Recently in Websites Category
Bible Gateway now includes the Douay-Rheims bible with the Deuterocanonicals (they even call them that). You have to go to the bottom of the page and click on "include" because they don't want Protestants accidentally searching Catholic bibles :-) but it's great that they have the books now. It's a little strange (but not entirely) that they don't have the King James Version of the books. It's not well known in Protestant circles that when the Authorized Version (KJV) was published in England, by law it was required to include the Deuterocanonical books. They are part of the KJV, even though most Protestant bibles don't include them anymore.
This is a good alternative to the pathetic search interface the USCCB NAB has. Man, I hate that site.
A very inspiring video demonstrating that the unwanted often enjoy a full quality of life.
ZENIT reports that a TV ad campaign to bring fallen away Catholics back to the faith is seeing excellent results. Over 6,000 responded directly to the CatholicsComeHome.org web site. Non-Catholics also responded, many wanting to convert. What's interesting is that about "90% of those who left the Church can't give a good reason" why they left, and many can't express why they want to come back — they simply say they felt something was missing. This reflects my observation that Catholic roots go deep — once you are a Catholic, it sinks so deeply into you that even if you formally leave the church, you can't shake it. This is I think what causes ex-Catholics to be so much more bitter than erstwhile members of other churches (ever heard of an anti-Presbyterian?) — they are "kicking against the goads" and trying to fight that Catholicism that remains deep within them.
Here is a little cheat sheet for finding various topics of interest in Scripture for encouragement or exhortation.
What might various biblical events look like on Google Earth?
(Thanks to Mike's List and to Caleb who turned me on to Mike's List)
Have you ever thought of what will happen to your pets after the rapture? If so, you can be comforted to know that someone is assembling a group of "heathens pet-lovers" to take care of them when you're gone. (Or maybe you just believe that your pets have something better to worry about than marauding aliens with untoward designs.)
One wonders what the heathen pet-lovers think about all this.
I ran across this piece of kitsch today. For the visually impaired, it's a plastic cross that lights up in four different neon colors. I can only be thankful that it wasn't being sold on a Catholic site or as a specifically Catholic item. Nice to know we don't have a corner on devotional kitsch. Reminds me of the glow-in-the-dark statues I've seen.
Oh, I'm sorry, that's not the real title. The real title is 101 Things To Buy Before You Die, by Charlotte Williamson and Maggie Davis. The blatant materialist, consumerist title is what caught my eye. He who dies with the most toys wins. Can't live without these things — creating needs that don't really exist. Such as a four-in-one oven that looks like something out of a morgue (so you can "bake, roast, toast, and keep plates warm" — I know I run into that situation at least once a month). I'm not sure whether it's good or bad that reading this makes me feel a bit more comfortable about my own stewardship.
There is a a new Catholic news site out there called Pewsitter. It is a collection of Catholic news stories, including both contributions from mainstream and Catholic news sources and reader submitted subjects. Here is a blurb on it:
Pewsitter.com is a unique Catholic news web site that was launched earlier this year. We are based in the U.S. and the preponderance of news on the site is from the U.S, we do feature Catholic related news from around the world. The news on the site comes from two sources. The main source is from the conventional secular and Catholic press. We scour the news every day and put on Pewsitter those stories about the Catholic Church, faith, religion and the important moral and spiritual struggles of the day. The second news source is the Catholic lay faithful. The concept behind the site is to enlist an army of "pewsitters" to be the eyes and ears for Pewsitter - hence the name. By submitting newsworthy items to Pewsitter, the laity can help shape and influence the Church and be a powerful force for positive change.Pewsitter's initial focus will be on the national and international news on its home page. Its mid term objective is it to feature the Catholic news of the day within each of the 189 Catholic dioceses throughout the U.S.
Here is an update on The Ark, the online Orthodox music station.
I had mentioned sometime back that they had started airing an ad that targeted the Catholic Church. Some of you have asked me if I got a response to the complaint I sent. I did not get an email back but I think since I sent the letter, I've only heard the ad once. That shows you what kind of pull I have. (Just kidding. I'm sure it was coincidental.) Admittedly I haven't listened to the Ark a whole lot since then (but I finally got my notebook patched by radio into my stereo system and have been listening to it again) but I've listened enough to determine that they've mostly if not entirely withdrawn it.
