Catholic Interest

Interesting things Catholic

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    Thursday, December 18, 2008

    Anglicans based on what then?



    Darn it. Just when we Catholics thought we had the Anglicans on the right path by replacing their head with a Catholic politician, it seems they don't need a head.

    So if they don't stand on requiring the King or Queen to lead them, what do they stand upon? Just simple stubborn seperation from the Church. And unlike Luther, they don't even claim a different theology. Just apart and liking it.

    I wonder what the chances are that the One True Anglican Church would be guided by the Holy Spirit to first break from the Church over a King's marriage, then toss out the King and still feel special. Bah Humbug.

    link

    And the politician that is pushing this "disestablished" effort? He doesn't get religion from a religious view I don't think, but rather as expected, he sees things from a political view.

    He said: ‘Disestablishment is long overdue, and it would be better for it to occur sooner rather than later. The established status of the church contradicts ideas of equality, fairness and justice which Christianity is supposed to stand for.'

    Well no. Jesus is not for equality and fairness.. that's a fantasy concocted by politicians in a world that will never be fair, and we are obviously not built to be equal. Jesus is for Justice. As we shall all plead Mercy before.

    Wednesday, December 17, 2008

    You say you want a revolution...



    Riots and Chaos from the young. Teens on the street with matches and 100 Greek middle schools occupied and controled by the children.

    Sure sounds like the 60's only without fear of reprisal by the law and order folks who must be staying at home and watching it on TV.

    If there is a ressonance, let me predict more social disorder, rage and burning. Poor old Lyndon Johnson made promises for a Great Society and freedom. When progress was not immediate, but rather plodded along at a politician's pace, Watts burned down.

    There's almost no comparison between Johnson's promises, and the hype that accompanies Obama. If he plods along at merely human pace, our old friend Mr. Chaos will arrive to accompany the wanting, demanding, spoiled, ignorant masses.

    Those not in the streets can watch it on TV.

    Thursday, December 11, 2008

    Finally the Anglicans can become Catholic



    It may happen yet. Since the Anglicans believe that the King or Queen of England are divinely appointed by God to lead their church, this should put an end to the sad division between us all these hundreds of years.

    A Catholic Anglican leader would be compelled to wipe out this old national church division, and move the high Anglicans to Rome where they belong.

    The low Anglicans would find no interest on their own part, or Rome's.

    link

    Tuesday, December 09, 2008

    Twinge of morals vs wants



    I know it's not easy to balance all these competing human wants and desires regarding IVF. God made us to want children. And the thankfully nagging Church reminds us to have the children using God's methods.

    It is interesting that a sizable percentage of IVF folks perceive something to consider in their little baby embryos. And that this occurs to them only after their wants for a child have been satisfied. Like so many sins I know personally, once the want is satisfied, guilt takes its place.

    Perhaps it will prompt them to investigate the Church's reasoning regarding abortion again, and how the destruction of little embryos is like abortion, just less graphic and easier.

    link

    Sunday, November 23, 2008

    Judgement? Sorry, Christ is PC non-Judgemental


    Wow, the readings today re Christ the King just shout of Judgement.
    ...
    The sleek and strong? Out!
    The goats? Out to the fire created for the devil and his angels.
    ...
    How much plainer could it be?
    ...
    Show of hands please... who heard a homily today having anything to do about Judgement? I heard nothing.
    ...
    How encouraging. Could it be the mother's milk that the Priests think is all that we can tolerate, or is it that they have forgotten that final thing called Judgement? If not forgotten, perhaps they're just too PC to mention it. Judgement is very judgemental you know.
    ...
    Today one Priest relayed to me how there was controversy about this mosaic in the Basilica at first because Jesus looked so mad.
    ...
    Right ;)

    Saturday, November 15, 2008

    Naive arrival



    Tech leaders to unite world religions with the "golden rule".

    For probably good reason, they sound like competent High School Sophomores that have yet to take their History Class. With their high self-esteem I think they are expecting an "A" for effort and originality.

