So other day, this washed up in my FB feed: It is a fairly typical specimen of conservative Christian self-pity from a nation of conservative Christians, acutely aware of the real sufferings of real martyrs throughout history and around the world today and hungry to pretend that their trivial problems are equal to that. They aren’t. That’s not to say that there is not a real issue here that needs to be addressed. But the hype (which, I confess with... Read more
A reader sends along this great passage: “Textual problems have led some modern scholars to question the credibility of the Gospels and even to doubt the historical existence of Jesus. These studies provoked an intriguing reaction from an unlikely source: Julien Gracq, an old and prestigious novelist…which is all the more arresting for coming from an agnostic. Gracq first acknowledged the impressive learning of one of these scholars…as well as the devastating logic of his reasoning; but…he still found himself... Read more
While the brutalists at Church Militant reliably go to war against the Holy Father and the bishops in order to grind the faces of the desperate and cheer on a racist thug who tortures children and uses them as hostages for his Wall, there are Traditionalists who still listen to St. John Chrysostom and not FOX and Rush Limbaugh when the saint says, “If you do not see Christ in the beggar at the Church door, you will not find... Read more
…with Fr. Dwight Longenecker about “Warrior” Christians that gets me thinking of a tangent. His argument is about the concept of the “warrior priest” and you can read it here. I don’t really have a dog in that fight, but it does remind me of something I’ve thought about in the past: namely, the idea of filling pagan forms with Christian content vs. filling Christian forms with pagan content. One of the many things that anti-Catholic Fundies get wrong about... Read more
“Love a good product name that sounds like something Captain Haddock would call you as an insult.” – Luke Shea Read more
Remember when Christianists were warning that Obama’s base thought he was the Anointed of God? What a bunch of maroons them Lefties were! What a bunch of ignoranimouses! Fast forward to now: Liberty University students and faculty are helping produce an 85-minute feature film that will be shown in over 1,000 theatres nationwide highlighting one man’s “Trump prophecy” and a movement of prayer that led up to the election of President Donald Trump. The film, titled “The Trump Prophecy,” will... Read more
why American bishops are fighting to maintain the statute of limitations on sexual abuse crimes in NY, PA, and NJ? Cuz it looks an awful lot like they just don’t want to face responsibility for sexual abuse crimes committed by priests. I mean, I’m no lawyer, but…. Read more
She writes: I know many Catholics are critical of Calvinism and its doctrine predestination, but don’t they also believe in it? That God foreknows or ensures that whoever gets to heaven does-free will doesn’t exist when it comes to salvation. To me, this seems logical if God is all-knowing and all-powerful. I have asked Catholics about this, and they tell me that while they believe it, their predestination belief different from Calvinism. I am a little confused and was wondering... Read more
Last week, I puzzled some people by noting that Trump’s dumb trade war against friends and allies was the thing Christianists would spend the day defending instead of defending the unborn. Some people seemed to think I have strong views on Trump’s dumb trade war and that I believed everybody must think what I think about it or be damned. No. That’s not my point. I don’t care much about this particular stupidity of Trump’s. My point was simply that... Read more
…by Abbott Tryphon of All Merciful Saviour (Orthodox) Monastery near Seattle, Washington. As Pete Vere, who put me on to this, observes. “This is a monastery under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), which at one time was the Orthodox Church’s closest equivalent of the SSPX.” This one was recorded a few years back and is Abbott Tryphon’s look at Pope Francis, whom he hopefully calls Pope Francis I. A nice example of the Church breathing... Read more
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