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Sacraments and “Works”: Where Protestants get it wrong
An icon of the Theophany, the Orthodox celebration of the Baptism of Christ, when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. It occurred to me today, I think, the real reason why Reformed and...
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The Damascus Road
Conversion of Saint Paul (1600), by Caravaggio. (WikiPaintings.org) My wandering had come to running and rebellion. My soul was crying out — I was lost, and could not find my way — but I was hurt,...
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“Rigorously skeptical”: Historical thoughts on the Christian faith
Christ Giving His Blessing (1481), by Hans Memling. [This is a post that ballooned into about three posts when I sat down to write it. So I split it up, rather than giving you far more than anyone...
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The Authority and Reliability of Paul: More historical thoughts on Early...
Saint Paul (1637), by Jusepe de Ribera. [Continuing my thoughts from last night, about the historical reliability of early Christian testimonies, in particular the biblical texts, and the argument that...
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When Church is Good
The Last Supper (1306), by Giotto. Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel, Padua. Every week when my parents get home from their church and I get home from my Mass, they ask me “how church was.” Growing up...
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Some Answers to Common Protestant Objections to Peter’s Ministry as Bishop of...
Peter Paul Rubens. St. Peter. c. 1611. Oil on canvas. Hi. I am sorry that I’ve been such an absentee tenant lately, but I’ve been swamped in the mud bog of my thesis. Today has been a new day of...
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St. Paul on prayers for the dead
The Apostle Paul (c. 1410), by Andrei Rublev. (WikiPaintings.org) Okay, so the plan is to whip up a brief post here and there and maybe even queue up a few at a time. Can I do that? Can I be brief?...
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Justified by Faith: Paul and Baptism (Baptism in Depth)
The Baptism of Christ (1623), by Guido Reni. Part of a series on Baptism in Depth. A few days ago, I had a startling realization about St. Paul. I’ve always been frustrated by Paul’s lack of emphasis...
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The Sovereignty of God, or, My Brush with Calvinism, Part 2: A Crisis of Faith
The next post in my spiritual autobiography, and the conclusion(?) to my account of my struggle with Calvinism. I don’t know; maybe there will be more. I thought I would nudge a couple of Reformed...
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Were the churches of the New Testament independent of one another?
The beginning of a series: “How do I know the Catholic Church is the Church Jesus founded?” Source: The Restless Pilgrim It is a commonplace of Catholic apologetics that we claim that “the Catholic...
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