He's Back

maybe I was wrong...

Why I Do Not Respond to Everybody

1. I somehow missed your comment.

"I can answer your question,
don't you know." - internet person

2. I do not have time to respond. If you need a response, that is what the internets is for. I'm sure there is someone out there in the internets who would be happy to talk to you.

3. Your comment is not worth a response. That means, your argument is not strong enough to even consider putting my hand to the keyboard.

4. You are making comments that are irrelevant to the post to which your comment is posted.

5. I accidentally deleted your comment.

For all my readers, the new comment moderation was put into effect because I had someone spending all of the waking moments of his or her life posting red-bull induced, anti-Catholic, worn-out-fundamentalist comments. Then, this person decided to contact me directly and tell me that they would "never leave me alone".

Scary stuff.

I also have another poster who feels that he is qualified to debate the Pope, the college of Bishops or anyone, anytime, anywhere. That guy is a real stud. I wish I were that studly. I guess I will just have to be married for 10 years, have five kids, and a good job. Let me openly admit something -- right out loud on the internets. I am not qualified to debate the Pope, the college of Bishops, AND I do not have time to debate internet peoples.

Rule #1: Do not start something you cannot finish.

So, why don't I respond to everybody?

See "Rule #1".

Where I've Been

Well guys, I imagine you are thinking:

"I use to read this really neat-o blog called Almost Not Catholic, but now it appears that he has gone the way of the vandapool."

Shall we call it "vandapooling"?

Vandapooling (verb): starting a blog, only to realize that it was a bad idea, and then closing it down. Having free time again.

Example sentence:

"Brent created www.almostnotcatholic.com, only to vandapool everyone."

Another example:

"Guess what guys? I just started this awesome blog about blah, blah, blah called www.blahblah.com. Just kidding. I totally just vandapooled you!"

No, I'm not doing that.

My family is two months into #operationhavefivekids (<---yes, I just used a twitter hash tag in my post). A part of #operationhavefivekids is having a 2 month old, which is a lot of work. Also, a part of #operationhavefivekids is #operationfeedfivekids. That requires a lot of work. So, that is what I'm doing = revenue generating work ≠ blogging.

I am working on a post, and have a few more for which I am ruminating.

In the mean time, pray for me and I will pray for you. And...

Ora Pro Nobis!

Devin Rose...Olympian?

So I turned on the television, and there he was:

image source

The Olympian. Who knew? 

I mean, all I had ever seen was this picture:

Congrats Devin! Although you won't make the drive to Florida, I look forward to seeing you in London. You are the man, after all. 

5 Reasons I Would Not Blog For Patheos

Since D-Money Rose, flush to his eye-balls with cash, swimming in Benjamin's, rolling cohibas with $20 bills, had the time to write this in between counting the net income in his IRA and stock options, I thought I would share with you my thoughts.

1. I don't have time.

Seriously, my life is way too busy to have to think about blogging all the time. In fact, I'm getting ready to announce a new "you-may-not-see-me-very-often-at-all" blogging schedule. It's coming. I'm not sure Pathos would like that.

2. The banner ads are creepy

For starters, a top banner ad about a "Swedish" anything is kind of creepy. "Swedish Prophet"? Then there is the "Genesis -- For Normal People" ad which promotes a book which basically assumes that normal folks can't read Genesis for themselves -- they need Biblical scholars to talk down to them. Lastly, I'm not sure about the "ancestry.com" ad. What is that about? Did I miss the ancestry worship portal? Never mind, I just found it (I"m not linking to it because I don't believe in promoting paganism).

3. Apparently, you lose street cred. Which I'll admit, I live for.

No elaboration needed.

4. At the bottom of your post, they link to posts of other non-Catholic blogs. 

Nothing like a seeker, stumbling upon a light-hearted post at your blog, only to be wisped away by a link to an article about inner healing through she-god-love-centeredness.

5. They cannot pay me enough.

I know on my last post, I said I would write for Patheos because they pay. Well, please understand that Patheos probably does not have the budget to pay me what I need to get paid. In fact, I know they don't. Plus, I think they pay for clicks or page views and by the looks of my blog, it might take me a couple months to earn enough dough to pay for the internet it took me to write those posts. That's not what they call breaking even.

All that to say, I'm glad we have some rock-solid-bad-arsenic Catholics blogging there. I recommend saying a prayer for them and all of their readers too.

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol.10)

-1-

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.

-5-

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?

-6-

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!