While we're on the topic of The Ark, I have to maintain that I am impressed with the whole effort. They have started airing creative little evangelistic spots; one whimsical one on setting rules in relationships likens argument no-nos like generalizing ("You always ...") and holding grudges ("bringing up that time you forgot a dinner date ... four years ago") to penalties in football, narrated by a referee blowing a whistle. Another looks at how our parents told us to eat our vegetables while we were growing up "because it's GOOD FOR YOU!" to our attitudes toward going to church. They are very well done I think, and I am duly jealous: Why can't we do something like this?
As I said I am fully convinced the former Evangelical Orthodox Church (now part of the Antiochene diocese) is behind this. (As I write this they are airing a spot on Fr. Peter Gilquist, one of the members of that movement.)
There has got to be more Catholic music than Orthodox. :-) We do a Proud 2B Catholic concert here every year which is a good start. I wish we could do something like this!
Apparently U.S. presidential candidate Ron Paul has his own fan base among Catholics. It's interesting to see how they "nuance" his position on gay marriage.
Anyway may be an interesting site to visit as you research your Hobson's Choice for president in 2008.
(Thanks to Greg K.)
Here is a neat quiz on What's your theological worldview?
(Nothing on whether Protestant churches are "true churches" or not.)
Here are my results:
Roman Catholic | 100% | ||
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan | 71% | ||
Neo orthodox | 68% | ||
Reformed Evangelical | 54% | ||
Emergent/Postmodern | 46% | ||
Classical Liberal | 46% | ||
Fundamentalist | 43% | ||
Charismatic/Pentecostal | 36% | ||
Modern Liberal | 4% |
What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com
(Thanks to John D.)
Slightly on the irreverent side but duly amusing and I am sure you can handle it.
Thanks to The Straight Dope, web site of the world's Smartest Human Being.
Here is an interesting item a non-believer friend of mine sent to me. It's a "Christian" Linux distribution. You heard me right. Apparently they bundled some Christian software in (how much Christian software runs under Linux??) and configured some filtering in a family-friendly way, and are marketing it as "Christian Ubuntu" (Ubuntu is a specific Linux distribution).
He found it quite strange and I can't say I disagree with him, though I can see the point. There is a line between good taste and bad taste in marketing to the Christian population and this may cross it. Maybe taste is not the right word; "propriety" might be better.
Dove (the soap makers) have launched a campaign for real beauty with a high-impact commercial you've just got to see. This is for some sort of self-esteem fund they have. I have to give them kudos for doing this. Teenagers have got to realize that what they see on TV and in magazines is a fantasy and they need to stop comparing themselves to those images.
My friend Daniel told me about an interesting site. Kiva.org allows individuals to make loans as low as $25 to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordable working capital for the poor (money to buy a sewing machine, livestock, etc.), empowering them to earn their way out of poverty.
It's a new, direct and sustainable way to fight global poverty, and the way I see it, I get a higher return on $25 helping someone build a future than the interest my checking account pays.
Anyways, if you have a minute, please check out the site: http://kiva.org. If you need more "reputable" validation than my recommendation :-), know that they have received great press in publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal to NPR to BusinessWeek.
You don't actually earn interest on your investment, but you do get the good feeling that comes from helping out another person in a more biblical way (i.e. without interest). Also, in my opinion, the lack of interest keeps it an act of helping another person rather than developing into a form of exploitation and greed.
(Do note though that the borrowers are charged interest by the middlemen to cover their costs of servicing the loan. The interest rates are posted and there is an explanation available concerning the rates.)
The Theology of the Body Institute has opened its website. The Theology of the Body Institute "seeks to permeate the culture with a vision of sexuality that appeals to the deepest yearnings of the human heart for love and union." If you are unfamiliar with the Theology of the Body, it's a set of talks on human sexuality given by John Paul II, and they are absolutely incredible. John Paul wanted to come up with a "positive" theology of sexuality rather than one based on "don't do this, don't do that". George Weigel, author of Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, calls this papal study of human sexuality “one of the boldest reconfigurations of Catholic theology in centuries” — a “theological time-bomb set to go off with dramatic consequences ...perhaps in the twenty-first century.” It's a deeply Biblical teaching but a dynamic one that appeals to the sense of reason that so dominates our culture today. This stuff is life-changing — you've never heard erotic and conjugal love affirmed in a Catholic context like this before.
As for the Institute itself, they aim to promote Theology of the Body in both the secular and Christians spheres. From their website, "Through graduate and undergraduate courses, seminars, workshops, books, articles, newsletters, pamphlets, audio and video recordings, and exposure in popular media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the Internet, Theology of the Body Institute seeks to penetrate and permeate the culture with a vision of sexuality that appeals to the deepest yearnings of the human heart for love and union."