    They have simply arrived and had a bright idea regarding one of the most perplexing works of the devil ever invented.

    Of course, these well meaning folks see religion as a tool of culture rather than anything deeper they have yet to understand.

    Hollywood and techies to the rescue. God save us.

    A little humor for your morning coffee...

    link

    The Golden Rule essentially calls on people to do unto others as they would have done unto them.


    "The chief task of our time is to build a global society where people of all persuasions can live together in peace and harmony," Armstrong said.


    "If we do not achieve this, it seems unlikely that we will have a viable world to hand on to the next generation."

    A website launched Friday with the backing of technology industry and Hollywood elite urges people worldwide to help craft a framework for harmony between all religions.

    "Tedizens" include Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin along with other Internet icons as well as celebrities such as Forest Whittaker and Cameron Diaz.


    Wishes granted at TED envision ways to better the world and come with a promise that Tedizens will lend their clout and capabilities to making them come true.

    Friday, November 14, 2008

    May this little one pray for us.



    Pray for the half of us who do not know what we are doing.

    +++

    Picture compliments of Jill Stanek blog.

    link

    Who's going to the March in Washington DC in January? It's a worthy message for our new president as he unfolds his plan to bring the nation together.

    Thursday, November 13, 2008

    New talk


    The U.N. is for talking. I'm surprised a little regarding the negative comments about having Saudia Arabia lead the "U.N. Faith Forum" that have come forth.
    ...
    It lends itself to humor I know. But, this is what inviting everyone to the table feels like.
    We shall see. And with Obama, we shall see more.
    ...
    ...
    "Humanity is in moral bankruptcy, and we are in need of being bailed out," d'Escoto said. Asked whether Saudi Arabia had the moral standing to preside over the event, d'Escoto said: "I never conceived the United Nations as an organization of saints. We are in the world a community of sinners . . . and we should accept warmly any brother who wants to join forces to resolve" the most pressing problems.

    Friday, March 28, 2008

    Roots of Evil.. Muslim whispers and death


    Explaining the stages of his conversion, Allam said that “at some point I had to take action” after discovering that “the roots of evil are intrinsic to Islam, that [it] is physiologically violent and historically conflictive.”
    ...
    Yes Mr. Convert, that is it exactly.
    ...
    A clever religion founded on some angel's whispers. Plus an admitted fear of idol worship of the special prophet that rewrote the bible to match the whispers. That's why no pictures are allowed. Yikes!
    ...
    Thank you for saying so.
    ...
    ...
    The 55-year-old Egyptian-born convert is deputy editor of “Corriere della Sera,” one of Italy’s leading newspapers, and often writes on Muslim and Arab affairs.
    ...
    His criticism of Palestinian suicide bombings generated threats on his life in 2003, prompting the Italian government to provide him with a sizeable police protection force.
    ...
    Allam said at that time that he had continually asked himself why someone who had struggled for what he called "moderate Islam" was then "condemned to death in the name of Islam and on the basis of a Koranic legitimization."
    ...
    Word of the conversion of a high profile Muslim was only made known on Saturday when the Vatican announced that one of the seven Catechumens to be received in to the Catholic Church by Pope Benedict at the Easter vigil was Muslim.

    Tuesday, March 11, 2008

    What will it take to get a Gasp?



    You know, in 90% of the cases, it's us... the adult generation that is responsible. Kids are kids because they're willfully ignorant and immature. It's us.

    Now what can we possibly do about it except teach Virtue. Not values.. Virtue. Do we know how to do that anymore? God, I hope so.

    link

    At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group.

    About half of the girls acknowledged having sex; among them, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections.

    For many, the numbers most likely seem "overwhelming because you're talking about nearly half of the sexually experienced teens at any one time having evidence of an STD," said Dr. Margaret Blythe, an adolescent medicine specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine and head of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on adolescence.

