{"id":48682,"date":"2020-06-08T14:56:49","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T18:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=48682"},"modified":"2020-07-06T18:09:10","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T22:09:10","slug":"invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html","title":{"rendered":"Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly “Calling on Elijah”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Matthew 27:46-49 <\/strong>(RSV)\u00a0<\/strong>And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, \u201cEli, Eli, la\u2019ma sabach-tha\u2019ni?\u201d that is, \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d\u00a0[47] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, \u201cThis man is calling Eli\u2019jah.\u201d\u00a0[48] And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink.\u00a0[49] But the others said, \u201cWait, let us see whether Eli\u2019jah will come to save him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark 15:34-36\u00a0<\/strong>And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, \u201cE\u2019lo-i, E\u2019lo-i, la\u2019ma sabach-tha\u2019ni?\u201d which means, \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d\u00a0[35] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, \u201cBehold, he is calling Eli\u2019jah.\u201d\u00a0[36] And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, \u201cWait, let us see whether Eli\u2019jah will come to take him down.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anti-Catholic Protestant apologist Jason Engwer, in his article, \u201cDesperate To Justify Prayers To The Dead\u201d<\/a> (6-3-10), mocked usage of these passages as indications of the invocation of saints:<\/p>\n

The practice of praying to the dead was brought up in a thread at Beggars All<\/em>, and I linked to\u00a0a post I wrote on the subject. Lvka\u00a0responded:<\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew 27:47\u00a0and\u00a0Mark 15:35.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some bystanders were attempting to explain what Jesus said, and they were mistaken. How does it follow that scripture is supporting prayer to the dead by recording what some mistaken bystanders said? Scripture also records accusations that Jesus was a sinner and was empowered by Satan.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bible covers thousands of years of history and a wide variety of contexts within that history. There are hundreds of passages on prayer. What should we think when people who believe in praying to the dead resort to passages like\u00a0 to try to justify the practice?<\/span><\/p>\n

In my article, \u201c4 Biblical Proofs for Prayers to Saints and for the Dead\u201d<\/a> (National Catholic Register<\/em>, 11-1-19), I presented a brief version of this argument:<\/p>\n

The\u00a0\u201cbystanders\u201d at Jesus\u2019 crucifixion provide another similar instance. They\u00a0assumed that He could ask (pray to) the prophet Elijah to save Him from the agony of the cross (Mt 27:46-50).\u00a0They\u2019re presented as allies of Jesus (not enemies), since one of them gave Him a drink (Mt 27:48). Matthew 27:49 shows that this type of petition was commonly believed at the time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jason may think this is a \u201cdesperate\u201d and utterly insignificant, inconsequential argument, but there is a lot more to it than first meets the eye. In fact, it was a well-known Old Testament tradition that the prophet Elijah would come back in some sense:<\/p>\n

Malachi 4:5-6\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cBehold, I will send you Eli\u2019jah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.\u00a0[6] And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This tradition was reinforced in the deuterocanonical book of Sirach:<\/p>\n

Sirach 48:10\u00a0<\/strong>you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written,\u00a0to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury,\u00a0to turn the heart of the father to the son, (cf. 1 Macc 4:46; 14:41)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The New Bible Dictionary<\/em>, (ed. J. D. Douglas, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1962) a Protestant work, comments that this theme \u201cis a popular one in the Jewish Mishna (see Talmud<\/em> and Midrash<\/em>) and was a common topic of discussion during the ministry of Jesus (Mk 8:28)\u201d (\u201cElijah,\u201d p. 364).<\/p>\n

Evidence of this existing tradition of Elijah\u2019s return is found in the New Testament:<\/p>\n

