Misreading James 2:24

A few days ago, the YouTube channel Lutheran Satire (makers of the wonderful "Saint Patrick's Bad Analogies" and "Horus Reads the Internet") released a video in which Martin Luther schools Pope Francis on the proper reading of James 2:24.

James 2:24 has always been a sticky wicket for those who ascribe to the doctrine of justification by faith alone.  It's the one place in the Bible where we find the words "faith alone"... but they are preceded by the words "not by".

Luther's first instinct was to cast doubt the inspiration of the book - calling it "an epistle of straw" and not of true apostolic origin (he was later talked out of it).  But since then, more inventive ways have been found to defuse the troublesome passage.

That's what I want to look at today:

My Upcoming "Reformation" Lecture

I've been asked to give a lecture in Wabash, Indiana regarding the Catholic view of the event known as the Protestant Reformation.

The subjects I will be discussing are:

• The name, "Protestant Reformation"
• Sola Scriptura
• Free Will and Grace
• Sola Fide

Click [HERE] to see the PDF.

My Final Exam for the Class of 2017

This year I decided to subject my Class of 2017 students to the terrors of a final exam.  My aim was to make the questions fair.  Not easy.  Not hard.  But fair.

How many can you answer?

Defusing Pro-Choice Bible Proof-Texts

The other day a friend sent me a clip from the TV show “The Young Pope”.  In it, the Pope discusses the morality of abortion with one of his cardinals.  I could critique the clip all day long, but I want to focus on the Scriptural discussion they have.

Sometimes you’ll run across a person who claims the Bible supports a “Pro-Choice” worldview.  Today I want to run through the three passages which are used to support that claim.