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Countercultural Christianity and the need of the supernaturalNot too long ago I had the pleasure to read a series of three articles that grabbed my attention, and which allowed me to formulate a series of thoughts regarding the need of what is known as “Countercultural Christianity” and furthermore of making Christianity “strange” again. All of this simply implies the need of bringing back the supernatural elements of Christianity.Two articles that I read on these specific subjects were both written by Rod Dreher a senior editor for The American Conservative. The first article is called Christian and Countercultural and the second...

In 1762 Irish Catholic soldiers, who were serving in the British Army stationed in New York City, organized the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the City. They wanted to celebrate the life of St. Patrick and show their gratitude for his having brought the Catholic Faith to Ireland. From its very beginning, the parade was a religious celebration that included attendance at mass receiving Holy Communion and prayerful contemplation of the gift St. Patrick had given the Irish. Over the centuries since 1762 the parade has become a major event in the lives of many people. Those who are...

In 1762 Irish Catholic soldiers, who were serving in the British Army stationed in New York City, organized the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the City. They wanted to celebrate the life of St. Patrick and show their gratitude for his having brought the Catholic Faith to Ireland. From its very beginning, the parade was a religious celebration that included attendance at mass receiving Holy Communion and prayerful contemplation of the gift St. Patrick had given the Irish. Over the centuries since 1762 the parade has become a major event in the lives of many people. Those who are...

People need to examine whether the faith they claim is really Biblical.

In a rebuke to the archbishop of San Francisco, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday urging the conservative Catholic leader to respect the rights of teachers and administrators. The measure comes after Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone included morality clauses in a new handbook and proposed changes to the labor contract of teachers at four Bay Area Catholic high schools, setting off a wave of opposition. “These actions really conflict with the values of San Francisco,” said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who introduced the resolution. “In San Francisco, we stand up for everyone. We stand up for our...

Sunday, December 29, 2013 Against Rome's Apostolic Succession Argument by Bullinger (Part 1) Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575) was a Swiss Reformer and author of a popular writing entitled The Decades. This particular writing was influential in England, highly esteemed and used as a textbook of sorts for training English clergy. Included in The Decades is a section entitled Of The Holy Catholic Church, and included therein is Bullinger's refutation of Rome's apostolic succession argument (that Rome is the true church because of an historical succession of church authority that began with Peter). Here is the first part of Bullinger's argument: Second,...

Friday, October 08, 2010 The Late Development of the Bishop of Rome John Bugay has posted on Hermas and the structure of the early Roman church before. I don't have anything original to add to that discussion. However, I'd like to provide some corroboration by Roman Catholic scholars Raymond Brown and John Meier, whose book received both the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur (bold mine): There is no doubt that it [The Shepherd of Hermas] was written at Rome (Vis. 1.1.1.; 2.1.1; 4.1.2); and the suggestion that Clement would send it abroad (Vis. 2.4.3) may mean that Hermas' revelations had...

Hermas – a primary eyewitness source regarding the leadership structure of early church at Rome Paul writes to the church at Rome without addressing a leader. He writes in the years 57-58, a date that is very firm in history, in a letter that is not contested. Excuses are made as to why there is no mention of Peter in Rome, even though the church has been attested in Rome perhaps from Acts 2, when visitors for Rome were present at/saved at Pentecost. In Acts 18, Aquila and Priscilla are expelled from Rome by the edict of Claudius, attested in...

"Historically, Catholics have argued that the papacy was a divinely-given institution papacy (Matt 16:17-19) etc., and they have relied on the notion that there have been bishops of Rome extending all the way back to the time of Peter. This notion of bishops extending all the way back was thought to be actual history. In fact, as Shotwell and Loomis pointed out, in the General Introduction to their 1927 work "The See of Peter": With reference to the Petrine doctrine, however, the Catholic attitude is much more than a "pre-disposition to believe." That doctrine is the fundamental basis of the...

Papacy built on pious fiction and forgery 2 The right way to understand history is to start from the beginning. What was it like to be a Christian in the earliest church in Rome? We have a marvellous picture of this earliest church, provided by the New Testament scholar Peter Lampe, author of the work "From Paul to Valentinus: Christians in Rome in the First Two Centuries."The Catholic historian Eamon Duffy writes in his work, "Sinners and Saints": "All modern discussion of the issues must now start from [this] exhaustive and persuasive analysis by Peter Lampe.” Lampe seemingly searched...

