Matthew 18:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to... Read more
I’m at a bit of a loss for words here: THEOMETRIKA 2: CANADIAN CATHOLIC MSM WORD/PHRASE SEARCH STATISTICS, INCLUDING APPLICATION OF THE MANN-WHITNEY U-TEST FYI: “racism” is considered a “heterodox-inclined word/phrase.” As is “slavery.” What? UPDATE: I have been accused of taking The Heresy Hunter out of context. I’m not exactly sure what that means. The Heresy Hunter is hereby invited to explain what he means by this accusation. Specifically, what is the actual “context” as he sees it? And,... Read more
One of the things a righteous person wants is the salvation of others; the more righteous one is, the more their desire that others, and not themselves, would be saved. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of others. They will share with Paul the sentiment of being damned if it meant others could be saved. “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen... Read more
When looking at any ecumenical council, to understand its declarations, one must move beyond the written letter and look to the spirit behind those declarations if one wants to understand what the council is teaching. It is easy to misconstrue a dogmatic declaration if you look only to what the councils had written down as all the council was declaring. What a council teaches extends beyond the written word, indeed, often the written word can confuse the reader and lead... Read more
As many readers are probably aware, Father Barron’s long-awaited Catholicism Project Series is now available and will soon be showing around the English-speaking Catholic world. A co-conspirator and I are planning to run the series here in Toronto. I was just thinking that I should very much like to have some books to recommend to people whom the series inspires to look further into their faith. I was going to write Father Barron and ask him which 5 books he... Read more
A number of vegetarians justify their lifestyle because they don’t want to be responsible for the death of another living creature. When this is offered, there will sometimes be the reply that being vegetarian isn’t enough. Vegetables are most often and most economically harvested via mechanization. These machines often kill small rodents. The piece of tofu you eat has the blood of mice on it is the claim. Eating is a collective act. Even the farmer himself eats the harvest... Read more
The blogosphere can be a good tool for the Christian. For it to be used well, there are many basic rules which should followed by those writing and commenting on blogs. While I could find hundreds of them, I am sure, there are three which are always at the forefront of my mind when I write, and I think they would help everyone. First, there should be the realization of one’s own faults, one’s own weaknesses. (more…) Read more
This review is part of the Patheos book club blogger round table for Matthew Levering’s latest work: The Betrayal of Charity: The Sins that Sabotage Divine Love. Thank you to Patheos for the invitation to participate. Matthew Levering seems to me a fascinating character. That is part of the reason I sought to interview him here at Vox Nova. Since having children during grad school, I have often commented that there is a reason most of the great theologians were... Read more
What is often referred to as “strange” is itself very strange to me. The phenomena of being declared “strange,” “wild,” “curious,” and the rest is very peculiar to me. Interruptions amidst the insane hum-drum of everyday life may be exceptional, but they are also exceptionally ordinary. This brings me, again, to muse on the News. I have frequently said that the News isn’t new at all, and that is true. When we look closer at this, when observe why the... Read more
Introduction and Part II “Providence is manifested in events which occur in accordance with divine necessity – such as the daily rising and setting of the sun, and the yielding of fruits by the earth. Law, similarly, is manifested in events which occur in accordance with human necessity. Everything has been created for man’s sake.”[1] “Since God is good, whatever He does, He does for man’s sake. But whatever man does, he does for his own sake, both what is... Read more
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