    Half of the teens playing barn animals are sick. There are all kind of medicines that may help them. There is only one remedy that absolutely will help them. Virtue... passed from the Church to the adults, and from the adults to the kids. That's how it works.

    Monday, March 10, 2008

    Where is it?


    This Sunday, the Priest asked the congregation whether they wanted the short or long version of the Gospel reading on Lazarus. Great shock.. they wanted the long version. So nice! It goes along with my suspect that people who don't like worship and things sacred, would not be very comfortable in heaven either.
    ...
    Anyway, although Lazarus was raised from the dead, it was not an admission to heaven. We know some little things about heaven... like the fact men and women do not marry there.
    ...
    But the one BIG thing we do know is something we say all the time in the Lord's Prayer. It is where the Father's will is done. That's probably all we really need to know.
    ...
    And the Kingdom? As His will is done, we can glimpse heaven right now. Not a very idyllic thing all the time.. to do His will. And based on the fallen angels, something demanding right-thinking even up there.
    ...
    Purely His will is done, or you aren't there. Even if you are there, you will be cast down should you choose not His will it seems.
    ...
    So His Kingdom is here as His will is done by each and every willful child. Yet no harp music, no puffy clouds. Just hard work. And of course.. blessed peace as Jesus promised.
    ...
    I betcha heaven will be just as exciting!

    Friday, March 07, 2008

    The Tobacco Monologues


    This story referred by D.C. lawyer with tagline… “the human spirit shines through”.
    And to me, it’s nanny prohibition type meddlers run amok. And this from the State that elected Jesse Ventura their governor. Go figure.

    Anyway, let God sort it out. Religion in the past in this country was quite meddlesome. Now we pretty much leave petty things up to God. For really serious things we prefer man’s justice system, and once inside may God help you.

    We are pretty proud of locking up 1 out of 100 people. And if the Democrats get in as expected, then we can look forward to enjoying more government to produce more godly behavior. Not from the heart of course, but from taxes, fear of fines, and imprisonment. Wonderful stuff to be proud of for sure.

    What a excellent story of resistance though! It could be the start of something big. Well, I’m not sure of that, but something somewhere will awaken our zombie population somehow. The 60’s anew. How refreshing. This story sounds more like the roaring 20’s, so it may not quite be the spark I am hoping for.

    Link
    A new state ban on smoking in restaurants and other nightspots contains an exception for performers in theatrical productions. So some bars are getting around the ban by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume, and pronouncing them "actors."
    The state Health Department is threatening to bring the curtain down on these sham productions. But for now, it's on with the show.
    At The Rock, a hard-rock and heavy-metal bar in suburban St. Paul, the "actors" during "theater night" do little more than sit around, drink, smoke and listen to the earsplitting music.
    "They're playing themselves before Oct. 1. You know, before there was a smoking ban," owner Brian Bauman explained. Shaping the words in the air with his hands, like a producer envisioning the marquee, he said: "We call the production, `Before the Ban!"'
    The smoking ban, passed by the Legislature last year, allows actors to light up in character during theatrical performances as long as patrons are notified in advance.
    About 30 bars in Minnesota have been exploiting the loophole by staging the faux theater productions and pronouncing cigarettes props, according to an anti-smoking group.
    "It's too bad they didn't put as much effort into protecting their employees from smoking," grumbled Jeanne Weigum, executive director of the Association for Nonsmokers.
    "Grumbled Jeanne"... I love it.

