I am totally one hundred percent in favor of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. I do worry, however, that in our society the idea of mercy is weakened by our lack of understanding about sin and repentance. When we hear “Mercy” we too often think, “Oh, that just means that nasty old Catholic Church has decided to go easy on everybody for a bit.” Errrm. Not really. However, if we’re not careful the year of mercy might just become an... Read more

Don’t fall into the scapegoat trap. In the Old Testament the scapegoat was literally a goat onto whom the people projected their sins. The goat was then sent out into the wilderness to wander alone until it died of thirst or was devoured by the wild beasts. Here’s the passage from Leviticus 16 where this is commanded as part of the Old Testament religious ritual. “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting... Read more

My latest article at Aleteia continues my series Angels of Advent  This week the angel is Gabriel, who appeared to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation The unique truth of Christianity is that God reveals himself as Love. This love, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, is the energy force that binds together the three persons of the Holy Trinity. It is also, as Dante has written, “the force that moves the sun and all the other stars.” The story of the Annunciation... Read more

If you want to know the truth there’s Amish in me. My ancestors came to Pennsylvania in the 1770s from Switzerland. They were Mennonite. They settled in Lancaster County along with the Amish. Go to Lancaster County and Berks County. You’ll find lots of Longeneckers. The Amish hunker down and mind their own business. Coming from persecution to the New World for freedom, they still expect the worst and hope for the best. They’re pacifists, and while they are patriotic... Read more

Conservative pundits are all worked up about the super duper climate change slide show on the facade of St Peter’s yesterday. Life Site News here goes all conspiratorial about the connections of the groups that funded the show and how it was all a left wing, climate change, one world government, population control propaganda exercise. Well, perhaps, but then again maybe not. I got used to the tactics of fundamentalist conspiracy theory folks in my earlier days as a Protestant fundamentalist.... Read more

The solution to the Syrian refugee problem is simple. It goes like this: First we have to admit that we can’t take everyone. Therefore there has to be a selection process. Quite sensibly we should acknowledge that there might be a problem of terrorists sneaking in as refugees and we want to weed them out. Here’s how the selection procedure should work:  We decide to take only the most vulnerable and weak because they are most in need. The most... Read more

Why is Donald Trump so popular? Because we elect the leaders who are like us. We get who we deserve. Far from being a renegade, a wild card or an outsider, Donald Trump is the ultimate twenty first century American. He typifies America. He is America. He can clothe himself in the flag he is so American. Think about it for a moment: Here’s a list of twelve things about Trump that hold up a mirror to America today. I should... Read more

David Gustafson was a classmate of mind at Bob Jones University. We met again after many years and after a long running discussion via email about things Catholic and Protestant we wrote a book together called Mary-A Catholic Evangelical Debate.  The book is now out of print and I’m working to make it available again. In the meantime, here is the chapter on the Immaculate Conception. Dwight: I expect the Catholic doctrine that is most objectionable to Evangelicals is Mary’s Immaculate Conception. ... Read more

My latest blog at National Catholic Register is Indiana Jones and Finding Mercy The gospel says “Seek and you will find” and one of the ways of seeking is to go on a treasure hunt. This is how I’ve come to regard the ancient Catholic tradition of going on pilgrimage. You set out from home to visit some holy place as if you are an adventurer going on a  quest to find some great treasure. Think Indiana Jones searching for... Read more

Here is a seasonal piece from Imaginative Conservative on how St Nicholas became Santa Claus How did a fourth century heretic slapping bishop from Southern Turkey wind up being a fat, Coca-Cola-swigging American elf? St. Nicholas was born into a wealthy Christian family in the third century. His parents died in a plague, and having inherited the family fortune, he decided to obey the radical call of Christ and give it to the poor. So he became famous for his... Read more