If you ask me, why I am a Catholic Christian, my answer would be like the one of Saint Augustine’s: “I won’t be a Christian if not for the Catholic Church”.
In this post I will use the case of Judas Iscariot to refute the Calvinistic doctrine of T.U.L.I.P.(1)by showing that the God-breathed Scriptures emphatically teach that Christ chose him for the express purpose of saving him, even though the Lord knew that he was a devil whom Satan would tempt to betray God’s uniquely begotten…
John Calvin saw a tension between his belief in God having freely, sovereignly decreed to save only the elect whom he would effectual bring to saving faith in Christ with those statements in Scripture that affirm God desiring, wanting, willing and calling all mankind to salvation in Christ. In order to resolve this contradiction with…
Table of Contents It is time again to show how the beliefs of some of the early church’s greatest scholars, theologians, apologists, philosophers, martyrs etc., directly conflict with Protestantism in general, and with Calvinism in particular. In this segment, I will show how the views of both Augustine and John the Damascene contradict the…
Table of Contents 1 Chapter 5.— Against the Title of the Epistle of Manichæus In the following extract Augustine shows how the Gospels’ reliability rests on the authority of the Catholic Church and to, therefore, attack the Church is to undermine the veracity of the Gospels themselves. Here is what he wrote in refuting of…
The oldest extant written mention of the term Catholic, as applied to the Church, is found in one of the letters of the holy martyr St. Ignatius, who was a disciple of the Apostles and the Bishop of Rome: Chapter 8. Let nothing be done without the bishop See that you all follow the bishop, even…
Monepiscopacy, also called monarchical episcopate, refers to a single bishop chosen to preside and rule over the church with a college of presbyters and deacons. The evidence shows that this was an early and widespread practice of the universal church. In fact, a strong case can be made that this structure was already in place…
The following is taken from St. John Chrysostom’s Homily on St. Ignatius. All emphasis will be mine. 4. And I will speak of a fourth crown, arising for us out of this episcopate. What then is this? The fact that he was entrusted with our own native city. For it is a laborious thing indeed to have…
I will be quoting from the late Dr. Robert A. Morey’s The Trinity: Evidence and Issues, published by World Bible Publishers, Inc., Iowa Falls, IA, in 1996, Part IV: The New Testament Evidence, Chapter 17. God The Son. All emphasis will be mine. The Blood of God Be on guard for yourselves and…
I will be quoting from the late Dr. Robert A. Morey’s The Trinity: Evidence and Issues, published by World Bible Publishers, Inc., Iowa Falls, IA, in 1996, Part IV: The New Testament Evidence, Chapter 17. God The Son. All emphasis will be mine. The Theophanies We have already seen that in Old Testament…
The Council of Chalcedon is important in the history of Christianity, because it helped harmonize Saint Cyril of Alexandria’s Christology with the historical Christology of the West. These Christologies were identical during their day. The actual decree of Chalcedon that delineates the council’s Christology specifically quotes and parallels Cyril’s Christology and at one point, even his deposed…
Saint Cyril of Alexandria’s Christology is not terribly complicated. He taught that the person of God the Word assumed human essence, so that after this assumption (the incarnation) He had both a divine and human essence. Sometimes essence is called “substance” as it is in the Latin tradition and other times it is called “nature”…
2 nd Century AD St. Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) “The believer through discipline divests himself of his passions and passes to the mansion better than the former one, passing through torments with repentance for post-baptismal sins. Although these punishments cease after purification, God’s righteousness allows for temporary suffering during expiation.” (Patres Groeci. IX, col.…
The following is taken from St. Irenaeus’ Adversus haereses, Book III. All emphasis will be mine. Chapter 3 A refutation of the heretics, from the fact that, in the various Churches, a perpetual succession of bishops was kept up. 1. It is within the power of all, therefore, in every Church, who may wish to see the truth,…
The following excerpt is taken from Francis Dvornik, Byzantine missions among the Slavs. SS. Constantine-Cyril and Methodius (F. Dvornik, Byzantine missions among the Slavs – 6), pp. 189-192. The citations deal with the letter of Pope St. Stephen (Latin – Stephanus V, died September 14, 891) where he mentions that the Roman Church is the seat…
In this post I will be citing from the works of St. Epiphanius in respect to the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and/through the Son. All emphasis will be mine. 44,3 I myself, therefore, do not worship anything that is inferior to the essence of God himself, since it is…
