7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol.10)

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It has been almost 3 months since I did a quick takes. In fact, the last time I did a Quick Takes I was just fresh out of knee surgery. I'm happy to report the surgery went very well, and I am almost back to my old ways. Well, not exactly. I'm actually trying to get back to some new-old-old ways. What I mean is getting back to a regular routine of exercise (my old way before I had kids). So, when I'm finished with this post, I'm lacing up the sneaks and heading to the gym.  

Check me out!

On to some theological fare...

-2-

I am thinking about writing a post: The Canon - A Case Study in Dogmatic Theology. Here's the basic premise. Take my canon article, replace the word canon with "Trinity", "hypostatic union", "Baptismal regeneration", or "virgin birth", and you get the same result. In other words, you only get opinion without the Church -- no dogma. For a more thorough look at this particular train of thought, I highly recommend this article by Dr. Michael Liccione. In fact, if you make a comment in rebut to this particular quick take without reading his article, I will either delete your comment or ignore it. Just a friendly FYI.

-3-

My daughter just received her First Holy Communion. She was absolutely beautiful:

Before Receiving Our Lord -- Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity

Here's what absolutely baffles me. How in the world could a Catholic simply "go through the motions" of First Communion (of course its possible, I just don't get it)? Further, how in the world could a Catholic fail to have a "relationship with Jesus" after preparing for and receiving First Holy Communion? Let me put it this way, no evangelical will have a rats chance in hades to convince my daughter that she needs a "personal relationship with Jesus" because "Catholicism is a religion of works" (cue the scary organ music). Are you kidding? She begs us to go to daily Mass so she can receive our Lord. She loves Jesus -- and more than just love with her heart, she now can give herself totally to our Lord and receive Him in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Sorry guys, she's off the "saving" radar.

Speaking of cultural Catholicism, I wrote about the topic here, if you didn't read it the first time.

-4-

Did you guys know that Patrick Vandapool is blogging again? I know, some of you left him when he decided to take a short hiatus. Here's what I recommend:

GO BACK!

Seriously, Patrick represents ecumenism at its height. He's warm, witty, charming, and open-minded, kind of like this guy:

Who wouldn't let this guy watch their kids?

Actually, I feel bad comparing Patrick to Mike Tyson. Patrick would never bite someone's ear. However, he would apply a pretty strong uppercut to some of these "Bible-believen" theologies that trade in the truth for a set of axioms to make a few hundred thousand people feel important. See, I told you Patrick was a great guy. I call him the:

Dennis Miller of Apologetics

Enough said.

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Quick Takes Question:

What blog post would you like to see written to address an objection to the Catholic faith or to explain a particular part of the Catholic faith for which you may have struggled?

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I'm skipping this one.

-7-

How do I feel about the Catholic Church?

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.- Psalm 69:9

Thanks Hallie for hosting!

Consider subscribing to Almost Not Catholic. Click here to make it happen.

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol. 9)

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My knee surgery went very well. I'm in rehab. Here's a good analogy:

If surgery is confession, than rehab is penance. Without rehab, there is no firm resolve to allow the work of the surgery to take effect. In fact, the full affect of the surgery cannot take place without rehab.

Think about it.

Go. To. Confession.

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Why do I blog? What is the purpose?

For one, I openly admit that about a year ago, I thought blogging was for narcissists. I still think it is. Who cares what I have to say after all?

One must have a purpose in whatever it is one is doing. Personal exhibition, catharsis, etc. is not enough.

I write this blog to share with you reasons why I am Catholic. I also try to re-communicate what I have learned along the way. I figure most people do not have time to read 1 billion pages of theology/philosophy, will not quit their day job for 8 months, or other kinds of extreme things I did on my journey to Catholicism. No worries. I hope to redact what I learned and give it to you in blog-size installments. Some of it will be more "scholarly" than others. No worries. We don't footnote conversations, and blogging allows for conversation style communication.

Dig it?

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In one of my recent posts, I asked "where's the Protestant out-rage" over having to subsidize chemical abortions under the HHS contraception mandate.

I'm going to give credit where it's due. I've updated the post, but if anyone wants to post other links of Protestant courage in the face of despotism -- GO FOR IT!

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ALERT! SHAMELESSLY PLUGGING A FRIEND'S BOOK

Why have you not bought this book yet?

