Reactionary Chris Ferrara’s Lies Re Pope Francis & Hell

All the usual suspects are now coming out of the woodwork, given the latest pres reports about the pope and hell, blessing the world with more bilge and worthless rotgut in sinfully speculating about what Pope Francis supposedly denies. Chris Ferrara, of the notorious radical Catholic reactionary rag, The Remnant, opines at length. I shall […]

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“I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col 1:24)

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” (RSV; cf. 2 Cor 11:23-30; Gal 6:17) ***** I wrote the following in my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (pp. 160-161), leading up to this passage: […]

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Pope Francis, Hell, Phil Lawler, Lies, Damned Lies, . . .

Now there is another stink about Pope Francis supposedly not believing in hell (flat-out denying it). It’s based on the words of a 94-year-old atheist interviewer of the pope, Eugenio Scalfari, who has a very annoying habit of writing down the pope’s alleged “words” merely from memory. It’s all very familiar to me, because I […]

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Poetry Friday: “Manifest, by Reason of Birth”

Throughout her poetry, Pattiann Rogers observes and describes the natural world with profound detail, compassion, and awe. In fact, Rogers will be awarded the John Burroughs Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Nature Poetry next month. In “Manifest, by Reason of Birth” she writes, “The universe/ thrives/ and pulses, rumbles and roars, sings, explodes, trembles and […]

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Jesus & God the Father: Sinful Due to Being Tempted?

Someone asked me: Dave, if Jesus could not have sinned, how is it that he was actually tempted as the Bible says? How can it be tempting to do something that is impossible to do? The Bible states that Jesus was tempted, just as it states that God the Father and the Holy Spirit were […]

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Did Jesus Jesus Have Children? (“Offspring”: Isaiah 53:10)

Someone (I believe, an atheist or agnostic) wrote in the comments for this blog: DaVinci partly true? Isaiah 53:10 [the prophecied messiah] “…he shall see his seed…” Per this the true messiah was to have had a child. And would he have had a child without marrying the mother, and still be sinless as claimed? […]

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Saint Death and Easter

I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize. The voice was low, lifeless. He just got out of jail, and the guys in there told him to call me. I function as a volunteer chaplain in Washington State’s Skagit County Jail, and I’m the closest thing to a pastor most gang members in […]

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Martin Luther vs. Nestorius Regarding “Mother of God”

Nestorius began to defend his priest Anastasius, who had preached that the Holy Virgin should not be called Mother of God, for since she was human she could not bear God. This gave offense to all Christians and they took no other meaning from it than that he held that Christ, born of Mary, was […]

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Catholic Doctrine of Mary: Introductory Biblical Guide

[book and purchase information] Mother of God The ecumenical council of Ephesus in 431 declared Mary the Mother of God (Greek, Theotokos) in order to safeguard the divinity of Christ, which was being attacked by the Nestorians, a heretical group which had recently arisen. Since Christ was God in the flesh (Col 2:9; Jn 1:1,14), […]

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Versed by Jesus Christ Superstar

Holy Week, if I’m being completely honest, was never more than a blip on my radar until I became a staff member of a church and it affected my calendar. It wasn’t that I didn’t care or failed to understand the significance of the narrative in the liturgical season. Instead, I’d become desensitized to the […]

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Pope-Criticism: Vigorous Exchanges w Karl Keating

This series of mini-dialogues (most, frustratingly incomplete and “left hanging,” in my opinion), occurred in a very lively combox on my Facebook page. Karl’s words will be in blue. The sections are not necessarily chronological. He and I are good friends, with mutual respect. I consider him the father of the modern Catholic apologetics movement. […]

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Henry Sire of “Dictator Pope” Infamy: Reactionary Extremist

Currently, there are three pope-bashing books tearing up the charts at Amazon: The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy (Henry Sire) #4,876 in Books  #1 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Biographies > Popes & the Vatican #4 in Books > History > World > Religious > Religion, Politics & State #4 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Church & State Lost Shepherd: How Pope Francis is Misleading His Flock (Philip F. […]

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Training the Ear of My Heart

I don’t live a very active life, though observers might deduce that I am always late, leaping over railroad tracks in my early millennium Honda pilot to get to a pickup before my kids notice my absence. It benefits me to preserve the appearance of a harried, overbooked mother of a large family, because it […]

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Honoring Popes / Scriptural Honor of Even Wicked Rulers

