Phil Neely

@gonefishin1948 My wife of 56 years.

Who is your favorite person in your own life or in history besides Jesus Christ?

No, they were not infallible in their lives or in their writing. The bottom line for all of us is to choose the spiritual path based on trust and understanding. The source of that trust and understanding for me is the Holy Spirit. He has guided me from my early days as Baptist to what I consider the fullness of faith in the Catholic Church. I am eternally grateful to God for my spiritual journey. I’m sure your reasons for being Baptist are solid in your mind just as mine for being Catholic are firmly entrenched in my mind. There is nothing you can say to me that will sway me from my Catholic faith. Pax et bonum.

I study the patristic Fathers carefully and make regular use of them in my research. I value them deeply as early witnesses to the faith once delivered to the saints. But they were still human beings. At times they were profoundly insightful. At other times they misspoke, overstated a point, or reached conclusions that require correction by Scripture and the broader witness of the church. So my question is simple: do you agree that the fathers must be read with respect but also discernment? Or do you believe they were infallible in what they wrote?

Jesus’ words in Matt 16:18 have been understood in three main ways going back to the church fathers: 1. The rock is Peter himself. On this reading, Jesus gives Peter a real foundational role among the apostles. Peter is the first to confess Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and he becomes a leading apostolic witness in the early church. 2. The rock is Peter’s confession. Here, the foundation is the truth Peter confessed: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The church is built on that apostolic confession, not on Peter as an enduring papal office. 3. The rock is Christ himself. This reading emphasizes that Christ alone is the final foundation of the church. Peter points to Christ, but Christ is the true rock upon whom the church stands. The best theological answer holds all three of these together carefully. Jesus is certainly honoring Peter in the passage. Protestants do not need to deny that. Peter has a prominent apostolic role. But the passage does not teach that Peter became a universal bishop over the whole church, nor that this authority passed uniquely to the bishops of Rome. The church is built on the apostolic witness to Christ, with Christ himself as the cornerstone. Peter is foundational as an apostle, but he is not the foundation in place of Christ. That is why Protestants can affirm Matt 16:18 without accepting later Roman claims about papal supremacy.

@rickbrennanjr Yes, St. Augustine is an early Church father. I don’t challenge St. Augustine’s interpretation. His conclusion was “to let the reader decide” which is what I did based on the writings of many others. Do you also refute the writings of the others I mentioned?

Does Augustine count as a church father for you? In Retractations/Retractions, Augustine says he had earlier interpreted Matthew 16:18 as referring to Peter himself: “on him, as on a rock, the Church was built.” But Augustine then explains that he later and frequently interpreted the rock as Christ, the one Peter confessed. This is Augustine's mature explanation: Peter is named from the rock, not the rock from Peter. The rock is Christ, whom Peter confessed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter, in confessing Christ, represents the whole church, which confesses Christ and receives the keys. Augustine’s key line is that Christ did not say, “You are the rock,” but “You are Peter.” Therefore, “the rock was Christ.” He then adds a deliberately modest closing: “Let the reader choose which of these two opinions is more probable.” So, in Retractions, Augustine does not simply deny that Peter has ecclesial significance. He grants that he once used the Petrine reading and that it was common enough to be reflected in Ambrose. But he indicates that his later, preferred interpretation was: Christ is the rock; Peter is named from the rock; Peter represents the confessing church. This matters because Augustine’s later reading does not support a simple Roman Catholic proof-texting of Matthew 16:18 as though the verse directly establishes papal supremacy. For Augustine, the foundational rock is finally Christ confessed by Peter and by the whole church, not Peter considered in isolation from that confession. So, are you now willing to challenge the interpretation of Augustine?

@farmingandJesus Opinions vary Lizzie. In my opinion your opinion is incorrect.

No she’s not.

@micah_erfan There isn’t a problem with the VRA. The problem is what the democrats used it to do to America. As they usually do with most legislation the liberal democrats perverted the VRA to gain an unfair advantage. They got away with that until the USSC corrected the perversion.

The Voting Rights Act was reauthorized by Reagan and Bush, and enforced by a Republican Supreme Court majority for 55 years. The idea that it was far-left partisan Democratic legislation is just ahistorical.

