Fading Polish-American Identity

The Blondes of Wisconsin
By Anthony Bukoski
University of Wisconsin Press, 2021, 152 pp.

Like many industrial cities in the Rust Belt, Rochester had its Polish Town neighborhood, which was centered along Hudson Avenue, north of Clifford Avenue. The Polish immigrants of the late-19th and early-20th centuries settled along Hudson Avenue and established churches, businesses, and social clubs where Polish was spoken and the shared ethnicity was the binding currency of the “Polonia” neighborhood. My paternal grandparents lived on Avenue D, just a few houses down from Hudson. Vets returning from World War II, like my Dad, chose to buy houses in new developments in the bordering suburb of Irondequoit rather than live in Polish Town. Second-generation Polish immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate and downplay their ethnicity.

As first-generation Poles died off, their small, cottage-style houses were bought by African Americans who had moved up to Rochester from Sanford, Florida and elsewhere in the South to take advantage of the city’s then-economic opportunities (Kodak, Xerox, etc). Polish businesses and institutions in the Hudson Avenue neighborhood shuttered one after another. Manufacturing has since moved out of Rochester and most of the city’s neighborhoods, including the old Polish Town, became steeped in poverty. There’s still a few hold-out Poles and Polish-owned businesses and institutions remaining in the crumbling and crime-ridden Hudson Avenue neighborhood. I occasionally frequent a Polish deli on the fringes of the old neighborhood.

Anthony Bukoski has written several books of short stories about life in the declining Polonia of Superior, Wisconsin. “The Blondes of Wisconsin” is his latest offering. These are sad and melancholy tales describing characters living amidst the last gasps of fading Polish ethnic identity, just like the few Polish-Americans still living on Hudson Avenue. This is a reminder that all things of this world are fading and are built on foundations of sinking sand. Polish ethnic identity was strongly intertwined with membership in the Roman Catholic church. St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic church is one of the few Polish ethnic landmarks remaining on Hudson Avenue and inside they still preach a false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit.

Above: Boarded up cottage-style houses in nearby Buffalo’s vast former Polonia neighborhood. This style house was also typical in Rochester’s Polonia neighborhood.

Above: A vintage photograph of the former Christ Polish Baptist Church on the corner of Hudson Ave. and Roycroft Drive in Rochester, N.Y., a Gospel light in a thoroughly Polish Catholic neighborhood. The church was built in 1911, however, the small congregation disbanded in 1945 and the building was subsequently demolished.

Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 2/26/22

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began this past Thursday, February 24th, has obviously dwarfed all other news headlines this week. See my previous op-ed here. Russian forces have now laid siege to the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.

• Catholics flock to exhibition of relics, including fragment of alleged True Cross

American Roman Catholics are queueing up for a traveling exhibit of alleged relics (photo below), including purported shards of Jesus’ cross, a fragment of the crown of thorns, a piece of Mary’s veil, etc., etc. Catholics believe they will receive healings and blessings by touching or being near the relics. All of these objects attributed to Jesus and Mary are bogus. They are jujus, fetishes, talismans, and religious rabbits feet. This is as idolatrous as lining up to see a palm reader or necromancer. Catholicism is all about institutional religion and the physical/material. Catholics are encouraged to venerate and worship these bogus relics, but they never hear the genuine Good News! of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone from their churches’ pulpits.

• Does the Catholic Church really want to alienate thousands over baptism wording?
• Invalid baptisms in Arizona point to something very wrong in the Catholic Church
• Like in Arizona, botched baptisms roiled Michigan church

Last week, I posted about Catholic priest, Andres Arango, of the diocese of Phoenix, Arizona who, it was determined, had “invalidly” baptized thousands of people over three decades by using the wrong pronoun in the baptismal incantation. See here. There’s been a lot of negative reaction from incredulous Catholics, like the writers of the first two articles above, who strongly doubt that salvation hinges on a pronoun. The third article follows-up with “invalid” priest, Matthew Hood (see my relevant 2020 post here), and the largely unsuccessful efforts to contact all those who Hood had “invalidly” baptized. What happens to them? This is an inane, legalistic rabbit hole that RC-ism has no answer for.

