Dave Sloan has unveiled a superb new website about sex, dating, love, and intimacy called "God of Desire." His project is to impart a thoroughly Catholic view of romantic desire as part of God's plan for us -- something men and women these days really need to hear about. Check it out!
Fifteen years ago I was arrested outside this man's abortion clinic for sitting and praying. I was sixteen weeks pregnant with my third daughter, Esther, who would eventually go before a judge here in Phoenix on behalf of her own kind, the unborn. Thus her name. On the way to our court appearance I had a most unpleasant encounter with Dr. Finkle, if anyone who makes a living killing children deserves the title Doctor. I must admit my response to him was much less than saintly. My penance for my behavior has been to pray for this man for the last year or so. It seems that God's response to my prayers has been to bring his reign of killing and abuse to an end. Now if only God can reach that hard heart and bring about true repentance . . . O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.
As Sonya and I go through our Christmas pictures, I realized that I never fulfilled my promise to post some pics of the golden fez after being elected Supreme Vizier to the Alhambra's international executive this past summer. My apologies, and I suppose better late than never:
The Golden Fez
Working away at the next issue of the Alhambran
Which also reminds me, I haven't blogged an Alhambra update since the Terri Schindler-Schiavo situation this past fall. As a number of you have inquired how the Alhambra is coming along, here's an excerpt from my recent Christmas editorial for the Wanderer:
One of my favorite activities each year is the Christmas party organized by our local Alhambra caravan. For those who have never come across it, we are a hundred-year old Catholic family organization dedicated to serving the needs of the mentally and cognitively challenged. These are God’s special children. They possess a simplicity of spirit that truly reflects the humility of Our Lord’s incarnation. Our family always finds Christmas with God’s special children uplifting to our spirits.
My first Christmas with our special brothers and sisters in Christ took place when I was a child. My Polish grandmother taught arts and crafts at the local Catholic school for the mentally and cognitively challenged. My siblings and I often visited our grandparents during the Christmas holidays.
While my grandfather snapped pictures of us with Santa Claus at the local department store, grandma carefully chose a gift for each of her students. I once asked my grandfather why he gave God’s special children presents when they gave him and my grandmother nothing in return.
"Look at their smiles and listen to their laughter," he replied. "These are the gifts God put them on this earth to share." Admittedly his response seemed suspicious at the time. Now that Sonya and I have children of our own, however, we better understand and appreciate the gifts of children’s laughter, delight on their faces and unconditional love in their hugs. Whereas our own children will soon grow up, leave home and either pursue a religious vocation or begin families of their own, our special brothers and sisters in Christ forever retain the hearts of children.
Thus twenty years later, through the work of the International Order of Alhambra, I still enjoy spending Christmas with God’s special children. The faces have changed - I no longer recognize any as my grandmother’s students. Additionally, Santa now bears a striking resemblance to our Grand Commander rather than to my grandfather. Yet the smiles on their faces, the laughter from their lips, and the twinkle of the eyes remain the same. As we celebrate the birth of the Christ child, may God forever bless His special children.
Okay, the next sentence is gonna be a little cumbersome and involve heavy name dropping.... A recent piece on homosexual marriage, the suppression of civil liberties and the death of Canadian democracy written by John Pacheco of Catholic-Legate.com and I for a fall issue of Culture Wars is now available on-line at the Sierra Times. Here's a sample:
On June 15th, 2001, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Board of Inquiry fined Hugh Owens, an evangelical Protestant, and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix $1500 for violating the equality rights of three gay men. Mr. Owen’s crime? He expressed his opinion on gay and lesbians sex through an advertisement in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. This advertisement consisted of a pictograph of two men holding hands superimposed with a circle and slash- the symbol of something forbidden-and a list of Bible verses condemning the practice of homosexuality. While Mr. Owens is currently appealing this ruling, if he loses and still refuses to comply with the Board of Inquiry, he will potentially find himself charged with contempt of court. If convicted, he will likely find himself consigned to jail as the first prisoner of conscience in the war between sexual plurism and religious plurism.