Matthew 16:13-14<\/strong>\u00a0Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare\u2019a Philip\u2019pi, he asked his disciples, \u201cWho do men say that the Son of man is?\u201d[14] And they said, \u201cSome say John the Baptist, others say Eli\u2019jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark 6:13-15<\/strong>\u00a0And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.\u00a0[14] King Herod heard of it; for Jesus\u2019 name had become known. Some said, \u201cJohn the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.\u201d\u00a0[15] But others said, \u201cIt is Eli\u2019jah.\u201d And others said, \u201cIt is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark 8:27-28<\/strong>\u00a0And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesare\u2019a Philip\u2019pi; and on the way he asked his disciples, \u201cWho do men say that I am?\u201d[28] And they told him, \u201cJohn the Baptist; and others say, Eli\u2019jah; and others one of the prophets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke 9:7-8\u00a0<\/strong>Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,\u00a0[8] by some that Eli\u2019jah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen.<\/p>\n

Luke 9:18-19<\/strong>\u00a0Now it happened that as he was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, \u201cWho do the people say that I am?\u201d\u00a0[19] And they answered, \u201cJohn the Baptist; but others say, Eli\u2019jah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus taught that the Old Testament prediction of Elijah\u2019s return was fulfilled in John the Baptist: of whom Elijah was a prototype<\/em> (these being common in Scripture<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Matthew 11:7-14\u00a0<\/strong>As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: \u201cWhat did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind?\u00a0[8] Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings\u2019 houses.\u00a0[9] Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.\u00a0[10] This is he of whom it is written, `Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,\u00a0who shall prepare thy way before thee.\u2019\u00a0[11] Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.\u00a0[12] From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force.\u00a0[13] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John;\u00a0[14] and if you are willing to accept it, he is Eli\u2019jah who is to come.<\/p>\n

Mark 9:11-13<\/strong> And they asked him, \u201cWhy do the scribes say that first\u00a0<\/b>Eli\u2019jah\u00a0must come?\u201d [12] And he said to them, \u201cEli\u2019jah does come first to restore all things; and how is it written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? [13] But I tell you that\u00a0Eli\u2019jah\u00a0has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.\u201d (cf. Mt 17:10-12)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The angel Gabriel told Zechariah the same thing:<\/p>\n

Luke 1:13, 16-17\u00a0<\/strong>But the angel said to him, \u201cDo not be afraid, Zechari\u2019ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. . . .\u00a0[16] And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,\u00a0[17] and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli\u2019jah,\u00a0to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,\u00a0and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,\u00a0to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moreover, the idea of a pre-messianic appearance by Elijah on the earth is also reinforced by his actual<\/em> appearance, along with Moses, at the Transfiguration of Jesus:<\/p>\n

Matthew 17:2-3\u00a0<\/strong>And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light.\u00a0[3] And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Eli\u2019jah, talking with him. (cf. Mk 9:4)<\/p>\n

Luke 9:30-31\u00a0<\/strong>And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli\u2019jah,\u00a0[31] who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And some (perhaps many?) biblical commentators think that Elijah was one of the \u201cTwo Witnesses\u201d of Revelation 11:3, who came back to earth.<\/p>\n

Therefore, we observe an established tradition of Elijah returning to earth to prepare the world for the Messiah. It was plain to see in the Old Testament, in the canon and deuterocanon, was mentioned also in inter-testamental apocalyptic literature (1 Enoch), and made it into the Jewish Talmud, showing that it was a part of oral tradition as well. It\u2019s mentioned several times in the New Testament, and is interpreted by both the angel Gabriel and Jesus as referring to John the Baptist, of whom Elijah was a prototype.<\/p>\n

The bottom line for our argument regarding invocation of saints, then, is that it is perfectly understandable that the \u201cbystanders\u201d at the crucifixion misunderstood Jesus on the cross as calling out to Elijah, for this purpose. It would have been very difficult for Him to talk, and they may have been a ways away. Tradition holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John, whom we know were at the cross, were some distance away (30-40 feet). I stood on the spot when I visited Jerusalem in 2014. These other people heard Jesus say (in actuality) \u201cEli\u201d or \u201cEloi\u201d and mistook it for \u201cElijah\u201d (\u201cEliyahu\u201d or \u201cEliya\u201d in Hebrew).<\/p>\n

