The Original CRI Position on Justification

I watched this for the first time today but its transcript I have read a long time ago. A copy of the transcript was sent to me by the Christian Research Institute (CRI) circa 1999. The Original Bible Answer Man Dr. Walter Martin defended the Protestant position of Sola Fide against Roman Catholic position represented by Jesuit scholar Mitch Pacwa. It was then my first time to learn about the Council of Trent, the difference between imputation and infusion, and the word "justification" itself. This was CRI's position in 1999, that's 10 years after the death of its founder.

But gone are those days. The CRI lead by Hank Hanegraaff now champions the view of the Eastern Church that faith and works should not be polarized and uses James 2:24 as a proof text.

Skip John Ankerberg's long introduction. Begin at 33:30.

James R. White: The Peter Syndrome

"The Peter Syndrome is a deadly disease rampant amongst modern Roman Catholic apologists. And it is a disease that makes you see every reference to Peter anywhere in an early father as somehow relevant to the bishop in Rome even if that father never makes that connection himself, never shows that he believes the bishop of Rome is the vicar of Christ on earth, never says that Peter's successor sit only on the sit in Rome, it doesn't matter as long as an early father says something nice about Peter, therefore he is in support of the bishop of Rome." ~ James R. White

for a review of the book  Jesus, Peter & the Keys, click HERE

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Suggested Books:

 The Roman Catholic Controversy (James R. White)

 Upon This Slippery Rock (Eric Svendsen)

Church of Rome at the Bar of History (William David Webster)

7th Halo-halo Huwebes

Something in Common for Friendster and HHH

In the past, most of Halo-Halo Huwebes (HHH) were featured quotes. But with the revival of Kuwaderno ng Tinubos, HHH needs a major reformat just like the old Friendster. What does the future hold for HHH? I have no idea.

My Preferred Statue for Karol Wojtyła

My brother shared this news item on Facebook. The people of Rome does not like the first ever erected statue of their Blessed John Paul II. Public opinion is against it 9-1. As for me, I would like to see a JP2 statue with his lips on the Koran.

Tinubos and The Virginian Compared

Blogger stats report that there were more than 1,500 visitors on this blog for the month of May. If only Blogger were consistent in excluding my IP address, perhaps that figure will be cut in half. That is so small compared to the popular blogs. Yet I have a reason to rejoice.

The Virginian is the official student publication of Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation (VMUF). I was on the staff for I think two-and-a-half years. Though my theology has substantially changed through the years, I was already passionate about writing for Jesus in my campus journalism days. If my memory is functioning well, each issue of The Virginian in those days had a circulation of about 2,000 copies.

The "circulation" of Tinubos last month was still below The Virginian's. Yet blogging reaches areas where printed pages can't. Most subscribers of the student publication are residents of Pangasinan, while for Tinubos, Cluster Maps report that from the period of February 2010 to May 2011, there were 1,571 visits from the United States, 465 from Saudi Arabia, 166 from the United Kingdom, 150 from Canada, 122 from Taiwan, and 104 from the United Arab Emirates. I have not noted here visits from different parts of Luzviminda and figures below three digits. I thank God for letting my voice be heard in those places.

"Blogspotted"
Last week, I discovered that Tinubos has just been included in Triablogue's "Blogspotting" links. I don't know what is their criteria in their "Blogspotting" choices. Surely I am way below the level of the other Christian bloggers on the list. But just seeing Tinubos there gave me unspeakable joy.

Recent Posts at Kuwaderno ng Tinubos

1. John Macarthur on Work and Leisure
2. Larry Kreitzer on 1 Cor. 15:22 and Universalism
3. R.C. Sproul on Regeneration and Justification
4. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: In Shocking Moments, Be Calm and Logical
5. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Why Does God Allow War?
6. John Gerstner: Is Faith a Meritorious Work?
7. Charles Bridges: Fools Rush In
8. D. James Kennedy: Evangelical Statesmanship and Confronting Error

 My Favorite Back-to-School Song

Catholics Can Disagree On Theology-- Even with the Theology of their Pope

For Rome's apologists, the evangelical distinction between essentials and non-essentials is unacceptable. They blame Sola Scriptura for "disunity" among evangelicals. They cannot make room for the fact that it is possible for us to be united in essentials and have liberty on non-essentials and exercise charity towards each other in all things.

