We’ve had a little fun, noting how frequently his Holiness brings up idolatry in his homilies and talks (he just did it again, on June 2!); the joke, of course, is that he and I are mind-melding. Now it seems Deacon Greg and Pope Francis are visiting a similar frequency. Posting his homily early, as he always does, the good Deacon preached this about the Solemnity of Corpus Christi: Communion is, to a great extent, about community. It is about... Read more
I think this kid handled this very well: Read more
In Florida, some atheists, peeved that a monument to the Ten Commandments could not be protested out of existence are planning to erect their own monument, celebrating their beliefs: A small city in heavily Christian northern Florida is about to become home to the first public monument in the United States dedicated to atheism. Florida members of American Atheists, a national advocacy group, plan to erect a 1,500-pound granite display in front of the Bradford County Courthouse in Starke, Fla.,... Read more
There is nothing quite like an essay by Barbara Nicolosi. She is forthright; she is knowledgeable and blunt; she has zero-tolerance for bullcrap; she is also deeply thoughtful and her intellect shines through every paragraph she writes. Not everyone always agrees with her, but she’s okay with that too — she is always up for a good debate. In other words, Barbara Nicolosi is a strong woman with strong views; if she is ever canonized she will be known as... Read more
Brandon Vogt — tireless, energetic, passionately Catholic, creative Brandon Vogt — has created something new, and he calls it Strange Notions: the Digital Aeropagus. I’ve been meaning to mention this for weeks, but my schedule has been atrocious. This video helps to spell it out, so I can certainly squeeze it in! Strange Notions is about asking and answering the big questions in a public forum, and most particularly in fomenting constructive engagement between Atheists and people of faith. It’s... Read more
The value of a musical education begun during the early years of childhood has been well-documented; students who are exposed to musical instruction while young tend to do better in math and language arts and — more importantly — they develop a musicality that will remain with them for as long as they choose to use it, and can always be re-gained. At a recent family event our sons brought out a guitar, a uke, a mandolin and (and a... Read more
A couple of days ago Muslimah Media Watch examined the way the media indulges in reductive stereotyping of Muslim women, whenever sexual issues are discussed: Thank you Jezebel for your groundbreaking work in this field and for using phrases like “Islam, surprisingly…” and “All of which may make many a Muslim woman blush,” because that’s not reductive at all – particularly when discussing Muslim women and their intimate lives, completely missing the point that sexuality is a normal part of... Read more
Color me very grateful for the interest in Strange Gods and I have felt a little helpless when emails and social media messages asked when the book would be out on Kindle. The answer, finally, as of right now! I’m also grateful to folks who have been very kind in their assessments of the book, although I do have to admit that Terry Nelson from Abbey-Roads blog — one of my favorite blogs, I don’t link to enough — gave... Read more
Two lovely pieces about the prayer and life of Icon-writing. Over at CNEWA, the Romanian Orthodox nun and Icon-writer Sister Eliseea Papacioc visited the New York office of CNEWA and talked a little about process: “I’m very connected with God when I do this,” she said, “and God is doing everything through my hand. I can’t paint without prayer. This comes from heaven, from the words of God, and if you can’t pray you can’t call yourself an iconographer. The... Read more
I am a little late getting around to talking about the Patheos Book Club, which is currently featuring my book, among others. As I’ve expressed to some friends, I’m always really happy to promote books I like (and I like my book!) but promoting Strange Gods has been a little daunting for me. I’m not sure how to do it without sounding like this: Yeah, that cracks me up. But on the other hand, I’m always afraid this will happen:... Read more
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