All Articles

North Forest

Articles . . .

255 articles

Contents:

About me:

My Conversion to Catholicism	To explain why I became a Catholic. I wrote this testimony for my Protestant friends so they would understand my conversion.
Statement Of Faith	What I believe regarding the Christian faith.
About Me	A brief religious chronology.
The Church Refreshed	My perspective on the Church and Christianity.
My Philosophy	I am a committed Christian who is accepting of others' beliefs and faith.
What I Believe	Still a Spirit-filled, born-again, conservative Christian.
Lamentations	What I believe about the claims of the Catholic Church after having been Catholic for seven years.
My Faith Journey	In these articles I explain to myself and the whole world what I believe and why.
Return to Catholicism	I return to the Catholic Church.
Chronicle of North Forest Web Site	The stages of my Web Site; why it is so colorful; why it is so hard to organize the material.

My Recordings (music & spoken):

My songs and acoustic guitar pieces	MP3 files
My Spoken Audio	MP3 files. I talk about religious / spiritual / Christian / Catholic topics. This is really the Table of Contents of some of my audio spoken stuff.
My Original Classical Guitar compositions	Sheet music only.

My Novel Ideas:

One Apostolic Church	My newest collection of articles site. Christianity is in need of a new reformation, a modern reformation, an Apostolic Reformation of the Church to take us back to true apostolic Christianity.
My Visions	Ideas of mine which are unique (or at least unusual or rare).
Literal Interpretation	My view that we should interpret the Bible literally.
The New Heavens and the New Earth	My view.
Overview of My Ideas	I list them.
God Creates and Sustains the Universe	My insight into the nature of the universe, time, and the natural laws.
My view of Philosophy	Philosophy is the study of the soul.
My Manifesto	Tenets of my view. Reflections on the soul and on life.
The Great Philosophers	My comments on the teachings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and modern philosophers.
Christian Philosophy	Various Christian topics.
Other Traditions	New Age and other religious systems.
Scientific Philosophy	Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.
Soul and Body	The soul and the body are closely connected.
Soul Topics	Various topics.
Brain and Soul	I am always surprised that learning even takes place at all. How can the brain as a physical, material object remember the responses to billions and trillions of stimuli?
Heaven	My musings on what heaven is like and what it means to have a glorified body.
Eternal Life	Once created by God, the soul lives forever. The redeemed enjoy a special kind of eternal life.
Soul & Spirit	The Real You.

For Non-Christians:

Letter to an Atheist	You are correct in saying that "the existence of an all-powerful creator cannot be disproved" yet the standard atheistic position claims emphatically that there is no God.
God	Who is God? And if He exists, why did He create me? What does God want from me? How can I believe in God? And how can I know God?
God Exists	Various proofs.
The Ramifications of Information Theory	Excerpts from a book by A.E. Wilder Smith titled The Scientific Alternative to Neo-Darwinian Evolutionary Theory.
Jo Anne's Cure	What is Christian faith?
The Light of the World	What kind of God do we have? We know that He is beyond this universe that He created, but what is He like? What kind of "person" is God?
It Must Be True	Various evidence for God's existence and his nature.
A Dialogue About the Nature of Reality	The Christian worldview.
The Problem with God	Various views of God.
A Short Testimony	From scientific atheism to new age to the Christian gospel.
Letter to a Skeptic	Agnosticism
The Still, Small Voice	For 20 years I believed in reincarnation, and in the idea that there are no moral absolutes, and that everyone achieves the goal of union with the Supreme Consciousness through a process of spiritual evolution spanning over many lifetimes.
The Way	From Yoga and New Age to the Christian gospel.
What is Truth?	A mystical journey.
The Women at the Empty Tomb	I recently read an article from an Atheist who was very perplexed by the events of Easter morning. He seemed to think it was impossible to reconcile the accounts in the four gospels into a single consistent story. After spending an evening looking into the matter I found that it's not so difficult after all.

Devotional Christian Life:

Elements of a Devotional Life	To live a life in Christ requires that we have a balance of various aspects of spiritually.
Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius	To Conquer Oneself And Regulate One's Life Without Determining Oneself Through Any Tendency That Is Disordered.
Rosary	A practical guide.

