Todd Unctuous on Bill Clinton

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 7:55 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Guest blogger Todd Unctuous is top commentator for MSM. With a degree in Media Studies from Scranton Community College, Todd writes for many papers and websites, and is known for his incisive writing, objective reporting and razor sharp comment. I see from today’s headlines that one of America’s greatest statesmen, former President William Jefferson Rockefeller Clinton has been awarded the Father of the Year award. In a world where prizes for genuine accomplishments are rare it is heart warming to... Read more

Revolution and Revelation

Last updated on: January 8, 2013 at 3:46 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

A spirited conversation has been going on in the combox about the existence of God. I said here that God does not exist–and went on to say, at least he does not exist as we exist. He is, instead, the very ground of all existence. He does not exist so much as he IS existence. Commenters went back and forth with a range of readers–some antagonistic atheists who, one senses, don’t really want an intelligible answer, and others who struggled... Read more

The Vicar on Gay Bishops

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 7:59 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Guest blogger, The Rev’d Humphrey Blytherington is Vicar of St Hilda’s, Little Snoring with All Saints, Great Snoring. He is a graduate of Plymouth University. He completed his studies for the ministry at Latimer Hall, Durham. He is married to Daphne and enjoys home brewing, model railroading and is an avid member of the Great Snoring Morris Dancers. I was happily ensconced in the armchair in my study meditating for a few moments, when Daphne marched in clutching the... Read more

I Don’t Believe God Exists

Last updated on: January 3, 2013 at 12:30 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Did that headline getcha? What I mean is that I do not believe God exists in the way that I exist, or in the way that my mother exists or that tree or flower or mosquito exists, or the way the planet Jupiter or the Milky Way or the sand on the seashore exists. It is not that God exists, but that God is Existence itself. He is that power or source of Life by which and through which all... Read more

Judgement Day

Last updated on: January 2, 2013 at 3:56 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

A reader has commented that is a lapsed Catholic now an atheist and that he would not want to worship a God who forces people to love him or he will send them to hell to be tortured forever. Here is my reply: Allow me to put it this way: if you blow out the light you will be in the dark. This is not the fault of the light. If you turn off the heater you will be cold.... Read more

Gospel Stories, Myths and Legends

Last updated on: January 2, 2013 at 7:58 am By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

On the week before Christmas in 1941 my grandfather was walking with his two sons to market in downtown Pottstown, Pennsylvania. It had snowed the night before and the roads were too icy to drive. That’s why they were walking. As they crossed the river bridge a coal truck turned on to the bridge. The bridge was icy and the driver lost control. The truck slid forward toward my grandfather and his sons. He saw what was happening, pushed the... Read more

Holy Mary Mother of God and Mother of Me

Last updated on: January 1, 2013 at 1:28 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

I had a Southern Baptist friend who thought it was amusing, when visiting Catholic churches, to wave to the image of Mary and say, “Hi Mary!” When I challenged him on what seemed a mark of disrespect he said cheerily, “Y’all say, ‘Hail Mary’ and ‘Hail’ just means ‘Hi’, so it’s my way of saying ‘Hail Mary!'” Wrong answer. The word “Hail” or “Ave” in Latin is a royal greeting. The Roman emperors on return from a triumphant campaign would... Read more

Are the Gospels a Myth?

Last updated on: December 28, 2012 at 7:13 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

One of the most common pronouncements by the atheists in the combox is that “Christianity is a myth.” In one sense they are correct. The gospel story does operate like a myth. However, most of the atheists making this comment do not seem to have a very knowledgeable understanding of myth and how it works. They don’t seem to understand the richness and the ambiguity of the term “myth”. When they say “myth” what they mean is “fairy tale”. Even the... Read more

Ed Blanch the Internet Atheist

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 7:49 pm By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Guest blogger Ed Blanch comments regularly on various religious websites and he blogs at There’s No Sky Fairy where he regularly receives 273 visits a month. Ed is taking a break from his studies at North Jersey College of Technology. Domiciled in his mom’s basement, Ed is busy developing an exciting new video game concept. He doesn’t have time to write a guest post, but we’ve been lucky enough to have Ed visit the combox where he displays the amazing stuff he learned... Read more

Evidence for Christmas

Last updated on: December 24, 2012 at 9:28 am By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Once again we’ve had some tussles with atheists who keep asking for ‘evidence’ for the Christian faith. The whole question of evidence is interesting because we have to ask what sort of evidence they require. Whenever I ask this question they all skirt around the issue in one way or another. There are many different kinds of evidence for many different aspects of the faith, but this is a complex matter for different questions demand different sorts of evidence. The... Read more

What city was Paul imprisoned in before writing to the Philippians?