• Who celebrates Lent? Is it only for Catholics?

Catholicism runs according to its liturgical calendar. Seasonal holy days and feast days are its lifeblood. Sadly, evangelicalism is becoming more “Catholicized” as seasonal religious observances, like upcoming Lent, are seeping into worship services.

• Montana Catholic bishop bans Latin masses

Pope Francis has set in place a long-range plan restricting the Latin mass with the goal of its eventual elimination. The Latin mass is a bastion of Catholic conservatism. Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena, Montana has become the target of angry conservative Catholics, nationwide, for jumping ahead and completely banning the Latin mass in his diocese.

• Lourdes resurrected: grotto reopens to pilgrims after two year Covid closure

Catholics make long and expensive pilgrimages to Lourdes, France, Fatima, Portugal, and other designated “holy shrines” in search of healings and blessings. As COVID-19 abates, the shrine at Lourdes is reopening. Lourdes, with a population of 14,000, has more hotel rooms than any other city in France, except for Paris, to accommodate the credulous pilgrims. See my review of a critical examination of the Lourdes hoax here.

Forty Answers to “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic”: #30

Thanks for joining me today as we continue our series examining and responding to Catholic apologist and philosopher, Peter Kreeft’s book, “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic” (2018).

Claim #30: I am a Catholic because only the Church can whup the devil.

Kreeft opens this short chapter by proclaiming his belief in Satan and demons and boasting that only the Catholic church has the ability to oppose the devil: “Whenever anybody gets real serious about exorcism, they go to a Catholic priest. Did you ever see a movie with a Protestant exorcist?” (p. 101). Kreeft points out that Jesus performed exorcisms during His earthly ministry and claims He passed that power along to the RCC. Not only does the RCC have 2000 years of unrivaled experience in dealing with Satan and his demons, says Kreeft, it has a “nuclear arsenal in Mary, who is more powerful in gently protecting her beloved children than the Devil is in attacking them” (p. 102).

Response

Gospel Christians certainly believe in Satan and demons. The Bible attests to reality of the demonic and we see Satan at work today in the world’s systems, including religious institutions.

We know from God’s Word that genuine born-again Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Satan’s demons may tempt believers, but they cannot enter into a Christian’s body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” – Corinthians 6:19-20

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4

Roman Catholics are following their church’s false gospel of salvation by sacramental faux-grace and merit and are not genuinely born-again. As such, they are certainly possible targets of demonic possession. Roman Catholic sources report that many Catholic families over the centuries have called upon priests to exorcise demonic spirits from baptized Catholic loved ones.

U.S. priest: Exorcisms on the rise as demons now haunt victims by text
https://nypost.com/2021/07/03/dark-stories-of-catholic-priest-who-performs-20-exorcisms-a-week/

One of Satan’s “greatest” achievements is the counterfeit Roman Catholic “church” with its false gospel of salvation by sacramental faux-grace and merit. Kreeft tips his hand by giving credit to Mary for supposedly protecting Catholics from Satan and demons. One of the most demonic aspects of Roman Catholicism, besides its false gospel, is its deification and idolatrous worship (aka “veneration”) of Mary. By claiming supernatural protection from Mary, Kreeft and Catholics are confirming the idolatrous nature of their religion.

It’s interesting that Kreeft appeals to Hollywood for validation of the RCC’s powers of exorcism. Hollywood has zero insights into spiritual truth. Since coming out of the RCC and accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior by faith alone in 1983, I’ve said many times that the most dangerous character in any exorcism movie is the priest with his soul-damning false gospel.

Above: William J. O’Malley is an actual Jesuit priest who played a priest character in the popular 1973 film, “The Exorcist.” O’Malley taught at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, N.Y. for 22 years. In 2019, a civil suit was brought against O’Malley by one of his former students charging sexual abuse in 1985-86. In 2020, another ex-student filed a lawsuit against O’Malley claiming sexual abuse in 1975.

Next week: Claim #31: I am a Catholic to save civilization from its enemies

Russia invades Ukraine

I woke up this morning to the news that Russian military forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While this is not surprising given the massive military build-up on the Ukrainian border over the past several weeks, it’s disturbing just the same.

