44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 "It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

Indeed, the Lord's unwillingness to become an "ecclesiastical rebel" is in perfect harmony with the Scriptural teaching on the subject of authority in the church. There was nothing in the tradition of having someone read from the Scriptures while sitting on Moses' seat that was in conflict with the Scriptures, and hence, unlike the corban rule which we saw earlier in Matthew 15, Jesus does not reject this traditional aspect of Jewish synagogue worship. He does not insist upon anarchy in worship in the synagogue anymore than His apostle Paul would allow for it in the worship of the church at Corinth. It is quite proper to listen to and obey the words of the one who reads from the Law or the Prophets, for one is not hearing a man speaking in such a situation, but is listening to the very words of God.

Jesus teaches that the scribes and Pharisees have a legitimate, binding authority, based on Moses' seat, which phrase (or idea) cannot be found anywhere in the Old Testament. It is found in the (originally oral) Mishna, where a sort of teaching succession from Moses on down is taught. Thus, apostolic succession, whereby the Catholic Church, in its priests and bishops and popes, claims to be merely the custodian of an inherited apostolic Tradition, is also prefigured by Jewish oral tradition, as approved (at least partially) by Jesus himself.

841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery." Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

Before wrapping this up, let me just say that I appreciated your concise handling of 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 5:18-19; and Romans 5:9-10, 12 on pp. 172-174. I thought that your handling of these passages, though brief, revealed great exegetical instincts, and was right on the money. We have every right, on the basis of such passages (as well as Romans 4:5-6 and 10:4) to reject the path of scholars like Wright and Gundry (and to some degree Seifrid), and instead to hold on to the doctrine of Christ's imputed righteousness.

Here I think is our most fundamental disagreement. I think this statement assumes something like "the death of Christ is effectual"-which is the very question in debate, and so the cross (the death of Christ) itself does not make application "beyond question." Indeed, that is the question. I reject the notion that the death of Christ is the "power" that draws the elect. It is rather the calling of God based on his gracious choice that draws them. The death of Christ provides the necessary grounds for forgiveness, but it is not the forgiveness itself. If it were, and if particular redemption were true, then I do not see how the proponent of that view could escape the theological ramifications that lead to positing eternal justification. On that view, Christ died; he died only for the elect; his death is effectual and he accomplished perfect redemption on the cross. Therefore, all the elect have already been forgiven, and there is no need for belief as the means of justification. On what basis could it be otherwise?

I did my time as an "apologist". The more I move away from it, the more I feel I'm finding a balance and a peace I never knew, and never would have known, had I continued being a War-Monger for The Truth.

   "Dead Sea Scrolls" could really mean a lot more than just...the Dead Sea Scrolls. I mean, it could refer to like pretty much any Jewish writing up to, like, 2002....

   Well, some early Christian writers talk about Hebrew. That's important. And, some said Matthew was written in Hebrew. That's really important. Did we mention some mentioned Hebrew? And how important that is? And that it is important to see how important things are? My, we've run out of time here....

   Some commentators mention Hebraisms or Semiticisms in Acts. That is very important. OK, so they mention them in Acts 1-12, which would not technically include 13:48, but the fact that there are Hebraisms in the preceding portion of Acts could be relevant! Hebraisms, given that I can't read Hebrew, could be like ink, which, as we all know, soaks into fabric and spreads out. So, over time, it could have gotten into chapter thirteen and influenced verse 48, which, of course, we know can't mean what it says, since there are hundreds of verses that say what I believe, so maybe, just maybe....

We stand by our story. The quotes from the DSS and early writers were there, but the Jesuits got to them before the second edition came out. Don't underestimate the Jesuits! We have the Hebrew original under lock and key for the same reason: the Jesuits know how important this is, since, of course, the Hebrew original of Acts 1-15 refutes Calvinism, which, as we proved, is actually related to Catholicism via the Calvin/Augustine connection. And the reason we can't tell you about our Hebrew scholars who translated this for us is because they, too, are in hiding. Legions of blue-hooded nuns have been seen lurking in the bushes outside the Special Hebrew Translator's Center, and hence we just can't be too careful.

Ho, ho, sir surgeon, you are too delicate to tell the man that he is ill! You hope to heal the sick without their knowing it. You therefore flatter them; and what happens? They laugh at you; they dance upon their own graves. At last they die! Your delicacy is cruelty; your flatteries are poisons; you are a murderer. Shall we keep men in a fool's paradise? Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in hell? Are we to become helpers of their damnation by our smooth speeches? In the name of God we will not. It becomes every true minister of Christ to cry aloud and spare not, for God hath set a day in which he will "judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." As surely as Paul's gospel was true the judgment will come.

You wrote: "Now, while it is true that, in Matt 18:18, Jesus bestows a similar authority to "bind and loosen" upon all of the Apostles collectively, it is to Peter alone that Christ entrusts "the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven." So, what are these Keys? What are they suppose to signify?" When, specifically, did Christ bestow the keys ALONE to Peter? The Greek verb in Matthew 16 is future in tense. Hence, if this does not take place in Matthew 18:18, when does it? And, can you cite patristic foundation for saying the keys differ in authority and meaning from the power of binding and loosing? ...
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20:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

David Cloud: Proud To Snipe At Calvinism

01/18/2005 - James White

   I was sent an e-mail today that was sent out by David Cloud, KJV Only advocate and, of late, another of the many sniping at Calvinism. I say sniping because a sniper never goes toe-to-toe with the enemy. He is always in hiding, firing from a long distance, remaining invisible, and, if he's good, staying so well hidden as to preclude meaningful counter-fire. And that is what David Cloud is up to these days. Check his website and note what is listed as "hot" (it's his talk against Calvinism which I replied to on the DL a few years ago). So I get this e-mail today that is simply huge, and it is made up of all the folks congratulating Cloud on not debating! What an amazing thing it is to see folks congratulating someone for taking shots at a system he does not understand, ignoring meaningful counter-argumentation that is biblical in nature, and yet proudly declining to be held publicly accountable for his stance. Ah yes, the Great Monologue. A sad day for fundamentalist KJV Onlyism.

13:43:04 - Category: Reformed Apologetics - Link to this article -

Mark Bonocore and Isaiah 22:20-22 (Part III)

01/18/2005 - James White

   I continue reviewing the attempted defense of the modern usage of Isaiah 22:20-22 by Roman Catholic apologists, responding to Mark Bonocore. In our previous installments we have examined Bonocore's use of patristic sources in reference to Irenaeus and John Cassian. We continue with his presentation:

I believe the reason we don't see Isaiah 22 used more extensively is that it's rooted in a sense of Jewish national identity. And, since most of the fathers were Gentiles, it's not surprising that they see the Keys of Matt 16 referring to authority in a more generic sense (which is equally valid). However, we do see the Kingly, Davidic aspect of the Keys alluded to more often in the Semetic-speaking branches of the Church. For example, Aphraates the Sage (c. 330 A.D.), one of the oldest fathers of the Syrian Church, says: ...
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02:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

More on Postmodernism and the Emergent Church Discussion

01/17/2005 - James White

Next McLaren speaks of the "apologetic of good lives and good works" being more "costly" than "asserting the message of absolute objective truth or proclaiming a version of Christianity as the true metanarrative." (definition) Of course, the biblical form of apologetics is good lives and good works combined with the assertion of divine, transcendant, unchanging, eternal truth, truth that is then made alive in the hearts of God's elect by the work of the Holy Spirit. But I must confess, I do not understand why it is that the major writers in this field can make general, and often exceptionally critical, comments about "the church," and that is not to be understood as being "offensive." Is this not an implicit statement that those who "assert the message of absolute objective truth or proclaim a version of Christianity as the true metanarrative" are not paying the "cost" that the Emergent folks are? ...
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02:00:00 - Category: Christian Worldview - Link to this article -

Calendar Updated for Spring/Summer 2005

01/16/2005 - James White

   Many joke that the calendar page at aomin.org is normally more of a history page, and for years, that was quite true. But I've tried recently to keep it somewhat up-to-date, and tonight I got it caught up for the Spring and into early Summer. The result is simply daunting, as you can see. Starting in February it's back on the road, but this time, between now and June, I travel to such destinations as London, England, and Italy! No, no debates scheduled with the Pope. Add in all the writing I'm supposed to be doing, preparation for two debates, the Dividing Line, the blog....!!! We could use your prayers and support!