BUY. IT.

Really?

Why?

Do you not like Brandon?

The Internet?

Jobless?

Homeless?

No Excuses.

Buy it and help kids in Africa...

...go on the Internet, make Power Point presentations, and start blogs exposing the plight of living in a developing country.

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Back to this regularly scheduled quick takes. I have a guest post coming up at Called to Communion about the canon of Scripture (<---- live link).

Fact: Since the canon is not "in" the Scriptures, the canon is a part of the Sacred Tradition. If it is not a part of the Sacred Tradition then it is a mere tradition of men. If it is a mere tradition of men, then the canon should not be closed.

I also mention what is called the “No True Scotman” ad hoc fallacy. It goes like this:

1. All Christians are given a grace to recognize the Protestant canon
2. Brent is a Christian; he does not recognize the Protestant canon
3. Therefore, Brent is not a true Christian

If you are Protestant, how do you know the canon? Also, check out the article when it is live. I will link to it from here. Thus, consider subscribing to Almost Not Catholic.

UPDATE! Here's the link

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This made me smile:

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How do I feel about the Catholic Church?

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.- Psalm 69:9


Thanks Hallie for hosting!

Consider subscribing to Almost Not Catholic. Click here to make it happen.

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday: Twitter Edition! (vol. 8)

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So, I joined Twitter (a few months ago), and now I kind of like it. I like it for a number of reasons:

1. I find good stuff to read
2. I can "spam" trolls or pervs
3. It makes presidential debates entertaining in spite of the moderators
4. Jim Gaffigan

Don't know anything about Jim Gaffigan? Start out with this:

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But, of course, now I know you are wondering how this is a "theological" Quick Takes. Slow down. For starters, laughter "makes the medicine go down" (Proverbs 17:22, *NRRP). For that use of a Scripture verse in response to a near-sighted whine, I earn the right to skip to #3.

-3-

One of the things I like to do on Twitter is share prayers. The "new evangelization" and evangelization in general must flow from a life of prayer. You cannot give what you do not have. We meet God in prayer. He meets us in the Sacraments. Prayer and the Sacraments play a dynamic role in the life of the Christian. Notice where the Catechism places prayer: after the Sacraments.

In other words: God initiates the conversation. 

Nonetheless, we must speak.

Conversion requires prayer. Becoming Catholic is not for the faint at heart. Many times, some make out Catholicism as something for the "intellectual" only--the erudite club who can read Aristotelian metaphysics while copy editing Newman's Apologia over a scotch. However, nothing could be further from the truth. While I will admit that many intellectuals find the Catholic Church home, She is equally pregnant with what an east-coast socialite might call "the help". People like us. Normal folk. 

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In #3, you saw that I was "retweeted" by someone. In this case, I retweeted "Fr. George Mabura"--a Catholic priest from Kenya who has about 9,400 more "Followers" than me. I have amassed 343 followers.

[you cannot see me right now, but I am flexing my social media muscles (SMM) in front of an electronic device turned off. I thought it would act like a mirror. I don't see anything]

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What I do not like about Twitter:

1. The irrationality of how and/or why certain hash-tags "trend"(e.g., #applesthatusedtomakemedance)
2. People telling me stuff that makes me "un-follow" them
3. Bad speelling
4. Bad links
5. The mobile app not always talking to my other apps perfectly (inhibiting me from sharing via email something I found that was interesting)
6. Waa, waa, waa, waa...

Give me a break: it's free, fun, and easy to use. We are so spoiled in this technocratic civilization.

-6-

And here are my two favorite tweets, I've tweeted (awkward conjugation string):

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So, that's all I've got. [lack of segue] Speaking of prayer (from above), I would appreciate your prayers. The contributors to Undoing Babel are turning in their first drafts of their stories. I'm going to be busy for the next few months. I'll be going in for surgery next week on my knee (minor). The requisite bed-rest should give me plenty of seconds to edit. Also...

...consider doing 3 things:

1. Following me on Twitter
2. Telling your friends to follow me
3. Telling me why you like or don't like Twitter in the combox

Thanks Hallie for hosting!

*NRRP = New Really Relevant Paraphrase

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol. 7)

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I changed my picture for Quick Takes. The new theme will be: "Shooting holes in Protestant theories". That is entirely unoriginal.

