The Challenge of Islam: A Christian Perspective

Two days ago, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote an opinion piece entitled The Challenge of Islam - A Christian Perspective.

I greatly respect Dr. Mohler and he always seems ready to confront the current issues of the day, regardless of whether they touch on politics or theology.

In this case, he introduces his thoughts with this statement:

President Barack Obama has put the issue of Islam front and center on the international stage. His visit to Turkey, and his very public statements to the Muslim world, have raised a host of questions at home and abroad.

Dr. Mohler goes on to explain in detail what these "host of questions" might be and I invite you to read his article and benefit from all his insights. If you'd like a quick summary, I think his concerns are best expressed in the following paragraphs:

I criticize President Obama, not for stating that America is not at war with Islam, but for failing to be honest in clarifying that we do face a great civilizational challenge in Islam. Islam is, in effect, the single most vital competitor to Western ideals of civilization on the world scene. The logic of Islam is to bring every square inch of this planet under submission to the rule of the Qur'an. Classical Islam divides the world into the "World of Islam" and the "World of War." In this latter world the struggle to bring the society under submission to the Qur'an is still ongoing.

And then finally his conclusion:

I can agree with President Obama that Islam has produced cultural wonders, but I have to see it more fundamentally as a belief system that is taking millions upon millions of persons spiritually captive - leaving them under the curse of sin and without hope of salvation.

For Christians, regardless of nationality, this is the great challenge that should be our urgent concern. Our concern is not mainly political, but theological and spiritual. And, all things considered, Islam almost surely represents the greatest challenge to Christian evangelism of our times.

Dr. Mohler's comments can certainly be termed counter cultural but they urgently need to be stated in our day. Jimmy Akin wrote a piece entitled The Catechism on Islam in This Rock in 2002 trying to clarify Catholic teaching on Islam, particularly in light of Vatican II documents. It's a good summary considering his focus on Vatican II.

A more classical expose on Islam can be found in an article written by Michael Forrest on scripturecatholic.com. In ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY: TWO RELIGIONS OF PEACE? the author issues a series of warnings about Islam, including the following:

Considering the violent beginnings and spread of Islam, one may hard pressed to discount the current violence as an "aberration" or perversion of Islam. A reasonable argument may be made of just the opposite, it would seem that those Muslims who support religious freedom and tolerance today are at odds with their own prophet, holy book and history. We all ought to pray that Muslims one day reject the violent essence and genesis of their faith and make it truly peaceful. Even more, we ought to pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, that they come to accept Christ, Who is true peace.

Forrest also tries to set the record straight on Islam's view of women and contrasts it with that of Christianity.

It is particularly disconcerting when the so-called “politically correct” among us, especially the feminists, praise Islam. If they find Christian society unfair to them, they ought to look a bit more closely at Islam:

Islam: "Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient...As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, forsake them in beds apart and beat them." (Women, 34)

Christianity: "As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her; so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies." (Ephesians 5:25-29).

As opposed to Islam, we must also remember that Catholicism celebrates a woman as the highest created creature, the Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Blessed Virgin Mary. I suggest reading Islam Revealed by Dr. Anis Shorrosh, The Life and Times of Muhammad by Sir John Glubb and Answering Islam by Geisler and Saleeb if you want to learn more.

This is obviously a very relevant point in relation to some of today's news headlines:

Women protesters against 'marital rape' law spat on and stoned in ...

Times Online "Women protesting in Kabul against a controversial new law were pelted with stones, jostled and spat on today as they held what is believed to be the first public demonstration calling for equal rights for women in recent Afghan history."

Afghan 'anti-rape' women attacked BBC News

Stone-throwing Afghan crowd swarms women's protest The Associated Press

In an editorial I wrote last year for our local newspaper, I stated:

We as a nation once declared and confessed Christianity to be religion's supreme path, a sure road to heaven through Christ, "…the way, the truth and the life." This same Christ warned, "No man comes to the Father except through me."

We once believed that foreign lands (including those of Islam) could sustain a peaceful, civilized culture and free and democratic process only by embracing a Saviour and Christian truth delivered through zealous missionary activity. Now, spiritually exhausted and corrupted, we and our Christian allies rarely mention missionaries yet expect the same outcome from military troops fighting a "war against terror" on Islamic soil. Far better to die for Christ and the Gospel in Kandahar or Baghdad than to die in a war designed to change no one's heart.

As Dr. Mohler said,

all things considered, Islam almost surely represents the greatest challenge to Christian evangelism of our times.

