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>\n
III, 5:10\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n***<\/p>\n
When, therefore, my opponents object, that it has been the practice for thirteen hundred years to offer prayers for the dead, I, in return, ask them, by what word of God, by what revelation, by what example it was done? For here not only are passages of Scripture wanting, but in the examples of all the saints of whom we read, nothing of the kind is seen. We have numerous, and sometimes long narratives, of their mourning and sepulchral rites, but not one word is said of prayers. But the more important the matter was, the more they ought to have dwelt upon it. . . .<\/span><\/p>\nWe ought not to indulge our love so far as to set up a perverse mode of prayer in the Church. Surely every person possessed of the least prudence easily perceives, that whatever we meet with on this subject in ancient writers, was in deference to public custom and the ignorance of the vulgar. I admit they were themselves also carried away into error, the usual effect of rash credulity being to destroy the judgment. Meanwhile the passages themselves show, that when they recommended prayer for the dead it was with hesitation. Augustine relates in his Confessions, that his mother, Monica, earnestly entreated to be remembered when the solemn rites at the altar were performed; doubtless an old woman\u2019s wish, which her son did not bring to the test of Scripture, but from natural affection wished others to approve. His book, De Cura pro Mortals Agenda, On showing Care for the Dead<\/em>, is so full of doubt, that its coldness may well extinguish the heat of a foolish zeal. Should any one, in pretending to be a patron of the dead, deal merely in probabilities, the only effect will be to make those indifferent who were formerly solicitous.<\/span><\/p>\nThe only support of this dogma is, that as a custom of praying for the dead prevailed, the duty ought not to be despised. But granting that ancient ecclesiastical writers deemed it a pious thing to assist the dead, the rule which can never deceive is always to be observed\u2014viz. that we must not introduce anything of our own into our prayers, but must keep all our wishes in subordination to the word of God, because it belongs to Him to prescribe what he wishes us to ask. Now, since the whole Law and Gospel do not contain one syllable which countenances the right of praying for the dead, it is a profanation of prayer to go one step farther than God enjoins. . . . I say nothing of those grosser superstitions by which they have fascinated the minds of the simple; and yet they are innumerable, and most of them so monstrous, that they cannot cover them with any cloak of decency. (III, 5:10)<\/span><\/p>\nYet again, Calvin seems to have missed the portions of Scripture that his theology predisposes him to oppose. Catholics do not overlook them, and actually attempt to provide some sort of explanation:<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 15:29-31<\/strong> Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? [30] Why am I in peril every hour? [31] I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!<\/p><\/blockquote>\nOne Catholic interpretation of this fascinating passage holds that \u201cbaptized\u201d is used not for the sacrament, but to denote redemptive suffering on behalf of the dead (analogous to prayer on their behalf) , along the lines of \u201cbaptism\u201d used in this sense in other passages:<\/p>\n
Mark 10:38<\/strong> But Jesus said to them, \u201cYou do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?\u201d<\/p>\nLuke 12:50<\/strong> I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe sense, in other words, is that if the dead don\u2019t rise again, why should anyone suffer and mortify themselves for them, or pray for them? 15:30-31 backs up this interpretation, because Paul links his own suffering to the preceding verse. It\u2019s also backed up by a very similar deuterocanonical passage:<\/p>\n
2 Maccabees 12:40-45<\/strong> Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was why these men had fallen. [41] So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; [42] and they turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. [43] He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. [44] For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead<\/em>. [45] But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSeeing how Protestant commentators grapple with the notion of \u201cbaptism for the dead\u201d is a very interesting endeavor indeed. Calvin, desperate to avoid any hint of any sort of assistance for the dead in purgatory, seizes on a rather improbable scenario: hardly suggested by the reading.<\/p>\n
He argues in his Commentaries<\/em> that the passage refers to those who are about to die; thus the baptism is related to their own death \u201cinasmuch as it could not be of any service to them in this world.\u201d Readers may judge whether that<\/em> makes more sense than what I have suggested.<\/p>\nBut if this Bible passage is rejected as any sort of indication of prayer for the dead, there is an even clearer one from St. Paul, where he is literally praying for a dead person, who is named:<\/p>\n
2 Timothy 1:16-18<\/strong> May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiph\u2019orus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, [17] but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me \u2014 [18] may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day \u2014 and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nOnce again, as we would suspect, Protestant commentators are all over the ballpark with this; wishing to avoid any conclusion that it is prayer for the dead. The way they try to evade it is to claim either that Onesiphorus wasn\u2019t dead (Calvin and, e.g., Presbyterian exegetes Albert Barnes and Matthew Henry and Baptist A. T. Robertson), or that Paul wasn\u2019t praying (Robertson), with more taking the first option.<\/p>\n
These views simply aren\u2019t coherent or believable. It\u2019s much more sensible to hold with Catholics that Paul is praying for a dead man. Everything in the text suggests it.<\/p>\n
