The Lord’s Prayer: “Adding To” or “Subtracting From” Scripture?

Introduction In many churches, the Our Father (“The Lord’s Prayer”) is said slightly differently. Some (e.g., the Catholic and Orthodox) conclude with the prayer for deliverance from evil, while others (mostly Protestant) go on to say, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” before saying “Amen.” Indeed, this follows from…

Does Christianity Need the Bible?

Introduction Atheistic attacks on Christianity typically focus on philosophical issues concerning theism or evidential attacks on the Bible. The latter, however, plays upon a certain view of Christian theological methodology and ecclesiology that is flawed. These attacks assume that Christianity is relying on the Bible for its existence – which certainly seems fair, as many…

Kruger, Canon, and Catholicism

Introduction Michael Kruger’s Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books (Crossway, 2012) is an important contribution to the ongoing issues biblical scholars face when considering what material should be counted as scripture by Christians. Having personally sat under his teaching, I can say that Kruger is a smart guy and his book is…

Anti-Catholic Bias in the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible

Introduction In another post, I detailed some of the more egregious theological errors being supported by the the Jehovah’s Witnesses mistranslation of the Bible (the New World Translation, or NWT). Those are issues that should concern all Christians. There are others, however, of special interest to Catholics that are less well-known and rarely discussed. Some of these are…

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…

Biblical Perspicuity and Linguistic Under-Determination

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…