che went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words\u201d (Mt 26:44; cf. Mk 14:39). Moreover, we know that worship in heaven is <\/span><\/span>extremely<\/i><\/span><\/span> repetitious: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Revelation 4:8<\/b><\/span><\/span> . . . day and night they never cease to sing, \u201cHoly, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We should recall all these things the next time we hear repetitious or indeed any <\/span><\/span>formal <\/i><\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span>rayer condemned as \u201cvain repetition\u201d or supposedly impious by nature. Citing one scriptural passage out of context without considering related biblical data is always dangerous.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Related Reading:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fictional Dialogue: \u201cVain Repetition\u201d & Liturgy<\/a>\u00a0[1995]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
\n
Mary: Spiritual Motherhood & Rosary: Dialogue w Protestant<\/a>\u00a0[1-21-02]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
\n
Questions Regarding\u00a0Catholic Mariology & the Rosary\u00a0<\/a>[1-29-07]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Biblical Evidence: Formal Prayer Isn\u2019t \u201cVain Repetition\u201d<\/a>\u00a0[2009]
\n*<\/div>\n
\u201cVain Repetition\u201d: Jesus Shows What it\u2019s\u00a0Not<\/em>\u00a0(Did Jesus Condemn All Formal and\/or Repetitious Prayers: Like the Rosary and the Mass?)<\/a>\u00a0[7-22-10]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Bible on Wholehearted Formal Worship<\/a>\u00a0[6-4-07; revised and expanded 1-22-16]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Is the Rosary \u201cVain Repetition\u201d?<\/a>\u00a0[5-24-16]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Is the Rosary Christ-Centered?\u00a0<\/a>[5-25-16]<\/div>\n
\n
*<\/div>\n
Ritualistic, Formal Worship is a Good and Biblical Practice<\/a>\u00a0[National Catholic Register<\/em>, 12-4-16]
\n*<\/div>\n
Lutheran Pastor Bashes Prayer to Mary and the Rosary (\u201cVain Repetition\u201d)<\/a>\u00a0[5-5-17]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
The Rosary: \u2018Vain Repetition\u2019 or Biblical Prayer?<\/a>\u00a0[National Catholic Register<\/em>, 3-16-18]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Angel Gabriel\u2019s \u201cHail\u201d (Lk 1:28): Veneration of Mary?<\/a>\u00a0[3-8-19]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

(originally 5-24-16)<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit:<\/span>\u00a0Photograph by \u201cbykst\u201d<\/span> [Pixabay<\/a> \/ CC0 public domain<\/a>]<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new Catholic convert who was \u201cstruggling\u201d with some things in the faith asked me about the Rosary some years ago: Mary is most often mentioned in its entirety. I find it difficult meditating on Christ when Mary is so prevalent. Why is Mary so heavily infused into the prayer? Here is my reply: One […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":38871,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,58],"tags":[2357,508,677,3118,505,506,2822,1447],"class_list":["post-38865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blessed-virgin-mary","category-eucharist-liturgy","tag-blessed-virgin-mary","tag-catholic-mariology","tag-marian-doctrines","tag-marian-excesses","tag-mary","tag-mother-of-jesus","tag-protestants-mary","tag-rosary"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Rosary: "Vain Repetition" or Biblical Devotion?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's good to more fully understand the nature of the Rosary and the purpose of the repetition. Most of the words of the Hail Mary are, it should be noted, straight from the Bible.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Rosary: "Vain Repetition" or Biblical Devotion?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It's good to more fully understand the nature of the Rosary and the purpose of the repetition. Most of the words of the Hail Mary are, it should be noted, straight from the Bible.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-18T15:25:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2019\/09\/RosaryBible2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dave Armstrong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dave Armstrong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html\",\"name\":\"The Rosary: \\\"Vain Repetition\\\" or Biblical Devotion?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-18T15:25:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-18T15:25:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\"},\"description\":\"It's good to more fully understand the nature of the Rosary and the purpose of the repetition. Most of the words of the Hail Mary are, it should be noted, straight from the Bible.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Rosary: “Vain Repetition” or Biblical Devotion?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/\",\"name\":\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism\",\"description\":\"Catholic biblical apologetics\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\",\"name\":\"Dave Armstrong\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dave Armstrong\"},\"description\":\"Dave Armstrong is a Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). 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. 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":"The Rosary: \"Vain Repetition\" or Biblical Devotion?","description":"It's good to more fully understand the nature of the Rosary and the purpose of the repetition. Most of the words of the Hail Mary are, it should be noted, straight from the Bible.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Rosary: \"Vain Repetition\" or Biblical Devotion?","og_description":"It's good to more fully understand the nature of the Rosary and the purpose of the repetition. Most of the words of the Hail Mary are, it should be noted, straight from the Bible.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html","og_site_name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","article_published_time":"2019-09-18T15:25:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":426,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2019\/09\/RosaryBible2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dave Armstrong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave Armstrong","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html","name":"The Rosary: \"Vain Repetition\" or Biblical Devotion?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-09-18T15:25:41+00:00","dateModified":"2019-09-18T15:25:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e"},"description":"It's good to more fully understand the nature of the Rosary and the purpose of the repetition. Most of the words of the Hail Mary are, it should be noted, straight from the Bible.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/09\/the-rosary-vain-repetition-or-biblical-devotion.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Rosary: “Vain Repetition” or Biblical Devotion?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/","name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","description":"Catholic biblical apologetics","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e","name":"Dave Armstrong","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dave Armstrong"},"description":"Dave Armstrong is a Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). 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. 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"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}