A few years back I ran across a woman online who used to be a Baptist and had become a Catholic. She expressed perfectly how the term “Mother of God” is so vastly misunderstood by a good portion of Protestants, in describing how she used to think: I felt that I was saying that a human being born at a certain time in history (a creature) had “created,” had given life to, God Himself, Who had not previously existed. Such an outrageous,... Read more
These are fairly “random” thoughts of mine that were originally my replies on a very active combox discussion on my Facebook page (May 2014). As so often, I am a bit in the middle again, and can see good points on both sides. So hopefully this is some food for thought for those who have pondered the issue. * * * * * I have maintained that if one has a call, it won’t be thwarted by merely being an altar boy or not. If a... Read more
Genesis 38:9-10: “But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife he spilled the semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he slew him also.” It is an historical fact that no Christian communion sanctioned contraception until the Anglican Lambeth Conference in 1930. Protestant historian Roland Bainton states casually that the... Read more
Perhaps Pope Francis thinks a bit like I think: traditionalists and even radical Catholic reactionaries (who are usually orthodox) know much better than liberals, who are fundamentally dishonest and heterodox. Liberals are beyond reach of persuasion, whereas traditionalists and reactionaries may still be reached with reason. Consequently I write probably 8-10 times more material about radical Catholic reactionaries than about theological liberalism, even though I think both are equally dangerous and harmful and have web pages in which I refute... Read more
+ Brief Analysis of Former Editor Mark Galli & Discussion of Whether the Title “Never Trumper” is Justified See my previous related article: Christianity Today Treats Trump & Evangelicals Disgracefully (Christianity Today Represents Pure, True-Blue Evangelicalism More So Than Billy and Franklin Graham and Dr. James Dobson?). ***** No wonder Mark Galli wrote his editorial in Christianity Today, condemning President Trump and calling for his removal. He had already announced two months earlier that he was departing his position as editor. We know... Read more
I ran across this argument in an article bristling with insight, by a Messianic Jew [i.e., a Jewish Christian], Reb Yhoshua, entitled, “The Oral Torah and the Messianic Jew.” In my resulting paper, “Biblical Evidence for the Oral Torah & Oral Apostolic Tradition”, I noted (from the article) that Jesus’ teaching on visual lust and on prayer (in the Sermon on the Mount) look to be almost direct citations, or at least strong reflections of the thought, of portions of the... Read more
Christianity Today Represents Pure, True-Blue Evangelicalism More So Than Billy and Franklin Graham and Dr. James Dobson? Christianity Today — what used to be the “flagship” evangelical periodical — , in its anti-Trump editorial on 12-19-19, “Trump Should be Removed from Office,” was idiotic enough to buy the Democrat lie in the whole impeachment fiasco: But the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to... Read more
Words of Fr. Deacon Daniel G. Dozier will be in blue; those of Pete Vere in green. Both are Eastern Catholics. This took place on my Facebook page. ***** So you want to argue in favor of a nude Icon of the Madonna? I don’t. I personally don’t care for them. But that’s not the point at all, which is: were these statues consciously, idolatrously, blasphemously adored as gods (with the sanction of the pope and the Vatican), or were... Read more
Pope Francis has a very strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, truth be told. Several articles have documented this (one / two / three / four / five). Here is the documentation: Feast Days and Marian Devotions In 2018 he established a new feast day for Mary “Mother of the Church” which will now be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost. In October 2019 he also added the feast of Our Lady of Loreto to the liturgical calendar (December 10th). Furthermore, he has a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Untier... Read more
. . . Declares Pope Francis a Heretical Narcissist Who “Desacralized” & “Impugned” & “Attack[ed]” Mary The reactionaries are again wetting themselves in glee and adulation today, after Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has issued yet another “declaration” of his own insanity, in opposition to Pope Francis. Good ol’ reactionary junk site, Lifesite News, released the English translation (done by Diane Montagna) almost exactly an hour ago, as I write. She entitles her article, “Abp Viganò’s defense of Virgin Mary in response... Read more
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