DID MELANCTHON MISUSE AND LIE ABOUT ST AUGUSTINE? mini 🧵🧵

We need to talk about the problem of mistranslations.

I can't recall how many times, purposefully or innocently, false translations are shared and pushed in support of false claims. Though it can happen for everyone.... but the problems seems especially grace in some RC circles.

For example a "translation" of a letter by Melanchthon to Brenz is still oft shared, either in a translation by the anti-Lutheran polemicist, the Jesuit Grisar, or a newer from the Patheos blog, e.g.

Did Robert Bellarmine conceded that St Augustine erred on the doctrine of the papacy⁉️

First ; An overview of the controversy between St Cyprian and bishop Stephan of Rome

Second ; St Augustine's interpretation of the controversy

A THREAD 🧵🧵🧵 In 255 St Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and primate of North Africa, wrote, along with the bishops of North Africa, a letter to bishop Stephan of Rome in which they informed him of their decision, judging the baptisms done by heretics invalid

They asked him regarding his opinion

The Myth of the Novelty of the Protestant Doctrine of Justification! Thread🧵

The idea that the Protestant notion of justification, as laid out by blessed Luther, is either novel or un-catholic utterly fails to consider that multiple bishops, teachers and cardinals in... communion with Rome, saw it as orthodox, catholic and patristic. These remained in communion with Rome, not because they held to a different teaching on justification than Luther did, but because they saw Luther as erring on other doctrines.

Yet this should help us see this...

No – St Augustine did not believe in the doctrine of purgatory!

ARGUMENT;
1, The post grossly misframes Chemnitz

2, St Augustine did not believe in the doctrine of purgatory, defended

3, That prayers for the dead are pious and useful do not entail purgatory

https://twitter.com/sincead33/status/1874574726661845174

First Point, I think this post is grossly misleading and uncharitable. If one wishes to criticize someone for bad scholarship or mischaracterizing another’s view, then one should himself certainly take the utmost care not to do that himself when offering his critique!

Christmas is the quintessential Lutheran holiday for so many reasons - a thread 🧵

There are all the exterior and obvious things. Like how pastor Wichern, a Lutheran pastor in Hamburg, made the first Advent Wreath in 1839, or how blessed Luther himself, if not inventing... then as the first championed and spread the wonderful and now ubiquitous tradition of the Christmas Tree, a historic fact from this great Reformer's life and a tradition first recorded among German and Baltic Lutherans in the 16th century. Or the widespread usage of vernacular..

St Paul was married - but few know this! 🧵

Both St. Paul himself in the New Testament and the earliest apostolic tradition is clear that St. Paul was married. Yet many are unware of this as the later tradition, championed by zealous ascetic monks buried...

https://twitter.com/2Philosophical_/status/1864861185796976686

this earlier Scriptural and apostolic tradition. Apart from the fact that Jewish men following divine precepts married so as to raise up sons and multiple
St. Paul himself also indicates his marital status at least twice in the NT. First, 1 Corinthians 9:3 he defends himself...

Sola Scriptura and Did St Augustine Consider Ecumenical Councils Infallible?

thread 🧵

A Reply to The @The_Catechumen and a Friendly Call-Out for Using A Manipulated Text!

He argues yes to this question in this following video he made... and in a recent discussion we had about it.

He argues that, and watch the video timestamp for the whole case, in short summed up here,

St Augustine On The Psalm About Our Justification! a thread 🧵 - PART ONE 1/7

He writes on Psalm 32, Second Sermon

"This is a psalm about God's grace and about our justification"

Let us see how St Augustine applies this to our lives!

He writes,

"The apostle Paul bore witness to the fact that this psalm deals with the grace that makes us Christians; that is why we arranged for this particular passage to be read to you. When the apostle was explaining about the righteousness that depends on faith, in opposition to those who boasted about a righteousness derived from works, he asked, What are we to say that Abraham obtained, he who was our father according to the flesh? If Abraham was justified by works, he has ground for pride, but not before God (Rom 4: 1-2). May God keep that kind of pride far from us! Let us listen to a different injunction: Let anyone who boasts, boast of the Lord (1 Cor 1 :31)." 2/7
Interestingly, St Augustine interprets the phrase from Romans 4:1, as an indicative, namely that if one is justified by works, which in this particular context is explained by St Augustine as describes one who has obeyed God's eternal law, e.g. not committed murder, theft, robbery, desired another's property, adultery etc., then one does indeed have grounds for pride - yet, and crucially, but not grounds for pride before God.

This kind of pride, a pride before the world and not before God, is contrasted by St Augustine with the believer's pride or glory [gloriam] which he has before God. This glory before God the believer can have, exactly because his righteousness is by faith and not by works, by gift and not by desert

St Augustine and the rejection of the doctrine of purgatory? - a thread🧵

St Augustine is presented by many RC as a champion of the doctrine of purgatory due to his discussions of possible purgation of sins after death. Yet such a reading assumes too much and tend to ignore... some key passages of St Augustine. For something to be a doctrine or article of faith it must be revealed by God and cannot be subject to doubt or conjecture. In other words, if St Augustine held that purgatory was a doctrine, rather than an opinion or probable interpretation..

