In the Evangelical congregation I was once a part of, there was a council of elders who led the church. Each individual elder had to meet specific biblical criteria in order to be fit for the position of leadership, such as display a virtuous Christlike demeanor, refrain from alcohol and recreational drug use or certain leisurely activities that might encourage ungodly behavior. When my former Evangelical church was in the process of looking for a new pastor, one of the… Read more
September 29, 2019
What’s Wrong With Priestly Celibacy?
September 29, 2019 By René Albert
11 Comments
September 23, 2019
Clarifying The Meaning Of ‘Catholic Reactionary’
September 23, 2019 By René Albert
In my previous article Addressing Angry Reactionaries In The Catholic Church, I received mixed feedback from those who might have had the impression I was attacking traditional Catholics. In a group on social media, one reader left this comment leading to a short-lived exchange: “Barf. The author condemns “reactionaries” (read: Traditional Catholics). But all the modernist liturgical reforms since Vatican II (vernacular, versus populum, congregants in orans posture, communion by hand, communion while standing, piano, guitar, and drums, etc.) have resulted… Read more
September 20, 2019
Addressing Angry Reactionaries In The Catholic Church
September 20, 2019 By René Albert
“I fear those who have such great fear of the Devil, more than I do the Devil himself.” — Saint Teresa of Avila Since reverting to Catholicism after spending 12 years as an Evangelical, I have fallen in love with the Church in a way I never thought was possible. Similar to my initial conversion experience as a teenager, there was a level of zeal and excitement within me I could not contain. I decided to start blogging as a… Read more
September 16, 2019
Dialogue With An Anti-Catholic Commenter
September 16, 2019 By René Albert
0 Comments
As a Catholic blogger, I’ve immersed myself into joining several social media blogging groups in order to help my articles gain more traffic. Most of the groups I am involved with are the generally non-denominational Christian bloggers groups. While my articles are mostly well-received in Catholic circles, general Christian sites tend to be a mixed bag. Most Christian bloggers are quite pleasant to engage with, whereas others who hold fundamentalist views can be quite hostile towards anyone who expresses anything… Read more
September 10, 2019
The Problem With Prosperity Theology
September 10, 2019 By René Albert
9 Comments
“God Wants You To Be Happy And Successful!” After newly converting from nominal Catholicism to Evangelical Christianity in my late teens, my passionate goal was to eventually attend a one-year discipleship program at a non-denominational Bible school. After high school, I decided to work as an apprentice carpenter to earn enough money to support my eventual journey. I ended up working for a friend I had met in a KJV-only Bible study group who owned his own construction company, thinking… Read more
September 8, 2019
Love Yourself First?
September 8, 2019 By René Albert
4 Comments
There is a story in ancient Greek mythology about a man named Narcissus. He was known to be highly attractive and was also very prideful in a sense that he disdained those who fell in love with him. He wandered into the woods one day and the goddess Nemesis, who was angered by his arrogant behaviour, led him to a pool of water. Narcissus noticed his own reflection in the water and was so marveled by his own beauty that… Read more
September 5, 2019
‘Tradition’ Is Not A Dirty Word
September 5, 2019 By René Albert
2 Comments
In a modern, secular society, tradition is sometimes viewed as the final heartbeat of a dying culture. When some hear the word ‘tradition,’ the first thing that comes to mind is outdated beliefs, kooky rituals, pointless customs and excuses to control the general population. Some who might have grown up in traditionally religious households might continue to blindly follow their belief-system because it’s part of their heritage. Others, whether they remain Christian or not, might completely abandon it to pursue… Read more
August 31, 2019
No, Jesus Is Not Polyamorous. Just Stop.
August 31, 2019 By René Albert
This is a line-for-line response to a vlog post I happened to stumble across by Brian G. Murphy, founder of QueerTheology.com. I understand this video may be quite controversial for most of my readers, and I’m sure my critique of it might garner an equal, if not greater, reaction. His lines from the video will be in red, while my responses will be in black. Here goes… Jesus is polyamorous. Um….wut? Yeah, you heard me right. Jesus is polyamorous. We… Read more
August 27, 2019
The Deception of Church-Branding
August 27, 2019 By René Albert
In a society largely driven by consumerism, I’ve noticed a trend among churches that consider themselves charismatic, modernist, progressive or a combination of the three. In my church-shopping experiences, I’ve been to a number of congregations that typically displayed emotionally-driven worship services. They were usually accommodated with a loud contemporary worship band, a lights show and an abundance of screens with looped background videos. One even had some kind of bird-mascot lead the kids into Sunday school. In some, the… Read more
August 23, 2019
Political Correctness and Blasphemy Laws
August 23, 2019 By René Albert
5 Comments
Photo credit: Flickr ***CONTENT WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES*** I have always understood members of the LGBTQ community have endured hostile and unjust treatment throughout history. I grew up in an era when it was common for kids in school to name-call using homophobic slurs. To be called such things was some of the most humiliating and dehumanizing ways to make people feel inferior. Although this sort of injustice is becoming less and less common as society is becoming more accepting, it… Read more
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