David Ancell / Sunday, July 13, 2003 / Comments(0)
This author on Busted Halo’s forums is still bent on trivializing human sexuality. He likened the condemnation of a man who commits sexual sin with someone getting the death penalty for stealing a bag of Skittles. Here is my reply:
I am quite concerned with your trivialization of human sexuality. It is not that sex is a sin or a crime but rather the misuse of one’s sexuality. Because sex is the means by which God brings new human life into the world, it is far more serious than eating a bag of Skittles. There is still even some vestige of it left in our society by the fact that rape is not a misdemeanor but a felony.
St. Thomas of Aquinas explained well why condemnation for even a momentary sin is just. Some “momentary sins” are of grave proportions. In this day and age, murder can be a momentary sin, but it can land you in the slammer for life and can also land you in Hell for all eternity if you die unrepentant. Therefore, it is not the time it takes you to commit the sin but rather the gravity of the act.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Sunday, July 13, 2003 / Comments(0)
I predict that the Supreme Court may be called to rule on the following predicted cases:
1. A customer service representative will be hired at a well-known business to answer the phones. He will overhear his coworker saying “Thank you and God bless” before hanging up the phones. Since his coworker was evidentally allowed to say this, he will decide to bless others according to his own faith. Therefore, he will be caught ending a call saying “Thank you, and may the Devil take you!” because he is a Satanic worshiper. He will be fired and will sue for damages.
2. A student will be expelled from a “Catholic” university and arrested for assault and battery after spraying a heretical theology professor with holy water during a lecture on how the multiplication of the loaves didn’t really happen. The professor will claim that he suffered second-degree burns from the water, which was no warmer than room temperature.
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David Ancell / Sunday, July 13, 2003 / Comments(0)
Rarely do I blog news stories from my own diocese, but I think that’s because the Diocese of Memphis doesn’t make too much news. Our diocesean paper, The West Tennessee Catholic, wasted devoted a large portion of last week’s paper to a program entitled Disciples in Mission. This program was a product of the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association as a response to the American Bishops call to “Go and Make Disciples.” Perhaps it would have been better if it had been based on the new evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II.
The most charitable thing that I can think to say is that I disagree with the author’s viewpoint regarding the smashing success of the program. The program is just plain lame because it is basically doctrine-free. I don’t remember any mentioning of the sacraments. The discussion regarding the Gospel reading of the temptation of Jesus had nothing to do with passage about temptation. Some of the discussion questions were questionable (e.g. “What is the difference between following Church law and living in covenant love?”)
I was involved in one of the discussion meetings afterward, and I cannot think of one thing in my parish that has been born out of those discussions except for the fact that the cantor now says “We’d like to welcome all visitors and new parishoners . . . ” before each Mass. We took a survey, but I have yet to hear what became of it. I wonder if those so-called developments in parishes really had anything to do with Disciples in Mission.
Our bishop mandated its use in the diocese. He got up on his State of the Diocese address in 2001 to tell us that we had this “evangelization program” going. I sincerely hope that our bishop didn’t read the materials before he said that, but then again at least he didn’t go on for a long time extolling its virtues. The program is perhaps great stuff for evangelizing the people on “Catholicism lite,” but it isn’t of any value in learning the true Catholic faith any more than is another Paulist venture, Busted Halo.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Sunday, July 13, 2003 / Comments(0)
I have long thought that it was rather banal to name a church after a street. A name like “Smith Street Baptist Church” may be useful in helping one locate the church, but it really doesn’t have the depth of a church name like “St. Louis” or “Holy Rosary.” I prefer naming the church after a saint.
Besides the lack of depth in a street name, a problem arises if the church moves. We have a super-mega church in Memphis named Bellvue Baptist Church. At one time, it was located on Bellvue in the midtown area. It has since moved to an outlying area that is a 30-minute or more drive from Bellvue. The complex may well have its own zip code some day. However, the name stuck. To top it off, the former church property on Bellvue is now occupied by the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Saturday, July 12, 2003 / Comments(0)
I always thought that the way that our system was to work was that the people would vote, and whatever the people wanted would be done. However, apparently there is a little more to that. It seems that the Democrats didn’t like a Republican redistricting proposal. Rather than voting on it, they just fled the area so that a quorum wouldn’t be presnet. Apparently, a judge just ruled that the Texas Department of Public Safety couldn’t be used to go get them and send them back.
This kind of reminds me of the filibusters the Democrats have to block Bush’s judicial nominees. Why can’t they just stand and vote and realize that they may not get what they want?
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David Ancell / Friday, July 11, 2003 / Comments(0)
Basically, I am a strong believer that liberal dissent from the Church teachings (as opposed to traditionalists) is dying. The reason is that it is so unattractive. To read my full satire, you’ll have to go to Spiritual Pyromania.
I don’t think that people who are radical traditionalists will die out because they have retained the mystery and wonder of our faith even though they are disobedient.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Friday, July 11, 2003 / Comments(0)
I have to go to work early today, but I wanted to get this in before I go. I just read a most interesting comment on a post that started out with “Celibacy is not the absence of sex.” or something like that. Pretty soon I hope to get some more stuff posted on sharpening one’s nonsense detector, but this is a start. Needless to say, it and the whole post were nonsense.
UPDATE: Scroll down to the comments on this post, and you will see the offending comment.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Thursday, July 10, 2003 / Comments(0)
If concerns about gay marriage have you down, then try solo marriage. This has probably happened by now, but this woman planned to go through a ceremony to marry herself. Someone has even spent $22,000 on the wedding feast for this.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Thursday, July 10, 2003 / Comments(0)
Welcome to St. Blog’s Church . . . well, maybe if you hear something like this. The comments following are hillarious. I especially like this line:
“Today is the feast of the Assumption. Please stand and greet our celebrant with “Hail Holy Queen.”
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Thursday, July 10, 2003 / Comments(0)
Here’s another post about an article saying that celibacy somehow gives someone the desire to rape children. Yeah, right.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized