In the parish I grew up attending, the priest would sit directly behind the altar during the Scripture readings. His chair was elevated by a couple steps and was centered below the large crucifix mounted on the wall. It almost seemed like he was sitting on a throne to overlook the congregation. In my adolescent view, it kind of felt like people came to Mass to worship the priest. This was one of the many bothersome observations that motivated me… Read more
March 17, 2019
My Struggle With Communion
March 17, 2019 By René Albert
I attended my first Evangelical communion service at a Christian youth conference when I was 18. After a weekend of high-energy shenanigans, we began to wind down to hear the sermon of the night. The youth pastor brought forth a few loaves of Wonder Bread and hundreds of plastic shot glasses of grape juice. He stretched his hand and prayed over them before distributing it to the crowd of rowdy teens, including myself. At that time I had been debating on… Read more
March 14, 2019
An Open Letter to Church Militant
March 14, 2019 By René Albert
As a fairly new columnist on Patheos, it is an honour to be included in an amazing community of Catholic writers and bloggers. But for those familiar with the online Catholic community, Church Militant requires no introduction. Unlike my previous articles, I write this post as an open response to the latest jab against a couple of my fellow Patheos writers by this popular Catholic ‘news’ site. Because of their latest stunt, I feel prompted to speak out in an… Read more
March 13, 2019
In Defense of Infant Baptism
March 13, 2019 By René Albert
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Being a follower of Jesus is like riding a vehicle to reach a destination (cue Carrie Underwood song). Joking aside, when we ride as a passenger we are relying on the driver to bring us safely to our destination — that’s the very definition of faith. Usually when you ride with someone, a good chauffeur will always ensure you’re wearing your seat belt. While this may not be the most water-tight comparison, wearing a seat belt has some similar parallels with the… Read more
March 8, 2019
Is Feminism Compatible With Christianity?
March 8, 2019 By René Albert
Locker-room Talk I remember in junior high school, locker-room talk was quite commonplace. When talking about girls in our class, sometimes I would get ridiculed for hesitating to participate in such sexually degrading talk. I would be lying if I said I was innocent of partaking in such vulgarity, but I was often teased and told I was gay for not sharing in the raunchy humor with my peers. I would sometimes join the conversation unwillingly to avoid being ridiculed in… Read more
March 6, 2019
I Long For Catholic Unity
March 6, 2019 By René Albert
3 Comments
In my article I Long For Christian Unity, I aired my grievances with the doctrinal disunity among Christian denominations. My experiences with chronic, inconsistent biblical exegesis among Protestants are among the biggest contributors to my eventual return to Catholicism. But in spite of boasting about enjoying unity for nearly two millennia, the Catholic Church suffers much internal dysfunction. And now that I’m back in communion with the Church that claims to be founded by Christ Himself, it pains me to… Read more
March 2, 2019
10 Things To Give Up For Lent In 2019
March 2, 2019 By René Albert
It’s that time of year again! Lent 2019 is just around the corner! Because the times are changing rapidly, so are the things that affect our daily routines. Instead of coming up with the usual sacrifices for Lent like chocolate, sweets or alcohol, I figured I’d come up with a list that is somewhat less cliched and more up-to-date. Well, kind of. One thing I should clarify is this is only a list of ideas. If anything, it’s easier to… Read more
February 25, 2019
Should Christians Listen To Heavy Metal?
February 25, 2019 By René Albert
My first official exposure to metal music was when I was in the sixth grade. My friends and I recorded our own radio show for a group project. We wrote a script, chose songs to be played between skits and recorded it in an empty classroom. A friend brought Marilyn Manson’s ‘Antichrist Superstar’ album which belonged to their older sibling. We closed the door, cranked the song Beautiful People and danced moronically on desktops while dubbing the song on cassette. I… Read more
February 11, 2019
A Summary of Thoughts Unravelled: February 2016 – February 2019
February 11, 2019 By René Albert
4 Comments
It’s been over three years since I first started blogging about my life experiences relating to Christianity (as well as other random musings), so I figured it was time to categorically list all my articles from February 2016 to February 2019! Thank you all for continuing to support me through reading my articles, sharing your experiences and constructive feedback with me or even words of encouragement! You’ve made blogging an adventure within itself! Theology: Is It Right To Hate Religion? My Struggle With Communion… Read more
January 14, 2019
Anti-Protestant Discrimination Bothers Me
January 14, 2019 By René Albert
5 Comments
Image credit: maxpixel.net As a Catholic blogger, much of my writing content centers around explaining Catholic beliefs in a way that can be relatable for non-Catholic Christians. Given this niche topic, harsh criticism is always to be expected. Most Protestants generally disagree with much of Catholic doctrine, though I think it’s important to understand that not all of them expressively hate Catholics. While most of these allegations come from those who seemingly have an ax to grind against the Church,… Read more
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