Today (8 Sept 2006) is the birthday of Mary, Mother of God.
Sep 08 2006
Happy Birthday, Mary!
Aug 22 2006
Adventists abusing Socrates
There are two well-known quote from Socrates’ Ecclesiastical History. I am sure most Adventists and those who have come across what they teach are familiar with them. By taking away context, they hide the truth that these were not Sabbath keepers, but Sunday keepers who had retained the Sabbath as a custom.
Aug 22 2006
Orthodox, Catholics, and Adventism
The Orthodox share with Catholicism most of the teachings that Catholicism and Protestantism disagree on. Mary, her sinlessness, her body taken up into heaven, the Eucharist being literally the physical body and blood of Christ, asking saints in heaven to pray for us, Apostolic succession, the liturgical expression of our faith, 46 books in the Old Testament instead of the Protestant 39 (actually, some Orthodox have more.) And so it goes on. On issues such as Mary and Purgatory, they tend to share the same beliefs, but express them in very different ways.
Aug 22 2006
Why bother with Adventism?
If the truth gets attacked, and those preaching and preserving it get attacked, the rest of us need to defend it. That can happen in different ways – and a website showing why Adventism is wrong about its claims about Catholicism is one way of doing that. If we don’t, we lose people to the traps set by those outside, and unbelievers get to laugh anyway.
Aug 21 2006
Dies Domini – Adventist apologetics and research
Dies Domini “is a internet research center, dedicated to promoting an ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Seventh-day Adventists. Founded by former Adventists who embraced the Catholic faith, this ministry exists to glorify Christ in faithful service of His Church.”
Aug 21 2006
Ellen White on the deification of man
That sounds similar to the doctrine of Theosis, taught by the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Eastern Catholic Churches. Western Catholicism doesn’t give it much attention as far as the use of the term divinisation goes, and the Eastern part carries it over from their Orthodox heritage. If you see a difference between divinisation and deification, Theosis refers to the former … some people see a difference, some people consider them perfect synonyms. See below – probably equivalent to the Protestant concept of sanctification.
Aug 12 2006
Call no man father
Rom 4:1, James 2:21, Luke 1:73, and Acts 7:2 have Abraham being called a father, in an ancestral/spiritual sense. Rom 4:16 has Abraham called the “father of us all.” Isaac is called “our father Isaac” in Rom 9. Timothy’s father was a Greek, says Acts 16. That’s not metaphorical or figurative. Yet this man was called Timothy’s father, when Timothy was a Christian whose father was God. 1 Cor 4:15 has Paul calling himself a father in a spiritual sense.
Jul 23 2006
Adventists changing the Bible?
He chopped out the word “commandments” in Exodus 16:28, and replaced it with “Sabbaths” – he may well be quoting from the Clear Word Bible, but I am not sure of that. The Clear Word Bible is an Adventist composition that makes tremendous changes to the actual text in order to support Adventist teachings.
Jul 23 2006
Who changed the Sabbath?
Adventists often make the claim that Catholicism claims to have changed the Sabbath. They then cite their proof – unofficial texts, usually newspaper quotes, statements that disagree with the official Catholic position. This is a classic Adventist ploy. I’ve discussed it further here. Without that, Adventism can’t pinpoint which pope they claim changed the Sabbath.
Jul 15 2006
Ellen White: Women have less vital force than men
Females possess less vital force than the other sex, and are deprived very much of the bracing, invigorating air, by their in-doors life. The results of self-abuse in them is seen in various diseases, such as catarrh, dropsy, headache, loss of memory and sight, great weakness in the back and loins, affections of the spine, the head often decays inwardly. Cancerous humor, which would lay dormant in the system their life-time, is inflamed, and commences its eating, destructive work. The mind is often utterly ruined, and insanity takes place.
Jul 08 2006
Bacchiocchi – Some things Paul wrote are unacceptable
Some of the things Paul wrote are unacceptable, says Samuele Bacchiocchi.
Jul 07 2006
The anti-Catholic Oneness Pentecostal again
If people are not willing to be civil, to engage in reasonable discussion, I’m not interested. I have no time for rhetoric and misguided propaganda. How can they claim to be answering Catholicism when they aren’t able to even represent its teachings properly when they disagree with them? They can serve as an example … that’s all such a discussion can do. So here it is.
Jul 07 2006
Example of an anti-Catholic’s rhetoric
In summary, this seems to be a denomination on the very fringe of Christianity, even further out than the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, who also have a peculiar set of beliefs. They appear to be Oneness Pentecostals … who, in my experience, are not good at honesty when it comes to Catholicism and others they disagree with.
Jul 02 2006
The Catholic origins of Democracy
It looks like there is a strong case for the Catholic origins of modern democracy. Modern democracy can be traced back to Catholic roots, and was not the product of the reformation. There is convincing evidence that Thomas Jefferson, , knew of the political teachings of Robert Bellarmine, a Catholic Cardinal. Even before Bellarmine, a Jesuit, Thomas Aquinas taught the idea.
Jun 29 2006
Agnes Elizabeth Hobbs
My grandmother passed away on 16 June. We will miss her terribly. Right until the end, she was very independent, living on her own in a flat at the age of 93 (she did have my aunt and uncle living next door.)
Jun 17 2006
The Da Vinci Decode
I don’t have the time now to blog properly on this – so instead I will simply post an e-mail I just sent off on the website of The Da Vinci Decode, a book written by Grenville Kent and Philip Rodionoff (Adventists) in Australia. It’s really worth reading – no matter what your denomination. It can be downloaded here.
May 30 2006
Coeliac disease and the Eucharist
Here we see a case of a girl being denied the Eucharist because of coeliac disease. In short, she cannot eat wheat-based products, which means that, in the Catholic Church, it can range from uncomfortable to potentially lethal to take communion in this form.
May 29 2006
The animal origins of non-white people
Since the flood there has been amalgamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the almost endless varieties of species of animals, and in certain races of men.
May 14 2006
Protestants, Da Vinci Code, and Christmas
A post on the Fifth Column blog, Pagan Flesh, Protestant Bones, caught my attention the other day. It suggests that Protestant anti-Catholic tendencies are what have resulted in the current attempt by secularists in America to wipe Christmas from the calendar. They were the first to attack Christmas; the anti-Christians are just finishing what they started. He has another article on that particular topic here – How the Christians Stole Christmas.
May 14 2006
Tesa Beem’s Letter of Resignation
Here is an interesting – and detailed – letter of resignation from the Adventist church. Tesa Beem’s Letter of Resignation
