The Five Great Controversies
Formal disputations on the Reformation — Calvin and Bellarmine debate the five doctrines that divided Western Christendom. The strongest arguments on both sides, because the truth has nothing to fear from a fair fight.
I. Sola Fide
The doctrine Luther called the article by which the Church stands or falls. Does God save the sinner by declaring him righteous through faith alone, or by making him righteous through grace that transforms and demands cooperation?
Read →II. Sola Scriptura
The question of authority is prior to every other theological question. Is Scripture alone the infallible rule of faith, or does the living Magisterium that Christ established possess a coordinate authority to interpret and transmit it?
Read →III. Predestination
Did God, before the foundation of the world, choose some men for salvation and others for damnation? And if He did, what becomes of His justice, His love, and the freedom He gave to the creatures He made in His image?
Read →IV. The Eucharist
The question is not whether Christ is present — both sides affirm that He is. The question is how He is present, what happens to the elements, and whether the Mass is a sacrifice.
Read →V. Purgatory
Is there a state of purification after death? Rome teaches that the faithful departed who die in God's grace but imperfectly purified undergo a cleansing before they see God's face. The Reformation replies that this is unknown to Scripture and ruinous to Christ's sufficient atonement.
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