Don’t Study Counterfeits?

Introduction I have heard it said with regard to studying cults and other religions, that it is better to simply know the real thing than study counterfeits. This idea is backed up with the allegation that bank employees don’t learn to spot fake bills by studying the counterfeits – instead, they study real bills until…

Explaining Purgatory to Protestants

What’s the Issue? Although it only takes up a couple sentences in the Catholic Catechism, the doctrine of Purgatory seems to pose big problems for many Protestants. Sometimes the reasons for this angst are ill-conceived, however, so it’s a good idea to get a few things straight before criticizing. Purgatory is said to be “a place or…

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…

BOOK REVIEW: Justification – Five Views

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…