@Protestia Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

The fact that the Catholic Church recently confirmed Candace Owens, someone living in mortal sin, is a damning indictment against them. There's no one who has taken greater steps to devour widow's houses than she has, and whoever confirmed her doesn't even care.

@atomicmonday @nunaambon After the change the squares in the third row from the top are smaller.

@nunaambon Squares are smaller.

How is that possible?😱

@DrShayPhD The pope rarely speaks “ex cathedra”. The last time was 1950.

If the pope is infallible, why did Peter err in conduct and doctrine [Galatians 2:11–14]?

@wahlstedt007 If it’s too stressful, don’t look. Just mind your own German business.

As a German, I find the political situation in United States very stressful. How hard must it be for the American people???

@emmanuelfelton The difference between you and I, Emmanuel, is that I’m willing to give any candidate the opportunity to gain my vote based on their politics regardless of their race. For you, race is the determining factor regardless of their politics.

Memphis is the second Blackest big city in the country, and it’s about to be gerrymandered within an inch of its life so a white Republican can represent it in Congress. This was exactly the thing Congress was trying to address with the Voting Rights Act. tennesseelookout.com/2026/05/01/gov…

@jsolomonReports Those European soy boys at AB don’t have a clue, do they? They showed America their true colors and there is no going back from that.

Soured beer brand makes $600M investment in effort to ride US manufacturing growth, 250 festivities justthenews.com/politics-polic…

@gonefishin1948 I have 6 physical Bibles and 16 digital versions.

Catholics and Orthodox: How many of you have a Bible in your home that you read?

@aldotcom Allow me to translate. “Since they took away the method we used to cheat we will cause as much havoc as possible in order to get our way.”

🔗: al.com/news/2026/05/c…  “The right to vote is not just a legal mechanism. It is the foundation of representation, the safeguard of dignity and the voice of the people in action,” Paulette Roby, chair of the Civil Rights Activists Committee, said.

@MorganwwMurphy I’m in 7 in that little finger extending toward the northeast. Please, please redraw the map and get me into district 4 or 6. I’m embrassed to have Terri Sewell as my representative.

Alabama’s 7th and 2nd were drawn to hit racial outcomes. This is unconstitutional and wrong. An entirely new race-neutral map is the only way forward.

@LizzieMarbach Lizzie, some of the letters they read never made it into the canon of scripture because it turns out those letters were not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Ever hear of the gospel of Thomas, the first letter of Clement, the Apocalypse of Peter?

First century Christians read New Testament letters and gospels and recognized them as scripture.

@Monica55dzrh 56 years

Who here has stayed married to the same partner for more than 20 years?

@Pro__Trading They created it so, yes, they are funding it too.

So the Democrat Party has been funding the KKK this whole time?

@gonefishin1948 I can’t believe it. A German with a sense of humor! Good one Father.

An Irish gentleman walked toward a pub as he had done for 20 years. As he neared the door he saw a Nun in full habit standing there. She said, "Seamus, don't you go in there!" He responded,"Sister, I've been going here for a wee dram of whiskey for years. There's no harm in it." "Now Seamus, I warn you! Don't go in!" He asked: "Sister, have ya ever tasted Irish Wiskey?" "Semus, you know better than that!" "You don't know what you're missin'!" She paused. "Let me bring you just a wee sip, it won't hurt a bit." She thought for a moment and said, "Well, just a little bit. Nothing large!" Seamus went in and ordered two shots of the best Irish whiskey. The bartender asked: "Seamus, why are you buyin' two shots? Is that drunk Nun outside again?"

@Teaguefootball Thank you George for wonderful memories, for faithfulness to the Tide and for being a man of strong character! You make Tide fans proud.

Since 1989, when I first put on that Crimson Tide uniform, you all have been more than just fans…you’ve been family. Through every season, every high and low, you’ve shown unwavering support not only for me, but for my family as well. That kind of loyalty and passion is something I’ve never taken for granted. Seeing moments like this, so many of you gathered together, still showing that same love means more than I can put into words. It’s a reminder that being part of Alabama football is something that lasts a lifetime. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for standing by me all these years. Roll Tide, always.