{"id":50532,"date":"2020-08-20T11:21:26","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T15:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=50532"},"modified":"2020-08-20T11:21:26","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T15:21:26","slug":"mortal-and-venial-sin-vs-calvin-56","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/08\/mortal-and-venial-sin-vs-calvin-56.html","title":{"rendered":"Mortal and Venial Sin (vs. Calvin #56)"},"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><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-50535\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2020\/08\/Calvin17.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">This is an installment of a series of replies (see the\u00a0<a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\/posts\/1473414899360157\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Introduction and Master List<\/a>) to much<em>\u00a0<\/em>of Book IV (<em>Of the Holy Catholic Church<\/em>) \u2014 and some of Book III \u2014 of\u00a0<em><a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Institutes_of_the_Christian_Religion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Institutes of the Christian Religion<\/a><\/em>, by early\u00a0Protestant leader\u00a0<a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Calvin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">John Calvin<\/a>\u00a0(1509-1564). I utilize the public domain translation of Henry Beveridge, dated 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin;\u00a0<a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ccel.org\/c\/calvin\/institutes\/institutes.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">available online<\/a>. Calvin\u2019s words will be in\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">blue<\/span>. All biblical citations (in my portions) will be from RSV unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Related reading from yours truly:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2010\/03\/books-by-dave-armstrong-biblical.html\" target=\"_blank\">Biblical Catholic Answers for John Calvin<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>(2010 book: 388 pages)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2012\/10\/book-by-dave-armstrong-biblical.html\" target=\"_blank\">A Biblical Critique of Calvinism<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>(2012 book: 178 pages)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2010\/10\/books-by-dave-armstrong-biblical.html\" target=\"_blank\">Biblical Catholic Salvation: \u201cFaith Working Through Love\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>(2010 book: 187 pages; includes biblical critiques of all five points of \u201cTULIP\u201d)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">*****<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>III, 4:28 \/ 14:10 \/ 18:10<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Here they take refuge in the absurd distinction that some sins are <em>venial<\/em> and others <em>mortal<\/em>; that for the latter a weighty satisfaction is due, but that the former are purged by easier remedies; by the Lord\u2019s Prayer, the sprinkling of holy water, and the absolution of the Mass. Thus they insult and trifle with God. And yet, though they have the terms venial and mortal sin continually in their mouth, they have not yet been able to distinguish the one from the other, except by making impiety and impurity of heart to be venial sin. We, on the contrary, taught by the Scripture standard of righteousness and unrighteousness, declare that \u201cthe wages of sin is death;\u201d and that \u201cthe soul that sinneth, it shall die,\u201d (Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:20). The sins of believers are venial, not because they do not merit death, but because by the mercy of God there is \u201cnow no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus\u201d their sin being not imputed, but effaced by pardon. I know how unjustly they calumniate this our doctrine; for they say it is the paradox of the Stoics concerning the equality of sins: but we shall easily convict them out of their own mouths. I ask them whether, among those sins which they hold to be mortal, they acknowledge a greater and a less? If so, it cannot follow, as a matter of course, that all sins which are mortal are equal. Since Scripture declares that the wages of sin is death,\u2014that obedience to the law is the way to life,\u2014the transgression of it the way to death,\u2014they cannot evade this conclusion. In such a mass of sins, therefore, how will they find an end to their satisfactions? If the satisfaction for one sin requires one day, while preparing it they involve themselves in more sins; since no man, however righteous, passes one day without falling repeatedly. While they prepare themselves for their satisfactions, number, or rather numbers without number, will be added. Confidence in satisfaction being thus destroyed, what more would they have? How do they still dare to think of satisfying? (III, 4:28)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>John Calvin apparently read a different Bible, or else his had many passages edited out of it \u2013 such as the ones I shall now present for consideration. What he thinks is \u201cabsurd\u201d is quite matter-of-fact and casually assumed in Holy Scripture. It just depends where one looks. He produces a few passages that he thinks obliterate these distinctions, but they do not. Here are the most directly obvious and relevant passages in this regard:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>James 1:14-15 <\/strong>but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1 John 5:16-17<\/strong> If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. [17] All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Bible often indicates a difference in the degree or seriousness of various sins: precisely the basis that underlies the Catholic distinction between mortal and venial sins:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Luke 12:47-48<\/strong> And that servant who knew his master\u2019s will, but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating. [48] But he who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating. Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Luke 23:34<\/strong> And Jesus said, \u201cFather, forgive them; for they know not what they do.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n<p><strong>John 9:41<\/strong> Jesus said to them, \u201cIf you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, \u2018We see,\u2019 your guilt remains.