-
How Many Popes Does it Take to Deny the Immaculate Conception?
During Dr. James White’s debate with Christopher Ferrara on the alleged sinlessness and Immaculate Conception of Mary, Mr. Ferrara questioned the fact that a half dozen popes taught or held a position contrary to the dogma that was later defined as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Dr. White provided a citation to Schaff, the…
-
Iron Sharpens Iron
Lord Willing, I will be on the “Iron Sharpens Iron” radio program to discuss Dr. White’s recent debate with Christopher Ferrara at 8 p.m. EDT / 5 p.m. PDT today (September 2). See the Iron Sharpens Iron website for streaming info and other ways to listen. To God be the Glory!
-
The White-Ferrara Marian Debate – Some Follow-Up
On Saturday, August 28, 2010, Dr. James White debated Mr. Christopher Ferrara on the topic of Mary’s alleged sinlessness and immaculate conception. While the debate audio/video are not (to my knowledge) yet available for purchase, here are a few points that I’d like to address. 1) Does Ineffabilis Deus lie about the patristic testimony? During…
-
Thomas Aquinas (and the Fathers of the Church) on Mary’s non-Immaculate Conception
Thomas Aquinas did not believe that Mary’s conception was immaculate. In fact he was quite clear about the matter in his Compendium of Theology: As appears from the foregoing exposition, the Blessed Virgin Mary became the mother of God’s Son by conceiving of the Holy Spirit. Therefore it was fitting that she should be adorned…
-
Was Mary Sinless?
My friend Fisher has provided a thoughtful explanation of the reasons why we answer the question, “Was Mary Sinless?” in the negative. (link to post) To God be the Glory!
-
>In Whom Do You Trust? Through Whom Does your Salvation Come?
>Christians are those who follow Christ, who have faith in Christ for salvation. They ascribe to him power and glory, which they do not ascribe to any creature. They have one mediator, as it is written: 1 Timothy 2:5-6For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who…
-
Immaculate Conception and Pelagianism – Response to John Martin
In an earlier post, I wrote: On the other hand, sometimes (much more rarely) the RCC adds some new requirement to the list of things that must be believed. For example, about four years before the Lourdes event, the RCC defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception – requiring people to believe the unbiblical (and…
-
Immaculate Conception Errata
In my previous post, I had erroneously asserted that Bernadette’s purported revelation was in French (“Je suis l’Immaculée conception”). Although that formula can be found on dozens of French-language pages at the Vatican site, it appears that I had overlooked the fact that “Je suis l’Immaculée conception” is itself a translation of Bernadette’s Basque Bigourdan…
-
Why Do Roman Catholics Think that Mary Didn’t Have Pain During Childbirth?
One belief that is common in Roman Catholicism today is that Jesus was born without Mary suffering any pain. While sometimes Roman Catholics think that this fits with the concept of Mary being immaculately conceived, when we examine this doctrine prior to the acceptance of the view of Mary’s immaculate conception, we see some slightly…
-
Mark Shea and the Revelation 12 Woman
Over at his own blog, Mr. Shea has provided comments on what he calls: “For My Money, One of the Weakest Arguments Against the Immaculate Conception” (link). One of the reasons its such a weak argument against the immaculate conception is that it’s not actually an argument against the immaculate conception. Someone with average reading…