Trueman on Papal Authority

[T]he rise, consolidation and definition of papal power is an historically very complex issue; and, indeed, as scholarship advances, the story becomes more, not less, convoluted and subversive of papal claims. For some converts to Roman Catholicism, papal authority is somehow seen as an obvious riposte to problems with the perspicuity of scripture. In other words, it is the answer to an epistemological/authority problem. For those of us who have spent the best part of our lives reading late medieval and early modern history, however, papal authority is not an epistemological solution to much of anything at all; rather, it

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Why We Should Be Reformed Catholic

The role of tradition in a Protestant/Reformed theology is much broader and deeper than I can ever hope to go into here.

On the one hand there are Roman Catholics and other unbelievers who ignorantly mock the notion that Word and Spirit lead us into all truth because of the supposed abundance of disagreements within the Church.

On the other hand there are Roman Catholics and other unbelievers who piously shun the notion that Word and Spirit lead us to make such unflinchingly dogmatic affirmations of particular doctrines within the Church.

So it is a lose-lose situation for Roman Catholics …

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Mr. White, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Black VII

“But how can anyone know anything about the ‘Beyond’?” asks Mr. Black.
“Well, of course,” replies Mr. Grey, “if you want absolute certainty, such as one gets in geometry, Christianity does not offer it. We offer you only ‘rational probability.’ ‘Christianity,’ as I said in effect a moment ago when I spoke of the death of Christ, ‘is founded on historical facts, which, by their very nature, cannot be demonstrated with geometric certainty. All judgments of historical particulars are at the mercy of the complexity of the time-space universe. . . . If the scientist cannot rise above rational probability

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Glenn Beck – Mormon Historian?

I was listening to Glenn Beck’s show yesterday morning, and heard this discussion:

(Note: This may be a first, me linking to Media Matters – but they have the relevant clip – for some reason, it won’t let me post the video directly. If you’d prefer not to visit, my blog has it embedded.)

Here’s a transcript:
22:40: Glenn: “…the Dead Sea Scrolls, you know what they are? Stu, do you know what the Dead Sea Scrolls are?
Stu: Well, of course I do…
Glenn: Now, c’mon, most people don’t.
Stu: Well, I heard of them, I don’t really …

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Did the Fathers Know the Gospel?