Does Catholicism Lead to Atheism: A Dialogue Between a Palamite and a Thomist By: Michael Lofton Palamas: Good morning, Thomas. I have not seen you since we were both Presbyterians. Fancy seeing you here in this coffee shop. By the way, I converted to Orthodoxy five years ago and I heard you became a […]
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Michael Liccione – Responding to EO Critiques on Development of Doctrine. Freelance writer Michael Liccione earned his PhD in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught philosophy at a dozen Catholic and secular institutions and has served on the editorial staff of First Things.
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Michael Lofton and Elijah Yasi discuss Original Sin in Eastern Orthodoxy with Fr. John Whiteford (Ancient Faith Radio).
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Michael Lofton, Erick Ybarra and William Albrecht interview Fr Laurent Cleenewerck on his book His Broken Body. Father Cleenewerck’s book may be found here: https://www.amazon.com/His-Broken-Bod…
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Michael Lofton and Erick Ybarra discuss Fr. John Ramsey on Development of Doctrine in Eastern Orthodoxy.
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Response to EO Objections to the Papacy Part II
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In an effort to develop common ground between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, I have decided to briefly discuss the concept of doctrinal development and its existence in Eastern Orthodoxy. Some in Orthodoxy object to the concept of doctrinal development, as evident by the work of Fr. Daniel Lattier, an Orthodox priest and theologian, who lists the […]
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Michael Lofton and Erick Ybarra interview Father Josiah Trenham on Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
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Michael Lofton and Erick Ybarra interview Dr. Edward Siecienski on his book Orthodox Christianity: A Very Short Introduction. The book is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Christianity-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/0190883278/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Orthodox+Christianity%3A+A+Very+Short+Introduction&qid=1582646314&sr=8-1
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Michael Lofton and Al Blazek debate the thesis: Does Catholicism Dogmatically Teach All Unbaptized Babies Must Go to Hell? Al Blazek (Orthodox) takes the position the Catholic Church does teach this thesis. Michael Lofton (Catholic) takes the position the Catholic Church does not teach this thesis.
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If anyone wishes to detect the deceits of heretics and to keep a sound and effective faith (Heb. 4:12), in the same sense in which it was taught and passed down by Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles, he ought, with the Lord’s help, to fortify his faith by the authority of Scripture, and […]
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Michael responds to Jay Dyer on the possibility for a future debate and Timothy Flaners, Craig Truglia, Erick Ybarra and William Albrecht discuss reactions to Timothy’s conversion video with Dr. Taylor Marshall. Articles by Timothy: https://meaningofcatholic.com/articles/#greek
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Michael does a review of Bishop Hilarion on The Reception of the Ecumenical Councils in the Early Church.
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I’d like to review Eastern Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev’s article “The Reception of the Ecumenical councils in the Early Church” which was published by St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly in 2003. Purpose of the Paper The purpose of Bishop Hilarion’s paper is to explain how Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox could possibly reunite without either communion […]
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Michael interviews Fr. John Whiteford on the New Calendar Controversy in Eastern Orthodoxy.
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Michael discusses Fr. Florovsky on the authority of councils and offers some thoughts on his position.
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Michael Lofton, Craig Truglia and Erick Ybarra discuss the Eastern Orthodox Council in Jordan, to be held at the end of February, 2020.
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Michael Lofton and Craig Truglia discuss rumors about the prospect of Orthodox and Catholic reunion and an ecumenical council in 2025.
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Michael Lofton, Craig Truglia, Erick Ybarra and Sub Deacon Daniel Kakish discuss Marian apparitions from a Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox perspective.
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Michael and Craig discuss pre-schism heretical popes including Liberius, Zosimus, Hormisdas, Vigilius and Honorius.
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Michael interviews Dr. Mark Spencer on Reforming Thomism and Integrating Palamism. The Flexibility of Divine Simplicity: Aquinas, Scotus, Palamas Mark K. Spencer.
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Michael and Erick discuss Catholicism and primacy with Fr. Patrick Ramsey. He is the author of The Church: Deifying Relations available here: https://www.amazon.com/Church-Deifying-Relations-John-Ramsey/dp/172182300X/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NPZDPN3291FQFBG14CE4
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William Albrecht (Roman Catholicism) and Craig Truglia (Eastern Orthodox) debate: Does 2 Maccabees 12 Teach Prayers for the Dead? 2 Maccabees 12:39-46 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA) 39 And the day following Judas came with his company, to take away the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen, […]
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Can Palamism and Thomism be reconciled? Do the apparent differences rise to a dogmatic level? Michael and Erick discuss Palamism and Thomism with Fr. Peter Totleben who answers these and other questions. Fr. Peter Totleben is a Dominican Friar of the Province of St. Joseph and faculty member for Theology at the Josephinum Pontifical College […]
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Are there early proofs for the veneration of images? Did some approve of Christian art but opposed the veneration of that art? These questions, and others, are discussed by Michael, Erick, Craig and Cal from a Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican perspective.
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Michael, Erick and Timothy have a discussion with Seraphim Hamilton on the Papacy, Filioque, the Rosary, the 5 Ways and Creationism. Timothy Flanders’ website: https://meaningofcatholic.com/ Erick Ybarra’s website: https://erickybarra.org/
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Michael and Erick discuss essence/energies, theophanies and philosophy with Dr. David Bradshaw.
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Michael, Erick and Craig discuss the legitimacy of indulgences and touch on their doctrinal and historical veracity from a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox perspective.
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Michael starts out by discussing Canon 6 of Nicaea I and Roman Primacy with Erick. After an hour Jay Dyer joins the video for an impromptu debate with Erick on the papacy. The show then examines many issues including epistemology, the papal charisms, development of doctrine, etc.
