“As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions” (Rom. 14:1 RSV). We should be welcoming to everyone, including, and especially, fellow Christians. Not everyone, including fellow Christians, will be like us. They will have different views and opinions, different levels of understanding or faith than we do. Some will know and understand more, some less. Some will have greater faith, others, less. We should make sure those who are weak in... Read more
Some people want to make Catholics think that President Biden, and the US government, is targeting them. They act as if religious liberty is under threat. They did this during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now they are doing it after learning that the FBI was interested in, and investigating, various right-wing “radical-traditionalist Catholic” groups. Many, if not most of these groups can hardly be said to be Catholic, as they are not in communion with the Pope of Rome. Moreover,... Read more
So many well-off, rich people like to think themselves as being good and very charitable towards others simply because they basically give away scraps to people in need. Yes, the amount they give might be substantial, in one sense, such as those who give away a ten-thousand dollars to a charitable contribution. On the other hand, if what they make in the time it takes to write a check is more than the check itself, clearly, they are only giving... Read more
Recently, there have been many theological discussions and debates centering around the subject of universalism, the teaching that somehow, in the end (eschaton), everyone (and everything) in creation will end up “saved” (and not just in an objective manner). That is, there are many debating (and condemning) those who declare that it is necessary to conclude there will be no one who suffers eternal, or perpetual, perdition (however perdition is interpreted). One of the problems involved with such debates is... Read more
We must care for each other. We can’t ignore those suffering from abuse, those facing injustice, if we love them. This is because we can’t stand on by seeing a loved-one suffer if there is something we can do about it. Even if we can’t, we will try to comfort them the best we can. Love is the key. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. If and when we ignore someone in need, we more than we... Read more
The grace we have been given is not to be used to ignore the consequences of whatever injustices we have committed but rather to help as change for the better. Not only are we called to act justly ourselves, we are called to promote justice in society, that is, social justice. We are not to neglect the common good. We are given grace not just for our own good, but for the good of everyone. Similarly, though we are shown... Read more
God is always offering us grace, offering us the opportunity to grow and be become better than we are today. The key is not to become complacent, especially in regards our religious faith. If we think we do not have any room to grow, any room for improvement, not only will be become stuck where we are at, we will find we will be, as it were, left behind. Instead of having a living, dynamic faith, our faith will become... Read more
Because Scripture says humanity is made in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen. 1:27), many upon reading that statement misinterpret it as indicating that only humanity can be said to be made in the image and likeness of God. This is a bad reading of the text, because it doesn’t say only humanity is made in this manner. If I said something similar, such as a particular artist made a painting in their own image, this would not... Read more
“All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12 RSV). Paul’s words here are very important. They explain to us that Christian morality should have a practical, not just theoretical, side to it. Morality should not be some legalistic enterprise telling us to do things or not to do things, restricting our freedom without any substantial justification. It should be... Read more
F.L. Cocozzelli. Commissar Conservatives. How Laissez-faire Libertarianism Is Disturbingly Similar To Communism (New York: Progressive Works Publishing, 2022), xliii + 259 pgs.[1] After the fall of the Soviet Union, many in the West believed that the collapse of the Soviet regime was proof that capitalism was superior in all ways to communism. They explained that this meant not only that capitalism was good, but because it was good, the more it can be left unfettered, the more good capitalism can... Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In