-
A Distinction in Principle between Sola Scriptura and Solo Scriptura
Tim Troutman over at the Roman Catholic blog Called to Communion wrote: The Reformed claim to believe in Church authority but they subject that authority to their own private interpretation of Scripture and thus their self-view of Church authority is no different in principle than the Protestant who would explicitly state that his only authority…
-
Visualizing the Flow of Communication and Ultimate Interpreters
The chart above shows the relationship of various parties with respect to a flow of communication. First, let’s consider the left hand side of the chart. God spoke directly to Adam and Moses. Moses spoke directly to the people of Israel, but he also provided Scripture. Scripture speaks both to individual believers and the church,…
-
Didn’t Augustine Say That He Wouldn’t Believe the Gospel but for the Catholic Church?
I anticipate a response to my post on the Augustinian approach of seeking the Church through Scripture. The response is to provide the following quotation: But should you meet with a person not yet believing the gospel, how would you reply to him were he to say, I do not believe? For my part, I…
-
Responding to Nathan from "Called to Communion"
Over at the Roman Catholic blog Called to Communion (the link was this, though it seems to be broken at the moment), a commenter going by the name “Nathan” provided the following comment: Thus far your attempt to rebut the claims of this article seems to be simply a restatement of sola scriptura as including…
-
Devin Rose on Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and the Eucharist
Over in the over-flowing comment box at the Roman Catholic blog Called to Communion, Devin Rose has provided a comment that veers slightly off the stated topic for that box. I’m providing a response here instead of there both to keep that discussion on topic and because (for the moment) the CTC site is undergoing…
-
Response to Bryan Cross at "Called to Communion"
The following is a detailed response to Bryan Cross’ comment #441 here (link to the comment) at the Roman Catholic blog, Called to Communion. Dear Bryan Cross: Thanks for your thoughtful reply to my comments. I have a few rejoinders, which I’ll try to group in some sort of organized way below – not necessarily…
-
Is Jesus’ Divinity Clearly Revealed in Scripture?
Over in the ever-growing comment box at Called to Communion (a Roman Catholic blog), there is at least one man, Mr. Ciatoris, who is trying to argue that the Scriptures do not clearly teach that Jesus is God. (link to the comment box in question) John Cassian (lived about A.D. 360 – 435) thought differently:…
-
Unity vs. Disunity – Round 2
Dr. White has responded (link to Dr. White’s response) to some comments found at a Roman Catholic blog (link to source of comments). Dr. White points out that Reformed Baptists worldwide are far more unified than Roman Catholics. He’s right, of course. But he could have taken the matter further. He’s being far too fair…
-
Mark Shea on Me on Hitchens and Fry
Mark Shea seems unhappy (link to his post). He states: Speaking of weird partisanship, here’s yet another Calvinist sitting in the peanut gallery and cheering on the atheists because they happen to be quarreling with Catholics. Better that God be blasphemed than that any slight pettiness of the 16th Century quarrel be abandoned for one…
-
Unity or Disunity?
I recently came across the following comment: Protestant epistemology has lead to the creation of thousands upon thousands of divided Protestant sects that cannot come together and agree on a single point of doctrine. What is the source of that Protestant doctrinal chaos if it is not the doctrine of sola scriptura? Does the Baptist…