This post originally appeared at the Canterbury Tales blog. Let me begin by saying that I am honored to have received a response from N.T. Wright in Christianity Today last month. He is a giant and he has probably influenced me more than any other living theologian (yes, even more than Ratzinger/Benedict XVI). At the […]

Fr. Dwight Longenecker has written a nice summary of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel, The Lord of the Rings. I was moved to comment there, and now to post a greatly amplified version of that comment here. One justification for the latter move is that the subject has some bearing upon recent discussions at this website. More fundamentally, […]

I was involved in a wonderful conversation the other day with a few friends of mine, two Catholics (one of whom is a priest) and a Presbyterian (PCA). Over some good tobacco and coffee at the local cigar shop we discussed a variety of things, including Baptism. My friend, the Presbyterian, spoke about how Reformed […]

Sometimes one of the most helpful ways to consider why we accept or reject claims of Protestantism or Catholicism is to step outside of the argument. There is so much heat and emotion that covers these issues, that it’s very helpful to go back to the basics and read the earliest debates.

There is a general presumption that the religious art seen in churches of the Apostolic Tradition inevitably leads one to idolatry. There are times when I still am overwhelmed by the beauty of the religious art which adorns the sanctuaries and naves of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But if icons and the like are truly […]

In the recent discussion following Bryan and Neal’s article, which demonstrated that there was no principled difference between solo and sola scriptura, one guest conceded that there might not be a principled difference between the two, but there was a practical difference. That claim was addressed, but perhaps insufficiently, and I think it’s an idea […]

The proud man, says C.S. Lewis, cannot see God because he is always looking down his nose at things and people, and so long as you are looking down, you cannot see what is above you.  We can never let ourselves forget that in this on-going search for truth, the truth will always remain above […]

There were all kinds of Catholic doctrines that I already believed before coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. These include the doctrine of the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, the full deity and full humanity of the one Lord Jesus Christ, and the divine inspiration of the Bible. The similarities between some of my […]

R.C. Sproul Jr. recently wrote a short article titled “Is Sola Scriptura in the Bible?” In light of our recent article treating the subject of sola scriptura, it might be helpful to examine Sproul’s comments from a Catholic point of view.

According to Keith Mathison, over the last one hundred and fifty years Evangelicalism has replaced sola scriptura, according to which Scripture is the only infallible ecclesial authority, with solo scriptura, the notion that Scripture is the only ecclesial authority. The direct implication of solo scriptura is that each person is his own ultimate interpretive authority.