Nathaniel Turner's Blog, page 5
December 19, 2016
Swimming the Tiber 8: Justification by Faith
Ah, yes, the war of faith and works! That great debate between St. Paul and St. James! Where even the apostles disagree, surely we will find no common ground!
I hope this is not the case. It may be said that more ink has been spilled on this topic than almost any other since All Hallows’ Eve in the year of our Lord 1517. As you well know from this very series, we have now recently had the 499th anniversary of that day, and from the time of Luther up to now, in nearly half a millennium, Protes...
December 14, 2016
Romans 9
1[I] speak truth in Christ, [I] do not lie,(am not lying) with my consciousness witnessinggenitive absolute with me in [the] holy spirit, 2that there is for me a great painlit. a pain of the body, fig. a pain of the mind and an incessant griefsynonymous with “pain” earlier in the se...
December 12, 2016
Swimming the Tiber 7: The Church Is One
Ecclesia, however, ought to mean the holy Christian people, not only of the time of the apostles, who are long since dead, but clear to the end of the world, so that there is always living on earth a Christian, holy people in which Christ lives, works, and reigns per redemptionem, through grace and forgiveness of sins, the Holy Ghost per vivificationem et sanctificationem, through the daily purging out of sins and renewal of life, so that we do not remain in sin, but can and should lead a new...
December 9, 2016
Learning to Read as a Layman
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a good book. In a lot of ways, I think it’s very important for people looking to study more about literature, to read it more in-depth, to understand some of those “hidden gems” authors slip into their works.
But it didn’t really work for me personally. As an author myself, part of my purpose was to examine just how people read books (espec...
December 5, 2016
Swimming the Tiber 6: Priests of the New Covenant
The Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of believers is based on several passages of the New Testament. I will attempt to deal directly with those, but my goal is not to convince you that Catholics disagree with this in principle–rather, Catholics embody the priesthood of believers better than any other Christian group.
The first proof of the priesthood of believers is the tearing of the veil at the death of Christ. This is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels:
And Jesus, again having scr...
November 28, 2016
Swimming the Tiber 5: The Infallible Man
For all of us stumble with respect to many [things]. If someone does not stumble in word, this perfect man [is] powerful to bridle the whole body also. – James 3:2 (my translation)
This verse long stood as my singular objection to the infallibility of the papacy. No man could be infallible, said I, or else he would be sinless, and if history has taught us anything, it’s that the popes were mere men–many of them, perhaps, good men, but none of them sinless.
But my understanding of the infalli...
November 22, 2016
Romans 8
1Now, then, nothing [is] a condemnation to the [ones] in Christ Jesus.some manuscripts: to the [ones] in Christ Jesus not walking according to flesh.; others: to the [ones] in Christ Jesus not walking according to flesh, but according to spirit. (cf. verse 4 below) 2For the law of t...
November 21, 2016
Swimming the Tiber 4: Papists and Popery
I swear the first time I heard someone say “popery,” I thought they said “potpourri.” That was a confusing conversation, let me tell you.
I have discussed at some small length the authority of the Church and of Tradition, both in determining the canon of Scripture and in their influence on the faith, handed down to us by the apostles. But there yet remains one great white whale of Catholic and Protestant disagreement–indeed, the very source of the latter name: the Papacy.
The Scriptural autho...
November 20, 2016
Four Fast Fomentations to a Fuller Faith
Pick Up Your Cross and Follow Me: Catholic Discipleship – Becoming a Disciple of Christ by Dcn Ralph Poyo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a quick one-shot book to remind you of what’s important in your Christian life and–hopefully–to light a fire under you that will make you pursue God all the more.
Deacon Ralph Poyo very quickly (25 pages!) runs through the four pillars of Catholic life: (1) community, (2) prayer, (3) Scripture, and (4) sacraments. Developing yourself in these areas, says Dc...
A Primer on Virtue
Boys to Men: The Transforming Power of Virtue by Tim Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read this book as part of a morning men’s group. For that purpose, it definitely had a lot of value, but I probably would not pick this book up to read it again for my own edification. Having said that, I think that my complaints about this book may be unique to me.
So, good things first: it covers the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues. It addresses each carefully and in accordance with t...