Mormon theology<\/a> could be classified as both polytheistic and atheistic.<\/span><\/p>\nThat\u2019s a funny thing to say. I\u2019ll add it as #5,234,432 to my list of weird things people say about Mormons.\u00a0A wise Philosophy professor once told me that the only difference between a philosophical error and a joke, is that you laugh at a joke. And I\u2019m all out of laughs.<\/span><\/p>\nFrom the perspective of someone who thinks the only thing one ought to worship is the First Cause of the universe, yes atheistic.<\/span><\/p>\nWhen someone says that a religion is both polytheistic and atheistic a natural response should be, \u201cThat\u2019s a funny joke.\u201d And laugh about it, much in the same way we laugh at \u201cWho\u2019s on First\u201d by Abbott and Costello. Except, they were serious about thinking that Mormons are both polytheistic and atheistic. It\u2019s a patently ludicrous statement, except no one laughed. So if it\u2019s not a joke, how else are you supposed to respond?<\/span><\/p>\nDepends. Some people think that merely calling yourself \u201cChristian\u201d is enough to make you Christian, but that seems incoherent to me. And it should, at the very least, be very clear to anyone who cares to look that Mormonism is very<\/em>\u00a0different from historical Christianity, which seems to me to disqualify it from the title \u201cChristian\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\nHe\u2019s not actually wrong, even if he is speaking in an unusual way. He means \u201cpolytheistic\u201d in the sense that they believe in multiple powerful entities, but \u201catheistic\u201d in the sense that they do not seem to believe in worshipping the First Cause of the universe, the Unchanged Changer \u2013 in other words, they do not believe in any God that is not a super-powered creature<\/em>. Popular presentations of God the Father often portray Him as if<\/em>\u00a0he were a powerful creature<\/em>, but this is not so. Super-powered creatures would not actually be of a different kind of being than, say, Superman, or the Greek \u201cgods\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\nExactly. It\u2019s a denial of monotheism and God\u2019s transcendence. Without an eternal God Who is spirit, it reduces to materialism, and arguably a sort (albeit a very weird sort) of atheism.<\/span><\/p>\nI think I made it pretty clear what my theological presuppositions are, ones I share with Dave Armstrong. So from that perspective I\u2019m right to say Mormon theology is both polytheistic and atheistic.<\/span><\/p>\nThat said, it is a pretty funny statement. I didn\u2019t write the joke, the credit for that goes to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, etc etc.<\/span><\/p>\nMormon cosmology is bizarre but fascinating in its own way.<\/span><\/p>\nIt depends on what level of analysis you choose and what theological presuppositions you bring to bear. Remember, I\u2019m assuming a certain worldview (classical theism) to be true and looking at Mormonism etc. through that lens.<\/span><\/p>\nSo a cosmology that admits of super-powerful creatures called gods, who are at the same time derived from ordinary lifeforms, and a materialist conception of the soul, could be consistent with the kind of atheism that rejects a transcendent creator God who is outside the universe, immaterial, omniscient, etc. From an atheist\u2019s perspective people who worship Mormon gods would simply be worshipping creatures like humans albeit highly advanced creatures.<\/span><\/p>\nSo let\u2019s get exact. The statement I found patently ludicrous was that Mormons are both polytheistic and atheistic. By definition, those two things are mutually exclusive. Furthermore, it goes against the definition of the word \u201catheistic\u201d to define a religion as \u201catheistic\u201d. To make that assertion is to either intentionally ignore what it means to be an atheist, or to not understand what it means to be an atheist.<\/span><\/p>\nTo twist the definition of the word \u201catheistic\u201d in that way is to render it useless. Effectively Ancalagon was saying that he could make the word atheistic mean whatever he wanted it to mean. That action kills rational argument. If you can redefine words to mean the exact opposite of their definition, then there is no chance for a rational discussion.<\/span><\/p>\nIf there is no chance for a rational discussion then I guess humor is one possible response, which is the response that I chose.<\/span><\/p>\nI have addressed your objection to my word choice.\u00a0You\u2019re free to tell me where I err.<\/span><\/p>\nA cosmology that admits of super-powerful creatures called gods, who are at the same time derived from ordinary lifeforms, and a materialist conception of the soul, could be consistent with the kind of atheism that rejects a transcendent creator God who is outside the universe, immaterial, omniscient, etc. From an atheist\u2019s perspective people who worship Mormon gods would simply be worshipping creatures like humans albeit highly advanced creatures.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAgain, I\u2019m using the language of \u201catheism\u201d and \u201cpolytheism\u201d within a specific context.