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Speaking of not unoriginal, Matt Swaim, producer of the Son Rise Morning Show (of which I was interviewed on Wednesday to discuss my post on the Development of Dogma), just started a new blog. It's "A Field Guide to Catholic Terminology". You can find it at catholicvocab.blogspot.com. In it's own words:

"These are not the definitions that your catechist will give you in RCIA class. These are the definitions he will give you after RCIA class, when he's had a bit to drink."

No doubt, the website will shoot more than a few holes in Protestant theories. Which leads me to...

-3-

...the canon. I'm not talking about:

this

or

this.

Instead, I'm talking about this:

Unabridged Version: see Protestantism for less details

-4-

Since I gave you pictures, I can get away with skipping right along to #4.

-5-

...and to #5. Huh? Yep, I'm skipping to #5 because this one is long. Recently in a combox, someone asked me about the canon of Scripture. I wrote:

This was a problem I had when trying to teach teenagers the Bible at a Protestant high school (I was then a Protestant). A sharp 17 year old will catch that it is a circular argument to say “the Bible is the Bible because the Bible tells me so” (option A). In a kindergarden classroom that might work, but not for someone who has started to question why they believe what they believe. So, we are either left with “the Bible we have is the Bible because Jesus said so explicitly in the Bible” (option B) or “some Church decided that the Bible we have is the Bible because Jesus gave them the authority to do so” (option C). Regarding option B, last time I checked, the table of contents in a Bible doesn’t read:

…from J.C.

Laughs aside, this put me in a real dilemma. If I acknowledged that Christ used the Church–authoritatively–to give us the canon of Scripture, it gave rise to other questions like “what else did Christ give them authority to do”? On what ground should I trust that Church? Which Church? If I’m to assume Christ gave them authority to do “x”, I better have some evidence that He gave them authority to begin with. What did I do? I kept trying to teach “self-attestation”, that those who put their faith in Christ “just know” that the Bible is the Bible. I tried a few other things I’m sure, but at the end of the school day I knew I was laying the ground work for their personal crisis of faith. I remember a few of my students asking, “Couldn’t any religion say that?”

…and they were right. Scary. Next subject.

In other words, there is nothing required of a religion if their book is merely the by product of self-attestation. The Bible is the Bible because the Bible tells me so, could be re-worded with the same credibility, “The Koran is the Bible because the Koran tells me so.” Both are grounded in the sentiment, the “bosom burning” of the believer. Mormons and JW’s, for example, use this line quite a bit.

What I wish I could have told those young people was:

1. God exists
2. He came in the flesh
3. He died for our sins
4. He founded a Church and gave His authority to Her until His return
5. She acts on his authority to define dogma
6. One such dogma is the canon of Scripture

That is credible, true and worthy of belief. It does not violate reason and is consonant with both Scripture, Tradition and history. That lesson, instead, would have laid a wall around their faith that would have fortified it through their coming college years.

Told you it was long.

-6-

So he responded:

"Would it be a circular argument if I opened a dictionary and the dictionary identifies itself as the dictionary? Of course not. The same would apply to the Bible would it not?"

So I responded (but it was never published):

Adding the name of a university to
the top does not make it a diploma

If you opened a book that wasn’t a dictionary, and it said it was a dictionary, would it still be a dictionary because it said it was a dictionary? Of course not. Any book claiming to be anything (dictionaries included) will identify itself as that which it claims to be. However, simply because a book claims to be a dictionary doesn’t make it a dictionary. You would need to know that someone or some group of people had the authority to give you the definitions in the book. Only on those grounds would you have warrant to trust that what you are holding is a dictionary. Otherwise, I could slap the word dictionary on a notebook, and inside you might find something like this:

cat: (noun) a thing you throw into the ocean

= not a dictionary

He went on to ask:

"Would you agree that if a person teaches something that contradicts what Christ taught [it] is false?"

