If you visited the blog over the weekend, you may have been surprised at what you say. That’s because I’ve decided to undertake a long-overdue site redesign. I have three goals in undertaking this redesign: To cultivate a space for beauty. Beauty and truth belong together. In the words of Pope Francis, “In every age… Continue reading Pardon Our Dust!
Author: Joe Heschmeyer
The Protestant Fallacy That Threatens to Undermine Christianity
Catholics believe in the infallibility of the Church and of the pope. This serves as both a teacher of, and an important check to, our personal interpretations of Scripture. If I understand a passage of Scripture to be teaching X, and X is a conclusion contrary to the teachings of the Church, I can be… Continue reading The Protestant Fallacy That Threatens to Undermine Christianity
No, the Bible Isn’t the Fullness of Revelation. Jesus is.
The debate over sola Scriptura is often framed as a question of whether the fullness of revelation is Scripture or Scripture plus Tradition. But the Bible points us to the fullness of revelation, and it doesn’t look like this: Vincent Van Gogh, Still Life with Bible (1885) Rather, the fullness of revelation looks more like… Continue reading No, the Bible Isn’t the Fullness of Revelation. Jesus is.
Pope Francis’ 10 New Year’s Resolutions
Pope Francis Have you made any New Year’s resolutions this year? If not, and you’d still like to, Pope Francis has some ideas. These are the ten things that he called upon Vatican employees to do: – “Take care of your spiritual life, your relationship with God, because this is the backbone of everything we… Continue reading Pope Francis’ 10 New Year’s Resolutions
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s (Unwittingly) Ironic Trolling
Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of the popular Cosmos show, spent Christmas morning on Twitter, mocking Christians: On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world. Happy Birthday Isaac Newton b. Dec 25, 1642— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 25, 2014 Merry Christmas to all. A Pagan holiday (BC)… Continue reading Neil deGrasse Tyson’s (Unwittingly) Ironic Trolling
Is This the End of the Christmas Season or the Beginning?
Guido Reni, Adoration of the Shepherds (detail) (17th c.) That’s the question that I’m exploring over on Word on Fire. A brief taste: For the world, what we’ve just gone through was the Christmas season, and it’s tied to (at best) being nice, and making time for family and friends, or (at worst) non-stop marketing, shopping, and fighting off… Continue reading Is This the End of the Christmas Season or the Beginning?
How the Catholic Church Helped Save Hanukkah
Here’s a piece that I wrote for ChurchPOP on the Catholic connection to Hanukkah. It’s called How the Catholic Church Saved Hanukkah. Here’s how it begins: Tuesday night marked the beginning of Hanukkah. As BuzzFeed recently demonstrated, a lot of Christians are ignorant as to what Hanukkah is. That’s a shame, not least of all… Continue reading How the Catholic Church Helped Save Hanukkah
Reason #10 to Reject the Reformation: The Grand Finale
Today, we arrive at the last of St. Edmund Campion’s Ten Reasons to reject the Reformation, and it’s a doozy. It turns out, he spent many of the prior nine reasons crescendoing towards this last one, and the result is epic: a sort of cosmic vision of the Catholic Church and the Reformation, with (in… Continue reading Reason #10 to Reject the Reformation: The Grand Finale
Pope Victor and the Second-Century Papacy
Pope St. Victor I In October, I wrote about a fascinating conflict in the first-century church of Corinth. When a dispute broke out within their church, they wrote to Rome. Pope Clement wrote back, issued some orders, and resolved the dispute. Under any circumstances, this would be interesting, because it shows the way that papal… Continue reading Pope Victor and the Second-Century Papacy
O Antiphons for the Advent Home Stretch
I interrupt the 10-part series on Campion’s arguments against the Reformation to bring you a few resources for your Advent season. This evening begins the first of what are called the “O Antiphons,” a series of short ancient prayers, traditionally prayed during Vespers. Praying and reflecting upon these prayers is a great way of preparing… Continue reading O Antiphons for the Advent Home Stretch