22:43:07 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

This One Hits Close To Home

01/16/2005 - James White

And yet another reason to avoid PalTalk like the plague.

13:35:33 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -

Mark Bonocore and Isaiah 22:20-22, Part II

01/16/2005 - James White

   Context, context, context. Cassian is writing against the Nestorians on the Incarnation. In chapter 11 of Book III he transitions from a primary use of Pauline texts to some derived from the Gospels. He briefly alludes to Martha's confession of Christ in John 11:27, but quickly moves to Peter's testimony in chapter 12, from which Bonocore quotes. Let's look at all of it:

But if you prefer the authority of a greater person (although you ought not to slight the authority of any one of either sex, on whom the confession of the mystery confers weight - for whatever may be a person's condition, or however humble his position, yet the value of his faith is not thereby diminished) let us interrogate no beginner or untaught schoolboy, nor a woman whose faith might perhaps appear to be but rudimentary; but that greatest of disciples among disciples, and of teachers among teachers, who presided and ruled over the Roman Church, and held the chief place in the priesthood as he did in the faith. Tell us then, tell us, we pray, O Peter, thou chief of Apostles, tell us how the Churches ought to believe in God. For it is right that you should teach us, as you were taught by the Lord, and that you should open to us the gate, of which you received the key. Shut out all those who try to overthrow the heavenly house: and those who are endeavoring to enter by secret holes and unlawful approaches: as it is clear that none can enter the gate of the kingdom save one to whom the key bestowed on the Churches is revealed by you. ...
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02:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Mark Bonocore and Isaiah 22:20-22, Part I

01/15/2005 - James White

   I return now to my response to the articles by Mark Bonocore, noted in the blog responses on Dave Armstrong's page. The article that was sited was on Apolonio Latar's site (http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/num18.htm). But since it had been a very long time since I had taken the time to track down what Mark Bonocore was up to, I did a little digging this evening. What I found is most interesting.
   For those familiar with the ebb and flow of Roman Catholic apologetics organizations that have come into existence since the late 1980s and the advent of Catholic Answers, the split up of the Sungenis/Sippo coalition is a well known event. Two men who had once stood shoulder to shoulder in heaping abusive speech on others in the service of the Papacy turned their guns upon each other, and the result was predictable. But as the dust settled, and Sungenis and his few followers moved ever farther into obscurity and irrelevance in the larger Roman Catholic apologetics movement, those who refused to follow Sungenis' odd views gravitated toward one another. Eventually, The Catholic Legate came to be home for many of those who had once been in the Sungenis orbit of influence. Its primary proprietors today form a triumvirate of the nastiest of the nasty: Art Sippo, John Pacheco, and Mark Bonocore. Anyone who has been the object of the condescending, abusive nastiness of these men will testify that I am truly being kind in my description thus far. My files are filled with nastigrams from Sippo, for example. ...
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02:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

And On the Lighter Side....

01/14/2005 - James White

   Packing up to head to the last class of the January term, and had to post these two links before I left. First, Eric Svendsen appreciated Angel's talents once again, and likewise pointed out that even on the issue of resolutions, DA just can't seem to get up to speed. I'm sure the non-responsive response from DA will focus upon whether it is inconsistent for Eric to be offering Dave cigars.
   Next, Chris Carmichael pointed me toward the following, so, blame him, not me (actually, it is his site anyway, so blame him for it all). He felt this was the best illustration he could think of in light of the Kelly Powers saga. And, if you dare take a tour through the gallery, do not do it if laughing loudly (normally resulting in coughing and other respiratory disruptions) might get you fired. Click with care! [Warning, I have been watching the folks in channel reviewing the gallery of photos, and must once again warn you not to view this site while at work or while eating. Numerous reports of guffaws, abdominal muscle spasms, and similar problems, have already appeared in channel. We did, however, have one unbeliever who questioned the caption on photo number 17 by saying, "I find that pretty much impossible to believe. Was no-one surprised when the musicians actually seemed to have some talent and didn't spend 5 minutes between songs on syrupy contentless dialog?"]

11:10:00 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

A Memorization Suggestion

01/14/2005 - James White

   Given that Jehovah's Witnesses have heard John 1:1 quoted to them so many times they can, quite literally, respond to it while in a comatose state, I suggest the memorization (yes, memorization--the real thing, not the "can't I just stick a little page flag thingy in my pocket New Testament" thing) of a passage that Jehovah's Witnesses do not encounter on a regular basis, Colossians 2:9. Now, of course, memorizing one passage of Scripture will not prepare you to do battle with Jehovah's Witnesses. I'm talking about those "fast" opportunities that you may have on a train or a bus or in an airport where you want to have a passage at the ready. Colossians 2:9 is not one the JW's hear with regularity. Of course, you don't just want to quote a verse. Here's a possible scenario.
   JW: Yes, I talk to many who believe in the Trinity, but I have never seen any sound defense of the belief from the Bible. ...
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09:16:48 - Category: Jehovahs Witnesses - Link to this article -

Mythical Hebrew Texts: Don't Forget!

01/14/2005 - James White

   Dave Hunt is scheduled to be at Calvary Chapel Finger Lakes in Farmington, NY right now, through Sunday (585-398-3550). If you are in the area and can get out to hear him speak, and to ask him to tell us all how to access his original Hebrew text of Acts 1-15, and to reveal the names of the scholars who provided him with their translation of this Hebrew text that is so different from every single English translation done by a group of Christian scholars, please do so and let us know what you find out! There doesn't seem to be anything forthcoming from TBC on the issue, outside of referring us to old lists of irrelevant sources from cultic Yahwist groups, so let's not let the issue slide. We all know what really happened: someone who pushes the "Hebrew original" theory told Dave one day that Acts 1-15 must have been written in Hebrew, and if you would translate the Greek into Hebrew, it might have read like this, and that would be different in meaning, etc. The gratuitous references to the Dead Sea Scrolls and early church writers came later as window dressing. Someone in Dave's circle of influence needs to sit him down and make him come clean. Can you imagine if Benny Hinn had pulled this stunt on TBN about something other than Calvinism? Hunt would be up in arms, mentioning it in every single talk he gives for months on end. Time to come clean, Dave. And when you pull this stuff from What Love is This? Third Attempt, please, add a footnote apologizing for undercutting the saints' confidence in the Word of God. That's the least you could do.

