Nov
27
Moral Reasoning and the Fallacy of False Cause
November 27, 2006 | Leave a Comment
The weekend Wall Street Journal had a front page story about Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming trip to Turkey that, while clearly written from a certain perspective (I soon lost count of such terms as “conservative”, “hard-line”, “rigid”, and the like), shed some light on how delicate a process Vatican diplomacy is in these debauched times. [...]
Nov
26
Sollemnitas Domini Nostri Iesu Christi Universorum Regis
November 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Well, that’s a little more dignified sounding than “Christ the King”, as it was listed on my parish bulletin today. We are an incarnational Church, and I have often blogged about my views regarding the principle I call Imagines Dei (I would give a list of links to some of my earlier posts on the [...]
Nov
25
Science and Religion Again
November 25, 2006 | Leave a Comment
For someone who has a great deal of interest in science and a great deal of interest in religion, I have remarkably little interest in that domain of inquiry sometimes called “the intersection of science and religion”. I myself do not see that they overlap all that much, except in the rather trivial sense that [...]
Nov
25
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
November 25, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Dr. Mike Liccione of Sacramentum Vitae reports on some aspects of the Bishops’ letter regarding reception of Holy Communion. He points out that, although Catholics are called upon in the letter to refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they find themselves dissenting from Church teachings, the letter falls short of addressing two of the most [...]
Nov
24
Sola Scriptura and Justification Sola Fide
November 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment
There is little that I can add to the excellent analysis of Fr. Al Kimel on the notion of justification sola fide, “by faith alone”, as an example of a bad reason not to be Catholic. As he ably points out in his essay, which draws upon Fathers both East and West, the expression “by [...]
Nov
24
Looking for the Magic Bullet
November 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment
There are a few theological ideas floating around out there that have become quite popular principally because they appear to provide quick and easy answers to difficult and complex problems. Some of these ideas are not particularly widespread, but have become fundamental matters of faith in certain quarters, for example, the notion of Biblical literalism. [...]
Nov
22
Richards, Gibson, and Jillette
November 22, 2006 | Leave a Comment
In a press release today, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League criticizes the “phonies who claim to be horrified by bigotry” because there was a hue and cry over Michael Richards’ racist tirade and Mel Gibson’s inebriated anti-semitism, but virtually no reaction at all to Penn Jillette’s sick and bizarre comments about Mother Teresa of [...]
Nov
21
Kramer Leaves the Cosmos
November 21, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Sometimes when folks call for apologies about what other people have said, one gets the impression that they may be over-reacting. Some folks are just too sensitive sometimes, and calling for apologies isn’t always appropriate. But demands from many different quarters that Michael Richards apologize for his racist rant at the Laugh Factory are inappropriate [...]
Nov
20
Not For All, Just For Us
November 20, 2006 | Leave a Comment
From a Catholic News Agency story:
Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Vatican’s Prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, reportedly sent a letter to Church prelates worldwide, instructing them to adjust the translation of a phrase in the middle of the Catholic Mass’s words of consecration. The translation of [...]
Nov
20
Not that We’re Proud or Judgmental or Anything
November 20, 2006 | Leave a Comment
From a New York Times interview with Katherine Jefferts Schori, new presiding bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church:
How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?
About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations.
