Biblical Evidence for Catholicism: The Papacy (Index Page)

Pope St. Pius X

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General / Petrine Primacy

SHORTER PAPERS

50 New Testament Proofs for Petrine Primacy and the Papacy
[French version]

The Biblical and Rational Argument for Papal Succession / False Analogy of Israelite Kings to the Papacy

Dialogue: Is St. Paul Superior to St. Peter?

Does St. Paul's Rebuke of St. Peter Prove that Peter Was Not a Pope? / Is St. Paul More "Important" Than St. Peter?

Biblical Support for the Terms Holy Father and Vicar of Christ, as Applied to Popes

The Development of the Papacy (Newman)

LONGER PAPERS

Reply to a Critique of my 50 New Testament Proofs for Petrine Primacy and the Papacy (Dave Armstrong vs. Jason Engwer)

Second Refutation of the Reductio ad Absurdum Argument for a "Pauline Papacy"
(Dave Armstrong vs. Jason Engwer)

Reflections on the Papacy: The Primacy of St. Peter and Biblical Evidences

Dialogue on the Nature of Development of Doctrine (Particularly With Regard to the Papacy) (Dave Armstrong vs. Jason Engwer)

Peter the "Rock"

SHORTER PAPERS

Protestant Exegesis Profoundly Affected Historically By Polemical Overreactions to Catholic Positions (Example of Matthew 16:18: Peter as the "Rock")

Presbyterian Bible Commentator Frederick Dale Bruner on the Petrine Implications of Matthew 16:18 ("Rock")

Prominent Baptist Exegete John Albert Broadus (1827-1895) on the Petrine Implications of Matthew 16:18 ("Rock")

Evangelical NT Scholar Peter Stuhlmacher on the Petrine Implications of Matthew 16:18 ("Rock")

Renowned Anglican Commentator Henry Alford (1810-1871) on the Petrine Implications of Matthew 16:18 ("Rock")

Presbyterian Exegete Albert Barnes (1798-1870 ) on the Petrine Implications of Matthew 16:18 ("Rock")

Presbyterian Marvin R. Vincent (1834-1922) on the Petrine Implications of Matthew 16:18 ("Rock")

LONGER PAPERS

The Biblical, Primitive Papacy: St. Peter the "Rock": Scholarly Opinion (Mostly Protestant)

Protestant Scholars on Mt 16:16-19 (Nicholas Hardesty)

"Keys of the Kingdom"

SHORTER PAPERS

LONGER PAPERS

The Biblical, Primitive Papacy: St. Peter & the "Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven": Scholarly Opinion (Mostly Protestant) (+ Part II)

Protestant Scholars on Mt 16:16-19 (Nicholas Hardesty)

Papal Infallibility and Supremacy

SHORTER PAPERS

Biblical Evidence for Papal and Church Infallibility

Inspired Prophets as a Biblical Analogy to Papal Infallibility

Historical Background and Immediate Impetus For the Dogmatic Proclamation of Papal Infallibility at Vatican I in 1870

Why the Immaculate Conception, Papal Infallibility, and Assumption Dogmas Were Defined in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Papal Infallibility ("his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly styled irreformable")

Gene Bridges' & Steve Hays' Errors Regarding the History of Papal Infallibility (Incl. Details on Luther's Dissent at the Leipzig Disputation in 1519)

Newman on Papal Infallibility

Pope St. Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) on Papal Supremacy

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) on Papal Supremacy

LONGER PAPERS

Reflections on the Papacy: Papal Infallibility and Concluding Postscripts

Dialogue: Is the Vatican I Proclamation of Papal Infallibility Non-Negotiable and Orthodox or "Radical Papal Tyranny" and the Triumph of Ultramontanism? (Dave Armstrong vs. Tim Enloe)

Vatican II: Is it Orthodox and Binding? / The Infallibility and Sublime Authority of Conciliar and Papal Decrees / Different Levels of Church Authority (Dave Armstrong vs. several "traditionalists")

Dialogue With a Protestant on the "Infallibility Regress" Argument and Questions Regarding Catholic Authority and the Obtaining of Theological Truth (+ Part Two)

The 1968 Papal Encyclical Humanae Vitae: Infallible Teaching Prohibiting Contraception

Popes and Councils

SHORTER PAPERS

Does the History of the Papacy Contradict Catholic Ecclesiology?