08:59:44 - Category: Reformed Apologetics - Link to this article -

Kelly Powers: Anti-Reformed Super Hero

01/14/2005 - James White

   It's the constant question: do you respond, or do you not? Well, a while back, some less-than-brave soul popped into #prosapologian, our on-line Christian community (sounds so much better than "chat channel," and in many ways is a lot more accurate a description), and did a drive-by posting of a URL to Kelly Powers responding to an e-mail inquiry about my views on John 6. I took the time to listen. Now, to be honest, most who listened said "This isn't worth responding to. This fellow is a poor speaker, obviously does not know much about the issue, and as far as meaningful exegesis, offers nothing." But I chose to use it anyway because 1) there was enough of the common forms of eisegetical obfuscation to make it worthwhile (i.e., my listeners would be running into this kind of argumentation, poor as it was, and sometimes poor argumentation presents real challenges just because it is so poor) and 2) because there is so precious few attempts on any non-Reformed person's part to even touch the text that you don't have a lot of choices anyway.
   Now, to be perfectly honest, as I was playing his webcast, I could not help but think that once again I may have made a mistake to do so. When you are doing a webcast the quickest way to kill it is to play someone who is simply not interesting and that drags along, slowly, and Mr. Powers was barely moving the "interesting" meter. But I persevered, hoping that the contrast between his stated sound hermeneutical principles and then his lack of application thereof, would be helpful. ...
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02:00:00 - Category: Reformed Apologetics - Link to this article -

Angelz Shows DA How To Do Humor the Right Way

01/13/2005 - James White

   HUMOR ALERT! HUMOR ALERT! Granite-faced Calvinists and frigid cold Catholics need not continue reading, or even look!
   As some of you know, Dave Armstrong at first tried to reply, somewhat, to my review of his book, The Catholic Verses. Then he pulled the plug on responding to "anti-Catholics," again, as he has done in the past, as Eric Svendsen so humorously documented. Then he started writing "theme songs" for me, which, of course, is not really responding, at least not in a responsive way, with words and arguments and things, see.... Well, this morning, when I read Eric's blog on the Dividing Line, little did I know that my friend Angel was listening, and getting tickled. And so, back by popular demand, I present Angel's most recent creation. There is so much fun stuff in this one, you need to look at the big picture. Check out all the details! And Dave, please read the note along the side. It's just for you! :-)

22:41:46 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Islamic Apologetics and New Testament Transmission (#11)

01/13/2005 - James White

   We noted in our last installment the presentation of twenty some odd pages of citation regarding the textual integrity of a (Codex Sinaiticus) by our Islamic authors. They tip their hand (as if we were any longer wondering about their bias) when they introduce this material, taken from James Bentley's Secrets of Mount Sinai: The Story of Codex Sinaiticus, by saying, "The proof of the lack of textual integrity of the Gospels themselves get more tangible and touchable if one reads" Bentley's book. I.e., once again, "textual variation in hand written manuscripts means there is no textual integrity in the Gospels." We have noted the less-than-robust form of argumentation underlying our authors' presentation in previous portions of this series. But we turn now to offering some comments on Bentley's material. Given the context provided by our authors themselves, we will assume that they would find any discussion of textual variation, etc., to be supportive of their views. ...
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14:00:00 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -

Let Me Simplify

01/13/2005 - James White

   Sometimes I worry about folks, in light of the responses we get to material that appears here on the blog. I say "worry" in that no matter how clearly you lay something out, there will always be a way to throw dust and sand in the air and try to confuse the situation. And the fact is that a sound thinker is one who, upon coming to understand a particular truth, can see through those attempts at obfuscation without needing further aid and assistance. Add to this basic skill the propensity, in modern situations for folks to default back to a postmodernist mindset of, "Well, we need to exercise some epistemological humility here; I mean, there might be a number of ways of understanding this," and the resultant confusion in theological and historical matters is hardly surprising. ...
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10:52:23 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

More in Response to Mark Bonocore

01/13/2005 - James White

   Now, having reviewed the context of Irenaeus' teaching about the age of Jesus at his death, we turn to the calm, kind, rational commentary offered by Mark Bonocore on the same issue, found here. Let's look at his comments. After I had noted very briefly what I explained more fully above, Bonocore writes,

Well, you're proving that you are not infallible more and more, Mr. White. Not only do you read the Scriptures incorrectly because you wrench them out of context, you also do the same with the Fathers. Why didn't you present ALL of what St. Irenaeus has to say? Then you might understand his point IN CONTEXT. ;-)
First of all, Irenaeus' point is that Jesus' humanity identifies with human beings of every age:

"For He came to save all through means of Himself--all, I say, who through Him are born again to God --infants, and children, and boys, and ***youths***, and ***old men***. He therefore passed through ***every age***, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness, and submission; a youth for youths, becoming an example to youths, and thus sanctifying them for the Lord. ****So likewise He was an old man for old men****, that He might be a perfect Master for all, not merely as respects the setting forth of the truth, but also as regards age, sanctifying at the same time ***the aged*** also, and becoming an example to them likewise."

...
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00:01:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

FARMS Puts Mouw to Work Immediately, As Predicted

01/12/2005 - James White

   Once again that scene in I, Robot comes to mind, where Spooner blows away a robot and looks at the lady and says, "Somehow, I don't think 'I told you so' really says it all" or something to that effect (I haven't invested in the movie yet). When Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Seminary, wrongly blasted everyone who had accurately represented the LDS Church in their evangelistic and apologetic efforts over the years (as we have documented--see the entries for 11/22, 11/24, and 11/30), I said that he had just been used, hopefully unwittingly, by LDS apologists so as to provide to them the very kind of weapon they long for. And I didn't have to wait long for the fulfillment of my prophecy. Today I read a review of Douglas E. Cowan's Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult published in the FARMS Review, written by none other than Louis Midgley. Now, first, yes, that's the same Douglas Cowan who could not even begin to offer a meaningful defense of his statements about me when I challenged him to do so (here's the correspondence). But, of course, Midgley, never one to be objective, finds the work very useful. But I could not help but get the feeling that Midgley's review was but a pretext for trumpeting Mouw's statements in print. The article begins,

By bearing false witness against our LDS neighbors, we evangelicals have often sinned not only against Mormons but against the God who calls us to be truth-tellers.
Richard J. Mouw

...
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08:00:00 - Category: Mormonism - Link to this article -

Going Against Your Better Judgment

01/12/2005 - James White

   Responding to some "writers" just goes against sound wisdom and judgment. There are some who are simply so ill-behaved, so nasty of temperament, that to respond to them is tantamount to poking a rabid dog with a stick: don't be surprised when you get a consistent response of growling and slobber. And so it is against my better judgment to even invest the time to respond to some materials by Mark Bonocore, one of Art Sippo's fellows, but since his work was promoted in the Armstrong series as containing a "rebuttal" of my position, I feel it necessary to try to make my way through all of the nastiness and gratuitous ad-hominem and document the truth. Further, as I was contacted by a pastor asking about another of Bonocore's blasts, I thought I would put the two replies together and hope, despite the inevitable character of the response, to edify someone in the process. Also, I promise as well that there will be fewer exclamation marks in my response than in Mr. Bonocore's texts. ...
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00:01:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Psalm 73 and Postmodernism Continued

01/11/2005 - James White

   I was looking at Brian McLaren and postmodernism and the Emergent Church movement a few days ago, and wish to continue with that theme here. In CT an article on "Emergent Evangelism" appeared wherein we read:

Making absolute truth claims—so important to evangelism in the modern era—becomes problematic in the postmodern context. Instead, he said, we can focus on recruiting people who follow Jesus by faith (without claims of certainty or absolute knowledge) with the goal of being transformed and participating in the transformation of the world. "Our lack of example in speech, behavior, love, faith, and purity may also explain why we must rely so heavily on arguments, many of them making claims that appear to postmodern people to be coercive and colonial, and therefore immoral, heavily laced with adjectives like absolute and objective to modify the noun truth," McLaren said.