Social Science, Culture, Society:

Integrating Psychology and Christianity	The key question is whether or not psychology is based on a world view which opposes the essentials of the Christian faith. In this article I explore the issue of integrating psychology and Christianity.
To Spank or Not	The issue of whether or not parents should spank their children is a very volatile issue and raises strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Modern psychology generally believes that spanking is a bad practice and is harmful to children. The conservative Christian coalition generally takes the view that the practice of spanking is biblically mandated and that any parent who really loves their children will spank them. There are many others who believe strongly one way or another for a very diverse set of reasons.
Liberal Utopia	My musings on what drives the Liberal Utopian vision.
Feed the Poor	A utopian society in which all members of society are cared for.
Fuzzy Thinking	Al Gore's July 17, 2008 speech annoyed me. He neglected to describe the details of his grand plan. I provide some of the missing alalysis.
Relativism	It is intellectually fashionable to declare that there are no absolutes. And many who wish to deny absolute standards of morality also use as their main argument the question, "who decides what the moral standards are?" This article addresses these issues.
A World Without Contraception	What would the world be like if everybody followed the Catholic teaching against the use of contraception? Would there be overpopulation with famine, plague, and war?
Oil Wars	What to expect when the oil runs out.
Sustainability	My conclusions on the topic of energy sustainability.
Tolerance	How can those with "higher" moral standards and values survive living in a tolerant, pluralistic society?
Moral Law in a Perfect World	Instead of wondering what kind of moral rule we should impose on all the wicked, depraved, ungodly people of today's world why not consider a world in which everyone was holy and saintly?
Gay Marriage	What does the Bible say about this?

Moral Theology, Ethics:

Tolerance	How can those with "higher" moral standards and values survive living in a tolerant, pluralistic society?
Vices - a Biblical Perspective	The purpose of this article is to explain what the Bible has to say about various vices.
The Virtues	To live a Holy Spirit-enlivened life of virtue. Anyone who wishes to please God should desire to excel in the virtues.
Ethics	Ethics deals with making decisions that are "good" or "right." All decisions have an ethical component, but ethics doesn't necessarily dictate what our decisions should be — rather, it helps us to understand the issues so we can make wise decisions. The study of ethics is necessary when faced with a difficult decision.
The Splendor of Truth	This article is an overview of a few points from the lengthy Papal Encyclical Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) which was written by Pope John Paul II in 1993.
Relativism	It is intellectually fashionable to declare that there are no absolutes. And many who wish to deny absolute standards of morality also use as their main argument the question, "who decides what the moral standards are?" This article addresses these issues.
Jericho	Is Genocide Moral? What really happened when the Israelites massacred everyone in Jericho? Can God command us to commit mortal sin? In defending the truthfulness of the Bible, Christians often justify the genocide of Jericho.
Moral Teaching	Right and Wrong
The God of the Old Testament	You often hear critics of Christianity saying that the God of the Old Testament is a different God than the God of the New Testament — that this Old Testament God is mean-spirited and vindictive, but that the New Testament God is merciful and loving.
Astrology and Horoscopes	Astrology is popular in our modern society. Newspapers print your daily horoscope, and people ask what sign you are. But what does the Christian faith and the Bible teach about astrology?
Moral Law in a Perfect World	Instead of wondering what kind of moral rule we should impose on all the wicked, depraved, ungodly people of today's world why not consider a world in which everyone was holy and saintly?
Gay Marriage	What does the Bible say about this?

Eschatology (End Times):