C-FAM Needs Our Help

Just received the appeal below from Austin Ruse at C-Fam. I'm going to send them something, whatever I can afford. Please read the email and see what you can do to help.
________________________________

From: Austin Ruse
Date: Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 3:41 AM
Subject: Friday Fax needs your help; Obama Unleashes Abortion Attack at UN


BARACK OBAMA IS THE MOST PRO-ABORTION PRESIDENT IN US HISTORY…

…ALREADY HE IS HAVING A MAJOR IMPACT AT THE UN…

…PLEASE HELP THE FRIDAY FAX TO FIGHT BACK…

April 14, 2009

Dear Friday Fax Reader:

Barack Hussein Obama is the most pro-abortion president in US history. In only a few months he has:

• Restored US funding for the UN Population Fund, the UN’s population control agency that helped set up and run the Chinese forced abortion program.
  
• Overturned the US ban on funding International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Center for Reproductive Rights, aggressive pro-abortion and anti-family groups that are deeply involved in forcing abortion on unwilling people all over the world, especially in Latin America.
  
• Obama’s negotiators at the UN have already made aggressive pro-abortion and anti-family statements at the UN including signing a French declaration that seeks to make homosexuals a specially protected class at the expense of religious freedom.

Obama’s administration is gearing up to make a frightening new global attack on the unborn child.

The Friday Fax staff was there just two weeks ago when the Obama administration made its UN debut by supporting language that has been used by UN agencies, UN committees, radical lawyer and judges to impose abortion on reluctant countries.

Friday Fax staff watched in horror as the previous pro-life positions of the US were overturned in an instant by radical feminists representing the new Obama administration.

The US will now join the UN bureaucracy, Canada and the European Union as the most aggressive promoters of abortion all over the world.

This new pro-abortion coalition will actively seek to impose abortion on all the countries of Latin America, Africa, the Far East and even on the few remaining pro-life countries in Europe.

What stands in their way?

A tiny few countries willing to risk everything to defend the unborn child.

Along with them stands a handful of groups and individuals from around the world who go to huge expense to attend UN meetings.

STANDING AT THE CENTER OF PRO-LIFE RESISTANCE AT THE UN IS THE FRIDAY FAX AND C-FAM!

The Friday Fax is the only weekly source of pro-life and pro-family news coming out of UN headquarters in New York City.

The Friday Fax now has a global subscriber list of 200,000 and a global readership of half a million.

The Friday Fax has created a global village of pro-life and pro-family activists who can be called upon at any time to put pressure on the UN or on governments who want to impose abortion on unwilling people.

FRIDAY FAX SUCCESSES

• Just last fall, the Friday Fax gathered the names of 500,000 individuals from around the world to endorse our UN Petition for the Unborn Child and the Family. These 500,000 names were presented to select governments and to a UN press conference that was broadcast all over the UN building.
  
• When the Holy See was under attack by radical pro-abortion groups the Friday Fax gather the endorsement of more than 4,000 groups from all over the world who were willing to stand with the Holy See. These included the largest Protestant and Muslim groups in the world.
  
• The Friday Fax regularly breaks news stories at the UN and our work is picked up by friendly and even unfriendly media from all over the world.

I could go on and on and in the coming weeks of this fundraising campaign I will tell you stories about our readers:

…about the UN staff member in Afghanistan who reads the Friday Fax in his hut and sends us donations…

…about the UN staff member who reaches out to us because she feels under attack in the building for her beliefs…

…about the fact that the Friday Fax is read all over the UN system by our enemies who want to know what we are saying…

In the mean time I need your help. The Friday Fax is not free! Sure, you get it for free but it is very expensive to produce, especially now that we have gone to two stories per week.

The Friday Fax now costs $177,000 per year to produce. This includes salaries, rent, expenses, printing of the hardcopy edition, and exploding email expenses.

I need to raise $70,000 over the next six weeks to help partially defray some of these expenses.

Can you help? Can you help us fight back against UN radicals and their efforts to impose abortion on unwilling peoples all over the world?

I know these are tough economic times but it is precisely in times like these that our enemies make the most progress. While most folks are focusing on the economy, they use our inattention to advance abortion.

More than anything I seek your prayers. This is a battle of powers and principalities. But I also need your financial support.

Can you afford to make a sacrificial gift of $1000 to help the Friday Fax? How about $500? I understand these are big numbers so perhaps you can help out with $100 or even $50!

There are many ways to give to the Friday Fax. You can mail us check, donate by credit card using our totally secure server connected right to a bank or by wire transfer.

YOU MAY GIVE FROM ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!

Click HERE to donate or to get instructions on how to donate!

Do not hesitate. The enemy grows stronger every day. They are not waiting. They intend to do everything they can to impose abortion on the world and with Barack Obama in the White House, they have a very powerful new ally.

Please act now. Click HERE and give as much as you can.

Yours sincerely,

Austin Ruse
President

PS In next week’s appeal I will tell you how the UN Population Fund intends to block pro-lifers from attending an important and dangerous new UN conference.

PSS Please help us fight back. Go HERE and give as much as you can.

