Martin Luther & Antipathy Towards Clerical Celibacy

In Catholic (and biblical) ascetic spirituality, or what are called “the evangelical counsels,” a person may voluntarily (sometimes heroically) renounce something for the kingdom of God. Some biblical examples are the prophets, John the Baptist, and the disciples. There are many callings and roles to fill. Not everyone can be a Marine, or a Green […]

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Denunciation of “Anti-Luther” Catholic Polemics

I’ve been accused by some of being “anti-Luther” in ways in which I am not at all. I disagree as a consistent Catholic with several of his teachings; happily agree with others. But I do not subscribe to certain excesses of Catholic Luther polemics: especially of the sort that prevailed before Vatican II. Some Catholic […]

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Mandatory Celibacy of Priests & Religious (Dialogue)

This is a dialogue with an evangelical pastor (5-27-97), followed by clarifying remarks made in response to the questions of a Catholic friend (6-3-97), and further dialogues with several Protestants from late 1998. Words of all those besides myself are in blue. ***** These verses may form a rationale, but the question is what kind of […]

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Atheist Demands “Evidence” But Mocks & Dismisses It

Wayne Conner showed up underneath one of my real dialogues with an atheist, and gave us a quintessential display of the hypocrisy and essential silliness of the “angry”-type, sophistical atheist, who demands “evidence” for why the Christian believes as he does, and then mocks and ignores it when it is provided. It’s all just a […]

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Priestly Celibacy: Garden-Variety Objections Debunked

Classic examples of how Catholicism is often criticized with a sort of “rapidfire” / “gotcha!” mentality . . . ***** [Comments of “morganB” will be in blue; those of “Trinidad” in green] *** morganB provided us with the following rapid-fire questions (as if mere quantity of objections somehow proves the intended target less plausible): Globally […]

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Sunday Worship vs. Sabbatarianism (Links)

Acts 20:7 (RSV) On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread […]

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For the Love of Money

My husband and I took a spring break trip to the central coast of California, and we included a stop at the Hearst Castle—William Randolph Hearst’s 90,000 square foot, 61-bathroom home on 127 acres at the top of a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Hearst was still expanding it when he died in 1951. It […]

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The Summer I Wasn’t Attacked By a Shark

Jaws is released the summer I turn fourteen, and my friends and I spend every afternoon bodysurfing and reenacting the young woman’s death scene at the beginning of the movie. We yell, kick, jerk, wave, scream, pretending a great white has hold, dragging us down for the kill. We sputter, shriek, and wait for a […]

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The Pope’s Call to Saintliness

Did you know that you’re meant to be a saint? So says Pope Francis, in his latest Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad). An Apostolic Exhortation is a communication to Catholics throughout the world; but this one speaks to all Christians. Gaudete et Exsultate‘s very first paragraph announces: “The Lord… wants us […]

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Reply to a Condescending Atheist Re Science

This exchange with Damien Priestly took place underneath my post, Dialogue with an Atheist on the Origin of the Universe. I’ve rearranged the order in order to make the dialogue flow back-and-forth per my usual custom). His words will be in blue. ***** Wow, the post here so that narrow that the author cannot see his […]

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Dealing with Jekyll and Hyde

It seems like you are best friends one day and total enemies the next. We all have those people in our lives—friends, family members, co-workers, bosses, you name it—who lash out at us and then pretend like nothing ever happened. Although this Jekyll and Hyde type of personality is not uncommon, it can still be […]

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Monasticism In Lockdown America, Part 7: Holy Fool

Hank’s trembling confession that he’d be killing God if he killed another inmate had charged the small jail visitation cell where I sat discussing the image of God with three men from the infirmary. I pulled out the last of three “icons” and passed it around. It was a color printout of the crumbling Sphinx […]

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Dialogue w Atheist on the Origin of the Universe

Grimlock is an atheist from Norway. He made a response to my initial provocative questions (see the whole thing). This is my counter-reply. Due to his length I can’t reply to absolutely everything (that would make this post way too long). His words will be in blue. ***** One thing I habitually ask atheists is […]

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Reply to Protestant on Infant Baptism & Miscellany

I received a letter in email from a former Catholic with Baptist-type beliefs, in response to my paper, Infant Baptism: A Fictional Dialogue. It got into some other typical Catholic-Protestant controversies as well. His words will be in blue. ***** Thanks for taking the time to write a well-laid out letter. I’d like to respond […]

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Poetry Friday: “I Loved You Before I Was Born”

In clear, resonate language, Li-Young Lee celebrates longing in his poem “I Loved You Before I Was Born.” In its repetition and earnestness, this poem reminds me of e. e. cumming’s poem “i carry your heart with me (i carry it in.” Unlike cumming’s poem though, Lee’s emphasizes the bitter-sweetness of longing and places it […]

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Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 6, Icons

The jail staff asked if I would meet with some of the guys in the infirmary. I sat down at the small, bare table in a cramped lawyer visitation cell, and three men in red scrubs squeezed by each other to take their seats with me. One of them was Hank, an old man with […]

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“Where Did Cain Get His Wife?”