Main Themes of Eschatology	The various biblical quotations about end time topics each have their own emphasis and purpose; I highlight a few of the most important.
Antichrist	Today we commonly hear from some Fundamentalist Christians about a yet-future world ruler called the Antichrist and referred to by the number 666 who will persecute Jews and Christians and start World War III. But is this really supported from the Bible?
Jesus Is Coming Soon	There are many passages in the New Testament which seem to state that the second coming of Christ would occur soon. Preterists make much of these passages in developing their view. In addition, many of the writers of the very early church seemed to also believe that it would occur soon. What are we to think of all this?
New Heavens and New Earth	The new heavens and new earth is the final destination and goal of all the redeemed.
The End of Civilization	My musings.
Phases of the Second Coming	It is often assumed that the second coming of Christ will be a single quick event. However, there are many passages which indicate that the second coming is a series of events spanning a period of time, perhaps years.
Preterism	Preterism is the teaching that all passages about the second coming of Christ (the parousia) occurred in 70 A.D. during the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. In this way the 70-plus passages about Jesus coming "soon" and "quickly" in "this generation" are literally fulfilled.
The Forged Letter (2 Thessalonians 2)	The Forged Letter (2 Thessalonians 2). The purpose of this article is to highlight Catholic end-time teaching as it relates to this passage.
End Times	Lately I've been studying topics related to the trendy global warming crisis: peak-oil, energy reserves, green energy, sustainable living. I've been thinking for some time that the earth can't support more than a half billion people or so without oil and that there will be a global cataclysm in the next fifty years &mdash I've been calling this the "Oil Wars."
End Times Glossary	Main topics in my system of Eschatology.
End Time Verses	This article contains all verses about eschatology with my comments. I use this article as a reference when composing other end time articles.
Salvation History	The Bible, Old and New Testaments, is all about God, salvation, and salvation history. These charts contain the key events in salvation history.
The Forged Letter (2 Thessalonians 2)	My analysis.
Does Bible Teach Amillennialism?	To demonstrate that the Bible explicitly teaches the amillennial viewpoint.
Description of Amillennialism	The key points of amillennialism with particular emphasis on the contrast with premillennialism.
Problems with Amillennialism	Summary.
Anti-Semitism	The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that amillennialism does not result in anti-Semitism.
Chronicle of the quest
Chronology of end-time events	The key to understanding any end-time scenario is the chronological sequence of events. This article lists the major events.
Daniel	Analysis of the book of Daniel from an amillennial perspective.
Who Believed What	The purpose of this article is to show which early church fathers believed in which end-time viewpoint.
Chiliasm of Early Church Fathers	The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the end-time views of the Early Church Fathers. Their writings and views are so often misrepresented that I wanted to give a detailed account of their particular views.
Overview of Early Church Fathers	The purpose of this article is to show at a glance what the early church fathers believed regarding the end-times.
Nature of Millennium	The idea the premillennial early church fathers had was very different from modern premillennialists.
Amillennialism	The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the amillennial end-time viewpoint.
Ezekiel's Temple	The purpose of this article is to discuss Ezekiel chapters 40 - 48 and Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.
Problems with Full Preterism	Full Preterism is, in my opinion, just plain wrong. This page explains why.
God's Wrath	The purpose of this article is the demonstrate the usage of the term "wrath" in the Bible and to show that it supports amillennialism.
Great Tribulation	The purpose of this article is to discuss the Great Tribulation, the final trial of the church before the second coming, and the persecution and apostasy of the church as it relates to the amillennial viewpoint.
Imminency	The purpose of this article is to analyze the various passages which indicate that Christ will come soon.
Principles of Interpretation
The Most Obvious Interpretation	In order to develop a correct understanding of end-time prophecy we must base our system of interpretation on key passages which are easy to understand. These key passages must have an obvious meaning. Then we should fit the more difficult passages into this framework.
Promises to Israel	Analysis of the Old Testament passages concerning God's promises to Israel.
Jewish Millennial Concepts	The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the basis of chiliasm (premillennialism) as understood by the early church fathers is based on a Jewish model of human history which is not supported by the Bible.
Is Premillennialism Literal?	The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that premillennialists are not consistently literal as they claim to be.
Literal vs. Allegorical
Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24)	The purpose of this article is to analyze the Olivet Discourse in terms of end-time prophecy and demonstrate that it is harmonious with amillennialism.
Problems with the Mid-tribulation Rapture	The mid-tribulation rapture of the church is not as popular as some of the other rapture viewpoints. Even so it does have support from many theologians but it does have problems. This page describes some of these problems in summary form.
1,000 Year Millennium is Symbolic	The purpose of this article is to show that it is perfectly reasonable to interpret the 1,000 years of Revelation chapter 20 as symbolic.
New Testament Interprets Old	There are many passages in the New Testament in which the writers re-interpret the Old Testament.
Overview of Olivet Discourse	The purpose of this article is to harmonize the Olivet Discourse from the gospel accounts.
Problems with Postmillennialism	This viewpoint has problems. This page describes some of these problems in summary form.
Problems with the Post-tribulation Rapture	The post-tribulation rapture of the church is a popular rapture viewpoint but it has problems. This page describes some of these problems in summary form.
Problems with Premillennialism	The premillennial end-time viewpoint is favored among many evangelical theologians, but it has problems. This page summarizes some of these problems.
Problems with the Pre-tribulation Rapture	The pre-tribulation rapture of the church is the most popular rapture viewpoint but it has problems. This page describes some of these problems in summary form.
Problems with the Popular Scenarios	Overview.
Problems with the Rapture	The rapture of the church is a doctrine that is an integral part of premillennialism. There are several varieties of the rapture but they all have problems. This page describes some of these problems in summary form.
Revelation - Verse by Verse Commentary	Highlighting an amillennial interpretation of the book of Revelation.
Revelation - Glossary of Symbols	The book of Revelation contains many symbols and images and it is necessary to properly understand these in order to understand the book. This glossary contains what I consider to be the key symbols.
Revelation
Revelation - Key Issues	This article introduces key issues that are critical to understanding the book of Revelation.
Teaching Without Distraction	We should not let our Eschatological views interfere with our teaching of the Bible.