Yet one of their cardinals explains that even within the Roman Catholic system, theology is open to debate and criticism. Even if a view is held by Joseph Ratzinger himself, it only "requires a greater degree of assent" but you are free to dissent if you want to.

from the Catholic News Service

INDEX: Turretinfan's Unloading 35 Loaded Questions for "Bible Christians"

1. Where did Jesus give instructions that the Christian faith should be based exclusively on a book? Answer

2. Other than the specific command to John to pen the Revelation, where did Jesus tell His apostles to write anything down and compile it into an authoritative book? Answer

3. Where in the New Testament do the apostles tell future generations that the Christian faith will be based solely on a book? Answer

4. Some Protestants claim that Jesus condemned all oral tradition (e.g., Matt 15:3, 6; Mark 7:813). If so, why does He bind His listeners to oral tradition by telling them to obey the scribes and Pharisees when they “sit on Moses’ seat” (Matt 23:2)? Answer

5. Some Protestants claim that St. Paul condemned all oral tradition (Col 2:8). If so, why does he tell the Thessalonians to “stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thes 2:15) and praises the Corinthians because they “hold firmly to the traditions” (1 Cor 11:2)? Answer

6. If the authors of the New Testament believed in sola Scriptura, why did they sometimes draw on oral Tradition as authoritative and as God’s Word (Matt 2:23; 23:2; 1 Cor 10:4; 1 Pet 3:19; Jude 9, 14 15)? Answer

7. Where in the Bible is God’s Word restricted only to what is written down? Answer

8. How do we know who wrote the books that we call Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews, and 1, 2, and 3 John? Answer

9. On what authority, or on what principle, would we accept as Scripture books that we know were not written by one of the twelve apostles? Answer

10. Where in the Bible do we find an inspired and infallible list of books that should belong in the Bible? (e.g., Is the Bible’s Table of Contents inspired?) Answer

11. How do we know, from the Bible alone, that the individual books of the New Testament are inspired, even when they make no claim to be inspired? Answer

12. How do we know, from the Bible alone, that the letters of St. Paul, who wrote to first century congregations and individuals, are meant to be read by us as Scripture 2000 years later? Answer

13. Where does the Bible claim to be the sole authority for Christians in matters of faith and morals? Answer

14. Most of the books of the New Testament were written to address very specific problems in the early Church, and none of them are a systematic presentation of Christian faith and theology. On what biblical basis do Protestants think that everything that the apostles taught is captured in the New Testament writings? Answer

15.  If the books of the New Testament are “self-authenticating” through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to each individual, then why was there confusion in the early Church over which books were inspired, with some books being rejected by the majority? Answer

16. If the meaning of the Bible is so clear—so easily interpreted—and if the Holy Spirit leads every Christian to interpret it for themselves, then why are there over 33,000 Protestant denominations, and millions of individual Protestants, all interpreting the Bible differently? Answer

17. Who may authoritatively arbitrate between Christians who claim to be led by the Holy Spirit into mutually contradictory interpretations of the Bible? Answer

18. Since each Protestant must admit that his or her interpretation is fallible, how can any Protestant in good conscience call anything heresy or bind another Christian to a particular belief? Answer

19. Protestants usually claim that they all agree “on the important things.” Who is able to decide authoritatively what is important in the Christian faith and what is not? Answer

20. How did the early Church evangelize and overthrow the Roman Empire, survive and prosper almost 350 years, without knowing for sure which books belong in the canon of Scripture? Answer

21. Who in the Church had the authority to determine which books belonged in the New Testament canon and to make this decision binding on all Christians? If nobody has this authority, then can I remove or add books to the canon on my own authority? Answer

22. Why do Protestant scholars recognize the early Church councils at Hippo and Carthage as the first instances in which the New Testament canon was officially ratified, but ignore the fact that those same councils ratified the Old Testament canon used by the Catholic Church today but abandoned by Protestants at the Reformation? Answer

23. Why do Protestants follow postapostolic Jewish decisions on the boundaries of the Old Testament canon, rather than the decision of the Church founded by Jesus Christ? Answer

24. How were the bishops at Hippo and Carthage able to determine the correct canon of Scripture, in spite of the fact that they believed all the distinctively Catholic doctrines such as the apostolic succession of bishops, the sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist, baptismal regeneration, etc? Answer

