Recently, two questions entered my mind regarding the role of unity within the Christian Church. What value does St. Paul and other biblical authors (the Bible) place on unity in the Church, if any? If the Bible teaches the importance of unity, what means did God give the Christian Church to maintain unity, if any? Now, I make a few assumptions in the above questions. A historical person (Jesus Christ) established a Church in history. An authoritative collection of books... Read more
I want to again thank Matt for his time discussing this important topic. Below, I offer my thoughts on Matt’s arguments and observations. Let’s get started. An Appeal to the Incarnation Concerns Veneration, not Intercession or Invocation Dennis’s main premise is: Through the Incarnation, the Saints share in a measure of God’s glory (dulia). The above merely represents a part of my argument. In my first article, I offered a counter to Matt’s contention that Saint and Marian veneration came... Read more
Guest writer: Matt Graham. In this post, I’ll make a few comments in reply to Dennis’ last post and then begin to make my positive case for why praying to saints is not a legitimate Christian practice. Reply To Dennis Dennis mainly repeated his earlier claims and then added a few more examples to establish early attestation to the practice of praying to saints. It should be noted that adding a few more historical data points doesn’t amount to making... Read more
In the comment section of my last article, a reader brought to my attention an underrepresented and often overlooked population of Christians: same-sex attracted individuals who seek to live according to traditional and biblical sexual values. Unfortunately, when theologians within the Church seek to change doctrine on sexual morality, these Christians feel foolish for attempting to live according to traditional and biblical values that deny them sexual intimacy. Furthermore, those outside the Church add insult to injury by ridiculing these... Read more
Progressives within the Catholic Church currently feel a certain degree of buyer’s remorse concerning the recently ended Synod on Synodality (SoS). All the hope reflected in the initial “listening sessions” that the Church change her views on women’s ordination and human sexuality evaporated with the release of the Final Document on October 29th, 2024. This document makes no mention of adjusting the Church’s view on sexual ethics and offers only a slim hope by stating women’s participation in the diaconate... Read more
As we approach the end of the year, I wanted to highlight some articles from 2024, especially those articles that anticipate the ascendancy of Christian conservatism and the national downfall of progressivism. I also provide a post-mortem to assist progressives in how they ought to move forward. Have a great and happy New Year. January 2024 Let’s Stop the Extremist Rhetoric – It’s Unhelpful In this article, I started the year with an appeal to political progressives to stop their... Read more
During my research for the current debate with Matthew Graham, I read the Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori. Another Protestant pastor friend of mine claims that this work, above all other works on the Virgin Mary, crosses the line from hyperdulia (high honor) to latria (worship). After reviewing St. Ligouri’s work, I do not see idolatry. However, I do see high honor, the highest honor given a creature, due to Mary’s role as the Mother of God. What... Read more
For this article, I wish to respond to Matt’s criticism of my previous article. My goal in this part of the exchange is to unpack the following: Both Protestants and Catholics must address the silence concerning the veneration of the Saints (dulia) and the Virgin Mary (hyperdulia) in the earliest centuries of the Church, especially when compared to the 4th century and beyond. Matt’s contention that Gnostic and Hellenistic paganism infiltrated the early Church (4th century and beyond) and that... Read more
Guest writer: Matt Graham Summary Dennis’s Article In his last reply, Dennis claims that “the veneration of the Saints is directly linked to a proper understanding of the Incarnation.” He cites John Henry Newman saying the “veneration of the Saints grew naturally out of an understanding of the deified nature of gloried man, not out of some accretion from pagan religion or philosophy.” In support of this claim, he quotes St. Athanasius regarding the deification of man. This is followed... Read more
Special thanks to Matt Graham for his very thoughtful and honest contribution to this discussion. I hope we both grow in greater understanding through this continued dialogue. To start, I appreciate that Matt started on where we agree. I also appreciate that Matt sees the difference between latria, dulia, and hyperdulia. However, Matt veers a bit off track in his claim that the veneration of the Saints and the Virgin Mary entered the Church via pagan accretion. For this article,... Read more
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