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Five Reasons I Would Write for Patheos

1-  Leah
2-  Dean
3-  Jude
4-  Gemma
5-  Luke
5.1- My Wife
5.2- Other children to come

UPDATE: Patheos has never contacted me. The only reason for this post was in response to some who think those that write at Patheos have sold out. 

These are a little more than 5 excellent reasons to write for Patheos, Matheos, Spatheos, or you name it. I don't care. If someone is willing to pay me to write -- for something I am doing for free right now, I will write. Bring it. As long as I don't have to change my mission from "Why I'm Catholic and other things about that" to "Why I'm Catholic and that's just my personal conviction", I'm game. Furthermore, if we all examined our employers, we could all find dubious, unintended, or disparaging reasons not to accept their payment.

"But for only a couple hundred bucks?"

Reason #4

That would be a resounding "YES!"

Diapers, baby food, electricity, you name it, I'm all on board for receiving a small compensation for waking up early every morning and giving people reasons to convert to Catholicism. If it never happens, that's cool. Some people blog for a hobby. I understand why those people don't understand Patheos bloggers.

That's not me. I blog for a reason. 


Reason: To convert people to Catholicism


And I don't think we should retreat from any forum willing to entertain that conversation.

Thoughts?

First Confession: A Poem

This is in honor of my daughter, Leah, who will partake of the Sacrament of Holy Confession today for the first time in preparation for her first Holy Communion.

Her First Confession

Six and a half to separation

But if I go backwards, I can still feel the newness of your skin

It was your life that made me pause

Six and a half to separation

I can't go backwards, only you now older stand before me

You are pure beauty to us

Holding you then, this feels different

Small, incapable, inculpable

Now, less, more, culpable

Six and a half to destination

I can't go backwards, only He stands before us

You see Him, my heart faints

I have less of you now, only your hand

Small, resolved, wanting

I thought I was leading

Six and a half to salvation

In His vicars, He waits for you

In the host, He calls you

And you hear

You answer

You give

You receive

And I realize that this wasn't separation

I was leading and

You were following

Six and a half to salvation

We can't go back, only forward

but now we are together, equals in eternity

And I realize that this wasn't separation

I was leading and

You were following

Him

Catholic-Protestant Dialog Fail

I notice this a lot at Called to Communion and at other sites. Many of the Catholics do their best to stay on topic (me not often included), but nevertheless, this can be really frustrating:

Protestant: Catholics worship Mary.

Catholic: No we don't, we honor her.

Protestant: But did you know that the Medici Popes were crazy!!!????

Catholic: What are we talking about?

Protestant: We are talking about how you believe that the pope is more important than the Bible.

Catholic: The pope is not more important than the Bible. In fact, the Bible bears witness to the office of the papacy.

Protestant: Yeah...just like the Bible bears witness to working your way to heaven. LOL. Instead, I believe in faith alone in grace alone through Christ alone.

Catholic: If by faith alone you do not mean something that is contrary to love, then I agree.

Protestant: Agree? How can you agree when you believe the Mass is a Sacrifice that propitiates for sin? That's called Jesus + Mass = not Christ alone.

Catholic: The Mass participates in the one sacrifice of Christ.

Protestant: Sure it does. Chapter and verse please? That's what I thought. There is no Scripture that says that. Just like there is no Scripture or papal encyclical that will tease out your little controversy.

Catholic: What? What controversy?

Protestant: You know, the Thomism vs. Molinism controversy. Of course, that doesn't even come close to your pope saying that gay prostitution can be more preferable if they use a condom. Yikes, I cannot even imagine for a moment my fallible pastor imagining such nonsense. You claim the pope is infallible, but then he says this kind of stuff. You Romans can apologize for anything!

Catholic: The Pope did not say that.

___________________________________________________________

This is painful. However, it's more readable in a picture show:

In truth, Catholics and Protestants can both do an awful job in dialog. I've been object lesson numero uno in failure. I want to get better. I think I'm getting there. I admit that part of my success has come in doing it less. As the equation goes:

Talk less > Be Dumb

Talk More < Be Wise

Talk less ≈ Be Wise

Or something like that.

The point of this post is to make an observation, and it is an observation I want to share with my separated brothers and sisters. I think you deserve a fair shake. It is my humble recommendation that when talking to a Catholic you (1) know what the Catholic Church teaches and (2) don't throw as much crap against the wall as you can to see what sticks. 

By doing (1), you show respect and by doing (2) you show maturity and intelligence. By doing both, and Catholics doing them too (know what your particular Protestant denomination teaches or you in particular believe and staying on one topic at a time), we can truly work toward Christian unity.

