Safe Haven

Because it is. Last time I checked, criminals do not obey laws. The very definition of "criminal." And the common folk, not wanting to be criminals, will obey your ill-conceived, emotion-saturated law, thereby rendering themselves completely defenseless when some nut-bar goes on a rampage. But hey, it's only lives, right? Sometimes, all you can do to stop the danger is shoot back. That's what the police would be doing. So obviously, the problem is not guns. All together now: Abuse does not negate proper use. And if you're wondering: Yes, I'm willing to live with the suicides, accidental deaths, and the like that are oh-so-manipulatingly added to the gun violence statistics. Because that's what freedom really means: the possibility that someone will use it wrongly. I don't know what level of vigilance or fear would be inappropriate for a Christian to have. I choose at this time not to exercise that right. But you're darn skippy, I will defend ...

5 Thoughts For Today 5. When Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) drops Ann/Anya off at the corner, I said to my friends, "Shake it off, Greg!" That was hilarious. 4. Your Ridiculously Interesting Read Of The Day. 3. You were right; it wasn't as sad this time. Whole new read of the situation. She got to be "normal" for a day. That's something, right? And I never noticed how authoritative she was when she returned. 2. Obviously, the writer(s) of the second season episode, "The Dauphin," from Star Trek: The Next Generation, were intentionally evoking Roman Holiday. 1. The only thing Hume destroys is his credibility.

5 More Thoughts 5. Audrey obviously knew how to torture the guys, but Katharine is the better acting Hepburn. (no relation) 4. Cary Grant turned down Sabrina. Did you know that? Bad move, Mr. Grant. One of several. 3. Speaking of that, Hollywood actors today are no more sexually immoral than in the Golden Age. The difference is, the culture has shifted to be more like them. 2. But the old movies are better. 1. So is the acting.

5 Thoughts For Today 5. That skepticism cuts off the branch you're standing on, Johnny-Bob. 4. Making a firm distinction between the God of the Philosophers and the God of the Bible? Why don't you just wear a sign that says, "I am a fideist!" It would save time. 3. All together now: "Grace builds on nature; it doesn't destroy it." 2. I started looking for a visible Church because an invisible one has no dogma. 1. What is an ecumenical council? Strangely enough, one of the more spiritually edifying questions to ask yourself.

5 Thoughts For Today 5. Self-absorbed people blame others and deflect attention from their flaws; the humble person seeks to improve when he receives criticism. 4. Pray for us. 3. Christ is LORD. 2. Catechism Day 3. Missed yesterday, so... 1. I'd say you'd better go down that rabbit trail, and attempt to explain.

5 Thoughts For Today 5. I'm one of those people who likes Neil Diamond, I think. Not in an ironic way. 4. The Isley Brothers' decision to sue Michael Bolton over "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" was incredibly lame. Everybody loves the Bolton version; those who say they don't are filthy liars. Dear Spotify, I will continue to watch the YouTube video with impunity until this little dust-up is corrected. 3. If I were Ronald Isley, I'd be content to be forever known as "Mr. Biggs," the creepy kingpin guy from the "Down Low" video. 2. Never leave your loved ones alone with R. Kelly, dude. 1. What I've been saying is that if the Magisterium proposed for belief that St. Peter liked to fly around on a fuzzy purple elephant while in Rome, (leaving aside that this would never happen) the proper Catholic response would be, "Yes and Amen."

In my post on dogma,   I was attempting to articulate how the primacy of the individual as represented by Sola Scriptura would impact the knowledge and the use of dogma within ecclesial communities. To say once again that Mathison has failed to distinguish between sol o and sol a is actually to say that the visible community has ceased to function as an organ for the communication of divine truth, at least in terms of the individual as one who submits unequivocally to its dictates.   That is, my so-called Tyranny of the Plausible becomes a tyranny only insofar as each competing theology is derived from the same hermeneutical process, using the same tools, with the same starting assumptions. It is a restatement of Fred's problem, from a slightly more global ecclesiological viewpoint. The Noltie Conundrum, as we have termed it, asks about the truth value of a particular set of theological assertions, given the reality of theological pluralism. As I continue to reflect in...

Someone said to me, " I did not say there was no grace in Catholicism, but even an iota of weight placed on one's own merit and deeds is what is heretical and anti-Christian." This Facebook comment really got me thinking. It didn't make me upset, and in fact it never does, but I confess that it pushes me to articulate why we need to answer the real question behind the question: by what authority (or rather, whose authority) does anyone decide or declare the doctrine of God? That is of course the ultimate question, but as we can see, one could ask two equally important sub-questions that are relevant: "What is 'heresy'?"and "What is 'anti-Christian'?" Let's use the definition of heresy provided by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You'll find it in paragraph 2089. It reads, " Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obst...

Grrrrr. I want to punch someone. Preferably him.

I'm trying to be more disciplined and systematic in my approach to Catholic theology. I have determined that if I read 26 pages per day, I can read the entire Catechism in a month. I was trying to be cool and read it while listening to Mahler's Symphony No. 2, which I listened to twice, but I switched to country-pop. If I start singing Diamond Rio or Dan Seals during catechesis, all bets are off. Mahler sounds like a movie soundtrack. I bet Jerry Goldsmith liked Mahler. Is it wrong if I feel like I'm watching a movie? This other weird thing happened earlier, where I was listening to Itzhak Perlman and I had this urge to listen to Streisand. Is that weird? Is that a Jewish thing? Don't you judge me; Streisand is better than you think.

Ahem. Party on, then, married women with child! (If you want to.) I'm not married, but that's kind of a relief. I thought dudes had to suck it up and take one for the team for most of the nine months. [Maybe they still do, but not for safety reasons.--ed.] Yeah. Anyway...

Good point. Look at all these great kids! I fail to see how less people on the Earth is a good thing. Do you even know how amazing it is to be a human being? To expand our knowledge, to learn all that is learnable? There are so many facets to the human experience, so much that one person adds to it, I find it hard to even understand the counter-argument. STOP HATING YOUR BODY! If this is what it does, just go with it. Mrs. Duggar obviously is a picture of the Church: wise, yet with an enduring youthfulness and energy. Am I missing something here? You say, "There are problems with this theology." You don't say? I've got problems with your theology, too, but we're still friends and siblings in the Lord, yes? I don't know their theology well, but they've got "Be fruitful and multiply" down pretty well. And the haters are not "pro-choice" at all; they're pro-death. Let's call it what it is. I'm no OB/GYN, obviously, but...

Blessing From your cousins here, I say, "Welcome and best thoughts!" to the future King. 

5 Thoughts For Today 5. The Lutherans are still enthusiastic. (let the reader understand) 4. I am still a snark-face. 3. Ironically, people defending Obama makes me snarky. 2. No, government is not a bunch of space aliens, unwelcome and sinister. They are a bunch of amoral busybodies, unwelcome and sinister. 1. Worst President Ever: Teddy Roosevelt. Discuss.

Awaited Mystery revealed, Kingdom promises come true, for Gentiles, true Light.

Hearing No matter the time, I don't fear to call You, the Friend for all seasons.

Eucharist Waiting, eager, I prepare myself to receive You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Sunday Into the morass Of human folly profane steps Jesus, again.