Saints, Purgatory, and Penance (Index Page for Dave Armstrong)

The Communion of Saints

GENERAL

The Communion of Saints: Biblical Overview [+ Spanish version]

Witnesses of Hebrews 12:1

Dialogue on Objections to the Communion of Saints

Biblical Evidence (Suggested by Protestants Like Jonathan Edwards) For Saints in Heaven Being Aware of Earthly Events

Samuel the Prophet Appearing to Saul as an Argument for the Communion of Saints: Clarification For Protestant Critic Douglas Mabry

Communion of Saints: Douglas Mabry's Self-Destructing Reductio ad Absurdum

Reflections on the Communion of Saints

My Biblical Passages Supporting Communion of Saints: Anti-Catholics Again Show a Dense Inability to Grasp Elementary Logic as Applied to Exegesis

Dialogue With a Protestant on the Communion of Saints (vs. Angel Manuel Negron)

INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS AND ANGELS / ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR US

Answers For An Inquiring "Bible Christian" on "Praying to Dead Saints" (Including a Newly-Discovered Biblical Argument For Same)


Martin Luther's Belief in the Invocation and Intercession of Mary and the Saints, as Late as 1521

In the Bible, Does Anyone Ever Ask ["Pray to"] a Dead Man to Intercede or Intervene to Fulfill a Request? [Facebook, 8 July 2014]  

Exchange with a Calvinist on Prayers for and to the Dead [vs. Kevin Jandt; Facebook, 19 March 2015]

Can Only God Forgive and Absolve Sins? Nope: Both Men and Angels Can, as Representatives of Him [Facebook, 18 July 2014]

Dialogue with an Anglican on "Praying to Mary," Patron Saints, Etc. (vs. Dr. Lydia McGrew) [9 Nov. 2014] 

Replies to a Sincere Inquirer: Praying to Saints and the Bad Popes

The Lack of Prayer to the Holy Spirit in the NT as an Analogy to the Invocation and Intercession of the Saints and Angels ("Adomnan")
 

John Calvin Prayed to Philip Melanchthon After the Latter's Death

Why Invocation of the Saints is Essentially Different From the Sin of Necromancy

Dialogue With an Inquiring Baptist About Veneration of the Saints and Development of this Doctrine

"There is One Mediator" (1 Timothy 2:5): Does This Rule Out "Mini-Mediators"?

Biblical Evidence For Invocation of Angels For Intercessory Purposes / Asking For Dead Men's Intercession, and Their Prayers For Us

Dead Saints: Are They Playing Harps on Clouds or Interceding for Us?

 

Dialogue on Dead Saints (Are They Playing Harps on Clouds or Interceding for Us?) (vs. "Grubb")

"Why would I want to pray to any saint rather than pray directly to the Father?"

Invocation of Saints: Dialogue on Various Objections to the Biblical Arguments

Protestants (Trinitarians) Who Forbid Prayer to the Holy Spirit and/or to Jesus (Sola Scriptura Reductio ad Absurdum)

RELICS

The Biblical Evidence for Relics

Dialogue With a Baptist Pastor on Relics (vs. Ken Temple)

My Wedding Ring: Now an Extraordinary Third-Class Relic (and an Examination of Fine Distinctions of Relic Classes) [Facebook, 4 November 2014; touched to 100 holy items in the Holy Land]
 

VENERATION OF SAINTS AND ANGELS / ICONS AND IMAGES

Online Resources: The Saints [Links Page]

Veneration of, and Bowing Before Angels and Men: Absolutely Forbidden in the Bible?: Genesis chapters 18-19 and Revelation chapters 19, 22 [Etc.] (vs. Ken Temple) [14 Nov. 2014]


Lutheran Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz on Non-Idolatrous Veneration and Pious, Devotional Use of Images [Facebook] 

Veneration of and Bowing Before an Angel in the Bible (Joshua 5:13-15) [Facebook post and discussion, 7 Sep. 2013]

John Calvin's Antipathy to Veneration of Saints and Angels vs. Explicit Biblical Evidences of Same

Blasphemy Against Creatures and Immaterial Things in Scripture (Not Just Against God)

New (?) Analogical Biblical Argument for Veneration of the Saints and Angels from the Disapproval of Blasphemy of the Same


Biblical Evidence for Worship of God Via an Image (Pillar of Cloud, Burning Bush)

"Turretinfan" Calls a Statue of Our Lord Jesus an "Idol" While His Buddy Bishop James White Praises the Statues of Calvin, Farel, Beza, and Knox

4th Century Icons of St. Peter and St. Paul Found in Rome / Ironies of Reformed Anti-Catholic Antipathy to Statues and Icons

Jesus' Treatment of His Mother in Relation to Catholic Marian Veneration

Martin Luther on Crucifixes, Images and Statues of Saints, and the Sign of the Cross

Calvin, Zwingli, and Bullinger Regarded Statues of Christ and Crucifixes as Idols (Calvin Also Rejected Bare Crosses)

Christmas Trees as Idols?: Silly So-Called "Arguments" From Holy Scripture

Exposition on the Veneration of Images, Iconoclasm, and Idolatry

Purgatory 

Biblical Evidence for Purgatory: 25 Bible Passages (from A Biblical Defense of Catholicism)

Dialogue on Purgatory in the Bible and in St. Ambrose (vs. Bethany Kerr) [7 Oct. 2013]

Purgatory in One Verse (1 Corinthians 3:15) [Facebook, 1-29-14]

The Raising of Tabitha as a Compelling Indicator of Purgatory (Tony Gerring, 3-20-15)

Dialogue with a Lutheran (LCMS) on Biblical Arguments for Purgatory  (vs. Charles Ruch, 24 March 2015)

