Pugio Fidei - the dagger of faith. The name is taken from the magnum opus of medieval Dominican orientalist Raymond Martini, which was the standard manual of the time for Dominican missionaries to the Muslims and Jews. The book and this website have the same mission, viz., to "take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph 6:17), and win conversions. "For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword... [Read More]

Recent Updates

6/8/08: Seeking a Molinist and an Arminian

Oh dear, I fear I'm becoming the perpetually apologetic apologist. A week late and still no Matatics essay! I had really better do a good job with this since I've made Pugio Fidei readers wait so long. Not that it's adequate excuse, but of late I have been very busy with my day job in structural engineering, which is similar to religious writing in that, if you're not careful, conscientious, and conservative, you might kill someone!

Anyway, a while ago, a friend suggested that I write an essay which systematically explained, compared, and contrasted four prominent schools of thought on the subject of predestination, namely, Arminianism, Molinism, Thomism, and Calvinism. This struck me as a worthy project, but a daunting task. So, I figured, why not get three other people to do part of the work for me?

To this end, I hereby challenge all interested parties to a four-way written debate on predestination, modeled after the Four Views, Five Views, Perspectives, etc. genre of books which are popular within Protestant theological discourse. I will represent the Thomist position. Turretinfan has expressed interest in representing Calvinism. This leaves the Arminian and Molinist positions to be filled. So, if you believe in conditional election, and you would like to participate, please write to me at pugiofidei[at]yahoo.com. Pace St. Ignatius of Loyola, I believe such an in-depth discussion of predestination will prove spiritually fruitful.

Next, I have rewritten the introduction to the New American Bible article, now under the title "Wolf in Calfskin: The Rampant Liberalism of the NAB." As promised below, additional chapters will follow at a rate of one per month or better.

Next, I have re-recorded the presentation, "A Lesson in Charity for James White," incorporating further revisions. Also, Dr. White has responded to my videos on Ignatius of Antioch, so I have added an appendix to my presentation in which I comment on this response.

Moving on, readers might recall that a few months ago I posted a very harsh criticism of Fr. Richard John Neuhaus of First Things magazine. It seems appropriate to balance this with praise. The following passage from his monthly column "The Public Square" in First Things, No. 184 (June/July 2008), pp. 62-63, has aptly been described by one blogger as "a sledgehammer blow to the face of the proud and the strong."

The taxpayers of California are paying for a multi-billion-dollar Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which specializes in embryonic stem cell research and other cutting-edge technology of the brave new world. Alan Trounson heads up the project and says in an interview that he was at first "very uncomfortable" about dissecting human embryos. But then, on a trip to Naples, he talked with "members of a Vatican university [who] persuaded me that if I felt that what I was doing was designed to address some problem of human misery, then it was acceptable." He means well, so that's all right then. Too bad about the very little human beings, but you have to look at the big picture. Says Trounson: "In a big-picture sense, I want to be up on the mountain looking down on the Serengeti, watching all the animals move through." You may remember Orson Welles in The Third Man, standing at the top of the ferris wheel, watching all the people moving through the square below, and explaining why this is the perspective in which to judge his dealing in diluted penicillin. When you're doing bad things to little people, keeping the big picture in mind is a moral comfort.

It is refreshing to see words of such simultaneous power and suavity employed in the service of the pro-life cause. Three cheers for Fr. Neuhaus!

I have corrected a small factual error in the article "Sungenis, 9-11 Truther, Sacrifices Truth." That is, in their phone conversation of the afternoon of September 11, Larry Silverstein and Daniel Nigro were not discussing whether to pull the firefighters out of WTC7 itself, but whether to pull the firefighters out of the vicinity of the building.

Lastly, to wrap up this update, there is a new Q&A.

5/10/08: Retractationes

I know it is contrary to custom to update mid-month, but I want to correct two errors of mine as soon as possible. First, I retract and apologize for my assertion that, according to the NAB, God commands the Jews to sacrifice to Satan in Leviticus 16. Rosemarie Scott pointed out that it is still possible to interpret Leviticus 16 in an orthodox manner, even if Azazel is read as the proper name of a demon. One might suppose that the Azazel goat was not offered in sacrifice to Azazel. Rather, sending the sin-laden goat out into Azazel's desert simply meant that the people were sending their sins far away into no man's land. Or, perhaps sending the sin-laden goat to Azazel was an act of derision, a way of sending him an insult, as opposed to an oblation. Or, perhaps it meant that the people were sending their sins back to the demon from whose influence they originated.

Next, Dr. James White kindly took me up on my offer to "correct me, if what I have said in any way misrepresents his position." I hereby retract, revoke, and supercede the original form of my presentation with the revised form, with apologies to Dr. White in so far as I overstated my case or misrepresented his position in the original. The revised portions of the text are in bold font. I will re-record the presentation in a few days. I have also taken this opportunity to flesh out my argument in the first section of the presentation on Ignatius.