So I wrote (again un-published):

Of course. I’m not sure why you would ask that question. What we are discussing here is how you or I decide what constitutes the “teaching of Christ”. You admit that Protestants have various views on what constitutes “the teaching of Christ”. Therefore, it is going to be hard to figure out in the Protestant world what constitutes a contradiction of the “teachings of Christ” if various Protestant sects believe contradicting things about the “teachings of Christ”. As I mentioned, neither the Old or New Testament is written like a catechism. If Christ gave his authority to teach to His apostles, gave them the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth both to remind them of what he said and to teach them of what is to come (John 16:13), and they–following our Lord’s model–passed off this authority by the laying on of hands, then we should ask like Peter, “Where can I go, you have the words of eternal life?” Jesus ascended and handed off his ministry to his Apostles. Those who depart and do not listen to the Apostles reject Christ. Those who reject the one’s who the Apostles send, reject the Apostles and reject Christ.

(FYI: Devin and I discussed the canon (minute 23) here.)

-7-

How do I feel about the Catholic Church?

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.- Psalm 69:9

Thanks Jen for hosting!

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol. 6)

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Quick Meditation: Mary, Mother of God

Mariology is the buttress of proper Christology. In the history of dogma, it comes after Christology. In history, as goes Christology so goes Mariology. However, the reverse operation occurs in the mind. So goes Mariology, ergo Christology. Which makes sense, since an idea develops in one direction and atrophies in the opposite direction. Thus, any theology that rejects Catholic teaching on the Blessed Virgin is bound to lead one to a heretical view of Christ. It cannot help but de-corpus the cross. No Mary, No Jesus. No Mary, and you end up with a cross that does not look like this:

-2-

"Be patient in suffering, be constant in prayer"

I'm still going to this one. I think it just summarizes all too well the Christian life: patiently suffering or suffering to be patient; constantly forgetting to pray or praying constantly. Lord have mercy!

-3-

Just say no.

I'm learning you have to have balance. You truly do not have time for everyone. You are called to someone. Sometimes we are really good at getting our eye off of what God has definitively given us. That is what we are called to be stewards of. = I may have to take some time away from blogging so I can:

• Work on the new book Undoing Babel
• Finish up a guest article about the canon of Scripture for Called to Communion 
• Spend more time with my kids and wife
• Put in a lot of hours at work
• Pray more
• Spend time with my priest and other spiritually encouraging friends
• Spend more time in nature
• Get my knee fixed
• Possibly start some more school

Ave Maria!

-4-

What is the difference between Sacred and Secular music?

Can you tell the difference?? from Corpus Christi Watershed

Hat tip: David Meyers

-5-

Speaking of good liturgy. Enjoy:

My priest knows this liturgy. Praying that he decides to ask the bishop to be bi-rite. : )

-6-

This theological quick takes is interrupted to recognize four special blogs. These blogs have referred people to Almost Not Catholic more than any other blogs in the world! For that, they shall hear the words, "Well done, though good and faithful blogger, you may live in the same celestial neighborhood as Brent". I'm sure that will happen.

#1 The Pulpit
Where can you find the best in Catholic blogging? There is only one place: www.thepulp.it. Don't waste your time with google, start with www.thepulp.it. Add it to your RSS feed or reader NOW!

#2 Patrick Vandapool, The Catholic UNapologist
This guy does ecumenism my kind of way. He is the Dennis Miller of apologetics. To be honest, he does what I think. I think what he does. Why am I thinking about a gun range?

PAAATTRRIIICCCKKK!!!!

We both agree: Protestantism is a theory. I feel like he is my long lost brother.

Look at those white legs.
Maybe not.

#3 Shameless Popery
If the name of the blog is not enough, the fact that Joe Heshmeyer is a ninja should settle it. Actually, he is an attorney--at least he daylights as one. In evenings, between bites of a sandwich, on the subway, or any other time he can co-op, he is an apologist for Mother Church. I read EVERYTHING he writes. He is Mr. Charity in the comboxes but pulls no punches and never tries to be Oprah. Joe inspires me to step up my apologetics game. Thank you brother!

#4- Little Catholic Bubble
If Joe were a mother of 8, he would be Leila from Little Catholic Bubble. She is literally bubbling with enthusiasm for the faith and is willing to let it all fly in the comboxes. She even has non-Catholic regulars who spice things up. I think she has more comments on two of her posts than I will ever have for the entire history of Almost Not Catholic. That's cool. She gets the conversation going, and she does it with grace, style, wit and a heaping helping of orthodoxy to boot. 

-7-

How do I feel about the Catholic Church?

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.- Psalm 69:9

Thanks Jen for hosting!