The Bible is very clear about honoring and respecting political rulers and elders. I think by analogy (if not direct strong implication), these injunctions would apply to the pope as well. *** 1 Peter 2:17 (RSV) Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the [pagan, anti-Christian, persecuting] emperor. Exodus 22:28 You shall not […]

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Debate on Ross Douthat’s Critical Views of Vatican II

These exchanges took place on my public Facebook page, in a thread regarding Ross Douthat and his book, To Change the Church. Rob Corzine is a longtime friend. He’s Vice President of Programs for Scott Hahn’s St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Here he was primarily criticizing (with great vigor!) my critique of Ross Douthat […]

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Maintaining Your Marriage Connection

It’s easy to tell when someone is happy. People often express outward signs when they are feeling good, such as smiling, using an upbeat tone, or having a bounce in their step. But it can be harder to tell what someone is thinking when they are feeling down, tired, or upset. These emotions are often […]

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Maintaining Your Marriage Connection

It’s easy to tell when someone is happy. People often express outward signs when they are feeling good, such as smiling, using an upbeat tone, or having a bounce in their step. But it can be harder to tell what someone is thinking when they are feeling down, tired, or upset. These emotions are often […]

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Black Mirror and My Superego Nightmare

I watched Black Mirror’s “Crocodile” episode feeling as if writer/creator Charlie Brooker had gotten into my head and seen my nightmares. (Spoiler Alert: This post reveals key plot points to Black Mirror’s “Crocodile.”) It begins when Mia’s boyfriend Rob accidentally kills a cyclist with his car. They’re terrified, scared. They don’t know what to do; […]

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Douthat’s “To Change the Church”: Mini-Debate w Karl Keating

Is Douthat’s book of strong criticism of Pope Francis a good or bad thing? This occurred on my public Facebook page. Karl’s words will be in blue. *** Dave, I presume you haven’t read Douthat’s book. I haven’t either. It isn’t due to be released until Tuesday of next week. Yet you haven’t hesitated to […]

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Protestant Takes Solace in Douthat’s Pope-Bashing Book

It’s Ross Douthat who is being used as a puppet of the devil, not Pope Francis. There are many “blessings” that flow from the current slew of best-selling pope-bashing books: Phil Lawler’s Lost Shepherd (see my many articles on that) and Ross Douthat’s  To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism, that I […]

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Jimi Hendrix Taught Us About a Colorblind Society

I watched a great documentary about Jimi Hendrix (the greatest rock guitarist ever) last night, called Voodoo Child. It was taken solely from his own words. He noted that his musical influences were not only the great black musicians like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, and Chuck Berry, but also white musicians like Buddy Holly, Eddie […]

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Is Modern Catholic Church Music Aesthetically Mediocre?

Catholic apologist and author Karl Keating wrote: Nearly all contemporary Catholic music is dreck. That already was old news when Thomas Day wrote Why Catholics Can’t Sing in 1992. I don’t visit Evangelical churches much, but my impression is that, while they may have (relatively) large music ministries, the music is no better. It is Protestant […]

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Catholic Closed Communion: Reply to a Foolish Objection

[A person (words in blue) commented on closed communion, in replying to my “Treatise on Transubstantiation in Reply to Protestants”] *** This seems much ado about very little difference. For years I went to both the Lutheran (ELCA) and the Catholic church every weekend, receiving communion at both services. I did my best to think […]

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Poetry Friday: “Being the Song”

If you write poetry, odds are you don’t expect your work to achieve acclaim like that of a Robert Frost or a Mary Oliver. You consider yourself most fortunate if, now and then, you find a publisher and an audience who connect with your sensibility. There are moments, many of them, when you question why […]

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Halos and Other Important Things

In second grade my mom put me in an art class taught by a fluffy-haired blonde who took us to a museum to sketch a Madonna with child. Before we began, our teacher asked us what we noticed about the painting. I raised my hand. “She has a golden crown.” “It’s a halo, not a […]

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Does Communion in One Kind “Trivialize” the Sacrament?