I find the phraseology "becomes problematic" about as anemic as it can be. Let's be clear: postmodernism has no room for absolute truth claims, and hence has no room for a unique gospel or a unique Savior. Without absolute truths about who Christ is, there is no way to stop the inevitable reshaping and reforming of Christ into the image desired by the rebel sinner who is using postmodernism as his or her chosen means to engage in kateco,ntwn , that action described by Paul in Romans 1:18 of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Unless there has been a clear and sufficient revelation of who Christ truly is, then there is no way to avoid the reshaping and reforming of Him into whatever the postmodernist wishes to make of Him, and such is the formula for theological chaos and the end of all meaningful gospel proclamation. (Need I even note the utter irrelevance of apologetics in this context?) ...
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04:00:00 - Category: Christian Worldview - Link to this article -

Spurgeon Speaks to Postmodernism from the Grave

01/10/2005 - James White

We have to deal with a spirit, I know not how to denominate it, unless I call it a spirit of moderatism in the pulpits of protestant churches. Men have begun to rub off the rough edges of truth, to give up the doctrines of Luther and Zwingle, and Calvin, and to endeavour to accommodate them to polished tastes. You might go into a Roman Catholic chapel now-a-days, and hear as good a sermon from a Popish priest as you hear in many cases from a Protestant minister, because he does not touch disputed points, or bring out the angular parts of our Protestant religion. Mark, too, in the great majority of our books what a dislike there is to sound doctrine! the writers seem to fancy that truth is of no more value than error; that as for the doctrines we preach, it cannot matter what they are; still holding that ...
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19:11:30 - Category: Christian Worldview - Link to this article -

FARMS on Irenaeus

01/10/2005 - James White

Quite some time ago we corrected the constant, errant, repeated misuse of Irenaeus by LDS apologists, and in particular, the usage by Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks in one of the few specifically counter-evangelical apologetic books out there, Offenders for a Word. We had posted this information quite some time ago:
     In my book Is the Mormon My Brother I noted the tremendous misrepresentation of the early Church Father Irenaeus found in the work of Stephen Robinson (Are Mormons Christians? Bookcraft, 1991, pp. 60-65) in the pages of Offenders for a Word, and in the new FARMS publication edited by Robert Millet and Noel Reynolds, Latter-day Christianity: 10 Basic Issues (p. 26, though this may just be part of Robinson's contribution). The specific citation provided by Peterson and Ricks is as follows: ...
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10:51:57 - Category: Mormonism - Link to this article -

An uber-brief response to the Crimson Catholic

01/10/2005 - James White

Jonathan Prejean has offered some comments on the first sections of my interaction with Dave Armstrong. Since they are brief, I will be brief in response. As he quotes me extensively, I will put my original words in blue, his replies in red, my replies are in purple.

Intro
Now, of course, DA will respond with text files (liberally salted with URL's) that will average 10x the word count of anything I have to say. That's OK. I shall win the award for brevity and concise expression, and let him take home the bragging rights to verbosity and bandwidth usage.
[False and unwarranted.]
Anyone at all familiar with Dave Armstrong over the years knows better. Just look at his website. I began experiencing this with the very first letter Armstrong sent me in the mail. This one isn't even arguable. :-) ...
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00:18:13 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Current Desktop Background

01/09/2005 - James White

This is my current desktop background. I was playing with an old fractal I had made a few years ago. In the parameters file I had created three layers, and the colors/effects were created by the interaction of those layers. Well, I was trying to get a particular outcome, so I made one layer completely solid so I could work with it, and ended up getting this result. I created about five or six versions of it, since it is the perfect desktop background. One is solid red, one green, one dark blue, and this one in a few variations. Hard to be depressed with this kind of color on your screen! Once again, it is on my fractal page.

18:00:00 - Category: Personal - Link to this article -

Psalm 73 and Postmodernism

01/08/2005 - James White

     I have run out of room in my office again. You can always tell when stacks of books begin appearing in front of the shelves. Time to reorganize and lose the last of the wall space. I guess pictures can be relegated to the computer screen. Anyway, to my left is a stack of books I've been using, or just received of late. Two copies of What Love is This? (1st and 2nd editions), Carson's The Gagging of God, Rashke's The Next Reformation, Waters' Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul, Armstrong's The Catholic Verses, and (finally), Carson/O'Brien/Seifrid (yes, same one), Justification and Variegated Nomism, Vol. II. I had just removed a few issues of The Reformed Baptist Theological Review and a few copies of books on The Da Vinci Code (it was getting a tad bit too tall). I think the term "eclectic" fits here.
     The range of viewpoints expressed, and the challenges presented, by this stack of books caused me to think. I come in to my office in the morning and, through the wonder, or sometimes curse, of technology I am confronted immediately with a massive range of thought and teaching. I feel the pull of requests for help from every direction each day. At times it can feel overwhelming. Staying focused is a very difficult task that, I confess, I have not mastered. I have a deep desire to address a wide variety of issues and challenges to the once-for-all-delivered-to-the-saints faith, but I know I cannot fly two dozen directions at the same time. Zeal must be tempered with wisdom. ...
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18:00:00 - Category: Christian Worldview - Link to this article -

A Glorious Background Fractal

01/08/2005 - James White

I recently was blessed to go to a dual-monitor setup, effectively doubling my desktop space (and with Eudora, BibleWorks, Libronix, w.blogger, RSS-Reader, FireFox, mIRC, and MusicMatch as the normal set of programs running, let alone Word or anything else, you can see the advantage). I have installed a massively colorful WindowBlinds skin I stumbled onto late, late last night (this is not the kind most folks will like, but remember, I love fractals and Coogi sweaters), and so I needed a new, highly colorful background to go with it. And here it is. And on two 19 inch LCD's this baby glows. I've uploaded it to my Blog Fractals page. If you are a color freak like I am, enjoy! (B^D <--- if you are emoticon challenged, or just new to computers, turn your head to the left...there you go...see? Bald head, eyes, nose, wide smile...see?

13:46:33 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

LaHaye on Calvinism

01/08/2005 - James White

I'm not sure why, but some folks have been either sending us, or inquiring about, Tim LaHaye's endorsement of Dave Hunt's What Love is This? recently. Maybe they are just running into it, I don't know. There's nothing new about it. The list of endorsers, and their comments, is rather educational, to be honest. You should check it out. In any case, in light of the major problems (mythical Hebrew texts, disappearing Bible verses) with the second edition, one should check to see if the endorsement was included in the first edition before raising questions of any of the endorsers. I'd like to think that if at least some of them were aware of the shananigans Hunt has pulled with the second edition that they would be uncomfortable with their endorsements. Of course, I do not expect that any of them are aware of such things. Anyway, here's LaHaye's endorsement: ...
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10:55:44 - Category: Reformed Apologetics - Link to this article -

Engrish Instructions

01/08/2005 - James White

I got a wonderful mp3 player recently. Small, compact, 1 gig in space, it has an FM radio and doubles as a jump drive. I'm very pleased with it, but its instruction manual was a source of enjoyment as well. Online translators are great, aren't they? Here are some examples:

Devoutly hope to bring you great enjoyment in this digital age. [Devout and digital in the same sentence is probably a first]
Unique appearance designed as a gold brick and comfortable for handling. [I'd prefer the gold brick, thank you]
This machine packs into the battery the each openning the confidential waiting for for the first time 10 second, need the machine from measure to complete to grow to press to open the machine key the square can show, the inconvenient place begs your pardon. [Uh....]
Indicates that the battery is 1.5V and the power in battery will become less when using. [Yes, such is the life of the battery]
There has eight grade, Auto search starch station demand to signal intensity more high when the grade more high [Starch...station...eh?]

01:00:00 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

"Git" and Sippo's Students

01/07/2005 - James White

Thanks to all of you who wrote to let me know what a "git" is. Silly naive me: if I had known this fellow was a student of Art Sippo, I would have thought the worst, but since I didn't, and there were numerous other problems with the spelling of his insulting invective, it seemed logical to look for another alternative. But now that he has identified himself as a clone of Art Sippo, it all makes sense. There is an entire spectrum of RC "apologists" who believe condescending insults are substantive arguments (see the examples provided in the Mark Bonocore article noted earlier), even to the point of the juvenile refusal to use a person's proper name, etc. (think of Gail Riplinger, but with a real nasty, bad attitude). Most of these folks are so far out there they can only communicate with a small audience who, for whatever reasons, are insensitive to the shrill nature of their invective-laced writings and talks. As I am headed to England soon, I will have to remember that term: and, as is only proper, avoid it.