Let's do it!

The Church is Not Coke

The Catholic Church is not as we say in the south "Coca-cola". Not one of my more profound statements, I know. Well, maybe. Let me explain.

You see, some people say the Catholic Church needs a better marketing strategy. She's old, they say. She's slow, they say. Coke is fast. Coke is everywhere. Look how successful Coke is!

In reply, I say that products need marketing strategies. In fact, if you are being sold to, beware! It is precisely in the moment one realizes they are being sold to, that there has been some strategy crafted to coerce their hand to highlight the fuzzy feeling while diminishing the possibility of diabetes, they should pull back.

But we don't.

We buy.

A lot.

Of stuff.

Junk.

Coke.

But...the Catholic Church, the Catholic faith, is not Coke. The Catholic Church doesn't need a marketing strategy anymore than the ocean does. In fact, we might say that our "marketing strategies" for the ocean do harm to it. We could even say that the ocean is God's marketing strategy. Nonetheless, we ignore His message and think He needs a better one. We turn God's beautiful landscape into this:

Yet if you've ever stumbled upon this:

you know the difference. And when one finds the truth, it is always like the second image. We long for this, to be with Truth in its raw and authentic "being". Of course Coke exists and so does Miami Beach, but both exist as an object of human art, and as such subject to a passing away. Sometimes, this obsolescence can even occur suddenly -- which is frightening. Thus, we are suspicious of both and for good reason, because we were made not for the fire but for eternity.

And so too must be the faith of the Church, lived not in Mormon-esque YouTube commercials choreographed to entice and allure yet constantly communicating a "production" that wreaks of salesmanship and assumes a naivety to the whole affair. Instead, the Catholic "strategy" must remain singularly unfocused. Unfocused? Yes, unfocused, because the moment we take the wheel and imagine that we are building His Church -- we have ceased to understand the magic. The magic is that the Catholic Church is His Church, and He is building it and His marketing plan is simple yet painful: martyrdom.

Will you join him?

That's right: death. Which is a counterintuitive theme for "marketing", I might add. Can you imagine a marketing campaign centered on the phrase:

"Come, die with me!"

If "the medium is the message", then death is the medium of Christianity. Which is the message of Christianity: death to self, a giving up of ego, an existence in a constant state of "for". At first blush, this would seem to be an awful proposition. No marketing agent would take this up. Even many Christian groups fail to make this their central message, instead trading it in for a few coins.

But the fact is, the message of the Gospel is just the opposite of marketing. It is the truth that in the experience of the real solicitude of the givenness of the other, a world would come to meet the Other who died on a Cross for them. This is the Truth we long for and that no product, even for a moment, can distract us from enough to quiet the voices in our head. It is why some of us constantly listen to music, fill our lives with meaningless "activities", and so forth, because we are trying to escape the fact that we have an eternal soul. But we do, and behind every "cutter" is someone who simply wants to know they are real. 

"Am I more than a consumer?"

"Yes. But, will you join Him?"

What should you name your kid?...My Gemma and St. Gemma

My Gemma

If God blesses you with children, name them after Saints.

Why?

Why not? 

Two reasons.


First, a recent study came out which showed that 1 in 5 parents admit that they regret the name they gave their child. Did you think some movie was so awesome and the actor so cool that you just had to name your child after him? Do you now (since you've grown up) think the movie is a dud, and is the actor punch-drunk all over the front cover of tabloids in the supermarket?

Bummer. 

My daughter Leah (3 years ago), who
probably will not be the next soccer star.
Yes, her name is not a saint name.
We were not Catholic.

Another study showed how influential a name can be on even the types of activities your child will pursue. Wonder if your little darling "Jazzy" might have a thing for art and the occasional promiscuous night out on the town? The answer is "probably" because his little darling parents gave him that artsy-fartsy-rebel-of-a-name. Just sayin. It's possible, not necessary, but why not give your child the best chance possible...to not be a delinquent. 

Lastly, a gambit of studies (here's one) demonstrate that people don't trust names that are not common. In fact, only a century ago, choosing a common name was the thing to do. Parents didn't think it was cool to "show off" or demonstrate their own personal "uniqueness" on their child's name. Instead, the names "Mary" and "John" were the most popular (saint names). But then again, neither did society think that a child was an object to be thrown-away at epic rates. Think about it. If I said, "Will you let _________ borrow your car, or Frank borrow your car," which scenario makes you more comfortable? Just like the blank space, a name we are unfamiliar with breeds an immediate suspicion or lack of trust. One might even say that such behavior is a necessary, evolutionary mechanism by which we protect ourselves. In other words, the "dark alley" of the unknown is never the better option in whatever form it may take.