7 Quick Takes Friday: Upcoming Book!

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Today, I am excited to announce a new book project that should be ready for release this summer. WE are very excited about this project. Because we are going the self-pub route, we can sell the book for less money and therefore make it more available. Catholic solidarity, what's up? We are.

Did you say "we" (and 9)? Oh yes, I did. 

Who are the writers, pray tell? 

(if you need help chillin, check out this video...close your eyes to chill, open your eyes if you want to make yourself keep reading...)

Patience is a virtue. I will get there, but first.... 

-2-

What is the book about? The current working title is Undoing Babel, and the book is a multi-story conversion book aimed at 20-30 somethings. It is NOT an apologetics book. It is 90% narrative. BadCatholic up front, party in the back. That's right. Marc "Bad-arsenic" Barnes will be writing the forward. Any book intended to do what this book is intended to do deserves some bad you-know-what-ness.

We got it. 

Undoing Babel: more party
in the back than this guy

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Speaking of intentions. The mission of Undoing Babel can be described in one sentence:

"To propel a small chocolate morsel into every caffè latte found in any church, anywhere, that allows such nonsense, whereby caused spillage on designer jeans produces the necessary angst so as to find the cause of said spillage."

While the designer jeans are drying off on an eco-friendly clothes-line, we pray that revealed through our inked lives many would consider the most unlikely savior of the ecclesial chaos we were all born into, and that somehow they would open their hearts, as we did, to the Catholic Church.

-4-

Before I tell you about the authors (COME ON ALREADY, BRENT!), I wanted to tell you about the illustrator(s). Oh yes, this will be a picture book. That means you can read it to the kiddos. Well, sort of.

If they can do this, they can do anything...

I may be starting an Uniconiclastic controversy. I dunno. Then again, I've got the Czar to back me up. You heard it here first: Mr. and Mrs. Awesomeness (also known as the Vandapools) will be creating some artwork for the book. Can you believe this book could not find a publisher? I know, I did not look very hard, but then again everything is a part of God's plan. I front some dough, and God gets some mough (more). Speaking of dough...

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ALL PROCEEDS (PROFITS) FROM THIS BOOK WILL BE DONATED TO "The Philippine Aid Society". 

Bam! Take it up a notch.

I figured if the concept for this book was to "Undo Babel", then we might as well support Catholic efforts to evangelize and do works of mercy in a country where self-made popes are promoting more chaos. This book is not an ecumenifuzzy book. Sorry, there are plenty of those out there for you to choose from. This book is about stories, conversion and Catholicism--straight up on the rocks. 

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Let us now talk about the BOYS who will be contributing to this project.

First, there is me. You already know about me. Nuff said. For the rest of the gents:

____________________________________________________

Tim Troutman

Tim Troutman believed in the Bible. He just couldn’t figure out how we got the one we call “the canon”. Like so many 20-somethings, Tim traveled the road of the spiritual nomad: questions, doubt, fear, and finally hope. Through this journey, he connected with 10 or so other former Reformed Christians who now tell their story and talk about the Catholic faith at the extremely popular blog site www.calledtocommunion.com.

Ultimately, that is Tim’s heart: Communion. His passion is to bring the Church together, to undo the Babel that divides us, or in the words of Christ, “that we would be One, as the Father and the Son are One.” As I mentioned, he is one of the co-founders of the website: Called to Communion, and is the founder and Chief Mercy Officer of The Philippine Aid Society.

____________________________________________________

David Williams

On the outside, everything looked great for David Williams. He was the perfect young man; the one any mom or dad would dream for their daughter to marry. At least that is what you were lead to believe.

In the light, David was one man, but in the dark he was another. David sought help from every Christian resource imaginable, yet for many years deliverance was a chimera he merely chased in the night. His guides, although good intentioned, became like those that Jesus described as “the blind leading the blind”. What would heal his moral mayhem? David’s story will touch the heart of anyone who has struggled with sin and did not know where to turn. David turned to the Catholic Church and in a life consecrated to the Sacraments. What did he receive in return? Freedom.

____________________________________________________

Steve Lawson

Research shows that a vast majority of Christians of all stripes leave their faith in college. Steve Lawson was one of them. Raised in a loving Catholic family, he came to a crisis of faith in college and traveled the path of agnosticism for a while. Yet he knew there had to be something more.