08:57:30 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Another Excellent Article at IRR

01/07/2005 - James White

An excellent article in light of my comments on the continuing campaign of Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Seminary, to give aid and comfort to LDS apologists, hopefully out of ignorance, though, from what this article indicates, it may just be out of that same kind of academic hubris that insists upon seeing "fellow scholars" as colleagues even when they profess a different gospel, teach a different Christ, and worship a different god. Well worth the read. Hat tip to Jeff Downs, the master of all internet resources. :-)

08:41:47 - Category: Mormonism - Link to this article -

Alexander the Coppersmith Blunders Again

01/07/2005 - James White

     I never dreamed just how appropriate the terminology I chose was. For a number of years I had experienced the constant hatred and attacks of Paul Owen, first when he was a student in seminary, then when we was off in Scotland working on his doctorate, and now that he has returned and his spreading his unique variety of theology as a teacher. Since he seemed to live to oppose me, in whatever I say or do, I saw a parallel to Alexander the coppersmith, whose ignominy was established by the apostle Paul when he wrote,

2 Timothy 4:14-15 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

I guess having an Alexander in your life is good for you. You can't get apathetic when you have someone who simply lives to oppose you. Of course, it must be miserable that such a person has such a life, and one can only wonder at what kind of a life it is, but such folks exist. That's just the way it is. ...
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00:30:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Satispassio: Suffering of Atonement

01/06/2005 - James White

A poster using the name "BenYachov (Jim Scott 4th)" writes in response to MarieP, who protested that there's a whole lot of accusing going on, but precious little proving:

Well in his Bible Answer Man debate with James Akin the smarmy git implied the merits of our suffering in purgatory where from our own efforts & not from the Grace of Christ.
Indeed his confuses the Catholic view of the Supremacy of Grace with the condemned error of semi-plagianism all time. Where have you been?

Again, there was no debate on the Bible Answer Man broadcast those many years ago. There was a call in talk show. Besides this, I'm not sure "smarmy git" means ("smarmy guy" perhaps?), but I can only imagine that he is referring to my statement regarding satispassio, the suffering of atonement in purgatory. Ludwig Ott explains:

The remission of the venial sins which are not yet remitted, occurs . . . as it does in this life, by an act of contrition deriving from charity and performed with the help of grace. This act of contrition, which is presumably awakened immediately after entry into the purifying fire, does not, however, effect the abrogation or the diminution of the punishment for sins, since in the other world there is no longer any possibility of merit.
     The temporal punishments for sins are atoned for in the purifying fire by the so-called suffering of atonement (satispassio), that is, by the willing bearing of the expiatory punishments imposed by God (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, p. 485).

What I recall saying is that satispassio is borne solely by the believer: it is not an application of the merits of Jesus Christ. Would Mr. Scott like to show me where Rome has defined satispassio as the application of the grace or merits of Jesus Christ? Or will he instead seek the "easy way out" and offer the lame excuse that, "Well, anything related to salvation is ours by grace, so, even the opportunity to undergo the suffering of atonement in purgatory is, ultimately, due to Christ's grace," an absurdity that would only prove my point to the fullest? I invite Mr. Scott to give us a call today on the DL and explain to everyone how suffering in purgatory for the temporal punishments of your sins is consistent with the New Testament's teaching about the atoning work of Christ and the nature of grace. That alone should be enough to establish the semi-Pelagian nature of modern Rome's doctrine of grace. The number is 877-753-3341. :-)

08:55:32 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

An Open Invitation

01/06/2005 - James White

     The RC pep rally and general back-slapping rave going on at DA's blog has continued unabated for a few days now, though I think eventually even these folks will get tired of repeating the same mantras over and over again. "Wow, that James White, we sure have refuted him, haven't we!" "Yeah, sure did! Wow, he's as dumb as a bag of hammers!" etc. and etc. At the moment, the file I've created saving the comments is 65 pages long. And if there are two paragraphs that can be taken seriously, I'd be surprised.
     Most of the comments are quite humorous. But a repeated theme, one poured out regularly by the likes of "Patrick," Jim Scott (read only if you are wearing asbestos) and Jonathan Prejean is that in point of fact, I have not been dealing with Armstrong's work fairly or accurately, and more importantly, that others have "refuted me." Even little Apolonio chimed in, sorta like, "Yeah, me too, me too!" We even had a Muslim come on and join the fun, fellow by the name of Josh Wilcox. Not an overly pleasant fellow, I must say. I'm looking forward to his debate with Sam Shamoun. :-) ...
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03:30:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Let Earth Receive Her King!

01/06/2005 - James White

I know the Christmas holiday has passed, but I just now received my copy of Grace Community Church's presentation of "Let Earth Receive Her King!" This is one I'll be listening to a lot in December of 2005. I have been privileged to twice attend Grace's Christmas presentation, and it is simply spectacular. But one thing is for certain: Philip Webb will be leading worship in heaven, and when he needs a break, Christopher Parkening will take over. Just incredible music! So in the midst of all the firefights raging at the moment, I thought I'd recommend this title.

01:30:00 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

Fundamentalist Secularists

01/06/2005 - James White

Albert Mohler has pointed out that the secular left, those seeking to overthrow the foundations of our culture and nation, are continuing their revolution-via-judiciary in the most amazing ways. A must read.

01:00:00 - Category: Christian Worldview - Link to this article -

I Get E-Mails (updated)

01/06/2005 - James White

I will make only one comment here. Mr. Enloe wrote to me and said I could not reproduce his letter. Then, he started talking about what he had said, and my alleged replies, in public. I asked him to not bear false witness, and the rest is history. I provide this solely for the purpose of documentation and truthfulness. And as you can see, I can allow long rants to go by without having to answer them in kind. :-) ...
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00:01:00 - Category: Personal - Link to this article -

Major Developments in The Book of Mormon

01/05/2005 - James White

More on this later, but there are major developments in the DNA and the Book of Mormon story. Read about it here. This is the kind of thing that could very well end up splitting the LDS Church between the "We have latter-day revelation and refuse to give up on old time Mormonism" of central and southern Utah and the modern "let's re-contextualize the BoM into a parable type thing and not worry about the historicity of our faith or Joseph Smith or anything else" liberals. Stay tuned.

15:09:15 - Category: Mormonism - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: The Pillar and Foundation

01/05/2005 - James White

     
Mr. Armstrong has just recently noted, in reference to myself and others,

Carry on, fools . . . we're all watching, and it is high entertainment, believe me. You think you will get me to change my mind by these childish tactics and colossal errors of fact? You go right ahead. I'm documenting every vacuous, vapid insult and dumb mistake you make . . .

Well, hoping to continue to provide the stongest possible contrast to his attitude, behavior, and actions, let alone his theology, I press forward with my review of Dave Armstrong's book, The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants. ...
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13:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

A Note to David Pacitti

01/05/2005 - James White

David Pacitti wrote to me (publicly, on DA's blog):

What is amazing to me is how James White and his followers actually think that he is write about anything. I have read James White work and have compared it to yours and others such as Steve Ray and Bob Sungenis and White's work does not stand up to the evidence. White is the kind of person who would loose a tug-of-war match but still claim that he won! Tim Enloe gave a good example of this yesterday about his comment on the e-mail that he sent to White.