I’m somewhat familiar with Eastern European geopolitics because of my studies of Poland for many years. Eastern European nations were able to achieve independence following the destabilization and fall of the Soviet Union in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Beginning in 1999, former Soviet-bloc countries began joining NATO in an effort to protect themselves from any designs by a resurgent Russia.

Former Soviet-Russian KGB agent, Vladimir Putin, entered politics in 1990 and ascended to the office of Russian Prime Minister in 1999. He’s swapped the ceremonial democratic government titles of premier/prime minister and president several times, but has become the de facto dictator of Russia. Putin retains control of Russia by selling the lie to its 144 million citizens that NATO is a looming threat to Russian sovereignty. Ukraine, on Russia’s western border, initially applied for NATO membership in 2008, but then vacillated in the face of strong Russian opposition. However, following the limited Russian invasion of southern Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian government made joining NATO a priority. Although the West was wary of provoking Putin/Russia, Ukraine’s NATO membership appeared to be a certain eventuality, until now.

I can vividly remember the height of the Cold War during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. We grammar school children were put through “duck and cover” drills in which we practiced scurrying for shelter under our desks for “protection” against incoming Soviet nuclear missiles. It was scary stuff for a young child.

The invasion of Ukraine (and the forthcoming long-term subjugation of the country) is discomforting. We have not experienced anything like this in generations. What happens next? Will this escalate? Will Putin target additional former Soviet-bloc countries? All this coming after an international health crisis on a scale not seen in 100 years. We like to think this world is a somewhat stable, secure place, but this is blatant evidence to the contrary. There is no security in this world and its political systems or in its non-Christian (or pseudo-Christian) religious institutions.

As Christian believers, we pray to the Lord God Almighty. He was not caught by surprise by this Russian invasion. We pray for believers in Ukraine. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Orthodox, but there is a Gospel Christian presence. We pray that relative peace will be restored so that the Gospel can continue to go out. Amidst the turmoil, we believers are secure in the Lord’s hands.

“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” – Psalm 16:8

The Byrds’ Top 25 Songs: #5, “Change Is Now”

“Change Is Now” (3:21)
Written by Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn
Produced by Gary Usher
From “The Notorious Byrd Brothers,” Columbia Records, January 15, 1968. Also released as the B-side of “Goin’ Back,” October 20, 1967

Bassist, Chris Hillman, contributes song #5 in our Byrds’ Top 25 Songs countdown, “Change Is Now.” With their fifth album, “The Notorious Byrd Brothers,” the Byrds continued on a creative pinnacle that began with their previous LP, “Younger Than Yesterday.” “Change Is Now” was the opener on the B-side of the album and it’s a stunner. Hillman presents some of the same joie de vivre and carpe diem themes that he used on a different cut of his from the album, “Natural Harmony” (song #17 in our countdown, see here), as he exhorts listeners to “dance to the day when fear it is gone.”

Musically, “Change Is Now” is a blend of psychedelia and country-rock, a Byrds specialty found elsewhere on this album and other LPs. Country music virtuosos, Clarence White (future Byrd) on guitar and Orville “Red” Rhodes on pedal-steel contribute the authentic twang. David Crosby, for the first and only time in his career, plays bass, while Roger McGuinn and Hillman handle the guitars. Byrds biographer, Johnny Rogan, hypothesizes that McGuinn uses a 6-string Fender, possibly fed through a Moog synthesizer, for the secondary guitar on the raucous, psychedelic solo (“Byrds: Requiem for the Timeless,” Vol. 1, p. 407). Crosby contributes an excellent high-harmony vocal and session drummer, Hal Blaine, provides the percussion in place of the departed Michael Clarke.

I wore out this track when I used to listen to “The Notorious Byrd Brothers” album as a teenager. Of course, joie de vivre and carpe diem are hollow life philosophies, as the personal lives of Hillman, McGuinn, and Crosby attest to, but it made perfect sense in my 17YO mind. “Change Is Now” was the first song recorded at the “Notorious” sessions and the band initially envisioned it as a hit single, but that didn’t materialize. McGuinn commented in 1969, “It’s another of those guru-spiritual-mystical songs that no one understood.” This song was another marker on McGuinn’s journey to accepting Jesus Christ as Savior in 1977.