Pope Silvester and the Council of Nicaea

Pope Gregory the Great and the Universal Papacy

Pope St. Leo the Great, the "Robber" Council of 449, and the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (Newman)

LONGER PAPERS

Reply to James White on the Council of Nicaea and Its Relationship to Pope Sylvester, Athanasius' Views, and the Unique Preeminence of Catholic Authority

Pope Leo the Great (r. 440-61) and Papal Supremacy

Papal Participation (Through Legates) in the First Seven Ecumenical Councils

Disagreeing with Popes

SHORTER PAPERS

Laymen Advising and Rebuking Popes

Is It Dissent Against the Pope and the Church, and Downright Disobedient For a Catholic to Favor the War in Iraq? (+ Discussion)

"Traditionalist" Catholic Webmaster (Fish Eaters Forum) Trashes Pope John Paul the Great

LONGER PAPERS

Are All Catholic Laymen and Non-Theologians Qualified to Freely and Frequently Criticize the Pope's Opinions and Prudential Judgment? (Dave Armstrong vs. Mario Derksen)

Am I a "Neo-Catholic"? / My Belief Concerning the Criticism of Popes is Taken Out of Context and Distorted by "Traditionalists" (in Wikipedia) (+ Discussion)

A Biblical Defense of Catholicism

Word 2000 "Deluxe" Hyper-Linked Version or PDF / Adobe ($5.00)

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[PDF^]

The One-Minute Apologist

Word 2000 / Excel "Deluxe" Hyper-Linked Version (Zip file) ($5.00)
--- See instructions for extracting the zip file on its web page ---

Sale Offer: 16 E-Books (Including the two above: Word + PDF): Only $25

--- offer includes the bestsellers A Biblical Defense of Catholicism, The Catholic Verses, and The One-Minute Apologist, and features 501 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura, Martin Luther: Catholic Critical Analysis and Praise, and The Church Fathers Were Catholic

Papal Scandals

SHORTER PAPERS

LONGER PAPERS

The "Bad Popes": How Many Of 'Em Were There? How "Bad" Were They? (+ Discussion)

Dialogue on (Supposedly Fallible) Pope Honorius

Heretic Popes and Pope as "God on Earth" vs. Luther as God's Man of the Hour and Quasi-Prophet (Dave Armstrong vs. Tim Enloe) (+ Discussion)

Venerable Pope Pius XII and the Nazi Holocaust

[see list of links on my Jews, Judaism, and the Old Testament index page]

Venerable Pope John Paul II

SHORTER PAPERS

Venerable Pope John Paul the Great (1920-2005) - My Tribute and Long List of Links to Biographical Articles and Papal Documents

Protestant Praise for Venerable Pope John Paul II as a Great Christian Man and Leader

James White's, Eric Svendsen's, and Jason Engwer's Glowing Tributes to Venerable Pope John Paul II

The Remarkable Joint Cooperation of Venerable Pope John Paul II and Campus Crusade for Christ

"Traditionalist" Catholic Webmaster (Fish Eaters Forum) Trashes Venerable Pope John Paul the Great

LONGER PAPERS

"Traditionalist" Catholic Attacks on Venerable Pope John Paul II: Accusations of Incompetence, Modernism, Compromise, and Heresy

Venerable Pope John Paul II's Teaching Concerning Marital Submission: Consistent Development or Contradictory Innovation? (+ Discussion) (Dave Armstrong vs. Ben Douglass)

"Why Doesn't Pope John Paul II DO Something About the Modernist Dissenters in the Catholic Church?"

Dialogue: Should the Pope Kiss The Koran?: Ecumenism as an Effort to Acknowledge Partial Truth Wherever it is Found (Dave Armstrong vs. David Palm)

Venerable Pope John Paul II and the Koran-Kissing Incident: Summary and Analysis of the Incoherence of the Horrified "Traditionalist" Objection

Pathetic "Traditionalist" Feeding Frenzy Over My Defense of Venerable Pope John Paul II Kissing the Koran / "Calumny in the Blogosphere" (Fr. Orsi) (+ Discussion)

Pope Benedict XVI

SHORTER PAPERS

The Holy Spirit Has Spoken Through the Cardinals: Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger): My Own Thoughts on the Current "Mind of the Church"

Pope Benedict XVI (as Cardinal Ratzinger): Vatican II Has the Same Authority as Trent (if one goes, both go)

