{"id":57074,"date":"2021-05-24T09:49:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T13:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=57074"},"modified":"2021-05-24T10:25:52","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T14:25:52","slug":"mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/05\/mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan.html","title":{"rendered":"Mask-Wearing Sheep &#038; Ultra-Liberal Ann Arbor, Michigan"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><div style=\"text-align: center;\" data-offset-key=\"atpus-0-0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-57076\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2021\/05\/CookieCutterHouses.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"477\"><\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"atpus-0-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"atpus-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"atpus-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"atpus-0-0\">I love Ann Arbor, even though I sarcastically refer to it and neighboring Ypsilanti as \u201cSodom and Gomorrah\u201d because they are both university towns (the latter has Eastern Michigan University, the former, University of Michigan). It\u2019s a beautiful (hilly, forested) place and,\u00a0as we would expect a university town to be: artsy and fun. I went to a Brian Wilson concert there in 1999, and also saw The Chieftains a few years later. I have the fondest memories of beginning my street witnessing \u201ccareer\u201d at the Ann Arbor Art Fair, every summer from 1981 to 1990 and a few times after that as a Catholic. I\u2019d love to do that again this year.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"9fodr-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"9fodr-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"9fodr-0-0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"7i0jq-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"7i0jq-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"7i0jq-0-0\">It turns out that I now attend a parish (Christ the King) in Ann Arbor: some 35-40 miles from our house in Tecumseh, in the Irish Hills region in Michigan, the next county over (Lenawee). It\u2019s a charismatic parish that grew out of the wonderful Word of God community that sprouted during the 60s. My friends Steve Ray and Al Kresta have been attending there for years, though ironically, I\u2019ve seen neither of them since we started attending, many months ago now. We decided to become members there because we had visited several times and also knew the priest, Fr. Ed Fride: a great guy and man of God. It was good to have some <em>continuity<\/em>, as we moved to a new place, 50 miles away from where we have lived our entire lives.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"c18ef-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"c18ef-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"c18ef-0-0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"3pljl-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"3pljl-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"3pljl-0-0\">Yesterday was the first restriction-free Mass there in over a year, by permission of our bishop. It was wonderful. I saw only three masks in the whole congregation, which is fine. Maybe those people are actually recovering from COVID. I don\u2019t judge that. I never have been judgmental about who decides to do what. It\u2019s a free country and we all do what we gotta do to stay healthy in a serious pandemic. I only question policies and practices when they become irrational and excessive and oppressive. We had the Greeting of Peace (no one refused to touch my hand), holy water; everything back to normal. People were<em> ready<\/em> for that! The national nightmare (and endless liberal political exploitation of it) is coming to an end. Thank God!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"3hn2f-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"3hn2f-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"3hn2f-0-0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"9sfq3-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"9sfq3-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"9sfq3-0-0\">So we had that refreshing experience, but then I had some shopping to do afterwards. I just started a low-gluten and low-dairy diet again (for general health and well-being purposes) and I needed to get some specialized foods, and went to Whole Foods Market: a national chain health food store. It was a great place (although, surprisingly, they didn\u2019t carry carob powder, a staple of health food sweets).<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"9c41r-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"9c41r-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"9c41r-0-0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"8iohr-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"8iohr-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"8iohr-0-0\">Upon entering, I noticed that the sign on the door said that anyone who was vaccinated didn\u2019t have to wear a face mask. This was not unexpected, as our Governor Half-Whitmer has recently decreed from on high that vaccinated folks were free to go mask-free outside (along with unvaccinated people) or inside. She also said businesses (i.e., those that managed to <em>survive<\/em> her endless restrictions: some of the harshest in the country) could decide what they like until July 1st, when all mask-wearing mandates in Michigan would expire. Even after that, businesses can require masks if they wish, since they are private enterprises. But they <em>won\u2019t<\/em>, I predict, because big $$$ will be at stake.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"6v7m2-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"6v7m2-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"6v7m2-0-0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"3lofq-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"3lofq-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"3lofq-0-0\">As a law-abiding citizen and non-vaccinated human being (I have two principled, sincere reasons for not receiving one, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/02\/mandatory-covid-vaccines-facebook-fascist-censorship.