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Chapter 5 of God and Science Chapter 5 of God and Science Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) stands among the very few leaders of thought in this century to integrate pure scientific research with a religious vocation. At an early point in his career this paleontologist and Jesuit priest made it his personal mission to reconstruct the most basic Christian doctrines from the perspectives of science and, at the same time, to reconstruct science from the perspectives of faith. He would do this by overthrowing all the barriers that had been erected between science and religion in the past one...

My Priest Fr. Christopher G. Phillips of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church in San Antonio, TX will be the guest on The Journey Home on EWTN tonight August 12th at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central. He was the first Priest ordained under the Pastoral Provision which allowed for certain married clergy of other faiths to become Roman Catholic Priests, and for the establishment of Anglican Use Parishes in the Roman Catholic Church. He recently celebrated the Anglican Use Mass at Mother Angelica's Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, AL. He has also been featured on past EWTN specials,...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The debate over open theism has intensified in recent months, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Bruce Ware has emerged as one of its more vocal opponents. Ware and his position on open theism are the subject of much discussion in the latest journal published by the conservative Evangelical Theological Society, a group of theologians who affirm biblical inerrancy. The journal is basically a spillover from debate at last November's ETS meeting, when Ware presented a paper with spirited arguments against open theism -- the belief that the future is "open" in that God does not and cannot...

Do You Interpret the Bible Literally? Give Yourself the Following Six Tests INTRODUCTION Dispensationalists seek to interpret the Bible literally, that is, to consistently understand the Scriptures in their plain, normal sense (much like we would read and understand the newspaper or other forms of literature). The Clarifying Statement on Dispensationalism, published by the New England Bible Conference, says it this way: The Bible must be interpreted literally which is the way language is normally and naturally understood. We recognize that the Bible writers frequently used figurative language which is a normal and picturesque way of portraying literal truth. The...

Syllabus of 60 "Traditionalist" Errors, Fallacies, and False Principles ----- See Topical Index at the end of the paper -----THE SIX FUNDAMENTAL / PRESUPPOSITIONAL ERRORS 1. That the Novus Ordo Mass is invalid or "objectively offensive to God."2. That the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council is qualitatively different from preceding Councils, or invalid, or intrinsically heretical (modernist), or shot-through with modernist "ambiguity," or a corruption or "evolution" of received Catholic dogma - as opposed to a consistent (Newmanian and Vincentian and Thomistic) development - so that it is not binding on Catholics, and may be routinely opposed, and not obeyed.3. That...

Baptized believers are called to be a light for the world 07/12/2002 Archbishop John Vlazny In the life of every person, there comes a moment when his or her personal existence must be anchored to a truth which is recognized as final. This is a truth that confers a certitude no longer open to doubt. For Christians, it is the historical fact of God in human flesh. The Incarnation did take place some 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. But the mystery of the Incarnation is repeated time and time again whenever and wherever the Lord chooses to be present...

August 12, 2002Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Psalm: Monday Week 36 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading IEz 1:2-5, 24-28c On the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth year,that is, of King Jehoiachin's exile,The word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel,the son of Buzi,in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar.—There the hand of the Lord came upon me. As I looked, a stormwind came from the North,a huge cloud with flashing fire enveloped in brightness,from the midst of which (the midst of the fire)something gleamed like electrum.Within it were...

08/12/02 Faces and Facelessness Ravi Zacharias The Internet has undoubtedly transformed the ways in which we live, work, learn, and play. We are clicks away from discussing politics with someone in Zaire, researching history from libraries in Europe—all this from our living rooms. Cyberspace is indeed a vast world, moving not always in positive directions. Just decades ago, it would have seemed odd to hear of Internet addiction, or of the many online ethical issues. Do you know that psychologists actually have a name for the study of Internet-related conditions? The "Psychology of Cyberspace." It is significant to note what...

NEW YORK (AP) - With sexually active students on their campuses and the Vatican ( news - web sites) unswervingly opposed to premarital sex, America's Roman Catholic colleges face difficult choices on such sensitive matters as condom use and unwanted pregnancies. Except for a handful of schools, the 230 colleges and universities do not provide condoms or other contraceptives on campus, drawing renewed criticism that their students face a higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Yet the schools are far from monolithic on sex-related issues. Many offer up-to-date information on sexual health; some provide referrals for students seeking birth control...

Selective in our scandals--part four A failure to understand and appreciate the Incarnation is yet another aspect of liturgical crisis I began this series of articles with the observation that we Catholics are very “selective in our scandals,” indeed -- while the world watches, we scramble to develop clergy sexual abuse policies as though that were the only problem we have. I have suggested that the sexual abuse crisis is but one of a dozen major crises we have faced, for forty long years. And I began to explore a few problems with one area which is supposed to directly...