But there may be an even simpler explanation. Don Fernando on the Quora<\/em> website<\/a>, regarding this issue, wrote:<\/p>\n

Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabakthani<\/i>. These words are Aramaic, but remember the people hearing Jesus thought He was calling Elijah. If Jesus was calling Elijah He would have said,\u00a0\u2018Eli, Eli<\/i>.\u2019\u00a0Eli\u00a0<\/i>in Hebrew can mean either \u2018My God\u2019 or a form of\u00a0Eliyahu<\/i>, Hebrew for Elijah. However, the Aramaic\u00a0Eloi\u00a0<\/i>can\u00a0only<\/b>\u00a0mean \u2018My God.\u2019 Mark\u2019s has\u00a0Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabakthank.\u00a0<\/i>Matthew does record \u2018Eli, Eli<\/i>\u2019.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We know they were mistaken, and that Jesus was in fact referring to God, not Elijah. But it doesn\u2019t affect the present argument. What is relevant to note is the fact that they casually assumed that he could call on (in effect, \u201cpray to\u201d) a human being rather than God<\/em>. That is the argument. It isn\u2019t that they were simply dumbbells, as Jason would have it, and that this has no significance whatever. The known tradition held:<\/p>\n

1) that Elijah would return,<\/p>\n

and also<\/p>\n

2) that there was such a thing as evoking dead saints.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These people probably hadn\u2019t heard Jesus\u2019 interpretation of John the Baptist as Messiah, so they thought that He (of Whom it was known by then that He claimed to be the Messiah) was invoking \/ calling upon Elijah, as a fulfillment of the prophecy tying Elijah to the Messiah. They were simply applying the Old Testament tradition of Elijah returning, reiterated several times in the New Testament. And in so doing they assumed the ability of human beings to invoke dead saints (as a tenet of existing Judaism).<\/p>\n

And this is an argument for the Catholic and Orthodox notions of invocation of the saints. It\u2019s not the best<\/em> one, or anywhere near compelling<\/em> in and of itself (I want to make it clear how much I claim<\/em> for it), but it is a valid and interesting argument and one (in my humble opinion) more than worthy of serious consideration, rather than immediate dismissal, as Jason has done.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0<\/strong>Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire<\/em>, by Giuseppi Angeli (d. 1798)<\/span> [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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

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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. 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":"Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly \"Calling on Elijah\" Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly \"Calling on Elijah\"","description":"Matthew 27:46-49 (RSV)\u00a0And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, \"Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?\" that is, \"My God, my God, why hast thou Is the mistaken notion of bystanders at the cross, that Jesus was \"calling on Elijah\" any sort of valid argument for the propriety of the invocation of saints? I explain why I think it is.","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\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly \"Calling on Elijah\" Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly \"Calling on Elijah\"","og_description":"Matthew 27:46-49 (RSV)\u00a0And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, \"Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?\" that is, \"My God, my God, why hast thou Is the mistaken notion of bystanders at the cross, that Jesus was \"calling on Elijah\" any sort of valid argument for the propriety of the invocation of saints? I explain why I think it is.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html","og_site_name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","article_published_time":"2020-06-08T18:56:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-06T22:09:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":419,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2020\/06\/Elijah5.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dave Armstrong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave Armstrong","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html","name":"Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly \"Calling on Elijah\" Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly \"Calling on Elijah\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-06-08T18:56:49+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-06T22:09:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e"},"description":"Matthew 27:46-49 (RSV)\u00a0And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, \"Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?\" that is, \"My God, my God, why hast thou Is the mistaken notion of bystanders at the cross, that Jesus was \"calling on Elijah\" any sort of valid argument for the propriety of the invocation of saints? I explain why I think it is.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/invocation-of-saints-jesus-allegedly-calling-on-elijah.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Invocation of Saints: Jesus Allegedly “Calling on Elijah”"}]},{"@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\/48682","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=48682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}