Tag: ECFs

Young Earth Creationism, and the Danger of Needless Barriers to the Faith

In Isaiah 44:24, amongst other places, the prophet Isaiah says that God formed us in the womb.  Imagine a Christian taking this to mean that sex had nothing to do with procreation.   Loudly proclaiming that you had to choose either the word of God (which says God formed you in the womb) or science (which says… Continue reading Young Earth Creationism, and the Danger of Needless Barriers to the Faith

Answering Nine Protestant Arguments About the Bible

After yesterday’s post, Brent Stubbs pointed out that a thoughtful Protestant named Shawn Madden raised a number of arguments against the Catholic Bible, and in favor of the Protestant Bible, in the comments at Called to Communion.  His full argument is here, but he essentially makes nine points: Many versions of the TNK used by Greek-speaking Jews… Continue reading Answering Nine Protestant Arguments About the Bible

Answering Lutheran Objections to Church Structure and Authority

Yesterday, I described a class lecture given by a Lutheran pastor, Mark Anderson, on the canon of Scripture and the authority of the early Church.  Pastor Anderson showed how rejecting the authority of the early episcopacy would leave you without a Bible and without any reliable way of distinguishing orthodoxy and heresy, admitted that Protestantism… Continue reading Answering Lutheran Objections to Church Structure and Authority

How the “Robber Council” Establishes the Papacy

At least three groups of Christians – Eastern Orthodox, traditional Protestants, and liberal Catholics – assail the papacy by arguing that the Church Councils should be our highest authority, an idea called “concilarism.”  It’s a good argument – after all, Councils can be infallible, they’re part of the Magisterium, and so forth, so don’t Catholics go… Continue reading How the “Robber Council” Establishes the Papacy

The Catholic Answer to Rigorism

Tomorrow’s the feast day for St. Optatus of Milevis.  A while back, I gave something of a 20,000 foot view outlining his views on the sacraments, the Real Presence, the Sacrifice of the Mass, the papacy, and schismatics. Short answer: he was incredibly Catholic. Well, Bryan Cross at Called to Communion has a fantastic post on him… Continue reading The Catholic Answer to Rigorism

Can Christ’s Glorified Body be in Locked Rooms and in the Eucharist?

In Luke 24, we hear how, on Easter Day, Jesus made Himself visible to two travelers on the road to Emmaus and then, after breaking Bread and giving it to them, He disappeared.  And in John 20:19, in one of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, we hear: On the evening of that first day of the week,… Continue reading Can Christ’s Glorified Body be in Locked Rooms and in the Eucharist?

The Magnetic Eucharist (or, Why the Eucharist Matters More than Justification)

I. Why Does it Matter if the Catholic Church Has the Authority to Define Orthodoxy? On Monday, Jon Anthony asked, Ok, here’s what I don’t get, maybe I’m missing something:  Even granting that the Roman Catholic Church has the authority to define orthodoxy (merely for the sake of argument), why should you care what Christian… Continue reading The Magnetic Eucharist (or, Why the Eucharist Matters More than Justification)