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>John 19:11<\/strong> . . . he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1 Timothy 1:13<\/strong> . . . I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hebrews 10:26<\/strong> For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,<\/p>\n<p><strong>James 3:1<\/strong> Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Secondly, the Bible frequently refers to (mortal or deadly) sins that will exclude a person from heaven if he or she doesn\u2019t repent and stop committing them. Again, this is exactly what the Catholic Church teaches: some sins are sufficiently serious enough to separate one from God, to cause a lack of grace provided by Him, and, ultimately, with no change, apostasy and possibly damnation.<\/p>\n<p>Other sins won\u2019t cause all that, but it\u2019s still good to repent of them and reform one\u2019s ways, because no sin of any degree of seriousness is good for the soul:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Matthew 10:33 <\/strong>but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matthew 25:41-46 <\/strong>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; [42] for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, [43] 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 [44] 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 [45] 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 [46] And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.\u201d<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1 Corinthians 6:9-10<\/strong> Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, [10] nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Galatians 5:19-21<\/strong> Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, [21] envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ephesians 5:3-6<\/strong> But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. [4] Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. [5] Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. [6] Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Revelation 21:8<\/strong> But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Revelation 22:14-15 <\/strong>Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. [15] Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood. <strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Even were it possible for us to perform works absolutely pure, yet one sin is sufficient to efface and extinguish all remembrance of former righteousness, as the prophet says (Ezek. 18:24). With this James agrees, \u201cWhosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all,\u201d (James 2:10). And since this mortal life is never entirely free from the taint of sin, whatever righteousness we could acquire would ever and anon be corrupted, overwhelmed, and destroyed, by subsequent sins, so that it could not stand the scrutiny of God, or be imputed to us for righteousness. (III, 14:10)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">But the rule with regard to unrighteousness is very different. The adulterer or the thief is by one act guilty of death, because he offends against the majesty of God. The blunder of these arguers of ours lies here: they attend not to the words of James, \u201cWhosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill,\u201d &amp;c. (James 2:10, 11). Therefore, it should not seem absurd when we say that death is the just recompense of every sin, because each sin merits the just indignation and vengeance of God. (III, 18:10)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Calvin engages in his usual \u201ctake it to the extreme\u201d \/ \u201ceither\/or\u201d exegesis, when it comes to disagreeing with traditional Catholic Christianity, passed down for nearly 1500 years up to his time. It\u2019s quite easy in context to see that he makes this mistake with regard to Ezekiel 18. He states his interpretation of Ezekiel 18:24 as, \u201cyet one sin is sufficient to efface and extinguish all remembrance of former righteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No, the prophet does <em>not <\/em>say any such thing! He is speaking generally and broadly of the sinners\u2019 life vs. the life of the redeemed, righteous man. The verse (first part) states: \u201cBut when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and <em>does the same abominable things<\/em> that the wicked man does, shall he live?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Notice that the sins are <em>plural<\/em>: not one little sin that supposedly undoes everything, as in Calvin\u2019s schema. Ezekiel is teaching, in effect: \u201cif you live in sin as the wicked and evil people do, you will [spiritually] die.\u201d This is referring to people who give themselves totally over to sin (including mortal sins). These are what separate a person from God, not one white lie or lustful thought or stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.<\/p>\n<p>Context makes this interpretation rather clear and obvious:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Ezekiel 18:5-13<\/strong> \u201cIf a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right \u2014 [6] if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor\u2019s wife or approach a woman in her time of impurity, [7] does not oppress any one, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, [8] does not lend at interest or take any increase, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between man and man, [9] walks in my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances \u2014 he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD. [10] \u201cIf he begets a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood, [11] who does none of these duties, but eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor\u2019s wife, [12] oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, [13] lends at interest, and takes increase; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The prophet continues in the same vein in 18:14-23. This is not Calvin\u2019s \u201cone sin\u201d; it\u2019s a <em>host<\/em> of sins, a lifestyle: a life given over to wanton wickedness and unrighteousness. Then in 18:26 he reiterates: \u201cWhen a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for it; for the iniquity which he has committed he shall die.\u201d If that weren\u2019t clear enough, he refers again to \u201c<em>all<\/em> the transgressions\u201d (18:28, 31) and \u201c<em>all<\/em> your transgressions\u201d (18:30).