Humanity has been given great power and authority over the earth. Our dominion over the world comes to us as an obligation for the earth; it is not meant to be used for our sake. We are not meant to enslave the world and the powers of nature, but rather, to oversee them and to make sure the world remains pure and good. We have great power over the forces of the world; science shows us how great an authority... Read more
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain keeps telling the story of how he was treated successfully for colon cancer, and how he might have died had the Affordable Care Act been the law of the land. This is a wicked lie. As everyone (or everybody who does not take a nihilistic and relativistic approach to facts) knows, nothing much changes for those who have insurance already. The law simply seeks to dramatically reduce healthcare rationing based on cost, so that those currently excluded will... Read more
Saints make the universal call to holiness unique by their own particularization of that call in their lives. They grasp an aspect of Christ’s life, putting them into communion with Christ, and in that communion, to the rest of the world. As they strive for personal holiness, their achievements help more than themselves, but everyone. No matter how isolated they might appear in the world, they are not individuals cut off from everyone else, selfishly looking only after their own... Read more
Introduction and Part II “Only to man does God listen. Only to man does God manifest Himself. God loves man and, wherever man may be, God too is there. Man alone is counted worthy to worship God. For man’s sake God transforms Himself.”[1] Creation, all that is good and lovely in it, was made for the sake of humanity.[2] “Men cultivate the earth for themselves; but if they fail to recognize how great is God’s providence, their souls lack all... Read more
I’m not going to cry bitter tears over Anwar Al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, American citizens whose assassinations were engineered by the United States government yesterday, but I may shed a few for the Constitution that their killers were sworn to uphold. Al-Awlaki was a Phoenix-born jihadi propagandist who produced anti-American and anti-Western video lectures and sermons for rebroadcast on the web. Samir Khan was a 25 year-old North Carolinian who just last year started a English-language jihadist magazine titled “Inspire.” Khan’s stated publishing goal... Read more
From the life, death and resurrection of Jesus we go from the kingdom of heaven being at hand to the eschaton itself having become immanent. The world has experienced the end with the death of Christ; the eschaton has found its place in the world and its influence spreads throughout all time, bring all that is and was into its grasp. The early Christians recognized this; Paul called Jesus the New Adam, the first to be raised from the dead.... Read more
If sociologist Lisa Wade is to be believed, the “hook up” culture—an ethos of casual sex with no commitment or emotional attachment—while perceived as hegemonic and enjoying broad support, is in fact a source of much dissatisfaction to the students involved. What she says seems to be in accord both with my long ago experience as an undergraduate, and more recently with my observations of student culture here at Trinity College. Many students want an alternative. Catholicism has one... Read more
Its easy for Americans to forget that there are places in the world where the Body of Christ still bleeds for the sake of the Name. Such a place is the Islamic Republic of Iran, where tonight a Christian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, is facing imminent execution for refusing to renounce Jesus Christ. Nadarkhani has been convicted of apostasy from Islam, a crime punishable by death. Nadarkhani claims he was never Muslim (as if that should matter) and therefore couldn’t apostasize. But... Read more
I feed the homeless on Wednesdays at a local Lutheran church in Berkeley, California, where I live. I used to arrive early enough that I would help set up, pitch in in the kitchen, and so forth, but now (due to gaining employment) I arrive maybe 15 minutes after the doors open, so the line is already moving past the table where the spaghetti and salad are being served to the diners. A couple weeks ago, after I arrived, I... Read more
The Christian life is meant to be one of humble charity. We all are sinners who have had sins forgiven by Christ. We are called to be merciful to others, to forgive them, to show them love and respect, even as we have been given love and respect by Christ. We should not seek to put ourselves in high positions of authority, to claim some authority over others because we think we are better than them. (more…) Read more
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