Marriage's beautiful prefigurement of heaven

a thread🧵

The union of man and woman is a sacramental image of Christ and the church, Eph 5:32, a reality that is consummated at the eschaton at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God Rev 19:7, earthly marriage therefore prefigures... in its unitive harmonization of wills,interests and desires through love the believer's final arrival at union with divine life itself

In holy marriage we find a particular sacredness of the state instituted by God for which pre-fallen man was made. It is the state of Paradise..

N.F.S. Grundtvig

The theologian, poet, nationalist and translator and lover of Norse Mythology - thread 🧵

Is without a doubt the most influence Danish theologian who has ever lived. Here in Denmark his legacy and renown far surpasses that of Kierkegaard, who is much... more well known internationally.

Much could be, and is, written on Grundtvig. He was an incredibly intelligent man and in his youth was particularly interested in Norse Mythology and Germanic history.

As a Lutheran theologian he was very preoccupied

The Slaughter of a Sacred Cow – is Lord of the Rings a Christian work?

Reply thread🧵

I, Explain the terms and intent of my original thread
II, Discuss the question of authorial intent and the oft-quoted comment in Tolkien’s 142th letter
III, Answer some of the substantial

1/

https://twitter.com/potamopotos/status/1807129682585825584

counter-points raised against my thread
IV, high-light some essentially Nose Pagan elements

An overwhelming share of response has been absolutely underwhelming in substance. Apart from a few breaths the replies have been a storm of hot air. But alas, empty kettles rattle

Lord of the Rings is a masterful and edifying work - but...

It is certainly not a Christian.

Rather, it fits much more comfortably in the mold of the old heroic Pagan epics.

Little thread 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵 Though there is a whole mythology, creation story and a supreme deity in Lord of the Rings religion as such plays no profound part of the story

At most a deistic conception echoes the otherwise practically secular characters. Worship, religious doctrines and revelation are....

THE AWFUL FALL AND THE AWESOME RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST – A little thread on Genesis 3:21

O how gruesome was the Fall! Into what hellish depths did Adam and we in him not falter? Our father was created in glory to participate in the divine life. In a paradise was he made formed.. by God yet by His mercy we were told to cooperate and till the earth. The most wonderful creatures did God make yet He allowed Adam to name them. Yet the greatest crown of creation was given to Adam and especially Eva, as they were given the gift of authoring life as God, even...

A profound misconception of sacrifice and prayer – a thread🧵

Since this argument has become somewhat popular in the online sphere, I thought it beneficial to offer a critique.
Rome posits that in the celebration of the Eucharist a real propitiatory sacrifice is offered to...

https://twitter.com/JoshuaTCharles/status/1768406687072063515

God by the priest. They see in this act the high-point of worship, its panicle, compared to which other religious expression of worship stand as lesser and fail to fully encapsulate the fullness of religious adoration found in the climatic sacrificial act of the offering of the..

Watched the @Trent_Horn vs James White @HwsEleutheroi debate today.

Here's a few thoughts - a thread 🧵

First of all I think the debate went OK'ish for both debaters. They did an alright job but I wasn't able to really appreciate it. Here's why... Trent is quick witted and came across, though a bit too eager at times, as authentic and humble. He is well-versed in the material and especially in the scholarship, but that is his major issue IMO.

His view of Scripture comes across as objectionably low...

The unprecedented collapse of Roman Catholicism in the Americas is wildly under-reported story.

Why do so few people discuss this?

These countries were practically >98% Catholic until the 1950s, but are moving toward Protestant plurality...

Honduras, now plurality Protestant



Guatemala

1, Why I embraced Confessional Lutheranism after exploring both Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism

A thread🧵

With a little surprise hidden!

https://twitter.com/langluigi_/status/1750929343277375539

2, Patristic Continuity: Confessional Lutheranism faithfully preserves early Church Fathers' teachings, ensuring a seamless connection to the profound theological insights of the past.

An example of an ancient invocation of Mary? - a small thread examining the Ryland Papyrus 470 🧵 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚔 𝙿𝚊𝚙𝚢𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝙸𝙸𝙸 𝟺𝟽𝟶: 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠
Pictured below is the Ryland Greek Papyrus III 470 (abbr.: P.Ryl. 470), containing an early Greek version of the Marian hymn "Sub tuum praesidium":....

Christmas is the quintessential Lutheran holiday for so many reasons - a small thread 🧵

There are all the exterior and obvious things. Like how pastor Wichern, a Lutheran pastor in Hamburg, made the first Advent Wreath in 1839, or how blessed Luther himself, if not inventing... then as the first championed and spread the wonderful and now ubiquitous tradition of the Christmas Tree, a historic fact from this great Reformer's life and a tradition first recorded among German and Baltic Lutherans in the 16th century. Or the widespread usage of vernacular...

YOUR FAVOURITE PROTESTANT POP-UP AD PROVING SOLA SCRIPTURA - a playful thread 🧵

I used to be a Roman Catholic monk and believed all the dogmas promulgated by the church. But 7 years ago I began a journey that would inevitably lead me into PROTESTANTISM. After the Pope approved my installation as doctor of theology at the University of Wittenberg I began reading the church fathers and was SHOCKED to see how they taught the LUTHERAN idea of Sola Scriptura. I had grown up believing that divine revelation was found in both Holy Scripture and Holy...