Refuting James White’s Fav Argument Against the Papacy

With Cameron Bertuzzi saying on social media that he’s closer to becoming Catholic than he ever was before, James White has gone into ultra-reformation mode and is throwing out all of his bad anti-Catholic arguments.  I want to deal with one of them.  He often throws this out but no one challenges him on it.  It’s the ridiculous pseudo-argument cooked up my 19th century Protestants that the Church of Rome didn’t have a monarchial bishop until the mid-second century.  Until then they had a plurality of elders.  Let’s shred this argument, shall we?

Don’t Read Paul the Deacon!!!

Being the church history geek that I am, I try to read as many primary sources as possible.  There was a sale on Amazon and I managed to get History of the Lombards by Paul the Deacon for a very decent price. The Lombards are the ancestors of those who live in Southern Germany.  I’m not sure if I’m descended from these people as my ancestors are from central Germany.  The word Lombard is an anglicized version of Langobard which means “Long Beard”.  Apparently these people didn’t like shaving.

Helping my Protestant friends out

St. Anthony of the Desert

When I first started this website five years ago, I had a more negative view of Protestants.  I still do hold to a very negative view of the reformation as it was a state sponsored looting operation but there are Protestants out there that have a deep love for Jesus Christ and the sacred Scriptures.  Now, I don’t believe in fake unity at the expense of truth, however in this day and age I think there is reason for us to team up in combating the constant evil that is taking over North and South America, Western Europe and other parts of the world.  I want to offer some advice to Protestants to help them with their spiritual lives.  I have five pieces of advice.

Abrogation to the Rescue!

We’ve all seen the last of the Lord of the Rings movies, Return of the King?  Remember when the city of Minas Tirith is under siege then the riders of Rohan show up to save the day?  The cavalry always comes to save the day.  Unless it’s the Battle of Waterloo where Marshall Ney’s cavalry charge utterly failed.  Basically the cavalry always comes to save the day.

Sozomen and the Ishmaelites

We often hear from Muslims that Muhammad and his early followers were descended from the Ishmaelites.  Obviously Islam doesn’t come on the scene until the 7th century.  We don’t know much about Arabia prior to Islam.  Most of our information comes from secondary accounts and modern day archeology.

James White’s Faulty List: Pope Leo the Great and the Immaculate Conception

There is a list going around with eight Popes that supposedly denied the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Mother of God.  James White likes to talk about this list constantly and it can be found on his website.  Here is the link:

A Forgotten Church Father – St. Isidore of Seville

With some leftover birthday money I bought a book by an obscure and somewhat unknown Church Father.  We know that after the Spaniards reconquered Cordoba in 1236 AD they produced some theological and spiritual giants.  While under Islamic occupation, their growth was stunted but we need to remember that they played a somewhat important role before that.  We all remember Hosius of Cordoba, one of the heroes of Nicaea.  In later centuries we have Isidore of Seville.

The Hagia Sophia and Pope Francis

As the whole world knows, on July 10, 2020 the Turkish court declared it legal to transform the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.  I made a video response that can be watched above.  I basically take the view that it’s equally an abomination to have this building a mosque or a museum because it was built for neither.  Both are a perversion.  I also said that the true crime happened in 1453 and not July 10, 2020.  Basically I didn’t care as it was just one abomination to another.

Tip for Aspiring Apologists

I have some advice for people who want to do apologetics.  First, I must ask a question.  How long have you been a member of your religion?  If it’s not five years, then I firmly believe that you shouldn’t be an apologist.  Five years from when you may ask?  Five years from the day you were formally received in is the answer.

Islam – First to Claim the Great Apostasy

I’ve mentioned on this blog before that I focus a lot on Church history.  In these modern times we have so many resources available to us that it’s so easy to learn Church history.  We can start with the book of Acts which is the earliest chronicle of the Church.  After that, the church continued to grow in the Roman Empire and beyond it and the sources are readily available.