My friend Christian calls the Episcopalians the ‘piskies. I hadn’t heard that one before, but it fits. Here’s the letter from California Bishop Marc Andrus on the installation today of the new Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco–Abp. Cordileone–a staunch defender of marriage. Knowing the Anglicans pretty well, I thought I’d do a Fr.Z type fisk on the letter: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dear Ones, ???? Sounds like one of those creepy New Age messages from an alien. On the Feast of Saint Francis,... Read more

A little article from the Daily Telegraph has brought out the Jeremiah in me this morning… In England a couple of lads with stout appetites have been banned from an “all you can eat” restaurant. The story’s here. These boys should get on a plane to the USA. We have chains of “all you can eat” restaurants. They specialize in the lowest grade food possible, and there is as much of it as you want. “Yessir. Step right up. Quantity... Read more

G.K.Chesterton observes that every age is saved by a saint most contrary to the spirit of the age. This clash–this ability by Divine Providence to provide a saint that stands everything on it’s head is exemplified by a comparison between Frederick Nietzsche and Therese of Lisieux. They were contemporaries. Nietzsche was born in 1844 and died in 1900. Therese was born in 1873 and died just three years before Nietzche in 1897. Nietzsche stands as the terminal point of godless-... Read more

Before anyone thinks I am advocating murder, abortion, infanticide or genocide, I’m asking a basic philosophical question. Kill Bill? Why not kill another human being? First we have to define our terms: by “kill” we mean to intentionally end another person’s life. For the purposes of discussion I will exclude the killing that goes on in war–not because it doesn’t count, but because the ethics of killing in war time is a more complex discussion. So why not kill another... Read more

Pragmatism is practical, but pragmatism also has problems. What is pragmatism? It might be defined as the quality of being practical–of valuing usefulness and workability. A pragmatic person is interested in the practical solution of problems. They want a solution that is efficient, effective and economical. They want to get the job done in a nuts and bolts, down to earth, ordinary way. And who doesn’t? Most people value pragmatism, and so it should be. We want our gadgets to... Read more

Some time ago I received an email from an older Englishman who told me this story. He said, “When I started working at the bank in the 1960s, every Monday morning at the start of work my team leader would gather us in the conference room for a team meeting and he would close the meetings with this reminder, “Gentlemen, remember that your job here is simple. You are here to serve our customers and our shareholders. You are to... Read more

Comments on this post are closed. If an atheist exists, then God must also exist. To understand this maddening and confusing statement we must first examine whether God exists. If he exists then we can breathe a sigh of relief and conclude that atheists also exist. Whether God exists or not depends on whether anything exists. The question is not whether God exists, but the more fundamental question of “why is there anything at all?” We see that there are... Read more

Comments on this post are closed. The most frequently asked question by atheists who come to this blog is “What evidence do you have for the existence of God?” My reply is always to ask what sort of evidence they require, but not one of them has ever given me a straight answer. My question is an honest one. What sort of evidence would someone be looking for if they wanted evidence for God? I ask this because there are... Read more

Comments on this post are now closed. The earlier excerpt with this title was from my book Adventures in Orthodoxy. As there seems to be some interest in the piece, I am posting the full chapter for those who wish to read it. This is the first section… There is a picture of God in a painting in Ghent, Belgium. He is wearing a big crown and a red robe, he has a long beard and he is sitting on... Read more