I’ve been genuinely disturbed by the nature of the reaction to this killing. In the aftermath of 9/11, there were those who used the situation (out of fear or sheer political opportunism) to restrict the civil rights of Muslim-Americans, to promote the unrelated war in Iraq (which had been Project for a New American Century’s… Continue reading Tiller Aftermath: The New Politics of Fear?
George Tiller, RIP
Late-term abortionist George Tiller was gunned down in cold blood in church yesterday morning. I’m not in a position to know which is more of an affront to God: the fact that George Tiller was serving as an usher at Reformation Lutheran (an ELCA church), despite his notorious practice of aborting children partially out of… Continue reading George Tiller, RIP
GotQuestions Gets Angry
I mentioned yesterday that in March, I e-mailed GotQuestions.org about a post which I thought badly misinformed readers on the Biblical arguments surrounding divorce in cases of adultery. The article imputed bad faith to Catholics – NAB allegedly changed the Bible: “There does not seem to be any textual basis for the NAB’s choice of… Continue reading GotQuestions Gets Angry
Does the Bible Permit Divorce in the Case of Adultery?
I mentioned GotQuestions.org yesterday (and will mention them at least once more, tomorrow), but today’s post is only somewhat related to them. This is an e-mail I sent them a while back, but it addresses a topic which I think has been the source of great confusion: does the Bible permit divorce in the case… Continue reading Does the Bible Permit Divorce in the Case of Adultery?
Sola Scriptura, the Protestant View
As a followup to yesterday’s post, I was reading a handful of Protestant defenses of sola Scriptura. One of them jumped out at me, because (a) it was from a source I’ve come in contact with a lot (GotQuestions.org, who I’d already e-mailed a correction to regarding the issue of annulments); and (b) it was… Continue reading Sola Scriptura, the Protestant View
The Irony of Sola Scriptura
I. I find the sola Scriptura (Bible-alone) debate to be fascinating, in a sort of Lewis Carroll sense. What is mean is that relying on the Bible, and only the Bible, makes a lot of “gut sense.” But it’s not in the Bible. So it puts its defenders in the bizarre position of defending “the… Continue reading The Irony of Sola Scriptura
Interesting Poll on Celibacy
U.S. News & World Report has an ongoing poll asking: “A Miami priest is in the hot seat after being photographed with a woman on the beach. Is it time for the Catholic Church to end its celibacy requirement for priests?”, the results were surprising to me: 62.42% Yes37.58% No Obviously, the poll isn’t scientific,… Continue reading Interesting Poll on Celibacy
Notre Dame: The Fallout
The three major take-aways I’ve seen are: (1) Obama’s speech shows he’s actually “moderate” on abortion, (2) Notre Dame Loves Obama, and (3) only a handful of students protested. As this “gay news service” blog puts it in an article title “Notre Dame Protest Flops”: President Obama arrived at Notre Dame to thunderous applause and… Continue reading Notre Dame: The Fallout
The Late, Great, Flannery O’Connor
I’m not normally a fan of fiction, but I love Flannery O’Connor. I just bought a book of her short stories. They’re fiction in the sense that Jesus’ parables were “fiction.” Untrue stories which reveal deeper truths in an inviting way. As she put it: “Part of the difficulty of all this is that you… Continue reading The Late, Great, Flannery O’Connor
Mary, Fully Graced: Flesh of My Flesh
The Bible makes sort of a big deal about flesh, and lineage, and all of that. I mean, Jesus’ lineage is considered a big deal by the Evangelists in telling His Nativity (Mathew 1:1-16), as well as the opening of His public ministry (Luke 3:23-38 – I’m gonna admit: this was a strange place to… Continue reading Mary, Fully Graced: Flesh of My Flesh