Hello David, I don't think we have met. :-)
     It is hard to respond to such statements, since you do not give any specifics. Tim Enloe sent me a scathing, barely rational e-mail that he then demanded I never reproduce, and now he's talking about it publicly (if it happens again, I will publish it). I think if you were to read his actual e-mail, and my response, you might have a different view. But that aside, could you be specific? For example, could you tell me where, in dealing with Matthew 16:18-19, Isaiah 22:20-22, etc., or any of the key passages on the Papacy, what I have written did not "stand up to the evidence"? Have you listened to the debates I have done on this subject? The 7.5 hour debate with Gerry Matatics from 1993 in Denver? The 3+ hour debate with Father Mitch Pacwa on Long Island? I'd think if what I have said and presented could not "stand up to the evidence," those two men would have the capacity to prove it, yes? ...
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12:46:46 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Steve Camp on McLaren's Re-Invention of the Faith (Updated)

01/05/2005 - James White

     As most of you know, Steve Camp has become not only a regular guest over the years on The Dividing Line (the program he and I did on the anniversary of Keith Green's death is one of my all time favorites), but he and I have worked together many times now, including doing the apologetics cruises together. Steve provides that rare combination of music and worship together with sound theology, and as such, comments on the wider issues facing the faith today. Recently he commented on Brian McLaren's A Generous Orthodoxy (Zondervan, 2004), which is subtitled:

WHY I AM A missional + evangelical + post/protestant + liberal/conservative + mystical poetic + biblical + charismatic/contemplative + fundamentalist/calvinist + anabaptist/anglican + methodist + catholic + green + incarnational + depressed-yet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished CHRISTIAN

Of course, that is meant to activate the sense of disorientation deeply desired and valued by postmodernists who think that the bare action of combining contradictory terms while smiling and humming a tune that uses the terms "love" and "flowers" results in something deeply spiritual. Oh, I should note in passing: I am discovering that as long as you are "pomo" in orientation (post-modern), then everything you say, including your clear denial of the truth of historic Christian doctrine, will be loving and "Christian" and spiritual. However, if you dare find such denigration of the faith offensive, then you are hateful, backwards, unloving, unkind, and unspiritual. That's just part of the "movement." That's why Paul is not the favorite author in this movement. In fact, come to think of it, no biblical author is. ...
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11:45:25 - Category: Christian Worldview - Link to this article -

A Biblical Test for the Archbishop of Canterbury

01/05/2005 - James White

     The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the head of Anglicans worldwide, has commented on the tsunami in Asia. Want to know why sound, biblical theology is important...no, vital, to maintenance of a distinctively Christian worldview? Open up his article. Now, use the search function. It's there, believe me. Now, search for the following terms: Jesus / Christ / sovereignty / sin / repentance / wrath / judgment / wickedness / rebellion / glory of God. You can add whatever terms you wish, as long as they are biblically related to any serious discussion of God's purposes in this world, the result of sin, or the justice and judgment of God. You will get the same results, consistently.

06:00:00 - Category: Christian Worldview - Link to this article -

Ad Hominem Argumentation (With Outer Space Update Added)

01/04/2005 - James White

     First, Patrick reminded me that I did not include the single worst sub-title from Hahn's book on Mary, "Fetal Attraction." Yes, that one takes the prize.

     A quick refresher for all those who seem to be easily confused about forms of argumentation. At the moment a fairly small group of folks are filling up the blogosphere with the constant assertion that I have engaged in ad hominem argumentation in my reviews of Armstrong's book, mainly because I have concluded sections by noting Armstrong's inability to seriously engage the topic at hand (i.e., provide meaningful exegesis). Now, Mr. Armstrong may not like that I have pointed this out. Evidently, it is not allowable in our society to point out when someone provides shallow, errant, and generally worthless argumentation in a written form: seemingly this is particularly the case when that writing appears in a religious context, for whatever anyone writes about religion is equally good with whatever anyone else writes about religion, or so we are told. In any case, Mr. Armstrong may not like the fact that I have concluded that he is not able to handle the information he claims to present in his book, but let us be very clear on one thing: that is not ad hominem argumentation. It is not, in fact, argumentation at all. ...
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19:15:14 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: The Papacy

01/04/2005 - James White

     It was the late 1980s. Remember them? Yes, well, things were developing in the Roman Catholic apologetics arena. Benny Diaz, a former Roman Catholic, and one who was working with us in reference to Jehovah's Witnesses, kept pushing me to study the claims of the Roman Catholic Church. He introduced me to Catholic Answers and the materials they were producing. I began encountering Roman Catholic apologists on line (via the pre-cursor to the Internet: the BBS [Bulletin Board System]). In fact, my first two books were on the subject of Roman Catholicism (everyone expected I would first write on Mormonism, for I had been working with LDS folks for much longer).
     In those days Catholic Answers included Karl Keating, Patrick Madrid, and Gerry Matatics. Matatics was one of the two super-star converts (along with Scott Hahn). I distinctly remember a picture of Matatics in a Roman Catholic church, looking at the camera, with the words, "I'm the one who took your loved ones out of the Catholic Church." In fact, as I wrote that, I decided to look, and I found the old, November 1990 This Rock magazine. The specific line is, "I'm the guy who lured your family and friends out of the Church". Here's the picture (Gerry has aged, but not nearly as much as I have!) BTW, later, I asked Gerry about his alleged "anti-Catholic" activities prior to his conversion: he wrote no books, did no debates, recorded no tapes, wrote no articles or tracts. Anyway, I was collecting debate tapes of Matatics running various local pastors around the gum-stump. Few gave him much of a fight, and Hahn's papers, though at this time not overly well produced (often just photocopies of dot-matrix print outs...remember those?), presented arguments the vast majority of non-Catholics had never even heard before, let alone had the foggiest idea how to refute or answer. The "old guard" of evangelical "missionaries" to Roman Catholics were no match for the smooth, scholarly sounding arguments of this new movement in Roman Catholicism. ...
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18:30:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

A Brief Detour: Scott Hahn and Luke 1:28

01/04/2005 - James White

     I was not blogging when Scott Hahn's Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God came out. I did, however devote two Dividing Line broadcasts to a review of it. The book set new "groan" records for its horrible, never-ending, "please, have mercy, it stopped being funny four chapters ago" use of pun-filled subtitles. It truly made the book next to unbearable. Here is a sampling:

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
From Here to Maternity
Let's Get Metaphysical
Cutting the Unbiblical Cord
Maternity Warred
Justin Time
The Lyons Den
Venerators of the Lost Ark
Ark the Herald Angels Sing
Mary Had a Little Man
Mary, Mary, Reliquary?
Primary Cullers
I Dream of Genealogy

And that is only up to page 95. It was enough to drive even the heartiest of reviewers to distraction. In any case, to say that my review was less than complimentary would be a major understatement. The work is truly for the "already convinced," or, at best, the historically (and logically) naive. Yet, at a whopping $20 for the fluffy hard-back, I'm sure it sold quite well. ...
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12:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Desperation of Armstrong Fans: Patrick

01/04/2005 - James White

Quick note: yesterday, when Dave Armstrong first posted his "I'm done with critics" stuff, his blog showed exactly two articles. Everything else was gone. Later in the day the rest of the material re-appeared. Obviously, at some point, an error was made in posting material (a common enough event). I've seen something similar happen at PowerLine, where all of a sudden one column takes over the content of another. In any case, when the article first appeared, that was the state of DA's blog: that article and the preceding one with a link. Nothing more in the blog section, just the side column. I mentioned this in passing, and so, of course, someone named "Patrick" on DA's blog has even more evidence of my dishonesty as a result. It is truly amazing to watch these folks do everything in their power to avoid dealing with the actual issues I have raised. Amazingly sad, anyway. Onward and upward, as one radio personality is known for saying...

