Rome2Reformed
@rickbrennanjr
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Ph.D. International Relations | MDiv/ThM (Candidate) | Retired Army Officer & RAND Senior Analyst | Reformed Baptist Pastor | Church History/Historical Theology
Arizona, USA
Joined April 2022
Watching these new Rangers takes me back forty-five years. I remember crossing that final line exhausted in body and mind, like a runner who gave everything to finish the race. As I reflect on that day, I’m reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Tim 4:7: I have fought the good fight, I
.@USArmy Ranger School is our premier leadership training ground. These tough, hard-earned lessons have shaped my leadership and decision-making since graduating ~15 years ago. Congratulations to our newest Ranger School graduates and never forget that Rangers Lead The Way! 🇺🇸
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The claim made by @TaylorRMarshall that “Mary crushes the serpent’s head” in Gen 3:15 makes for interesting polemics, but it is poor scholarship. Once you examine the actual historical and textual evidence (Hebrew, Greek, patristic, and Jewish) his argument falls apart
@rickbrennanjr Here’s the exact source I was referring to in that tweet—the one that lists the three Jewish witnesses (Philo, Josephus, and Maimonides) interpreting Genesis 3:15 with a feminine “she shall crush”: https://t.co/hWoenMY5yR This is the article. Dr. Taylor Marshall lays out the
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The Magnificat is one of the most beautiful prayers in Scripture, and it tells us exactly how Mary understood herself: a lowly servant rejoicing in God her Savior. Every line points away from herself and back to the Lord who “has done great things.” It is undoubtedly true that
The Magnificat My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has
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Your confidence is strong, but your argument depends on blending three very different things and presenting them as if they were a single, seamless tradition: Irenaeus’s New Eve typology, a much later Latin reading of Genesis 3:15, and the modern Catholic Marian framework. Once
@rickbrennanjr Your claim that the Marian reading is a “medieval scribal error” that magically misled the entire Catholic world is a classic Protestant sleight of hand. Even if we granted every point about the Latin transmission, it would still not explain why second-century writers, long
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Historic Anglican formularies, especially the 39 Articles, do not treat the Deuterocanonical books as Scripture. Article VI explicitly states: “The other books the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any
@gonefishin1948 @rickbrennanjr Exactly.... Did you read the part where he tried to lecture me on the 39 Articles of Religion? It was laughably bad. https://t.co/Oe8EHGNGVl
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The key difference between Orthodox and Roman Catholic understandings of Sacred Tradition is often overlooked, but it’s foundational. 1. In Eastern Orthodoxy: Tradition is “settled”. Orthodox theology treats Holy Tradition much like the closed canon of Scripture: •It is the
@rickbrennanjr @Empo_IR I can only speak for my own tradition. Can you rephrase your question?
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A quick historical clarification: the idea of Mary “crushing the serpent’s head” does not come from Scripture, and it did not come from Jerome. Jerome actually translated Genesis 3:15 correctly in the Vulgate. The famous wording—“she shall crush your head”—entered the Latin
@rickbrennanjr And here is a modern idol of the Queen of Heaven crushing the serpent's head, and the false prophet bowing to said idol, and giving it some sort of offering:
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Check out my latest blog article: Mary in Scripture: The Mother of Jesus in God’s Redemptive Plan (Part I) 👉🏽👉🏽
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It’s fairly clear we have a Roman Catholic @SnarkyRevAlan presenting himself as a Protestant pastor. Here’s why. Article VI of the 39 Articles doesn’t support his claim. In fact, it actually contradicts it. The Article lists the canon because the Reformers rejected the Roman
@rickbrennanjr I'm a real Protestant, not the fake Reformed Baptist cults that barely qualifies as Christian! I don't have to be a Roman Catholic to recognize that the Catholic Church canonized scripture, which is historical fact!
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I’ve received several posts arguing that it’s impossible to discuss Mary, or any other doctrine, using Scripture alone because “there was the Mass before the Bible” or “the Bible was determined by councils,” as if that somehow prevents us from examining what Scripture actually
@rickbrennanjr You can't talk about having a bible and in the next breath say "No tradition and no councils." There was the mass before there was the Bible, and the Bible was determined by Councils. Good grief. Talk about logical fallacies. Why dont you debate @CoffinMedia on this?
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If all you had was a Bible—no tradition, no councils, no dogmas—what would you know about Mary? You would not find the crowned icon of centuries of art. Nor would you find the Marian devotions that developed over time. All you'd see is Mary, as seen through the words of
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Long before modern cosmology, the early church had already affirmed an instantaneous, sovereign act of creation. In fact, the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) was articulated very early in Christian history. By the late second century, theologians like
Did you know the "Big Bang Theory" wasn't created by a secular atheist, but by a Belgian Catholic priest? Father Georges Lemaître was a theoretical physicist and an ordained priest. In 1927, he proposed that the universe was expanding, originating from a "primeval atom", what we
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The interest in this thread over the last day has prompted me to reflect more deeply on three questions: 1.What does the whole witness of Scripture actually say about Mary? https://t.co/QzsGicNQkO did the traditions and devotions surrounding Mary grow over the last 2,000 years?
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I see posts like this from Catholics every day, and it makes me wonder whether they actually understand the historical heresies they’re invoking or if they’ve simply picked up buzzwords from X. The conversations are almost always shallow and hostile. It’s hard not to ask: do they
@rickbrennanjr Protestant enthusiastically rekindle long condemned heresies like Helvedism and Antidicomaritism out of unwarranted egalitarianism and envy. Denying her perpetual virginity leads to Nestorianism. Don't contradict me. I've had Protestants straight up defend it right here.
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Below is a rhetorical trap for Protestants built on Catholic categories we don’t share. It assumes transubstantiation, projects medieval developments back onto the early church, and tries to force Protestants into an emotional reaction that “proves” a theological point the
🚨Protestants & Evangelicals🚨 @farmingandJesus @rockreborn22 @rickbrennanjr @5Solas2 @sola_chad @BibleInContext1 @taco_talks @redeemed_zoomer @HwsEleutheroi I have a question for you and that is why I tagged many of you on this post. Feel free to repost to see more replies.
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Since so many have asked for the biblical and historical details, here’s one clear follow-up that explains the issue without the noise. A quick follow-up for those tracking this discussion: The question isn’t whether God could have preserved Mary from original sin: of course He
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It’s true that the Reformers affirmed the perpetual virginity of Mary, and they were wrong. Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli inherited the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity from longstanding tradition; they did not arrive at it through biblical exegesis. Reformed theology,
“Even Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary!” And they were wrong.
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Thomas Aquinas (writing between 1265 and 1273) taught that if Mary had been preserved from original sin at the moment of her conception, she would not have needed redemption through Christ. But, he noted correctly that Scripture affirms all humanity stands in need of redemption
The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. This dogma of faith professes that the Blessed Virgin Mary, as preparation to be the Mother of the Redeemer and His first tabernacle on earth, was from the first moment of her conception in the womb of her mother
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Some of the responses to my Advent post reveal how easily we can slip into extremes—Protestants accusing Advent of being “pagan,” and Catholics celebrating it as if it were uniquely or exclusively their tradition. To my Protestant friends: a wise professor once told me, ���Not
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Today is the First Sunday of Advent. It’s a season of hope shaped by the whole story of redemption. During this month we remember that Christ has come in the flesh, that He is present with His people by the Spirit, and that He will come again in glory. Advent teaches us to live
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