The 2019 film Brightburn poses an interesting question: What would happen if an alien being crash landed in rural Iowa as a baby, was adopted by human parents, and eventually discovered he had superhuman powers? Now this premise should not sound original to nearly anyone in Western civilization for the last 80 years or so…
The following post is adapted from a paper titled “Christian Businesspeople, Gay Weddings, and the Ethics of Co-Operation in Wrongdoing“. It was presented at the 2015 National Evangelical Philosophical Society meeting near the time of the Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission supreme court case (part of an ongoing attack against Colorado baker…
Introduction One thing that saints like Athanasius, Augustine, and Aquinas all have in common is that they asserted that man can become God. Wait, what??? This teaching is also reflected in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The Son of God became man so that we might become God.” (CCC 460) Hold on – What?!?!?!…
James White responded to a post I did on his interpretation of John 6:44 on this podcast. I feel honored because he devoted well over half his show to it. (I mean, he did put me after William Lane Craig . . . Ah, but who am I kidding? I’m just be happy to be…
Introduction Popular Reformed Baptist blogger James White has done some good work on things like Mormonism, Islam, and KJV-Onlyism. (Not to brag, but I have his book on it signed). Of course, White’s work is not always consistent in quality – and here I want to zero in on one of his oft-repeated and problematic…
Introduction On April 12, 2018, FemCatholic posted an article titled “Why We Shouldn’t Call Women Who’ve Had Abortions ‘Murderers’.” It has numerous good points regarding rhetoric and strategy, and includes several key distinctions that need to be well thought out before use of the term “murder” is employed in the abortion debate. However, it also…
Introduction Back in my seminary days, a bunch of us Aquinas fans (dubbed “the moldy thomists”) started a blog called Tu Quoque. For over a decade now it has lain dormant – and today, at the request of a couple contributors, it has been officially deleted. Requiescat in pace, tu quoque. On its way to blog…
Introduction Some time ago, one of the guests on a friend’s podcast was asked for his thoughts on the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation (that the bread and wine used in Mass communion actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ). The guest’s reply was brief (86:30 – 90:00), but in that time he managed to make several…
Introduction State recognition of homosexual civil unions (“gay marriages”) is now the law of the land, and the ongoing discussion has revealed that the views of various Christians on the issue are themselves varied. What I wish to look at here is not which one is correct (that has been, and is being, done ad nauseum), but rather…
Introduction Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God? When this question is asked, it is important to understand not only what someone’s answer is, but what they mean by it. The sense in which a fundamentalist Christian answers the question may not be the same in which a philosophical Catholic answers it – and thus…
Douglas Beaumont 