Poetry Friday: “The Fawn”

Narrative poetry has its special challenge: how does it differentiate itself from prose? David Mason’s story of his family’s relation to a dying fawn does this in several ways. First there’s the iambic pentameter beat carrying us along. Then wordplay, beginning with the opening line: “The vigil and the vigilance of love.” There’s the internal [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/poetry-friday-fawn/

My Own Desert (Tortoise) Father

This post originally appeared on “Good Letters” on July 21, 2014. I didn’t spend enough time with Oscar this summer. For forty years I’ve believed time will never run out. Visiting California, I took my annual walk through my childhood backyard of bougainvillea, crepe myrtle, and fruit. I picked some strawberries, paid homage to my [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/desert-tortoise-father/

New Names for Old Gods

The philosopher William James was one of the turn of the century’s greatest examiners of the religious experience, noting its varieties and studying its phenomena, albeit with the kind of distanced, unheated air characteristic of an academician of that era. But the psychologist Carl Jung was the thinker who intellectually legitimized the religious impulse as [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/new-names-old-gods/

Practicing Presence, Part 2

The following two-part post was originally delivered as the 2017 commencement address for Trinity Academy in Portland, Oregon. Read yesterday’s installment here. As you graduates well know, one of the most popular genres in books these days is the dystopia. Dystopia can be a powerful and revelatory form of writing, one that prophetically criticizes harmful trends [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/practicing-presence-part-2/

Stop Dreading Disagreements

A lot of us dislike conflict, and because of this, we dread even the concept of facing disagreements. Often, however, disagreements are unavoidable, and sometimes even necessary. There’s good news, though! If we take a caring and loving approach to disagreements, we will have healthier, more productive conversations and less to fear about conflict! Theology of [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/06/stop-dreading-disagreements/

Practicing Presence, Part 1

The following two-part post was originally delivered as the 2017 commencement address for Trinity Academy in Portland, Oregon. Thank you for the high honor of inviting me to speak on this special occasion. My heartfelt congratulations to you graduating seniors for having reached this important milestone in your lives. Given the deep and demanding curriculum [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/practicing-presence-part-1/

Poetry Friday: “Japanese Wall Hanging”

I find myself reading this poem both literally and as a metaphor for our lives. On the literal level, Moira Linehan focuses with intensely loving detail on the Japanese brush painter. The first four lines list with tender concern all the things that might go wrong in the painting process. The next five lines move [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/poetry-friday-japanese-wall-hanging/

Courting Babel

This month I thought it would be a good idea to take four hours of Arabic every week and an intensive JavaScript course all while working full-time. I was nervous about the Arabic, scared that I wouldn’t remember how to read or speak politely after three years away from formal lessons, but strangely, it came [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/courting-babel/

A Conversation with Lauren Winner, Part 2

By Mary Kenagy Mitchell Continued from yesterday. This post originally appeared as a web-exclusive feature accompanying Image issue 84. Each chapter of Lauren F. Winner’s book, Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God (HarperOne), explores a single biblical image of God through a mix of exegesis, cultural history, and personal essay. I asked Winner about her [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/conversation-lauren-winner-part-2/

Zombie Apocalypse: Spirituality, Sex, and the Lay Vocation

At the upcoming USCCB Convocation of Catholic Leaders in Orlando, my wife and co-author, Lisa Popcak, will be leading a panel titled, The Family and Sexuality:  Challenges and Opportunities.  One of the first questions the panel will address is, “What is often overlooked when attempting to evangelize people about the Catholic vision of sex and love [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/06/zombie-apocalypse-spirituality-sex-lay-vocation/

A Conversation with Lauren Winner, Part 1

By Mary Kenagy Mitchell This post originally appeared as a web-exclusive feature accompanying Image issue 84. Each chapter of Lauren F. Winner’s book, Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God (HarperOne), explores a single biblical image of God through a mix of exegesis, cultural history, and personal essay. The chapter excerpted in issue 84 is about bread. I [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/conversation-lauren-winner-part-1/