The Porpoise Driven Life and Pastor Rick Warren

According to an editorial by John Henry Westen in LifeSiteNews, Pastor Warren, Like Peter, Denies Christ (at least His teachings) During Holy Week.

I therefore dedicate this video moment to Pastor Warren.

Breakfast With Cherie

Image: Cherie Blair enjoyed an impromptu audience with Benedict XVI in 2006 [image source]

The Times of Malta last week published a television interview with Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in which she once again flouted Church teaching on condoms and contraception.

Here’s a clip of the highlight of the interview. Go here for the full video.

Ms. Blair’s is a high profile history of dissent and collaboration with the culture of death. Yet many in the Catholic hierarchy, as far away as Rome, are quite comfy with her presence and offer her platforms with which to bewitch and poison the minds of listeners. Nevertheless, Cherie Blair is not the enemy.

What then can account for such scandal? In a word, modernism.

It’s the elephant in the closet. And it’s an elephant which, despite its enormous size, goes virtually unnoticed or ignored. A host of other secondary evils are blamed for the current sickness in the Body.

What is the solution for this pervasive evil which a hundred times daily pierces the heart of the serious minded, faithful Catholic? In my opinion, the only solution is a return to orthodoxy and tradition by means of a New Offensive.

Pope Benedict XVI is leading us in the New Offensive, I believe. And the spearhead of the New Offensive is the restoration of the ancient liturgy, the “Mass of the Ages,” to its rightful place in the life and practice of Mother Church.

Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.

Cherie, do you know Latin?

____________________

UPDATE: Damian Thompson of Holy Smoke blog reports that Tony Blair, husband of Cherie Blair, has also been busy despoiling Catholic teaching:

Tony Blair has given an interview to the gay magazine Attitude in which he calls for Pope Benedict to rethink the Church's "entrenched" attitude on homosexuality. Well, the Pope would rather like Mr Blair to rethink his entrenched support for abortion, but he hasn't done so, has he?

More here in The Independent and on Christian Post.

Tony and Cherie Blair are two Catholics who are representative in their thinking of multiple millions of today's Catholics.

Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump ? I Cor. 5:6

[cross posted to St. John's Latin Mass Community blog]

Newt Gingrich on the Shame of Notre Dame

No doubt some readers will know that Newt Gingrich recently converted to the Catholic faith, the faith of his wife Callista. He does a very nice job in this interview on Fox News with Greta. It's certainly refreshing to hear such talk from a Catholic politician...who are otherwise notoriously famous for spewing poison and rebellion.

Incidentally, for another video of Newt and wife Callista, being interviewed once again (February past) by Greta Van Susteren, go here.

Father Z reported that in an interview this past Sunday with Chris Wallace, Newt discussed briefly the question of his standing on Holy Communion, in light of his former marriages.

Also, Wallace asked Gingrich if, since he had been married and divorced, he can receive Holy Communion. Gingrich responded that over the last 10 years they had done everything according to Church law that was necessary to be done and that, yes, he could receive Communion.

A warm welcome, Mr. Gingrich, to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church!

Youth Survey: Teens Lose Faith in Droves

In an article entitled Youth Survey: Teens lose faith in droves, Macleans magazine reports on a survey by Reginald Bibby, University of Lethbridge sociologist.

According to new data from Project Teen Canada, more teens now identify as Muslim than Anglican, United Church of Canada and Baptist combined. As a group, the percentage who adhere to so-called “other faiths”—including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism—has grown fivefold since Project Teen began its surveys in 1984, while the percentage of teens who identify as Roman Catholic has declined by one third, and the percentage who identify as Protestant is down by almost two-thirds.

There is some very sobering data in this report, most of which points to the fact that many teens—from nominally Christian homes—are “rejecting religion entirely.”

For Canada’s Christian teens, meanwhile, the community is shrinking like never before. Since 1984, the percentage of teens who call themselves Christian has almost been cut in half while the number who call themselves atheist has grown to 16 per cent, up from just six per cent in the mid-1980s. Just as the boomers shifted toward agnosticism, teens are now going a step further and rejecting religion entirely. “Belief is learned, pretty much like the multiplication table,” Bibby writes. “So is non-belief.”

Bibby is concerned that since religion is a “source of stability” and “moral compass of sorts” this trend could begin to adversely affect our society’s ethics and behaviour.

I’ll come out and say this very clearly: In my opinion, all that’s keeping our civilization safe and manageable—as opposed to disintegrating into chaos and barbarism—is the Christian religion. But we’re fast approaching the tipping point and since the heartbeat of the Christian religion is the Catholic faith, unless there is a sweeping move of repentance and revival within the Catholic Church we’ll likely all be plunged into a worldwide cataclysm of the magnitude warned of by Our Lady of Fatima. How right it appears she was!

Again, in my opinion, the spearhead of any such revival is the Mass of the Ages, accompanied by a strict and faithful adherence to the Tradition of Mother Church and to the message of the Virgin of Fatima.