Jeff Miller, who happens to be Vic Lams stiffest competition for St Blog's parish clown, outdid himself with his latest political satire. Here's a small sample:
Jeff describes Deanings as "darling little creatures who follow the Vermont governor over the political abyss." Read the entire game description here.
Why should NRO have all the fun? Here's my predictions for 2004:
Defying political and religious pundits around the world, the Holy Father's health will hold out for another year. This will be one of the most fruitful spiritual years of Pope John Paul II's pontificate, especially from the traditionalist perspective as a number of high profile SSPXers (including one bishop, but neither Fellay nor Williamson)return to the fold.
We will see much political realignment in the 2004 presidential election. This will set the stage for an interesting showdown in 2008 between Hilary and Jeb.
Howard Dean will quickly cement the Democrat nomination. He will also prove a tougher opponent than the Republicans initially expected as he begins biting heavily into the libertarian, civil liberties and gun owners vote -- all of which are traditionally Republican .
Joe Lieberman will emerge as the anti-Dean candidate within the Democrat primaries. As his campaign becomes more desparate, he will cross over to the pro-life side. Most pro-lifers will, however, stay loyal to President Bush and the Republicans. Yet it will set the stage for pro-lifers to return to the Democrat mainstream as the DNC seeks to shed its image as the Abortion Party.
Howard Dean will peak too early, and surpass the President in polls come July or August. This will be the reality check (and the swift kick in the butt) that the Republicans need to take Dean seriously, clip the neo-con wings within the Republican party and move their campaign into high gear. Citing his personal health, Dick Cheney graciously bows out as Bush's runing mate to make way for the much more dynamic Condi Rice.
President Bush will surpass Dean in the women's, hispanic, Catholic and Jewish vote. Additionally, he will make significant inroads into the African-American and (moderate) Islamic vote. This will allow him to peak just before the election and win a second term. Edging out Ralph Nader for third place in this election will be Envoy's very own Carl Olson as fundamentalist and evangelical protestants get behind a "Write Carl in" campaign.
Osama bin Looney will evade capture for another year, however, American-British allies will capture Mulah Omar. Additionally, while al Quack will plan some major terrorist action on US soil just prior to election day (even bigger than 9-11), American authorities will break it up beforehand, capture those responsible and deliver a major blow to terrorism.
Fed-up with Islamo-terrorism, a moderate Islamic voice will emerge in North America. They will go head-to-head with CAIR in a press war, issue a Fatwa against bin Laden and other Islamic terrorists, and take out political attack ads against Howard Dean and Paul Martin. In America, this will earn them much respect among the conservative establishment. In Canada, the Canadian Human Rights Commission will impose jail time and heavy fines for inciting hatred against terrorists.
Quebec nationalism will rise again. This time, Albertans will take advantage of the opportunity to make a break as well. This will precipitate the next round of Canadian Constitutional wrangling.
Mario Dumont will toss his hat into the leadership race of the Conservative Party of Canada. He will pull off an upset win over Harper and MacKay and go on to unite the right. (Also, in a move that takes everyone by surprised, Svend Robinson will cross the floor and attempt to reinvent himself as Canada's Ann Coulter, but unfortunately he won't look nearly as elegant in her wardrobe.)
Paul Martin will subsequently call a snap election. It will backfire, leading to a minority government. The Bloq will take most of Quebec as the nationalist vote splits between Dumont and Martin.
Iran will be the next state sponsoring terrorism to fall. However, it will collapse from the inside as moderates finally lead a successful revolution.
The Episcopalian Church will again split -- this time over the election of an openly Christian bishop. (Thanks Scrapple Face)
Oh, and once again, a big "Nyah! Nyah! Nyah!" to my fellow Envoy Encore blogmates for getting the first blog of the year out!