In this post I will be citing from the works of St. Cyril of Alexandria where this blessed saint spoke of the Spirit’s essential/natural procession from both the Father and the Son. All emphasis will be mine. 1. That the Holy Spirit is naturally of God, and in the Son, and through Him and…
In this post I will share a few quotes from St. Gregory in respect to the Filioque, e.g., the Holy Spirit’s eternal procession from the Father by/through the Son. All emphasis will be mine. Indeed, it would be a lengthy task to set out in detail from the Scriptures those constructions which are inexactly expressed,…
The extract is taken from St. Gregory Nazianzus’ Orations where he discusses the monarchy of the Father in respect to the Trinity. All emphasis will be mine. Oration 29 The Third Theological Oration. On the Son. I. This then is what might be said to cut short our opponents’ readiness to argue…
This comes from St. Gregory’s Oration 25. All emphasis will be mine. Define our piety by teaching the knowledge of: One God, unbegotten, the Father; and One begotten Lord, his Son, referred to as “God” when he is mentioned separately, but “Lord” when he is named together with the Father—the first on account of the [divine]…
What a rich and important topic. St. Irenaeus of Lyons stands as one of the most powerful early witnesses to the primacy of Rome, and his testimony deserves to be understood in full — both its weight and its context. 🏛️ St. Irenaeus of Lyons on the Papacy Who Was Irenaeus? St. Irenaeus (c. 130–202…
Free Grace Theology (FGT) — associated with figures like Zane Hodges and the Grace Evangelical Society claims to honor the Bible, but when held up to the full light of Scripture and Sacred Tradition, it falls short in several serious ways, and we’re going to prove it how it contradicts the Bible also! What Free…
This excerpt is taken from St. Athanasius who claims that the language adopted by Nicaea to describe the Son’s essential equality with the Father isn’t new but quite ancient, going back to at least 130 years earlier. Athanasius exposed the Arian heretics by appealing to an unbroken chain of Apostolic succession of Bishops to prove…
David Kimchi, also known as RaDaK, was a medieval rabbinic commentator and philosopher who lived from 1160–1235 AD. In this post I will quote from his commentary in regards to a few OT texts that are either Messianic or have a direct bearing on Christian exegesis of OT verses, such as Psalm 2:12. Radak on…
I share the following article on St. Maximus the Confessor from CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Maximus of Constantinople. St. Maximus of Constantinople Known as the Theologian and as Maximus Confessor, born at Constantinople about 580; died in exile 13 August, 662. He is one of the chief names in the Monothelite controversy one of the chief doctors of the theology of the Incarnation and of ascetic mysticism, and…
In this post I will be quoting from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of John, by Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, published by BakerAcademic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and published in 2015. All emphasis will be mine. Authorship The Gospel does not explicitly name its author,…
Another Arian Bites the Dust According to John’s Gospel, the prophet Isaiah saw Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence as YHWH of Hosts seated on his heavenly throne: “Jesus replied, ‘The light is with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The one who…
The land of Illyricum
In this post I will be looking at two OT texts, which the early Christians saw as foreshadowing Christ’s crucifixion. These early writers employed these particular verses as prophesying or prefiguring Christ’s death on a cross. First Prophecy I begin with the following reference from the Jeremiah: “and I am as a lamb or a…
In this article I will quote the relevant verses from both the Old and New Testaments where Israel is either said to be Sodom and Gomorrah, or even worse than them. I will further show how God also warns that Israel’s punishment will be much more severe and worse than that which he inflicted upon…
In this post I will be looking at two OT texts, which the early Christians saw as foreshadowing Christ’s crucifixion. These early writers employed these particular verses as prophesying or prefiguring Christ’s death on a cross. First Prophecy I begin with the following reference from the Jeremiah: “and I am as…
I share some of the many statements from St. John Chrysostom, one of the greatest saints biblical exegetes of the Church, affirming the primacy of Peter. These citations attest that Chrysostom held to Peter being the Rock and Leaders of the universal Church, having been given a preeminence over the rest of the holy Apostles…