Catholic Teaching and Practice:

What Catholics Believe	Most Protestants have many misconceptions about what the Catholic Church teaches, practices, and believes. The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed summary of the basics of the Catholic faith.
Catholic Life	What's it's like being Catholic. A practical guide for those who are unfamiliar with Catholicism.
What the Catholic Church Really Teaches	The purpose of this article is to clarify the teachings of the Catholic Church. There is a great deal of misinformation among Protestants who are critical of Catholicism.
Marian Doctrines	This article discusses the various doctrines of the Catholic Church regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Marian Doctrines	There is a lot of misunderstanding about the Catholic doctrines regarding Mary. I discuss all the particular doctrines and give some support for these doctrines from the Bible and the Early Church Fathers.
Rosary	A practical guide.
The Council of Trent	I highlight the Catholic views on the topics of Original Sin, Justification, Purgatory, Indulgences, and others. Many Catholics and non-Catholics alike do not understand what the Catholic Church really teaches about these topics.
Vatican II	Excerpts from the documents of Vatican II which I wanted to document.
Moral Law in a Perfect World	Instead of wondering what kind of moral rule we should impose on all the wicked, depraved, ungodly people of today's world why not consider a world in which everyone was holy and saintly?

Science and Creationism:

Science and the Bible	Various topics: The origin of life, evolution, souls, Adam and Eve, the Genesis Flood, the Firmament.
Biblical Archaeology	Archaeology supports the Bible.
The Days of Creation	The usage of the word day in Genesis Chapter One is not based on a literal interpretation at all, but is rather based on a figurative interpretation of the passage.
Science and Creationism	Introduction to the Creation-Science War
Books by Hugh Ross	Hugh Ross has written five books about the subject of creationism. For each, I have written a brief review and include links to online ordering.
Astronomy of the Bible	This article is composed of quotes and my commentary from the book Astronomy of the Bible: An Elementary Commentary on the Astronomical References in the Holy Scripture, by Edward Walter Maunder, 1908.

Protestant Errors:

Sola Scriptura (Bible Only)	The Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura (scripture only) is unsound and unbiblical. The Protestant Reformation was based, in part, on the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (scripture alone). I highlight the many side-effects and contradictions which Protestants rarely discuss.
Faith Alone (Sola Fide)	The topic of salvation is the most essential focus of the New Testament. I discuss what the Bible has to say and how this differs from the Protestant view.
Faith vs. Works in Romans	Protestants commonly cite verses from Paul's letter to the Romans as "proof" for their doctrines of salvation. Even Martin Luther used this letter to "prove" his doctrine of justification by faith alone (sola fide). But alas, his copy of this letter must have been missing some important verses! In this article I consider the passages that he ignored and that many Protestants still ignore even today.
Calvinism	I highlight the many biblical passages which contradict the doctrines of Calvinism.
Is Protestant Teaching Unbiblical?	I highlight the many New Testament passages which clearly refute Protestant teaching and which favor Catholic teaching.
The Waldenses and Albigensians	Foxe's Book of Martyrs misrepresents these groups as true Christians.
Martin Luther's Teachings	I highlight the problems and inconsistencies of Martin Luther's teachings using quotes from his own writings. I should note that I consider him to be a great man of God and I enjoy reading his writings (but I do find him to be a bit irascible).
Typology	In my mind, typology is merely a way to pretend that your interpretation of an Old Testament passage is literal when it is, in fact, allegorical.
The Protestant Reformation	It should be called the Protestant Revolution. It was not a reform of the Catholic Church at all but the creation of a non-Catholic church system which allows for many denominational variations.
The Church Went Bad?	The church could not have gone bad before the essential doctrines of Christianity were developed.
The Bible	The Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God, but it is not the only word of God.

