A number of weeks back, I responded to a post on a Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic debate page on Facebook. Briefly, it attempted to downplay the role that the Catholic Church had in establishing the Canon of the New Testament. It is a historical fact that certain Books that are accepted by all Christians now (2 Peter, Hebrews, Revelation, etc.), were not universally accepted by Christians until the fourth and even into the fifth centuries. Given this fact,... Read more
In the previous article, I discussed Luke 10:16, the question of authority, and how this text has been viewed throughout the ages. In that article, I cited Canon 21 of the Fourth Council of Constantinople to demonstrate that point. That is because the index in Denzinger’s Enchiridion lists it as a source.[1] It is very clear in this version of the text that Lk 10:16 is directly being cited (along with Mt 10:40). Here it is: Canon 21,... Read more
In the roughly fifteen years since I have become Catholic, I have become aware that there are those who recoil from the idea that the Catholic hierarchy exercises legitimate authority over men. As the Church teaches, this authority comes from God. Anecdotally, this “hard pill” of sorts is not limited to non-Catholics. I have heard roughly the same from at least one Catholic struggling to grasp this concept. Though all under discussion would agree that God has authority, not... Read more
Way back when, I started a series of articles revolving around a few objections non-Catholics had to Catholicism that came out during an old debate. As promised, I planned on closing with an article on the topic of St. Peter’s historical connection with the city of Rome. Better late than never? I sure hope so! So here goes. In the now over twenty year old debate, one of the non-Catholic objectors denied the claim that St. Peter had... Read more
In the previous article, the 8th c. forgery known as the Donation of Constantine was discussed. More specifically, a claim made by a Protestant debater that the papacy was established (seemingly ex nihilo) on the basis of that document. There the Donation was placed in its proper historical context, and a distinction was made between temporal and spiritual authority. It was argued that the Donation is better seen through the lens of this distinction, on which the Popes from... Read more
A little way back, I had set my mind to writing a series of three articles which all dealt with a few questionable claims levelled against the Catholic side in a recorded debate entitled Calvary Chapel vs Catholicism. The first was tackled in the article Catharism, Calvary Chapel, and Catholicism and its companion article. Having been preoccupied for some time, I decided to run down the remaining claims (incidental to the debate itself) in a pair of articles. The... Read more
The following is meant to be a companion to the previous post “Catharism, Calvary Chapel, and Catholicism” (though long overdue! ☹). On a broader level it can serve as a resource for a few primary sources on Catharism in the Middle Ages. It includes a pair of orthodox writers as well as a citation from the Charter of Niquinta which is alleged to have come from the Cathar council at Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, ca.1167. With respect to the ancient Catholic sources,... Read more
So, I was listening to another debate. This one was called Catholicism meets Calvary Chapel, and it involved a Catholic apologist/ evangelist duo squaring off against two opponents associated with Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa. On the Catholic side, the participants were Tim Staples and Jesse Romero. On the Calvary Chapel side, the names I was able to make out out were Bill Wynne and Rob Yardley.[1] I only caught the first part of it on YouTube, but what I... Read more
As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed the other day, a post about the Marian dogmas with a link to a debate caught my eye. Although it has been some time since I have listened to a theological debate, for whatever reason I clicked on that link, put on my headphones, and started doing some things I needed to get done around the house that day. I am glad I did. The debate was on the... Read more
When discussing the question of whether or not St. Peter ever came to the Eternal City, modern scholars tend to affirm that he did indeed arrive there, and that it was ultimately the location of his martyrdom. This of course is in line with ancient Christian tradition, and it has been the constant belief of the Catholic Church that St. Peter was martyred there. Thus, the Popes are on record from the mid second century on claiming a unique... Read more
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