…any appeal to Scripture is an appeal an interpretation of Scripture. The only question is: whose interpretation? When we are faced with conflicting interpretations of Scripture, we cannot set a Bible and ask it to resolve our differences of opinion as if it were a Ouija board. In order for Scripture to serve as an authority at all, it must be read, exegeted, and interpreted by someone. As a Catholic, I wholeheartedly agree with the above statement. Now, some readers... Read more
In the comment section of my last article, a reader blasted me for writing on a topic they considered “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” The topic in question involved an Anglican female minster participating in Eucharistic prayers and receiving communion, while dressed as a priest. This reader, an atheist, saw no issue in such liturgical abuses, as such abuses concern the sacred, which according to them, does not exist. They then proceeded to post a video by a... Read more
Recently, during the installation of a new archbishop in Brazil, a scandal occurred. This scandal purports that a female Anglican minister participated or “concelebrated” in the liturgy of the Eucharist, including receiving communion. Now, faithful Catholics observing this scandal rightly expressed concern. Furthermore, the archdiocese issued a statement apologizing for this “isolated incident of inadvertent violation of liturgical norms” and promising to renew their commitment “to doctrinal orthodoxy and liturgical orthopraxy…” However, some Catholics may wish to engage in an... Read more
LIke many of my readers, I sometimes play around with different AIs by asking various philosophical and theological questions. Recently, while conducting research for another article on penance in the early Church, I asked three separate AIs (Perplexity AI, Gemini AI, and Chatgpt) the following questions: Was the method the early church used to address serious sin compatible with the Protestant doctrine of faith alone? Does this incompatibility with faith alone indicate a break with the bible? Did the early... Read more
In my last article, I addressed the importance of Christian unity, and the means God provided to maintain unity in His Church. To summarize: God provided the Church with legitimate and continuous apostolic authorities (bishops and the Pope) to maintain unity through the use, if need, of excommunications and anathemas. The use of such authority remains an essential part of maintaining Christian unity to this day. In other words, the Church possesses the authority to tell individual Christians “no.” In... Read more
Recently, two questions entered my mind regarding the role of unity within the Christian Church. What value does St. Paul and other biblical authors (the Bible) place on unity in the Church, if any? If the Bible teaches the importance of unity, what means did God give the Christian Church to maintain unity, if any? Now, I make a few assumptions in the above questions. A historical person (Jesus Christ) established a Church in history. An authoritative collection of books... Read more
I want to again thank Matt for his time discussing this important topic. Below, I offer my thoughts on Matt’s arguments and observations. Let’s get started. An Appeal to the Incarnation Concerns Veneration, not Intercession or Invocation Dennis’s main premise is: Through the Incarnation, the Saints share in a measure of God’s glory (dulia). The above merely represents a part of my argument. In my first article, I offered a counter to Matt’s contention that Saint and Marian veneration came... Read more
Guest writer: Matt Graham. In this post, I’ll make a few comments in reply to Dennis’ last post and then begin to make my positive case for why praying to saints is not a legitimate Christian practice. Reply To Dennis Dennis mainly repeated his earlier claims and then added a few more examples to establish early attestation to the practice of praying to saints. It should be noted that adding a few more historical data points doesn’t amount to making... Read more
In the comment section of my last article, a reader brought to my attention an underrepresented and often overlooked population of Christians: same-sex attracted individuals who seek to live according to traditional and biblical sexual values. Unfortunately, when theologians within the Church seek to change doctrine on sexual morality, these Christians feel foolish for attempting to live according to traditional and biblical values that deny them sexual intimacy. Furthermore, those outside the Church add insult to injury by ridiculing these... Read more
Progressives within the Catholic Church currently feel a certain degree of buyer’s remorse concerning the recently ended Synod on Synodality (SoS). All the hope reflected in the initial “listening sessions” that the Church change her views on women’s ordination and human sexuality evaporated with the release of the Final Document on October 29th, 2024. This document makes no mention of adjusting the Church’s view on sexual ethics and offers only a slim hope by stating women’s participation in the diaconate... Read more
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