What is “Full Communion With the Catholic Church”?

Introduction When people become Catholic they often describe it as “coming into full communion with the Catholic Church.” That might sound like an obtuse description of the event, but it is actually both accurate and important in its details. This is because Catholics consider all validly baptized Christians to be “in the Church” even if…

The Protestant’s Burden

Introduction For 500 years now, Protestants have been arguing that Catholicism is a false (or at least an extremely faulty) version of Christianity. After entering into this debate more deeply over the last couple years, I noticed some trends in the debate and also came up with a thought experiment I’d like to share. I wondered what it…

How to Argue with Catholics

Introduction There are some logical fallacies that occur often enough to be given names. Some sound humorous, like “Arguing Against a Strawman” (which is when an opponent’s position is misrepresented and then attacked). Others have titles that have been distorted by pop culture, like “Begging the Question” (which refers to an argument that assumes its…

Thomistic Arguments for Christianity

Introduction Saint Thomas Aquinas is famous for his philosophical proofs for the existence of God, but proving theism does not prove Christianity. Fortunately, Aquinas did not stop there. Although they are less well-known, and sprinkled throughout several of his works, Aquinas extended his apologetic arguments to the truth of Christianity itself. In many apologetic systems (e.g., McDowell, Geisler, or Montgomery), the…

Light from Light: A Non-Heretical Analogy for the Trinity

Introduction It seems to be an unwritten rule that whenever an analogy for the Trinity is given, one must begin with the disclaimer that “all analogies break down.” The reason, though, that all analogies break down is simply because analogies compare things that are not exactly alike (if they were, it would not be an…