The Dodecahedron of Opposition

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…

Creedal Qualifications

The above screenshot is taken from the website of Providence Presbyterian Church: A Congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Notice that in order for this particular group to “affirm” the Nicene Creed, they must qualify the meaning of various terms and phrases. (The filioque notice just seems to set them off from Eastern Orthodoxy –…

Five Reference Books Every Catholic Should Own

Introduction The Church has created a massive library of texts over her 2,000 year lifespan, and it can be overwhelming to even contemplate attaining (much less reading) them all. The good news is that among the millions of volumes of writing the Church has produced, many of them are summaries or collections of previous writings. While…

Biblical Perspicuity and the Book of Jude

The idea that the Bible possesses inherent interpretative clarity (“perspicuity“) persists among Evangelicals and other “Bible Only ” Christians. Indeed, it must – for if the Bible is not sufficiently clear for the average person, then the specter of authoritative interpreters is raised which opens the door to the need for an infallible Magesterium. That…

The Incarnation of the Son of God

Introduction To “incarnate” means to “take on flesh”. In the case of Jesus Christ, it refers to the dogma that the Son of God – the second person of the Holy Trinity – assumed a human nature at his conception in the Blessed Virgin Mary. The incarnation is one of the central mysteries of the…

Is Christian Orthodoxy a Logical Deduction? Norman Geisler’s Failed Attempts at Preserving Orthodoxy

Introduction [Original article published in 2012, updated in 2017) Evangelical writer Norman Geisler’s teachings are fairly widespread, and much has been said about “the orthodox Christian faith” regarding them.  The term “orthodox” has been thrown around so much, it seems it is simply being taken for granted that everyone agrees on what it means. Given the tenor…