Safe Haven

I'm a Catholic, if that isn't obvious. I'm a real Catholic, too, by the way. Not a person who's understanding of the faith is limited, though of course, any of us could stand to deepen our understanding. This means for our purposes here that I actually believe the Council of Trent was and is correct. And despite what you may have heard, the Second Vatican Council is not in essence any different from Trent. Our popes and Councils like to use a phrase "of happy memory" to refer to a predecessor who did something important, and that council is no exception. A good Catholic loves and affirms all the ecumenical councils. Not only is that an obligation we have, but we rejoice to do so. I belabor the point because if any non-Catholic Christians harbor hopes that some teaching of the Church on faith and morals will change, because they have been in dialogue with a Catholic who has a defective morality, faith, or ecclesiology, they stand a good chance of being deceived...

...is kind of a pain.  Get out of here with your alarmingly sensible papist reasonings from the Scriptures! Dude, I was kind of like a young woman, who finds that young man "kind of annoying," but her friends know she's in denial. I could see that all the Scriptures made sense with what Trent was basically saying ,--I know, try not to die--but I fought it. I fought in stages: 1. "You're wrong!" Phase: I was utterly thwarted by two things: 1) I am in fact not the end-all, be-all, know-it-all from the Scriptures, talented as I may be, which necessitates a reasonably humble person to ask his community, which led to the second problem, which was 2) these obnoxious papists dared to say that my community did not have authority in the first place! Actually, the first problem blended with the second problem, because the hermeneutical pluralism in evidence should convince even the proudest fool that he doesn't have the hermeneutical magic bullet that everyone e...

Sure, he didn't fully embrace "historic" Christological orthodoxy, but he's just doing what a good Protestant should do: Wondering aloud just what is so "historic" about that particular interpretation. He's not bound to it, any more than you have bound yourself to the dogmatic conclusions of the Council of Trent. Oops. I'm seriously not messing with you when I say things like, "There is an irreconcilable conflict between the fundamental principle of the Reformation, and the imposition of ecclesiastical authority." If you want an "historic" faith, you are bound to those means by which it became the historic, true, and universal faith. When it's all said and done, you're either an atheist, or a child of the Catholic Church. Man alive, that is scary business! But it's enlivening, too.

From the "Why Isn't This Obvious?" Department .

5. It's really the illegal wars that are galling, sir, not your peacenik rhetoric. 4. Once more, it doesn't bother me per se that Hagel is "anti-Israel"; it bothers me more that he is too cowardly to defend views he clearly holds. 3. Yes, I called a veteran a coward; deal with it. 2. We do actually deserve the truth about Benghazi. 1. President Obama has made several mistakes in personnel; Samantha Power is not one of them.

5. The Office just isn't funny. 4. Actually, NBC in general isn't funny. 3. I have to like the characters who make me laugh. I don't know who decided Awkward Funny was the way to go, but he was wrong. 2. Jim Gaffigan is funny. Notice how similar he is to Cosby in subject matter. 1. Every time you say, "faith alone," a kitten dies. [Rant] I have to believe that absurd characters we like to make fun of is a reflection of being very damaged, and reaching out for someone worse off than we are. We don't want anyone to know that is us. We're "ironic" because being real would hurt too much, or so we think. You forget that suffering and joy aren't very far apart. The deeper you cry, the deeper you laugh. Have you ever wondered why Robin Williams is so funny? I don't wonder; I know. He has suffered and endured. This is why he started doing serious films and family films, and it's worked so brilliantly. The love of God makes us free...

Politics is about power. We need to frankly acknowledge this. This sphere of human life is about the acquisition of power for oneself or others. It need not be a negative; it may often be necessary, and depending on the ends and the means, even conducive to the good of all. If you align yourself with a political movement, you align yourself not only with the ends of that movement, but with the means of its achievement. Feminism is a political movement. It has transparently secular ends, for one thing. And what is the end of feminism or feminisms? The replacement of a perceived patriarchy with a matriarchy. It is women in power over men. It isn't hard to find or see. If we forget that all political movements are about power, we can easily delude ourselves, aligning ourselves with various secondary effects, or in opposition to numerous injustices against women. But if we say we are feminists, we get more than we likely intend. There is no doubt of it. Don't say, "I'm...