<\/p>\n<p>Again, he is plainly not talking about merely one sin, however small, but rather, a commitment to give oneself over to sin. We know this from the context, because the meaning is spelled out very clearly, in the greatest detail. But it\u2019s easy to jerk one verse out of context and pretend that it means something different. Calvin literally abuses Scripture in order to bolster up a false tenet in his partially novel, heretical theology.<\/p>\n<p>He does the same with James 2:10: \u201cFor whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.\u201d The fallacy here is the equation of keeping the law with <em>all <\/em>attempts to be moral and righteous <em>whatever<\/em>. The two are not identical. If they were, Paul would not have <em>contrasted<\/em> the law and grace, as he often does (e.g., Rom 5:20; 6:14-15; Gal 2:21; 5:4; cf. Jn 1:17). Calvin understands this distinction full well and teaches it himself. It\u2019s elementary New Testament soteriology. Yet when it suits his purpose, all of that knowledge gets tossed out the window, and he engages in sophistry and eisegetes one verse to try to prove a false doctrine. This won\u2019t do. One must be both consistent and honest in the interpretation of the Bible<\/p>\n<p>In any event, James proves in the same letter that he himself recognizes qualitative differences or degrees of sin: \u201cwe who teach shall be judged with greater strictness\u201d (3:1). He also teaches that \u201cThe prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects\u201d (5:16). This mans that there are people who are relatively more righteous, and that God honors this by making their prayers more powerful and efficacious (James offers the example of the prophet Elijah: 5:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>If there is a lesser and greater righteousness, in this way, then by the same token there are lesser (venial) and greater (mortal) sins also, since to be less righteous is to be more sinful, and vice versa.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(originally 2012)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Photo credit:\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Historical mixed media figure of John Calvin produced by artist\/historian George S. Stuart and photographed by Peter d\u2019Aprix: from the<\/span>\u00a0<a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.galleryhistoricalfigures.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">George S. Stuart Gallery of Historical Figures archive<\/a>\u00a0[<a class=\"decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Historical_mixed_media_figure_of_John_Calvin_by_George_S._Stuart.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0<a class=\"extiw decorated-link decorated-link\" title=\"w:en:Creative Commons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/en:Creative_Commons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"external text decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported<\/a>\u00a0license]<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is an installment of a series of replies (see the\u00a0Introduction and Master List) to much\u00a0of Book IV (Of the Holy Catholic Church) \u2014 and some of Book III \u2014 of\u00a0Institutes of the Christian Religion, by early\u00a0Protestant leader\u00a0John Calvin\u00a0(1509-1564). I utilize the public domain translation of Henry Beveridge, dated 1845, from the 1559 edition in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":50535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,50],"tags":[11739,11742,1482,1985,1986,1423,238,2342,244,1471,229,1650,1123,1120,2344,1210,2071,1421,2072,2341,1118,176,243,1207,1422],"class_list":["post-50532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-john-calvin","category-salvation-justification","tag-calvin-mortal-sin","tag-calvin-venial-sin","tag-catholic-soteriology","tag-co-laborers-with-god","tag-cooperation-with-gods-grace","tag-degrees-of-sin","tag-faith","tag-faith-alone","tag-grace","tag-grace-alone","tag-heaven","tag-hope","tag-imputed-justification","tag-infused-justification","tag-justification","tag-merit","tag-moral-assurance-of-salvation","tag-mortal-sin","tag-perseverance","tag-salvation","tag-sanctification","tag-sin","tag-soteriology-2","tag-synergy","tag-venial-sin"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mortal and Venial Sin (vs. Calvin #56) Mortal and Venial Sin (vs. Calvin #56)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is an installment of a series of replies (see the\u00a0Introduction and Master List) to much\u00a0of Book IV (Of the Holy Catholic Church) -- and some of Book What Calvin thinks is \u201cabsurd\u201d is casually assumed in Holy Scripture. 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He produces a few passages that he thinks obliterate the distinction between mortal &amp; venial, but they do not.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/08\/mortal-and-venial-sin-vs-calvin-56.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=\"2020-08-20T15:21:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2020\/08\/Calvin17.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\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=\"12 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\/08\/mortal-and-venial-sin-vs-calvin-56.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2020\/08\/mortal-and-venial-sin-vs-calvin-56.html\",\"name\":\"Mortal and Venial Sin (vs. Calvin #56) Mortal and Venial Sin (vs. Calvin #56)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-20T15:21:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-20T15:21:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\"},\"description\":\"This is an installment of a series of replies (see the\u00a0Introduction and Master List) to much\u00a0of Book IV (Of the Holy Catholic Church) -- and some of Book What Calvin thinks is \u201cabsurd\u201d is casually assumed in Holy 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. 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":"Mortal and Venial Sin (vs. Calvin #56) Mortal and Venial Sin (vs. Calvin #56)","description":"This is an installment of a series of replies (see the\u00a0Introduction and Master List) to much\u00a0of Book IV (Of the Holy Catholic Church) -- and some of Book What Calvin thinks is \u201cabsurd\u201d is casually assumed in Holy 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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