Communion in one kind is not automatically a “trivialization” (as a Protestant critic charged). The fact remains that given the assumption of bodily Real Presence, Jesus is fully present under either form (since He can’t be divided). This is a biblical teaching: 1 Corinthians 11:27 (RSV, as throughout) Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks […]

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On Misunderstanding Theology & Refusing Any Correction

The following exchange was with an anti-Catholic Protestant named Douglas Mabry. The original debate had to do with the communion of saints, but the details of that are not my present concern.  Rather, it is with the general principle of how misunderstandings are to be ascertained and corrected, and how people rationalize that they understand […]

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Adventures in Praying with Scripture

How did I first hear of lectio divina? It must have been from the monks at the Trappist Abbey near my home, who engage daily in this ancient practice of “holy reading”: the prayerful reading of Scripture, just a short passage at a time. This is my guess, because I at my second meeting with […]

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“Divine Family Planning” (Unlimited Children / Anti-NFP): Critique

This more absolute position against contraception and in favor of large families (known as “Quiverfull”) is one that Protestant friends of ours who have lots of kids have called “divine family planning.” In this thinking, married couples simply have sex, with no need to plan at all. They don’t even need to think about it. […]

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A Crisis of Authority: Humanae Vitae 50 Years Later

Guest post by Dave McClow, Pastoral Solutions Institute. In the spring of 1968, almost three years after the Second Vatican Council closed, hope was still high that artificial contraception would no longer be considered a mortal sin.  Rumors circulated that the committee studying the matter would advise the Pope to lift the prohibition.  Reputable moral […]

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Occasions of Grace

My old friend Gina, one of the loveliest ladies I know, lived for years with her family in a large co-op apartment overlooking Riverside Drive in New York City. The building, on its lower floors, was like a wedding cake swathed in white icing, but once you made it through the dark Gothic lobby and […]

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Why Papal Infallibility Was Made a Dogma in 1870

An Anglo-Catholic (words in blue) on the Coming Home Network board asked: Shalom to all and I hope you can answer my question about this topic. I am familiar with the general rule throughout the centuries concerning the Church–by papal pronouncement or via a synod or council–speaking on a matter of faith and morals and […]

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Libros de Dave Armstrong: “Evidencias bíblicas para el Catolicismo”

[completó el 3-16-18. 199 páginas] [diseño de la cubierta por Dave Armstrong; imagen de fondo de la cubierta de Andrew C. de Bucarest, Rumania] [para informaciones de compras, ir a la parte inferior de la página] *** CONTENIDO I. Biblia / Tradición 1. Tradición no es una palabra indigna 2. Sola Escritura y Juicio privado – […]

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Trafficking in Fear

I am chatting with a woman in a clothing store as our conversation moves from friendly small talk to the anxiety of raising children. My conversation partner, who is a few parenting years ahead of me, is lamenting dangers that now seem rampant for children, ones her preteen will face the closer she gets to […]

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Negative Reactionary Views of Popes Since 1958

1. Pope St. John XXIII (1958-1963): despised, because he began Vatican II, which they despise as anti-traditional and “neo-Catholic.” And he talked about ecumenism; said nice stuff about Protestants . . .   2. Blessed [soon to be canonized] Pope Paul VI (1963-1978): despised because he presided over the ending of Vatican II, which they […]

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Reactionaries Begin Savage Attacks on Pope Benedict

Folks, I called all this years ago.  My first book on the radical Catholic reactionaries, entitled, Reflections on Radical Catholic Reactionaries was completed in 2002. It had chapters called, “Post-Vatican II ‘Liberal’ Popes” and “Was Blessed Pope John Paul II a ‘Modernist’?” It’s all the same mentality. This is one of the trademarks of reactionary […]

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Illogic & Silliness Re Benedict-Francis “Blurring” Incident

It never ceases to amaze me how prior bias will adversely affect the 1) logic and the 2) objectivity of people. Critics of Pope Francis take one side of this debate over what Pope Benedict thinks of Pope Francis. But it’s not logical thinking, as I will show. They are seeing only what they want […]

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Formal Human Forgiveness of Sins in the Bible

The direct basis for these beliefs are found in three passages, taught by Jesus Himself: Matthew 16:19 (RSV) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 Truly, I […]

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Dialogue on Altar Girls and Altar Boys

A Catholic parish is not a monastery. That is, it’s not an all-male environment (thus, the propriety of altar girls and not just altar boys). *** An anonymous commenter opined underneath my post, Do Altar Girls Alter Intentions of Would-Be Altar Boys? This is my reply. My words from my previous post are in green, his […]

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Poetry Friday: “God Reads the Poem of the World with Interest”

How to image good and evil? It’s hard to do in a way that astounds us afresh with how they penetrate every aspect of our lives. Yet Jeanne Murray Walker manages to do this in “God Reads the Poem of the World with Interest.” Evil is terrifyingly concrete: men setting a boy’s mother on fire […]

