Month: June 2011

Mere Existence and the Age to Come

Great Divorce Mere Existence by Fr. Stephen Freeman –
C.S. Lewis, in his marvelous little book, The Great Divorce, uses the imagery of “solidity” versus “ghostliness” to make a distinction between those who have entered paradise, and those who have not. He clearly did not mean to set forth a metaphysical model or to suggest “how things are.” But the imagery is very apt and suggestive when we take a look at what it means for something or someone to exist.

The nature of our secularized worldview is to take all that we see as a presentation of reality and truth. The daily world as we experience it is considered to be the very definition of reality. This is the natural world. Any other perception or presentation of reality is thus supernatural or something other than natural. For those who accept this definition, the onus is on those who suggest that reality is in anyway different than the daily perception of the modern secularized world. To be a “skeptic” is thus not to question everything, but to question everything other than what is perceived as normal and natural. [Read more…]

Another Devastating Jobs Report

Obama Marxist Communist Radical by Jeffrey Folks –
As every economist outside the White House and the New York Times now recognizes, a healthy recovery is not just around the corner. Economists have been racing to lower their second quarter and full-year GDP estimates to below 2%. There is growing apprehension that the economy is slipping back into recession. And all of this is happening because of the President’s intense hostility toward capitalism.

With the exception of Obama’s evil twin (aka Jimmy Carter), we have never had a president this antagonistic toward the free market. Obama arrogantly refuses to accept even most fundamental law of free-market economics: the fact that businesses must be allowed to make a profit if they wish to expand and hire new workers. [Read more…]

Catholicism & Orthodoxy: A Common Sanctity of Life

Sanctity of Life Orthodox Catholicby Deacon Keith Fournier –
‘Sacred Scripture and Holy Tradition emphasize the sacred dignity of the human person and God’s purpose in creating, to confer his blessings upon him. In today’s society, we have witnessed many attacks on human life, especially in its most vulnerable stages. As our heavenly patrons, Ss. Peter and Andrew were one as brothers and Apostles of the Lord, we too are united as brothers, as we affirm the sacred dignity and value of every human life.’ (From the Common Declaration) …

I am one of a growing number of people calling Pope Benedict XVI the “Pope of Christian Unity”. In his first Papal message he proclaimed, “Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel encouraged to strive for the full unity for which Christ expressed so ardent a hope in the Upper Room. [Read more…]

It’s Official: The Left Is Out of Ideas

by Peter Heck –
With a little over a year to go until the next national election cycle is complete, it has become apparent that from an economic standpoint, the SS Liberal has officially run out of steam. Hull weighted down with the barnacles of false promises and rudder crippled by the reckless mismanagement of a spendthrift captain from Chicago, she sits there floundering in a sea of unemployment and malaise not experienced since Jimmy Carter was at the helm.

And despite all the rosy window dressing provided by the beaming ship attendants of the mainstream media, who pretend to be shocked every time another leak opens up, we passengers are fully aware of our surroundings. [Read more…]

Fig Leaves and Falsehoods

Morality Right and Wrong by Janet E. Smith –
The exposé of Planned Parenthood engineered by Live Action has not only disclosed some illegal and immoral operations of Planned Parenthood, it has also revealed sharp divergences in the pro-life movement and Catholic community about what counts as lying. Pro-lifers are, of course, thrilled that more of the evildoing of Planned Parenthood has been brought before the public, leading many legislators to vote to cease government funding of the organization. But some ask: By utilizing actors posing as pimps and prostitutes and falsely claiming to employ fourteen- and fifteen-year-old sex workers who need abortions and gynecological services, did Live Action use an evil means to a good end?

The answers vary. For instance, Christopher Tollefsen wrote in the online journal Public Discourse that intentionally telling falsehoods to anyone is immoral. He holds that people faced with such challenges as protecting Jews from Nazis should resist them by means other than falsehood and volunteer to die with any Jews captured. [Read more…]