Does Anything Follow from Sola Scriptura? In what follows I will show that it would not matter if a Catholic were to affirm the foundational Protestant principle of Sola Scriptura (“Scripture Alone”). In fact I will argue that nothing relevant to the Catholic/Protestant debate actually follows from Sola Scriptura at all. What Is Sola Scriptura?…
Introduction “Where is that in the Bible?” is a challenge Protestants commonly issue to Catholics when matters of disputed doctrine arise. Two common response strategies include trying to find a biblical reference to support the belief in question or to return the challenge by asking, “Where in the Bible does it say something must be…
I was on Catholic Answers Live again this week, this time taking calls on questions concerning faith and works. Enjoy!
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” With these words, St. Dismas (one of the two thieves crucified with Jesus) was saved by Our Lord who promised: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43). Unfortunately, some Christians cite this beautiful story as evidence against the…
St. Dismas (aka The Thief on the Cross, The Good Thief) Introduction “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom!” With these words, one of the two thieves who hung in crucifixion with Jesus was saved as he was promised by our Lord: “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in…
Introduction The two foundational Protestant doctrines are those of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) and Sola Fide (faith alone). These two “solas” are known, respectively, as the formal and material causes of the Reformation. Sola Scriptura might be thought of as the methodological doctrine of the Reformation, for Protestantism is said to be founded on Scripture Alone (as…
Introduction As I mentioned earlier, on April 9th, 2017, Hank Hanegraaff, long time host of the Bible Answer Man radio program and president of the Christian Research Institute, became a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Naturally, many Christians freaked out. Evangelicals were saddened, fundamentalists said he was going to hell, Catholics were just happy he wasn’t…
Introduction Many Christians point to 1 John 5:13 as being St. John the Apostle’s purpose for writing the epistle – namely, to assure believers of their final salvation based on their present belief. The verse reads, “I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in…
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…
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…
Douglas Beaumont 