Former West Peorian Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri has been locked up as an enemy combatant, but his terrorist comrades continue to work in central Illinois.
Peoria and Champaign are part of a seven-city "circuit" that moves and disperses terrorists to specific sites across the nation, says Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy.
McCoy got that information at a recent FBI conference in Springfield. He shares that snippet of intelligence not to panic central Illinois, but to stress what the FBI told police at the conference: America, including much of its law-enforcement community, has not taken seriously enough the threat of al-Qaida in this country.
"Police and Americans don't understand," McCoy says. "...
They hate you. ... They are so focused on what they're doing, time is no object. They're patient." (read article)
Whenever I give talks about eschatology, the "Rapture," premillennial dispensationalism, and related matters, I am inevitably asked about the literary merits of the Left Behind books: "But aren't they a good read?" and "I think they're really entertaining. What do you think?"
Depending on the crowd and whether or not the person asking the question is bigger than I am, I will usually note that the books have all the literary merit of a junior high love note and are about as believable as a Bill Clinton speech, although not nearly as entertaining. Frankly, I tired quickly of hearing Catholics (and others) say, "I like the books because they're fun and easy to read." Yes, and so are the Sunday comics and the Hardy Boy books—but nobody is saying they are accurate portrayals of how the world will end.
Anyhow, I have launched this little rant because End of State, one of three Left Behind spin-offs, is now out and being fed like Bible prophecy candy to readers eager to read about characters who cry out to God once they realize they are stuck in a twenty-nine part Rapture novel (Think of this way: eleven Left Behind books have been published since 1995, which is nearly two years longer than the Tribulation will supposedly last. Haven't we suffered enough?)
This new "novel", written by Neesa Hart, is set immediately prior to the "Rapture" and focuses on the political side of life during the Tribulation era. An excerpt from the first chapter is available online and is not to be reproduced in anyway whatsoever or else Tim LaHaye will come to your house and force you to read the entire Left Behind series in one sitting, as well as view both of the movies, including the comments by Kirk Cameron at the end.
However, since this is a review, I am going to quote a bit from the book, for the purpose of asking, "Why in the world would anyone read this trash?", (because lots of people like trash) and, also, "How in the world can people write stuff this bad?" (because lots of people like money).
The book opens with Bradley Benton, a big-wig on the White House staff, sitting at home watching a Lakers-Knicks basketball game:
Before the set went blank, he'd been watching a basketball game. The live feed from the West Coast was just what he'd hoped for—a tough match between the Lakers and the Knicks. Then, with two seconds remaining, the score tied and the ball in the air looking like it might just sail into the net for three points that would give the game to the Lakers, the unimaginable happened. Both Laker forwards disappeared from the court.
Vanished.
Whoa. A basketball game is described as "a tough match"? Tennis, yes. Basketball, no. And both Laker forwards are Raptured? Sorry, but the only born-again Christians on the Lakers are Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant, both of whom are guards. Also, if the game was tied and the Lakers had the ball, they likely wouldn't go for a three-pointer since they shoot a lousy percentage from beyond the arch. Kobe would hit an 18-footer from the top of the key, just as he did last week.
The camera zoomed in on the Lakers guard who stood staring at his teammates' uniforms where they lay on the floor in impossible silence. A slight movement near the guard's feet caught the cameraman's attention, and he zoomed to the floor where a single gold wedding ring, once worn by one of the forwards, rolled along the boards until it bumped into the guard's shoe and rattled to a stop. The noise seemed unnaturally loud in the huge arena, but it seemed to galvanize the stunned crowd.
This is soooo painful to read. First, it's a "court" and you don't talk about a basketball court as "the boards." This isn't hockey, after all. A board, in basketball, is a rebound. Secondly, there would never be a wedding ring rolling around on the floor because 1) NBA players never let on that they're married, just in case a groupie is in sight, and 2) NBA players aren't allowed to wear jewelry of any kind in a game. Which is why they all have tattoos.
