In two previous posts (here and here), we looked at the possibility of inheriting sin. Based on deeply-rooted cultural assumptions we have here in the West, we think that everyone starts (or should start) tabula rasa. It’s an assumption that ignores lots of complicating factors, like genetics and upbringing, but it’s got some merit: everyone… Continue reading The Effects of Original Sin: What About Unbaptized Babies?
Author: Joe Heschmeyer
The Biblical View of Inherited Sin
This is part 2 of a three-part series on original sin. This continues yesterday’s theme of exploring the counter-intuitive notion of inherited sin. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the implications of original sin. III. The Problems With the Two Extremes The American view imagines that each of us are autonomous individuals, who spring forth fully formed,… Continue reading The Biblical View of Inherited Sin
Catholics, Know Your Rights!
See some weird stuff at Mass, and want to know if it’s legit? By “weird stuff,” I mean priests leaving the altar to shake hands during the Sign of Peace, having announcements in the middle of the Mass, or letting a layperson give the homily, etc.? Or a church building with the Tabernacle hidden in… Continue reading Catholics, Know Your Rights!
Can You Inherit Sin?
I want to do a three-part series on original sin, but before I do, I’d like to thank both of the guys who pointed out the problems with the blog comment feature, and Jess Rezac (who, incidentally, helped design the header) for fixing it so quickly. So… thanks! Feel free to check out her blog… Continue reading Can You Inherit Sin?
Robert Novak and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, RIP
Two famous Catholics right died recently, in short succession: Robert Novak and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. We said a special prayer for them today (yesterday, technically, since it’s after midnight here on the east coast), since both of them occasioned the Catholic Information Center. Shriver was a customer, and Novak was actually baptized at the CIC,… Continue reading Robert Novak and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, RIP
Laypeople in the (Online) New Evangelization
Pope John Paul II called for a “New Evangelization” to build a civilization of love. You can read about it here, if you’re not familiar. One of the problems cited in the context of the Americas is “the scarce presence—in certain cases, the complete absence—of the Church in the field of the means of social… Continue reading Laypeople in the (Online) New Evangelization
Fr. William Most on Total Depravity
Fr. Most wrote a section in Grace, Predestination, and the Salvific Will of God which I think unintentionally adds to this discussion (I say unintentionally, because his focus wasn’t answering Calvinism or total depravity; it was answering arguments raised by the early Thomists which resemble Calvinism substantially in many features). The section in question is… Continue reading Fr. William Most on Total Depravity
C.S. Lewis on Total Depravity
I picked up a copy of The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis tonight, and found a part that I’d read a few weeks ago, and was surprised by. Specifically, it’s where Lewis says this: Any consideration of the goodness of God at once threatens us with the following dilemma. On the one hand, if… Continue reading C.S. Lewis on Total Depravity
The Road to Recovery
This week, we’ve looked at how certain diseased elements within the Catholic Church: looking specifically at parts of the American Catholic Church and at the Jesuits. What’s most striking about this latter example is that the Jesuits, the religious order most openly in dissent from Rome, is also the religious order which takes a special… Continue reading The Road to Recovery
Unnamed Women Deacons We Know By Name!?
It might be mean to pick on them, since they’re seriously ill (spiritually, and hopefully not mentally), but this was too funny to pass up: “Womenpriests.org” has a webpage on women deacons, who they allege existed in history. What they’re (not subtly) trying to do is creep into the priesthood via the deaconate. The idea… Continue reading Unnamed Women Deacons We Know By Name!?