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5 Things That Should Never, Ever, Be The First Thing A Catholic Says To A Calvinist

5. "Mary is Co-Redemptrix." True? Yes, undoubtedly. Helpful? Not so much.

4. "I wish I knew the Bible better!" Again, who couldn't say this? But to a good Calvinist, this cements his worst fears about you and the Church.

3. "I'll have my fun now, and then go to Confession." Smooth move, Ex-Lax. He's already inclined to believe you care nothing for Jesus, and you just proved it. (And Father shouldn't absolve you, either.)

2. "Contraception is wrong." Once again, totally true. But the truth of it is an implication of Church teaching on the dignity of persons and their bodies. The rule without the context is not life-giving.

1. "Human nature is basically good." Within a thoroughly Catholic anthropology, this is fully true. To a Calvinist, at a minimum, this sounds like a denial of original sin, or the sure triumph of Pelagianism. You should talk about this at some point, but not now.


Comments

Ben Carmack said…
Jason,

Ever read Tim and David Bayly of Baylyblog.com? They're about as Calvinistic as you can get, but they too don't agree with contraception. I'm not sure they would fully buy into the Catholic rationale for rejecting contraception, but they do post against it, and urge Protestants to have fruitful families. R.C. Sproul Jr has written similar things.
2:31 AM
Jason said…
Yep.
9:53 AM
Jason said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
9:53 AM
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