[cross posted to St. John's Latin Mass Community blog]

Christ Is Risen! Alleluia

BELLINI, Giovanni: Resurrection of Christ 1475-79
[image source]

US Pro Abortion Catholic Politicians Expect to Receive Communion at Papal Mass

UPDATE: see end of post

Michael Hichborn, American Life League’s (ALL) media director, reports that pro-abortion Catholics are expected to try to receive Communion when the Holy Father holds Mass on Thursday.

ALL is the largest anti-abortion advocacy organization in the U.S. and has run a full page message to Pope Benedict XVI in the Washington Times. The message can be viewed here in pdf format.

The Politico wrote a good story today about the possible renewal of the abortion debate during the Pope’s visit and made reference to the ads placed by ALL.

The conflict could come to a head Thursday, when the pope is scheduled to celebrate a Mass at the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark. The Vatican has invited all Catholic lawmakers, and many abortion-rights-supporting Catholics — including Kerry and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — are expected to attend.

In ads placed in The Washington Times and Politico this week, the anti-abortion-rights American Life League is urging the pontiff to “protect the body of Christ from the bloodstained hands of pro-abortion ‘Catholics’” by denying Communion to politicians who support abortion rights.

Unfortunately, it was a troubling sign when

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said she knows of no plan to deny Communion to particular lawmakers Thursday.

“You presume that everyone there knows the rules of the church and follows them,” she said. “No one is policing that. People go to church and people go to Communion if they feel in their heart they are prepared to receive Communion.”

Since when was “feeling in their heart” a rationale in Catholic teaching for the commission of objectively evil and sinful actions?

I venture to say the Pope must be in a state of constant prayer during this trip, being heavily weighed down in heart with the import of his message to America. My hope is that God will make a way possible for Benedict XVI during his visit to achieve a strong unequivocal expression of the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life and the urgent need to take precise measures in its defense.

UPDATE: Pope "deeply ashamed" of priestly abuse
During an exchange with reporters who accompanied him on today's flight from Rome to Washington, Pope Benedict XVI said that he was "deeply ashamed" of the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.

Cardinal Schoenborn Unwittingly Allows Blasphemous Museum Display

It’s no surprise that a Catholic Bishop is entrusted with the protection and defense of the Catholic faith in his diocese. Now imagine an Austrian Bishop who also happens to have a Roman Catholic museum in his Diocese. Furthermore, let’s say this same Bishop is aware of an upcoming exhibit of artwork by someone he has paid homage to as "one of Austria's most important living artists."

Of this artist, the Bishop believes "Like nearly no other artist, he is concerned about suffering and mistreated people ... and he expresses this in his work in a shocking way." The Bishop knows that the artist is a communist and an atheist, but believes “he nevertheless has a burning interest in the Bible."

These things being the case, you would think such a Bishop might take precautions before the art exhibit opens to ensure it meets up to acceptable Catholic standards, right? Just in case, right? Because, you know, there have been issues of this sort in times past, right?

But no. Apparently the Bishop dropped the ball. Precautions were not taken.

And complaints started to come in.

Some people are now asking, “Is it art - or is it blasphemy?” But it’s a no-brainer, really.

Austrians are locked in a nationwide debate touched off by the brief display in a prestigious Roman Catholic museum of an etching that depicts Jesus Christ and his disciples having an orgy during the biblical Last Supper.

A chastened and chagrined Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the top churchman in this largely conservative and overwhelmingly Catholic country, has ordered the offending artwork removed.

...snip

The dispute began on March 12 with the opening of "Religion, Flesh and Power," a collection of about 50 paintings, drawings and sculptures - some with homo-erotic themes - by Austrian artist Alfred Hrdlicka.

...snip

"The exhibition does not mean that the cathedral museum identifies with all of Hrdlicka's works," Schoenborn said.

"Of course, I would not have agreed to the presentation of works which are blasphemous or pornographic. I therefore expressly regret that a picture of this kind - without my knowledge - was included in the exhibition. This picture, which is injurious to the faithful, was removed on my orders on March 20."

But prior to this, there were reports that the Cardinal had defended the exhibit.

It’s hard to say exactly what happened here but doesn’t the Cardinal have someone he pays to look after this sort of thing? Kaufmann, the curator, said he was caught off-guard by the intensity of the debate and Bernhard Boehler, director of the cathedral museum, said he was “surprised at the heat of the battle" over the orgy drawing.

Regardless, the whole mess falls in the Cardinal’s lap, where it truly belongs.

For example, exactly why does the Cardinal employ a director at the museum who seems completely insensitive and unaware of what’s at stake in such controversies? And make no mistake about it—what’s at stake is scandal and the salvation of souls.