Problems with Catholicism:

John Corapi — Innocent or Guilty?	I analyze the evidence and present my conclusions.
Catholic Abuses	The Church has "officially" done some bad things
The church has changed her views	Examples from church documents.
Catholic Problems	To present a few problems with the Catholic Church using church documents as evidence.
Errors of Catholicism	Critics of the Catholic Church claim that her teachings are untrue because she has made errors.
The Catholic Church Embraced Astrology	Evidence that some popes and doctors of the church actually believed and practiced astrology.
Apostolic Succession is Broken	According to Catholic teaching, only bishops can ordain new bishops — this is how the apostolic succession is passed-on from generation to generation. If there are examples of invalid bishops ordaining other bishops, these new bishops are not valid bishops either and the chain of apostolic succession is broken.

Early Church Fathers:

The Church Fathers	In reading the writings of the Church Fathers it is clear that the Catholic Church of today is the same church which Jesus Christ founded through the apostles.
Early Church Fathers	This article demonstrates what the Early Church Fathers in the first generation after the apostles had to say that supports the claims of the Catholic Church.
Marian Doctrines	References from Early Church Fathers

Counterfeit Christianity:

Links for Jehovah's Witnesses	These links are intended to demonstrate that the Watchtower Society is proclaiming a false gospel — one that is powerless to save.
Links for Mormons	These links are intended to demonstrate that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims a false gospel message — one that cannot save.
The "Word-Faith" Teaching	I show from the Bible that this teaching is not based on the Bible at all.
Links for followers of the Word-Faith movement	These links are intended to demonstrate that the Word-Faith movement is not based on sound principles of interpretation.
Heretical Doctrines	I list a few.

Defense of Catholicism:

Three Popes	What happened when there were three popes at once.
Biblical Support for the Catholic Church	The Bible has many passages that perfectly match the teachings of Catholic Church.
"Bad" Protestants	A common argument by Protestants who are critical of Catholicism is that corrupt and unrighteous actions by Catholics prove that the Catholic Church is not the true church. The problem is that there are plenty of examples of Protestants who do all these same things. This article highlights a few of these to demonstrate that this argument is invalid.
Was Augustine Protestant?	I sometimes hear Protestants who are critical of Catholicism claim that Augustine was really a Protestant and not a Catholic. But this is simply not so.
Christ's Church Failed?	In order to justify the validity of the Protestant Reformation, Protestants typically hold the view that the church failed soon after Pentecost and that the Protestant Reformers fixed it again. But this simply can't be true.
Dialogs	Some imaginary dialogs which reveal unconscious assumptions.
Ignored Verses	Anti-Catholics often have selective amnesia — They simply don't address the very biblical verses which strongly support the Catholic view.
Objections to Catholicism	The standard objections of Anti-Catholics against the Catholic Church.
Anti-Catholic Misrepresentations	Misrepresentations of the Catholic Church.
Letter to a Friend	To address objections.
Historical Defense of Catholicism	In this article I use quotes from three secular history books to demonstrate that the claims of the Catholic Church are true.
The Bible is a Catholic Book	All Catholic doctrines and practices can be (1) derived from the Bible, and (2) supported from the Bible.
Mary in the Bible	The Catholic view is biblical
Marian Doctrines	There is a lot of misunderstanding about the Catholic doctrines regarding Mary. I discuss all the particular doctrines and give some support for these doctrines from the Bible and the Early Church Fathers.
Mary in the Bible	Protestants object to the Catholic doctrines concerning Mary, claiming that these doctrines can not be supported from the Bible. In this article I reference the many biblical passages about Mary and her role in God's plan of salvation.
The Eucharist is a very early doctrine	This article demonstrates that the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist was believed and practiced by the very early church.
The New Testament is Catholic	This long article contains the many references in the New Testament books between Acts and Jude which contradict Protestant doctrine and practice, but which support Catholic teaching.
The Church Went Bad?	The church could not have gone bad before the essential doctrines of Christianity were developed.
Binding and Loosing	Jesus made some remarkable statements to the Apostles and to Peter in particular, which the Catholic Church uses as the basis for some important, foundational doctrines.