Muslim apologist Sami Zaatari has jumped on the so-called “Christian” unitarian bandwagon by rehashing the same old worn out arguments and objections of these heretics against the true historic Christian faith which is based on the accurate interpretation of the Holy Bible. In one of his articles, Zaatari appeals to the unitarian interpretation of Psalm…
Examining Psalm 110:1 A look at Its Implications on God being a Multi-Personal Being and upon the Deity of Christ Christians often appeal to Psalm 110:1 to prove that the Hebrew Bible teaches that Yahweh is multi-Personal, that there is more than one Person who is Yahweh God, and that the Messiah is God. The…
In this post I quote the commentary of Mar Ishodad of Merv (Mari Ishoʿdaḏ Maruzaya), who was the bishop of Hdatta (circa 850 AD), which is near current-day Mosul, Iraq. Ishodad is considered a very important and prominent theologian of the Assyrian Church of the East, who wrote some very influential commentaries on the Syriac version of the Holy…
The Relationship between God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Now, having established that there is only ONE God but also that there are three persons who are shown to be this one God, we are faced with the question of how these three persons are ‘related’. There have been different ‘models’ and ideas for…
Does the Bible Say, That the Holy Spirit Is God? Before we look at the interrelationship of God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit, we have to quickly establish that the Holy Spirit is God. I think, if you could follow and accept the reasoning in the earlier parts, there should…
This lengthy extract from St. Optatus is taken from Optatus of Milevis, Against the Donatists (1917) Book 2. pp. 57-119. His statements affirm that the Roman Church is the See of Peter, and the grounds of unity which makes the Church one and universal. He further argues that to deviate or break communion from it is to…
The argument is: Arguments against Dyophysites: Premise 1) Ens and unum are strictly convertible; whatever is, is one, and whatever is one, is. Unity adds nothing positive to being, but is the privation of internal division Premise 2) Numerical unity is that mode of unity which is both undivided in itself and divided from every…
MARTIN LUTHER Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary’s virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that.(Luther’s Works, editors. Jaroslav Pelikan [vols. 1-30] & Helmut T. Lehmann St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House [vols. 1-30]; Philadelphia: Fortress Press [vols. 31-55]),…
God’s Glory equated with His Praise and Honor Another indication that Jesus shares in the glory of God is that he receives the very honor and praise which only God is supposed to receive. According to the book of Isaiah, Yahweh says that he will not share his glory and praise with any other so-called…
It may surprise Christians to discover that Martin Luther candidly admitted that the Catholic Church traces itself back to the Apostles, that it genuinely has Apostolic Succession, despite having (in Luther’s erroneous view) corrupted itself throughout time. Here is Luther in his own words: Today the pope and his crowd cry out against us that…
The following quote is taken from Josephus’ The War of the Jews 5:5, translated by William Whiston. He states that the Divine Name consists of 4 vowels. All emphasis is mine. ז. ובני משפחת הכהֻנה, אשר לא יכלו לשָׁרֵת בקֹדש מפני מום אשר בבשרם, היו באים לפנים מן הקלעים עם אחיהם הכשרים ומקבלים את חלקי הזבחים…
In this post I will be quoting from two English translations of the Syriac translation of the Holy Bible, which is called the Peshitta. I cite this particular ancient version for the express purpose of showing that the Aramaic term for God, namely Alah/Alaha, is used for both the Father and the Son. I will also use…
The Aramaic Bible, commonly referred to as the Peshitta, employs a unique word MarYah, which some authorities believe is a compound phrase consisting of Aramaic Mar (“Lord”) and the shortened form of the Tetragrammaton or the divine name yod-heh-vav-heh, namely, Yah. If this is so then the term literally means “The Lord Yah,” or “The Lord Jehovah.” What makes this all the…
The Views of Scholars and Apologists It probably wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the consensus of NT scholarship agrees that according to John 12:41, the inspired Evangelist believed that Isaiah actually saw the prehuman Christ in Isaiah 6 when the prophet beheld Yahweh’s glory in a vision. Here are some of the comments which affirm…
I am going to revisit the Apostle John’s claim that Isaiah beheld the visible glory of Christ when the Lord Jesus appeared to the prophet in his prehuman existence as Jehovah of Hosts seated on the throne. I am referring to the following text from the inspired Evangelist: “‘Believe in the light while you have…
Every time anyone goes against Christianity shoot themselves on the foot. It started from the cross.
