No Pope in the First Century?
Some Christians argue that there was no single bishop who governed the Church of Rome in the first and early to mid-second century. They assert this historical claim as a challenge to the early papacy because the Catholic claim concerning the papacy involves Peter’s...
Justification: Declaration or Transformation?
One of the major divides among Christians is their view of justification. Some understand justification as merely a declaration by God that we are just—regardless of our interior state of holiness. Others, like Catholics, view justification as being rooted in our...
Baptism is the New Circumcision
When it comes to infant baptism, Colossians 2:11-12 is a go-to text. But some Protestants aren’t convinced. So what’s their hang-up? Let’s take a look. We’ll start with the text itself. There, Paul teaches that baptism is the New Testament fulfillment of circumcision....
Can We Trust the Gospel Portrait of Jesus, “Healer of Paralytics”?
central characteristic of the Gospel portrait of Jesus is that he is a healer. For instance, the Gospel stories focus on Jesus healing paralytics. But are these accounts worthy of belief? Should we take them as history or legend? Let’s take a look. There are two...
Jesus Says, ‘Chew and Gnaw My Flesh’
Catholics, along with other Christians, argue that Jesus’ body and blood must be present in the Eucharist because in John 6, Jesus commanded us to eat his flesh and drink his blood. And he meant it literally. But some Christians argue that Catholics overlook a key...
The Wine is Jesus’ Blood
Conversations among Catholics and Protestants concerning Jesus’ words at the Last Supper usually involves Catholics giving arguments for a literal interpretation and Protestants simply countering. But Protestant apologist James White gives his own positive line of...
The Bias Behind Rejecting the Gospels’ Reliability
Many skeptics dismiss the Gospels’ historicity because of their preconceived bias against miracles. “Those stories must be made up—or at least legendary,” so it’s said, “since they include miracles, and miracles are impossible.” What should we say in response? First,...
How Can an All-Good God Create Evil?
If God is the Creator of all things, as traditional theists say, and evil exists, then wouldn’t that make God the creator of evil? And if so, how could he be an all-good God? That conclusion creates a dilemma for a theist who holds to the classical conception of God....
Sorry, Protestants: Paul Is Team Catholic
In previous articles (here, here, here, and here), I’ve argued that the Bible supports the Catholic teaching that our interior state of holiness is a ground for our justification—what we might call “interior justification.” This stands in contrast to the view of some...
The Ballad of Blind Bartimaeus
The Gospels tell us that Jesus performed all kinds of miracles. But one category really stands out: healing the blind. Jesus’ healings of the blind aren’t just a random miracle category. In the Jewish worldview, the blind receiving sight was a sign of the Messianic...