Church History:

The Early Church	Which is the "True" Church?
Galileo Galilei	To assess the case of Galileo vs. the Catholic Church to determine who was right and who was wrong.
Church History	I provide a sociological and historical perspective of the development of the church to demonstrate why she became the way she was at various stages of her history.
History of Dogma, by Adolph Harnack	The first couple hundred years of Christianity.

Bible Commentary:

Acts
Hebrews
Romans
Isaiah
Psalms
2 Peter
Song of Songs
Revelation	Commentary
Revelation - Verse by Verse Commentary	Highlighting an amillennial interpretation of the book of Revelation.

Bible Verses & Topics

Bible Topics	A variety of topics.
Speaking in Tongues	My view.

Christian Controversaries:

Homeschool - the new Holy War	The issue of homeschooling has become a battleground in the church today. Each side has taken positions that can divide the body of Christ.
Home Bible Community	Home Bible Community is a denomination based on radical changes to the traditional church model as well as important differences with the House Church model.
The House Church	The House Church \| Discussion Meetings \| House Church Movement I support the home church movement, but I'm unwilling to say that the home church model is the best, or that it is the only model endorsed by the Bible.
The Gospel	The Torture View vs. My View.
Charismatic	I examine the implications of the Charismatic view of Christian life.
How Are We Saved?	I was discussing with some Southern Baptists whether or not non-Christians can be saved; they were very uncomfortable with this topic. They wanted to believe it was possible but were repeatedly and emphatically taught that only Christians can be saved.
Astrology and Horoscopes	Astrology is popular in our modern society. Newspapers print your daily horoscope, and people ask what sign you are. But what does the Christian faith and the Bible teach about astrology?
Soul & Spirit Controversies	Two controversies of the soul.
Who did the Jews think Jesus was?	It is very significant when a rabbi identifies various Old Testament prophecies as the Messiah since Jews who reject Jesus as the Messiah typically insist that these prophecies do not refer to the Messiah.
How to know what is true	In my 16 years as a Christian I encountered many truth-claims.
Moral Law in a Perfect World	Instead of wondering what kind of moral rule we should impose on all the wicked, depraved, ungodly people of today's world why not consider a world in which everyone was holy and saintly?
Gay Marriage	What does the Bible say about this?

Biblical Interpretation

Hermeneutics	A seven-article series on the topic of Biblical interpretation.
Biblical Interpretation	How are we to interpret scripture? Guidelines.
Literal vs. Figurative	There are clearly many figurative passages in the Bible. But how are we to know which passages are to be interpreted literally and which figuratively?
Rebekah's Deception	What was really going on in Genesis 27 when Jacob stole the blessing of Esau?
Paul's Thorn in the Flesh	What was Paul's thorn in the flesh?
The Bible	The Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God, but it is not the only word of God.

Doctrine

Inerrancy of Bible	Discussion of the doctrine of Inerrancy in the context of the debate between Protestants and Catholics.
Doctrinal Development	Protestants who believe in Sola Scriptura (scripture only) typically deny that their doctrines have developed. Rather, they claim that they get their doctrines from the Bible. And those Protestants who are critical of Catholicism typically object to the doctrinal development which the Catholic Church readily admits is valid.
Development of Doctrine	An overview of the book An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, by John Henry Cardinal Newman, written in 1878.
Doctrines	Various doctrines such as apostolic succession. The doctrine of apostolic succession is a cornerstone of Catholic teaching. If it's flawed the whole structure collapses.
History of Dogma, by Adolph Harnack	The first couple hundred years of Christianity.
The Trinity	A real-life example to help in understanding the Trinity.
Hell	Is Hell really eternal torture?
The Stages of God's Election	The purpose of this article is to demonstrate from the Bible that both God and man have roles in the salvation process and to show what these roles are.
Essential Doctrines	A teaching must satisfy certain conditions to be an essential, core Christian truth
Non-essential Doctrines	Various Christian denominations and faith communities have different opinions and beliefs about many doctrines and practices.
I Believe	This article addresses the topic of whether doctrines can be determined from scripture and the writings of the Early Church Fathers without the need to refer to an infallible teaching authority.
Mary in the Bible	The Catholic view is biblical
Doctrines of Church Fathers	An examination of what the Early Church Fathers wrote about various topics.
Typology	In my mind, typology is merely a way to pretend that your interpretation of an Old Testament passage is literal when it is, in fact, allegorical.