I hate it when that happens .

That's my kind of liberalism , brethren.

5. Stay inside! 4. The precipitation may not be too bad, but look out, New England! This monster is coming for you! 3. I will happily teach Catechism in the Bahamas, Father. 2. Speaking of New England, Tom Brady is so hot right now. Tom Brady. 1. Alright, I'm coming out of my Patriots closet: I root for the Patriots when the Rams aren't involved. Sue me. Excursus to follow. Camera 3. [turns] [Rant] Look, people. I get it. The Patriots are evil. They've been consistently great since 2001, and it's obnoxious. They won 3 Super Bowls, and lost in 2 others. Then, they cheated by videotaping other teams when they practice. That didn't help the rep. Fair enough. But I love what they do. They collect players other teams gave up on, and they turn them into champions. Even the year they missed the playoffs by some stupid fluke, they won 11 of their 16 games, without Tom Brady, who'd blown out his knee. Are you seeing this? Do you remember when they were the unde...

5. It's not hard. Freedom means being able to do what you will within the commands of the gospel. If my weaker brother asks me not to eat or drink for his sake, his needs are greater than my freedom. I've done this a million times. If you struggle with a sin in some area, you are not as free as the man who doesn't. You are bound by the chains of the gospel, even if another finds your self-imposed restrictions limiting for him. He cannot tell you to adopt his standard if this would harm you, and you can't judge him for his, either. We've got to back each other up in our mutual pursuit of holiness. This is charity, and this is what St. Paul was getting at. I think some of you in regard to drinking give cautions to other Christians in order to protect weaker brothers, but the truth is, you actually are that weaker brother. If you believe a brother or sister has sinned, tell him or her. There is no need for general "cautions." The strong Christian worries abo...

5. There are many kinds of beauty, and we should affirm all varieties of it. But I shouldn't have to say that it's perfectly wonderful to be physically attractive. No one should have to apologize for it in the face of others' envy. 4. Actually, whether someone is an open homosexual has no direct bearing on what public policies they should or do support. In fact, if an openly practicing homosexual opposes gay unions, I call that correct thinking, not self-hatred. Frankly, those who would be offended by this don't know how to think. 3. The immoral man who nonetheless affirms he is immoral--and the laws which judge him thus--is better off than the foolish person who believes morality is determined by what he desires. 2. I really hate The Huffington Post. I don't hate progressivism; I hate stupid progressivism. 1. If you lose Camille Paglia, maybe it's time to re-think a few things. Just sayin.'

I've said this many times, notably here . The "arbiter/receiver Rule," stated by me as, "One cannot be both the arbiter of divine revelation, and a humble receiver of it at the same time," is a wordier, less quippy version of, "If I submit only when I agree, the one to whom I submit is me." A fundamentally invisible Church deals with the twin problems of ecclesial pluralism, and the charge of schism. You can't be in schism from an invisible Church. You can't be in heresy, either, from a Church defined by you, big enough to contain the opinion you happen to hold. That's why the divine authority of a visible community becomes of primary importance, and why reason suggests that such a community would have to be infallible in certain circumstances. If some group isn't the Church, what are they going to say when someone calls their bluff? "You are wrong! You are in heresy! We really, really, mean it this time"? Once more, wasn...

I don't find it ironic that Leithart's prosecutor is now Catholic. If you talk to him, it makes perfect sense. Jason Stellman has always been an ecclesial Christian; that is, his faith has always been a faith received. Once you make that decision, and investigate it to the end, the Catholic Church is inevitable. If you purge that highly ecclesial sensibility of the random individualist elements, (like Sola Scriptura) Mother Church is all that remains. Let's just be blunt: Leithart is a more perfect fundamentalist; he's read a lot of books, and he's got buckets of sympathy for the Church, at least insofar as it serves to obscure the central truth: he is his own arbiter of what counts as divine revelation . R. Scott Clark has roundly criticized the Federal Vision for being out of accord with traditional Reformed theology; he's right. But people like Rich Lusk have pointed out that the story with the sacraments has never been as stark as Clark says. He's righ...