I got:
You are St. Melito of Sardis!
You have a great love of history and liturgy. You’re attached to the traditions of the ancients, yet you recognize that the old world — great as it was — is passing away. You are loyal to the customs of your family, though you do not hesitate to call family members to account for their sins.
(Thanks to Tom S.)
Apparently the Eucharist is levitating in Lourdes, France. Check out the description on the right (click "more").
I had never heard of this type of Eucharistic miracle before. Turning into flesh and blood, yes there are many, but not levitation.
(Thanks to Bob L.)
My co-workers desperately need this.
Ever discover some cool Servant of God with a cause for canonization, but wonder as time goes on how their case is progressing? For example, many years ago I discovered Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, a courageous Polish priest who was martyred by the Communists. I hadn't heard anything about him, and I wondered what his status was.
Well now you can look such people up. This is a database of recent saints, blesseds, venerables, and servants of God with brief biographical information about them and information on their causes (even photos).
It even goes back to certain people who died as early as the 12th century, although it tends to emphasize the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
This is an exciting site, especially if you are devoted to obscure holy men and women.
I only wish they had links directly to the holy men and women themselves, instead of making you scroll down through a lengthy list!
Some of you parents out there might like to get your kid some Armor of God pajamas, straight from Ephesians 6.
You too can buy special (i.e. psychologically-troubled) revelations from Jesus! Bid now, it closes in only 18 hours!
Learn the precise location of heaven, the cure for cancer, how to gain world peace, and see the future.
Catholic-hierarchy.org put up a page for the fictional bishop in the Da Vinci Code (Bishop Manuel Aringarosa), including a link on the front page. Too funny! I wonder if people who actually thought he was a real bishop were besieging the site.
What is looking like a very funny parody of the Da Vinci Code. Also see the movie's website. This looks quite entertaining.
All Da Vinci, all the time! grin
Ok, somehow (he doesn't say how) John Desmond (thanks John) found the list of essays on The Da Vinci Dialogue site.
I read Tony Campolo's essay on why it is OK to suggest Jesus might be married, and while I have respect for him (he is a popular Evangelical author and preacher), he has a tendency to be provocative (and a bit on the liberal end of the perspective, though I'm not sure he is unorthodox by Evangelical standards).
What Campolo basically does is ask three questions:
Is there something sinful about having sexual intercourse?
Is marriage something that lessens a person’s spirituality?
Is having children something that would keep the Son of God from being wholly submissive to His Father?
He answers all three as "No", as well he should. It is true that there has historically been some Gnostic thinking among Christians that marriage and sex are evil, an attitude that persists to this day. Married sex is not inherently "dirty". And we need to recapture some of the holiness of conjugal love, and John Paul's The Theology of the Body has gone great distances to do that.
But Campolo errs in assuming that that is the only reason to object to the idea that Jesus was married.
I am disappointed in him on account of the fact that he missed something very obvious from the Bible.
First of all, the Bible coupled with Tradition tell us that Jesus was celibate. That is a good enough reason to object to the idea Jesus was married, but in case it is insufficient, consider that there is a reason why we consider Jesus to be unmarried to any human being: According to Scripture, he is already married — to the Church (Eph 5). If he married someone else, he'd be committing adultery. (Some might point out the practice of polygamy in the Old Testament, but still, even if one accepts this dubious argument [the New Testament did away with polygamy], how can Jesus give himself wholly to His Church, the goal of marriage, if he has another wife?) Jesus was celibate because he was saving himself for His Bride, the Church. This Bride/Bridegroom relationship plays an important role in theology, and saying that Jesus married Mary Magdalene breaks the fundamentals of Christian theology.
That is the real reason one should reject any notion that Jesus was married.
My friend Caleb sent me this link to The Da Vinci Dialogue. It's published by Sony and if I recall their motivation was to blunt the opposition to TDVC by providing a open forum for experts to discuss the questions it raises.
And it looks like they selected some good experts. A lot of evangelicals — Ryrie, Chuck Colson, Josh McDowell, and others. There are a few Catholics, including John Allen (not so sure about him), Alan Schreck (excellent), Mark Miravalle (excellent), and a couple of others. Even some Orthodox.
Problem is, despite how fancy and eye-pleasing the site is — where's the beef? Good luck actually trying to find this "dialogue" amid all the web candy. I see four essays on the front page, and then — that's it.
Now when I first came to the site, I read the descriptions and I expected it was like a message board where the experts discussed and hashed out various points from the book. But looking more deeply into it, I think it was designed to be a site where essays from various experts would be posted. I'm not sure how this constitutes "dialogue".