Papacy built on pious fiction and forgery, part 1 J. Gresham Machen said, in his 1915 lecture "History and Faith," that "The student of the New Testament should be primarily an historian." And in fact, thanks to the last few centuries' worth of historical criticism, and a couple of “historical Jesus” quests, both the life of Jesus and the history of the New Testament have undergone a thorough historical examination, and in the process, have only had their historical reliability enhanced. On the other hand, what we've been told about the early papacy has fallen away like chaff. Instead...

Landmark Event: Pope Will Address U.S. Congress By Julio Severo For the first time in the U.S. history, a pope will address the Congress, invited by Republican John Boehner and Democrat Nancy Pelosi. When he speaks to American lawmakers September 24, Pope Francis will address a Congress that is 31 percent Catholic, well above the 22 percent of all the American population, according to a survey released last month by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Boehner and Pelosi are both Catholic. “We’re humbled that the Holy Father has accepted our invitation and certainly look forward to receiving his message...

America Loves Catholicism: As Seen in Place Names Everywhere By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe video below boasts, “America loves Italy” and features a Fiat car driving through American towns with Italian names.If that is the case then America loves Catholicism even more, since thousands of towns and places are named for Catholic saints, themes, and objects. Consider the following:In California: San Diego, San Miguel, San Francisco, San Bernadino, San Clemente, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, San Rafael, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles (aka Nuestra Senora de los Angeles de la Porciuncula), Santa Cruz, Santa Clarita, Sacramento, San...

Recently I picked up The Protestant's Dilemma: How the Reformation’s Shocking Consequences Point to the Truth of Catholicism (San Diego: Catholic Answers Press, 2014). In the preface of the Kindle edition, an unidentified author states that the primary author, Devin Rose, has put forth a book looking to engage in "dialogue" specifically"with members of the thousands of Protestant sects." The book is said to raise issues that a Protestant "has never considered before," not simply to have dialogue for the sake of mutual understanding, but rather to have "conciliar" dialogue in which the goal is to show the logical inconsistency of Protestantism...

When professors do pay attention to religion, they usually get it wrong. “Conservatives would rather have [social welfare] provided by religious organizations, which is incompatible with other aspects of Catholic social teaching,” Robin Sowards, an adjunct professor at Duquesne University told an audience at the Modern Language Association (MLA) convention in Vancouver, Canada. Here are a few highlights from the history of Catholic Charities: October 24, 1727—“Ursuline sisters arrive from France to open an orphanage, school for street girls, and health facility in New Orleans. It is the first formal Catholic charity in the present United States.” January 1, 1845—“The...

“Fr. McBrien was an able and indefatigable proponent of the Catholic revolution that never was and, now, never will be,” said George Weigel, widely seen as America’s leading conservative Catholic commentator.

Here are artistic representations of two goddesses who are considered the Queen of Heaven and Goddesses.  The Buddhist/Taoist Kuan Yin (or Guan Yin) (觀音) And The Catholic depiction of Mary Note the similarities in representation.  This relates to a thread last week on the leftover, or accretional pagan beliefs or rituals that are still present in the Catholic church.  The Goddess of Mercy is a universal idol/icon in pagan belief systems. 

My Roman Catholic friend, Michael Liccione, has written on his Facebook page that "the main disagreement among American Catholics is not about whether we should believe 'all that the Holy Catholic Church believes, professes, and teaches,' but which teachings we may safely disbelieve." I responded, "Aggiornamento has that effect on us! There is an interesting parallel between the Roman Catholic Church in the USA and the Anglicans in the USA in that liturgical reform suggested to many that the historic Catholic faith had changed. The Vatican II liturgical changes and the Episcopal Church's 1979 prayer book changed words and forms....

What Did the Saints Say about Islam? 187 By Andrew Bieszad on August 12, 2014 Evangelization, Interfaith, Islam 2.9K SHARES juanderibera St. Juan de Ribera, Viceroy and Bishop of Valencia (1568-1611), Supervising the Expulsion of Moriscos; Francisco Domingo Marques, 1912 For Islamic scholars, there is a statement in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, which is particularly troubling: Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence. (p. 253)...

Father Martin Dolan, who has been a priest at Church of St Nicholas of Myra in Francis Street in Dublin’s city center for 15 years, opened up to his congregation at the Saturday night Mass. He also confided in his Sunday morning congregation. Dolan is the only priest in the parish. Calling on his Dublin city congregation to support same sex marriage in the upcoming Irish referendum, set for the end May, Dolan said “I’m gay myself.” Dolan’s statement at Mass on Saturday was met by applause and a standing ovation from his “proud” parishioners. Speaking to the Irish Sun...