How Trump exploits evangelical influencers that monetize God

Longtime readers know that I have something of a niche fascination with how the evangelical Christian community uniquely attracts charlatan media personalities. In a recent post, I discussed how Jerry Falwell Jr.'s spectacular fall from grace (which took the reputation of Liberty University down with it) fits a well-established pattern of folks constructing and maintaining … Continue reading How Trump exploits evangelical influencers that monetize God →

Lent is supposed to hurt

Detail from an 18th century headstone in a cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts. One of the perks of living in the center of town is we can now walk to Mass. There is a Catholic diocese and high school only a mile away from our house, which makes for an enjoyable stroll during "winter" in Florida, … Continue reading Lent is supposed to hurt →

Is this Mass or yoga?

I have written a lot about what some observers like to call "therapeutic" Christianity - where churches are only nominally Christian and instead behave more like pop psychology self-help gurus. A major component of this phenomenon is becoming more casual in worship and beliefs. Show up at church however you want. Building a family is … Continue reading Is this Mass or yoga? →

Good works

As it is not one swallow or a fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics One of the strange things about being a Roman Catholic is all of your non-Catholic friends and acquaintances will eventually start peppering … Continue reading Good works →

Medieval literature and some seriously good South Florida cuisine

I have been slowly working my way through All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C.S. Lewis 1922-1927. These are Lewis's journal entries after he returned from serving in World War I. During the war, Lewis made a pact with some close friends that if any of them did not survive the war, the … Continue reading Medieval literature and some seriously good South Florida cuisine →

Some thoughts on the Traditional Latin Mass

The soul ... has a slow and dark birth, more mysterious than the birth of the body. When the soul of a man is born in this country there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those … Continue reading Some thoughts on the Traditional Latin Mass →

Money, not Faith, is Driving the Crack-Up in the Southern Baptist Church

Photo by Wendy van Zyl on Pexels.com Within the last month or so, the mainstream media - who is no friend to culturally conservative religious sects - has been gleefully hyping two events unfolding within the Southern Baptist community. The first was some metropolitan Atlanta churches threatening to leave the pack over race / being … Continue reading Money, not Faith, is Driving the Crack-Up in the Southern Baptist Church →

Pope Francis’s War with Traditionalist Catholics Continues

Photo by Julia Volk on Pexels.com I am not sure if this is a fascinating or terrifying new development, but the Vatican has now prohibited the Latin Mass (the original rite of the Roman Catholic Church) from being celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica. From the Associated Press: A second Catholic cardinal has questioned the legitimacy … Continue reading Pope Francis’s War with Traditionalist Catholics Continues →

One small place of enchantment

I do not understand how anyone can live without one small place of enchantment to turn to.Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God … Continue reading One small place of enchantment →

Pruning and weeding as frames of mind

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.George Washington Carver Adam was a gardener, and God, who made him, sees that half of all good gardening is done upon the knees.Rudyard Kipling For behold, the kingdom of God … Continue reading Pruning and weeding as frames of mind →