The essay on Mary Magdalene was excellent (maybe it wasn't a complete waste of time). If anyone actually finds the mother lode of essays (beyond the 4) let me know.
(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com)
I found a good site on Islam that discusses some controversial topics such as Mohammad's marriage to six- and nine-year-old girls (consummating at nine), Islam's "temporary marriage of enjoyment" (for those long periods away from your regular wife), his conviction that the vast majority of Hell was made of women, and so forth. Worth a look if you have an interest in the topic.
... re-enacted by bunnies. (Hint: Don't blink!)
(Thanks to Dave Barry)
A new short film, The McPassion (playing now for a limited time through Lent), probably comes the closest to crossing the line of blasphemy without actually doing so. Created by a Christian (jointly with a non-Christian), the short attempts to explore the theme of commercial exploitation of religion, inspired by what some things they've seen since The Passion of The Christ (read their introduction to it). I assure you this will be painful to watch — prepare to be offended — but keep in mind that the object is not to commit blashphemy or sacrilege (however tempting it is to come to that conclusion) but to make a point against the commercialization of Christianity.
It's an interesting commentary — a quite pointed one at that. I can't say that I've noticed the level of commercialization of Christianity that they did, although the examples they cite (Chevrolet putting cars in foyers of churches and someone running a contest with a $1000 reward for who could weave references to the Chronicles of Narnia into their sermons) do seem to be genuine examples of abuses.
But boy, they did a good job in parodying commercial exploitation of Christianity...
What do you think?
There is an excellent aid organization out there called Mercy Ships. They run hospital ships (composed of volunteer staff) that visit Third World countries and provide simple but life-saving surgeries for disfiguring tumors, cleft lips and palates, cataracts, burns, and injuries. They provide prosthetics for adults and children injured in conflicts, and also provide dental and vision checkups for the poor in remote areas — often for the first time in their lives. It's desperately needed work, and it brings such joy to people's lives for relatively little investment. Consider supporting them on a regular basis.
Best of all, Mercy Ships is a Christian organization dedicated to serving the Lord. They belong to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (a respect organization the Evangelical world) and other organizations that demonstrate their soundness.
When I see all that they do, I am excited about supporting them. It's almost like Jesus is healing like he did back in the first century!
So give them a look.
If you are interested in downloading bible software, you can download Strong's Concordance and several versions of Scripture, including versions in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew (OT) from this site (Thanks, Amy!)
Good bibles are available online as well. Blue Letter Bible is a neat site with a number of features of interest to those on the scholarly side. In addition to bible texts in Greek, Latin, or Hebrew, including Septuagint, it's got cross-references, (Protestant) commentary and dictionary, side-by-side translation comparison, even grammatical information on the original languages and a hymn concordance (which (Protestant) hymns invoke which scriptures). It's pretty neat, although it is all from a Protestant perspective — no Catholic translations (although the RSV is available and that's pretty acceptable).
If you want an online copy of the NAB, the USCCB has a comparatively lame site with it (searching and navigation are awkward). Also it has Catholic commentary (though I suspect it's the commentary I'm not a big fan of).
All sorts of religious action figures, mostly sacrilegious. Odd thing: When you click on "Krishna", you get the Muslim page. Oops. Maybe the Islamic fundamentalists will bomb them in retaliation. And what's with the Pope's outfit??
This is an interesting rant on how Christians stole Christmas. He has sharp words for those who complain that stores are removing the "Christmas" from the holiday season. The basic premise is, what's happening now is the final attempt to extirpate all the Christians feasts from civil life. Basically, this has been going on steadily over the last 500 years, we shouldn't be surprised that it's come to this.
I'm not sure I agree with his premise but it makes for an interesting read. What's going on now is happening for radically different reasons that Christian feasts have been deprecated, at least from a human standpoint. Before, feasts were eliminated because it was felt they (in many cases) detracted from Christ; the charge was not true, but what the perpetrators thought they were doing was at least noble if misguided. I'm less sure why other feasts were eliminated (say those that observed events in the Bible); it would be an interesting study to determine why Christmas and Easter, alone of all events, survived as a feast celebrated by Protestants. For example, what's wrong with celebrating the Presentation in the Temple? How about the Ascension? Pentecost? Maybe I knew at one point why certain Protestants oppose celebrating feasts, but I've forgotten it now, unless it is strictly due to similarity to paganism (which undoubtedly plays a role).