Ecumenical Christianity (no more religious wars):

John Corapi — Innocent or Guilty?	I analyze the evidence and present my conclusions.
One Apostolic Church	My newest collection of articles site. Christianity is in need of a new reformation, a modern reformation, an Apostolic Reformation of the Church to take us back to true apostolic Christianity.
A Call to Action	What can be done to prevent religious wars?
Essential Doctrines	A teaching must satisfy certain conditions to be an essential, core Christian truth
Non-essential Doctrines	Various Christian denominations and faith communities have different opinions and beliefs about many doctrines and practices.
The Problem with Words	In this article I discuss words and phrases that various Christians groups use differently.
Protestant vs. Catholic Comparison	I wrote this article is to clear up some misconceptions of Protestants and Catholics about each others' views.
Defending apostolic faith	Articles by topic and source (Bible, Church Fathers, Church Councils, etc.).
Justification	I compare and contrast the Protestant and Catholic views of the topic of justification. All too often neither side understands the views of the other.
Christian Unity	What binds Christians together and makes us all brothers and sisters? Christians are in unity with one another because they are united with Christ, the head of the church.
Moral Law in a Perfect World	Instead of wondering what kind of moral rule we should impose on all the wicked, depraved, ungodly people of today's world why not consider a world in which everyone was holy and saintly?

The Church (one holy, catholic, apostolic):

One Apostolic Church	My newest collection of articles site. Christianity is in need of a new reformation, a modern reformation, an Apostolic Reformation of the Church to take us back to true apostolic Christianity.
The Early Church	We should learn about the faith-life and practice of the early church.
One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church	Jesus clearly established a church, a unified church, a holy church, the apostolic church. I discuss this using quotations from the Bible.
The True Church	Which church is the true church?
One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church	In these articles I discuss my conclusions about Christianity, the church, the truth.
The Early Church	We should learn about the faith-life and practice of the early church.
Church Governance	There is no single world-wide church of Christ, no global Christian institution to which all Christians belong. Church governance is varied and fragmented. In short, church governance is local, not global.
The Church Refreshed	My perspective on the Church and Christianity.
How to Select a Church	My criteria.
Church Reform	In every age the Catholic Church is in need of reform. But what kind of reform is needed?
Teaching Authority	The fundamental question we must answer is "who do we trust?"
The Bible	The Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God, but it is not the only word of God.
Is the Church like Old Testament Israel?	Many Protestants claim that the New Covenant is different from the Old Covenant in every way, but there are many similarities between the two covenants. There are many Biblical passagaes which support the idea that the Church is the New Israel.
Peter is the Rock	The role of Peter in the church and whether the Catholic of the papacy is justified.

Why I Quit Being Catholic

Lamentations	What I believe about the claims of the Catholic Church after having been Catholic for seven years.
What Is Next?	I can no longer in good conscience claim that the Catholic Church is what she claims to be.
Apostolic Succession is Broken	According to Catholic teaching, only bishops can ordain new bishops — this is how the apostolic succession is passed-on from generation to generation. If there are examples of invalid bishops ordaining other bishops, these new bishops are not valid bishops either and the chain of apostolic succession is broken.
False Catholic Teachings	These Simply Can't Be True
Teaching Authority	The fundamental question we must answer is "who do we trust?"
The Orthodox Church	The purpose of this article is to explain why I believe the Orthodox Church is not the one and only true church as she claims to be.
True Catholic Teachings	I believe that most Catholic dogmas regarding faith and morals are true.
Doctrines of Church Fathers	An examination of what the Early Church Fathers wrote about various topics.
John Corapi — Innocent or Guilty?	I analyze the evidence and present my conclusions.

Compare Religions:

The World Religions	A brief summary of various world religions from a Christian perspective.
Who did the Jews think Jesus was?	It is very significant when a rabbi identifies various Old Testament prophecies as the Messiah since Jews who reject Jesus as the Messiah typically insist that these prophecies do not refer to the Messiah.
Faith Alone (Sola Fide)	The topic of salvation is the most essential focus of the New Testament. I discuss what the Bible has to say and how this differs from the Protestant view.