LONGER PAPERS

Irrational Protestant Derision Towards Pope Benedict XVI as Supposedly Fundamentally Different From Venerable John Paul II: My Spot-On Predictions in 2005

Some Highlights of Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical Spe Salvi ("Saved by Hope"): 30 November 2007

Last updated on 21 December 2009

Orthodoxy & Citation Permission

To the best of my knowledge, all of my theological writing is "orthodox" and not contrary to the official dogmatic and magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church. In the event of any (unintentional) doctrinal or moral error on my part having been undeniably demonstrated to be contrary to the Sacred Tradition of the Catholic Church, I will gladly and wholeheartedly submit to the authority and wisdom of the Church (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Timothy 3:15).

All material contained herein is written by Dave Armstrong (all rights reserved) unless otherwise noted. Please retain full copyright, URL, and author information when downloading and/or forwarding this material to others. This information is intended for educational, spiritual enrichment, recreational, non-profit
purposes only, and is not to be exchanged for monetary compensation under any circumstances (Exodus 20:15-16).

Discussion Policy, Socratic Philosophy, Dissings & Rah-Rahs

Thoughts on Amiable and Constructive Dialogue

Purely Slanderous Posts

Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making.

--- John Milton

I Peter 3:15: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect".

Most people I've had discussions with on this blog have been and continue to be very kindly . . . even though we have dissenting views. I appreciate it from everyone and continue to thank Dave for hosting this and welcoming us Protestants. . . . We often have extremely differing views, but I've rarely been treated harshly. I thoroughly enjoy coming here and discussing stuff with y'all.

--- "Grubb" (evangelical Protestant regular on this blog), 12-11-06 and 2-13-07

I keep coming back here, because conversation at other Catholic-Protestant discussion blogs tends to get venomously anti-Catholic [with] ad hominem attacks on anyone who doesn't agree with the blogmaster and his pool of apparatchiks, whether the dissenter is Catholic OR Protestant. Cor ad cor loquitur is something of an internet anomaly: we engage in virtually ANY discussion without being censored and yet still manage for it not to get profane, something I rarely (if ever) see anywhere else on the net.

--- "Jon" (Catholic)

I find your site very refreshing and very informative . . . It's nice to find people who realize that being ecumenical doesn't mean ignoring important differences in doctrine, but rather means celebrating all that we have in common, while holding fast to all dogma. Your defenses of Catholicism are very well-written and very thought-provoking.

--- Baptist seminary student

I guess then we can see how sincere you are about wanting to discuss scripture. That is, not at all.

--- "Hilasterion" (anti-Catholic Protestant)

Dave Armstrong writes me really nice letters when I ask questions. As someone ridiculed by the arsonists [Phil Johnson's blog], I have to have a liking for the guy. Really, his notes to me are always first class and very respectful and helpful. . . . Dave Armstrong has continued to answer my questions in respectful and helpful ways. I thank the Lord for him.

--- Michael Spencer (evangelical Protestant), aka "The Internet Monk", on the Boar's Head Tavern site, 27 and 29 September 2007

. . . even Dave Armstrong’s blog has had some basically good posts . . .

--- Steve (aka "St. Worm": Anglican), on Tim Enloe's blog, 10 June 2009

8 years. Wow! I can’t even imagine putting up with the apologists for that long. Now, I pity you. :-) Even as a Catholic, I’ve gotten into it with Bryan Cross and Dave Armstrong, both of which are completely frustrating to have a dialog with. Just going at it with the two of them made we want to stay away forever. Bryan, at least I can say is a good guy and truly does mean well; even if he does have amazing powers of sophistry – and he has an odd sense of “unity” and “ecumenism”. Armstrong on the other hand…. I’m still speechless.

--- Mark (Catholic) [link], on Frank Ramirez' ("kepha's") blog, fides quarens intellectum, 6 November 2008 [link]

Dave . . . rises to any challenges against the Catholic faith coming his way. He's exhaustive, punctilious and for most of his adversaries, quite aggravating. He's the Catholic that no one can seem to shut up, and this grates on the nerves of anti-Catholic controversialists, whether of the scholarly kind, or of demagogues, bigots, and sophists. Dave will perform a real analysis of their postulates, atomize their arguments into individual thought components, and judge every single one individually on its merits, and also within their literary context. Anti-Catholics lose patience very quickly under this kind of scrutiny; many of them escape it by attacking Dave personally. Yet the man is completely unassuming, a simple soul, living simply with no pretensions at anything. I would say that his is a monastic life of work, prayer, and vast amounts of writing.

