Tim Enloe has raised a very good point about the care that Protestant apologists should take in representing the Catholic faith to others. In short, we ought never to maintain that official Roman Catholic teaching affirms what it plainly denies, or vice versa. In other words, apologetics ought never be a battle with a straw …
Theology With the Chambermaid
I am not sure I can do full justice to the questions about Roman Catholicism (from Tim and Kurt), but I will have a whack at it. The distinction between the magisterial doctrine of sola Sciptura and the modern, individualistic solo Scriptura is, in my thinking, straightforward. Solo Scriptura maintains that the Bible is the …
Heavenly Prayer Requests
This is the beginning of an answer to Kurt’s question about Mary. And, as is the case with many doctrinal issues, the real issue is found at the level of the presuppositions. The question really is not whether the Roman church has a nuanced position on Mary that acknowledges that Christ is a “unique” mediator. …
Objectivity and Emergence
Frank Turk raised a question about the objectivity of the covenant and emergence, but at least had the presence of mind to realize it was a baptist question. This is not a detailed answer to the question, but it provides the initial outline of an answer. I believe emergent errors need to be identified and …
Pharisaical Caricature
I am currently reading a fine book on the Pharisees. The author, Tom Hovestol, is doing a really good job describing the Pharisees as they actually were, where they came from, what their goals were, and how much they resemble modern evangelicals. Although the book is coming from an unexpected quarter (Moody Press), it is …
Polemical Voltage
One of the staples of NPP discussion with regard to Second Temple Judaism is that, contrary to the OPP, the first-century Jews were not merit-legalists, but that rather they adhered to a religion of grace. In the set-up of the problem, according to many NPP advocates, we are not told that the first century Jews …
The Issue Is Boasting
I freely and cheerfully grant that the Jews of the first century did not hold the peculiar merit theology that prevailed during the medieval era. But that particular merit theology is only one of countless ways that fallen men have devised to boast in themselves instead of in the Lord. And the problem of this …
Receiving and Retaining
In his article on justification in the New Dictionary of Theology, N.T. Wright says a number of good and indisputable things. The dictionary was edited by David Wright, J.I. Packer, and Sinclair Ferguson, so we know that the Reformed bona fides should be in good order here. And I thought the article was quite good, …
Huh
Had a strange experience tonight. I am currently involved in a writing and editing project for Veritas Press — the Omnibus materials. The first text for seventh graders has been published and can be found off to right on the bookrack. The second text for eighth graders is just about ready to go off to …
Can’t Argue With That
A certain man once claimed that he had a special kind of fish net, one that could capture any kind of fish in the lake. A friend asked to see the net, and was astonished when the proud fisherman brought out a net with a mesh that had openings that were two inches square. “Don’t …