Faith is not believing a thing despite the evidence. Read more
Faith is not believing a thing despite the evidence. Read more
He died as he lived and Father Michael Trigg lived as a confessor. From Oxford through Canterbury on to a small parish in Whittier, this pastor was willing to confess his faith against all kinds of opposition: a confessor. He left me his papers and his massive medical bills show that his confession contributed to his death. He confessed against trendiness, corruption, and church politics. Best of all, his confession was joyous. He was born to be a prelate in the American... Read more
When I was a boy, I was sure of one thing: I hated the very taste of coffee. Part of this may have been that this was the freeze dried Taster’s Choice era of coffee in our house. It was coffee that was hard to love, though really I disliked all coffee. Instead, I became addicted to Diet Coke, just for the taste of it. I know. The 1980’s were a mixed bag, Reagan, but also parachute pants. One day, the drama... Read more
Never reject a religion or philosophy because of a problem that causes a similar problem in the new religion or philosophy you adopt. Imagine this fellow: Goofus: “X has no solution to y! I am leaving X for A!” Gallant: “But A has an equally serious problem that is like y, namely y’.” Goofus: “X is stupid and A explains y.” Don’t be Goofus. Here are some a hard problems: how do ideas, numbers, consciousness, matter, energy relate to each other? What... Read more
Any time someone associates lawyers and devils, the analogy sort-of-works. I know. Some of my best friends are lawyers. Really. And I am sorry for the lawyer jokes Phil and Leland, but they are as irresistible as a grieving widow to a lawyer. There are whole websites for lawyers jokes, many classics from my childhood: What is the difference between God and lawyer? God doesn’t think he is a lawyer. Many Christians associate the “satan,” the lawyerly accuser in the... Read more
Opine and the world opines with you, but attack Beauty and the Beast and you will opine alone. Having taken on the animated classic more than once, I have received some spirited responses, though saying I was shaped like LeFou with the romance of Gaston seemed harsh. Fortunately, an excellent critic has arisen to defend the film and I am honored to respond. We both agree that Disney has taken the original story, a tale not quite as old as time, but fairly... Read more
Satan appears very little in the Hebrew Bible, yet he is all over the New Testament. Read more
I have never asked the grinning bobcat why he grins, but Disney’s Pocahontas suggested I should. My fear is not so much the question, as the response. Bobcats are not good Socratic discussants. Everyone has questions, but not everyone has the same questions. M* asks: If one witnessed the ascension of Jesus into heaven, what do you believe such a person would report having actually seen? I assume M* is not like the chap I met once who carefully explained... Read more
This Presidency needs some advice and it is time to look to the President’s childhood to find it. There are serious issues in our times and then there is Bud Plays Junior High Football. If there was ever a book in which one could rest one’s weary mind, this is that book. Bud plays junior high football. That is the plot. Bud wins the championship. That is the spoiler. Bud never “stops to think until” he “has done something” and he... Read more
I recall watching a football game I hated only to get a Packers’ score every twenty minutes or so. Somewhere out there the Packers were playing, but there was no way of knowing what was happening until CBS deigned to tell me. Since the Packers were bad (Lynn Dickey notwithstanding), this was not often. Then one day “900” telephone numbers were born where I could call for money and hear scores when I wished . . . this was expensive,... Read more
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