“In biblical vocabulary, false gods are not the same thing as non-existent gods” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 95). … [Read more...]

“The heart is deceitfully wicked, and is fully up to the challenge, for one example, of fashioning even iconoclasm into an idol. When that happens the idol leers from his intellectual shelf in the temple of reason, as much as if to say, ‘Get me now.’” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 94). … [Read more...]

“For my purposes here, I am understanding idolatry as placing a created thing where only the uncreated God should be. This clearly happens whenever images are used in prayer, but images need not be involved. Idolatry is more subtle than that” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 94). … [Read more...]

“The boundaries of true authority matter to the submissive heart” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 87). … [Read more...]

“Yes, there are many voices claiming to understand Scripture, and yes, they contradict. But to throw up my hands and step to the right three paces, take down another book, and undertake the interpretation of something else (far more inchoate and difficult) does not solve the … [Read more...]

“John the Baptist didn’t have a cushy office set-up at the Temple. He preached in the wilderness, but this did not make him the schismatic separatist. They were all back in Jerusalem” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 69). … [Read more...]

“The faithful Roman Catholic is told that he cannot interpret the fixed Bible without the aid of non-stipulated, non-fixed magisterium. It is like being told that you cannot read the map rightly without being given the key—but then the key is hidden” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 63). … [Read more...]

“There is a vast mountain of teaching and conflicting voices to sort through, and one thing the magisterium has not done is give us a table of contents to identify the precise boundaries of that magisterium. Where can I go and get a leather-bound set of all the infallible … [Read more...]

“But reason is an eyeball, and not a source of light. God created us with a faculty for rational weighing and sifting of evidence so that we could submit to light from outside. Every form of religion and secularism that tries to make the eyeball shed light is therefore doomed to … [Read more...]

“‘Brethren! These divisions are disgraceful! Our proposal for eliminating them is for everyone to stop being obstinate and join us!’” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 54). … [Read more...]