The Protestant Reformation was a rebellion against some positions and practices of the 1500-year-old Christian Church which had been described as catholic or universal since the second century. The use of Roman Catholic Church as the official name became common after the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church today, with about 1.4 billion members, still considers […]
Author: Darryl Williams
6 – Angels in the 21st Century?
Angels have a prominent role in the bible with 130 mentions in the Old Testament and 178 in the New Testament. In the New Testament, they are most prominent in Matthew, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, and Revelation, 85% of the NT instances being in those five books. Only three angels are named in the Bible. Michael […]
5 – Mary, Mother of God
The Catholic teachings of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and Assumption into Heaven are certainly among the most mysterious to Protestant believers in Jesus. Granted these are not specifically stated in the Bible but even among the Reformers agreeing on Sola Scriptura, there were two positions. Some argued that unless something is specifically stated in […]
4 – God?
It is a common temptation to see God as a sort of superhuman, created in our image but perfected, no character flaws, no sin, and the ability to do perfectly all the things we fail to do or do imperfectly. He is sometimes seen as the kindly “Man Upstairs,” waiting to hear from us and […]
3.5 – My Theological Journey
I grew up in the shadow of the East Tennessee Smoky Mountains. All my exposure to church was Southern Baptist. I remember my dad’s skepticism about local Episcopal and Presbyterian churches. They did not forbid alcohol consumption! Except for some delinquency during my college years, I have always been a church attender actively involved in […]
3. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium
Introduction The Catholic Church emphasizes Bible readings in its worship, hearing readings from the Old and New Testaments at Mass and usually hearing a homily about one of those readings. However, tradition and Church authority are also important. The pertinent words from the Nicene Creed are these: I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic […]
2. Creation of the Universe
Today’s question to Magisterium AI: What does the Catholic Church teach about creation of the universe? Updated 2/25/2026. Magisterium response below in parentheses: The Catholic Church teaches that the one Triune God is the origin and sustainer of the universe, creating it freely out of nothing (ex nihilo) through His eternal Word (the Son) and […]
1. Magisterium AI
Artificial Intelligence is the hot news item this year. It is at least a super-fast search engine able to summarize and analyze data. It is projected to save time and money and eliminate millions of jobs. The radical view is that it will eventually eliminate the need for humanity! An issue is that there are […]
Excusing Past Sins
In 1563, John Foxe, an English clergyman, wrote a book titled Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. In it, he listed Christian martyrs beginning with Stephen, proceeding with the early persecutions of Christians by Rome, persecution by the Christian Church of dissenters, heretics, and troublemakers, Reformation persecutions, and the burning of about 280 English Protestants at the […]
Old Testament Wisdom Books
The Great Courses offers hundreds of on-line courses featuring skilled professors exploring a wide variety of subjects. We recently stumbled on a course entitled Reading Biblical Literature. The skilled professor/lecturor is Dr. Craig Koester. We have been enjoying one of these lectures most evenings during Lent. Below are the apps leading to free access on […]