Catholic Bishops as a whole need to be much more concerned about preserving the faithful from confusion and scandal. To me, scandals such as this, along with perhaps the greatest scandal of all—the ongoing desecration of the Holy Eucharist by dissenting Catholics—is one of the greatest causes today leading to a misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the faith by non-Catholics and Catholics alike.

In turn, the resulting obfuscation of the faith and the demoralization of the faithful leads to unbelief, heresy, atheism, and secularization.

Scandal has always been held to be a serious matter in Catholic teaching. It has the potential of deadening the conscience and sending people to Hell. And considering what Jesus Himself said about bringing offense to His little ones, Bishops more than anyone else should be keeping their eyes wide open and their ears close to the ground.

Although I’ve never been able to track down the actual reference, it is widely reported that St. John Chrysostom maintained, "The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops!"

God help them to do better!

[Note: LifeSiteNews also carried this story in two separate reports here and here.]

Abuses in Catholic Liturgy Attributed to Lack of Serious Spirituality

So says the Bishop of a Brazilian community that celebrates the Mass according to the 1962 missal, reports Zenit News. Bishop Fernando Rifan spoke with ZENIT about the richness of the extraordinary form of the Mass. The use of that form was extended with Benedict XVI's "Summorum Pontificum," released last July.

Behind this is the lack of a serious spirituality, [the idea that] to attract the people, novelties should be invented. Holy Mass is attractive in itself, because of its sacredness and mystery. Deep down, we're dealing with the diminishment of faith in the Eucharistic mysteries and an attempt to replace it with novelties and creativity. When the celebrant wants to become the protagonist of the liturgical action, abuses begin. It is forgotten that the center of the Mass is Jesus Christ.

A few thoughts from Quebec’s Cardinal Gagnon, who recently passed away, were also shared.

Cardinal Edouard Gagnon was of the same opinion. "It cannot be ignored that the [liturgical] reform has given rise to many abuses and have led in a certain degree to the disappearance of respect for the sacred. This fact should be unfortunately admitted and it excuses a good number of those people who have distanced themselves from our Church and their former parish communities [in] "Fundamentalism and Conservatism," interview with Cardinal Gagnon, "Zitung -- Römisches," November-December 1993, page 35.

If you are a novice in regard to the controversies in the Catholic Church surrounding the Mass, here’s a few resources.

Primer on the Mass …a sweeping but brief look at the Mass.

The Eucharist: Source and Summit of Christian Spirituality Pt 1 and Pt 2 …a more detailed and excellent examination of the Mass (Holy Eucharist) by Catholic convert Mark Brumley

Differences Between the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo …simple explanation of the differences in the two forms of Mass, with many other helpful links.

Vatican Makes Available Roman Missal for US Visit of Pope Benedict XVI

Only three more days before Pope Benedict XVI touches down in Washington for his stupendous five day US visit!

The Vatican has released a Missal providing texts, prayers, and hymns for all the liturgical ceremonies at which Pope Benedict XVI will preside during his visit to the US.

It includes the Scripture readings, texts, and prayers for Mass and the other prayer services the Pope will lead. An appendix provides the texts of some common Catholic prayers, in English and Spanish.

Read more here and get the link to download the Missal.

Documentary “Expelled” Exposing Atheism and Causing Liberal Mass Meltdown

Earlier this week pro-life blogger extraordinaire Jill Stanek interviewed Expelled producer Mark Mathis for her WorldNetDaily column.

"Expelled" calls attention to the plight of highly credentialed scholars who have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they proposed Intelligent Design as a possible alternative to Charles Darwin's 150-year-old theories about the origins of life.

Instead of entertaining a debate on the merits of competing theories, the scientific establishment has moved to suppress the ID movement in a "systematic and ruthless" way at odds with America's founding principles, the film asserts.

Predictably, “liberals” have been flipping out over this film. It plainly connects atheism and Darwinism “with no missing link.” I don’t know how successful the documentary will turn out to be but so far it has certainly revealed true colours and ruffled many feathers.

Read all the details in Jill’s WorldNetDaily column as well as her most recent blog posting.

Another High-Profile Evangelical Becomes Catholic

From Mommy Life blog

Just heard that Paul McCusker, the creator/writer of Focus on the Family's Odyssey series has become Catholic.

Take a look around Barbara's blog. She's well worth adding to your blogroll.

Archbishop Raymond Burke Issues Extra-Judicial Decree Against Canon Lawyer

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke has pronounced Father Thomas P. Doyle, O.P., a priest and canon lawyer, guilty of having committed canonical delicts (crimes) and has issued an extra-judicial decree obliging him to repay fees and prohibiting him from representing anyone in Church legal proceedings in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

In fulfillment of my solemn duty to exercise vigilance over any human matter, so that abuses do not creep into ecclesiastical discipline, and in so far as this is required for the safeguarding of fundamental human rights or the salvation of souls…the present Decree is issued…

The Archbishop continues to do the difficult and gritty work of a true Bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Why does he bother to go to such lengths?