Without any further ado, I present song #5 in our Byrds’ Top 25 Songs countdown, “Change Is Now.”

Truth from Arkansas! Sunday Sermon Series, #124

Today, in our ongoing “Truth from Arkansas” series, we’re featuring two new sermons from the brethren down under.

First, we have Pastor Roger Copeland of Northern Hills Baptist Church in Texarkana, preaching from Luke 22:1-6 on “Betrayed.”

Next, we have Pastor Cody Andrews of Holly Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Star City preaching from Jonah 2:10-3:1-10 on “God is a God of Second Chances.”

Both of these sermons were delivered on Sunday, February 6th.

Pastor Roger Copeland – Betrayed

Pastor Cody Andrews – God is a God of Second Chances

The Legion returns!…but only in a six-issue, limited engagement

Since July, we’ve been journeying through my stash of 2010-2103 Legion of Super-Heroes comics because DC pulled the plug on the 2019-2020 Bendis-Sook Legion reboot after issue #12, published in January, 2021. DC and Bendis have brought the Legion back for a six-issue, limited series with the 31st Century teen heroes sharing the marquee with the 21st Century Justice League as they team up to confront the onset of the Great Darkness.

Justice League vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Gold Lantern Saga, #1 of 6
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Pencillers: Scott Godlewski
DC Comics, January 2022

Plot

The story opens with Gold Lantern being interrogated by the malevolent Garfu. Almost the entire Legion suddenly shows up and makes short work of the creature. As the heroes celebrate their victory, a “Darkness Outbreak” tremor occurs, and one of the Durgo triplicates vanishes. The Legion appears before Madamhonor President, R.J. Brande, and the United Planets Council warning of the coming Great Darkness. The Council pledges its full support of the Legion.

Meanwhile, on 21st century Earth, the Justice League has just defeated a team of villains when a Darkness Outbreak tremor occurs there as well, nearly pulling away Wonder Woman. Instead, the rapidly-aged Durgo triplicate appears. Batman summons Superman, but he’s already sprung into action. As the Durgo duo and the Legion commiserate over the loss of triplicate #3, Jon Kent appears and invites them all to travel to 21st century Metropolis where they meet the Justice League and re-connect with the missing Durgo triplicate. There’s plenty of spirited introductions and conversation as the young heroes from the future meet their 21st century role models at JL headquarters, but the gathering is interrupted by yet another Darkness Outbreak tremor. All of the members of the LSH and the JL disappear EXCEPT for Gold Lantern.

Comments

It’s great to see the Bendis Legion back in business, at least for this six-issue run. Despite the title, the JL and LSH aren’t really in conflict. There’s not much plot in this opening issue other than the onset of the Great Darkness, which was alluded to in the 2019-2020 Bendis-Sook LSH storyline, and the meeting of the LSH and JL. Bendis’ dialogue is snappy as usual. The awkward banter between the two teams at their initial meeting is actually quite humorous. Bendis handles those kinds of situations well. Thankfully, Bendis didn’t have Jon Kent engaging in any monkey business. Godlewski does a decent job with the pencils, although not at the caliber of Ryan Sook. Looking forward to #2!

Legionnaires spotted in this issue: Blok, Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Doctor Fate, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Gold Lantern, Karate Kid, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Matter-Eater Lad, Mon-El, Monster Boy, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy, White Witch, Wildfire, and X-Ray Girl. The only 2019-2020 Bendis Legion members I didn’t spot were Ferro Lad, Invisible Kid, and Rose Forrest. I only recently learned that the never-identified character in the 2019-2020 Bendis Legion was X-Ray Girl who had first appeared as member of the Legion in Supergirl Vol. 7, #33. Yup, you need a PhD in Legionology to keep up with the LSH roster.

