My Anglican friend Timothy Scott Reeves, who sometimes guest posts here, offered me a reprint well worth your time. Read through to the end. Outwitted and Ignorant: The Problem of “Black Lives Matter” Posted on July 11, 2016 by Scott Some days I think Paul was a bit too optimistic. For example, in II Corinthians he wrote: So I beg you to reaffirm your love…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his... Read more
So let me tell you a funny story about why you should consider going to this year’s Catholic Writers Conference Live. Fellow Catholic Patheosi Kate O’Hare shared a link to an article about clickbait-mills over at Slate, “Dear Journalists: For the Love of God, Please Stop Calling Your Writing Content.” The gist of the article is this: The label “content” is used as a catch-all for the loads of shoddy garbage that the internet spews out daily in the never-ending quest... Read more
When future generations reflect on the fall of the American republic, they’ll no doubt get a chuckle over our obsession with having every aspect of our lives carefully legislated, to the point that our proto-emperors have now taken it upon themselves to dictate where and how their millions of citizens might relieve themselves. Keep in mind we already have laws concerning toilet problems. Whether you are worried about hygiene, or sound plumbing, or commodes-per-occupant, or sewage treatment, or voyeurism, or... Read more
This week over at the Catholic Conspiracy, we watch me lose my temper at the people who tell me I need to calm down and get along about that porn basket. But they’re taped shut. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re selling pornography at your store. You’re telling the world that it’s fine to buy and sell this stuff. You’re making the decision to attract buyers of pornography to your business. But that guy who runs the stall is... Read more
The egregious slate of presidential candidates we’re being offered this year is an understandable cause for concern. A question worth considering is whether the two-party system, or some other aspect of American political structures, is to blame for this state of affairs. Meanwhile, as he considers a separate but related question, Timothy Scott Reeves, who sometimes guest blogs here, writes: For me, THE core value is the understanding of my neighbor as someone made in the image of God. Abortion and... Read more
From this morning’s readings: A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to cross... Read more
Quick reminder: I write about adult topics. If your kid reads my blog, your kid is traveling in grown-up land. Way back a year-and-some ago when I wrote a Christian primer on BDSM, a reader complained, and I paraphrase: She never explained why BDSM was wrong! She just assumed that it was! Today is the day I fill in that blank. Before you begin reading, please refer to the original post for important background info on what BDSM is and how disorders... Read more
Humans, all humans, have a need to feel safe when we go to the bathroom. It’s a viscerally rooted survival instinct. Back when we were young and childless, if a transvestite friend came to the house there were never any issues. But now we have these young Catholics filling our home, lovely children but still growing in their life of virtue, still easily swayed from the narrow road; we have to think carefully about how that affects our social choices. And... Read more
I spent this weekend with as fine a portion of the Knights of Columbus and the Columbiettes as you could hope to meet. Super group, truly a privilege to be among them. Thank you, prayer team, for your support in making this weekend work, you made all the difference. My hosts told me I could use the lunch hour to talk about anything I wanted, so (surprise!) I talked about evangelization. And thus a follow-up, which I’ve cross-posted over at my... Read more
Here in South Carolina we have both Dominicans and Klansmen, but so far there haven’t been any social media panics. I did have a rural Russian Orthodox deacon tell me once that the people at the IGA think he’s with the Klan. But we Catholics know these problems are preventable. Here are our top three tips for how to keep anyone from thinking your Dominicans are really KKK: 1. Have Them Found an African-American Parish. Try to do it during the... Read more
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