Over at the new FB group for readers of this blog, a couple guys have made tentative stabs at the slippery slope fallacy discussion question. For those who are scratching heads, here’s a quick rundown of what the fallacy is and what it isn’t, and how to tell whether the slope you’re standing on is real or pretend. (If you’re in my class on Friday and you’re reading this ahead, thanks, yes, you’ve just seen the lecture notes, I expect... Read more
There are even ten steps involved, mind the Caravaggio rule. At my editor’s suggestion I’ve gone and created a Facebook group for readers of this blog: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JenFitz/. It’s open to the public, thus allowing you to converse with your fellow readers without having to go so far as to be friends with them. To make it interesting, I decided to throw out a discussion question each week or so. Our inaugural topic concerns the slippery slope fallacy, go take a look... Read more
There is no getting around the fact that the terrorists in Paris took advantage of an assortment of accommodations for refugees and immigrants in order to murder their hosts. Abuse does not disprove right use, but right use doesn’t excuse abuse, either. What’s a civilized nation to do? This is not a new question for the United States. *** My grandmother’s grandmother, sixteen at the time, got on a boat in the late 1800’s and traveled from Germany to visit... Read more
So over at CatholicMom.com I’ve got a Gospel reflection up today, and it’s really good. But here’s the real thing that happened this morning: I opened the readings, and I was all over Maccabees. How timely given recent world events! I really need to sit down and read Maccabees! I really need to review my history of the Greek occupation! What a providential reading, Lord. Then I ran through the psalm, awfully fast, kinda nodding, sure yeah, that fits. Psalm always fits,... Read more
In the wake of the attacks on the city of Paris, I was glued to the news. As I followed commentators at France 24,where they were running live coverage all night in the immediate aftermath of the events, several comments in succession caught my attention. The first was the observation that the style of the attacks — noted in the hours before any of the perpetrators had been identified — was typical of something out of Pakistan or Afghanistan. This... Read more
I didn’t fully understand Catholic education until this semester. Those who follow the blog know I’m one of the instructors for a weekly high school economics and debate class. It’s a small class, eight students: One Orthodox, two Anglicans, the remainder Catholic. The program hosting us is unapologetically Catholic, but it’s not a program “about” the Catholic faith. Sometimes there are classes specifically featuring religious content, sometimes there aren’t. Usually the instructors are Catholic, sometimes they aren’t. The rule that holds everything... Read more
I had a chance earlier this fall to preview Return by Brandon Vogt. I haven’t seen the video series (information here) but I did read the pre-release version of the book cover to cover. It’s about what to do if you have a child who’s left the Catholic faith, and it is extraordinarily good. Not a project I’m involved with personally in any way, other than that I did a happy dance just reading the table of contents on... Read more
Rebecca Hamilton reports on the recent ruling by the Department of Education that girls’ sports teams must now admit certain boys — both to playing on the team and to the girls’ locker room. It’s a problematic ruling on many levels, but to get our minds around the issues, we need to pull apart the different questions involved. 1. Girls like to play sports. I know that girls like sports because I can’t think of a single female in my... Read more
Two links and a note: The best summary of the theology behind the Great Communion Debate of 2015 is over at Darwin Catholic. A snippet from the conclusion: Given all of that, to say that a divorced and remarried couple (unless they have decided to live together celibately) may receive communion necessarily means that you disagree with one of the following teachings of the Church: – That someone in grave sin may not receive the Eucharist – That having sex... Read more
If you have a group of children who need a saint costume, stat, ask if anyone can lend you some red lip gloss. In the hands of a skilled teenager, you can have a company of martyrs of the French Revolution in no time at all. Hint: A white t-shirt is maybe not the best combination, when you are going for the freshly-decapitated look. Thank goodness for bleach. *** Of course for pure All-Hallow’s-Eve report-giving pleasure, you want a martyr of... Read more
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