    Monday, March 03, 2008

    the seed of the church


    Blood and daggers. Iraq Christians and Muslims. The Pope and Sikh leader's 'Kirpans' (daggers).
    ...
    What in the world? Let's see. Sikh leaders carry sacred daggers, and are willing to forgo a meeting with the Pope since the security rules do not allow death implements at the meetings. I wonder what makes these daggers sacred to the supposed muslim religion of peace.
    ...
    Well, I really don't care what makes them sacred. I am amazed at the leaders though, in their obtuse view of muslim violence, so conditioned and proud to insist they must carry knives.
    ...
    ...
    Sikh leaders in the US have declined an invitation to attend an inter-faith event during Pope Benedict's first visit to the country next month because they would not be allowed to carry their 'Kirpans' due to security reasons.
    ...
    The US Secret Service insisted that Sikh leaders attending the meeting with Pope Benedict XVI would have to come without the ceremonial daggers as required by their faith, The Washington Post reported.
    ...
    "We have to respect the sanctity of the Kirpan, especially in such inter-religious gatherings. We cannot undermine the rights and freedoms of religion in the name of security.
    ...
    Sanctity of Kirpans. Give me a break!
    ...

    And then related by murder and death and abduction is another bloody story of Iraq's Archbishop kidnapping. and the murder last year of a Priest and Deacons.
    ...
    ...
    Last year, on the Feast of Pentecost, armed Muslims confronted Father Ragheed Ganni, a Chaldean Catholic priest, along with three of his sub-deacons, Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, and Gassan Isam Bidawed.. The priest and his deacons had just left the Sunday celebration of Holy Mass.
    ...
    These Islamic extremists forcibly insisted that these three Chaldean Catholic Clergymen convert to Islam or face death. The brave priest and three clerics chose fidelity to Christ instead. So, the armed extremists became executioners, killing them all after leading the sub-deacon Bidawed’s wife away.
    ...
    Perhaps there is a chance for the kornann to become a peaceful book. Where we Christians have the Old and the New Testament, perhaps they could separate all their violent text to the Odd Testament, and concentrate peacefully on the remains.
    ...
    As it is, it's all muddled together. Daggers, suicide murders, and hate.

    Thursday, February 28, 2008

    Point for Sklba



    I was under the soft assumption that Bishop Sklba was pretty much a leftover from the Weakland disaster in Milwaukee. Although the one time I did see and hear them together, Bishop Sklba seemed like a nice, perhaps holy fellow.

    He must be smart and able, since he is in some important positions, and Bishop did keep him on after Weakland's banishment.

    Anyway, to his credit he said something very good to the Jews that are upset over the prayer for them in the revised Latin Mass. Something about Salvation coming through Jesus...

    Meanwhile, Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba of Milwaukee, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, is trying to reassure the Jewish community.


    "Central to the concerns of the Holy Father is the clear articulation that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ and his Church," Sklba said in a statement. "It is a faith that must never be imposed but always freely chosen."

    Times are hard, but it is encouraging to hear the good said. Thank you Bishop.

    link

    Tuesday, January 15, 2008

    The islum Jesus was Judas



    We hear that islum worships the same God as Christians. He's a tricky dude though.

    Jesus had done something displeasing to God and was punished. So all the people who 'thought' they saw Jesus on the cross, were really looking at Judas, but their eyes were lying.

    Jesus? He escaped to go hiding somewhere and of course was not raised from the dead since it wasn't him on the cross.

    Sound feasable? Nope, it sounds like a joke.

    Very naughty God the Father to deceive the people that way, no?

    In fact, doesn't sound much like God the Father at all.

    Deception comes not from God but from you-know-who. Who as I said all along was the whisperer to that you-know-who prophet they refuse to have a picture of lest they fall into idolatry. You know... that PBUH-peace-be-upon-him guy. That guy that dares not have a teddy bear named after him. Sounds like idolatry to me anyway, picture or not.

    link

    A director who shares the ideas of Iran's hardline president has produced what he says is the first film giving an Islamic view of Jesus Christ, in a bid to show "common ground" between Muslims and Christians.


    Nader Talebzadeh sees his movie, Jesus, the Spirit of God, as an Islamic answer to Western productions like Mel Gibson's 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, which he praised as admirable but quite simply "wrong".


    "Gibson's film is a very good film. I mean that it is a well-crafted movie but the story is wrong — it was not like that," he said, referring to two key differences: Islam sees Jesus as a prophet, not the son of God, and does not believe he was crucified.