This is one of the classic, garden-variety “skeptical” questions, usually designed to ridicule the Bible and/or the alleged gullibility and incredulity of Christians. The prominent Protestant apologist, Josh McDowell (who was, incidentally, crucial in sparking my own initial interest in historical apologetics back in 1981), dealt with this question: Genesis 5:4 tells us that Adam […]

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An Italian Journey with Auden, Goethe, Sex, and God

Recently, I was wandering around some of the less travelled corners of Tuscany with a copy of Goethe’s Italian Journey when I found myself struck, powerfully and without precedent, by something Goethe had written.   But I have to touch first upon W. H. Auden, the great English poet, who, for reasons not explained anywhere […]

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I Feel Bad About My Neck

I feel bad about my neck. Those are not my words; they’re the title of writer/comic Nora Ephron’s final book about the indignities of aging. And I did a double take when I looked the publication date up: I Feel Bad About My Neck is already ten years old. Such is the passage of time. […]

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And Indeed It Was Good

Guest blog post by Rachael Popcak.   When thinking about Genesis 1, people typically focus on God creating the world, and then He created man. While of course this is extraordinary, something really struck me recently while re-reading this section of the Bible. After God creates each piece of the world, it is specifically noted […]

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Yehuda Amichai: My One Poet

If I could have only one poet, I’d choose Yehuda Amichai. He’s the poet of the city where I came to life in my twenties: Jerusalem is a port city on the shore of eternity…. Jerusalem is the Venice of God.   Jerusalem stone is the only stone that can feel pain. It has a […]

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“Logical” Problem of Evil: Alvin Plantinga’s Decisive Refutation

The Problem of Evil is NOT a Disproof of God’s Existence, Goodness, or Omnipotence Alvin Plantinga (who was born in 1932 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and started his teaching career at my alma mater, Wayne State University) is considered — by his Christian or theist admirers and atheists alike — to be the greatest living Christian […]

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Atheist John Loftus: “Christians R Idiots” / “Buy My Books!”

This came about in my combox after I posted a critique of a paper by John W. Loftus: The Census, Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem, & History: Reply to Atheist John W. Loftus’ Irrational Criticisms of the Biblical Accounts.  Loftus’ words will be in blue. * * * * *   Dave, have you read any of my books yet? […]

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Did the Spiritual Gifts Cease (1 Cor 13:8-11: “Perfect”)?

I Corinthians 13:8-11 (RSV) Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;  [10] but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a […]

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How Can the One True Church Have Sinners in it?

This is one of my “apologetics inserts” from The Catholic Answer Bible (2002, OSV; you can purchase my 44 inserts only, for $2.99: PDF); later expanded as The New Catholic Answer Bible (2005): my biggest-selling book ever, which is a shame insofar as I receive no ongoing royalties. I was paid a one-time fee (ah, […]

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Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 5, Holy Elders

With their white beards and deep lines in their faces, the older men stand out in our jail Bible study’s circle of usually-young men with either tattoos on the outsides of their arms or track marks on the insides. I’m always struck by the old men’s humility, how they don’t tell the whippersnappers to shut […]

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On Cultivating Friendship

On a festive Sunday evening in what should have been spring (nearly sixty degrees at the zenith and sunny), as neighbors were crossing the road to feed apple cores to the cows, I left our house after dinner for a walk.   Our house is 150 years old. It needs work at all times. It’s […]

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Men, Keep the Ball in Play!

Guest blog post by Dave McClow, Pastoral Solutions Institute. Fighting that works! Ever been in conflict and not known what to do?  Some men like a fight, some avoid it at all costs.  Too many of us drop the ball during a conflict….But first, let’s look at the bigger picture. The Ball When I taught […]

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I Am Not My Phone

How You Know It’s Time for a New Phone   There was a moment when it became easier to walk downstairs and talk to my wife face-to-face than to wait for my phone to load messages. It was time for new phones. Soon we were at the T-Mobile store looking at a display of tiny […]

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Classic Catholic Reflections on Development of Doctrine

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman: portrait by Sir John Everett Millais (1829-96) [public domain] *** [from the initial 750-page version of my first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism] Robert Hugh Benson *** Life is the principle of growth, and growth the evidence of life. A statue may be more perfect than a body in […]

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Burn after Seeing: On the End of The Americans

The Americans, FX’s drama about Russian spies living in Washington, D.C., has ended its six season run. After season five, I wrote about how deception corrupts various kinds of bodies (national, personal, marital) because intimacy cannot abide it. In one plotline during this final season, spy Elizabeth Jennings goes undercover as Stephanie, a private nurse […]

