It’s a common story we read this time of year: Easter has its origins in the worship of pagan gods, it’s time and date was set, intentionally, to coincide or to repurpose ancient pagan festivals of fertility, sex, and reproduction. But, do these persistent, perennial myths have any basis in reality? Spoiler alert: no—not really, and it’s time we set the record straight. Easter is Based on the Pagan Celebration of Spring First, on the dating of Easter, there’s absolutely... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic Podcast we talk about the six persistent myths about Easter. Is the origin of Easter pagan? Does the name come from a Mesopotamian or Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility? Are Easter eggs a symbol of spring and fertility? And, more seriously, what about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? Can the history of this narrative be trusted? Some of the resources I used to help prepare for this show: Jimmy Akin on Easter... Read more
I know a non-denominational church that goes all out at Easter. That is to say, their otherwise rich pastoral teaching and simple worship music goes all out the window. It’s replaced with what the church elders think would be more palatable for the unchurched masses—that would be more seeker sensitive. It happens every year. Our churches, on an Easter Sunday, are filled up with churchgoers who only appear every Easter Sunday or at Christmastime. And we try in vain to accommodate. We Catholics,... Read more
In this episode of The Cordial Catholic Podcast we talk about the Church. Did Jesus intend the Church to be an invisible collection of believers? Is this what the very first Christians believed about themselves? Is this how the whole of the Christian Church understood itself to be for the first 1,500 years of church history? Spoiler alert: the answer is, no. Instead, I argue, the Church always thought of itself as visible, singular, and united in a hierarchical structure... Read more
Dear friends, I didn’t set out to create a podcast this week. It kind of just happened. A friend and I have been working to get a podcast together for over a year now. Last week, we recorded our first episode and I spent the following few days editing, mixing, and putting it all together. It was fun, and I couldn’t believe how much I’d enjoyed the process. There was something so intimate about sitting behind a microphone and just... Read more
This article is part of the Tough Questions series. A series highlighting some of the difficult questions I was asking during my conversion from a non-denominational Christian to full communion with the Catholic Church. For more about my own conversion story, read What I Wish I Knew About Catholics (And Why I’m Becoming One). As a non-denominational Protestant I knew nothing about the Catholic doctrine of the “Real Presence.” It was simply never on my radar. I understood, since my... Read more
Our three-year old son watched me in wide-eyed terror as I stood in front of the kitchen sink. We were talking about our plans for that afternoon while his younger sister napped upstairs. I was washing dishes. He was finishing lunch. As we spoke, I absentmindedly dried my coffee thermos with a tea towel, gesticulating madly with my hands as my wife tells me that I do, and that’s when the look crossed his face. Pure terror. I stopped in... Read more
I was going through a rough patch in my life and I said a very silly prayer. I prayed that God would give me a sign. You must know this kind of prayer, even if you aren’t a particularly religious or prayerful person. It’s an urge that psychologists tell us is built the very fibre of our being: that tendency that seeks help from something bigger. And it is the prayer is a kind of begging of that something bigger to let us... Read more
The Transfiguration of Christ is easily one of my favourite scenes in the gospels. I have an icon of it, and it’s beautiful. Matthew, in his gospel, records it like this, After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses... Read more
My pastor, and good friend, is well-known for encouraging us to “make Sunday matter.” It’s a bit of a catchphrase of his, and it is catchy. Sundays, he rightly insists, are given unto the Lord. They’re for our rest, and respite, and recollection that we are God’s people. But it’s also an admonition to go out and live our Sunday promises—our Sunday obligations—all week long. To make our Sundays mean something we need to live in the spirit of Sunday throughout... Read more
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