Justice League roster: Aquaman, Batman, Black Adam, Black Canary, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Naomi/Powerhouse, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Postscript: Yup, we’ll continue to review the 2010-2013 Paul Levitz Legion during this 2022 JL vs. LSH six-part series. Count on two LSH reviews per month for the next six months. I’ve been out of touch with the Justice League for over fifty years. The Silver Age JLA roster as I remember it was Aquaman, Atom, Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

The 90s Knicks: Enter the paint at your own risk

Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks
By Chris Herring
Atria Books, 2022, 349 pp.

I became a New York Knicks fan in 1968 at the age of twelve, just in time to experience those great Knicks championships in 1970 and 1973. Well, it’s been slim pickin’s since then, although the blue and orange had some nice runs in the Patrick Ewing era (1985-2000).

In this book, Chris Herring, takes us back to the 1990s when the Knicks were the scourge of the NBA. Knicks management brought Pat Riley to New York City in 1991 after he had coached the Los Angeles Lakers to four championships. The Lakers had won with finesse, but the Knicks didn’t have that kind of offensive talent, so Riley had the Knicks focus on defense. No opponent looked forward to dribbling into the paint with Ewing, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason swinging their elbows beneath the basket. Besides being a good defender, Ewing had also turned himself into a scoring threat, but he didn’t have much help on offense besides an erratic John Starks. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls constantly stood in the way of the Knicks’ championship aspirations, although the blue and orange did go to the Finals in 1994, losing to the Rockets, because Jordan had opted to play baseball that year.

Riley had enough after the 1994-1995 season and took the coaching job down in Miami. Assistant Jeff Van Gundy eventually got the Knicks head coaching spot and did a very decent job leading the team from 1996 until 2001. The Knicks made it to the Finals again in 1998, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. The Ewing era ended after the team traded the big man following the 1999-2000 season.

The Knicks advanced to the playoffs only five times after Van Gundy’s departure, making it past the 1st round only one time (2013). Over the span of 2001 to 2022, few professional sports teams have displayed the kind of mismanagement, ineptitude, and futility we have seen from the hapless Knicks.

I enjoyed reading this book and recalling the Riley-Van Gundy years. The Knicks had some real “characters” in that span. Ewing needed one, just one, All-Star caliber player to complement his Hall-of-Fame game so that he could lead the Knicks to an NBA championship, like Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen, but for some strange reason, Knicks management wasn’t able to deliver.

Postscript: Charlie Ward was a two-sport athlete at Florida State University and won the Heisman Trophy as quarterback of the Seminoles in 1993. Ward was drafted by the Knicks in 1994 and played nine years for the team. Charlie was a born-again Christian and was a faithful witness of Jesus Christ and the Gospel in his tenure as a Knick. After each game, he joined with other believers on both teams for an on-court prayer.

Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 2/19/22

• A Black gay priest in New York City is challenging the Catholic Church from within

Advocates within the RCC, such as the priest in the above article, are chipping away at resistance to the recognition of practicing L***ers as full-fledged members.

• Victims claim the Italian Catholic church has a Mafia-style grip on the authorities preventing habitual child-abuse offenders from being brought to justice

Church and government operated “hand in glove” in predominantly Catholic countries and that’s still the case in Italy, the center of RC-ism.

• Vatican: Number of Catholics Worldwide Rose by 16 Million in 2020

The RCC is leaking members like a sieve in Europe and the Americas, but is gaining members in Africa and Asia. There are now 1.36 billion people worldwide who follow Rome’s false gospel of salvation by sacramental faux-grace and merit.

• Same-sex blessings, women deacons, lay leadership: Which German “Synodal Path” proposals will Pope Francis veto?

The German Catholic church’s “Synodal Path” initiative commenced on December 1, 2019 and will continue into 2023. A number of progressive reforms will be proposed. How will Francis react? Catholic conservatives are wringing their hands while liberals anticipate the upcoming drama with glee.

• Retired pope has full support of Pope Francis, aide says

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI initially denied he was present at meetings when he was archbishop of Munich that led to cover-up for pedophile priests. But the evidence was irrefutable and Ratzinger was forced to recant, although he denies any personal culpability. Pope Francis is taking a cautious, low-key approach in supporting Ratzinger. Why isn’t he supporting the victims of the sexual predators Ratzinger allowed to run roughshod?

