Safe Haven

  I guess I'd have to cop to it, you know. James White is always accusing his favorite friendly neighborhood Catholic apologist of being committed to Sola Ecclesia instead of Sola Scriptura.   I've thought it over, and I think it's true. Worse still--or maybe better still--I'm not mad about it. After all, what is the Church? Is it not the supernatural communion of love between God and man, and men with each other? What else do you need besides that? Luckily, unlike Mr. White, there is no dichotomy or unnatural juxtaposition between the Scripture and the community vivified by God's own Spirit for me. This is also the answer to the question of why Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture cannot contradict one another. In both forms, God has communicated a testimony to the necessity and the reality of communion with Him. As I am constantly and perhaps needlessly reminded, many Protestants would not object to the statement, "Scripture must be interpreted...

The communion of all Christians by baptism is real. It is as real as the hands which type these words, and in fact, more so. We know that because the bonds of charity persist beyond death and make distance meaningless. What we've got to do is ask ourselves if we are strengthening that communion, or not. Let me get some things off my chest: First, I am not a Feeneyist or some kind of radical, Steve Schaper. I believe every letter of Vatican II. And, here's the key: NOTHING CHANGED. If you are committed to the idea that Vatican II signaled a shift in how Catholics understand non-Catholic Christians, frankly, you are wrong. I could see why that would be an appealing lie to believe, since a slobbering cabal of conversionist radicals you can conveniently dismiss as out of step with their own Church is useful for those in a schism. Ahem. I just need to be blunt about that. The reason the whole "Christianity would be fine, if Catholics would stop excluding everyone" saw ...

I can give you a pretty basic definition of religious indifferentism: It is the belief that it doesn't matter what one believes about God. There are dozens of reasons why someone might find it appealing. But I can say without a hint of hesitation that my journey toward Catholicism began at the catching of a more than faint whiff of religious indifferentism . Secondarily, it was about ecclesiology, because the ekklesia is supposed to be the place where I am formed and shaped by God, who is Truth. It is simply not correct to assert that a desire for that truth is some vestige of Enlightenment rationalism; ironically, in fact, it is that rationalism that makes indifferentism popular. In any case, we do not fear to find that Protestants and Catholics have different doctrines concerning God, and different sources (to some extent) for identifying and applying what God says. We should vehemently reject any notion that we cannot and ought not know what He has said, for indeed, the basis ...

This is adorable. And hilarious. And WAY overdue. Seriously. I get mad at the Kay Jewelers commercials because they never have mixed-race couples. Cowards.

Of course , you have my forgiveness and prayers! Are you kidding? OK, but I really like Paul Ryan. It's probably a man-crush. I was mad about that. But since he fell under the Curse of Mittens, I doubt we'll see him again, anyway. Anyway, party on, Mark!

It's no secret that I'm a Trekkie. I'm proud of this. I think it is one of the most important cultural touchstones in our history. If you really know Star Trek, you may be a nerd, but you are also attuned to understanding humanity. Because that's what Star Trek is about. It probably represents the most compelling humanism since the Renaissance. In 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered on television. We would not be all going to see Star Trek: Into Darkness without it. With apologies to what is now canonically known as 'The Original Series,' it is this series that became the guardian of Star Trek. It's among my 3 favorite TV shows ever. (And no, they are not all science-fiction.) The characters named in the title of this post demonstrate the greatness of the Star Trek story for telling the human story in themselves. I see myself in them, and that's why I'm telling you about them. Ben Maxwell was the captain of the USS Phoenix, a Nebula-...

I know of two main arguments against the seven books of the Old Testament called "deutero-canonicals": 1) They were not accepted as part of the canon by the Jews; and 2) there are no Hebrew originals of them. For the first to be a good objection, we must know why they rejected them. Frankly, I thought that the chief reason the Jewish leaders of the time rejected them because they were accepted by the Christian community, a movement they regarded as heretical. If we are Christians, then, we ought to have serious suspicion about that rejection, because Christ is the fulfillment of God's work among the people He had chosen. The same evangelistic heart that caused Christ to weep over Jerusalem is the heart we should have. The forthright defense of those Scriptures should be in the same spirit that moved St. Paul to say: "I wish that I myself were cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren." The second objection deserves no weighty reflection, because the even...

5 Thoughts For Today 5. Yes, Lord, I long to eat better than the pigs. But all bets are off if the pigs are having Dodger Dogs. 4. Then again, the pigs are the Dodger Dogs. 3. Excuse me, Father, but I don't think a "Solemn High Nap" is a validly recognized liturgical expression. 2. Sheesh, I haven't seen this many people at Mass since...Christmas and Easter. 1. I knew he didn't agree, but he grew visibly uncomfortable when the other man called me an "armchair theologian."