On the Rippers of Isabel Allende; Or, How the Culture of Offense Ruins Literary Discussion

February 17, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

When Isabel Allende said in a brief NPR interview that her latest novel is a parody of crime fiction, and that she is not a fan of the genre, you would have thought she had just admitted to being a serial killer. She did not say literary fiction was better; she did not say those who like crime fiction are readers of low quality; she did not say Stieg Larsson fans should put down The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and pick up The House of the Spirits. But too many people seem to be sitting around waiting to be offended. Political correctness is giving us fragile nervous systems, ready to shatter at the least gentle breeze. Say nothing more momentous than that you don’t like a particular literary genre, and those who do like it will break down in a fit of hysteria. [Read more] Read more

Seven Reasons to Read Simcha Fisher’s Book on Natural Family Planning: 7QT XIV Seriatim

February 14, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

If you talk to Simcha Fisher, she will tell you that she did not write The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning to do what other discussions of the subject already do well. So you will not find moral or theological argument; nor will you find a how-to manual for using this method of postponing pregnancy. “Priests are so thrilled,” she says, “to discover that here finally is a couple who wants to use NFP instead of contraception, and there is seldom any discussion of: Now what?” Read more

Z-ophobia, FEMEN, & Other Quick Takes: 7QT XIII Seriatim

February 7, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

I saw the acronym LGBTA today, on a job board for freelancers; an “LGBTA” magazine is hiring writers. Thought I: What’s the A for? I had seen Q; but what was this new A in the alphabet soup of queer? I did the sensible thing and looked it up. It stands for asexual. I can not keep up. Insanity outpaces all sense and defies all reason. Where is the reason in thinking of oneself as a species of starfish or sponge? And why leave out the Q’s? Do they have no place in this magazine? Shouldn’t it now be “LGBTQA?” Read more

United Nations to Pope Francis: Change Your Doctrine

February 5, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

The agenda of the UN is to spread the idea that the Catholic Church is an evil to be fought. Unless the Church permits the murder of the unborn, it is not doing enough to stop the harm done to children. Unless the Church permits contraception, it is not doing enough to ensure that children can live. And unless the Church says that men can stick their organs in places they were not designed to go, it is not doing enough to promote the dignity of the human body. Read more

A Modest Proposal for Increasing the Relevance of Holy Mass

February 2, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

It is indeed a melancholy object, dear reader, to contemplate the masses (we speak with no disregard for the Mass) whose breasts are thrilled by the annual event known as Super Bowl Sunday. Imagine someone willing to pay $30,000 in order to have a front-row seat at Mass. We believe that we have discovered the way by which that may happen, and not only increase attendance at Mass, and excitement about the Mass, but the relevance of the Mass too. Read more

Rolling Stoned on Pope Francis, Part II

February 1, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

Of Pope Francis, Mr. Binelli has this to say: “His recognizable humanity comes off as positively revolutionary.” Yes. Now, I know this is going to be a disputable point, but here it is: That is quite possibly the dumbest sentence writ by man. No pope before Francis was human? What about that dour old crab Benedict? It is not human to be dour? Or what about the gregarious John Paul II? What does he mean, Francis is revolutionary because he is human? Does that make sense? Read more

Seven Anathemas on Super Bowl Sunday: 7QT XII Seriatim

January 31, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

In this post I am going to try a little blasphemy. I wonder greatly how that will work out for me, in light of the religious hysteria that takes place every year on “Super Bowl Sunday.” It is our nation’s holiest day, when we gather round the altar; consecrate the elements; and watch our priests beat each other up for an hour. And this we cheer and use as an excuse to get loud and smashed. I do not know why football has so seized this nation's need for religion. Read more

Rolling Stoned on Pope Francis, Part I

January 30, 2014 By Scott Eric Alt

By now, dear reader, you have probably heard that Pope Francis made the cover of still another pop culture magazine. The article, which is long and boorish and blind, is bent to advance a standard theme: that the new pope is a fuzzy and progressive-leaning maverick and will stand Church teaching on its head; whereas, the old pope, the evil Benedict, was a sour old man who beat us all over the pate with the hammer of dogma. That is a caricature and belies the facts. Read more