09:49:20 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: Luke 1:28 (Part VI)

01/04/2005 - James White

     As I noted in Part I, Dave Armstrong's attempt to substantiate the sinlessness of Mary is one of the longest sections in his book. We have noted that he specifically claims to be offering sound exegesis and analysis of Luke 1:28, but so far, we have not found his comments to live up to the claims he makes for them. So now we turn to the bulk of his positive argumentation, the "deductive logic" he presents as a basis for this Roman Catholic dogma.
     First, Armstrong establishes that the noun "grace" means "grace." This was not in dispute, of course, though the Roman Catholic concept of grace, the state of grace, graces, etc., surely requires a significantly fuller effort than is offered even here. Be that as it may, Armstrong writes, "The Catholic argument hinges on the meaning of kecharitomene." This alone is sufficient to establish the propriety of the previous five installments, for the meaning of the term can only be determined lexically, grammatically, and syntactically, and we have seen that beyond question the term does not, in fact, carry the weight assigned to it by Rome. But we continue on with Armstrong's argument, for he refers to the abridged edition of Kittel's TDNT regarding grace, and while what Kittel's says is quite true, given the passages being referred to (1 Cor. 1:29, Romans 5:20-21, Galatians 5:2, 1:6), unless Armstrong can establish, contextually, that the meaning of the noun "grace" in those passages is carried into the participial form of a vocative participle used as a greeting by an angel in a completely different context and used by a completely different writer, we once again have no reason to find it a compelling argument. I remind the reader of what we could do, using the very same kind of speculation, with "blessed" in reference to believers, etc. ...
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04:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

James White: Meanest of the Mean

01/03/2005 - James White

     It is hard to find words to describe the response of Dave Armstrong to the review of his own published work. I mean, when you publish a book, do you expect that no one will respond to it, review it, check it for accuracy, examine it for apologetic coherence? When you claim to be able to perform action X (i.e., provide coherent, accurate exegesis and analysis of biblical passages) do you really think you should be given a pass when you consistently fail to do so? I'm sorry, but up till today the essence of DA's replies has been, "He's so mean! He's engaging in ad hominem!" Yet every example he provides refers to a statement where I am making observations, or providing conclusions, based upon the very factual and exegetical material that Mr. Armstrong has miserably failed to handle accurately (and, of course, he'd cite that as more ad hominem). ...
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20:08:51 - Category: General Apologetics - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: Luke 1:28 (Part V)

01/03/2005 - James White

     Interestingly, though I presented these passages and this objection in the same section from which Dave Armstrong quoted, he did not address them. He did, however, make one of the most common errors one encounters in literature such as this: the "let's look at a really basic definition in a Greek grammar and hope it applies to our particular text" mistake. Now, of course, there is nothing wrong with providing basic definitions, but in this case, Armstrong is claiming to be refuting a scholar who has invested years in learning the language, something he has chosen not to do. So Armstrong tries to quote such a basic definition as if Svendsen would be ignorant of it. The reality is, Svendsen is aware of far more about the subject than Armstrong is. DA writes,

So he tries to show by cross-referencing and Greek grammar that Luke 1:28 is neither unique nor a support for Mary's sinlessness or the Immaculate Conception. But the perfect stem of a Greek verb, denotes, according to Friedrich Blass and Albert DeBrunner, "continuance of a completed action" (Greek Grammar of the New Testament [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961], 66). Mary, therefore, continues afterward to be full of the grace she possessed at the time of the Annunciation. That cannot, of course, be said of all believers in Ephesians 1:6, because of differences of levels of grace, as shown earlier.

Again, so many mistakes in so few words. Eric was noting the fact that the perfect tense would not tell you that Mary had always had a "perfection of grace" as Rome tries to assert. Armstrong misses his entire point. Secondly, Svendsen did not say Luke 1:28 is not unique, but that it does not teach what Rome has packed into it. Third, what does Armstrong mean by "perfect stem"? Does he even know? I do not get the feeling he has any idea what Greek stems are all about, personally. He might wish to read the rest of the syntax section in sections 340 through 346 of Blass/Debrunner for a little fuller discussion of the range of the perfect in Greek. We have already noted the problems with Armstrong's explanations of Ephesians 1:6.
     So in essence, neither of the two possible approaches to substantiating the Roman claims regarding kecaritwme,nh are successfully pursued by Armstrong. What we are left with, then, is his exercise in deductive logic, to which we will turn in our next installment.

20:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: Luke 1:28 (Part IV)

01/03/2005 - James White

     Now, all of this, up to this point, has simply been to work through the first of two issues I myself raised regarding what a serious Roman Catholic would have to explain to make a serious Protestant feel at all "confounded" at Luke 1:28. If kecaritwme,nh is telling us that Mary was sinless due to the possession of a perfection of grace from the time of her immaculate conception (i.e., due to the application of the merits of Christ at the very point of conception, protecting her from the stain of original sin---and all of that in a single word in an angel's greeting! Ponder that a moment!), then this must be communicated to us either by the root meaning of the term itself or by its form and syntax. Despite his best efforts, Mr. Armstrong has completely failed to deal with the reality that if the root meaning is the key, then this proves way too much, for believers are likewise "graced" in Christ Jesus in eternity past, not given graces like sports abilities, but graced in Christ Jesus, that is graciously united with Christ by the will of the Father, all the praise of His grace. Obviously, therefore, carito,w does not communicate the concept of sinlessness or anything relevant to the Roman Catholic claims regarding Luke 1:28. And this was Dr. Svendsen's point as well, and all Mr. Armstrong did in attempting to respond to Svendsen was prove that in reality, Dave Armstrong does not understand the basics of how to respond to sound, simple scholarly observations regarding the subject.
     So, in case the details overwhelmed you, here's a summary statement: the Greek verb "to grace," which is at the root of the Greek participle used by the angel in greeting Mary, as well as appearing in Eph. 1:6, does not mean "sinless," and there is nothing in its range of meaning that would positively lead us to the conclusions Rome has defined as dogma. ...
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10:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Another Nice Seractal Production

01/03/2005 - James White

I wish I could get a tie with the background of this fractal brightly printed on it. :-)

04:00:00 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

Islamic Apologetics and New Testament Transmission (#10)

01/03/2005 - James White

     For the past few weeks we have been examining an article posted early in December embodying an Islamic attack upon the Christian Scriptures (and, by so doing, a defense of the Qur'an), co-authored by Saifullah & Azmy. One of the reasons I took up the challenge of the article was that the article includes twenty-two pages of a book on the subject of Codex Sinaiticus (a). The obvious intent of the authors is to present this information as an objection against the transmission of the biblical text over time. As we have noted, the means of transmission of the text of the Bible reflects a completely different methodology than that centralized, and in fact, militaristic origins of the Qur'an. Rather than a single, powerful organization overseeing the text (and hence becoming the ultimate authority in transmission: the text can carry only that amount of certainty as one gives to that controlling organization), the text of the Bible, and most especially, the New Testament, was promulgated far and wide due to the fact that the Christian faith spread through the preaching of its message, not through the power of army and sword. ...
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03:59:00 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: Luke 1:28 (Part III)

01/02/2005 - James White

     First, Armstrong misunderstands why Svendsen cites Eph. 1:6 and its relevance, for he writes, "Svendsen thinks this defeats the Catholic exegesis at Luke 1:28, but the variant of charitoo (grace) here is different (echaritosen)." First, this is a verb, not a noun; hence, it is not "grace" but "to grace." Secondly, this is not a "variant" it is a grammatical form. Thirdly, if the difference in form is relevant (perfect passive vocative participle vs. aorist tense verb) Armstrong needs to explain why (he doesn't). Continuing in his confusion, Armstrong thinks that Vincent's Word Studies intends to provide a contrast that supports his view, for he writes, "Vincent indicates different meanings for the word grace in Luke 1:28 and Ephesians 1:6. He holds to 'endued with grace' as the meaning in Luke 1:28, so he expressly contrasts the meaning with that passage." As to Vincent, it is not a specific lexical resource (in contrast with BDAG), first of all, it is a running commentary. Secondly, the term is not "grace" it is "to grace." Third, Vincent is referring to how to translate the term in the differing contexts, he is not commenting on the issue before us. Vincent writes regarding Luke 1:28:

28. Thou that art highly favored (kecaritwme,nh) Lit., as Rev. in margin, endued with grace. Only here and Eph. 1:6. The rendering full of grace, Vulgate, Wyc., and Tynd., is therefore wrong.