The late Dr. Gleason L. Archer addressed the issue of Ahaziah’s reign and age, since 2 Kings. 8:26 states he was 22 whereas 2 Chronicles 22:2 states he was 42. When did Ahaziah ben Jehoram become king? 2 Kings 8:25 says that Ahaziah son of Jehoram of Judah became king in the twelfth year of…
In this article I will reference statements from some of the greatest theologians, apologists, scholars, bishops and/or sons to show that the unanimous belief of the universal Church was that Peter was the chief and head of all the holy and blessed Apostles. Epistle of Clement to James Epistle of Clement to James Chapter I.-Peter’s…
AD 100-700: Beginning to the end of the Patristic era The Protoevangelium of James And Anna made a song to the Lord God, saying: I will sing a song to the Lord my God, for He has looked upon me, and has taken away the reproach of mine enemies; and the Lord has given the…
The Greek Fathers Here are a number of ancient experts and what they say it means; each of them is a Greek-speaker from a culture basically identical to that of St. Luke; there are a couple repeats from the previous thread, but from them I give new material, too; the passages are expositions by the…
A BIBLICAL CASE FOR MARIAN VENERATION According to the Hebrew Bible, the mother of the Israelite king was given the status of queen mother. In other words, the [O]ld [T]estament shows that it wasn’t the wife of the king that was the queen but rather his mother: “Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because…
The Holy Bible depicts our Lord’s blessed mother as typifying or personifying the nation of Israel by taking language, which is reminiscent to the way the Hebrew Scriptures portray God’s people, and ascribing it to her. For instance, the nation is collectively addressed as the virgin daughter of Zion or the virgin daughter of Judah:…
https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1055.htm St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, devoted extraordinary care to this subject in the Summa Theologiae (Prima Pars, Questions 54–58), and his conclusions remain the touchstone of Catholic thought on the matter. Here is a thorough and ordered exposition: 🕊️ Angelic Knowledge: A Deep Dive I. Angels Are Pure Intellect As purely spiritual beings,…
The citations presented here document the widespread belief in the prayers/intercessions of angels and saints for believers on earth. All emphasis will be mine. Shepherd of Hermas (AD 89-145) Chapter 4 I prayed him much that he would explain to me the similitude of the field, and of the master of the vineyard, and of the…
Enoch contains a fascinating depiction of the souls of human who were slaughtered, by the instigation of the rebellious angels that taught mankind to make weapons to kill, crying out to the angels of heaven to bring their petitions to God that he might avenge them: [Chapter 8] 1 And Azazel taught men to make swords,…
By James Divine. September 4th, 2024 (https://substack.com/inbox/post/148703931?r=4ca6ix&triedRedirect=true). Foreword During the time I wrote this article, a gentleman, a scholar, an author and wordsmith; Dr. James Likoudis passed away. Perhaps asleep is he to us, but in soul; with Our Lord. May this Catholic champion rest in peace. Condolences to his family and friends who survive…
The quotes are courtesy of Divine Mercy Apologetics. They prove that St. Gregory Palamas’ position on Muslims is in perfect agreement woth the Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church #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…
St. Gregory mentions a dialogue he had with a group of Turkish Muslims. What makes his comments rather amazing is that he affirms that both the Muslims and himself are calling upon one and the same God, even though these Turks are ignorant of the fact that this God whom they worship is inseparable from…
In this post I will be citing extracts from the letters sent by Pope Agatho during the third Council of Constantinople (680-681 AD), which was convened to settle the matter of there being two wills in Christ our Lord. Pope Agatho not only speaks of Peter’s primacy as the prince of the Apostles, he…
SEVENTEEN times the Gospel of John mentions the “hour” of Jesus. In the first half of the book, the “hour” is a highly anticipated moment in the ministry of Jesus that constantly grabs the attention of the reader and drives the narrative forward (Jn 2:4; 4:21; 5:25; 7:30, 8:20). In the second half of the…
