Crowned Madonna, Rokitno, Poland, 1671 [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * (11-25-08) * * * This came about as a result of some questions asked on the CHNI forum, from a few people who are seriously considering conversion to Catholicism. * * * * * I struggle with this and don’t know what to make of it. I hear or read Catholics make comments or prayers to Mary that seem over the top. I can understand the idea of... Read more
Christ with Thorns, by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * From my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism, pp. 158-161. * * * Matthew 10:38 / 16:24 [RSV] And he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (see also Mark 8:34-35) The... Read more
“Papologist” Dave Armstrong. Hey, if every radical Catholic reactionary can be their own pope, why not me, too? * * * * * Readers who follow this blog will recall two recent articles of mine [one / two] about radical Catholic reactionary Hilary White, who writes for The Remnant, and formerly for Lifesite News. We actually got along well (on a personal level) in our interactions here, but she certainly gave no quarter to my viewpoints in opposition to reactionaryism.... Read more
Pollyanna is a classic 1913 children’s novel by Eleanor H. Porter; the title character’s name is a popular term for someone with the same very optimistic (“unrealistic”) outlook. [You Tube image / Creative Commons license] * * * * * These are some thoughts that I expressed in private Facebook messages or in public on Facebook, and then (following the five asterisks) a longer public comment in reply to the well-known Catholic blogger Amy Welborn’s post, Against Popesplaining (2-21-16). It’s not a developed, structured essay, but... Read more
Screenshot of James Cagney and Pat O’Brien from the film Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * Anti-Catholics often ask Catholics the following garden variety objection, “How can Catholics explain calling their priests ‘Father’ in light of Matthew 23:9 (RSV, as throughout): ‘And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven’?” We reply as follows: Jesus was simply teaching (using the common Hebrew method of... Read more
. . . and in Favor of Progressive Giving According to Ability The Widow’s Mite, by James Tissot (1836-1902) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * (2-4-09)* * * From exchanges on the Coming Home Network board (where I was moderator). * * * * * Why don’t Catholics give more to the Church? Probably because they are materialistic, like most folks (especially Americans). That’s the short, easy answer. Secondly, because the absolute necessity of it is relatively less stressed... Read more
. . . in Heaven, for Intercessory Purposes Guardian Angel, by Bernhard Plockhorst (1825-1907) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * (6-10-08) * * * All verses are from RSV. * * * * * The argument is a rather simple one, based on a combination of different factors. The nutshell (mostly) implicitly biblical argument for asking saints to pray for us is as follows: 1) We ask others to pray for us. 2) Those who die in Christ are still... Read more
(Called “Idolatry” By Some Protestants) Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902) or follower [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * (4-7-09)* * * [all passages: RSV] * * * * * Exodus 20:3-5 You shall have no other gods before me. [4] You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the... Read more
I.e., [official title] Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHCs) Fr. Peter Stravinskas: Catholic apologist, author, and liturgical expert [You Tube image from 2012 / public domain; Creative Commons license] (12-1-08) * * * This is a continuation of the vigorous combox discussion stimulated by the post, “Excessive Abuses in the Use of Lay Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion in America.” In particular, one “John”: an “EMHC” himself, started up a critique of me which began after I made this remark... Read more
Does He Teach in The Glories of Mary that Mary is “Above God” and Can “Manipulate God”? (vs. Anti-Catholic Len Lisenbee) [9 August 2002] * * * Corrections of Protestant Misunderstandings of Catholic Mariology * * * — Len’s words will be in blue — * * * Len Lisenbee: E-mail of 17 July 2002, 14:54:24 (emphases added): . . . What one feels is God’s honest truth is, to the other, a complete distortion of that same truth. Take the Catholic... Read more
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