But in reference to Ephesians 1:6 he writes, ...
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08:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

A Response to a Comment Left on DA's Blog

01/01/2005 - James White

Another RC apologist commented on DA's blog (when he declined exegeting Romans 4:6-8):

I can answer White's question viz. who is the blessed man very easily. He is the justified believer who God reckons (logizomai) righteous because He has made him righteous in justification. That's what the etymology of dikaiow would have us believe anyway.

Great: so, if this person commits a mortal sin, to whom is it imputed? Him, or someone else?
If this person commits a venial sin, to whom is it imputed? Him, or someone else?
If either sin is imputed to him, how is he the blessed man to whom the Lord will not impute sin?

23:29:10 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Edification

01/01/2005 - James White

     As you can see, I'm investing some time in properly working through the published comments of Dave Armstrong. Two quick notes:
     1) The Greek font I generally use is from BibleWorks, and is available for download and installation here (this includes the Hebrew font as well). In a recent article I used the Mounce font, which does not seem to be available any longer. It used to be at www.teknia.com, and the free font avialable there may work acceptably well.
     2) The replies Armstrong is posting on his blog are simply amazing. The most recent brought back up his "I can't find anyone with sufficient artistic skills to match Angelz so I'll 'borrow' his stuff again" activities. Deep, very deep. I'm glad the issue is larger than Armstrong, and the review more useful than just demonstrating his errors. :-)

20:50:04 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: Luke 1:28 (Part II)

01/01/2005 - James White

     Armstrong stumbles right out of the block when he insists that Protestants are "hostile" to the idea that Mary was sinless and Immaculately conceived because this makes her a "sort of goddess." No, we are hostile to all dogmas and doctrines that are claimed to be derived from Scripture or God's authority but that are, in fact, completely devoid of Scriptural basis or apostolic authority. There is a much more fundamental problem with Rome's traditional teachings than Mr. Armstrong seems to understand. I am offended when anyone claims Christ's authority without echoing Christ's voice in the Word, especially when they pretend that Christ's voice is found within the boundaries of their particular infallible group/organization (such as the Roman magisterium).
     Next, Mr. Armstrong invests a fair amount of time establishing facts that are not, in actuality, in dispute. Please note I am not being inconsistent here: establishing the facts of a context, passage, lexical meaning, etc., are all quite relevant if, in fact, the intent was to offer meaningful and consistent exegesis in a positive fashion. But Armstrong tips his hand repeatedly, couching his comments in terms of "and this writer was no friend to Catholicism" etc., as if the mere statement of a fact supports or proves the RC point. No one questions, for example, the fact that carito,w is related at its root to ca,rij, itoj, "grace." Noting Tyndale or Wycliff using "grace" or "endued with grace" is barely relevant to the massive edifice of doctrine based upon what Rome says this means. For, as I pointed out in The Roman Catholic Controversy, the claimed meaning of the term in regards to Mary has to be related to one of two elements of this perfect passive vocative participle: either the root communicates something about sinless perfection, or the form of the word (vocative, perfect, passive participle) does. Armstrong simply doesn't understand the process of scholarly examination of a text, and as a result, runs headlong into walls trying to act like he does. The result would be humorous if 1) this wasn't a serious subject, 2) if he didn't think he was truly providing meaningful exegesis, and 3) if the doctrine was irrelevant (and as a de fide dogma of Rome, it isn't). ...
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20:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

Hunt Continues with the Obfuscation

01/01/2005 - James White

I just received Hunt's January, 2005 Newsletter. At one point we read:

Question: James White, on his Alpha & Omega Ministries web page, said that you had "repeatedly agreed in the past" to a "live debate" with him but have gone back on your word and now refuse. What do you have to say?

Answer: "Repeatedly agreed in the past" to an oral debate? When? He refers to speaking to me at my book table at a conference just after publication of What Love Is This? We did indeed agree to a debate. Later, we agreed to do the debate in a book. Since that book was published, I never agreed to an additional debate. It would be redundant. I don't know what that would accomplish. White continues to claim (as on our recent radio discussion) that I agreed to an oral debate and went back on my word. In fact, the only references to an oral debate have been one-sided false statements by White, claiming that I agreed to one.

...
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18:07:44 - Category: Reformed Apologetics - Link to this article -

The Catholic Verses: Luke 1:28 (Part I)

01/01/2005 - James White

     We know, from examining Dave Armstrong's The Catholic Verses that he has one of my books, and has looked at a portion of it, though, seemingly, not all of it (even regarding the passages that are directly relevant to his own claims and work, which I am not alone in finding quite odd). And we know that at least a few times he chooses to try to take on my position directly (like on Matthew 23). But for many Protestants, the greatest example of Rome's misuse of Scripture, and the greatest evidence that, in fact, Rome does not bow to "Scripture and tradition," is found in the complex of dogmas and teachings she promulgates on the subject of the blessed mother of Jesus, Mary. And so since we have found it difficult to get Mr. Armstrong to offer us exegesis that we can really "sink our teeth into" so to speak, we turn now to the section on Luke 1:28, one of the "95 Verses" that allegedly confound Protestants, pp. 181-190, one of the lengthiest sections in the entire work.
Now, it is only fair to note that Armstrong concludes this section by stating,

Most Protestant thinkers and opponents of Catholic doctrine would, I think, assume that the Immaculate Conception could easily be disproven from Scripture. But from an analysis of the verses cited, we see that, although it cannot be absolutely proven from Scripture alone, it cannot be ruled out on the basis of Scripture, either. What is more, a solid deductive and exegetical basis for belief in Mary's sinlessness, and thus her Immaculate Conception, can be drawn from Scripture alone. (p. 190)

...
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14:00:00 - Category: Roman Catholicism - Link to this article -

The Heritage of God's People

01/01/2005 - James White

Psalm 138:6-8
For though the LORD is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Notice: "the haughty He knows from afar" = God is not close to the arrogant; the presence of God humbles.
"You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies" = our enemies will express their wrath, but God sees, and God acts
God's lovingkindness ds,x, is everlasting: chesed is the embodiment in Hebrew of grace, mercy, and faithfulness in Greek.
"Do not forsake the works of Your hands" = only the cry of the heart of the pot that accepts and rejoices in his or her createdness; it takes grace to see yourself as the work of God's hands.

12:00:00 - Category: Exegesis - Link to this article -

A Channel Topic Note

01/01/2005 - James White

Just set the following topic in #prosapologian:

2005: 365 Days of Opportunity to Present to God a Heart Marked by Godly Wisdom and Understanding! (www.aomin.org/proschat.html)

Also, I'm going to try to finish up the Hunt What Love is This? series. But let's not forget to keep the questions going to TBC about mythical Hebrew originals of Acts. Letting folks get away with that kind of thing without retracting it just is not right.

Also, please note: the "Blog Rate" will be declining in January, despite my best efforts. I start teaching a Jan term class next week, and hence a good five hours (not including prep time) a day will be going elsewhere. I will continue with the Islamic response, which is going to be entering into a fairly long stretch of textual variations regarding Sinaiticus (a), and of course, examining The Catholic Verses and keeping up as best I can with other apologetically related developments.

Further note: Remember, the DL is on at 11am Tuesday and Thursday for the next two weeks, then it will return to its normal schedule.

10:52:57 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

A New Year's Passage

01/01/2005 - James White

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn men back to dust, saying,
"Return to dust, O sons of men."
For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
they are like the new grass of the morning--
though in the morning it springs up new,
by evening it is dry and withered.
We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
The length of our days is seventy years--
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of your anger?
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

May we all learn the value of possessing a "heart of wisdom" as we look to another year of service to Jesus Christ.

01:00:00 - Category: Misc - Link to this article -

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