I post here the commentary of the blessed St. Cyril of Alexandria on John 14:28 where he plainly states that the Father was greater than the Son only because of the Son’s Incarnation and descent to the earth to humble himself by becoming a slave. The saint refutes those heretics who used this verse to…
The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. Augustine will cite texts such as 1 John 5:20, where Jesus is called the true God and eternal life, to prove that Christ is one divine Person who operates in/by/through two natures since he is the God-Man. He will explain that Jesus, by virtue of…
In this post I will be quoting snippets from John the Damascene’s monumental tome titled, Exposition of the Faith, in regards to his articulation of the Trinity, the Son’s eternal generation, and two natures of Christ. As the readers will readily discern, John’s insights, depth of knowledge, and mastery of the Holy Scriptures are simply remarkable,…
Some anti-Trinitarians and/or subordinationists like to use St. Irenaeus’ statements in his refutation to the Gnostics where he states that not even the Son knew the hour to prove that this holy bishop did not affirm the Trinity. They argue that his words show that he was at the very least a subordinationist who did…
The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. The beloved saint will show that the words of our Lord Jesus in Mark 13:32 do not imply that the Son was ignorant of the Day or Hour, but that he chose to veil that knowledge for the express purpose of not making it…
This post is a continuation of my previous one from blessed St. Hilary of Poitier’s work On the Trinity, Book VII: Hilary: God is the Trinity. Here I provide more quotes from that same section showing how this holy saint confirmed that the phrase “one God” does not refer to or mean the Father, As the citations will prove,…
Here I cite from St. Hilary of Poitier’s work On the Trinity, Book VII, where this holy saint affirms that the term God refers the divine Persons who share the same name and nature. All emphasis will be mine. 31. We see how the living Son of the living Father, He Who is God from God,…
In this post I will be quoting from the works of another early church father, namely Hilary of Poitiers, in respect to his Trinitarian beliefs. The citations will show that Hilary affirmed that the Son was timelessly begotten, and therefore not a creature, since the Son has been eternally God with the Father. The quotations…
In this somewhat lengthy post, I quote the words of another great saint, Hilary of Poitiers, from his writing On the Holy Trinity, Book IV. This holy saint not only argued that Jesus is that very divine Angel that appeared throughout the OT, he also quoted texts such as Genesis 1, Psalms 45:6-7, Isaiah 45:11-14, Hosea…
The excerpts cited here are all taken from Ambrosiaster’s Commentary on the Pauline Epistles: Romans, Translated with Notes, by Theodore S. de Bruyn, with an Introduction by Theodore S. de Bruyn, Stephen A. Cooper, & David G. Hunter. It was published by SBL Press in 2017. All emphasis will be mine. 5.1. The Context…
The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. The blessed saint will cite texts such as 1 Timothy 6:13-16 and apply that to the Trinity. In so doing, he identifies the only God of the passage as the Trinity. Augustine also applies 1 John 5:20 to the Son, which describes Christ as…
In this post I will quote from a few fathers and saints of the Church whom all believed that the reason the Son honored the Father as his God is because of the Incarnation, as a result of the eternal Word becoming flesh and taking on a human nature. Hippolytus 60. To grasp this divine mystery we…
The following post is taken from Catholic Answers: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/defending-the-filioque. Tim Staples Filioque is Latin for “and the Son” and refers to the part of the Nicene Creed wherein Christians declare the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” The Orthodox—along with Eastern Catholic Churches—do not recite this part of the Creed. More important for our purpose,…
The following post is taken from Catholic Answers: https://www.catholic.com/tract/filioque. The Western Church commonly uses a version of the Nicene creed which has the Latin word filioque (“and the Son”) added after the declaration that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. Scripture reveals that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The external relationships of the…
Saint Augustine of Hippo on Filioque
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“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
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