My guess?

• because he knows and believes the power of sin and its awful consequences.
• because he truly cares for the souls of everyone under his diocesan charge.
• because he wishes to be obedient to the Church and to Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd.
• because he is more fearful of failing God than man.

All distinguishing trademarks of a true Shepherd and an authentic Catholic Bishop.

Unholy Sacrament of a Corrupt Christian Society

Strangely aware of the sexual modernism which has invaded the church and fulminating against the sinister threats to modern society, Christian spokespersons of our day claim the high moral ground. They exhort us constantly to resist today’s “Evil Empire” which is commanded largely by homosexuals, Islam, atheists and secularists.

Deeply alarmed at the relentless assault upon biblical “values” and decrying heresies such as “revisionist ‘pro-gay’ scriptural arguments” they call Christians to stand fast in the unalterable two thousand year old “Faith of our Fathers.”

They are not remiss in discussing moral relativism and reminding one another of the uncompromising position of Martin Luther:

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.

Yet they seem entirely oblivious to their near universal departure from that body of truth on the point of contraception—which is, “precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking.”

Like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they have eyes to see but they see not. Jesus warned them that, although they claimed Moses and the prophets as their father, they had in fact rejected the fathers of their Jewish faith. In similar manner, the vast majority of today’s Christian leaders are quick to quote the Bible and Martin Luther yet unwilling to give even passing thought, let alone discussion, to the possibility of their own disobedience and blindness.

I’ve said much about this matter on other occasions.

The article below offers more of the same. And as I’ve said before, this subject does not have to be viewed as a showdown between Catholics and Protestants. The question is simply: In regard to human sexuality, what has two thousand years of constant Christian teaching declared?
________________________

Why is the Catholic Church opposed to birth control? Where in the Bible is birth control condemned as being contrary to the Will of God?

The Catholic Church is not opposed to birth control when it is accomplished by natural means, by self control. She is opposed only to birth control by artificial means, by the employment of pills, condoms, IUD's, foams, jellies, sterilization, non-completion of the act of sexual union--or any other means used to prevent conception from resulting from this act--because such means profane the marital embrace and dishonor the marriage contract.

God slew Onan for practicing contraception (Gen. 38:9-10); the word "onanism" derives from Onan's deed. In fact, up until the Church of England's Lambeth Conference of 1930, which accepted contraception and thus broke with the Christian tradition, contraception had been considered by all Christian churches, both Catholic and Protestant, to be gravely sinful. The Catholic Church does not feel free to change the law of God, as do Protestants.

In the New Testament, there is only one instance where sin is punished by God with immediate death, this was the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, a husband and wife who went through the motions of giving a gift to God but fraudulently kept back part of it. The Bible says they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11). In contraception, two people go through the motions of an act of self-giving, but obstruct the natural fruition of their act, i.e., the conception of children, which is the ultimate purpose for which God created sexuality.

Sexual union is a gift from God to the married, but by practicing contraception, married couples are accepting the pleasure God built into the act and yet denying Him its purpose, new people. They are in effect mocking God. But "Be not deceived, God is not mocked." (Gal. 6:7). Christ cursed the fig tree which, despite a fine external appearance, bore no fruit. (Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:14). Marriage is God's plan for populating Heaven, yet contracepting couples refuse Him the specific fruit of their marriage, which is children, when they engage in the act which should produce children yet frustrate the natural, God-intended result.

Further, the sin of "sorceries'' or "witchcrafts'' ("pharmakeia'' in the Greek--Gal. 5:20; Apoc. 9:21; 21:8)--which the Bible condemns along with fornication, murder, idolatry, and other serious sins--very possibly includes secret potions mixed to prevent pregnancy or cause abortion. Such potions were known and used even in the first century.

Common sense and conscience both dictate that artificial birth control is not only a violation of the Natural Law but is a perfidious insult to the dignity of man himself. For it implies free reign to physical impulses; it implies total disregard for the fate of the human seed; it implies utter contempt for the honorable birth of fellow humans, those fellow humans who are born as the result of a contraceptive having failed and whose very existence is therefore considered to be an unfortunate ``accident,'' rather than a gift of God; it implies the most extreme selfishness, for no advocate or practitioner of artificial birth control would have wanted it for his or her own parents.

Further, contraception undermines the respect of husband and wife for each other and thereby loosens the marriage bond. Worst of all, many "contraceptives,'' such as the IUD and most if not all birth control pills, work by actually causing an abortion early in the pregnancy; thus, this so-called "contraception'' is in reality abortion--the killing of a human being--rather than the preventing of conception.