    Talebzadeh said he even went to Gibson's mansion in Malibu, California, to show him his film.

    But it was Sunday and the security at the gate received the film and the brochure and promised to deliver it," though the Iranian never heard back.

    The film, funded by state broadcasting, faded off the billboards but is far from dead, about to be recycled in a major 20-episode spin-off to be broadcast on state-run national television this year.

    Friday, January 04, 2008

    Perfect purple


    Bishop John W. Yanta of the diocese of Amarillo said that Tuesday January 22 will be observed in his diocese as a "Day of Fast and Abstinence." Catholic priests in the diocese will celebrate in violet vestments, a symbol of penance in the Catholic Church.
    ...bishop has declared his diocese will observe the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion in the United States, as a day of penance for Catholics... Tuesday January 22.
    "I encourage all the people of God to attend Mass that day, pray before the Blessed Sacrament, pray the rosary and witness to life," Bishop Yanta wrote.
    The day coincides with the annual National March for Life in Washington, D.C., whose 2008 theme is "Build Unity on the Life Principles throughout America. No Exception! No Compromise!"

    Wednesday, December 26, 2007

    Those dark anglicans



    Surprising that I had the default assumption that anglicans would naturally be against abortion.

    I know they are splitting along homosexual and femine disagreements, but I thought a church that considers itself somehow close to Catholic would get abortion right. Not so.

    I must have given too much credit to anglicans having John Henry Newman before his conversion to Catholicism.

    And the theological reasons for their abortion support? None really. Just a boat cut loose from common natural sense and Jesus. Much like their liberal wing, they feel the bible is rather irrelivent now, since it was written so long ago... in this case, before the wisdom of modern medicine could be turned against the children.

    They hold the ugly nazi view that human life has worth in proportion to it's value as it develops. Which of course supports the killing of people in their early and late life since we develop this anglican value as we progress through grade school, and lose this value as we progress through the old age home.

    And let's not forget the value-poor folks caught somewhere inbetween in a coma, or perhaps just born too stupid to be an anglican.

    link

    THE DIOCESE of Melbourne has backed the legalization of abortion. In a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission made by an all-women panel appointed by Archbishop Philip Freier, the diocese stated public acceptance of abortion ‘indicates that a change in the law is timely.’

    There were ‘no specific biblical texts addressing therapeutic or induced abortion’ the diocesan panel said, and explained that ‘the Bible is a collection of texts written in a world without our modern medical practices and so does not speak specifically to the ease and safety with which a pregnancy may be terminated today.’

    It rejected the ‘absolutist position’ that life begins at conception and the ‘pro-choice perspective’ that held that women were free to ‘do what they like with their own bodies.’ The diocese stated ‘that while the embryo/foetus is fully human from the time of conception, it accrues moral significance and value as it develops.’

    Thus while the ‘destruction even of an early embryo is of moral significance, we believe the moral significance increases with the age and development of the foetus.’

    The abortion of a foetus at 28 weeks was ‘more serious’ than at 10 weeks, they said, but added there should not be ‘a legislated absolutist end-point after which an abortion could not proceed.’

    Writing to his diocese on Dec 10, Dr Freier said Melbourne did ‘not have a definitive viewpoint on abortion’ and as a whole the Anglican Church ‘has predominantly been silent about abortion.’