Hormonal Contraception Affects Future Children’s Health, New Study Says

A new study published in the journal, Evolution and Human Behavior found that hormonal contraceptives make women prone to choose mates with an immune system to their own.  This study found that children born to these couples are more sickly, more susceptible to common illnesses, and require more trips to the doctor do children of women [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/06/hormonal-contraception-affects-future-childrens-health-new-study-says/

Reading Love Nailed to the Doorpost

If you want to be submerged in the depths of Jewish spirituality, this is the book to read: Love Nailed to the Doorpost, by Richard Chess. No, not “read”: at least not “read” in the way you would read an email or a newspaper or a novel. The poems and prose-poems collected in this book draw [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/reading-love-nailed-doorpost/

1 Corinthians 7:36-38: Is it About a Fiancee or a Daughter?

Ruth and Boaz (1825), by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (1-31-14) *** 1 Corinthians 7:36-38 (KJV) But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/1-corinthians-736-38-fiancee-daughter.html

My Two Conversions: Interview with Spanish Journalist Itxu Díaz

Yours truly on 7-30-79: my 21st birthday (back before the eternal mustache). *** (3-31-11) *** Itxu Díaz is a journalist from Spain. He works for the Dicax Press. ***** He contacted me for an interview that will be part of a feature for his site, called “Catholics Around the World”. Later, he included my story [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/two-conversions-interview-spanish-journalist-itxu-diaz.html

Poetry Friday: “Prayer”

I used to collect poems that are prayers, so Sharon Cumberland’s “Prayer” immediately leapt out at me from the pages if Image. Leapt out—but then instantly grabbed me uncomfortably in the opening line: “Ignore, O Mystery, this thing You made.” The speaker’s plea to God is not for connection but for separation. Why? Because, as [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/poetry-friday-prayer/

Libros de Dave Armstrong: “La Virgen de los católicos”

[Traducción al español por Lizette Sellar Moon completada el 9 de junio de 2017 y publicada por Lulu el 10 de junio de 2017. 220 páginas] [Spanish translation by Lizette Sellar Moon completed on 9 June 2017 and published by Lulu on 10 June 2017. 220 pages] [see information for the original 2010 English version] [diseño [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/libros-de-dave-armstrong-la-virgen-de-los-catolicos.html

A Prayer for Kendrick Lamar

It occurs to me each time I listen to Kendrick Lamar’s new album, Damn: The award winning and much celebrated rapper laments over and over that he feels like nobody’s praying for him. It’s his greatest fear. I’m not sure you can listen casually to a Lamar album. Each song demands attention to every word. Each song [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/prayer-kendrick-lamar/

Do Women Have Less of God’s Image? (Catholic Teaching)

Woodcut for Die Bibel in Bildern (1860), by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794–1872) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This is a “discussion” with a woman, Karen, who was responding to my paper, Radical Feminism: Replies to “Critiques” from Enlightened Ones. Her words will be in blue. ***** So what do you think the proper role of women [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/do-women-have-less-of-gods-image-catholic-teaching.html

The Beauty Dialogues, Part 7

Today philosopher Santiago Ramos steps in with the last word (we think) of “The Beauty Dialogues,” a periodic exchange between Image contributor Morgan Meis and Image founder Gregory Wolfe. For a while now I have borne the fearful hunch that sooner or later, Image would have to confront Immanuel Kant. A journal whose reason for existing rests on the idea that beauty is a source for [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/beauty-dialogues-part-7/

Replies to Atheists’ & Skeptics’ Garden Variety Objections

Atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (3-24-08) *** This is based on a member at the Coming Home Network forum recounting of her brother’s objections (paraphrased here, in blue). * * * * * How can we really know what God is like? By taking a look at Jesus. That’ll [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/replies-atheists-skeptics-garden-variety-objections.html

Radical Feminism: Replies to “Critiques” from Enlightened Ones

Image by “Prawny” (October 2016) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] *** (8-8-06) *** A feminist who goes by “bellatrys” produced a remarkable “rebuttal” of a 1997 article of mine entitled, “Women Teachers in the Church”. I posted the following comment on her blog: Thank you for your response to my (rather old and mere summary-type) paper. [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/radical-feminism-replies-vigorous-critiques-rabid-feminists.html

Do Atheists Dream of Pearly Gates?

