0. This began as a comment on Bryan’s piece about authority and apostolic succession.  It got long, and I decided it should either be a post in its own right or that it shouldn’t be posted at all.  It’s possible it shouldn’t be posted at all.  I decided to make it a post in its [...]

Suppose a Catholic is discussing Reformed theology with a Reformed Protestant and that the Catholic is explaining to the Reformed Protestant why he doesn’t agree with particular aspects of Reformed theology.  And suppose the Reformed Protestant tells the Catholic that he (the Catholic) just doesn’t understand Reformed theology, and that the Reformed Protestant’s evidence for [...]

“Justification is the article upon which the Church stands or falls.” Luther didn’t actually write this anywhere so far as I know, but he did express the sentiment. He said, for example, that without the doctrine of justification “the Church of God is not able to exist for one hour.”  And that amounts to much [...]

If the Bible alone is our authority, shouldn’t we be able to prove this from the Bible?  If we can’t, and if we accept it nevertheless, doesn’t that mean that we’re de facto accepting an authority over and above the Bible?  And don’t we have to do this just to delineate which books are Scriptural?  [...]

I guess I’m starting to wonder whether any of the major players ever really disagreed with each other on the question of assurance of salvation. Everybody seemed to agree, at least at various points in their reflections, that you might not have (do not have?) strict certainty regarding (a) whether you are currently justified (or [...]

The Divine goodness is the end of all corporeal things because the entire universe, with all its parts, is ordained towards God as its end, inasmuch as it imitates, as it were, and shows forth the Divine goodness, to the glory of God. Reasonable creatures, however, have in some special and higher manner God as [...]

It is quite difficult to distinguish God’s actions from those of his creatures. Some think that God does everything; others imagine that he only conserves the force he has given to created things. How far can we say either of these opinions is right? – Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics VIII