. . . . The Rule of Law and Trial by Media Rather than by a Jury, with Cross-Examination Publicity photo of Bill Cosby (William Morris agency, 1969) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * I suppose this is entering into the hornet’s nest, but that has never stopped me before, especially in matters of what I consider to be principle and fundamental fairness. I was like (probably) most of you as recently as four hours ago. I’ve... Read more
. . . Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Bullinger Madonna of Humility (1433), by Domenico di Bartolo (1400-1447) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (10-10-08) * * * * * Can you or someone on this forum [Coming Home Network] explain what heresy it was that the bishops were combating in proclaiming this doctrine? Nestorianism. For a description of that heresy, see the use of Theotokos in the Church fathers. Most Protestants believe that Mary was the mother of Jesus but not the mother of God. That... Read more
Adoration in the Forest (c. 1459), by Filippo Lippi (1406-1469) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (12-11-08) * * * * * A formerly Baptist woman wrote on the Coming Home Network forum: If I called Mary God’s mother, I felt I was saying the human being born at a certain time in history (a creature) had “created,” had given life to, God Himself, Who had not previously existed. That was hard for me. Of course, that was never the intent of... Read more
Gold [public domain / Pixabay] * * * * * I know; the title sounds silly, doesn’t it, like I’m maybe pulling your leg? But actually it is a direct allusion to a saying of Jesus, from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:11-12 (RSV) “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. [12] Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men... Read more
Selfie (January 2013) This is the calculation since August 2015, when I arrived at Patheos: from Google Analytics, which tallies page views and lots of other things. Numbers for page views provide an indication of exactly what most interests folks with regard to Catholic apologetics. What’s fascinating to ponder also is the relative importance of a catchy title, to draw people in (much like headlines and column titles in newspapers). It appears that numbers in a title helps a lot... Read more
Romeo and Juliet (1884), by Frank Dicksee (1853-1928) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] * * * This dialogue has been re-posted under the title, Catholic Sexuality: Cordial Dialogue with an Agnostic. *** Read more
Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O´Neill wedding: photo by Bengt Nyman, 8 June 2013 [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license] * * * * * This article has been re-uploaded under the title, Catholic Sexuality: A Concise Explanation & Defense. *** Read more
Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees (bet. 1886 and 1894), by James Tissot (1836-1902) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (1-5-13) * * * * * The following comments were made on a recent Facebook thread that I have now decided to delete because it got way out of hand, with wild diversions and rabbit trails and personal remarks thrown about, as well as the obligatory myriad misunderstandings (as usual with any thread having to do with radical Catholic reactionaries [RadCathRs]). Here are... Read more
[note: many of the links may no longer work; I’m re-posting this at Patheos ten years after it was written] * * * * * Michigan (particularly Detroit, where I grew up — I still live just outside of it and go to church near downtown), is known for its many glorious musical traditions and artists: Motown, Bob Seger, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Anita Baker, gospel music; it is even a current world center of electronic music. But I’d... Read more
. . . and the Burning of the Library of Alexandria (Links) Detail of the death portrait of a wealthy woman, painted between 160-170 AD near the modern-day town of Er-Rubayat in the Fayum [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (1-19-13) * * * * * I just got through watching a documentary on ancient Alexandria (available for instant viewing in the Netflix collection), in which viewers were spoon-fed the same old tired myth of St. Cyril of Alexandria and a supposedly anti-knowledge,... Read more
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