<\/span><\/p>\nRemember, Socrates is sometimes said to have been charged with \u201catheism\u201d (really, impiety) for rejecting the Athenian gods; he did not, however, reject the concept of \u201cdeity\u201din the abstract.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd you continue to insist that Mormons can be both polytheists and atheists. You surprise me, Ancalagon. What is your object in saying that? Do you suggest that Mormons can believe in a God (or even gods), while at the same time\u00a0not<\/em><\/strong> believing in a God, or gods? As to how someone can be both polytheistic and atheistic is rather puzzling. You seem to be composing a puzzle to test whether people will recognize that you are joking and contradicting yourself. This seems to be the conduct of a jester.<\/span><\/p>\nCan you have people who are not people? Or horses that are not horses? Or flute players that are not flute players? Can you believe in a God and not believe in a God?<\/span><\/p>\nThe definition of the word atheist is not, \u201cHas a different view of God than me.\u201d or even, \u201cTheir concept of God is so different from mine that I would not worship that God.\u201d For every word there is certain vagueness to its definition, because that is the nature of language. But to use a word in direct opposition to its common meaning is to render it meaningless. You may as well say that Mormons are both \u201cgrimlocs\u201d and \u201cpenduits\u201d. Neither of which has any meaning.<\/span><\/p>\nIt should be noted that Socrates\u2019 response to Meletus on the charge of being an atheist is perhaps relevant here. I like how you compare me to Socrates. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. You may not want to be so quick to take on the role of Meletus. Try 26c-27e.<\/span><\/p>\nIf a cult arose that worshipped horses, because the members really loved horses, and perhaps even attributed various wonderful properties to them (such as the ability to gallop faster than any man could run, and pull much greater weight than any man could pull) their hippolatry would be consistent with an atheistic universe where no Gods exist. The hippolators would simply be animal worshippers. An atheist would condemn them, rightly consider them delusional, but he would still acknowledge the existence of horses. An actual God may or may not exist in this hypothetical world; what is relevant is that disbelief in God and belief in horses is not a contradictory position.<\/span><\/p>\nFor someone with my theological presuppositions, Mormon gods are consistent with a totally material atheistic universe.<\/span><\/p>\nYes they are, because the Mormons have ditched the transcendence of God, which means that they have ditched God, because that is part of His essence. A \u201cgod\u201d who was once a man and a man that can become a god, is a race of \u201cgod-men\u201d with no God (in the Christian definition). Therefore, it is simultaneously atheistic and polytheism. The Christian regards the gods of polytheism as non-existent; therefore, believers in them (in fact \/ in a sense<\/em>\u00a0\/ from our<\/em>\u00a0perspective) to be atheists, till they accept the one true (monotheistic \/ transcendent) God.<\/span><\/p>\nDo you suggest that Mormons can believe in a God (or even gods), while at the same time\u00a0not<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0believing in a God, or gods?<\/span><\/p>\nYou fundamentally miss the point. We\u2019re not saying that Mormons<\/em> simultaneously believe one thing and the other, which are contradictory, and hence, self-consciously absurd. We agree that that would be the case, but (unfortunately for your \u201ccase\u201d) it\u2019s not<\/em> what we are arguing<\/em>. We\u2019re not arguing from their<\/em> perspective, but from ours<\/em>, as classical orthodox theists \/ Christians. This is what you don\u2019t get, and so you have descended (wittingly or not) to sophistry, and your<\/em> comments are where the humor and folly reside, because you don\u2019t understand<\/em> the opposing viewpoint (rule #1 in any good debate).<\/span><\/p>\nAncalagon made this aspect clear several times, by using phrases such as<\/span> \u201cfrom a classical theist perspective,\u00a0 . . .\u201d<\/span> and \u201cFrom the perspective of<\/span> [believing in]<\/span> the First Cause of the universe . . .\u201d<\/span> and<\/span> \u201cfrom that<\/em> perspective\u201d<\/span> [i.e., classical theism] and<\/span> \u201cI\u2019m assuming a certain worldview (classical theism) to be true and looking at Mormonism etc. through that lens\u201d<\/span> and \u201cFrom an atheist\u2019s perspective . . .\u201d<\/span> [stated twice] and<\/span> \u201cFor someone with my theological presuppositions . . .\u201d That\u2019s seven times clarifying exactly what he meant, and from what perspective he was asserting it.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nI have argued it more briefly from a little different angle, but still from the same presuppositions. Yet you continue to not grasp what we are contending. That\u2019s what happens when people seem unable (or unwilling) to momentarily step out of their own presuppositional bubble,\u00a0 in order to understand another different opinion. The fish in the\u00a0aquarium or the ocean doesn\u2019t understand that there are worlds composed of other than a liquid environment.<\/span><\/p>\n***<\/p>\n