Anyway I digress. The modern reasons for deprecating Christmas are "diversity" (how would those poor Jews feel if you wished them a Merry Christmas?) and secularization. The people pushing for it are different than the people who pushed to eliminate other Christian feasts. So I'm not sure I'm convinced this is the "logical conclusion" of what started with Martin Luther, except insofar if one group picks off the first hundred or so, leaving one or two, it's hard to protect those two from oblivion since you've destroyed the whole culture on which they were based. Maybe that's his argument, though.
If you were intrigued by Childermas, there are other obscure -mases:
- Hallowmas - All Saint's Day
Soulemas - All Soul's Day
Martinmas - St. Martin of Tours, 11 Nov
Petermas - presumably the feast of St. Peter.
Lukesmas - Presumably the feast of St. Luke.
Crouchmas - Corruption of Cross Mass, feast of Finding of the Cross, May 3.
Ellenmas - Feast of St. Helen, Equal to the Apostles, Aug 18
Uphalimas - Epiphany.
Lammas - loaf-mass day - festival of the first wheat harvest of the year.
Cavalcade of bad nativity scenes.
A reader sends in the following:
Dear Eric:I came across your blog while searching for people who might be interested in a project some friends and I put together to revive the fiction of Robert Hugh Benson, www.benson-unabridged.com. Reviewing your postings, however, I decided that you would probably be more interested in the work of our interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice ("CESJ"), www.cesj.org. Our current
project is a proposal to finance the rebuilding of the areas affected by Katrina and Rita in a manner consistent with Catholic social teaching and without putting everything on the backs of the taxpayers:http://www.cesj.org/homestead/strategies/regional-global/katrinaplan050907.html
The proposal is based on principles detailed in our book, Capital Homesteading for Every Citizen, available as a free download from the web site. Capital homesteading is derived from the social doctrine of Pius XI, particularly as found in Quadragesimo Anno and Divini Redemptoris, and the economic justice ideas of Louis Kelso and Mortimer Adler in their books, The Capitalist Manifesto (1958) and The New Capitalists (1961). Despite the latter titles, what Kelso and Adler discuss is the antithesis of both capitalism and socialism.
I invite you to look over the material on the web site. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail either me or Dr. Norman G. Kurland, CESJ's president, at thirdway@cesj.org.
Yours,
Michael D. Greaney
Director of Research
Center for Economic and Social Justice
www.cesj.org
http://www.trinstore.com/ecom_3/
The site offers both a t-shirt and a "magnetic" window decal of John Paul the Great.
Ever wanted a minute to address the public on whatever topic you wanted? Well, now you can. Someone has built an amplified cart (a "sculpture" as they call it) with a built-in cellphone that accepts calls and allows people to speak their mind during a "performance" (not sure what performances these involve).
One can imagine the puerile uses to which this could be put, given that the speech is truly anonymous. This piece celebrates free speech, but with free speech comes responsibility. I can't imagine that this is much more than an annoyance, at least beyond the initial performances.
I wonder if public funds were used to build this <snicker>.
Create your own icon address labels!
(Thanks to RC)
Guess what? The Holy Father has a blog now! Musum Pontificalis.
Note: You do not have permission to neglect your own reading of this blog to read that one!
From "I used to believe" website:
I was raised Catholic, and had the idea of "inviting Jesus into your heart" doa little confused. Apparently, he knocked all the time, and when you answered, he could come inside & be inside your heart. The symbolism of this was somewhat lost on me though - I routinely used to kick Jesus out of my heart before I did bad things. I would tell him to leave, and once the evil deed was done, I would say, "Okay Jesus, you can come back in now." This went on for years.
a friend's aunt was quite unsure why during the holy mass she had to sing a song about a cross-eyed bear called gladly. years later she found out that she was supposed to be ready to support jesus by confirming "gladly, the cross i'd bear"
When I was in 5th grade our teacher went around the room asking us our religious beliefs. Well, I was the only one in my class who wasn't catholic and when it came my turn I told her "I'm Prostitute" and when she looked at me in disbelief I continued by saying "It's true, ask my mom, she's one too!"
(Thanks to RC)
Check out this entertaining website which exposes the innovation of the Latin Mass.
(Thanks to John Desmond.)
Patrick, one of our readers, found a site that's worth highlighting: "A collective of the writings, speeches and interviews of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI." It looks like they are publishing everything that appears in electronic form somewhere. Awesome! Perhaps I won't have to go rifling through ZENIT or the Vatican to find this stuff anymore.
Here is an amusing little ditty for all you computer users out there (that would be all of you). Thanks to my best friend Caleb.