• Lee Strobel’s ‘The Case for Heaven’ hitting big screen in doc featuring Francis Chan, Luis Palau

Pop apologist, Lee Strobel, has made a cottage industry of his “The Case for…” books. Strobel is a disciple of Norman Geisler and Rick Warren and predictably makes the case for ecumenism with Rome in all of his projects.

• The (not so) puzzling theology of Pope Francis

Progressive pope Francis enrages conservative Catholics with his bending of doctrine in favor of “pastoral” pragmatism and relativism. In this article, evangelical theologian, Leonardo De Chirico, presents an excellent analysis of the slippery Francis.

Forty Answers to “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic”: #29

Thanks for joining me today as we continue our series examining and responding to Catholic apologist and philosopher, Peter Kreeft’s book, “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic” (2018).

Claim #29: I am a Catholic because I need dogmatic certainty about God, and Christ, and salvation

Kreeft begins this chapter by presenting the following argument:

1. Humankind needs divine, infallible certainty regarding “the truth about God, the way to Heaven, and the power to get there” (p. 97).
2. The Bible presents those truths, but must be correctly interpreted.
3. There are 20,000 Protestant denominations with 20,000 different Biblical interpretations, so Protestantism is self-refuting.
4. The Roman Catholic church is the only church established by Jesus Christ and it alone is authorized to infallibly interpret Scripture and define dogma. 
5. The Roman Catholic church, therefore, is the source for humankind of divine, infallible certainty regarding the truth about God, the way to Heaven, and the power to get there. 

Kreeft claims the RCC provides certainty A) that our sins have been forgiven, B) that we are worshiping the real God, C) that the eucharist wafer is really Jesus, D) that the creeds are true, E) that God loves us, F) that death is not the end, G) that our loved ones who die have not just “passed away,” and H) that our faith is God’s dogma, not our personal dogmatism.

Response

Kreeft has made claims for the sole authority of the Roman Catholic church in previous chapters, and continues here. The Roman church proclaimed its magisterium (the teaching office of the pope and his bishops) to be on the same level as Sacred Scripture. Untethered from the authority of Scripture, the RCC fabricated a plethora of un-Biblical and anti-Biblical “sacred traditions” that were also claimed to be on par with Scripture. Rather than relying on the certain truths of Scripture, the Roman church supplanted Scripture with spurious and heretical “sacred traditions.”

There is no certainty in Roman Catholicism. The RCC teaches a false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit. A Catholic can never have “dogmatic certainty” about their salvation because it’s based upon their own untrustworthy merit. In fact, the Roman church says a person commits the “sin of presumption” when they presume upon God’s mercy unto salvation without their own efforts. Roman Catholicism is a legalistic religious treadmill with absolutely no certainty.

God’s Word, the Bible, alone provides divine, infallible certainty regarding the truth about God and the way to Heaven. We don’t need “power” or abilities to get to Heaven as Kreeft states. That’s Catholic thinking. We need to agree with God that we are depraved sinners in desperate need of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and to accept Jesus as Savior by faith alone.

Kreeft predictably rolls out the trope of 20,000 Protestant denominations (some Catholic apologists inflate the number to 30,000 or even 40,000). The number isn’t important. What is important is if the denomination or church submits to the divine authority of Scripture and teaches the genuine Good News! Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. The Roman Catholic church certainly does not.

I have certainty that I am saved because of Scripture’s promises:

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” – 1 John 5:13

As in previous chapters, Kreeft self-servingly presents the Roman church as an idealized monolith. The actual history of the RCC is one of doctrinal evolution, infighting, and persecution of non-Catholics. How “certain” can Catholicism be when many conservative Catholics consider the current pontiff, progressive pope Francis, to be a heretic?

Certainty about spiritual matters is supremely important and certainty can be found in God’s Word. However, while reading this chapter, I wondered why Kreeft is so obsessed with certainty. The Roman church officially teaches that all religionists – Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc. – and even atheists, can also merit Heaven if they are sincere in their beliefs and are “good.” So, in direct contradiction of Kreeft’s arguments in this chapter, the RCC teaches that no one actually needs certainty about spiritual matters.

Next week: Claim #30: I am a Catholic because only the Church can whup the devil.