At a point of despair that bordered on nihilism, Steve decided it was time to investigate the faith of his childhood. He now works for EWTN radio and runs a conversion website www.whyimcatholic.com that highlights the stories of converts to Catholicism from every imaginable religious background. His story will give hope to those with fallen away Catholic friends or family, or to a modern person who has given up on the meaning of life.

____________________________________________________

Vince Gilbert

Vince Gilbert was your average American kid. Raised in a nominal Christian home, they did their religious duty but not much more. At about 12 years old, Vince realized that following Christ meant giving up many of the temptations that were beginning to allure him--exit Christian story.

In his chapter, Vince allows the reader to follow him into the treachery of sin and for him the necessary agnosticism it entailed. Reaching the point of medicated depression, Vince escapes his labyrinth of confusion in the most unexpected encounter with a St. Joseph statue and the Eucharist. You can figure out the end of the story from the picture to the left.

____________________________________________________

Devin Rose

This last guy needs no introduction. He never sleeps. He never slumbers. He is Mr. Apologeticus. A self-described "young-gun", Devin Rose--a.k.a. If Protestantism Is True--is a former atheist who turned his life over to Christ after spiraling into the depths of depression. Upon emerging from his dark night, Devin soon realized that there was truly one Savior, but that a thousand voices were competing to be His spokesman. Who can speak for Christ?

A question like that eventually led to his conversion to Catholicism. Now, an accomplished author, father, engineer, and blogger, Devin will share his story in Undoing Babel in the hopes of reaching his generation with the good news that Jesus truly did found a Church you can find.

-7-

The LADIES. Feminine sagacity is superb. Thus, it is my honor to have 3 wonderful ladies writing in this book.

Kassie Rutherford

Kassie Rutherford was raised in a normal, loving home. She was also raised to believe many stereotypes about the Catholic Church. Mostly. When she went to college, she needed a job. Little did she know but the baby-sitting job she accepted would undo her theological assumptions and send her on a journey that would once again prove "all roads lead to Rome". Kassie blogged her way to the Church at www.secretvaticanspy.com as a tongue-in-cheek way of recognizing the conspiracy theories surrounding her conversion. Supported by the blogosphere and the local Catholic community, Kassie’s story is one of courage, wit, whimsy, and wonder. Her writing is a mix of all four.

____________________________________________________

Melissa Siik

A steady attitude of apathy, which was intermittently punctuated by moments of intense anger, could best describe the religious environment in which Melissa Siik grew up. Though her parents professed a loose belief in God, they had nothing but disdain and ridicule for those “weak-minded, uneducated bigots” who called themselves “Christians.” This attitude would follow Melissa throughout her teenage years, during which she indulged in a number of temptations and developed both a drug addiction and an eating disorder.

During her years of recovery, and as she worked her way through successive academic honors on the path to a Ph.D. in English, Melissa’s formerly tacit belief in the inherent stupidity of religion generally, and Christians specifically, began to fuel many of her academic passions. However, she had no idea that her academic and personal pursuit to reveal the idiocy of Christianity would eventually lead her to the most shocking act she had ever committed: her conversion to Christianity—and not just any form of Christianity, but Catholicism, which she had formerly regarded as the greatest enemy of intellectualism, personal freedom, and feminism.

____________________________________________________

Calah Alexander

Calah Alexander has never been your average girl. Refusing to fit into a mold, Calah lived the status quo  lifestyle of someone growing up in the 80's and 90's. Status quo? Isn't that what the 80's and 90's were all about? Everyone rebelling, so in the end no one was rebelling.

Thus, Calah's story touches upon some of the more profound themes of human suffering and searching so indicative of her generation. Of course, her delivery is 1,000 pounds of classical self-deprication which has been the raison for the following at her blog Barefoot and Pregnant. Armed with anti-Catholic biases and years of spiritual wounds, Calah enrolled at the University of Dallas in Irving, TX. While there, she discovered a Church that had been buried underneath an avalanche of myth and lies. Now, she is Catholic.

-7.1-

This book will not be a success without YOUR HELP. In the combox, let me know what you would be willing to do to make sure this book is a success. Your prayers are very much coveted.

Thanks Jen for hosting!

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol. 5)

-1-

"God, come to my assistance

Lord, make haste to help me"

In the prayer tradition of the Catholic Church, prayers like this are called "ejaculatory prayers". When teaching my small children ejaculatory prayers we renamed them "dart" prayers; since these prayers were meant to act as small weapons in your battle against sin and the devil. "Jesus, I trust in you" is another great one.