Yes even when I don’t believe there is a place in me inaccessible to unbelief a patch of wild grace —Anna Kamieńska If humans are the only intelligent life in the universe, should we feel sad about that? Should we feel bereft, or disappointed? That’s how David Kestenbaum describes his feelings on a recent This American [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/atheists-dream-pearly-gates/

Does My Husband Have a Right to Sex?

On her Facebook page, Rose Sweet, who has a wonderful ministry to divorced Catholics, posted the troubling story of a woman whose husband was cheating on her and whose priest counseled her that her decision to place a moratorium on her sexual relationship with her husband as long as he was cheating on him was [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/06/husband-right-sex/

A Book Without a Spine

The picture you see to the left is of a bookshelf in a local Starbucks. This is no regular Starbucks, but the fancy kind you find in big cities, where they have long bars at which people can sit upon artisan-crafted stools and have artisan-made coffee served to them in pottery out of Bunsen and [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/book-without-spine/

Dialogue w Atheist on Bible Difficulties & Plausibility Structures

One crack in the glass often leads to many more cracks, and eventually the whole thing collapses. Belief-systems work in the same way. Photograph by “fotobias” (11-3-09) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain] *** Jon Curry is a friend of mine, whom I know in “real life.” He used to be an evangelical Protestant. I thought [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/dialogue-w-atheist-deconversion-plausibility-structures.html

William Webster’s Misunderstanding of Development of Doctrine

(with particular reference to the papacy, Vatican I, Pope Leo XIII, St. Vincent of Lerins, and Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman) Photograph Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), by Herbert Rose Barraud (1845-1896) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (2000) *** The following is a direct reply to Protestant polemicist William Webster’s article: The Repudiation of [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/william-websters-misunderstanding-development-doctrine.html

Sufjan Stevens’ Planetarium in Paradise

By Adam Tyler Horn When Dante finally sees Beatrice near the end of the Purgatorio, he quotes Virgil’s Aeneid in the presence of his guide, Virgil himself. “I know the signs of that ancient flame,” he exclaims, transforming Dido’s doomed hailing of Aeneas into a renewed celebration of Beatrice as Beatitude, as icon of God instead of fetishized [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/sufjan-stevens-planetarium-paradise/

Alleged “Bible Contradictions”: Most Are Actually Not So

Photograph of torn Bible pages by George Redgrave (9-30-14) [Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0] *** (2002; portion after five asterisks: 6-7-17) *** A common tactic of biblical skeptics is to question the veracity and historical trustworthiness of the New Testament based on alleged numerous “contradictions” therein. But most of these so-called “problem passages” can easily [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/alleged-bible-contradictions-actually-not.html

Thine is the Transkingdom

Jasmine Temple, laboratory technician at New York University Lagone Medical Center, Institute for Systems Genetics, won this year’s agar art contest for her creation “Sunset at the End.” The contest, held every year by the American Society for Microbiology, features images of landscapes, portraits, and conceptual art made by the arrangement of microorganisms grown on [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/thine-is-the-transkingdom/

Catholic Rule of Faith & Binding Authority: Old Testament Analogies

Prophet Isaiah, by Antonio Balestra (1666-1740) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (4-9-06) ***** Doctrine was much less developed in Old Testament times. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit as we do, or the full revelation of the New Testament and the gospel. Therefore, apostolic succession and the protections of infallibility are now possible and [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/catholic-rule-of-faith-binding-authority-old-testament-analogies.html

Cutting Down the Butterfly Garden

When we bought our new house, a jungle of weeds marked the front yard. I was annoyed. The previous owners—moving out of the state—had obviously phoned in the upkeep in their last months of ownership and I wondered aloud what else they would abandon in their final nights. Would we come home to a clogged [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/cutting-butterfly-garden/

Catholic Apologists: Response to Inquiring Questions

Lay Catholic apologist G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This is my reply to a series of probing, inquisitive questions about the nature of a Catholic apologist, asked by a commenter underneath my article for the National Catholic Register, entitled, “Apologetics Doesn’t Mean Being Sorry for Your Faith”. The questions will [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/catholic-apologists-response-inquiring-questions.html

Becoming a Better Family

Want to enjoy a closer, more joyful family life?  As Pope Francis puts it, “Waste time with your kids.”

