Pope Francis recently criticized priests (and the Church more broadly) for over-emphasizing sexual sins. Is that a fair charge?
Tag: apologetics
Were Early Churches Governed by Individual Bishops, or Groups of Elders? (Bullet Version)
What does Christ want the structure of the Church to look like? And what did the early Church look like? I’ve just written a thorough exploration of that question, but I know that the length (5000 words) is going to be too much for some readers, and that the sheer volume might it hard to… Continue reading Were Early Churches Governed by Individual Bishops, or Groups of Elders? (Bullet Version)
Were Early Churches Governed by Individual Bishops, or Groups of Elders?
This post is admittedly long. If you want a shorter version with just the major take-aways, try this version instead. What does Christ want the structure of the Church to look like? And what did the early Church look like? Broadly speaking, there are two camps: Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans: Local churches were run by a… Continue reading Were Early Churches Governed by Individual Bishops, or Groups of Elders?
Why the Seemingly Anti-Marian Passages in the Bible?
There are a couple of passages which, every time they come up in the Readings at Mass, admittedly make me cringe a little. The first is from Luke 8:19-21 (we just heard the parallel version from Matt. 12:46-50 at Mass on Tuesday): Then his mother and his brethren came to him, but they could not… Continue reading Why the Seemingly Anti-Marian Passages in the Bible?
Burden-Shifting Protestants and Atheists
Protestants and atheists are dissimilar in most regards, and I suspect both sides would be happy with my making this observation. But there is one area in which the two groups behave all too similarly: a fallacious sort of burden-shifting argument. For purposes of this post, we’ll call it “the Norseman and the Atheist.”
How Should Christians Approach Patriotism?
Should Christians be patriotic? Is it a violation of their duties towards God, or an expression of those duties? And why does St. Thomas Aquinas speak of patriotism as a form of piety?
A Faith in Vain: St. Paul vs. “Progressive” Christianity
How St. Paul might answer the latest “progressive Christian” attack on Biblical Christianity.
Is Religion Just a Social Construct?
A new study suggests that moral religion only arises in societies that have hit a population of about 1 million people. What should we make of this claim, and does it prove that religion is just a social construct?
The Meaning of “Lent” and “Easter” (Is Probably Not What You Think)
Today’s Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. But what does the word “Lent” mean, and what can we learn from it? In many languages, the term for this season means something like “The Fast” or “Fasting-Time.” Not so with English.
How Should We Understand Old Testament Human Sacrifice?
Making sense of one of the most horrific scenes of the Old Testament: Jephthah’s sacrificial murder of his own daughter.