Second, name your children after saints because...well...YOU WANT THEM TO BE SAINTS! In most instances (barring "Scholastica"), the name is (1) a common or familiar name and of course (2) one that will give them a fantastic example to follow! That is what I like to call a parent WIN/WIN! Parenting is already difficult -- especially in the world we live today. We are given our children for such a short window of time, and our primary role as parents is to set them on the road to heaven.

Of course, Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Holy First Communion, Holy Confession, and catechesis in the home are the major ways that we work to accomplish that goal. However, choosing your child's name can help too.

St. Gemma Galgani,
ora pro nobis!

Of Strawmen and Struggles

Recently, a friend of mine called me on the carpet. Well, not exactly carpet but more like the barn floor. If you have ever been in a barn, you know what I'm talking about.

Yup, straw. Well, strawmen to be exact.

This friend informed me that a recent post I made (of which now only exists in some internet cache form) suffered from the strawman fallacy. Let me just skip to the point: I don't like playing with straw. Sure, it burns quickly, but in the end it's a quick fire with little real effects. All show, no dough. That's not what I'm about.

Specifically, I realized that I quite often say things like:

"Such and such assumes"

when I mean:

"A consequence of such and such is"

Big difference. It is one thing to say that because a person holds to "X", they must assume "Y"; quite another thing to say that because someone holds "X", the consequence is "Y". (say that to yourself ten times in row until it either (a) makes sense or (b) gives you a headache)

I'll blame him for my penchant for
arguing by implication

I also have a tendency to make arguments by implication. I sometimes ask my reader to think about what I'm saying and fill in the gaps, and some arguments really deserve better than that because the gaps can appear question begging. Since I'm in pile-on mode, I'll also enter as evidence that sometimes I use what someone else says to launch into my own conversation, not really engaging their argument directly as much as engaging the argument that I want to engage (partly due to some technology induced ADD). If you are careful, you can do that as long as you differentiate between your argument and the reference you are using. If you are not careful, you've just made the strawman fallacy. For the times when I have been guilty (e.g., my last un-published post):

Mea Culpa. Mea. Culpa. Mea Maxima Culpa.

Full stop. Part II Begins...

Since today is the one year anniversary of this blog, I want to share with you a struggle I have. I like to read academic stuff, even write academic stuff, but this blog is not for academic people. In fact, I make it my mission to go read the academic stuff and then write blog posts for stay-at-home moms and workings folks -- you know, like normal people.

There are blogs out there that are converting the seminarians and former protestant pastors. I'm sure they might find my blog interesting, but that is not the point. It would be accidental to the nature of this blog that an academic reads it and goes, "I shall footnote that in my next peer reviewed essay!" Instead, I started this blog to communicate with my family and friends. A lot of people have joined that journey, but my object has never changed.

So, here's my struggle:

How do I write blog-length posts to address important issues while simultaneously not losing the average reader? (note: if you are not the average reader and are right now thinking "Brent, you aren't talking about me", then, yes, I'm not talking about you)

When Academia and Normal Folks Mingle

I don't want to write a ten, twenty or thirty page paper for every blog post. Not because I don't like writing ten, twenty or thirty page papers, but because normal folks don't read ten, twenty or thirty page papers. Sure, maybe in a better and different society they would, but we don't live in that one. We live in this one. And speaking of this one, meaning this guy who is now typing on his MacBook this here blog post, I got to be frank.

I'm a straight shooter. I tried academia, and to be honest, I didn't like it. I don't like disagreeing with someone in 20 pages, when at the end of the day I could have just said, "I don't agree with you" and pointed them to 20-30 books that disagree with them too. "Go thou and readest and findest why I shallest disagreest with thou". It was all too high-brow for me, and I'm the son of a blue-collar man. At times, it felt like we were all sitting around staring at a tree that was in the way, and I wanted to say:

"Just cut the dang thing down!"

"But, Brent, we should be careful lest we mow down the wrong tree!"

"Well then, we'll just have to cut down two trees."

There has been some descent deforestation that has been done over this last year. In fact, over the last year, I've been encouraged that some good can be done online. Here's just some of what I've run into (comments left for me at various places):

"I too come from a Pentecostal background, attended a Pentecostal Bible College for a few years. Being apart of the Pentecostal Church became exhausting to me and I nearly walked away from my faith in Christ... I ended up attending an Evangelical church, where I am attending today. That said, after years of study, years of experience, years of seeking to understand Catholic spirituality and wanting to understand my Grandmother's faith truth began being revealed to me... it took years of searching and researching and then one day a few months ago I came to full resolve the teaching of Marry and the Eucharist and suddenly it was like the breaking of damn of a great big river washing over me... All the prophetic and apostolic teaching points to the Catholic church yet a great many can't and don't want to see it but I saw it and now I have to take these steps of obedience and I'm sure the more I do the greater peace I sense in my life. I'm thankful I came across a convert story from the Pentecostal tradition."

"Thank you for your blog! I really enjoy reading it. I am a 19-year-old spiritual seeker. After a long period of thinking, reading, and exploring, I really desire to become a Christian and enter the church.  My trouble is this: at first, I was overwhelmed by the number of Christian denominations all claiming to be "the one and only TRUE Church that CHRIST founded". After reading and praying for months, I did not feel that Protestantism was what Christ intended for His followers."

"Hi. I was raised Assembly of God and have found your blog to be extremely helpful in my consideration of converting to Catholicism. I have read your entries on confession which have helped answer some of my questions on the topic...Thank you for putting your story out there. It helps to get information from someone who comes from a similar background."

"Thank you very much for going out of your way to support me...And the whole of the Christian world with your beautiful, articulate, factual and humble blog. Please keep it up!

"A man phoned the Coming Home Network office today. He is a Pentecostal minister. He'd been listening to Pentecostal hymns on Youtube and clicked on a link that took him to the Journey Home program where you were the guest. Aaron listened to the program and then called the office."

From Twitter:

"@2bcatholic saw you on EWTN, inspired me to try out RCIA. Also, love the blog. Thanks!"

This is why I do what I do. Pray for me that I can do a better job. I don't like blogging or being online, but I honestly can see the good that God can use from it. So, I'm here to stay if the Lord wills it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALMOST NOT CATHOLIC! 

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Where did this guy go?

Gratuitous baby pic of Me

Where has the author for the blog Almost Not Catholic gone? Have you added him to your reader or feedburner and wondered why you made that mistake? It's five more days until the blog's 1 year birthday, and you would think he would write more. Come on already!

I know that I haven't been blogging much. Partly, it is due to the fact that I shaved off my beard.

the good ol' days: avec beard

With my beard, I have much inspiration. Without my beard...not so much. Okay, also there is this Lent thing whereby I tell myself to stay away from the blog. So, maybe I will have more to write soon enough. I will say that I currently have 3 posts almost ready to publish. (see how the "almost" thing works) I also hope to do some more reflections on Catholic theology. I like those. Sometime I get tired of saying:

"Dear friend in Christ. I, John. Q. Catholic, do not worship statues, Mary, or ____________. I worship God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Please leave your message after the tone"

But, but but...

"Dear friend in Christ. I, John Q. Catholic, do not worship..."

But, but, but...

You see how this goes. Taxing. Tiresome. Redundant. Obvious.

So, for the benefit of this blogger and anyone who is still reading, what is something God has been teaching you this Lent? Please share and bless all of us with a very important aspect of apologetics: personal testimony.

Conversion Tip #158127

18 Days Until the 1-Year Anniversary
of Almost Not Catholic

Therefore, in the spirit of unrestrained and unmetered sagacity, I so offer this conversion tip #158127:

Pray more than you read blogs.

Even Catholic blogs. Because believe it or not, just like (you may have thought) God can lead you to a random Protestant church in the phone book, He is also capable of helping you discern the claims of the Catholic Church. 

Ask Him to help you make the decision. Beg him to "show you the truth". You are not testing God, you are asking God for help. 

Do it.

Pray.

and... 

Consider celebrating the one year anniversary of Almost Not Catholic by subscribing via feed burner. It's easy -- pain free even. Click here to make it happen.

Peace to you on your journey.

19 Days to 366

One of the downsides
of being online: fake cake

That's right.

In 19 days, my blog will be 1 year old.

I know. You noticed I had some posts in 2009. Ignore those. The blog started last year, last Lent. The 2009 posts were some random ramblings that amounted to next to nothing.

So, for the next 19 days, I'm going to try to post some things I've learned about the blogosphere, Catholic apologetics, online communication etc.

First lesson in my 19 day random sage-fest:

Stay offline if you can. 

If you don't have a mission for being online, life is lived much better in the real world. Conversations ALWAYS are better in person. Cake always tastes better off-line.

Yet having a charitable conversation online, or attempting thereof, can be an opportunity to develop virtue. In person, sometimes we hide. Online, our dark-side can come out. We are not afraid because maybe we hide behind a gravatar or screen name that allows us to "exercise our demons". Maybe we lose our inhibitions because that guy who might punch us in the face for being a jerk is nowhere to be found.

This is dangerous.

Yet as much danger as it portends, it can also be an occasion to allow the Holy Spirit to work in you. That's where I am right now. Not that I'm a jerk online, but rather I am learning to gain balance. I'll admit that this year has been a struggle. For all of my life, I stood against blogging. I felt that it was narcissistic, exhibitionistic, and could lead to digital voyeurism. I still feel this way, in part, but I've come to realize that with a real mission, real good can be accomplished.

Though, it takes a mission. And with any mission, priorities must be set. You cannot be everything to everyone. A genuine mission requires an identifiable target (mine is the tag-line in my header), and an identifiable target means you aren't shooting your blog-bullets all over the place. Get a private journal for that.

In other words, don't just add to the noise. It's loud enough, already.

With your online activity, do something that adds to someone else and only consume the digital media that adds to your growth as a person. Don't be afraid to stop reading my blog, "un-follow" someone or even unplug all together. I won't be offended. If God is leading you there, go.

Either way, just go wherever God is leading you.

Is it the Catholic Church?

Peace to you on your journey

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7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol. 9)

-1-

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.

-2-

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?

-3-

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!

-4-

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.

-5-

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

-6-

This made me smile:

-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!

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Taut This!

—from "Honor Societies," in xkcd.

What is a tautology?

I get tired of tautologies. Taut this, taut that. They are unfalsifiable since they are ways of simply saying the same thing twice. Here's a few examples:

1. Skinny people are thin.

2. Good tasting ice cream is ice cream and good tasting.

3. Those in heaven were saved.

Let's look at this last one more closely. A few months ago, I entered the combox with a gentlemen who makes a claim close to this one. I've read versions of it elsewhere, and it is one that is impossible to argue against because the premise is false.

If someone gets to heaven, obviously, they are saved. Who can argue against that? Thus, the proposition "Those in heaven are saved" is a true and accurate description of a future state of affairs. However, what one cannot adduce from this proposition is anything regarding the state of affairs of someone now, nor does it follow from either the premise--which virtually contains the conclusion (hence a tautology)--that the conclusion can bear on any present judgment.

In other words, I cannot use this proposition to "prove" anything about right now. I cannot use it as a measure by which to either include or exclude any description of any present state of affairs. In plain English:

To say that "everyone who finishes a race finishes the race" doesn't tell me anything about who finished the race in relationship to who started the race.

"Brent, why are you writing about this on your blog? What does this have to do with theology or Catholicism?"

Good question. It has everything to do with the pernicious heresy of "Once Saved, Always Saved" (OSAS). This doctrine says that once you "accept Jesus", "put your faith in Christ", etc. you will never fall away. You can never fall away. If you start a race, you will finish it. This idea sounds familiar, doesn't it? It should. But to those who affirm OSAS, the wrong Scripture passage comes to mind. They think:

"Being confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus" -Philippians 1:6

When they should be thinking about:

"Wherefore, my dearly beloved, (as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but much more now in my absence,) with fear and trembling work out your salvation. For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will. And do ye all things without murmurings and hesitations; <-----That you may be blameless, and sincere children of God, without reproof, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; among whom you shine as lights in the world. Holding forth the word of life to my glory in the day of Christ, because I have not run in vain, nor laboured in vain."-Philippians 2:12-16

"Not as though I has already attained, or were already perfect; but I follow after, if I may by any means apprehend, wherein I am also apprehended by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus."-Philippians 3:12-14

The beauty of Sacred Scripture is that every non-Catholic interpretation of a given passage is usually proceeded or preceded by a number of passages that make the previous rendering nearly impossible. Saying that "the elect will be in heaven" does little good for us down here on earth. St. Paul makes it explicitly clear that we should not presume as to that which we have obtained. The prize is yet still before us. We press on towards it.

We should be confident, but confidence is not the same as sure knowledge. When speaking about our own salvation, that is pride. Such a stance toward salvation leads to a "not-so-certain certainty". But, I've already covered that.

Peace to you on your journey

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