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Vulgate’s “Do Penance”: Exchange w Reformed Protestants

Jonathan Bonomo is the senior pastor at Calvary Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. *** These discussions about penance occurred on the blog, Evangelical Catholicity. I was responding in a thread entitled Paenitentiam Agite, having to do with why St. Jerome used the phrase “do penance” at Matthew 3:2 and 4:17, when the more straightforward translation would seem […]

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Examination of Conscience: Biblical (Pauline) Evidence

From: John A. Hardon, S. J., Modern Catholic Dictionary, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1980, 199): ***** Examination of Conscience Reflection in God’s presence on one’s state of soul, e.g., in preparation for the sacrament of penance. Examen, General Prayerful daily periodic examination of one’s conscience to determine what faults have been […]

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Haunted by Phantom Limbs

One such patient, under my care, describes how he must “wake up” his phantom in the mornings: first he flexes the thigh-stump towards him, and then he slaps it sharply—“like a bay’s bottom”—several times. On the fifth or sixth slap the phantom suddenly shoots forth, rekindled, fulgurated, by the peripheral stimulus. —Oliver Sacks, The Man Who Mistook […]

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Do Altar Girls Alter Intentions of Would-Be Altar Boys?

The argument is made (and it may very well be true) that having altar girls causes boys to have less desire to be altar boys. I reply to that, taking it (I think) to a somewhat deeper level of analysis. *** [See, for example, the article, What Altar Boys Can Do That Altar Girls Can’t, and […]

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I Will Sing Your Praise

For a few years in the late 1990s, early 2000s, I brought a book of poetry with me whenever I went to synagogue for Shabbat morning services. After I was settled into my pew, I’d discreetly slip the book out of my tallis (prayer shawl) bag, tuck the thin volume of poetry inside the thick […]

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Gettin’ Lousy, Milky Homilies at Mass? Start Readin’!

A Facebook friend wrote: It would really be nice if priests actually presented Catholic teachings from the pulpit. When was the last homily you heard about contraception, The Real Presence, or the like? And they wonder why people don’t believe! Many homilies are feel-good pep talks that are at best marginally Christian, let alone Catholic. […]

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Biblical Flat Earth (?) Cosmology: Dialogue w Atheist

The following is a preliminary dialogue with Matthew Green: a 28-year-old atheist and former Protestant Christian who dabbled in apologetics and considered the ministry (his words will be in blue). I ran across him at the blog, Debunking Christianity, where I have been hanging around a bit, in-between trying to develop a stable additional part-time income. I have desired […]

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Tyler Childers’s Purgatory and Trump Country

From Chris Stapleton’s rootsy repurposing of Nashville pop-country to Sturgill Simpson’s “metamodern” new-Outlaw nihilism, the past few years have seen Kentucky-born artists setting the agenda for a different kind of country music—not so much a complete break with the past as a series of unpredictable mash-ups of what’s come before. Simpson protégé Tyler Childers is […]

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Merits of Phil Lawler’s “Lost Shepherd”: Three Common Fallacies

I’ve noticed these motifs coming up again and again in reviews of this book and in comments opposing critiques of it (such as my own): Fallacy #1: Lawler’s Temperament: Phil Lawler is a mid-mannered, temperate, easy-going, moderate, non-fanatical, non-extremist, measured, deliberate, objective, non-reactionary, scholarly person. Example: Dr. Samuel Gregg (The Catholic World Report, 3-2-18): The power […]

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Love Hurts in Phantom Thread

My favorite film from last year is a farce. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread functions like a twisted screwball comedy: Its momentum is the back-and-forth seeking of the upper hand in the relationship between Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Alma (Vicky Krieps). But narrative momentum does not always move the viewer. Anderson’s films can be […]

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Reply to Stephen Phalen Re Phil Lawler’s “Lost Shepherd”

Stephen Phelan is vice president of family initiatives for the St. John Paul II Foundation, based in Houston, Texas. He has produced three documentaries that have been broadcast on EWTN, and his articles have been published in First Things, Lay Witness Magazine, and other publications. He was replying to my Amazon review of Lost Shepherd, on a thread […]

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Dialogue: Real Presence vs. [?] Holy Spirit’s Indwelling

