John Cavanaugh O’Keefe’s words will be in blue. Patti Sheffield’s words will be in green. They are both Catholics. ***** [replying to the article I shared, which reported that a wall in Hungary reduced illegal immigration by over 99 per cent] Which refugees did Hungary exclude? Where are they now? What is Hungary doing to help them? And have you read Matthew 25? I have no idea. I’ve read the whole Bible. My view on refugees and legal immigration (which is... Read more
Full disclosure: I happen to think that Rebecca Bratten Weiss (fellow Patheos writer and co-founder of the left-leaning New Pro-Life Movement) is a very brilliant writer and thinker (and have told her so), which is (mind you!) different from agreement with her on any given social or political issue. I think she (unlike others) is relatively balanced when she writes about “old” pro-lifers, and has more of a “both/and” outlook, but she still has plenty of false ideas about the nature... Read more
Pope St. Gregory the Great leaves little doubt as to his overall view of the sublime power and authority of the papacy and the primacy of the Roman Apostolic. Read more
Part Two: Nature Mysticism, Romanticism, Bible Movies, and the “Great Depression” (1968-1977) This is the ten-part story of my complete religious history, from nominal Methodism (1958-1967), to the occult and practical atheism (1968-1976), through evangelical Protestantism, counter-cult, pro-life, evangelistic, and apologetics work (1977-1990), and finally on to the fullness of the Catholic faith in 1991. It is found complete (75 pages) in my 2013 book, Catholic Converts and Conversion. See All Ten Parts: Part One: Nominal Methodism, Occult, and the Seeds of a... Read more
*** (2-16-06) *** The following is an edited, abridged edition of the chapter by the same name (with a few additional non-chapter citations), by Protestant church historian Roland Bainton, who is most well-known for his famous biography of Martin Luther, Here I Stand (1950). It comes from the book, Studies on the Reformation (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963). The chapter in that work runs from pages 20-45. I shall cite from the following pages (in order of citations): 211-212, Foreword (no page number), 21-24, 26,... Read more
Part One: Nominal Methodism, Occult, and the Seeds of a Serious Christian Commitment (1958 – early 1970s) This is the ten-part story of my complete religious history, from nominal Methodism (1958-1967), to the occult and practical atheism (1968-1976), through evangelical Protestantism, counter-cult, pro-life, and campus evangelist work (1977-1990), and finally on to the fullness of the Catholic faith in 1991. It is found complete (75 pages) in my 2013 book, Catholic Converts and Conversion. See All Ten Parts: Part One: Nominal Methodism, Occult, and... Read more
(originally written in 1991. Revised: 10-31-03 and 3-7-07. Greatly abridged and re-typeset on 9-14-17) * * * * * Disclaimer and statement of intent: Unfortunately, the religious “scandal score” needs to be evened up now and then, and the lesser-known “skeletons in the closet” need to be rescued from obscurity, surveyed, and exposed. I take no pleasure in “dredging up” these unsavory occurrences, but it is necessary for honest, fair historical appraisal. This does not mean that I have forsaken ecumenism,... Read more
It isn't unusual for Protestants to think that the Catholic Church doesn't give a whit about what Scripture says. Read more
1 Timothy 4:1-4 (RSV) Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, [2] through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, [3] who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [4] For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it... Read more
* * * (1-10-08) * * * I’ve noted in the past, Martin Luther’s utter disdain for the “sacramentarians”: people who denied the Real Presence in the Eucharist: folks like Zwingli and Oecolampadius. He thought they were damned. I just discovered today something I hadn’t noticed before: these Swiss “reformers” (along with comrade Martin Bucer) apparently had denied that Luther and his Lutheran comrades were Christians before Luther had made his negative judgment on them (thus, perhaps accounting for some of the... Read more
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