Now if Calvin and his followers still want to deny that the Bible ever teaches prayer for the dead, there are yet more verses in the New Testament that are crystal-clear and undeniable. Jesus and Peter and Elijah prayed for dead people: to be raised<\/em>. This is prayer for the dead, and can\u2019t be considered anything but <\/em>that. They prayed for a positive impact on the lives of people who were dead: to come back to earthly life.<\/p>\nThese are unusual circumstances, but still count as biblical examples that Calvin vehemently denied existed. We\u2019re informed that the disciples also raised people from the dead (Mt 11:5; Lk 7:22) and that Jesus told them that they would and should do so (Mt 10:8).<\/p>\n
Moreover, there are many recorded instances throughout history, including reports from St. Irenaeus, Pope St. Gregory the Great, and St. Augustine (City of God<\/em>, Book XXII, ch. 8), and actual raisings said to be performed by St. Hilary, St. Ambrose, St. Martin of Tours, St. Benedict, St. Bernard, St. Malachy, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Elizabeth, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Dominic, St. Philip Neri, St. Patrick, St. Francis Xavier, and many others.<\/p>\nIn the first passage below, Jesus not only prays for<\/em> Lazarus, but in a sense, to<\/em> him as well, by commanding him (a dead person). The same occurred when He raised Jairus\u2019 daughter and the son of the widow of Nain. In commanding them to rise, He was simultaneously praying for them.<\/p>\nLikewise, when Peter raised Tabitha, the text specifically notes that he \u201cprayed\u201d and then commanded her. Calvin in his Commentaries<\/em>, stated that Peter \u201cspeaketh unto a corpse\u201d: the dreaded \u201ccommunication with the dead\u201d). Lastly, the prophet Elijah clearly prayed (successfully) for a child to be raised.<\/p>\nJohn 11:41-44<\/strong> So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, \u201cFather, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. [42] I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.\u201d [43] When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, \u201cLaz\u2019arus, come out<\/em>.\u201d [44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. . . .<\/p>\nMark 5:39-42<\/strong> And when he had entered, he said to them, \u201cWhy do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.\u201d [40] And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside, and took the child\u2019s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. [41] Taking her by the hand he said to her, \u201cTal\u2019itha cu\u2019mi\u201d; which means, \u201cLittle girl, I say to you, arise<\/em>.\u201d [42] And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.<\/p>\nLuke 7:14-15<\/strong> And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, \u201cYoung man, I say to you, arise<\/em>.\u201d [15] And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.<\/p>\nActs 9:40-41<\/strong> But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed<\/em>; then turning to the body he said,<\/em> \u201cTabitha, rise<\/em>.\u201d And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. [41] And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive.<\/p>\n1 Kings 17:18-23<\/strong> And she said to Eli\u2019jah, \u201cWhat have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!\u201d [19] And he said to her, \u201cGive me your son.\u201d And he took him from her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him upon his own bed. [20] And he cried to the LORD, \u201cO LORD my God, hast thou brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?\u201d<\/em> [21] Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the LORD, \u201cO LORD my God, let this child\u2019s soul come into him again.\u201d<\/em> [22] And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Eli\u2019jah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. [23] And Eli\u2019jah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Eli\u2019jah said, \u201cSee, your son lives.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThat brings the total to seven passages about, or describing prayer for the dead, and another very clear one in the deuterocanon: that Calvin (wrongly) rejects as not canonical. In fact, indirectly, Jesus even commanded His disciples to pray for the dead (\u201cHeal the sick, raise the dead, . . .\u201d: Mt 10:8). We\u2019ve seen the models above, of how one raises another from the dead. They include prayer, and also talking to the dead person.<\/p>\n
All of this is quite anathema and unthinkable to Calvin and most Protestants, but there it is, right in front of us, in Holy Scripture. Are we to follow the forbidden mere traditions of men, that go contrary to Scripture, or God\u2019s inspired, infallible Word (as the Catholic Church has done in this instance)? The choice is very easy.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
(originally 2012)<\/p>\n
Photo credit:\u00a0<\/strong>Historical mixed media figure of John Calvin produced by artist\/historian George S. Stuart and photographed by Peter d\u2019Aprix: from the\u00a0<\/span>George S. Stuart Gallery of Historical Figures archive<\/a>\u00a0[Wikimedia Commons<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported<\/a>\u00a0license]<\/p>\n***<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":50535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,206],"tags":[5663,11745,201,413,198,2397,1263,411,2396,372,208,200,1398,195,207,1402,209,412],"class_list":["post-50553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-john-calvin","category-saints-purgatory-penance","tag-abraham-lazarus","tag-calvin-prayer-for-the-dead","tag-communion-of-saints","tag-hades","tag-intercession","tag-intercession-of-angels","tag-intercession-of-saints","tag-intermediate-state","tag-invocation-of-angels","tag-invocation-of-saints","tag-onesiphorus","tag-penance","tag-penance-for-the-dead","tag-prayer","tag-prayer-for-the-dead","tag-prayers-for-the-dead","tag-purgatory-2","tag-sheol"],"yoast_head":"\n
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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":"Prayer for the Dead (vs. Calvin #57) Prayer for the Dead (vs. Calvin #57)","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) \u2014 and some of Book Calvin seems to have missed the portions of Scripture about prayer for the dead that his theology predisposes him to oppose. 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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"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50553","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=50553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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