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">I have written about<\/a>), I wore a mask. I have always followed state and business (and also bishops\u2019 and local parish) guidelines on this, along with social distancing and the whole nine yards. Either we have a rule of law or we don\u2019t. In that sort of society, there are times when we personally may not care for a particular rule or law. But we follow it because that\u2019s how the rule of law <em>works<\/em>. You\u2019d never know it in \u201csanctuary cities\u201d, riot-torn Portland or Seattle, or the southern border, but yeah, America actually is (or traditionally was) a society with the rule of law. We\u2019re not an anarchy. And, by the way, the voters will \u201cspeak\u201d loudly about all this in November 2022. We conservatives (and I am a very <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2017\/08\/conservative-passionate-social-justice.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">socially conscious<\/a>, truly \u201cprogressive\u201d one) can\u2019t wait to do so. Stay tuned!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"892dh-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"892dh-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"892dh-0-0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"5bnni-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"5bnni-0-0\"><span data-offset-key=\"5bnni-0-0\">I wasn\u2019t in a position to \u201cboycott\u201d the store on principle because I really needed the products that were sold in it, and few other places within reasonable distance carried them. After July 1st, if a less specialized store requires a mask, I will immediately seek out the manager and politely inform them that until they remove such a policy, I will not be purchasing anything there. Their choice, and mine too! But yesterday\u00a0 I masked-up and went in. I also thought as I entered, \u201cMichigan is now 55-60% vaccinated, so I wonder how many in this store will be mask-free, because of that?\u201d And at the same time a second thought immediately followed: \u201cI <em>bet<\/em> <strong><em>no one<\/em><\/strong> will go without a mask.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"5bnni-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"2hjfu\" data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">\n<div class=\"_1mf _1mj\" data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">\n<p><span data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">Guess which thought was correct? <em>Not even\u00a0<strong>one<\/strong> person<\/em> was mask-free (out of maybe 60-70 in the store). Now, we pretty much know, in Ann Arbor, in a health food store (usually an overwhelmingly \u201cprogressive\u201d environment), that the clientele would be likely at least 90% politically liberal (if not 95%). And liberals (so they endlessly inform us) are <em>supposed<\/em> to be more rational (and more compassionate and loving) than the rest of us peasants, and more amenable to scientific inquiry. They put condescending signs on their lawns telling us just that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">Even Lord Fauci (the greatest scientific mind since Einstein, and infallible) and the good ol\u2019 CDC have given the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval to being mask-free if vaccinated. One is either immune or they are not. And having had COVID also basically makes one immune (the thing that is rarely talked about for some reason).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Statistically, it was almost certainly the case that at the <em>very least<\/em>, 40% of the people in that store had been vaccinated; more likely, I would say, 50-60% or higher, since political liberals favor vaccination more than conservatives. So the fascinating question is: \u201cwhy is it that not a <em>single<\/em> <em>person<\/em> who was vaccinated, chose to not wear a mask, when the store and the Michigan governmental policy both agreed that it was perfectly <em>safe<\/em> and <em>permissible<\/em> to do so?\u201d Pondering that is a curious intellectual exercise. Here are my best guesses (but they are<em> only<\/em> that):<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">1) sheer force of habit. We\u2019ve all been doing this for so long, when entering places of business, that masking is like putting on a shirt, or morning coffee or walking the dog.<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">\n<p>2) they didn\u2019t notice the sign on the door,<\/p>\n<p>3) They were uninformed about the Governor\u2019s latest decree.<\/p>\n<p>4) They didn\u2019t wanna stand out from the crowd \/ the \u201csheep\u201d \/ Orwellian groupthink impulse. Imagine <em>that<\/em> in supposedly nonconformist \/ free-thinking \/ progressive Ann Arbor, which is sort of the \u201cSan Francisco of Michigan.\u201d It reminded me of all those \u201cliberated\u201d liberals in the late 60s and early 70s (when I came of age): almost literally to a person all engaging in immoral sexual practices, unhealthy and stupid illegal drug-taking, and dressing in exactly the same way. But they are free non-conformists, right? Nope . . . The ones who <em>didn\u2019t<\/em> do that \u2014 like myself (save for the clothes and hair style!) \u2014 and who actually thought for themselves and acted accordingly, were the true nonconformists.<\/p>\n<p>*<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">5) They were being extra-cautious because it is a transition period of sorts.<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">6) Wearing a mask for the liberal has been for so long a species of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Virtue_signalling\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">virtue-signaling<\/a>, that liberals actually don\u2019t <em>want<\/em> to give it up. They love the warm fuzzy \/ <em>Kumbaya<\/em>\u00a0\/ more-caring-than-thou feeling they get from wearing it.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">That\u2019s all I can come up with (#1, 4, 6 being my slight preferences: of roughly the same likelihood, I would [merely] guess). But none of those things <em>rationally<\/em> explain such odd behavior. It\u2019s just irrational and mindless at bottom. Not even <em>one<\/em> can engage in the newly allowed freedom to go back to normal and proceed without a mask? Every single vaccinated person went into that store <em>without<\/em> thinking to themselves, \u201coh cool! I don\u2019t <em>have<\/em> to wear this <em>mask<\/em>! Hallelujah!\u201d They weren\u2019t <em>ready<\/em> to get rid of it: not like the feminists in 1970 who gladly disposed of their bras.<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">After that experience, I had to go to Vitamin Shoppe a block away (another national chain). Again, a sign on the door permitted the vaccinated to be mask-free. And again, <em>no one<\/em> decided to do that (though there were a lot less people in this store). I almost didn\u2019t wear my mask, just to make a <em>point<\/em>, but as I said, I\u2019m law-abiding, so that principle predominated.