Sunday, November 22, 2009

Things that Make Me Mad

The "New Atheism."

Consider this atheist billboard campaign from England, which discourages attempts to label children according to their parents' faith, and according to the campaign's president, also attempts to eliminate faith-based education. (The title of the piece written by the campaign's president is "Hey, preacher--leave those kids alone.")

This campaign is a blatant attempt to interfere in religious parenting.

The logic of the billboard is highly tenuous. In defense of the position that children should not be labeled with the religion of their parents, Richard Dawkins is cited as saying, "Nobody would seriously describe a tiny child as a 'Marxist child' or an 'Anarchist child' or a 'Post-modernist child'. Yet children are routinely labelled with the religion of their parents." No, Mr. Dawkins, a tiny child would not be labeled a Marxist, probably becase that child will probably not experience initiatory rituals (cf. baptism, circumcision, dedication), celebrate special days (cf. Christmas, Hannukah), and appropriate elements of that ideology in earliest childhood (cf. simple prayers, exposure to concept of God or afterlife), the way children born into a religious tradition will.

I mean, ha, really... a young child born to exclusively Jewish parents, who has undergone a bris, is learning to pray and light shabbat candles with his mother, and attends Temple, somehow does not deserve the label "Jewish?" Yes, young children can be, and often are, anchored in a particular religious tradition, because religion can be experienced at every age, and parents have a timeless right or role to "pass on to their child the things they value most, the beliefs and world view that shape how they live" (Jan Ainsworth).

And honestly, children will consolidate a set of personal beliefs when they reach adulthood with or without the help of a billboard. Thank you. Why are thousands of dollars being spent to engage what Miss Ainsworth rightly calls, "the non-issue of 'labeling children'"? I can't think of a good reason except to reduce/ignore the possible role of religion in childhood, and undermine the timeless right of parents to communicate their beliefs and values to their children, not least through faith-based education.

"Leave those kids alone."

How about you leave our kids alone, and focus on yours?
- Religious parents.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Mary Immaculate, Part I

As I announced, I will begin exploring the Immaculate Conception for an Adventist audience. At the very least, I hope this discussion helps clarify some misunderstood aspects of the dogma.

Original Sin

First, to grasp the idea of the Immaculate Conception, Adventists must first grasp the biblical basis for the notion of “original sin.”

Rom. 5:12-19 teaches that Adam’s sin was charged, to a certain degree, to all humanity. “All” are not made sinners by their own trespasses; rather, “the many died through the one man’s trespass” (v. 15). Adam’s one sin charged to us is the ground of our condemnation, just as surely as Christ’s one sacrifice charged to us on the cross is the sole ground of our righteousness: “just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all” (v. 18). As the Catechism notes, following the teachings of Paul:

How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam "as one body of one man." By this "unity of the human race" all men are implicated in Adam's sin, as all are implicated in Christ's justice. (CCC 404)

Indeed, v. 16 explicitly contrasts the “one trespass” of Adam that condemned all humans to the “many trespasses” humans have committed since: “For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.” The “many trespasses” since are not the formal ground of our condemnation, but Adam’s sin. Paul clinches this truth by noting that even pre-Mosaic human beings suffered the consequence of sin, that is, death (v. 14, 12; cf. 6:23), even though not all have had reckonable “sins” (for “sin is not reckoned when there is no law”; v. 13). They died not because of their personal sins (which were not “reckoned”), but because of a primordial sin—the sin of Adam. The coming of the Law only “multiplied” transgressions (v. 20), referring to the “many trespasses” in v. 16; nevertheless, all “perished” even “apart from the Law” (cf.2:12) due to their participation in Adam’s original sin (v. 15).

Thus, the claim that “all have sinned” must not be understood as a reference to the personal sins of human beings, but to humanity’s universal participation in Adam’s original sin.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

O Lord, Open My Lips

Many low-church Protestants criticize liturgical worship insofar as it is "formulaic," and (allegedly) by extension, "lifeless." However, the formulae used in Christian liturgy are most often inspired by, or adapted from, the Bible itself. Christian liturgy speaks with biblical expressions, and sees biblical imagery. (The scripturally-annotated edition of the Roman Mass in its forthcoming revised translation illustrates this well.)

In this light, liturgical worship is most perfectly "alive." How "lifeless" could every word proceeding from the mouth of God possibly be?

Friday, November 13, 2009

Anglican-Catholic Watch

The Traditional Anglican Communion expects to receive all votes in favor of unity before Lent begins (on Feb. 17).

Some bishops of the Church of England expect to respond on Feb. 22, the Feast of the Chair of Peter.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Pray for the Church in DC

Controversy on religious freedom.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Mary, the Immaculate Conception

In the weeks leading up to Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), I will begin a series discussing the basis of the doctrine itself. Obviously, the Immaculate Conception is a dogma with which many would-be Catholics struggle; it is certainly controversial among non-Catholics. Hopefully, this series can place the teaching in an accessible light for most of my readers.

