Archive for category: Roman Catholicism

Francis of Rome was recently reported speaking about good works and atheism. In this post, we consider what he said, what was right in what he said, and then specifically what was wrong with what he said.

Francis of Rome recently made some comments about atheists that got a lot of attention, but in the process people missed a bigger point. Francis stated: Instead, this ‘closing off’ that imagines that those outside, everyone, cannot do good is a wall that leads to war and also to what some people throughout history have conceived of: killing in the

Evidently, you cannot identify apostasy in today’s world, let alone passionately call someone to repent of it lest they experience the wrath of God’s judgment, lest you run afoul of the new cultural First Commandment, Thou Shalt Be Nice. Sometimes being nice is the coward’s way out. I would say most of my failures as a parent were related to

I recently re-listened to the first White / Staples debate on Sola Scriptura: Is The Bible the Only Infallible Rule of Faith? This debate is from 1996. If you listen to this debate, you’ll hear references to an earlier discussion between Dr. White and Tim on the Bible Answer Man show. I had never heard this before, so I tracked it

For those of you who’ve listened to the recent Dividing Line broadcast, I’d like to provide a little background on the section in which Dr. White played a Roman Catholic calling Steve Gregg’s The Narrow Path radio show. Since there’s a good chance this call may eventually get me banned from Catholic Answers, I might as well document what happened.

Steve Ray (Roman Catholic) writes: From the early centuries Mary was considered the All Holy One and considered as without sin. Rom 3:23 is a general statement but does not mention exceptions to the rule. For example, Jesus was a man without sin, therefore an exception. Jesus did not come short of the glory of God, because Jesus is God.

On March 17, Tim Staples posted a blog article titled “praying to dead folks” on the Catholic Answers blog. In it, he quoted very briefly from one of my books that has been out of print for nearly two decades. Here is his citation: In his book, Answers to Catholic Claims, A Discussion of Biblical Authority, James White attempts to

The Called to Communion blog recently presented a number of entries on “the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” following a webpage from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Maybe some Roman Catholics are interested in unity, but I guess it depends on exactly what you read.  For instance, consider the following excerpts from this book with the Nihil

Pilgrimage panderer Steve Ray has some video clips up at his site (link). In the first video (starting around 4:50 into the clip, with the key portion beginning at 7:00), you can hear Steve Ray discussing the idea that Jesus’ reference to “the gates of hell” is a reference to a deep crevice near the mouth of a cave at

Over at the “National Catholic Register,” Mark Shea provided a piece responding to a reader’s concerns about the apocryphal book of Tobit, which is included within the canon of Scripture by the Council of Trent. I’m afraid the reader of Shea’s response has been seriously disserviced by Shea’s misleading answer.

People sometimes see what they want in allegory. If the chapter divisions in Isaiah were original, we would be tempted to place significance on the fact that the number of chapters in Isaiah is equal to the number of books in the canon. If we see the number 27 or 39 in an allegory, we might (less obviously) see the

Scott Alt recently posted “Questions for a Reformed Apologist.”  Dr. White and I (TurretinFan) responded on the Dividing Line, but the following provide some additional notes.

Pastor David King was of great help in providing the following example of an early church Father, a medieval Father, a Doctor of the Church (according to Rome), and a cardinal of the Roman church, all affirming imputation in some form or other. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153): The fragrance of your wisdom comes to us in what we hear, for

Posted by Mark Shea on Friday, Nov 2, 2012 5:18 PM (EST): Luther, by the way, believed in the Immaculate Conception. “It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary’s soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God’s gifts,

In a recent post, Steve Ray describes the “Protoevangelium of James” in this way: “This document was written in the early 2nd century and known and loved by the first Christians.” On the other hand, Thomas Aquinas described this same work as “apocryphal ravings.” (see also the Decree attributed to Pope Gelasius) Even the famous mariologist, Luigi Gambero, admits that

Excellent article from Jason Engwer. All Tiber treaders and swimmers should think about it.

I visited the Tiber a few years ago. It was green. Looked disgusting. I imagine there is some bad stuff in that water, and once you get it in your eyes, well, it really messes with your vision. Assuming the best, that you will eventually get that stuff cleared out of your eyes, and your head, I’d like to give

Tyler McNabb, a former Protestant who has decided to do the “cool thing” and apostatize, has shown he is to be taken as anything but serious by including in his “why I converted to Romanism” announcement the following statement: The principle of sola scriptura is not only self-defeating but the consequence of this doctrine is the creation of over 36,000

Jason Stellman has officially announced his intention to join the Roman communion at the “Called to Communion” blog. However, in the meantime, that post has been removed. It’s unclear why it was removed, but the following are comments on the post that was put up on July 24, 2012. Jason writes: Part of me has wished for a while now

More specifically, I no longer see the Reformed doctrines of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide as faithfully reflecting what the Bible teaches, which is why I will, Lord willing, be received into full communion with the Catholic Church sometime in the next several months. Let’s ponder this a moment. Scripture never directs us to a higher authority than God’s own

Jason Stellman just announced his defection to Romanism in these words: More specifically, I no longer see the Reformed doctrines of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide as faithfully reflecting what the Bible teaches, which is why I will, Lord willing, be received into full communion with the Catholic Church sometime in the next several months. Just a few weeks ago

If the Reformers were really were sent by God, where are their miracles to prove it? This was the very question I came across while listening to a Called to Communion conversion story. In this story, a former Mid-America Reformed Seminary alumni recounted how he and his wife journeyed across the Tiber. This couple mentioned the importance of the book,

I subscribe to a number of Roman Catholic e-letters. One such e-letter is John Martignoni’s Apologetics for the Masses. In a recent issue, Mr. Martignoni  presents an argument in regard to the Council of Jerusalem as a proof for Roman Catholcism: “One last thing to note here when talking about the Council of Jerusalem. I need to highlight the fact that

Not too long ago I wrote an article in which I created a composite conversation compiling together bits of different conversations I have had with a cult group known as the Elohim Academy. My intention was not to demonstrate how I refuted their arguments, but rather to show the flow of argument and presentation this group may present if they