Also, are we to believe that a bunch of people disappear and the cameraman focuses on a wedding ring? I understand that wedding rings are rather rare in Hollywood, but c'mon! Finally, if this actually occured in L.A., there would be looting within five seconds, perhaps even sooner.
So many problems and mistakes, all within the first few paragraphs. Sigh. Well, I'm off to read some real literature: the Sackett saga by Louis L'Amour, followed by some early Dan Brown. It's never too late to become familiar with great Western literature...
Back in August I noted on Encore that famed German theologian Hans Kung, known for being smarter than everyone else in the world and despising the papacy, had published his memoir. I took exception to the pompous silliness written about the book (at the publisher's website). The folks at First Things take exception to the entire book and don't waste any ink letting readers know what they think about it:
At age seventy-five, Catholicism’s best-known theological dissenter has published a memoir that is an unmitigated embarrassment. The vulgarity of the author’s self-aggrandizement is breathtaking, the viciousness toward those who disagree with him deeply saddening. He is the courageous warrior against “spiritual dictatorship” and “church totalitarianism.” Unlike others who sold out in their ambition for ecclesiastical power and prestige, Hans Küng would not compromise his conscience. His most particular target is Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, but he names many others who are allegedly traitors to the truth. But never mind, he is happy and has found power and prestige elsewhere. He notes with satisfaction that Kofi Annan has accepted an invitation to his 75th birthday party. “In all modesty, which I have learned in my childhood, in the tumult of the times I have been able to assert myself as a free man, a Christian, and a theologian.” The book ends with a letter from a Swiss pastor who compares him with the prophet Elijah. To which Küng responds, “Oh no, the fate of a professor is enough for me.” There is that modesty again. Küng says he is writing a second volume of memoirs. It is a pity that what he describes as his great success in life did not include friends who might have discouraged him from publishing the first.
In an article in today's Opinion Journal, Peggy Noonan considers the The Banners and their dislike for public displays religious belief—especially statues of the Blessed Mother:
The motives of The Banners are mixed. Some seem to have aesthetic distaste for religious symbolism that is the outward and visible expression of an inner distaste for religion itself--it's old fashioned, unworldly, very booga booga woo woo, which can't be helpful, can it? Some of The Banners seem driven by malice and the impulse to bully--your religion is not my religion, so it will not be mentioned in public, bub, no matter what the holiday or how many celebrate it.
But some of The Banners mean well and believe their efforts are constructive. They believe that assertions of religious belief are inherently divisive, that to put forward the symbols of belief is threatening to society's peace. They believe that the displaying of the symbols of one faith is an implicit denial of the beliefs of another faith. They do not think that faith is part of the answer; they think it is a big part of the problem (see fundamentalist Islam; see the protracted war in Northern Ireland). They think that if only people would stop being religious, we wouldn't have religion around roiling people's emotions and making them violent. (If you say to them, "Man is prone to violence, and one of the things that tends to make his heart gentle is faith in God," their eyes widen in shock: That couldn't possibly be true!)
AUSTIN -- A sweeping bill placing new restrictions on abortions, including a mandatory 24-hour wait before a pregnant woman can obtain an abortion, is among a number of new laws taking effect Thursday. . .
"It's been a tough year for reproduction freedom and pro-choice," said Kae McLaughlin, executive director of the Texas Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. "The state leadership is in the hands of people who would deny women the right to choose." (read article)
"Another candidate for the position of 'The Antichrist' has met his end." So begins my pithy, non-prophetic piece, "Not With a Biblical Bang...," located on the National Review Online site, about the supposed Saddam-Antichrist-Iraq-New Babylon connection. Guesses as to the next leading Antichrist candidate are welcomed. Prophesy away!