--- Pedro Vega (Catholic), 11 June 2005 on his blog, after we met [link]

. . . not interested in serious argument . . . handwaving and pseudo-philosophical mumbo-jumbo . . . hysterics . . . martyr . . . immaturity . . . [like] fundamentalists at the Pizza Parlor . . . arrogant, smug, pseudo-philosopher . . . behave like an ass . . . braying . . . crybaby . . . no understanding [of] basic philosophical method . . . logical fallacies and valueless tautologies . . . smug assertions . . . name-calling . . . hollow ridicule . . . baseless accusations . . . [no] substance . . . [doesn't understand] science or logic . . . closed mindedness . . . ignorance . . . lack of mental prowess . . . laziness.

---several scientific materialists in a November 2002 thread about same (This is my favorite set of personal insults of all time, and a source of endless amusement :-)

Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

--- Matthew 5:11-12

But no human being can tame the tongue -- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so.

--- James 3:8-10

What a special blessing it was yesterday and today to have as my guests Dave and Judy Armstrong . . . Judy Armstrong is a loving brown-eyed beauty, the kind of wife and mother many families could only dream of having. When she and Dave look at each other, their bond is obvious, a long history of shared crosses and blessings with a respected partner and an attraction which still has plenty of sparks and sparkle. Together, they are rearing terrific children and supporting each other in ministry. What a blessing it was to have hours of private conversation with Dave and Judy . . . Who is this Dave Armstrong? What is he really like? Well, he is affable, gentle, sweet, easily pleased, very appreciative, and affectionate . . . I was totally unprepared for the real guy. He's a teddy bear, cuddly and sweet. Doesn't interrupt, sits quietly and respectfully as his wife and/or another woman speaks at length. Doesn't dominate the conversation. Just pleasantly, cheerfully enjoys whatever is going on about him at the moment and lovingly affirms those in his presence. Most of the time he has a relaxed, sweet smile.

--- Becky Mayhew (Catholic), 9 May 2009, on the Coming Home Network Forum

Dave Armstrong . . . isn’t just a narcissistic little jerk. He’s actually evil.

--- Steve Hays (anti-Catholic reformed Protestant apologist and polemicist), 13 April 2009

Let me just say a word here for Dave Armstrong. Despite his tendency to unload hundreds of pages and somewhat excessive self-promotion, he is a former Protestant Catholic who is in fact blessedly free of the kind of "any enemy of Protestantism is a friend of mine" coalition-building we've been discussing . . . Maybe he went through a 'I despise all of my past' stage at one point in his life, but at least now, he's pro-Catholic (naturally) without being anti-Protestant (or anti-Orthodox, for that matter).

---"CPA": Lutheran professor of history [see his site]: unsolicited remarks of 12 July 2005

Dave Armstrong is not merely closing the comments section of his apologetic blog -- he's getting out of the apologetic blog business entirely!

--- Dr. Eric Svendsen (anti-Catholic Protestant apologist), 4 January 2005

Thanks again for the great work you're doing for Christ and His Church.

--- Dr. Scott Hahn (Catholic apologist)

Usually the foaming at the mouth stuff is reserved for the Dave Armstrongs of the world. Get a real job Dave. Maybe you can debate people and lose for a living.

--- Bret L. McAtee (anti-Catholic Reformed Protestant pastor)

You are one of the most thoughtful and careful apologists out there.

--- Dr. Edwin Tait (Anglican Church historian)

I am reading your stuff since I think it is the most thorough and perhaps the best defense of Catholicism out there.

I have had many run-ins with Dave via email and he has been nothing but respectful and kind to me. He has shown me great respect despite knowing full well that I disagree with him on the essential issues.

--- Sam Shamoun (Reformed apologist who specializes in outreach to Muslims)

DA will use anything to attack the truth.

--- Right Reverend Bishop James White (anti-Catholic Reformed Baptist apologist), 28 March 2004

As for the body of your work generically considered, I think that certainly there must be some things of great value in your work . . . I do like your stuff on Lewis and Tolkien and “mythopoeics”. No doubt your materials on Mormonism and other counter-cult issues are valuable, too. I’ve read a few of your blog posts about abortion, and yes, those have been truly outstanding. Clearly you’re not some fringe kook just blabbing on a blog; you have a serious purpose in God’s Kingdom, and I’m glad for it. I have erred, I suppose, in not telling you when I found things of yours to be good, and so for that I ask your forgiveness.