5/3/08: Mostly Heat, a Little Light

Please allow me to apologize in advance for a highly polemical update, for this month I have come to understand the sayings "hopping mad" and "hit the roof." Many modern Catholic Bibles refer to the scapegoat of Leviticus 16 as the Azazel goat, instead of the goat that shall be sent out (Hebrew: az azel). I recently learned from Turretinfan (Reformed Presbyterian) the implications of thus reading Azazel as a proper name. Namely, ancient sources such as Enoch I and St. Irenaeus identify Azazel as the name of a demon. Hence, if Azazel is the name of a demon, and God commanded the Jews to sacrifice a goat to Azazel every Yom Kippur, then God commanded the Jews to offer sacrifice to a demon every Yom Kippur. Upon reading Turretinfan's post, I quickly pulled my New American Bible off the shelf. Lo and behold, not only does the NAB render az azel as Azazel, it explicitly makes the connection between Azazel and Satan. Ecce, the NAB's footnote to Leviticus 16:8: "Azazel: perhaps a name of Satan, used only in this chapter." So there you have it. The NAB suggests that, according to the Old Testament, God commanded the Jews to offer sacrifice to Satan. I'm tempted to say: good thing they don't believe in biblical inerrancy. Anyway, when I read this, I literally started jumping up and down, and would have hit the ceiling if it were lower. As a Catholic, I extend my heartfelt apologies for the NAB to Turretinfan and all other Protestants who rightly insist that the Bible is inerrant and that offering sacrifice to the devil is evil.

Let this be the occasion for me to announce a forthcoming major revision and expansion of my article "The New American Bible: Is it Good for Catholics?" under the title "Wolf in Calfskin: The Rampant Liberalism of the NAB." I hope to post one chapter every month.

In other business, you'll never guess who was the first person to fire off a letter to the editor of Culture Wars in protest of my negative review of Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11. And you'll never guess the ethnicity of the man he attempted to implicate in mass murder. And you'll never guess how little regard he paid to truth. Well, in case the answers to these three riddles are not yet obvious to you, I here provide them: Robert Sungenis, Jewish, and very little indeed. See "Sungenis, 9-11 Truther, Sacrifices Truth."

Next, I have finished my series of video critiques of Reformed Baptist apologist Dr. James White, director of Alpha and Omega Ministries. The new installments focus on charity towards one's theological opponents and St. Ignatius of Antioch's doctrine of the Eucharist. The texts, with links to all the videos, are condensed on the page "Predestination, Charity, Ignatius: A Potpourri of James White's Errors."

Since I posted the first videos on predestination, James White has mentioned me twice on the Dividing Line, in order to highlight the dissonance between my position and the position of other Catholics such as Tim Staples. However, Mr. Staples is simply mistaken when he claims that unconditional election is incompatible with Catholic teaching. In order to correct his error, I would recommend that Mr. Staples read his colleague Jimmy Akin's article "A Tiptoe through TULIP."

Speaking of Catholic Answers, I regret to have to publicly oppose an error which Fr. Vincent Serpa, OP has promoted on the Catholic Answers Forums, i.e., that it is morally acceptable for a sexually active woman to take the abortifacient birth control pill for "medical reasons," so long as she does not directly intend to cause an abortion. I explain why Fr. Serpa is wrong in the article "Fr. Serpa's Sub-Catholic Answer Regarding the Birth Control Pill."

I write this immediately upon returning from, I believe, a fruitful discussion with Gerry Matatics on the issue of sedevacantism. Please God, I will post the final version of my essay opposing his sedevacantist position on June 1. Please pray for both of us.

4/3/08: A Multimedia Update

I am happy to report that both of my talks this past month were well received and appreciated. Thank you to everyone who helped with your prayers.

Penn State Students for Life recorded the talk on the philosophy of personhood, and will post it on Youtube at some future date. When they do so, I will link to the videos here. I hope to make "Why Everyone Should Be Catholic" into a series of videos as well.

In a similar vein, Keep the Faith, Inc. has digitized last year's Catholics Defending Biblical Inerrancy Conference and made it available at their website. One may purchase the whole conference, featuring Fr. Brian Harrison, Sal Ciresi, and myself, here. The talks are also available individually. My two are called "Razón y Fe: The Spanish Jesuits in Defense of Holy Writ" and "Rebellion and Rationalization: The Mystery of Iniquity in the History of Exegesis."

Next, I have joined the video fray with a critique of Dr. James White on predestination, in two parts, Part A and Part B. In the interest of saving time, I am also making the text available: James White, Predestination, and the Church of Rome. More will follow next month.

I have also added a new Q&A on the Christological reading of Sirach 24. This is a fascinating topic and deserves to be expanded into an essay in the coming months. Lastly, the final version of the Matatics essay is being postponed until June 1 so I can attend another of Gerry's talks.

