I don’t have a lot of time for an update today, and am in no mood for argument; but this is an important day: the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the celebration of our Blessed Mother being assumed body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life, as …
Tag Archives: Catholic
Substitutionary Commotion
[NOTE: This is not to be confused with Substitutiary Locomotion.] I suppose it’s time to raise my blowhole for a few moments. It’s been a hard few weeks, with yet another ugly head rising from the stump of my thesis, just as soon as I thought I’d dealt the death blow. I pray, once again, …
Indulgences: Gift of the martyrs
Part 2 of a series on Indulgences. Part 1. So last time, I showed you the basic idea of indulgences: First, that sin has temporal consequences, apart from the guilt which Jesus forgives by His grace — the misery that our sin causes for us and others, called the temporal punishment, which we still must …
Indulgences: It’s about healing
As always, this turned out to be longer and more involved than I intended. So consider this part 1 in a series on Indulgences. And no, I haven’t forgotten about Baptism. The other day Pope Francis granted a plenary indulgence to those devoted faithful who would follow his tweets or other coverage of the World …
Does Baptism Regenerate? A Look at the Times It Didn’t (Series on Baptism)
(Part of an in-depth series on Baptism. Part 1. Part 2.) When we left off, we were examining the Baptist view of Baptism, that it is merely a symbol, a sign of a work of grace that has already taken place in the believer by faith, an ordinance of the Church, not necessary for grace …
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The Baptist View of Baptism: Symbol or Sacrament? (Series on Baptism)
(Part of an in-depth series on Baptism. Part 1.) In this and ensuing posts I will examine in particular the view of Baptism held by Baptists and other evangelicals in their tradition: that Baptism is not sacramental but merely a symbol. I want to make every effort to be fair and consider the Baptist arguments …
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Is Infant Baptism an Unscriptural Practice? Part 1: Understanding Baptism
So, my last post, in addition to being fascinating exegesis, had a point. I didn’t even realize the point at the time, but our dear brother Eugene has brought up an important question that just happens to fit with the direction I was moving in. May we thank the movement of the Holy Spirit! As …
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Is Baptism the Circumcision of Christ?
Is Baptism the “circumcision of Christ” that Paul was referring to in Colossians 2:8-15? It is a question that has far-reaching implications. Here is a little Scripture study I whipped up a few days ago. See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, …
Saved by Faith: A Modest Proposal for Protestants
Hello brothers and sisters. I pray you were blessed on the Lord’s Day. Here’s a little something I wrote up this morning in response to a particularly hardboiled Calvinist. I recommend it for all my Protestant brethren, as a proposal of how our positions are not quite so contradictory as many seem to think. I …
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St. Irenaeus’s Testimony to the Apostles
Today is the feast day of St. Irenaeus (ca. A.D. 125–ca. 200), one of the earliest witnesses we have to the authority of the Church and to the doctrine of apostolic succession. I’m still trying to dig my way out from under this thesis, but I thought I would bring you a few quotes I’ve …