Martin Luther's Belief in Purgatory [Facebook, 11-17-14]

A Fictional Dialogue on Purgatory

Short Exposition on Purgatory

Biblical Overview on Penance, Purgatory, and Indulgences

Dialogue on Different Aspects of Purgatory and its Relation to Baptism and Penance

Elaboration Upon One Biblical Argument for Purgatory (Matthew 5:25-26)

The False Doctrine of "Soul Sleep" and Prayers To, For, and From the Dead: the Biblical Evidence Confirms Catholic Belief

Has Limbo Been Relegated to Limbo? It Never Was Definitive Teaching

Dialogue on Sheol / Hades (Limbo of the Fathers) and Luke 16 (the Rich Man and Lazarus) With a Baptist (vs. "Grubb")

John Wesley's View of Purgatory and Analogous Processes: a Classic Case Study of Inadvertent Approximation of the Very Catholic Teaching He Ostensibly Opposes [now available only in my book, Biblical Catholic Apologetics]

C. S. Lewis' Belief in Purgatory and Prayer for the Dead Documented From Five of His Works

Martin Luther Asserts That Purgatory is "Quite Plain" in 2 Maccabees

John Wesley's Belief in an Intermediate State After Death

Purgatory is the Waiting Room for Heaven, Not a Temporary Stint in Hell (1st C. Jewish and Jesus' and NT Understanding of Gehenna)

Martin Luther's Heretical Notion of Soul Sleep and Rejection of Purgatory and Prayers For the Dead Based on This Denial (+ William Tyndale Agrees)

Is Purgatory a "Place"?: Misconceptions From Fr. Ambrose About My Opinion (and the Church's View) / Also: Development and Alleged Historical Revisionism

Clarification of My Biblical Defense of Purgatory and its Doctrinal Development

Prayer for the Dead 

Onesiphorus (2 Tim 1:16-18; 4:19): Explicit New Testament Example of the Apostle Paul Praying for the Dead (Explanations of Protestant Commentaries)

Prayer for the Dead: Lutheran Pastor (LCMS) Defends it from Scripture, Citing the Pauline Example of Onesiphorus

A New (?) Biblical Argument Re: Prayers for the Dead

Cardinal Newman on Onesiphorus and Prayer for the Dead [Facebook, 18 March 2015]

Elijah, Jesus, and Peter Prayed for the Dead, and Jesus and St. Peter Practiced Invocation of the Dead (Isn't the Bible Great?) [Facebook] 

Exchange with a Calvinist on Prayers for and to the Dead [vs. Kevin Jandt; Facebook, 19 March 2015]

"Pray for the Dead Like Paul Did!" [mock Church billboard; Facebook, 10 Feb. 2014]

Fasting for the Dead in the Old Testament: Not Essentially Different from Praying for Them

Prayer for the Dead: Attempted "Dialogue" (Ha Ha) on its Biblical Support with a Protestant Preacher

C. S. Lewis' Belief in Purgatory and Prayer for the Dead Documented From Five of His Works

Martin Luther Espouses Prayer For the Dead / Retroactive Prayer

Martin Luther's Heretical Notion of Soul Sleep and Rejection of Purgatory and Prayers For the Dead Based on This Denial (+ William Tyndale Agrees)

John Wesley's Espousal of Prayer for the Dead (also, approval of Luther and Lutherans)

Penance and Indulgences and Suffering

A Fictional Dialogue on Penance

Biblical Evidence for Formal Forgiveness of Sins and Absolution (Confession)

Can Only God Forgive and Absolve Sins? Nope: Both Men and Angels Can, as Representatives of Him [Facebook, 18 July 2014]

Martin Luther On the Sacrament of Absolution (and Private Confession)

Explicit Biblical Evidence for Indulgences + Some Important Historical Considerations

Biblical (Pauline) Evidence For the Catholic Examination of Conscience

Thoughts on Confession

Monasticism Defended

Dominican Nuns on Oprah Offer a Terrific Witness

Colossians 1:24 and One Interesting Protestant Interpretation (Rev. Michael Pahls)

A Primer on Indulgences (David W. Emery)


Temporal Punishment After Forgiveness: Catholicism vs. John Calvin


Biblical Overview on Penance, Purgatory, and Indulgences

Thoughts on the Devil's Antics in Opposing Christians, and Suffering in the Christian Life

Reflections on Penance and Purgatory

1 Corinthians 15:29 and "Baptism for the Dead": What Does it Mean?

James White's Critique of My Book, The Catholic Verses: Part VI: Penance

Defending Merit, Penance (and Ultimately Prayer) Against Lutheran Josh Strodtbeck's Ludicrous Attacks

Failed Attempted Dialogue With Reformed Protestants on the Vulgate's "Do Penance" (Matthew 3:2; 4:17) and Penance in General (vs. Jonathan Bonomo)

Biblical Refutation of "Hyperfaith" / "Name-it-Claim it" Teaching: Is it Always God's Will to Heal in Every Instance?

Reasons for Suffering and Encouragement and Hope in the Midst of It: A Biblical Compendium

Mortification, Fasting, Abstinence, and Lent

Biblical Evidence for Penitential Mortification of the Flesh (Sackcloth / Hair Shirts) 

The (Abundant) Biblical Evidence for Lent

Friday as a Required Day of Penance (Not Necessarily Abstinence From Meat) in the United States: a Clarification

Meat  and Penitential Abstinence on Fridays: a "Doctrinal" Matter? Dialogue With Calvinist Pilgrimsarbour

Lenten Meditation: The New Testament on Suffering With Christ

[for lengthy philosophical analyses of suffering and the problem of evil, see my Philosophy, Science, and Christianity web page; second section]

Last Updated: 24 March 2015.





***