    Monday, December 24, 2007

    Christmas church-goers


    I am always happy to see the churchs generally swell the pews for Christmas and Easter. The Priests always throw in a welcome to 'visitors', and hope to see them again soon.
    ---
    Some of this swelled population effect comes from regular parishioners bringing in their extended families and friends.
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    Some of this is Catholics drawn be the season's nostalgia and extra church decorations... the manger scene, and all the lilies at Easter.
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    The religious headlines today are that in England more Catholics now go to church on Sunday than the landed Anglicans.
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    Anglican pastor Lynda explains that...
    ---
    ...She added that, as Anglicans were not under the same obligation as Catholics to go to church every Sunday.
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    She said that while the Church of England encouraged adherents to go to worship weekly, many who only went once or twice a year could consider themselves full members of the Church.
    ---
    ---
    Well now, that's interesting. I was discussing mortal and venial sins one day with a Franciscan Priest, and he said "Come on, do you really believe that God will condem you to hell for missing Mass?"
    ---
    Well, that's what the Church still maintains, so I said Yes.
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    After all, what makes it right to go along with popular culture's general loss of the sense of sin? It's just too new to be automatically accepted as recently wise.
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    There's also the element that if we do not wish to enter God's presence at least weekly, what makes us think we would tolerate heaven, where God's presence is even more pevasive.
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    Missing weekly Mass is a big and clear marker of our relationship. Friends we do not care to see too often, are a particular type of friend... usually a weak type.
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    So there's another thing about Anglicans I was not aware of. Namely that regular church participation is optional. Encouraged but optional. Weak.
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    Anyway, Merry Christmas and good luck to them. And for those like Blair that work to come home, welcome.

    Saturday, December 15, 2007

    Normal not



    What is it when man's eyes stare at the material and deny the spirit either good or evil? Man as human animal vs. man as human spirit.

    It is then "as we are born", vs. as we are born of God. The stuff of the cosmos. Dust in, and dust out, so make the best of it.

    And if that's the outlook, then mother and father become parent 1 and parent 2. No longer spouses, but partners in some strange handshake agreement. And so far, they get what they beget, things are fair. They have made their bed so to speak.

    But then comes adoption. Many formative years captive to abnormality. Real child abuse of the mind, if not also of the body. Real pride in decay.

    Save the kids. Save the kids' sanity and salvation. Forbid the making normal of this aberration.

    Link thanks to stay at home mom and Catholic in Arlington.

    link

    When GLBT individuals or couples begin their journey to adoption, the first and most critical step is finding an agency that is welcoming. This often occurs through word-of-mouth references shared by experienced adoptive parents, as well as through websites dedicated to advocacy and education within the GLBT community.


    HRC will provide the All Children – All Families Seal to agencies that achieve at least nine of the 12 benchmarks. You can continue to improve over time and the rating will change accordingly. Once you earn the All Children– All Families Seal, you can proudly display it on your website, on your office door or in printed materials.

    1.
    The agency’s mission or values statement uses GLBT-inclusive language.

    2.
    The agency’s non-discrimination statement for clients clearly bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

    3.

    The agency’s non-discrimination statement for clients clearly bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

    4.
    The agency’s non-discrimination statement for staff clearly bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

    5.
    The agency’s non-discrimination statement for staff clearly bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

    6.

    Comprehensive GLBT-specific content is included in the agency’s new staff orientation.

    7.
    Comprehensive GLBT content is included in the agency’s homestudy trainings.

    8.
    All agency-controlled forms use inclusive language (e.g., "partner" instead of "spouse" or "parent 1" and "parent 2" rather than "mother" and "father").

    9.
    The agency’s website and printed materials explicitly identify the agency’s commitment to working with GLBT individuals and families.

    10.
    All client/prospective family trainings integrate GLBT-inclusive language, examples and exercises.

    11.
    The agency actively recruits GLBT foster and adoptive individuals and families.

    12.
    The agency has had successful GLBT foster or adoptive parents.

    Christmas controversy, protestants give up



    If you run across early Christmas Cards from the 1800's, you can tell that times were very different.

    This article is a reminder that protestants, having set themselves back to sola scriptura, could not abide celebrating Christmas on any certain day since that exact date was not listed in the Gospels.

    Somewhere since the reformation, this pagan Catholic practice must have been dropped proudly. But shucks, since it seemed to do so little harm, and culture was getting so friendly with it, and since they had no better idea of when to celebrate Christ's birth... they just forgot about the whole thing.

    Now most everyone can say Merry Christmas.

