St. Sophronius of Jerusalem
After Church yesterday I had a good discussion with my Priest. We talked about heresy in the first Millenia of the Church and the Islamic Invasions. He put forward a very interesting hypothesis that I had never thought about before. I don’t know if I believe it but it certainly got me thinking.
Any Christian apologist who deals with Islam will point out that Muslims engage in double standards regarding the use of anti-supernaturalist leftist Biblical “scholarship”. However, before Muslims started doing that, both at a popular and scholarly level, they actually shared quite a bit in common with the Liberals in how they viewed Jesus Christ.
I started studying apologetics in depth in 2008. Of course, I had been studying Scripture, Christianity, and Church history prior to that. The interesting thing is that I didn’t start my apologetics with Islam. I mainly dealt with non-Trinitarian cultic 19th century groups such as the Two by Two’s(Google them), Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eventually I got interested in Old Testament Prophecy so that led me to study the Jewish objections to Jesus. I encountered the work of people like Rabbi Tovia Singer, Jews for Judaism and others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNWA8R5aQ9E
The Adnan Rashid vs James White debate resurfaced another popular trend in Islamic apologetics. Muslim apologists really seem to be playing on the whole supposed dichotomy between James and Paul. Of course, these apologists haven’t done an in depth study of Paul. In a dialogue it’s hard to go in depth into Pauline writings to show that there isn’t a contradiction between the two since it requires in depth exegesis of the text.
Jesus being Tempted by the Devil
One interesting thing about the recent debate with Adnan Rashid and James White was the use of Psalm 91. A few months ago, Zakir Hussain used this argument against James White in a debate. Both times, James White didn’t have an answer. Seeing as how this has been used by more than one apologist, it seems to be a new apologetic tactic. Unfortunately White didn’t do his homework after the Hussain debate. The response isn’t a difficult one but it needs to be presented so here it goes.
Less than a week ago, Calvinist apologist James White debated Islamic apologist Adnan Rashid on a very important topic. The topic was: “Do we need the cross for salvation?” I have many thoughts on the debate and I want to share a few.
Samuel Wilberforce and Thomas Huxley who debated each other on evolution in 1860.
One thing that I’m good at is debating. It’s probably because I’ve done a lot of reading, have a great memory, and am really good at asking the right questions. In other words, I can really put my interlocutor on the spot. In terms of apologetics, this helps, but sometimes debating doesn’t get one anywhere. If someone loses an argument, it doesn’t mean they’re going to convert to your faith. It may contribute to it in the long run but it’s a stretch. It’s hard to get people out of their comfort zone. It’s a tactic one must use sparingly.
The Hagia Sophia
A Christian Church turned into a Mosque by Muslims, turned into a Museum by Masons.
Over Christmas, I thought about many things. A few days before Christmas, I read an article on Rorate Caeli about a small group of Catholics in Turkey. These Catholics aren’t Polish immigrants or Italian foreign workers. They’re Turkish converts from Islam. What inspired this little group of Turks in Erdogan’s Turkey to reject Islam and Kemalist Secularism? Playing a large role in their conversion was the Traditional Latin Liturgy. What an amazing Evangelization tool! The line from the Turkish Catholic which touched me the most was:
Moses
Deuteronomy is the final book in the Torah. It is the last set of instructions given to the Israelites before their military conquest of the holy land. God commanded the Israelites to invade the land and displace the inhabitants and set it up as their home and to follow His customs and laws. This happens in the book of Joshua.
Eusebius of Caesarea
Over the Christmas break, I was up north in my hometown visiting family. I was talking with my mom about history and the important tools of historiography. We weren’t talking about Church history, but the history of WWII. The discussion focused around how bad history from WWII was. At this point my mom remembered an episode from a history class that she took in University. The professor had told her class the following: “Since the year 1800, there has been no history, only journalism.”