Fan Club Testimonials

"Why do so many Protestants spend so much time using extra-Biblical sources to prove their beliefs? For instance, one guy named James Swan spends hours culling through Martin Luther's writings, and writings about his life; leaving no stone unturned to defend his hero. Every time he gets a new book on Luther he has to tell everyone about it on his blog. The guy has been dead for close to 500 years. Isn't this a form of veneration? Heavens no, far be it for the Protestant. After all, if you spend hours and days reading, writing and defending a man who shares your religious beliefs, we couldn't call that veneration could we?" [source]

Fan Club Testimonials

Here are some recent commendations about my interests in the Reformation from one of my Roman Catholic admirers:

"Just to summarize my thoughts here on discussing these things with you, it just ain't worth the effort. You are FAR interested in making pronouncements about this or that writer, or commenting on your preferred context means of establishing proper context, or making disparaging comments about me personally than you are in ACTUALLY DISCUSSING LUTHER. Especially Luther's beliefs on his own authority to teach and interpret. I think that your tactics are pretty obvious, even to us who are not intellectuals."

"Please feel free to burden someone else with endless discussions of sources and "James approved context". If you want to actually discuss Luther's beliefs about his own authority and compare your thoughts with those of other Reformed writers, you will have the opportunity. But just so you will know, I think it is cowardly to hide behind the typical "scholarly" tactic of simply refuting everything on the basis that you don't agree with this or that source, or whine that not enough or too many words from a given quote were used."

"In summary James, although I would like to engage in an honest dialogue with you about LUTHER and especially about his concept of his own authority, that appears to be impossible for you. Being a failed human I don't have the patience to be jerked around endlessly discussing your preferred set of writers, your non-preferred writers, your very exacting criteria regarding context (which never really becomes clear until I post quote, and rarely thereafter). I don't have the patience to have you constantly make me, or Dave, or this or that the issue. I think it is intellectually dishonest in that your motives are obviously to tie me up so that I don't have time to quote what you know I am going to."

Fan Club Testimonials

These are comments from the latest Feeding frenzy. I let these people speak for themselves. They are a reminder to all of us, "The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart."

"the issue is the double standard with which James Swan (and men like him who are also irrationaly biggoted towards Catholic personages of the past and present) operates. Furthermore, if James allowed quibbles to be quibbles when Catholics made them, then we would not be having this discussion. I agree that it comes across as petty, but there is a James Swan legacy of double standards here that is really irritating those of us who are aware of it."

"James, you make Bill Clinton look like a straight talker. Is the statement you made true or false. Never mind what you and Chris agreed to pretend it means. Did Luther "have a hand in the execution of Anabaptists?" You said "no." Do you stand by that or do you not? If you do then you should try and defend what you said. Saying that you and Chris have some secret squirrel code that caused you both to understand something different. Not only is that hard to believe but it is beside the point. You made a public statement. Words mean things."

"If I thought for one minute that the fact that he honestly misunderstood a plain English question would convince him that he might honestly misunderstand Catholic apologists or that he might honestly misunderstand medieval conciliar documents steeped in Thomist metaphysics he hasn't even studied, then I might agree with you. But expecting James Swan to actually learn any sort of restraint or common sense in his dealings with Catholics is like expecting a hungry lion not to kill a gazelle; unreasoning emotion isn't susceptible to reform by reasonable considerations. Consequently, the only service this can do is to point out the inconsistent quality of his critical thinking for those who might be inclined to uncritically take his word on the subject."

Fan Club Testimonials

Here's a comment from someone called "Sexy Secularist". My blog entry on "Luther and Reason" was evaluated, and my review of a Luther quote was said to be a "fatuously windbaggish and unconvincing contextualization. "

[Luther said] "Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but — more frequently than not — struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God."

(I should note here that the trouble in sourcing this quote is that we can’t be sure that Luther actually said it. It’s taken from Tabletalk, a collection of sayings attributed to Luther, transcribed by his friends and students.

A fatuously windbaggish and unconvincing contextualization of the quote can be found here— at one point the author reasons that Luther’s embrace of self-contradictory and irreconciliable [sic] beliefs was proof of his genius. But I digress.)

Fan Club Testimonials

The fans speak on my research into the Reformers Mariology:

"Oh don't worry, James Swan knows exactely how to minimize this and cover it up as if Luther had said nothing at all. Just wait and see-- he will be on here talking about how you have somehow taken Luther out of context, how you have misrepresented his views, how there is a 'fundamental misapprehension and misapplication' of the views of Luther among Catholics, and how Luther never had devotion to Mary, about how all of what you said is most likely an interpolation by a later Catholic trying to make Luther look bad, or in the end, if he cannot minimize Luther they way he does Calvin, he will basically just say "So what? Luther is not my pope. He can believe what he wants." or whatever he might like to say. Whatever he says, I am sure it will be interesting."

Fan Club Testimonials

"A little warning next time about where your links lead is all that I ask. At best, one of us might get a computer virus. At worst, we might end up reading James Swan. " [source]