tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post111325108750307920..comments2024-03-27T17:15:37.606-04:00Comments on Triablogue: Leaky buckets reduxRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17809283662428917799noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-1113255206702394032005-04-11T17:33:00.000-04:002005-04-11T17:33:00.000-04:00Here's my reply, from my blog:Steve Hays has respo...Here's my reply, from my blog:<BR/><BR/>Steve Hays has responded yet again: http://triablogue…<BR/><BR/>Some particularly absurd and humorous highlights (out of a gold mine of same):<BR/><BR/>"Armstrong's reply, from start to finish, consists of ad hominem invective."<BR/><BR/>"Let us grant Armstrong's contention that I'm a complete ignoramus. If I'm laboring under the double handicap of incompetence ('ferociously illogical') and incomprehension ('ignorant,' 'so misunderstands'), then Armstrong should be able to wipe the floor with me in no time flat."<BR/><BR/>[that's RIGHT! I should be able to, and indeed could. But I am under no obligation to do so, of course. Since I choose not to, I am, of course, utterly proven to be an intellectual coward, a la the James White Method of "Refuting" Catholics]:<BR/><BR/>"But to judge by this reply, whenever Armstrong gets into a dogfight he can't win, he pushes the little red button on his ejector seat labeled 'anti-Catholic,' and parachutes out of his flaming, nose-diving plane."<BR/><BR/>"Unless the prospective dialogue partner stipulates in advance to the 'fully Christian' identity of the RCC, then Armstrong will not deign to engage in dialogue."<BR/><BR/>[that's right; if the other guy is Christian, because I consider this belief intellectual suicide and beneath contempt, and attempted dialogue with those of this belief has been utterly futile for 15 years]<BR/><BR/>"In other words, unless I already agree with everything he believes in, he will not talk to me."<BR/><BR/>[That's not true; the anti-Catholicism is what I won't interact with; I have dialogues with ecumenical Christians all the time, as some of my 301 posted dialogues; I've recently interacted with, e.g., both Anglicans and Lutherans of this type. It's not disagreement per se which is objectionable, but the denial of my Christian status as a Catholic, and that of my Church]<BR/><BR/>"Do I believe that the RCC is a fully Christian institution? Obviously not, otherwise I'd be Roman Catholic. For the record, I believe the RCC to be an apostate church. The Council of Trent marks the irreformable repudiation of the gospel of grace, while Vatican II marks the official triumph of modernism. And let us remember that Rome returned the favor by formally anathematizing Protestant theology."<BR/><BR/>[this is the absolute key to understanding Hays' dripping disdain of Catholicism. He thinks it is <B>dogmatically</B> liberal (which, of course, it is not at all). In other words, he appears to think the Catholic Church is the liberal equivalent of something like Anglicanism. So I become, in effect, a liberal, by following Catholic teaching]<BR/><BR/>". . . the Disneyfied version of a quaint old popularizer like Frank Sheed or a cafeteria Catholic like Armstrong."<BR/><BR/>"For his part, I leave it to Armstrong to continue affirming the fully Christian character of an institution which openly and blatantly disaffirms the divine authority of Christ."<BR/><BR/>"Incidentally, Armstrong is getting confused when he supposes that 'Papal bull' is a reply to him. As was said at the outset of that essay, it is a response to the death of JP2."<BR/><BR/>[I never supposed this; I merely cited this post as proof of Hays' anti-Catholicism; now blatantly manifest beyond all doubt]<BR/><BR/>"But as far as pride is considered, the Church of Rome has erected an entire edifice upon the reeking foundation of spiritual pride. As the First Church of the Merit-Mongers, she has turned the sin of pride into a spiritual industry, and a very lucrative industry at that . . . Armstrong rightly says that human pride knows no bounds-of which the Church of Rome is Exhibit A."<BR/>————————————————<BR/><BR/>Does ANYONE not see the clear and obvious reason for my refusal to continue trying to dialogue with anti-Catholics?Dave Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07771661758539438173noreply@blogger.com