5 Pointed Thoughts For Today

5. My vague awareness that some Christian somewhere has been mean or judgy does not affect my willingness to affirm traditional Christian teaching.

4. You will not see heartfelt apologies here, with me purporting to speak on behalf of the "Church," whatever someone means by that.

3. If you say, "I'm inclined toward a certain sin with a stigma, and frankly, I fail more than I succeed, but I want to live in accord with God's will," that begins to elicit my compassion.

2. I am shocked! Shocked that a sinner who made peace with a sin found a "home" in the Episcopal communion.

1. Sinners always say they want to find a place that's "welcoming." Just once, I want to look at them and say, "You know where else is welcoming? Hell."

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My Thoughts On The Harrison Butker Commencement Speech

Update: I read the whole thing. I’m sorry, but what a weirdo. I thought you [Tom Darrow, of Denver, CO] made a trenchant case for why lockdowns are bad, and I definitely appreciated it. But a graduation speech is *not* the place for that. Secondly, this is an august event. It always is. I would never address the President of the United States in this manner. Never. Even the previous president, though he deserves it, if anyone does. Thirdly, the affirmations of Catholic identity should be more general. He has no authority to propound with specificity on all matters of great consequence. It has all the hallmarks of a culture war broadside, and again, a layman shouldn’t speak like this. The respect and reverence due the clergy is *always due,* even if they are weak, and outright wrong. We just don’t brush them aside like corrupt Mafia dons, to make a point. Fourthly, I don’t know where anyone gets the idea that the TLM is how God demands to be worshipped. The Church doesn’t teach that. ...

Dear Alyse

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A Friend I Once Had, And The Dogmatic Principle

I once had a friend, a dear friend, who helped me with personal care needs in college. Reformed Presbyterian to the core. When I was a Reformed Presbyterian, I visited their church many times. We were close. I still consider his siblings my friends. (And siblings in the Lord.) Nevertheless, when I began to consider the claims of the Catholic Church to be the Church Christ founded, he took me out to breakfast. He implied--but never quite stated--that we would not be brothers, if I sought full communion with the Catholic Church. That came true; a couple years later, I called him on his birthday, as I'd done every year for close to ten of them. He didn't recognize my number, and it was the most strained, awkward phone call I have ever had. We haven't spoken since. We were close enough that I attended the rehearsal dinner for his wedding. His wife's uncle is a Catholic priest. I remember reading a blog post of theirs, that early in their relationship, she told him of the p...

Safe Haven

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