T.D. Barrett
@TD_Barrett
Catholic author. Pauline/Augustinian focus. New book: 'Sola Fide & Merit: The Catholic Perspective on Paul & the Dialectic of Salvation.'
There is not a single text from any Catholic authority that I know of that has ever suggested that Christ would fail to infuse grace into those who approach death with sincere imperfect contrition. In fact whenever the question comes up the Church always encourages us about such…
The medieval Church never understood this passage as saying everyone who doesn’t receive the Eucharist is damned. Baptism, with or without the Eucharist, has always saved. In the Summa it explicitly says that the Eucharist is not necessary for salvation. ————- Article 3.…
Post Vatican 2 Catholicism doesn’t believe this unless you think Jesus was using a metaphor in John 6.
Our goal in apologetics should not be only to make non-Catholics into the best sorts of Catholics, but also, in the meantime, to push everyone to be the best possible sort of Christian that they possibly can be, wherever they are currently at. Anything less than this falls short…
The answer to any question, even mere disciplinary questions, is never "what do we think is best?" The answer is always: "what is the divine law, as best we can discern it?" Anything other than that presumes to know better than God.
A reality that can never be real.. Let's just ask Catholic..... " Would you appreciate it if Catholic priest starts getting married? My position: I will never be in support
People have different taste. To me this is obviously beautiful and serene, and would clearly help quiet the mind. I find many Churches that others find beautiful to be a bit too messy and distracting. We should not dogmatize our preferences, but seek to appreciate whatever it is…
Without looking it up, is this church Catholic or Protestant? How would you know?
Vatican 1 affirms that a) the text of Scripture is revelation, and b) the external and internal motives of credibility serve to testify to the fact Scripture is revelation. Ipso facto, the Protestant can use the motives of credibility to discern the fact that Scripture is…
The formal object of divine faith is the authority of God revealing, not the external signs. The motives of credibility are preparations, this can prepare the mind to accept revelation. But where is the witness to the fact of inspiration? Or are you suggesting the fact of…
The moral certainty we can and should have of being in a state of grace is the same certainty we have that (1) we are not dreaming right now, and that (2) Christ is present in any given Eucharist. Both Aquinas and Cajetan make this point: ___________________________ "It is a…
"It is agreed that the just can be certain of their grace, if by certainty we mean a determinate and true assent, which not only excludes doubt but also includes a conformity of the assent with the object."
The phrase "self-authenticating" with regard to Scripture has been one of the most significant causes of misunderstanding in recent years. Even Christ Himself, the God-man incarnate, did not self-authenticate in the sense that people, on their own, would ever recognize Him as…
Another response to @WalmartThomist on his article that Protestants cannot know the inspiration of Scripture on the basis of motives of credibility.
On the right of married priests to continue having marital intercourse after ordination. From Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclessiastical History, Book 1, Ch. 11 (~440 AD) (this event took place at the Council of Nicaea) = “It seemed fit to the bishops to introduce a new law into…
Apparently in the coming weeks William Lane Craig is going to feature as his "question of the week" a comment I sent him on the topic of justification after his recent appearance on Trent Horn's youtube.
I have been to thousands of Masses in every corner of this country - west coast, east coast, down south, up north, the mid west - and I have never seen a single instance of anything that is truly irreverent. You madtrad folks just think reverence in liturgy consists in a rigid…
Moral theology 101: "Invincible" ignorance is unnecessary - anything less then full knowledge suffices to prevent heresy/schism from being mortal sin. From the Catholic encyclopedia: "It must not be forgotten that, although vincible ignorance leaves the culpability of a…
The following doctrines are a few of the test cases to show whether a Protestant views tradition as authoritative or is indeed “Solo” Scriptura: Infant baptism, loss of salvation, transubstantiation, episcopal governance, apostolic succession. In all of the above…
Three approaches to tradition; (1) Infallible authority. In this view you assent no matter how much you might disagree and no matter how much evidence you think you have against it. (2) Fallible authority. In this view you assent, even when you don’t come to the conclusion…
Confession should be available before Mass, everyday. Saturday afternoons makes no sense.
Perhaps if Catholic parishes offered the Sacrament of Confession more than a half hour a week (Saturdays at 3:30 pm - 4 pm, or by appointment), we would see an increase in its reception. In the parish I grew up in, it was offered multiple times—daily. There was always a line.
This is the kind of hot take that makes me long for the days of old when @BishopBarron used to do movie reviews. How a person can come away from Superman thinking anything but that the movie was a powerful depiction of virtue and goodness in the face of evil, and seeing in…
James Gunn inverted Superman from "only son sent by his Father to save Earth and show humans the way" to "fallen star rebelling against his maker to protect the 'Human Way,'" turning Superman from a Christ figure into a Lucifer figure.