I think ejaculatory prayers are a wonderful way to integrate prayer into your ordinary life. Do you have a "dart" prayer that you pray that you would like to share with others?

-2-

In the Terce prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, there is a small passage in Sacred Scripture that is employed that I love:

"Be patient in suffering, be constant in prayer" -from Romans 12:12

I don't know about you, but that pretty much sums up my desire for my spiritual life. I struggle with accepting suffering and am constantly fighting spiritual apathy with regards to prayer. You may know how it goes. You sit down to pray, and five minutes later you are thinking about meatloaf and humming "I will do anything for love" or "objects in the rear-view mirror, may appear closer than they are". When you come to from this slumber, you are watching television or scanning the internet for another distraction.

FAIL

St. Augustine describes desire as our inmost prayer. At least I've got desire going for me.

-3-

If you are wondering why the Mass is so important to Catholicism, try out two of my posts here and here. The bottom line is that the Mass comes to us from Christ, is directed by Christ, to God for God, and we are invited to participate in something wholly above us. The liturgy is, as Pope Benedict XVI describes, God's descent upon us. On that note, I will be talking about participation and the oh-so-scary-word "co-mediatrix" in the coming weeks...

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What do I think about this? 

I think sincere people, who love Christ, get together and do this. I think I did it for 20 years. I think it is fun. I think God, in his inestimable mercy, allows people to experience His love there.

I think (most of the time) it is man's attempt of going up to God--which can be explained by its genesis, and when he ascends that mountain, he only meets himself. I think it is a by-product of our culture's fascination with itself, particularly evangelical Protestantism's fascination with the culture and affirming every last little bit of it.

As you may know, I'm a former guitarist for a mega-church. However, I've played guitar in every possible scenario and on two sides of the pond. I get it that not all "productions" are "showy" or entertainment driven. Cool dog. I would respond to this, though, by asking the person or musician to think deeply upon those experiences and compare them to other musical experiences. I've learned that the same "God-high" you get at a Matt Redman concert (I love Matt Redman--but how can you get back to the heart of worship without the Eucharist?) can be achieved at a John Mayer concert. Also, ask yourself:

"Is this God's way of experiencing Him or my way"?

There is nothing wrong, per se, with reaching out to God using instruments that we find around us. I do it all the time. However, what we must be careful of is assuming that our way is God's way--and the inverse assumption that God has not provided a way. In the liturgy--God's way, God descends upon us. What you get out of Mass is both precisely what you put into it and precisely beyond what you can put into it. That is the beauty of the Mass. In the picture above, the more passive you are, the more you get out of the "production", yet it is precisely what you put into it--through artfulness and craft--is what you get out of it. If you don't believe me, ask the most out-of-tune person to sing, the worst musician to play, and see "what you get". Not to mention all the spiritual dis-inclined folks who leave such services with their hands in the pocket wondering if they are atheists or something.

Conversely, find a priest who cannot sing or play an instrument and ask them to officiate Mass. No one leaves empty.

The end is the difference.

-5-

In some unabashed family promotion, here is a video from the band Fireflight. Why am I showing you this? Because the band is 2/5 my family (brother and sister in law) and 2/5 friends (lead singer and lead guitarist are friends from high-school). They just got a new drummer, but I was friends with the old one. Anyways, before they were Fireflight, a version of the band existed called Cheer-Up-Charlie. I played with that band for a few months as a replacement for my friend Jon Schneck from Reliant K--who played for AudioAdrenaline in-between.

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Jesus Christ, Just Judge of all men, have mercy on Christopher Hitchens. (April 13, 1949 – December 15, 2011)

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How do I feel about the Catholic Church?

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.- Psalm 69:9

Thanks Jen for hosting!

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol. 4)

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I've decided that if I want to do a quick takes, they will be theological.

Got it?

Good.

If you have not already, please go read this post that exhaustively compares Vatican II and Star Wars. It is long but worth the read. It will give you a chuckle and a head scratch. (HT: Father Z).