--- Tim Enloe (Reformed Protestant apologist and controversialist)

Dave Armstrong is part of that narrow, clustered source of a body of anti-traditional Catholic thought . . . I feel safe enough saying that I think they have a hand in the destruction of the Faith . . . in general terms, I believe that they do immense damage to the Church.

--- "Emerald" ("traditionalist" Catholic)

I can testify to [Dave's] friendship with non-Catholic Christians personally; we built a good friendship when I was Anglican. He has always treated me with respect, never was he arrogant, triumphalistic or anything like that.

--- Bret Bellamy (Catholic)

. . . a moron . . . arrogant . . .

--- Brian Mershon ("traditionalist" Catholic)

I genuinely appreciate those few, like Dave . . . who are interested in the discussion in terms of both explaining their own views well and thoroughly and pushing people to do the same with their own. Based on my experience in this case, forming a dialogue successfully is like pulling teeth, no matter how sincere your motives. Of course, that just makes what Dave and others do (and the amount of effort it requires) look all the more impressive!

--- Jonathan Prejean (Catholic apologist)

When I was in a similar position -- i.e., when a lot of people thought the microwave had been going for long enough and I was about to pope any second -- a lot of Catholic e-pologists annoyed me to no end, badgering me about when I was going to take the plunge, etc., which only made my ornery nature want to stay away. Dave Armstrong was the Catholic who showed the most respect for my position. He asked questions, but he never badgered.

--- Greg Krehbiel (Catholic)

I think it's quite possible you have serious psychological issues. . . . your cyber-behavior strikes me (and probably others) as very bizarre. If you get yourself checked out, and my suspicions prove accurate, and you get the help you need, be it medication or therapy, and we see a change in your cyber behavior, I'll seriously consider never mentioning you, and begin trying to strike your name from this blog. Perhaps then we could actually have a civil dialogue. If indeed this happens, I don't want to be known as a guy who picked on a person struggling with deep psychological issues. . . . That being said, to all of you who share my concern, perhaps it is time we back of from Dave Armstrong a bit. I know you probably think I'm being sarcastic, but actually, I'm not. / . . . There's just something not right with Mr. Armstrong. I think he needs some help.

--- James Swan (anti-Catholic Reformed Protestant Polemicist and Amateur Psychoanalyst, 22 and 24 August 2009)

I admire, as ever, your fantastic and penetrating work.

--- Patrick Madrid (Catholic apologist)

Dave Armstrong is one of those sad persons who apparently spend nearly every waking moment on their Internet site. He is a Roman Catholic apologist who culls through the Internet looking for any chance he can to pounce on people who dare breathe a word of protest against what "Holy Mother" Rome has to say on anything. As is the case with most apologists like him, he tends to get his facts pretty screwed up. If you engage him, it is akin to sticking your hand on flypaper, he and his groupies like to swarm. He is the Roman version of a guy like James White, who has a similar style. Dave Armstrong is not interested in "helpful discussion" but only attacking non-Romanists. . . . Mr. [Armstrong] has made a little business for himself playing at apologetics, and thrives on the kind of petty sniping that this blog site seems to be more about than anything else. The whiney tone is unbecoming a Christian man. If you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen. . . . stop taking yourself so seriously and stop all the self-referential posts. You are just making yourself foolish and your position weak. . . . Grow up. Be a man and stop acting like a 14 year old kid in an Internet chat room. I'm quite sure that Rome deserves better and, frankly, even you realize it. I hope you have some friends who can counsel you and help you find a more constructive manner in which to go about your "apologetics" work. Truly, I'm embarrassed for you. . . . The best/worst thing that a person can do to a dysfunctional personality like yours is ignore them. God bless. . . . a Roman Catholic layman named Armstrong who self-published a book titled, The One Minute Apologist. . . . Armstrong is still spouting his nonsense that is an embarassment [sic] to any good Roman Catholic with only a modicum of a decent education in Reformation history. I suppose its only to be expected though that the Roman Catholic Church have its share of amateur "apologists" who bring shame on it much as we have ours as well. If this wasn't such a tragedy, it would be, truly, laughable.

--- Lutheran Pastor Paul T. McCain (LCMS)