{"id":48910,"date":"2020-06-17T16:57:57","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T20:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=48910"},"modified":"2020-06-17T17:37:48","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T21:37:48","slug":"marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html","title":{"rendered":"Mary’s Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Matthew 1:24-25<\/strong> (NRSV) . . . Joseph . . . took her as his wife, [25] but had no marital relations with her [RSV: \u201cknew her not\u201d] until she had borne a son . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This would involve probably six months, bare minimum. We don\u2019t know at what stage he was aware that she was pregnant. All we know is that it was after they were \u201cbetrothed\u201d (Mt 1:18). The word \u201cuntil\u201d does not necessarily imply that Mary and Joseph had sex after Jesus was born, as is often argued. Even Calvin and Luther agree with the Catholic view of perpetual virginity and vigorously defend it. John Calvin wrote about the use of \u201cuntil\u201d\u00a0 in Matthew 1:25:<\/p>\n

[On Matt 1:25:] The inference he [Helvidius] drew from it was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than till her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband . . . No just and well-grounded inference can be drawn from these words . . . as to what took place after the birth of Christ. He is called \u2018first-born\u2019; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that he was born of a virgin . . . What took place afterwards the historian does not inform us . . . No man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from an extreme fondness for disputation. (Calvin\u2019s Commentaries<\/i>, translated by William Pringle, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1949,\u00a0vol. I, 107)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Likewise, Martin Luther stated:<\/p>\n

When Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her . . . This babble . . . is without justification . . . he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom. (Luther\u2019s Works<\/em>,\u00a0<\/i>vol. 45:206, 212-213 \/\u00a0That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew<\/i>\u00a0[1523] )<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Scott Hahn, in his Ignatius Catholic Study Bible<\/em> comments on the passage:<\/p>\n

This conjunction is often used (translated \u201cto\u201d or \u201ctill\u201d) to indicate a select period of time, without implying change in the future (2 Sam 6:23 [LXX]; Jn 9:18; 1 Tim 4:13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But that is a side issue in relation to our present consideration (a \u201cfootnote diversion\u201d if you will). Protestants who reject the perpetual virginity of Mary need to be asked why Joseph abstained for the entire pregnancy<\/em><\/strong> if in fact he had marital relations with the Blessed Virgin Mary after Jesus\u2019 birth.<\/p>\n

Rabbinic Judaism did not forbid sexual relations during the whole of pregnancy (especially not the final three months). I think we can safely assume that something of that sort was the custom of the Jews of Jesus\u2019 time. So why did Joseph do this? There is no plausible reason to do so, other than the fact that he intended to never have relations with her (she being the Mother of God). Sometimes the most effective and elegant arguments are the small ones like this (that one could almost not notice at all).<\/p>\n

Writing against Helvidius, St. Jerome provocatively asked (making precisely the present argument):<\/p>\n

Why then did Joseph abstain at all up to the day of birth?\u00a0He will surely answer, Because of the Angel\u2019s words, \u201cThat\u00a0which is born in her, &c.\u201d He then who gave so much heed\u00a0to a vision as not to dare to touch his wife, would he, after\u00a0he had heard the shepherds, seen the Magi, and known so\u00a0many miracles, dare to approach the temple of God, the\u00a0seat of the Holy Ghost, the Mother of his Lord?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In conclusion, Jason Evert offers some great insights in an article for Catholic Answers Magazine<\/em><\/a> (then called This Rock<\/em>): 1 July 2000:<\/p>\n

[E]ven in the Old Testament God asked married couples to refrain from intercourse for various reasons. For example, the priests of the temple had to refrain from intimacy with their wives during the time of their service. Likewise, Moses had the Israelites abstain from intercourse as he ascended Mount Sinai (Ex. 20:15 [Dave: should be 19:15]). There is a theme here of refraining from marital rights because of the presence of something very holy.<\/p>\n

