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State's Interest in Marriage?
During debate in the Supreme Court, one of the justices made an interesting comment. JUSTICE GINSBURG: Mr. Clement, the problem is that it would totally thwart the States’ decision that there is a marriage between two people, for the Federal government then to come in to say no joint return; no marital deduction; no Social…
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State’s Interest in Marriage?
During debate in the Supreme Court, one of the justices made an interesting comment. JUSTICE GINSBURG: Mr. Clement, the problem is that it would totally thwart the States’ decision that there is a marriage between two people, for the Federal government then to come in to say no joint return; no marital deduction; no Social…
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Candida Moss on Bishops and the Bishop of Rome in the Early Church
In The Myth of Persecution, Dr. Candida Moss (professor of New Testament at Notre Dame) makes two interesting comments regarding the early church and the papacy. First, at page 227, she states: According to the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, bishops can trace their line in an unending succession all the way back to the…
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Candida Moss' Surprising Omission of Jesus and Hebrews' Appeal to Abel
One surprising omission from Dr. Candida Moss’ book, “The Myth of Persecution,” is discussion of Jesus’ own framework for persecution. Jesus, you recall, stated: Matthew 23:29-36 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, “If we had been in…
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Candida Moss’ Surprising Omission of Jesus and Hebrews’ Appeal to Abel
One surprising omission from Dr. Candida Moss’ book, “The Myth of Persecution,” is discussion of Jesus’ own framework for persecution. Jesus, you recall, stated: Matthew 23:29-36Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, “If we had been in the…
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The Bible and Slavery – Some Limitations
In a previous post (link), I discussed the volatile topic of slavery and the Puritans and I mentioned that the Bible does not prohibit slavery, it merely regulates it. The regulations on slavery include a number of points: 1) Slaves as Household Members Male slaves who were not Hebrew were to be circumcised and afterwards…
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The "Bind and Loose" Argument Rebutted
Over at GreenBaggins, Scott tried to make an argument for an infallible rule of faith other than the Bible. He wrote: “The fact is that Matthew 16:18-19 and Matthew 18:18 teach that man and/or those men can bind or loose, not just sin, but whatsoever they choose.” Let’s consider this argument piece by piece: “that…
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The "Bind and Loose" Argument Rebutted
Over at GreenBaggins, Scott tried to make an argument for an infallible rule of faith other than the Bible. He wrote: “The fact is that Matthew 16:18-19 and Matthew 18:18 teach that man and/or those men can bind or loose, not just sin, but whatsoever they choose.” Let’s consider this argument piece by piece: “that…
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Puritans, Slavery, and Exodus 21:16
A dear reader (name removed to protect the innocent) wrote (slightly edited below): Exodus 21:16 (KJV) And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. a) It’s common knowledge that numerous Puritans owned slaves, and at times were even chaplains…
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The Positive and Negative Claims of Sola Scriptura
I’ve noted a number of Roman Catholics who seem to think that the advocates of Sola Scriptura need to prove that Scripture teaches “Scripture alone is the infallible rule of faith and life.” I understand (I think) this mindset – if you’re advocating “Sola Scriptura” you should be able to prove it. Part of the…