<br>\n*<br>\nBut after July 1st, I will not wear one anywhere, because then, state law will be on my side, and I won\u2019t put up with any more of this excessive, anti-scientific nonsense (enough is enough); and I will be <em>vocal<\/em> about it, in the \u201cboycott\u201d sense. Businesses can do what they like; I as a consumer can decide to <em>give<\/em> them business if I like, too: just like how the NBA and the Oscars have lost a good half of their audience because conservative viewers have had <em><strong>enough<\/strong><\/em> of the fascist-like, crammed in our face, constant irrational and immoral ultra-leftism.<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\"><\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">We were there to enjoy sports and awards for good acting, not to be in a brainless Marxist brainwashing camp. Not everything has to be politicized. But of course, the further left one goes on the spectrum, indeed everything <em>does<\/em> have to be political (because that is the leftists\u2019 messianic religion to replace God with). Even a Sunday picnic in the park or a third-grade class in public schools or Saturday cartoons can\u2019t be free of it anymore.<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">***<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\"><strong>Photo credit:<\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">An aerial view of housing developments near Markham, Ontario. Photo by<\/span> <a class=\"extiw decorated-link\" title=\"wikipedia:User:IDuke\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/User:IDuke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">IDuke<\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">(November 2005)<\/span> [<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Markham-suburbs_id.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/\u00a0<a class=\"extiw decorated-link\" title=\"w:en:Creative Commons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/en:Creative_Commons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"external text decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.5\/deed.en\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic<\/a>\u00a0license]<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">***<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\"><em>Summary<\/em>:\u00a0I offer observations regarding \u201cmask-wearing sheep\u201d from my strange personal experiences yesterday in the ultra-liberal, \u201cprogressive\u201d university town of Ann Arbor, Michigan.<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">*<\/div>\n<div data-offset-key=\"br6rv-0-0\">***<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I love Ann Arbor, even though I sarcastically refer to it and neighboring Ypsilanti as \u201cSodom and Gomorrah\u201d because they are both university towns (the latter has Eastern Michigan University, the former, University of Michigan). It\u2019s a beautiful (hilly, forested) place and,\u00a0as we would expect a university town to be: artsy and fun. I went [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":57076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[289],"tags":[13022,10581,13421,10572,13424,10479,10452,13460,13013,10569,10488,10470,2560,10455,10476,13472,10578,13418,13478,13028,13469,13718,10461,10464,13427,10458,10467,13475,13430,13463,13466,10473,10566],"class_list":["post-57074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-ethical-moral-issues","tag-anthony-fauci","tag-apocalypticism","tag-big-brother","tag-black-death","tag-closed-states","tag-contagious-disease","tag-coronavirus","tag-coronavirus-vaccination","tag-covid-vaccines","tag-covid-19","tag-disease","tag-disease-control","tag-doom-and-gloom","tag-epidemic","tag-flu","tag-herd-immunity","tag-leftism-coronavirus","tag-liberal-tyranny","tag-lung-cancer-smoking","tag-mandatory-vaccination","tag-mandatory-vaccines","tag-mask-wearing-sheep","tag-mass-hysteria","tag-mass-panic","tag-open-states","tag-pandemic","tag-quarantine","tag-spanish-flu","tag-texas-covid","tag-vaccination","tag-vaccine-mandate","tag-virus","tag-virus-trends"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mask-Wearing Sheep &amp; 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Ultra-Liberal Ann Arbor, Michigan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I love Ann Arbor, even though I sarcastically refer to it and neighboring Ypsilanti as &quot;Sodom and Gomorrah&quot; because they are both university towns (the I offer observations regarding &quot;mask-wearing sheep&quot; from my strange personal experiences yesterday in the ultra-liberal, &quot;progressive&quot; university town of Ann Arbor, Michigan.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/05\/mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-24T13:49:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-24T14:25:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2021\/05\/CookieCutterHouses.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"477\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dave Armstrong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dave Armstrong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/05\/mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/05\/mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan.html\",\"name\":\"Mask-Wearing Sheep & Ultra-Liberal Ann Arbor, Michigan Mask-Wearing Sheep & Ultra-Liberal Ann Arbor, Michigan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-24T13:49:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-24T14:25:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\"},\"description\":\"I love Ann Arbor, even though I sarcastically refer to it and neighboring Ypsilanti as \\\"Sodom and Gomorrah\\\" because they are both university towns (the I offer observations regarding \\\"mask-wearing sheep\\\" from my strange personal experiences yesterday in the ultra-liberal, \\\"progressive\\\" university town of Ann Arbor, Michigan.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/05\/mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/05\/mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/05\/mask-wearing-sheep-ultra-liberal-ann-arbor-michigan.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mask-Wearing Sheep &#038; Ultra-Liberal Ann Arbor, Michigan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/\",\"name\":\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism\",\"description\":\"Catholic biblical apologetics\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\",\"name\":\"Dave Armstrong\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dave Armstrong\"},\"description\":\"Dave Armstrong is a Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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