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Christianity, Depression, Peace, Comfort, Hope, & Joy

Christianity does indeed provide ultimate meaning and joyful fulfillment (and we believe it does, of course, because it is true), and this is a major reason why I have devoted my life to proclaiming and defending it: to help people not only to get on the right road to salvation, but to also obtain more […]

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Evidence for God & Inconsistent, Endless Atheist Demands

Atheists demand verifiable miracles in order to even consider believing in the God of Christianity. But when evidence is presented, very often, it’s ignored. This exchange occurred in one of my blog comboxes. I have only slightly abridged it, for brevity’s sake (removing mostly my own words). The words of atheist Samwise will be in […]

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Prayers to Saints & for the Dead: Six Biblical Proofs

If you’re in a discussion with a Protestant who denies both of these things, and you want to show that they are expressly, explicitly indicated in the Bible, here’s how you can do it quickly and effectively. I also provide further related reading material, in order to go into more depth. *** 1) Praying to […]

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Apologetics & Lay Apostolates: Strong Approval from Popes

***** All blue-colored emphases are added. * * * * * Anti-Catholic Protestant Sophist-blogger Steve Hays wrote on  2-19-06 and 6-29-06: Thanks, Dave, for usurping the role of the Catholic bishops. The bishops are the shepherds of the flock, not a lowly layman. Dear old Dave really can’t get over being Protestant at heart. He really can’t leave […]

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Robert F. Kennedy & How Democrats Used to Be

Last night I finished watching the four-part Netflix documentary, Bobby Kennedy for President. It so happened that it was the early hours of the 6th of June: exactly fifty years after he was assassinated (basically for being a supporter of Israel). I remember that sad day very well (I was almost ten at the time). […]

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Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 4, Asceticism

Monks in the Orthodox tradition have long believed that God’s love is unchanging, constant, like the light of the sun. We do not need to appease a deity’s anger or perform well to turn the light of God’s affection and gaze upon us. It’s just there, divine mercy blazing away, pouring down all the time. […]

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“Debunking Christianity”: Never-Ending Insults of Christianity

***** Debunking Christianity is the website of John W. Loftus: former Christian and now atheist polemicist and author. I recently had dealings with it when I did a critique of one of Loftus’ papers: The Census, Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem, & History: Reply to Atheist John W. Loftus’ Irrational Criticisms of the Biblical Accounts. When I […]

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Silly, Foolish Atheist John Loftus (“Debunking Christianity”)

John Loftus runs the influential Debunking Christianity blog and has written several books that seem to have made quite a splash. His words will be in blue. * * * * * Former pastor John Loftus wants to be taken so seriously by Christians. And some do take him seriously (even Norman Geisler seems to). I was inclined to […]

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Stop Pressuring Me! How to Stand Strong in Face of Manipulation

Peer pressure. We’ve all dealt with it throughout our lives, but does it still effect us as adults? Social Psychologists from SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Poland recreated the well-known Milgram Obedience Study (Milgram Shock Experiment) and discovered that the results were astoundingly similar to the results of the original experiment in […]

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Cutting Away the Noise

Fifteen years ago, there was no end to the noise. It took a cutting to get me to silence. I worked twelve-hour days and longer in an aircraft hangar on a flight line of hundreds of helicopters with the cacophony of auxiliary power units, the collision of metal, and rotor blades beating the air outside, […]

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Dialogue w “Bible Christian” on “Praying to Dead Saints”

I was made aware of a thread at the blog DeoOmnis Gloria.com: 10 Questions for “Bible Christians.” [link now defunct] It seems that that venue has been visited as of late (starting on 4 January 2007) by a very inquisitive Protestant who wants to learn more about Catholic beliefs: a person who goes by “SandT@cctv.org”. I think others […]

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Dialogue w a Protestant on Communion of Saints

This exchange occurred today on a Facebook page (not my own). My attention was directed to a person who was making all kinds of statements against the Catholic Church and challenging anyone to give him Scripture to prove Catholic views. Well, that is my specialty, so I took the opportunity. The words of Angel Manuel Negron […]

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Writing the Land and Its Story: An Interview with Paul Kingsnorth, Part 1

“It’s the End of the World as We Know It…and He Feels Fine”—that’s how the New York Times Magazine titled a profile of the writer Paul Kingsnorth. Kingsnorth is an essayist and novelist, an Englishman who lives on a small homestead in Northern Ireland. With his deep concerns about what he called the “ecocide” of […]

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Keating & “The Francis Feud”: Four Errors Documented

I have to temporarily suspend my policy of not writing about the pope, because now we have a book by well-known and respected apologist and Catholic author, Karl Keating (whom I have greatly admired for 28 years and always call “the father of modern Catholic apologetics”) taking me to task (I’m literally mentioned / critiqued […]

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