This week on Facebook, I observed someone being attacked for incorrect and disrespectful pronoun usage. The main topic was churches allowing the homeless poor to sleep in the pews at night. A definite no-no for some, with legitimate reasons either way. But this particular grammar episode became bizarre.
Providing a quote from the Bible seems like a good thing if you're trying to convince someone else about what the Bible teaches. But often enough, you get another verse back at you, without context. That's proof texting.
Some time back I wrote a comment on Taylor Marshall's blog. I'm putting my comment up here too now. My point was to argue that there are two separate issues that are often conflated.
Adventists have a reputation for their dishonesty, and not just among Catholics. Out there in real life and on the internet there is a huge collection of anti-Catholic propaganda waiting for gullible Catholics, and others, to ensnare them. When a Catholic meets a certain type of Adventist, this sort of propaganda abounds.
"In 2007 the Vatican made an unprecedented decision. After over half a century of bitter conflict within the Church, an ancient, almost forbidden rite was finally unleashed. For some it was the beginning of the end. For others the battle had finally begun." - Reclaiming the Sacred Productions
Here we look at Catholic explanations, showing that this concept of the 10 Commandments being part of the Old Covenant legal code, and therefore not the legal code in effect today, is indeed believed by Catholics and supported by Catholic teaching.
Will Pope Francis suppress the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, allowing us only the Ordinary Form, thereby reversing the much-needed liturgical reform? He has that authority. He can bind and loose with the authority given to Peter. But I don't believe he will.
Pope Benedict also likes cats. Apparently Pope Paul VI had to be persuaded not to eat the frogs in this pond.
La Stampa has a lovely walk-through of how the new pope will be elected. Very educational. I didn't know that the way things are done changes with the 34th ballot. Pope Benedict XVI changed the simple majority back to a 2/3 majority for all the ballots, though, so it could run well beyond 34.
Pope Benedict made his last pipatum yesterday, 28 February. -- "Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."
Thanksgiving Video for Life and Ministry of Pope Benedict XVI
The final blessing: Pope Benedict's last general audience
The Southern Cross, the weekly South African Catholic newspaper, has a letter and an article hoping for something that will not happen. ... Abandon the Sign of the Cross? ... Deus avertat! Hopefully they will recognise that we need another Pope Benedict. We need orthodoxy.
Pope Benedict XVI is a cat lover. He even started an encyclical on cats, which he unfortunately never got round to finishing - it was to be his 25th encyclical.
I remember exactly where I was on the evening of Tuesday April 19 2005. I was in Parow, in a Pick 'n Pay grocery store, near the frozen meat isle, and got a call from my mother. I was absolutely thrilled. The cardinal I had been inspired by for several years, and respected tremendously, and whom I hoped would be pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
Though I'd read work by other Christians who laid out compelling cases for their beliefs, there was something about Pope Benedict's particular style that reminded me of the people I knew growing up. Many times I thought that if my father and his scientist friends were to become believers and explain why they believed, this is what it would look like. When I read the Holy Father's encyclicals, speeches, and books, I didn't feel so lost in the Christian world anymore. I learned what it…
On 28 April 2009, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI left his pallium lying on the tomb of Pope St Celestine V. At the time there was speculation that this indicated that Pope Benedict XVI would follow in the footsteps of Pope St Celestine V. Pope St Celestine V resigned on 13 December 1294. He had been pope for 5 months. There was no pope for two years prior to that - the election that resulted in him becoming pope took 27 months. 11 Cardinals participated…
This is a very sad day for the Catholic Church, but it was inevitable that his reign come to an end. He has been a tremendous force in bringing the Church back in line, and turning people back to God. I don't think he will lose his status as my favourite pope. He is my 4th pope - I was born in the reign of Pope Paul VI, who was followed by Pope John Paul I, and then Pope John Paul II.
I am tired. Hence the long break between posts. I am do tired. And I wish the above comment would come true. Then I might have more energy. I dread the election of the next pope. What if he's not another Benedict?
The letter you see above is a parody of Roland Martin's letter, written by me, to depict what an early dissenter from the Apostolic faith may have said back then.
Recently, the Vatican's International Theological Commission allegedly released a document indicating that Limbo, the place where unbaptised babies go after death, may be restrictive, and that there are good reasons to hope that they might be in heaven.
Today is the Holy Father's 80th birthday. He was born on April 16, 1927, on Holy Saturday.
I've been waiting years to hear this most logical 14 Nisan crucifixion timing from a Catholic priest. And now I hear it from the pope himself. I always get given the 15 Nisan story. The explanation above goes a long way to explain why the Wednesday crucifixion theory of Herbert Armstrong is wrong, so ironically it was Herbert Armstrong who was adamant that Jesus died on 14 Nisan.
Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion.
Common Declaration by Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Bartholomew I “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps 117:24) This fraternal encounter which brings us together, Pope Benedict XVI of Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, is God’s work, and in a certain sense his gift. We give thanks to the Author of all that is good, who allows us once again, in prayer and in dialogue, to express the joy we feel as brothers…
Yes, he does, at times, "commend the pope for addressing the socio-political issues of our time in a responsible way" ... but he says that on such issues, Adventists and Catholics should not be united in their work towards that goal.
Here we see a case of a girl being denied the Eucharist because of coeliac disease. In short, she cannot eat wheat-based products, which means that, in the Catholic Church, it can range from uncomfortable to potentially lethal to take communion in this form.
The German-born Pope delighted the crowds at his weekly audience by wearing a red velvet cap trimmed with white fur along with his scarlet cape as he drove around the square.
In his latest Endtime Issues (#141,) Samuele Bacchiocchi again criticises the papal stand on moral issues, and the commitment of Catholics to the support of Catholic moral teaching. It looks like moral strength is a sign of the end-time evil power. Or so many Adventists would have us believe.
On his blog at Musum Pontificalis, he gives us a glimpse of his upcoming encyclical, Of the Dignity of Cats - Dignitatis Felidae. As he says, he has let the cat out of the bag, but HE Francis Cardinal Arinze has suggested that it be delayed until 24 other encyclicals have been written.
This is what the Pope has to say about Harry Potter on his very own blog, Musum Pontificalis
The papacy features a lot in Adventist prophecy, and it's not surprising that Dr Bacchiocchi has taken the opportunity of the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI to promote Adventism's anti-Catholic views. But this statement of his shows his extreme ignorance of the two men.
William Johnsson here confuses the priesthood of Christ with the pastoral role of the clergy, who act as Christ's representatives. That is a completely biblical concept. The human clergy do not replace Christ in any way - and both types of priesthood are identified in the New Testament, as well as a third - the universal priesthood of the individual believer.
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