Ironically, one of the things about Christianity that is most troubling to me is the Bible, particularly the Old Testament and its sheer brutality. Much of the brutality is directed at women, and at least twice, women are offered to vicious mobs as something of a sacrificial offering. The most well know is the story …
In a lecture I listened to recently, Dr. Peter Kreeft said that “prayer doesn’t change God; prayer changes us.” It’s not a new notion; I’ve heard it before, and I know Dr. Kreeft would readily admit his “plagiarism.” (In one lecture, Dr. Kreeft refers to C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity as “the best book I’ve …
In one form or another, I’ve been digesting Catholicism all day today. I spent the entire afternoon raking leaves and listening to Peter Kreeft lectures. (“Divine Truth—The Heart’s Deepest Longing” is particularly worth listening to.) This evening, since everyone’s gone to bed, it’s been Catholic blogs. Throughout the day, I’ve felt a little like Paul in …
“All the objections are there. The only thing that has changed is a desire to believe,” I said to a Catholic friend. He advised me, “Search your heart and try to ascertain, if you can, what your objections really are and why you have them.” For years, my primary objection has been a common but …
I noticed it first in Galatians 1.20; cross references led me to Romans 1.9 and 9.1. In all three verses, Paul sounds more like a used car salesman than an apostle. Gal 1.20: In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Romans 1.9: For God is my witness, whom I serve …
In a neighborhood close to ours, a once-grand house stands on a corner. At one point, someone cared a great deal for this home and invested many thousands of dollars into it. The evidence of the care and investment is everywhere. There are five-foot-high brick walls around the yard with elaborate lamps on the tops …
We were leaving the church after a Christmas Mass in Polish when we noticed a group of men standing around the priest’s new Volvo. Apparently, someone had hit his car and driven off without anything. I saw a little scratch, but I couldn’t discern any significant damage. The priest was angry. He called the parish …
Yesterday, after Mass, a friend (though “acquaintance” might be more accurate) asked me if I was Catholic. Like me, he married a Polish woman; he accompanied her to Mass as they’d driven into town to share a Christmas dinner with us. “No,” I answered, quietly. A year ago, I might have been more emphatic in my denial. …
What keeps me from believing? One would think that the mere desire might be enough. Czes?aw Mi?osz wrote: The Catholic Church wisely recognized that faith is more a matter of collective suggestion than of individual conviction. Collective religious ceremonies induce a state of belief. Folding one’s hands in prayer, kneeling, singing hymns precede faith, for …
The food is prepared. The table is set. The guests arrive in a few hours. It’s still an odd thing for me to celebrate Christmas. I grew up in a sect that held Christmas, Easter, birthdays, and assorted other holidays and celebrations to be pagan — as evil as Satan himself. (Notice I left Thanksgiving …