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Michael ask Jay about essence and energies, created and uncreated grace, authority in Orthodoxy, Gregory Palamas, Maximus the Confessor, among many other related topics!
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Dr. Goff and Michael discuss the differences between Scotism, Palamism and Thomism.
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Are there any solutions to the crisis in the church? Michael Lofton, Erick Ybarra, Craig Truglia, Timothy Flanders and Dustin Quick discuss various methods that may help improve the condition in which the church finds herself. For more information visit: Timothy Flanders: https://meaningofcatholic.com Erick Ybarra: http://erickybarra.org Craig Truglia: https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com Dustin Quick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU01LxYSzVQ
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Craig and Erick debate who started the East vs. West schism.
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10 questions for the Palamite on essence/energies, simplicity, Thomism, dogma and other related topics. Below is a transcription of the ten questions for the Palamite: Both Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox agree God is simple. Neither claim he is a composite being. The Roman Catholic Church has dogmatized the […]
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Timothy Flanders joins us in discussing his conversion from Eastern Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism and addresses difficulties in both Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. Visit Timothy’s website at: https://meaningofcatholic.com/
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Michael, Craig and Cal discuss the Frankish vs. the Byzantine view of icons in a round table format.
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Craig and Michael discuss the Blessed Virgin Mary in the early church and address topics like the sinlessness of Mary and her perpetual virginity.
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Guest Edward Siecienski speaks about Catholic and Orthodox relations, with a focus on the papacy and the filioque.
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This video discusses the differences between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism in the matter of merit.
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A review of Seraphim Hamilton’s video “Why I Cannot in Good Conscience be a Roman Catholic: The Papal Dogmas.”
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Michael Lofton interviews Craig Truglia about his conversion story to Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy.
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Michael Lofton and guest Fr. Patrick Cardine, a Western Orthodox priest, discuss Western Orthodoxy and the differences between Catholics and Orthodox.
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Michael Lofton and co-host Erick Ybarra discuss the reception and rebaptism of converts in the Eastern Orthodox Church with guest Fr. John Whiteford.
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Michael Lofton, Erick Ybarra and Craig Truglia discuss the burning of Notre Dame and the origins of monespiscopacy in the early church.
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In this video, Michael and Craig interview guest William Albrecht and discuss a wide range of topics from purgatory in the early church to the Old Testament canon.
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Michael, Craig and Erick discuss the Orthodox Church of Ukraine controversy, autocephaly, Patriarch Bartholomew, the Moscow Patriarchate and more.
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In this video, Michael and Craig speak with Subdeacon Daniel Kakish, an Oriental Orthodox Christian, about what is Oriental Orthodoxy and the schism between Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy.
Read More…In this video, Michael reviews Yasir Qadhi on the Islamic vs. the Christian Jesus, W. Godfrey on changes in Roman Catholicism and R. C. Sproul, Ligon Duncan, and John MacArthur on Eastern Orthodoxy.
Read More…In this video, Michael, Craig and Matthew discuss James White and his criticisms of the Dulia/Latria distinction presented by the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
Read More…In this episode, Michael Lofton, Erick Ybarra (Roman Catholic), Craig Truglia (Eastern Orthodox) and Dr. Brian Dellinger (Baptist) discuss the topic of Justification by Faith Alone. Please excuse the technical difficulties with the video and audio at certain points.
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In this episode, Michael critiques Todd Friel’s critique of Eastern Orthodoxy, discussing issues such as justification, sola fide, baptismal regeneration and many other topics.
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In this video, Michael, Erick and Craig have a round table discussion on the rebaptism controversy in modern Eastern Orthodoxy.
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In this video, Michael and Craig discuss the topic of the Canon of Scripture, with an emphasis on the Old Testament Canon, in relation to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
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This is a debate between a Roman Catholic (Erick Ybarra) and an Eastern Orthodox (Craig Truglia) on whether papal ratification is the best way to identify an Ecumenical Council. The debate was moderated by Michael Lofton from Reason and Theology.
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Erick Ybarra and Craig Truglia debated the thesis: Are Ecumenical Councils to be Identified by the Reception Theory. Craig took the Pro position and Erick took the Con. Michael Lofton served as the moderator.
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In this video, Michael goes over Kallistos Ware’s talk about how to identify an Ecumenical Council in Eastern Orthodoxy and discusses some of the difficulties with it.
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Introduction Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics have many similarities. It can be argued that the two communions share much in common concerning of the Trinity, Scripture, Redemption, the Sacraments and Eschatology. The obstacles remaining between the two ecclesiastical bodies, however, are profound, and result in a lack of Eucharistic communion. These obstacles will be explored […]
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In this video, Michael interviews Dustin Quick about his conversion to Roman Catholicism from Islam and discusses topics from the Nation of Islam to Eastern Orthodoxy
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In this video, Michael discusses the need for apologists to use equal measures (consistent arguments that do not undermine their own position) when criticizing another’s position. The need to examine proof texts critically is also addressed.
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In this video, Erick and Michael go over the Letter of Pope Agatho to the emperor and the letter to the Sixth Ecumenical Council fathers, along with their response to Pope Agatho. The video especially explores papal infallibility, Pope Honorius and Eastern Orthodoxy.
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In this video Erick and Michael go over some of the arguments for and against both the Eastern and the Western views of the papacy in the first millennium.
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In this video, Erick Ybarra and Michael Lofton discuss the disconnect between the papacy historically vs. the papacy in the present and grapple with how one may explain the differences. The focus is especially on the function of the papacy, as well as differences in emphasis in church teachings, such as extra Ecclesiam nulla salus […]
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In this video, Michael Lofton goes over some of the differences between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism with a heavy emphasis on the papacy and the magisterium. Other differences, such as the filioque or how to identify ecumenical councils within each tradition are also covered.
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