Completed on 24 May 2015 and published at Lulu on the same day. 367 pages. [cover design by Dave Armstrong] — For purchase options scroll to the bottom — Miscellaneous * Cardinal Newman’s Conversion Odyssey, in His Own Words (September 1839 to December 1845) [list compiled from two of my Newman quotations books] [19 March 2015] Excerpts On the “Argument from Longing” [10 May 1828] On the “Rule of Secrecy” (“Disciplina Arcani”) and Development of Doctrine [26 Jan. 1834]... Read more
Caïn venant de tuer son frère Abel, by Henry Vidal (1896) in Tuileries Garden in Paris, France. [Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0] *** (1-30-15) *** I tried, folks. I mightily tried. I summoned (only by God’s grace, believe me) every last fiber and nerve in me of patience, and was willing to be a punching bag for two hours, in order to achieve rational dialogue with Mark. You be the judge. This took place in the wee hours of 1-30-15 and was about 75 minutes in duration. Mark’s words will be in blue. *... Read more
+ Removal of My Post Dealing with Matthew 18:34 “Frustration” (photograph by Peter Alfred Hess, 10-21-08) [Flickr / CC by 2.0 license] (1-26-15) I have removed a blog post of mine (and two related Facebook discussion posts) that deal with Matthew 18:34, as related to the vexed “waterboarding / torture” issue. I have done so because in the present hysterical, fanatical, anti-rational, “us vs. them” climate that prevails online when it comes to discussion of this issue, my reasoning cannot... Read more
Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square, 27 November 2013 (photo by Gabriel Sozzi) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] *** (1-23-15) *** This is the latest complaint of Pope Francis’ endless, relentless (and, I’ve found, usually wrongheaded) critics. It’s the second aspect of the infamous “rabbits” controversy that I wrote about two days ago. * * * * * Here are the pope’s related remarks, as recorded in America magazine: This does not mean that the Christian must make... Read more
Caricature of Pope Francis by “DonkeyHotey” [Flickr / CC by 2.0 license] *** Edited by Dave Armstrong on 1-22-15, from Dan Marcum’s manuscript. *** This was originally posted in the Catholic Answers forum on 9 January 2015 and then expanded later on. I modified the title of #11 and deleted one quotation from it (which I felt was off-topic), and shortened many other titles. * * * * * 1. Tradition “We must put ourselves in line with the great... Read more
Photograph by Ervinpospisil [Wikimedia Commons /CC BY-SA 3.0] *** (1-21-15) *** There is nothing whatsoever wrong with what the pope said. In context (and even out of context, for those who understand Catholic teaching on this score), it is altogether sensible, orthodox, and defensible. *** But if people are looking for heterodoxy (or “liberalism”) in the Holy Father’s utterances, assuredly they will “find” them. Folks seem to “see” whatever they want to see. The arts of logic and objective analysis (not... Read more
[Wikipedia /Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license] *** The following exchange is from the combox of a piece entitled “The Boy Who Cried Waterboard,” by Zippy Catholic, posted on the What’s Wrong With the World website on 29 April 2009. Catholic philosopher Francis Beckwith‘s words will be in regular black; Mark Shea’s in blue. This is (note!) an edited version, to highlight their particular back-and-forth dialogue. To read the whole thing and all the context, follow the link above. * * * *... Read more
“Debate and Oratory”. Image for first page of “Debate and Oratory” section of 1909 Tyee (yearbook of the University of Washington). [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] The following excerpts are from the combox of the article, “It’s Just So Obvious!”: The Case of Torture (Edward Feser, What’s Wrong With the World, 2 May 2009). Mark Shea’s words will be in blue; Francis Beckwith’s in green.* * * * * You seem to me simply to be ignoring everything I said... Read more
Christ’s Descent into Limbo by Albrecht Dürer, c. 1510 [public domain / Wikipedia] *** (1-2-14) *** I received the following letter from one Chris Cole ([email protected]). It’s yet more evidence of the depths of imbecility and slander that anti-Catholics will sink to. If they are this desperate to fault a Catholic, then I think it’s a very good indication of the bankruptcy of their own views. Thankfully, the vast majority of Protestants are neither anti-intellectual nor anti-Catholic. His complete letter... Read more
Salt flats in Death Valley, California [Pixabay / CC0 Public Domain / FAQ] Dave Armstrong vs. Pete Vere, JCL (5-1-14) *** This exchange occurred on Karl Keating’s Facebook page, in a public post (12-25-14). Pete’s words will be in blue; Karl’s in green. * * * * * Karl wrote in his initial post: For a long time Matatics has made it known that he doesn’t think there are any valid bishops or priests left anywhere in the world, unless a few... Read more
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