5. Thank a character actor today. 4. I'm sure Alicia Witt is a fine actress, but to me, she will always be Alia: "Wait for my brother, Baron!" 3. Aren't you glad Mom didn't decide she had something better to do when the angel showed up? 2. I just need a tangible copy of Roman Holiday. 1. Happy New Year!

I'm not your typical political conservative. You probably know that. I still think George W. Bush is one of the most well-intentioned people we've ever elected president. I also think he's guilty of terrible offenses, and profoundly bad moral lapses in judgment. Maybe Dr. Peter G. Klein of the University of Missouri-Columbia is right; voting may be nothing more than an expression of identity. I do know that when one has not only tired of war, but realized perhaps that the entire rationale for a nation's entry into them has been nothing more than political expediency, national pride, and angst for about 100 years, if not longer, the peacenik starts to sound like a live option. If you've been Republican your whole adult life, and policy starts to reflect nothing more than an intra-generational culture war, rather than the real moral battles that need fighting, when abortion is just a card they play to stir up the rubes while nothing changes, when they nominate essenti...

10. When someone says, "According to Scripture..." my favorite retort is, "According to whom?" 9. I like Protestant liberals for this very reason, because they are frank to make this challenge, even if they don't leave anything orthodox in its place. 8. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that "Losing My Religion" is playing in the background. Heh. 7. On the other hand, it eventually leads to agnosticism or atheism if you deconstruct every human structure in human history. It's an act of faith to see this as unreasonable, for the Word made flesh to allow man's corruption to taint His gospel, that is. 6. A person needs to know the content and meaning of divine revelation in the places where he lives. If he cannot know the gospel, he cannot do it. 5. An invisible Church cannot define itself, or what it believes. 4. There is an irreconcilable conflict between the fundamental principle of the Reformation (Sola Scriptura) and the in...

5. Keep your sports "hate" confined to the field. That guy you hate inevitably gives half his salary to a children's hospital or something. 4. Win or lose, the guy who hasn't done anything all year will be involved in the crucial play. Please just trust me on this. 3. The championship teams always face adversity. Always. If your team hasn't, they're going to lose when nobody expects them to. 2. The only thing that beats a Feel Good Story is a team of ruthless dream-killers, who hate stories like that.  The St. Louis Cardinals are quintessentially this team. Don't let the fan base, smiles, and ignorance of the Eastern media fool you. Ruthless, most years. I have come to terms with this. After all, I admire the Patriots in football. Mike Matheny and the staff have started wearing hoodies. Coincidence? I think not. 1. Momentum is real, no matter what the experts say.

I actually hate agreeing with Mark Shea.  But what do you want me to do? I recognize that the cultivation of expertise in any one field must be ever and always against the backdrop and with the overriding consideration of the dignity of the human person. Just imagine you are the highest cleric in Argentina; you have spent the balance of your career among the poorest of the poor, in a society so stratified, Adam Smith himself would cry, "Outrage!" Now how do you feel about recent discussions concerning economics? The talking heads in this nation are playing a game, a word game, a game of "gotcha!" But the Vicar of Christ has bigger fish to fry, if you will pardon the pun. Yes, expertise tends to increase the tension between specialized knowledge and wise counsel. But that's the point: Great ideas are built on creative tension.

I love Christ and Pop Culture . Me and Alan Noble are buddies on the interwebs. I told him I read the magazine religiously, and I mean that in the creepy Catholic sense. Even when they annoy me, I can't stop reading it. In many important ways, I'm still an evangelical. (You could legitimately argue that I'm still Reformed in some non-doctrinal, non-ecclesial ways, too, and I think that's good. That tradition holds a non-negligible influence over that expression of evangelical piety, and it will probably stay that way.) Every time Alan writes a post looking for new writers, I punch myself, because justification by faith alone is a deal-breaker over there, and I'm a bloody Catholic; I can't affirm it. But I want to write for them almost as much as I want to be on The Journey Home, which is a lot. I need you to understand that. I love what they do. Let me just get that out of the way. But they are annoyingly temperate, at a time when we really don't need that...