Although my Canadian readership will recognize the above title as a play on our national anthem, I am having second thoughts about moving back to Canada. Not too long ago, Mark Steyn – a fellow Canuck – penned an excellent editorial in the Telegraph. It concerned the Islamification of Europe. As Mr. Steyn wrote, "To those of us watching from afar the ructions over the European constitution - a 1970s solution to a 1940s problem - it seems amazing that no Continental politician is willing to get to grips with the real crisis facing Europe in the 21st century: the lack of Europeans."
As many other commentators within the culture war have noted, the low reproduction rate among native Europeans coupled with increased Muslim immigration are quickly transforming Europe into another Islamic continent. Yet the European secularists refuse to face this problem. Having spent the past thirty years suppressing the consequences of biological coupling, the modern European remains clueless as to the consequences of demographic coupling.
Unfortunately, recent Canadian statistics and demographics demonstrate a similar trend. Thus Mr. Steyn’s observations could easily included our native land. A recent statistic quoted by the Canadian Society of Muslims on its website estimates Canada’s Islamic population at around 650,000. Over the past decade alone, this represents a growth from under one percent of Canada’s total population to well over two percent.
At first two-to-three percent of the population seems statistically negligible. Granted, the Muslim population more than doubled over the past ten years, but it still represents a small minority of Canadians. Yet factor Canada's declining reproduction rate as well as its liberal immigration policy into the equation. As an aside concerning the latter, in the aftermath of its 9-11 coverage, even Canada’s putatively conservative Globe & Mail questioned our government’s liberal immigration policy. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which is Canada’s closest equivalent to the CIA, had reportedly warned Canadian politicians that our loose immigration policy made us an attractive staging ground from which terrorists could easily attack American targets.
But returning to the subject at hand, Canada's Muslim population is much younger than our general population. Additionally, they enjoy a stronger reproduction rate. Has Pierre Trudeau removed the state from the nation's bedroom – likely located somewhere in the Burnaby-Douglas riding – only to see it replaced by the Sharia?
Speaking of which, one of my Envoy Encore recently emailed me a story published by Aljazeera. It detailed Muslim efforts to establish an Islamic tribunal in Canada. "Since arbitrators' rulings can be enforced by the courts," we read, "the development has raised eyebrows that Sharia will in effect be endorsed by Canada's secular courts." The story dismisses any negative reaction to this development as "overblown". It then equivocates the proposed Islamic tribunal with various Rabbinical courts already enjoying limited legal recognition under Canadian law.
Setting aside the Sharia's peculiarities for a moment – and like Kathy Shaidle, a fellow Canadian Catholic author, I find myself among the "some of us [who] think stoning rape victims is a bit peculiar" – there are other reasons to remain skeptical about this comparison between Islamic tribunals and Rabbinical courts. Does modern Judaism regularly attack civilian targets among the Gentiles? Does Isreal sponsor terrorist activities on western soil? Islam is alone among the five major world religions in employing forced conversion as a legitimate means of evangelization.
Actually, I take that back. Secularism, which is Canada's new state religion, also imposes forced conversion. Just look at poor Mark Harding. Mr. Harding is a Christian who recently ran afoul of Canada's hate police for drawing attention to certain peculiarities within the Islamic world. As Doug Coup reports in the Christian Times:
"[Harding's] offending pamphlets discussed Islamic societies around the world where ‘Muslims are torturing, maiming, starving and killing Christians’ simply because of their faith. Harding argues that Islam ‘is full of hate and violence,’ and that its holy books teach that it ‘will always be at war’ with other religions. ‘Once a state becomes an Islamic state, no other religion is tolerated,’ he says.
"His outspokenness last June landed Harding in trouble with the Muslim community, and he is going to trial next month to face criminal charges on three counts of ‘incitement to hatred.’ Complaints were also lodged with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. He was arrested and spent a few days in jail before a hearing last summer."