Friday, November 06, 2009

Icons: The Fundamental Question

This is the most fundamental question, so far as I am concerned, regarding the possibility of reverencing an icon:

Can we offer gestures of reverence to sacred objects (Bibles, altars, thuribles, church buildings)?

If we can kiss an altar or chalice, or bow when a Bible is processed (as in Jewish and Christian practice from antiquity to the present day), , then we can do so to icons as well. Again, as the II Council of Nicaea dictates: the veneration we offer an icon is the exact same we offer any other sacred object in the church.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Pause

For those wondering why I have not posted any new discussions, to be honest, I am still waiting for an Adventist to address my last discussion post on "sacramentalism."

It is necessary to discuss areas of disagreement between Catholicism and Adventism, as we continue to do (e.g., most recently, icons). In my journey to Catholic faith, however, I was most impressed by what I perceived to be grievous oversights by Adventist theology and practice, most especially: the denial baptismal regeneration and lack of a post-baptismal laying on of hands ("Confirmation"). I would remind those who would love, and pray for, my return to Adventism that these issues must be addressed. I left Adventism both for what was beautiful about Catholicism, but also, what I find inexcusably lacking in Adventism.

Mary's Dowry

The British parishes of the Traditional Anglican Communion accept the pope's offer to become Catholic.

Faith of our fathers, Mary’s prayers
Shall win our country back to Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
England shall then indeed be free.

- Original 3rd Stanza of "Faith of Our Fathers"

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Irritable and Sharp Tongued, Sensitive and Thinned Skinned

http://irritableandsensitive.blogspot.com/

I have created my first blog. It is perfectly pristine and totally empty, because having created it I have discovered that I have absolutely nothing to say. (Currently I am considering Haiku and Sonnets, but not being particularly poetic, nothing much is coming to me.)

I do want you to know that you are all invited to visit my blog, and if any of Brandon's Team want posting rights they are certainly welcome - just as soon as I figure out how to do that. As they say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and since I think technology peaked sometime in the 4th century, I am very dangerous indeed.

Any thoughts or advice?

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Celibacy among Anglican-Catholics

A Clarification from the Holy See asserts celibacy will be the rule for the new personal ordinariates, but explicitly leaves open the possibility of admitting married men to the priesthood in the future.

Friday, October 30, 2009

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

From Spectrum Blog:


More distressing, however, is the observation that so many church members indiscriminately accept without examination the validity of the latest sensational information to flash its way around the Adventist Grapevine. Whether . . . an embellished or selective retelling of something the pope has just said; or some event said finally to be the trigger for the time of trouble, close of probation, seven last plagues, or a national Sunday law, the news flashes quickly church to church, member to member.

Sadly, but entirely, true. And so-called "conservative" and "historic" (right of center) Adventists conduct this speculation like metal conducts heat.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A Sacramental Church

One of the things I most sought on my journey to Catholic faith was a "sacramental" Church. I felt deeply dissatisfied with Adventism's exclusion of the following two beliefs/practices, for which I saw great scriptural evidence:

Baptismal Regeneration
I believe the scriptural evidence overwhelmingly indicates that baptism is no mere "symbol" (as Fundamental Belief 15 claims), but a true transformation, in which a person's sins are washed away, and the person is reborn. For the scriptural basis of that belief, I wrote a piece I'd welcome you to read.

Confirmation
I believe that the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Spirit is a necessary second stage of Christian initiation (Acts 8:14-17; 19:6). Unfortunately, Adventists do not practice a laying on of hands after baptism for the Holy Spirit, as Catholics do. In light of the Biblical pattern, I still cannot fathom why this is.

In many ways, I still feel as if I could not return to Adventism simply in view of these issues.

Live

“Tradition is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” - Jaroslav Pelikan

Saturday, October 24, 2009

David Atkins Will Receive Preferential Treatment On This Blog

Mess with him, you mess with me.

Grow Up

"Perhaps this is the time for some Adventists to publicly apologize to our Catholic friends for the continuing immaturity and paranoia exhibited by certain professional Adventist evangelists"

A challenging post and discussion over at Ervin Taylor's AToday blog.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Former Adventist Dialogue Discussion of Covenants

Just in case the resident SDAs have forgotten, the conversation on covenants is still going on over at David's blog. Few if any SDAs made any comments on the Nochian covenant (Part II). We are now moving forward to the Abraham Covenant (III).

It was mentioned in the comments on Part II that since creation, no Biblical mention of the Sabbath had been found, but that was no surprise to those who did make comments.

During This Year Devoted to Priests . . .

Blessed Agnes of Jesus of Langeac was devoted to praying for priests.

THE ANGLICANS ARE COMING

SO exciting!!!!!!!! Permanent provision has been made for those Anglicans desiring a reunion with the Apostolic See.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Catholic Convert Pendleton Reviews an Adventist Book

From AToday. (Sorry this is late.)