Meet and Greet with John Bugay

James has asked those of us who are contributors here to provide a listing of our favorite posts, both here and at our other blogs. So I've taken the time to go through some of my older posts, and having done this for a while, I'm genuinely amazed at the volume of information that I've processed:

My favorite posts at Beggars All:

The See of Peter -- this contains, among other things, a list of links to some of the other posts on the early papacy.

The Birth of the Inquisition -- this link has other links to the selections from Paul Johnson's "History of Christianity".

The Roman Catholic Hermeneutic-- If you're going to interact with Roman Catholics on topics of history or doctrine or Scripture, it's absolutely essential to understand how that institution officially has handled information over the centuries.

The Integrity of the New Testament Canon -- Even though some New Testament writings are said to be pseudepigraphical (and that case is not proven), it is clear that many scholars consider all of the potentially pseudepigraphical works in the NT to be authentic, on a case-by-case basis, there is very good attestation for each of the individual books.

Christianity is Growing but Rome is Sinking -- Seminaries from WSC to Dallas to Covenant to Southern Baptist to RTS are really emphasizing both original languages and hermeneutics that work to combine the best of Systematic Theology, Biblical Theology, and Literary theory, along with a healthy respect for the (small-t) tradition of the church. These efforts are going to bear wonderful fruit.

The Bryan Cross Method Alert -- I'm convinced that Bryan's method of argumentation is inherently dishonest, and I say why here.

Why I Chose the "Reformation500" Theme -- It's going to be a tremendous opportunity to remember where we came from.

From Reformation500@WordPress.com

A Few Words About My Method

Thumbs up or thumbs down on Rome -- So frequently, the argument is, "Protestantism is lacking in "x"; therefore, Rome is infallible." But that is not the proper way to look at things.

The Unity of the Church -- There is only one church; this selection from A.A. Hodge is a brilliant description of it.

How Catholics Misuse Scripture:

Ratzinger's Dishonesty about Exegesis -- Ratzinger has deceived the reader in two ways here. He has posited a very tight little circle, in which the Roman Catholic Church’s “authority” is based not on argument, not on proof, but on assumptions. And his “bait and switch” upon the word exegesis – beginning to “examine” exegesis and then substituting his own, non-exegetical “controlling function” is fundamentally and extremely dishonest.

1 Tim 3:15: The pillar and ground of the truth -- For you Catholics, who are interested in claiming that Christ somehow supernaturally prevents the “teaching office” of the church from erring, stop and think about what that means for a moment. This verse doesn’t even say what you say it says, much less that it means what you say it means.

John 16:13: On being guided into all truth -- But what does this verse really say? What does it promise? I’ve consulted two commentaries on John, both D.A. Carson (1991) and Andreas Kostenberger (2004) for clarification.

The Real Body of Christ -- Those who want to suggest that “the Church” is somehow the “ongoing incarnation of Christ” ignore the fact that Christ ascended. Having “Christ everywhere” (whether in the Thomistic view of the “sacramental” presence of Christ in the Eucharist” or in some kind of “ongoing incarnation”) ignore, in Calvin’s words, his “specificity as a particular man. Christ everywhere really means that Jesus of Nazareth is nowhere.”

The Catholic Historical Method -- Aiden Nichols, “The Shape of Catholic Theology” (253) notes that for the last several hundred years, according to these popes, “the theologian’s highest task lies in proving the present teachings of the magisterium from the evidence of the ancient sources.”

The nonexistent early papacy

The Spice Woman and the Symmachan Forgeries -- It is no coincidence that the first systematic works of papal history appear at the very time the Roman church’s past was being reinvented for polemical purposes."

"One of the Greatest Hoaxes" -- A choice quote from Dr. Robert Reymond on the early papacy.

While History is Confirming Christ, It's Devastating to the Early Papacy -- Conservative Protestants have nothing to fear from a study of history. The same cannot be said of the history of the papacy. The more we know about it, the more its foundations crumble."

Newman's Historical Concession -- In formulating his famous "theory of development," Newman conceded many of the historical details that I've talked about here. Catholics love citing Newman, but some of them don't really know what he said.


Older things:

Why I am not a Roman Catholic -- Roman Catholicism is a false religion. It is headed by an imposter, a man who claims to be something he is not. The Pope is not the Vicar of Christ, he is not the head of the Christian Church, he is not a "Holy Father," and I owe him no fealty, honor, nor respect in the religious sense. Roman Catholicism is a man-made perversion of the truth.

My Main Thesis -- "The Roman Catholic Church is Not What it Says It Is." It claims a lot for itself. But these claims are boastful, false, and worse.

The Turning Point of Modern History -- Schaff's introduction to the history of the Reformation.

A Positive Vision -- there are many true Christians within that body, who are members of Christ in spite of Catholic teaching (certainly not because of it).

Ten theses for Protestant/Catholic dialogue -- from the Cambridge Declaration.

(I've gone through these links fairly carefully, but if you find something that's not working properly, please let me know.)