As Ireland votes overwhelmingly for same sex marriage and the rest of the Western world, it seems, can’t wait to follow their example, is it time to throw in the towel in the cultural slugfest? As radical Islam advances giving us nightmares and as the economic “recovery” looks increasingly shaky is it time to hunker down? Over at The Week Damon Linker analyzes what Rod Dreher calls “The Benedict Option”. This is the idea that the church will follow the pattern... Read more

…clap your hands. You  may remember that episode in Peter Pan when Tinkerbell is about to perish and all the children in the audience are asked to clap their hands if they believe in fairies. Their clapping makes Tinkerbell come back to life. Tinkerbell seems to have invaded the mindset of modern man. That is to say, too many people think that if you believe something it makes it so, and if you do not believe something that makes it so. How... Read more

Stop and think for a moment. Why are we commanded (its not an option) to give sacrificially to the work of the church? Most people assume its because the church has to pay the bills, the priest needs a salary, the church needs a new roof and we have to help the poor people. Yes and no. We certainly do need money for mission, but there is a more profound and disturbing reason we are commanded to give. In today’a... Read more

My article at The Imaginative Conservative this week compares St Therese of Lisieux with Friedrich Nietzsche In the musical Oklahoma! Ado Annie and Will Parker sing, “With Me It’s All or Nuthin’ is it All or Nuthin’ With You?” I like to imagine the duet being sung by Thérèse of Lisieux and Friedrich Nietzsche. I can just see the sweet little French girl and the skinny German with his big moustache, the first crying out in girlish enthusiasm, “I will have all!”... Read more

Is it ‘me and Jesus’ or ‘me and the Church’? This is the question of ecclesiology and the difference between Catholics and Protestants on this issue is illustrated by two different perspectives on Pentecost. I think it is fair to say that most Protestants do not have an ecclesiology, or if they have one they do not have a coherent ecclesiology. That is to say, they don’t think much about the church, or if they have thought about the church... Read more

Some atheists trying to pick a fight with padre, but I never argue with atheists Here’s why: 1. Most of the internet atheists I’ve come across are ignorant – I don’t mean they’re stupid necessarily, or that they are bad people. I don’t even mean they are uneducated in their particular field, but most of them are ignorant when it comes to religion. By this I mean they just don’t know stuff. I don’t blame them for that, I’m ignorant about rocket... Read more

Earlier in the week I write a light hearted post saying that one of the most wearying things about atheism was simply how mind crushingly boring it is. The post is here. Atheism is Just So…Dull. I was tickled therefore, when an atheist blogger wrote a post about it, and of course, what was so funny was how serious his post was. Then when I read his comments I laughed out loud at how angry, self righteous and serious they... Read more