Canadians political and religious commentators need not find Mr. Harding’s situation surprising. After all, the Canadian Human Rights Commission is the same quasi-judicial body that silenced as hate literature certain biblical passages pertaining to homosexuality. It is not too much of a stretch to silence international headlines as well. And thus I am reminded of Mark Steyn’s response to a similar flap over Johnny Hart’s recent allegedly anti-Islamic cartoon:
"Although I agreed of course that Islamophobic cartooning was the most pressing issue of the week, in my usual shallow way I'd become distracted by some of the day's more trivial stories - the 11 Hindus burnt alive by a Muslim gang in Bangladesh, the 13 Christian churches torched by Muslim rioters in the Nigerian town of Kazaure, and the 27 Turks and Britons murdered by Muslim terrorists in Istanbul. No dead Jews in that particular day's headlines, but otherwise a good haul of Hindus, Christians and, of course, Muslims..."
Like Mr. Steyn, I too cannot help but these headlines distracting. They may be as trivial as the First Amendment that protects my expression of concern over their content from the Canadian Human Rights Commission, but nevertheless I find them distracting.
Of a similar trivial nature is my concern over Canada’s apparent elimination of free speech from our public discourse. Criticism of another culture can be branded "hate speech" unless the critiqued culture is distinctly Christian or American. Yet if civil liberties in the Middle East are an example of what we can expect in Canada’s tolerant and multi-cultural society, the culture of death propagated by our secularists will eventually give way to the Islamosphere’s culture of fear.
Although Pope John Paul II watched at least part of Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ," he made no comment about the film, said a senior Vatican official close to the pope.
"The Holy Father saw it, but he made no comment. He watched in silence," the official told Catholic News Service Dec. 24.
"The Holy Father does not comment, does not give judgments on art," the official said. "I repeat: There was no declaration, no judgment from the pope."
The official was replying to a request for clarification after numerous newspapers reported that the pope had watched the film and said, "It is as it was."
In a related story, a senior Envoy official would neither confirm or deny that posts about this story (or any story, for that matter) wouldn't change within minutes of being posted. In addition, the official denied that he was a "senior" official, explaining that the team at Envoy is overwhelmingly "youthful" and "occasionally humorous."
Encore reader (and good friend) Mel brought this article from the Jewish weekly Forward about Mel Gibson's film "The Passion" to my attention. It contains the usual, mostly worthless "conservatives" versus "liberals" cant, but does note that Pope John Paul II's recent comment ("It is as it was") about the film has caused consternation in many circles:
While reports of a papal thumbs-up for the film were met with skepticism and criticism by several respected Catholic and Jewish interfaith leaders, the Anti-Defamation League appeared to be backpedaling from its harsh criticisms of Gibson's cinematic depiction of the final hours of Jesus' life.
Some church liberals and Jewish communal officials involved in interfaith dialogue argued that it was still unclear whether the pope's review of the film was reported accurately in the press, since no official confirmation of his position had been issued as of Tuesday. Others slammed the way the screening was organized and publicized by the pope's conservative advisers, who have reportedly assumed extensive duties as the pontiff's health has deteriorated.
Silly Quote of the Day goes to Philip Cunningham, executive director for the Center for Christian and Jewish Learning at Boston College, who stated: "I've heard five words attributed to him [the Pope] in a sentence that contains no nouns. It doesn't mean a whole lot to me." Cunningham refers to the Pope's statement, "It is as it was."
As though the Holy Father's sentence is so cryptic and ambiguous. As Mel points out, "I suppose 'I am, Who am' means nothing to Cunningham because it contains no vowels." Apparently Cunningham and others want an entire encyclical written, or perhaps even an ecumenical council convened, that will explain the Church's "official" position on the film:
Some church liberals and Jewish communal officials involved in interfaith dialogue argued that it was still unclear whether the pope's review of the film was reported accurately in the press, since no official confirmation of his position had been issued as of Tuesday. Others slammed the way the screening was organized and publicized by the pope's conservative advisers, who have reportedly assumed extensive duties as the pontiff's health has deteriorated.
Imagine that—the Pope's staff assisting him and making decisions about his daily activities. The conspiracy deepens...