Tim Roof is a friendly Reformed Protestant fellow (OPC) with whom I have enjoyed great, cordial dialogues. His words from his initial comments that I am responding to will be in blue; his counter-responses to arguments of mine will be in green.   * * * * *   The idea of Jesus going away to be […]

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Poetry Friday: “Early Morning on the B Line From Vero Beach to Orlando After a Poetry Festival”

Wilkinson welcomes us into his poem with ease and familiarity, referencing “Sean” and “Jens” like we are all old friends chatting to kill time on our commute. The conversation begins with the mention of the “anaconda / they had found once / in Sean’s cattle pasture” and moves swiftly through visceral, associative memories: cleaning pigskins, […]

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Material Sufficiency of Scripture is NOT Sola Scriptura

The following is from my discontinued 2009 book, 501 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura. It was condensed and reformulated into 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura (published by Catholic Answers in 2012; you can download for free my related 43-minute interview with Jimmy Akin). The original was set up in terms of “pensees” (brief thoughts, a […]

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Popes Leading the Church Into False Doctrine (E.g., Paul VI)

This is the mindset of radical Catholic reactionaries today, directed not only against Blessed Pope Paul VI, but also against Pope St. John Paul II. *** Bloviator extraordinaire Chris Ferrara wrote on 2-28-18 at The Remnant:   But now the seemingly imminent canonization of Paul VI, following approval of two purported miracles which, based on the information […]

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In Praise of Albuquerque

The sun was high in the sky. Midday, late July. The light was washed out. The black of the asphalt was washed out, not even gray anymore, not even a color. Albuquerque is divided between the people who, at midday, go elsewhere and the people who don’t go elsewhere. As I said it was midday, […]

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Dialogue on the Protestant “Non-Quest” for Certainty

Rev. Michael Pahls (Reformed with Anglo-Catholic affinities, and a doctoral candidate in Church History), wrote a post entitled “A Modest Proposal.” [no longer online]. I wanted to make a response to it, as it has several elements of great interest to me (and hopefully also to my readers). Rev. Pahl’s words will be in blue. His entire […]

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Illogical Angry Atheists: Five Typical Examples

These are actual encounters in an atheist forum. Words of various atheists will be in different colors. *** This occurred in the combox of an atheist blog. Jim Jones: Your ‘god’ has done a great job then. Why is gravity so convincing and religion so unconvincing? Don’t you claim your god made them both? Newton seemed […]

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The Gutenberg Imagination

In twenty years (maybe fewer?) will people still be reading what we’ve come to call the “literary” novel? Considering how fast technology is changing the imaginative landscape, is it really preposterous to say that the serious novel as we know it will have receded into a connoisseur culture, an affectation indulged in by a respectable […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2018/03/the-gutenberg-imagination/

Transform Your Relationship! New Online Resource Helps YOU Live The Catholic Vision of Love and Marriage

There is more to marriage than meets that eye. That’s the message of this exciting new resource by the Pastoral Solutions Institute and the Diocese of Steubenville that promotes the Catholic Vision of Love and Marriage. The program employs a simple web-based format and runs like a DIY online couples’ retreat.  Each of the 12 […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2018/03/transform-relationship-new-online-resource-helps-live-catholic-vision-love-marriage/

Dialogues w Critics & Disparagers of Pope Francis

These exchanges occurred underneath a related post of mine, and under my review of Phil Lawler’s Lost Shepherd on Amazon. At the end I throw in a few comments made in private correspondence with two different people. Words of others will be in various colors. *** Dave, you wrote that you and Karl [Keating] both […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/dialogues-w-critics-disparagers-pope-francis.html

Dialogue: Sharp Inquiring Protestant vs. Pope-Bashing Catholic

[the following is a fictional dialogue, but carefully based on existing widespread opinions about the pope. The lifelong Catholic’s words will be in blue. The Protestant (ecumenical and highly educated) is seriously considering becoming a Catholic, after about six months of intensely studying the Catholic faith and Church history. The two men meet over donuts and […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/dialogue-sharp-inquiring-protestant-vs-pope-bashing-catholic.html

As I Lay (Nearly) Dying

At first I didn’t know that I was dying. I’d been rushed to the hospital emergency department because I couldn’t breathe, put on oxygen and wheeled right to Intensive Care. The week or so in ICU is a blur now. But ICU must have been where it was discovered that my kidneys were failing—because I […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2018/03/lay-nearly-dying/

Healing Us through Our Woundedness

Guest post by Deacon Dominic Cerrato, Ph.D., Director of the Pastoral Solutions Spiritual Direction Services It’s quite common in spiritual direction to hear someone say, “If God would just take away this cross, I would be a much better Christian.” Suffering impacts all of us to a greater or lesser degree such that, to live is to suffer. […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2018/03/healing-us-woundedness/

Dialogue on Annulment & Divorce: Essentially Different?