What Is VOTF's Real Agenda? Fred Martinez Monday, Aug. 12, 2002 Recently, Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) became the news media's favorite "Catholic" lay organization to cure the Catholic Church of its sex-abuse scandal. The New York Times and Boston Globe wrote glowing articles about this new "mainstream" Catholic organization. Even in Ireland and on the European landmass, newspapers were covering this "grassroots" group that started from a humble church basement. VOTF claims it wants to democratize and subordinate the bishops to "lay participation." It also claims to be mainstream and conservative. I received this e-mail from one of my...

Priests: Don’t shut churches By SUSAN EVANS, THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT August 11, 2002 Priests in the Cambria City neighborhood of Johnstown, who are trying to save their historic churches, are in a standoff with the bishop. The five priests want a moratorium on closing any churches, saying closings would be “pastorally insensitive” to Roman Catholics already shaken by the recent clergy sex scandals. But the bishop has turned them down, saying if they can’t decide which of their five churches to close, the diocese will do it for them. In the past seven years, 25 parishes have closed in the eight-county...

**Note: This is an addition to the thread, " The Theological Aesthetics of Hans Urs von Balthasar Intro: In 1940, von Balthasar introduced the Protestant physician Adrienne von Speyr to the Catholic faith. His encounter with her had a decisive influence upon von Balthasar's life and work. For 27 years, von Balthasar worked together with Adrienne von Speyr, writing down her visions and observations in over 60 books. Many of the fundamental themes in von Balthasar's theology were inspired by Adrienne von Speyr. Hans Urs von Balthasar regarded his own work as largely derivative of hers and certainly as less...

Holy Mother Clare, Daughter of Holy Poverty, you chose to know every need. We live in a plentiful time. Remind us, grateful in such Providence, that we may still join the Poor Christ and all Poor People in the Powerlessness of Poverty by accepting graciously those things we cannot control or influence. Holy Mother Clare, Daughter of Holy Chastity, for Love Himself, you gave up singular human love. We live in a liberal time. Call us to better witness the personal fulfillment experienced in God's mysterious hundred-fold return by our harmonious expression of our voluntary consecration to Christ and...

It may come as a surprise to discover that there are a number of Biblical experts who regard the Book of Leviticus as the most important book of the Bible! (Dr. Samuel H. Kellogg, Dr. Albert C. Dudley, J. Vernon McGee, et al.) The Most Important Thing? What is The Most Important Thing in the world? Holiness! True happiness begins with holiness.1 "If I had my choice of all the blessings I can conceive of I would choose perfect conformity to the Lord Jesus, or, in one word, holiness." - Charles Spurgeon Holiness isn't a luxury: it's a necessity. It's...

The Church or the Bible? Sermon by Arnold Damen, S.J. [circa 1880 A.D.] Dearly Beloved Christians: - When our Divine Savior sent His Apostles and His Disciples throughout the whole universe to preach the Gospel to every creature, He laid down the conditions of salvation thus: "He that believeth and is baptized," said the Son of the Living God, "shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned" (Luke 16:16). Here, then, Our Blessed Lord laid down the two conditions of salvation: Faith and Baptism. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth...

The Church or the Bible? Sermon by Arnold Damen, S.J. [circa 1880 A.D.] Dearly Beloved Christians: - When our Divine Savior sent His Apostles and His Disciples throughout the whole universe to preach the Gospel to every creature, He laid down the conditions of salvation thus: "He that believeth and is baptized," said the Son of the Living God, "shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned" (Luke 16:16). Here, then, Our Blessed Lord laid down the two conditions of salvation: Faith and Baptism. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth...

Washington DC is the new destination for a Midlands priest who was this week appointed to a leading liturgical position. Fr Bruce Harbert, a renowned figure in the liturgical field, is  the new Executive Secretary of the International Commission for English in the Liturgy. Fr Harbert, parish priest of St Anne's in Streetly near Birmingham, said he was delighted and honoured to be chosen for the post by the ICEL Board. 'It will be a privilege to work with the international team of scholars who contribute to ICEL's work, and to continue the task of handing on the Roman Rite...

August 11, 2002Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalm: Sunday Week 36 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Reading II Gospel Reading I1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a At the mountain of God, Horeb,Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the LORD said to him,"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;the LORD will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountainsand crushing rocks before the LORD--but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake--but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire--but the LORD...

“To Contend Forever With Error” (Pope Leo XIII) INTRODUCTION In 1978 when the apologists of the suspended French Archbishop Marcel Lefèbvre and the promoters of the Latin Missal of Pope St. Pius V (commonly known as the Tridentine Mass) had moved into top gear with the circulation of their material all around Australia, an ordered response did not come from the Australian Episcopal Conference, but was left to individual lay Catholics. The impact of the efforts of these apologists is largely neutralised by the blatant and massive disobedience they advocate which does not ride easily on Catholic shoulders. But their...