Last night, I attended a talk put on by Christopolis, an Arlington-area Catholic young adult group affiliated with the Dominicans. The talk was part of their “Growing in the Spiritual Life” series, and was called, “Without Friends, Life Would Hardly be Worth Living: Friendship and Holiness,” and the presenter was Sr. Ann Catherine, O.P. As… Continue reading Virtuous Friendships: What They Are, Why They Matter
Tag: Church
What if a Bishop (or the Pope) is Morally Wrong?
What should faithful Catholics do if their bishop (or worse, the pope) started preaching something contrary to the Catholic faith? That’s the question that Rev. Hans, a Lutheran pastor from Kansas City, asked me in response to yesterday’s post: Luther’s 95 Theses What happens if the Pope is not loyal to the gospel? What if a… Continue reading What if a Bishop (or the Pope) is Morally Wrong?
How Should We Treat Bishops and Politicians?
A couple months ago, Msgr. Charles Pope had an excellent post warning about a disturbing trend: namely, that conservative, otherwise orthodox Catholics were starting to treat the bishops with disdain: I am well aware of the (often legitimate) frustrations by some Catholics that the Bishops, either individually or collectively have not always shepherded in a… Continue reading How Should We Treat Bishops and Politicians?
Is Christ’s Descent Into Hell Biblical?
Grace in Dallas, the blog for Grace Community Church in Dallas, Oregon, had a post entitled “Creed or Bible?” in which a GCC elder seems to suggest that the Apostle’s Creed is contrary to Scripture. Specifically, he is confused by (and seemingly opposed to) the idea of Christ’s descent into Hell: Whoa hold on there, Christ… Continue reading Is Christ’s Descent Into Hell Biblical?
The Virgin Mary, Icon of the Church
The first half of this is taken from an earlier post, but I wanted to give its own post, for future reference: Mary is a living image of the Church, which is why we refer to both Mary and the Church as Mother. St. Ambrose describes Mary in this way, in explainingLuke 1:27: Presentation of Jesus at the Temple… Continue reading The Virgin Mary, Icon of the Church
Jesus v. Religion?
A common trend in Evangelical circles these days is to pit Jesus against religion, or Christianity, or the Church. Evangelicals are latecomers to this fad: liberal “spiritual, but not religious” types have been doing it for ages. But Evangelicals are definitely feeling it these days. Steve McCranie, pastor of “The Church Without Walls,” authored a book called Love… Continue reading Jesus v. Religion?
A Catholic Trillema: Why the Church Can’t Just be a “Good Denomination”
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) C.S. Lewis famously argued that given what Jesus claimed about Himself, He was either Lord, liar, or lunatic — that if He wasn’t God, He couldn’t be considered merely a good man or a moral teacher. Lewis explained in Mere Christianity why this argument is important: I am trying here to prevent anyone… Continue reading A Catholic Trillema: Why the Church Can’t Just be a “Good Denomination”
Jesus Christ, the New Temple
Christians often approach the Temple prophesies found in Ezekiel 40-48 in one of two ways. Either they’ll conclude they’re about another literal Temple to be built in Jerusalem, rushing off to the latest ends-times theory, or they’ll write them off as hopelessly obtuse prophesy. I think Jesus makes it clear Who the Temple is, and I… Continue reading Jesus Christ, the New Temple
Healing the Scandal of Denominationalism
Old Covenant Judaism, by the time of Christ, was riddled with various sects. For example, the Jewish historian Josephus, writing at the close of the first century, describes five major factions: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots and Sicarii. Other factions existed as well, like the Herodians, the mortal enemies of the Sicarii. And of course,… Continue reading Healing the Scandal of Denominationalism
Treating Jesus as a King Without a Kingdom
One of the most important points to understand about Catholicism is that the truth of the Catholic Church flows from the truth of Jesus Christ. Her status is inexorably tied up with His. I’ve been reading John Allen’s book-length interviews with Archbishop Dolan, A People of Hope. I’m excited to do a full review of… Continue reading Treating Jesus as a King Without a Kingdom