3/1/08: Two for Three

To begin, I wish all readers a blessed Lent. By means of this corporal fast may God extinguish our vices, elevate our understanding, bestow on us virtue and its reward, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Well, I have completed only two out of the three promised articles. My apologies. The first article is "A Heretic Seeks 9/11 Truth," a review of Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11 by David Ray Griffin. Griffin is a process theologian who believes that the Bush administration orchestrated the September 11 attacks in order to create a pretext for expanding the American Empire in the Middle-East. He is quite adept at amassing data, but, being neither an engineer nor a Catholic, Griffin lacks the intellectual tools necessary to interpret his data correctly. This article is slighlty revised from the version published in the February 2008 Culture Wars.

The second article is "Right and Necessity: Fr. Neuhaus on Abortion and the Popular Vote." It is a commentary on my exchange with Fr. Richard John Neuhaus in the February 2008 First Things. Several quotes from the Popes condemning the separation of Church and state are included as an appendix.

I am required to give two talks in the coming month: first, "Why Everyone Should Be Catholic," [Correction: March 13], 7:00 p.m. in the parish hall of St. Veronica Catholic Church in Chantilly, VA; second, "The Philosophy of Personhood" at Penn State, March 19, 8:00 p.m. Prayers would be appreciated.

2/1/08: Some Gems from Tradition, and Some Things that Won't Stay Buried

I have found a new saint to love: St. Peter Julian Eymard. And Pugio Fidei now hosts his exposition on sanctification, "Union with Christ Sanctifies Your Actions," excerpted from his book How to Get More out of Holy Communion. This brief exposition is incredibly rich in insights concerning the purpose of the Incarnation, the supernaturally meritorious works of Christians, the infinite value of Our Lord's theandric acts (and hence the Catholic theology of the Atonement), and more. Next, that mine-full of beauty The Irish Ecclesiastical Record has yielded another gem: "The Catholic Missions in Iceland" by Jon L. Frederiksen. Fr. Frederiksen offers poignant reflections on his mission to bring the faith back to a Protestant nation.

Now for some rather less pleasant business. Robert Sungenis has seen fit to openly resist his bishop's direct order to cease writing about Jews, and moreover has publicly accused his bishop of heresy. See his recent article, "The Old Covenant: Revoked or Not Revoked?" So, I have decided to put all my previous articles about Sungenis back online. I have also replaced the heavily edited version of "The Orthodoxy of Roy Schoeman", which suppresses it's original context as a letter to the editor of Culture Wars written in opposition to Sungenis, with the original version. Finally, I have added "Justice, not Fear", another letter to Culture Wars. This letter responds to Tom Herron's silly article "Fear of the Jews in Harrisburg" which attempts to paint Sungenis as the innocent victim of a judaizing smear campaign. All of these articles are now comprised under the heading of Catena San Genisi.

Next month I can promise, with confidence, a commentary on my exchange with Fr. Neuhaus in the February First Things, a review of Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11 by David Ray Griffin, and the final version of the Matatics essay.

1/1/08: For the New Year, Scholarship from 1886!

First things first, I wish all Pugio Fidei readers a happy and holy new year. May you end it greater in sanctifying grace than you began it!

Anyway, as is perhaps appropriate for an article about Gerry Matatics, I have not finished the final version of "Facts for Gerry Matatics to Face up to" in the time I said I would finish it by. However, I have reproduced two excellent articles originally published in 1886 in The Irish Ecclesiastical Record. "The Book of Tobias" by Denis Hallinan is the second of a two part series on that biblical book (i.e., Tobit, in modern Bibles). The first part, which I have not reproduced, consists mainly in a summary of the contents of Tobias. But the second part is dedicated wholly to defending Tobias' status as an inspired and inerrant history, according to the sound apologetic principles Hallinan had earlier laid down:

Now the modern enemies of the Christian religion, all of whom we embrace under the name of Rationalists, ridicule the idea of Divine inspiration, and, consequently, of the Divine authority. They are quite prepared to discuss, and to admit or reject according to the rules of historic criticism its human authority. Here we Catholics are bound to take up the challenge, and oppose to their false criticism, a true and sound one, by the aid of which we can prove that the canonical books are as worthy, aye, more worthy of credence, than the most received and approved works of profane authors, whose authority our adversaries do not question. We need have no fear of standing for the nonce on the same platform with them, and fighting them with their own weapons. Our position is perfectly safe--no scientific progress, no new phililogical, geological, or biological discoveries can dislodge us from it. But it is our duty to defend that position, to save, if not the sacred books which eventually can suffer nought from their impious attacks, at least the faith of numbers which may be severely tested by such well-planned, plausible and persistent onslaughts on their earliest, most cherished, and most sacred beliefs.

Next, I hope you will appreciate "A Catholic Utopia" by Richard J. McHugh. McHugh describes the idyllic Catholic society of Tryol, in the Austrian Alps. For all those intent on restoring Christian Civilization, McHugh's description of 19^th century Tyrol should set the bar. His quotation of a Tyrolean wedding invitation is particularly beautiful.

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