In every age there is some favorite sin which is accepted by "respectable" worldly Christians; in our times the "acceptable'' sin is contraception--a sin which fits in perfectly with the view that the purpose of human life is to attain earthly happiness. The true Christian couple, on the other hand, will realize that God desires them to have children so that these children can come to know Him and love Him and be happy with Him eternally in Heaven.

Marriage is God's plan for populating Heaven. How wise it is to let God plan one's family, since He loves children much more than do their earthly parents, and His plans for them go far beyond any plans of these parents. Innumerable stories are told of God's Providence to Christian parents who trusted in Him and obeyed His law. For those who have a true and serious need to space or limit the number of their children, the new methods of natural family planning based on periodic abstinence have proven to be extremely reliable (unlike the earlier "rhythm'' methods) .

Finally, the Christian will realize that the self-denial involved in bearing and raising Christian children is a school of Christlikeness. Our Lord said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.'' (Matt. 16:24). But He also said: "My yoke is sweet and my burden light.'' (Matt. 11:30). God promises sufficient grace to those who seek to obey Him. And the resulting peace of soul which the obedient married couple enjoys is beyond all price.

[source]

Dr. Peter Kreeft: Pro-Choice People are Insane

This report is about a week old but is certainly worth highlighting.

Dr. Kreeft is one of the pre-eminent Catholic philosophers of our time. I remember being greatly edified with a series of his audio messages just over a year ago. In particular, his message entitled “How to Win the Culture War” seemed so profound yet so Christian in its call to action.

Recently, Dr. Kreeft delivered an address at the Annual Parish Respect Life Coordinator Conference in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Joseph Wemhoff was present and took extensive notes during the talk, summarized in this report.

Jam packed with insight and nuggets galore, Kreeft’s address, "We are living in a spiritual Hiroshima," is challenging for all Christians but will especially appeal to Catholics.

Here’s some reference to Kreeft’s comments about the insanity of “pro-choice” mindset.

Pro-choice people will not-indeed, cannot-listen to reason. Pro-choice people are insane and will not convert to reason-they will attempt to convert reason. Dr. Kreeft cited several cases. In one of his books-which, he bemoaned, are read only by pro-lifers-he made an airtight, logical argument that tolerating abortion is tantamount to tolerating infanticide. Confronted with this logic, pro-choicers said, yes, Dr. Kreeft, you just showed us how infanticide is now OK.

Well worth reading the whole thing.

Why do You Call Your Priest "Father"?

Third in a series of “Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked.”

See the initial posting.

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"And call no man you father your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven" (Mt 23:9).

In this passage, Jesus is teaching that God the Father alone is ultimately the source of all authority. But He is not speaking absolutely, because if so, that would eliminate even biological fathers, the title "Church Fathers." the founding fathers of a country or organization, and so on. Jesus himself uses the term "father" in Matthew 15:4-5; 19:5, 19, 29; 21:31, John 8:56, and several other places.

In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus actually has Lazarus using the address "Father Abraham" twice (Luke 16:24, 30. See also Acts 7:2; Rom. 4:12; James 2:21).

St. Paul also uses the term when he writes, "I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:15. See also 1 Cor. 4:14-16), and refers to "our forefather Isaac" (Rom. 9:10).

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More Resources

**An excellent yet brief explanation by John Martignoni of Christian Bible Society

**More detailed apologetic from Catholics United for the Faith
'Call No Man Father'? Understanding Matthew 23:9

Catholic Website Drawing Thousands Back to the Faith

Catholic News Agency reports some phenomenal results from a Catholic lay organization that is succeeding in bringing people back to the Catholic Church through its unique website ministry and television ads.

In less than three weeks, 3,000 Catholics returned to the Church in the Diocese of Phoenix due to the effort of a new lay apostolate, CatholicsComeHome.org. The program consists of a website and commercials aired on local television that effectively portray the truth and goodness of the Catholic Church.

It’s a very comprehensive website and people are directed to the site through very compelling and professional videos. Visitors are provided with answers to questions about Church teachings and why strong faith is important in today’s busy and confusing world. The site also offers an overview of the faith, with additional resources and a local parish finder.

Seventy-eight of the 100 participants had positive responses to the ads. In another assessment, the organization found that before watching the videos, 90% of the participants had negative impressions of the Catholic Church. After viewing ads one time, 54% had a much more favorable impression. Hearts and minds were changed after viewing these creative and inspired ads.

The video ads are all available on the website.

Not only have people enjoyed the video clips, but they have also succeeded in bringing people back to the Church. One woman, Angela, said that she became an agnostic 20 years ago. After watching the video she commented, “How is it that after seeing the commercial one time, I go to the CatholicsComeHome.org website, look up my local church and go home?”

It's a fantastic idea and obviously every diocese ought to have just such a website and program to help wayward and lost souls.

Support Pro-Life Culture. Buy Butterfly for 99¢

"Butterfly rising: got 99¢?"