The Church Fathers knew that there was something greater than the temple in Mary\u2019s womb, comparing it to the Eastern Gate mentioned in Ezekiel 44: \u201cThis gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.\u201d Mary had become the dwelling place of the Almighty, like the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament. Now, if Uzzah was struck dead for touching the Ark (2 Sam. 6:6\u20138), should it be surprising that Joseph understood that Mary was a vessel consecrated to God alone? The idea that Joseph assumed normal marital relations with Mary after the birth of Christ was an irreverence that even the Protestant reformers rejected. . . .<\/p>\n

[T]he angel told him to lead her into the house as a wife (paralambano gunaika<\/em>), but the language that describes marital relations is not used here. It was used, however, in Luke 1:35: \u201cThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the\u00a0power<\/em>\u00a0of the Most High will\u00a0overshadow<\/em>\u00a0you.\u201d To \u201covershadow\u201d a woman was a euphemism for having a marital relationship, as was the phrase \u201cto lay one\u2019s power\u201d over a woman. The Holy Spirit had espoused Mary, and she had been consecrated, set apart for God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

***<\/p>\n

(originally 4-3-20 on Facebook; greatly expanded on 6-17-20)<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0<\/strong>The Annunciation<\/em>\u00a0(1644), by\u00a0Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674)\u00a0<\/span>[public domain \/\u00a0Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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

Matthew 1:24-25 (NRSV) . . . Joseph . . . took her as his wife, [25] but had no marital relations with her [RSV: \u201cknew her not\u201d] until she had borne a son . . . This would involve probably six months, bare minimum. We don\u2019t know at what stage he was aware that she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":48913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[1600,1619,453,2357,508,3456,46,3455,469,503,2356,680,507,1008,3457,685,39,681,944,504,687],"class_list":["post-48910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blessed-virgin-mary","tag-always-virgin","tag-annunciation","tag-bethlehem","tag-blessed-virgin-mary","tag-catholic-mariology","tag-ever-virgin","tag-immaculate-conception","tag-in-partu-virginity","tag-incarnation","tag-marian-doctrine","tag-mariology","tag-mary-mother-of-jesus","tag-mother-of-god","tag-nativity","tag-our-lady","tag-perpetual-virginity","tag-perpetual-virginity-of-mary","tag-theotokos","tag-virgin-birth","tag-virgin-mary","tag-virginity-during-childbirth"],"yoast_head":"\nMary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25 Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why would Joseph sexually abstain for the entire pregnancy if he had marital relations with the Blessed Virgin Mary after Jesus\u2019 birth? That makes no sense; but within perpetual virginity it does.\" \/>\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\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25 Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why would Joseph sexually abstain for the entire pregnancy if he had marital relations with the Blessed Virgin Mary after Jesus\u2019 birth? That makes no sense; but within perpetual virginity it does.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.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=\"2020-06-17T20:57:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-17T21:37:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2020\/06\/MaryAnnunciation2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"608\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\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\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html\",\"name\":\"Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25 Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-17T20:57:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-17T21:37:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\"},\"description\":\"Why would Joseph sexually abstain for the entire pregnancy if he had marital relations with the Blessed Virgin Mary after Jesus\u2019 birth? That makes no sense; but within perpetual virginity it does.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mary’s Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25\"}]},{\"@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":"Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25 Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25","description":"Why would Joseph sexually abstain for the entire pregnancy if he had marital relations with the Blessed Virgin Mary after Jesus\u2019 birth? That makes no sense; but within perpetual virginity it does.","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\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25 Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25","og_description":"Why would Joseph sexually abstain for the entire pregnancy if he had marital relations with the Blessed Virgin Mary after Jesus\u2019 birth? That makes no sense; but within perpetual virginity it does.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html","og_site_name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","article_published_time":"2020-06-17T20:57:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-17T21:37:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":608,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2020\/06\/MaryAnnunciation2.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\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html","name":"Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25 Mary's Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-06-17T20:57:57+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-17T21:37:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e"},"description":"Why would Joseph sexually abstain for the entire pregnancy if he had marital relations with the Blessed Virgin Mary after Jesus\u2019 birth? That makes no sense; but within perpetual virginity it does.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/06\/marys-perpetual-virginity-bombshell-from-matthew-125.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mary’s Perpetual Virginity: Bombshell from Matthew 1:25"}]},{"@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\/48910","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=48910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}