Very in-depth discussion with Orthodox and Protestant dialogue opponents. *** The following exchanges were with Orthodox and Baptist friends of mine. Their words are in blue. Eastern Catholic William Klimon’s words are in green. He agrees with my view. *** Let me ask you this David, aside from the fact that we call a divorce a […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/dialogue-annulment-divorce-essentially-different.html

Dialogue on the Matthew 19:19 Exception Clause & Divorce

The Greek word porneia in the clause means that Jesus was referring to unmarried persons. *** [Mike Grubb is an evangelical Protestant. His words will be in blue. ] *** I wrote: Catholics hold that Jesus is here contrasting a true marriage, with a state of concubinage or some other illicit union. If there is not truly a […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/dialogue-matthew-1919-exception-clause-divorce.html

Holy Snow

When we first decided to move to Minnesota, there were plenty of opinions. “You know it’s cold there,” people said. “Are you ready for all that snow?” they asked. “People literally die from frostbite all the time,” one family member swore. “You can get it just driving around in your car!” Now, we hadn’t spent […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2018/03/holy-snow/

“Nothing New” #2: Pope Benedict XVI Trashed (+ Reply)

[Is pope-bashing only a recent phenomenon? Nope. The following documents Robert Sungenis’ bashing of Pope Benedict XVI] *** The fact that Benedict XVI has chosen to endorse the doctrinal aberrations and deterioration of the Church caused by John Paul II by beatifying him in May; and then continuing the apostasy of the Assisi tradition in […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/nothing-new-2-pope-benedict-xvi-trashed-reply.html

“Nothing New”: Reactionary Attacks on Pope St. John Paul II

[Pope-bashing didn’t start with Pope Francis. I compiled the following on 9 April 2005] Robert Sungenis Yes, as far as reacting to a direct disobedience of his orders not to consecrate the four bishops, the pope acted “legitimately.” On the other hand, Lefebvre had “legitimate” complaints about the pope that the pope thoroughly ignored (e.g., […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/nothing-new-reactionary-attacks-pope-st-john-paul-ii.html

Poetry Friday: “Salt Wife”

On a tactile level, we are reminded of the common experience of salt in this poem by Amy McCann. How it cures and crimps, the taste of tears on your face or floating, mouth open and vulnerable, in the sea. We are also introduced to a complicated voice who describes herself as “The lick I […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2018/03/poetry-friday-salt-wife/

Beatles and Schubert: Musicological Comparisons

One of my readers observed: I have to quibble with the “modern Schuberts” moniker [this is how I described the Beatles underneath a photo]. As gifted of tunesmiths as Paul, John & co. were, they don’t compare to Schubert or any other classical master. There is an immense gulf in the level of craftsmanship between, say Schubert’s […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/beatles-schubert-musicological-comparisons.html

New Study Finds Pervasive Criticism Leads to Depression and Discontinuation for Co-sleeping Moms.

  A new study in the journal Infant and Child Development found that co-sleeping moms experienced at least 16% more criticism than other moms.  Additionally, moms who were persistently criticized for co-sleeping were 76% more depressed and anxious about both their parenting and their baby’s wellbeing than other parents. According lead researcher, Douglas Teti of […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2018/03/new-study-finds-pervasive-criticism-leads-depression-discontinuation-co-sleeping-moms/

Five Dubia: Answers from Amoris Laetitia Itself (Dr. Fastiggi)

Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., is Professor of Systematic Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan. This article (exclusive to my blog), is an expansion of a presentation that he gave at my house just six days ago. *** Introduction * About 14 years ago I had the honor of being present for a lecture given by the […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2018/03/five-dubia-answers-amoris-laetitia-dr-fastiggi.html

The Spirituality of Sestinas

Several months ago, I found myself struggling with my hair—namely, snapping off my split ends in an obsessive manner, calling back to my teenage battles with trichotillomania. On some days, a half hour would pass before I realized I’d been zoning out and picking at my hair at the expense of folding laundry, writing, or […]

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2018/03/the-spirituality-of-sestinas/