25. If Christianity is a “book religion,” how did it flourish during the first 1500 years of Church history when the vast majority of people were illiterate? Answer

26. How could the Apostle Thomas establish the church in India that survives to this day (and is now in communion with the Catholic Church) without leaving them with one word of New Testament Scripture? Answer

27. If sola Scriptura is so solid and biblically based, why has there never been a full treatise written in its defense since the phrase was coined in the Reformation? Answer

28. If Jesus intended for Christianity to be exclusively a “religion of the book,” why did He wait 1400 years before showing somebody how to build a printing press? Answer

29. If the early Church believed in sola Scriptura, why do the creeds of the early Church always say “we believe in the Holy Catholic Church,” and not “we believe in Holy Scripture”? Answer

30. If the Bible is as clear as Martin Luther claimed, why was he the first one to interpret it the way he did and why was he frustrated at the end of his life that “there are now as many doctrines as there are heads”? Answer

31. The time interval between the Resurrection and the establishment of the New Testament canon in AD 382 is roughly the same as the interval between the arrival of the Mayflower in America and the present day. Therefore, since the early Christians had no defined New Testament for almost four hundred years, how did they practice sola Scriptura? Answer

32. If the Bible is the only foundation and basis of Christian truth, why does the Bible itself say that the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim. 3:15)? Answer

33. Jesus said that the unity of Christians would be objective evidence to the world that He had been sent by God (John 17:20-23). How can the world see an invisible "unity" that exists only in the hearts of believers? Answer

34. If the unity of Christians was meant to convince the world that Jesus was sent by God, what does the ever-increasing fragmentation of Protestantism say to the world? Answer

35. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." What is the expiration date of this verse? When did it become okay not only to disobey the Church's leaders, but to rebel against them and set up rival churches? Answer

INDEX: Turretinfan's Unloading 17 More Loaded Questions

for "Bible Christians"

36. The Koran explicitly claims divine inspiration, but the New Testament books do not. How do you know that the New Testament books are nevertheless inspired, but the Koran is not? Answer

37. How does a Protestant know for sure what God thinks about moral issues such as abortion, masturbation, contraceptives, eugenics, euthanasia, etc.? Answer

38. What is one to believe when one Protestant says infants should be baptized (e.g., Luther and Calvin) and another says it is wrong and unbiblical (e.g., Baptists and Evangelicals)? Answer

4/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . say God created the world/universe out of nothing? Answer

5/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . say salvation is attainable through faith alone? Answer

6/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us how we know that the revelation of Jesus Christ ended with the death of the last Apostle? Answer

7/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . provide a list of the canonical books of the Old Testament? Answer

8/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . provide a list of the canonical books of the New Testament? Answer

9/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . explain the doctrine of the Trinity, or even use the word “Trinity”? Answer

10/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us the name of the “beloved disciple”? Answer

11/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . inform us of the names of the authors of the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John? Answer

12/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . who wrote the Book of Acts? Answer

13/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us the Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons of the Trinity? Answer

14/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . .tell us Jesus Christ was both fully God and fully man from the moment of conception (e.g. how do we know His Divinity wasn't infused later in His life?) and/or tells us Jesus Christ is One Person with two complete natures, human and Divine and not some other combination of the two natures (i.e., one or both being less than complete)? Answer

15/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . that the church should, or someday would be divided into competing and disagreeing denominations? Answer

16/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . that Protestants can have an invisible unity when Jesus expected a visible unity to be seen by the world (see John 17)? Answer

17/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us Jesus Christ is of the same substance of Divinity as God the Father? Answer

Bible Access: Vatican II vs. Trent

Vatican II

"Easy access to sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful... Since the word of God should be available at all times, the Church with maternal concern sees to it that suitable and correct translations are made into different languages, especially from the original texts of the sacred books."

Session XXV: Rule IV of the Ten Rules Concerning Prohibited Books

Drawn Up by The Fathers Chosen by the Council of Trent and Approved by Pope Pius:

Since it is clear from experience that if the Sacred Books are permitted everywhere and without discrimination in the vernacular, there will by reason of the boldness of men arise therefrom more harm than good, the matter is in this respect left to the judgment of the bishop or inquisitor, who may with the advice of the pastor or confessor permit the reading of the Sacred Books translated into the vernacular by Catholic authors to those who they know will derive from such reading no harm but rather an increase of faith and piety, which permission they must have in writing. Those, however, who presume to read or possess them without such permission may not receive absolution from their sins till they have handed over to the ordinary. Bookdealers who sell or in any way supply Bibles written in the vernacular to anyone who has not this permission, shall lose the price of the books, which is to be applied by the bishop to pious purposes, and in keeping with the nature of the crime they shall be subject to other penalties which are left to the judgment of the same bishop. Regulars who have not the permission of their superiors may not read or purchase them.