That’s the title of one of Jill Stanek’s recent posts.

I wrote earlier this week about the pro-life country song we need to help make a hit.

Butterfly, by the band Bluefield, has a beautiful message that has already saved at least 3 babies' lives.

Listen to it. Save a life maybe.

I Give Michael Coren the Benefit of the Doubt

My last posting was an attempt to defend the notion that those who do not adhere to and espouse (all) the moral precepts advanced by the Roman Catholic Church and historic Christendom may rightfully be labeled as moral relativists.

The more controversial issues of our day which fall in this category I would conclude to be contraception, abortion, divorce and homosexuality. As I noted in an earlier critique on the progression of conservative thought, conservatives appear to be the night watchmen at the liberal (de)construction site insofar as these moral precepts are suffering increasing compromise under their watchful and silent eyes.

My critique tagged Michael Coren with the same label but I was subsequently challenged to produce some evidence for my claim. All I really had at the time to support my opinion was a hodgepodge of impressions from several years of reading Coren or viewing him on his TV show.

No doubt the man is growing in his faith as a Catholic—as I am—and so there was little point in going back in ancient history simply to retrieve ammunition for my claim.

Conclusion: I’ve waded through a significant amount of online articles and records but I have not found anything of substance which definitively places him in the camp of the moral relativists. On the point of contraception, which is the normal tell tale issue and the big giveaway, I note that Coren has been very careful indeed, if not somewhat ambiguous, in his language. No doubt he realizes the hazards of speaking forthrightly to his readers on this subject.

Perhaps this fact alone does bring him one very big step closer to deserving the label, but at this point it would be premature as far as I can see. Coren did make an important appearance at the Humanae Vitae 2006 Conference as a conference speaker on abortion, although the context of the conference was “Why the Church is right and why the culture is wrong about contraception.”

I think the most helpful collection of Coren’s thoughts on these various moral issues appeared about a year ago in the Toronto Sun in a column entitled Hey bishop, follow don't edit. See what you think.

Not the funny bishop though. "We must challenge the church's condemnations throughout the centuries of such things as masturbation, birth control, abortion, and homosexuality." When I was a boy we had a word for people who approved of masturbation. Mind you, I think we also had a word for people who couldn't think straight.

Perhaps we should also challenge the church's condemnation throughout the centuries of such things as poverty, cruelty, injustice and hatred. After all, those condemnations come from the same Bible, the same God, the same Jesus that necessitates the condemnation of sexual immorality.

Issues of sexuality are complex and demand compassion. But we can declare some absolutes. We are given sexuality both for pleasure and for procreation. To abuse it is little different from abusing strength or money. So just as we reject the bully or the loan shark we reject the person who uses sex only for selfish purposes.

To misunderstand this is to misunderstand human nature and divine love. Sex wouldn't be pleasurable unless God had wanted it to be and it seems to me that those who know this best are genuine Christians with their large families and their obvious joy in life.

Abortion is about power. The power of an adult over the least powerful being on Earth, the unborn child. To take innocent life is fundamentally anti-Christian and is, again, an abuse of that power. The ultimate abuse. Not sure how anybody who claims to believe in social justice cannot understand this.

Homosexuality? Constant understanding for the individual but unwavering commitment to historic and unchanging Christian teaching. It's so easy to appear fashionable but so meaningless. If we compromise on truth we might as well compromise on goodness as well.

This certainly constituted a most rare assault on the culture and mentality of our day and Coren is to be commended. I suppose I am still feeling a little stung by some of my past impressions of Coren and particularly by one of his very recent columns in February past on Archbishop Rowan Williams.

Coren was, as usual, insightful and witty in his remarks. However, when he said, “Roman Catholicism and the evangelical church stand firm and, no surprise at all, Islamic and Jewish orthodoxy are growing steadily,” I think he really muddied the waters badly.

The fact is that what we see as the “normal” Canadian practice of "Roman Catholicism” is largely a charade and counterfeit. Some reference by Coren to official teachings or the Magisterium would have been essential because his ordinary readers live amongst pseudo-Catholics and have little or no understanding of official Catholicism.

Secondly, it simply isn't true that the evangelical church (ecclesial communities) is standing firm. I speak from experience. They are actually disintegrating along with their more liberal and dead Protestant brethren and all the while encouraging a more pervasive culture of personal moral relativism. There are really only a small number of "evangelicals" standing firm and I suspect those might prefer the term "fundamentalists." The evangelical "church" is only one or two steps from the coffin itself. I was disappointed that Coren wasn’t clearer on that.

But in the meanwhile, until new evidence comes to light, I apologize to Michael Coren for lumping him indiscriminately with conservative type moral relativists. In fact, as I said in my previous posting “It would be a very pleasant outcome indeed to discover that I was wrong about Michael Coren.”

Keep the (objective & absolute) good stuff coming Michael!