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At Called to Communion, "Nick" recently commented on a new article about an ex cathedra Evangelical response to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. He wrote:

"The most important question the Evangelical side has to answer is: Did Jesus take Mary’s nature? If She was conceived in Total Depravity, and thus had a “sin nature,” then Jesus must have a “sin nature” as well (though no Evangelical would say that). But if Jesus took on a non-sin-nature, then how did Mary give this to Him?"

Someone was a little concerned with this argument and said:

"I am and have always been a little worried about this line of argument. Regress concerns loom. I don’t think it’s impossible for God to cause the conception of a person immediately, and not subject to original sin, if He so wishes; and I don’t think a pre-requisite to His doing this is that He ensures that the woman in which this person is conceived is likewise not subject to original sin. Don’t get me wrong — I’m with you on the dogma; but (and maybe I’ve just misunderstood you) I’m not sure this is the best way to argue for that dogma."

And I replied:

"I don’t see the regress problem in Nick’s argument (if I understand his argument and your objection correctly), if we think about the IC in terms of an act of God. I think when we conceive of it as a condition of the possibility, then we have problems. But, of course, God could do anything so there is no condition of the possibility for an act of God (with some qualifications). Nonetheless, potuit decuit ergo fecit. The IC simultaneously tells us about Mary’s nature in lieu of God’s saving power, and ultimately what God was saving Mary from (original sin inherited from her parents). So, I see no reason why St. Anne would have to be conceived immaculately for Mary to be conceived immaculately. The proportional difference between Mary and Jesus make St. Anne’s immaculate conception non decuit. Additionally, the regress “problem” is further mitigated by the IC’s Biblical grounding in the Ark of the Covenant."

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I love the Divine Office app for my new iphone. For those that may be unfamiliar with the Divine Office, it is the official prayer of the Catholic Church. Surprise: Catholics officially pray the Bible. Myth busted!

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I will be publishing a review of the Logos Bible software this weekend. Come back and get my 4 cents worth. (really, it will be four cents)

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"Chris Hora" in my combox on the post The Problem with "Easy Believism", left this comment:

"It just goes back to one of my quotes from G. K. Chesterton. “I don’t need a Church to tell me I’m wrong where I already know I’m wrong. I need a Church to tell me I’m wrong where I think I’m right.”

Bravo!

In Protestantism, this quote might read:

"I don't need a Church to tell me I'm right where I already know I'm right, I need a Church to tell me I'm right where I think I'm wrong that way I'm always right."

You can read more about what I mean by this inverted Chesterton quote at When Church Shopping Makes Sense.

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Did you know that the Marian dogmas were the first Catholic doctrines I affirmed? I think it represents my epistemological shift that ultimately challenged the ground for the doctrine of sola scriptura. In the combox at Called to Communion, I wrote about it:

"Not to beat a dead horse, but I think impediment one is the smoking gun (which has been talked about a lot here).

“The first is the notion that only what is explicitly stated in Scripture, or follows by logical entailment from what is taught explicitly in Scripture, is necessary for Christians to believe.“

Where is this taught in Scripture? I think the lack of real answer for this question demonstrates why, in my observation, Protestantism naturally devolves into relativism. If you have no principled way for determining your first principle, then your method is irrational. Of course, the objection would be that the above principe is rational; and I would agree that it appears so. However, I’m not questioning the rationality of the principle, but the method for obtaining the principle–the cause. For example, a person might believe that every child should be kept safe, but the method for obtaining that conclusion could be pure sentimentality. Thus, when sentiment changes, children may be more or less valuable.

This same problem manifests in Protestantism (and can manifest amongst Catholics as well). It manifests in questions like “What does that Scripture mean to you“, or in short and shallow statements of faith, or in essentialism. What all three point to is a method: namely subjectivism (primacy of the individual conscience). This only makes sense, when from Scripture itself, one cannot adduce “the notion that only what is explicitly stated in Scripture, or follows by logical entailment from what is taught explicitly in Scripture, is necessary for Christians to believe”. Because that principle–in theology–is a novelty of the subject. So, we should not be surprised when in Protestantism novel doctrines are created ad infinitum from the principle of the primacy of the individual conscience lurking just beneath the surface of their alleged “first principle”."

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Last but not least, I want to remind you that we are new Catholics. Our family's have no Catholic traditions, thus we inherited none. Would you mind sharing some Advent traditions that you inherited from your family that might benefit mine?

Thanks Jen for hosting!