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/06/becoming-better-family/

Movements of the Lord

As I was saying my rosary this morning on my walk, it occurred to me to leave the beads on a fencepost along the road for someone.

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/movements-of-the-lord/

Sola Scriptura: Catholic Scholars vs. Apologists on its Illogical Nature?

(E.g., Joseph Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI], Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Henri de Lubac) Pope Benedict XVI (6-7-06) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license] *** (11-13-08) *** This particular debate came about as a result of critiques from Protestant graduate student Kevin Davis (see my exchange with him). He and his comrade-in-arms, a [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/catholic-scholars-illogical-nature-sola-scriptura.html

Critique of “Denying Sola Scriptura”, by Dr. Gary DeMar

Photograph by “stempow” (March 2017) [Pixabay / CC0 public domain]*** (January 1999) *** Dr. Gary DeMar is a Reformed Protestant scholar, and Senior Fellow (former President) at  American Vision, a praiseworthy group which concentrates on Christianity and culture issues (and does an excellent job, generally speaking). It produces a worthwhile periodical Biblical Worldview. DeMar has [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/critique-denying-sola-scriptura-gary-demar.html

On the 50th Anniversary of the Six-Day War

What I didn’t know in June of 1967 was that this month and year for Jews around the world was the moment of great triumph, the moment of saying to Hitler and his legions, you lose, you lose, you lose. Pride moved like a fever throughout Kingston Estates Swim Club, from the Jewish mother with [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/50th-anniversary-six-day-war/

Did Luther Believe that Christ Committed Adultery with Mary Magdalene?

Mary Magdalene, by Andrea Solari (1460-1522) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (8-14-03; abridgment, further editing and minor additions: 6-2-17) *** From a discussion on the public, Protestant-moderated CARM Catholic Discussion Board. Martin Luther’s words will be in green. Evangelical E. L. Hamilton’s words will be in blue. Readers will see me working through the [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/luther-believe-christ-committed-adultery-mary-magdalene.html

Poetry Friday: “June Prayer”

How to pray for someone bent over by grief when nature is stretching upward in the June sunshine? This is the question posed by Robert Cording’s “June Prayer.” We learn in the course of the poem that the young son of a woman “I love” has died months ago, and that she asks the poet [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/poetry-friday-june-prayer/

Sgt. Pepper Remix: Beyond the Mono vs. Stereo Debate

Image by Nonna Store (3-23-15) [Flickr / CC BY 2.0 license] *** I published my review of the new 50th anniversary remix of the 1967 Sergeant Pepper album by the Beatles at Amazon, on the same day of the release (May 26th). It looks like I did a decent job, since (as of 6-1-17), there [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/sgt-pepper-remix-beyond-mono-vs-stereo-debate.html

“I Can’t Believe You Said That!” How To Respond When Words Hurt.

When things get heated, our “fight or flight” response kicks in, but sometimes our reaction is to take the “fight” response a bit too literally. When someone speaks rudely to us, or yells at us, we yell back and attempt to “out argue” the other person. While this may be our instinct reaction, it’s not [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2017/06/cant-believe-said-respond-words-hurt/

LGBTQ Activist Intolerance on Display Again

Image for a RoadKill Radio Vimeo video [link] ***** Melinda Selmys is a fellow Patheos blogger whose writings I like a lot. She is thoughtful, insightful, intelligent, and a great stylist. That’s not to say I always agree with her. I don’t. But I agreed with her recent post, entitled, “Thou Shalt Not be Gay” [Read More...]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2017/06/lgbtq-activist-intolerance-on-display-again.html

The Beauty Dialogues, Part 6

Today Gregory Wolfe continues his periodic exchanges on the nature of beauty with Image contributor Morgan Meis.  Dear Morgan, Well, yesterday you took your swing all right. I just can’t tell if you’ve decked me or…whiffed. In either case, I’m certainly dazed! I told you last time that I have no formal philosophical training, so [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2017/06/beauty-dialogues-part-6/