5th Halo-halo Huwebes

Newswatch

"... we should likewise see in those affairs reported in our daily paper the sovereign hand of God just as much as we see it in the Bible. Of course, we don't have the advantage of the divinely revealed explanation of today's events, as we do of those recorded in the Bible, but that does not make God's sovereign rule today any less certain. God recorded in His Word specific instances of his sovereign rule over history in order that we might trust Him in the affairs of history as they unfold before us today. we should remember that, for those experiencing the events recorded in the biblical narratives, God's hand was no more apparent to them in those events than His hand is apparent to us today in ours."

- Jerry Bridges

Trusting God, p.80

The Peter Syndrome

"The Peter Syndrome is a deadly disease rampant amongst modern Roman Catholic apologists. And it is a disease that makes you see every reference to Peter anywhere in an early father as somehow relevant to the bishop in Rome even if that father never makes that connection himself, never shows that he believes the bishop of Rome is the vicar of Christ on earth, never says that Peter's successor sit only on the sit in Rome, it doesn't matter as long as an early father says something nice about Peter, therefore he is in support of the bishop of Rome."

- James R. White

Grace Changes Our Vocabulary

"Filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking are 'out of place'-- they're forbidden not because they're on some arbitrary "banned words" list, but because they reflect the heart and attitude of those who disregard God and his Word. Living in a way that's distinct from the world means speaking in a way that's distinct from the world. Grace changes us from the inside out, and a changed heart will lead to a changed vocabulary.."

- Craig Cabaniss

God, My Heart, and Media
chapter 5 in "Worldliness"
C.J. Mahaney, editor 

What is "Sixpence None the Richer"?

Leigh Nash: A little boy asks his father is he can get a Sixpence which is a very small amount of English currency for the boy to go and get a gift for his father and then the father gladly accepts the gift; he's really happy with it but he also realizes that he is not any richer for the transaction because he gave his son the money in the first place.

David Letterman: He bought his own gift

Leigh Nash: ... C.S. Lewis was comparing that to his belief that God has given him the gift and us the gifts that we posses and to serve him the way we should. We should do it with humble hearts realizing how we get the gifts in the first place.

Pope Benedict XVI and the Resurrection

Through the generosity of the brethren from The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, I'm enjoying a free subscription to The Free Presbyterian Magazine.

While Typhoon Juan was striking through the province of Pangasinan, I picked the September 2010 issue and read Matthew Vogan's, "Does the Pope Believe in the Resurrection?" and learned about the following:

1. When Joseph Ratzinger was younger, he admired some liberal theologians, even worked with them.

2. Though he declared in his April 12, 2009 Easter Message that "The Resurrection Is Not a Theory, but a Historical Reality", his book that denies the same is still being sold in the market. In Introduction to Christianity, he wrote:

"The Resurrection cannot be an historical event in the same sense as the Crucifixion is."

3. In that book, he also denies the literal future resurrection of the believers. Commenting on the biblical pronouncements about the resurrection, he wrote:

"their essential content is not the conception of a restoration of bodies to souls after a long interval; their aim is to tell men that they, they themselves, live on... because they are known and loved by God in a way they can no longer perish... the essential part of man, the person, remains... it goes on existing because it lives in God's memory"

Let me also direct you to a couple of posts (here and here) from John Bugay on The Beggars All, a competent counter-Roman Catholic apologetics blog (headed by James Swan).

Roman Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin explains how the "Infallible" church handles Scripture

"Well there's not a single Catholic understanding of almost any passage in the Bible. The Church does not have an official commentary on either the Old or the New Testament. There are certain verses that the Church has said that they mean 'at least this much' but that's not to exclude other interpretations that may be there in addition. I can give you an interpretation of this that is catholic but I can't give you an official one." (Jimmy Akin, transcribed from James Swan's Xanga Audio Page)