Introduction John MacArthur is a prolific and popular writer at the reformed end of the Evangelical spectrum. He is also a fierce anti-Catholic. On his blog he wrote a series of articles titled Exposing the Heresies of the Catholic Church which are (and I do not say this lightly) surprisingly bad. I will be responding to some of…
Introduction One of the most convicting (i.e., terrifying) theological passages I ever read had to do with lack of faith. Now, a reasonable guess as to its content would be something about the threat of Hell – maybe a Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God sort of thing. But it wasn’t. In fact,…
“In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.” These words, translated variously as “in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity,” or, “unity in necessary things; liberty in doubtful things; charity in all things,” have often been assigned to St. Augustine and used as a sort of get-out-of-debate free card for…
Biblical Perspicuity Arguments based on disagreements in biblical interpretation are often answered with an appeal to biblical perspicuity (clarity). The appeal takes many forms. One is the idea is that the Bible is clear on “the main things,” and so disagreements are no big deal because they must, by definition, be over secondary issues. Another…
In the first 500 years of its existence, the Church authoritatively settled many issues such as Jewish law requirements (Council of Jerusalem – Acts 15), Christ’s deity (Council of Nicene – A.D. 325), the canon of Scripture (Council of Rome – A.D. 382), the dual natures of Jesus (Council of Chalcedon – A.D. 456), etc.…
James K. Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy et al. Justification: Five Views. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011. [326 pages.$24.99. 978-0-8308-3944-5] Introduction Multi-view debate books have become a major publication genre, and, as many have noted, it is high time that one was released on the doctrine of justification. That such a publication is sorely…
Introduction The Book of revelation presents some pretty interesting options within orthodox Christianity. There are four radically different views competing for prominence today (not counting millennial and rapture views!), namely: Futurism: most of Revelation’s prophecy concerns our future. Preterism: most of Revelation’s prophecy concerns the first century. Historicism: most of Revelation’s prophecy concerns the entire Church Age.…
When the Apostle John wrote his gospel, he opened with words that would have stirred the hearts of Jew and Greek alike. “In the beginning was the Word . . . “ Old Testament Period The Old Testament represents God’s creative act as speaking, i.e., the word of God (Genesis 1:3). God spoke and creation followed. By…
“Truly here is the light of the Church. Here he found the entire way of discipline.” Why Are We Here? This life often does not make sense to us. It can seem like a wildly fun ride one moment, and a terrifying roller coaster the next. Undeserving people often seem to have it easy, while…
Introduction Would you agree with this assertions regarding the following literal interpretation of Jesus’ words? The belief in the metaphorical view of the Lord’s Supper does not come from Scripture, but from the fallible methods that secularists use to determine what things are. To attempt to “fit” a metaphorical view into the Bible, you have to…
Douglas Beaumont 