Safe Haven

5. I'll see your "Images are idolatry!" and raise you an ecumenical council that says they're not. 4. There's an historic term for those who think they know better than mother Church assembled in ecumenical council: heretics. 3. "Councils may err," you say? Who says? Those alleged "prophets" over there? 2. John 20:23. Interesting verse, don't you think? Isn't it also interesting that John's picture of Jesus is a bit like Howard Dean? I mean this in a good way. Just says what he thinks, and lets the chips fall where they may. Jesus doesn't stop to qualify things. See John 6:51-58. 1. The only thing I don't despise about Boston right now--with apologies of course to its people--is James Taylor.

5. "Mary is Co-Redemptrix." True? Yes, undoubtedly. Helpful? Not so much. 4. "I wish I knew the Bible better!" Again, who couldn't say this? But to a good Calvinist, this cements his worst fears about you and the Church. 3. "I'll have my fun now, and then go to Confession." Smooth move, Ex-Lax. He's already inclined to believe you care nothing for Jesus, and you just proved it. (And Father shouldn't absolve you, either.) 2. "Contraception is wrong." Once again, totally true. But the truth of it is an implication of Church teaching on the dignity of persons and their bodies. The rule without the context is not life-giving. 1. "Human nature is basically good." Within a thoroughly Catholic anthropology, this is fully true. To a Calvinist, at a minimum, this sounds like a denial of original sin, or the sure triumph of Pelagianism. You should talk about this at some point, but not now.

This.  1000 times, this.

5. We'll be back. Count on it. 4. I wish I could say, "There's no principled difference" in like 37 languages. Besides, where does it actually say, "Everything you need to know is in Scripture"? I keep looking. 3. I hate Reformation Day. It's like celebrating a divorce. 2. I've seen good things on Upworthy, but I can't shake the feeling that when I click, I'm supporting abortionists, 'marriage equality' advocates, and Democrats. But I repeat myself. 1. Frankly, every time we are exhorted to "honor our servicemen," I get the feeling we are living in a dystopian Heinlein novel. And no, Denise Richards, circa 1997 does not make it better. No offense, my friends.

5. I say, "...if memory serves" a lot. I wonder if my associates think, "Of course it serves, you encyclopedic, vainglorious toad."  4. Spock says, "if memory serves," which is the real reason I say it. 3. The Avett Brothers blew me away today. In spite of the fact that I listen to way more popular music than most of you, I hadn't heard them. Oops. 2. Sufjan is OK. He's obviously profoundly talented. But "pretentious" comes to mind. Popular music is for the populace. 1. "Father, the hipster has awakened!" [chortle]

What she said . I think I just said this yesterday . With the usual blah-blah about how we shouldn't generalize to all people (which actually functions among certain Evangelical tribes as a way to prevent anyone from saying anything about anything), I really resonated with it. On the other hand, I feel socio-culturally like a woman, sometimes. I don't have any problem sharing my feelings. At all. Interrupting me will not cause me to withdraw. Anyway, I'm pretty wounded. No news there. In other news, let me point out that this is yet another link to something written by a non-Catholic Christian of some sort, and I am not going to critique it at all. Furthermore, this is exactly what happens 94.7 percent of the time. The next person who says I don't respect non-Catholic Christians, I'm just going to laugh in your face, in the most loving way possible. I also feel compelled to mention to Comrade Butler and The Durrwachter that whatever else I might say, you two guy...

Well, I was wrong. Boston has been great the last two games, largely due to David Ortiz, and the incredible pitching of Jon Lester. I loathe the Red Sox and the fair weather fandom of Red Sox Nation, but as a baseball fan who watches the pitchers closely, it has been an honor to watch Jon Lester pitch. I thought the Cards had chances against him in Game 1, and just missed them. Yes, they were down by 5 after 2 innings that night, but Lester was missing fastball location repeatedly, which is why he had trouble in the third and fourth innings. That game was much tighter than the 8-1 score shows, because the Cardinals are the kind of team that functions on momentum. Last night was different. Lester is making his case to be a Red Sox legend. He didn't miss at all. The Cardinals still had their chances, but it didn't feel like the same sort of game. He's now 4-0 career in the World Series, having only surrendered 1 run, total. Cards ace Adam Wainwright, for his part, deserved ...

I get him. I understand his intellectual universe, because I kinda sorta live there, too. I'll probably be a professor at some point, if God lets me hang out on this rock for awhile longer. Obama really is like a professor, for good, and for ill. Take a moment to live in the world of the intellectual, if you would. Intellectuals read books. They have conversations about stuff that ordinary people just don't think about most of the time. Not to say they are better or worse; they just are who they are. We absolutely need those people. Our leaders need them. And this is not to say that intellectuals can't make dire errors, because they can. They do, all the time. But let's take a moment to appreciate what we still do have in terms of intellectualism here, and realize that our president is a product of that. Considered by itself , this is absolutely a good thing. His speeches felt like essays, in the early days. I could almost see the footnotes at the end of his sentences...

I happen to think Columbo is the greatest show and character of all time, so you are cool. Furthermore, Janet Leigh...well, let's just say, I'm a guy, and she wasn't exactly plain-looking in the '50s. Ahem. But I almost mixed her up with Vivien Leigh, which reminded me of Gone With The Wind. Warning: This is about to be a digression. Vivien Leigh of course played Scarlett O'Hara. Scarlett is the epitome of the kind of girl I dislike being attracted to, because while she is--how would the average guy say it?--"mind-blowingly hot," she's silly, and she's a tease. When I saw that movie, all I could think was, "Rhett, I get it, man. But if you choose her, you're stupid." She lacks character; she has charm, but in that bad, biblical sense in Proverbs 31. Please tell me I'm not alone. I don't date a lot, and I would have liked to be married already. God's will be done. But I will tell you flatly: a woman's sexiness is ...