    Catholics still have that pesky culture friction Advent period that we attend to. Imagine, no Christmas songs until Midnight Mass. Yes, we can imagine it very well.

    This same culture that made Christmas acceptable to the protestants has corrupted its celebration, not knowing when to stop the evolving consumerism.

    Nevertheless, Jesus is our hero and saves us. He deserves a birthday rememberance.

    So every year for 1,700 years, we can't help ourselves, we celebrate.

    link

    His church's objection to Christmas is rare among U.S. Christians. Gallup polls from 1994 to 2005 consistently show that more than 90 percent of adults say they celebrate Christmas, including 84 percent of non-Christians.

    That's a huge change from an earlier era, when many Protestants ignored or actively opposed the holiday. But as it gradually became popular as a family celebration, churches followed their members in making peace with Christmas.

    The change didn't happen overnight. Through much of the 19th century, schools and businesses remained open, Congress met in session and some churches closed their doors, lest errant worshippers try to furtively commemorate the day.

    In researching his book, "Christmas: A Candid History," Forbes discovered that major American denominations--Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, Methodists and Congregationalists--either ignored the holiday or actively discouraged it until the late 19th century.

    That rejection was rooted in the lack of biblical sanction for Dec. 25 as the date of Jesus' birth, as well as suspicion toward traditions that developed after the earliest days of Christianity. In colonial New England, this disapproval extended to actually making the holiday illegal, with celebration punishable by a fine.

    Christmas benefited from a 19th century "domestication of religion," said University of Texas history professor Penne Restad, in which faith and family were intertwined in a complementary set of values and beliefs. Christmas became acceptable as a family-centered holiday, Restad said, once it lost its overtly religious significance.

    At the same time, aspects of the holiday like decorated trees and gift-giving became status symbols for an aspirant middle class. When Christmas began its march toward dominance among holidays, it was because of a change in the culture, not theology.

    "In America, the saying is that the minister follows the people, the people don't follow the minister," Restad said. "This was more of a sociological change than a religious one. The home and the marketplace had more sway than the church."

    That's partly why Christians like the United Church of God reject the holiday: They say divine instruction, rather than culture and society, should determine whether the holiday is appropriate. "It's common knowledge that Christmas and its customs have nothing to do with the Bible,"

    Sunday, December 09, 2007

    Obama mindlink with VOTF





    O Obama.


    Oh what 8 years of Democrats' thinking will bring us.


    As we cringe at VOTF rhetoric, we might expect to cringe much more as the President speaks, and speaks, and acts.


    A big shot at VOTF now a chief advisor to Obama.

    link


    So what is Obama's attitude toward Catholics?

    In his speech last summer to the Call to Renewal Conference he explained, "The majority of Catholics practice birth control because they, like all Americans, 'intuitively' recognize religious teachings that are 'more culturally specific' and may be modified to accommodate modern life."


    Dimwitted but excusable coming from a non-Catholic. A non-Catholic wouldn’t be expected to understand Catholic theology, but then again what’s he doing commenting on it I wonder? Perhaps indicative of Obama’s Democrat grand visions.

    Marshall Ganz, a Harvard sociologist, was a major force behind organizing Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), a dissenting Catholic organization devoted to "structural" change in the Church. VOTF, you may recall, used the occasion of the priest sex scandals to call for changes in Catholic doctrine, such as the addition of a married priesthood and popularly-elected bishops. Ganz is a nationally known expert in political organizing. In 2004 he was an adviser to Howard Dean -- Ganz now advises Democratic presidential candidate, Barak Obama.

    Obama has Catholic support, including a priest from Chicago, Fr. Michael Pfleger who said,"I think Barak Obama is in a class of his own." Not really, Father. Just like presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Rudy Giuliani, Obama is pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage. Now that Clinton is sliding downward in the polls, and the Obama campaign is gaining ground, we may be hearing more of Obama's opinions on Catholic teaching.

    catholic interest.