Photo credit:<\/strong>\u00a0Painting (unknown artist, c. 1842)\u00a0of Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844), founder (heresiarch) of the non-Christian sect of\u00a0Mormonism<\/span>\u00a0[public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\n***<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Very interesting discussion from one of my blog comboxes . . . The words of \u201cAncalagon\u201d will be in blue; those of \u201cquantumleap42\u201d in green, and Eoin Moloney\u2019s in purple. I eventually chime in. *** Don\u2019t Mormons believe that the Gods are basically super-human beings, made of some kind of physical material? My understanding is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":15317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[587],"tags":[2874,258,335,2877,2881,2875,2880,2879,477,2876,1794,4854,2878,193,4855,3523],"class_list":["post-7692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heresies-comparative-religion","tag-anti-trinitarians","tag-atheism","tag-atheists","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-brigham-young","tag-christological-heretics","tag-joseph-smith","tag-latter-day-saints","tag-materialism","tag-mormonism","tag-mormons","tag-naturalism","tag-pearl-of-great-price","tag-polytheism","tag-polytheists","tag-transcendence-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\n
How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) "Atheists"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The discussion depends on how one defines God. For the Christian, transcendence is central to the definition of God, & polytheism is impossible.\" \/>\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\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) "Atheists"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The discussion depends on how one defines God. For the Christian, transcendence is central to the definition of God, & polytheism is impossible.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.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=\"2018-01-26T21:20:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-01-27T00:48:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2018\/01\/SmithJoseph.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\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=\"8 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\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html\",\"name\":\"How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) \\\"Atheists\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-26T21:20:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-01-27T00:48:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\"},\"description\":\"The discussion depends on how one defines God. For the Christian, transcendence is central to the definition of God, & polytheism is impossible.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) “Atheists”\"}]},{\"@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":"How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) \"Atheists\"","description":"The discussion depends on how one defines God. For the Christian, transcendence is central to the definition of God, & polytheism is impossible.","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\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) \"Atheists\"","og_description":"The discussion depends on how one defines God. For the Christian, transcendence is central to the definition of God, & polytheism is impossible.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html","og_site_name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","article_published_time":"2018-01-26T21:20:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-01-27T00:48:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":574,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2018\/01\/SmithJoseph.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dave Armstrong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave Armstrong","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html","name":"How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) \"Atheists\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-01-26T21:20:19+00:00","dateModified":"2018-01-27T00:48:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e"},"description":"The discussion depends on how one defines God. For the Christian, transcendence is central to the definition of God, & polytheism is impossible.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/01\/mormons-polytheists-sense-atheists.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Mormons Are Both Polytheists & (in a Sense) “Atheists”"}]},{"@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\/7692","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=7692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"SmithJoseph\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2018\/01\/SmithJoseph.jpg\")
<\/p>\n