The Process of Purgation – “Those in Purgatory are our brethren and sisters, all belonging to the larger and mystical Body of Christ. They demand our prayers. Indeed, we are linked to them—far more than to those in Heaven.” Purgatory, Beauty, & Suffering: A Scriptural Defense (The Imaginative Conservative)
Human Skin Eggs – “Should we all have the right to do whatever it takes to have a baby if that is our desire and also, to obtain the baby we want?” Human Reproduction Is Becoming Human Manufacture (Science & Culture Today)
A White-Nationalist Influencer – “Tucker Carlson, knee-deep already, has taken another step into the muck with a friendly interview with Nick Fuentes.” A Time for Choosing on Antisemitism (National Review)
Repeatedly Reinstating Ministers – “NBC News uncovered a 50-year pattern of sex abuse, silence and cover-up in the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.” Assemblies of God churches shielded accused predators — and allowed them to keep abusing children
Intifada NYC – “Mamdani’s God Squad includes about a few dozen key players who specialize in painting any critique as an attack on their faith, accusing critics of Islamophobia even as many of them have engaged in strident rhetoric against the U.S., Israel and capitalism.” Mamdani’s God Squad: The clerics, activists and political operatives who have his back (Fox News)
Discomfort with Islam –“Islam’s inherent disdain for non-Muslims must not intrude on the pieties of interfaith harmony, according to the USCCB.” The U.S. Conference Of Catholic Bishops Needs To Stop Apologizing For Islam (The Federalist)
New Global Fault Lines – “A Catholic must first understand the true nature of the modern State of Israel before deciding what support—if any—to offer.” Why a Catholic Cannot Reduce the Promise Made to Israel to a Political Project (Crisis Magazine)
A Foretaste of Heaven – “Great sacred art can change our lives, but it can be hard to find. One community in Houston found a brilliant way to encourage more of it.” How Houston is bringing back great sacred art (Aleteia)
Revival through Return – “To some extent, a revival is already underway. Classical schools are proliferating, and with school choice having made major strides in the states last year, they’re bound to spread further.” We Need a new Renaissance (National Review)
(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of the content and perspective of said news item or essay.)
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On “Discomfort with Islam.”
Attn – Bureaucrats of the USCCB:
Allow me to explain something that distinguishes Christianity from Islam.
If a person or persons from a “Christian society” happened to commit atrocities and murder in the name of Jesus, Christians and non-Christians would recognize that such murderers are disobeying the Gospel.
If a person or persons from an Islamic society happens to commit atrocities and murder in the name Allah, Muslims and non-Muslims alike would recognize that such murderers are obeying the Koran.
That’s a discernment for you.
@ Discomfort with Islam
The cited USCCB document explains that openness to Islam is an extension of the Church’s openness to Judaism, and then rhetorically ask how Christians would feel if we were held accountable for the violence we have exercised throughout history.
Four points:
FIRST, the relationship between the Old Testament (prefiguring the New) and the New Testament (fulfilling the Old) is categorically different from the Islamic replacement of the incarnate Christ with the Qur’an. Likewise, the fact (a fact!) that carnage by Christians is a violation of Christianity, rather than its fulfillment as in the minds of Muslim jihadists.
SECOND, taking time to at least superficially examine Islam (to be distinguished from many Muslims as persons, but not all) shows that the Qur’an first reveres the “Law of Moses” but then declines to explicitly list the six prohibitive Commandments. In this vacuum we then find the positive injunctions that trigger the actions of violent jihadists as in Nigeria, the Congo and, say, even New York City in 2001, etc. USCCB, take note!
THIRD, Instead of “Thou shalt not…”: “Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you” (Q 9:123), and “Make War on them until idolatry shall cease and Allah’s religion shall reign supreme” (Q 8:34, see also Q 2:187/191, 9:5, 47:4). The violent verses are theoretically moderated or even “abrogated” (see below) by offsetting verses (Q 2:256, 60:8-9). Scholars cite the following as efforts to establish the Muslim understanding (!) of religious freedom: “And fight with them until there is no persecution and religion is only for Allah” (Q 2:193); and “until all religions are for Allah” (Q 8:39).
(About “abrogation,” discontinuities and contradictions are as fundamental (!) to interpreting the Qur’an as to the absolutely inscrutable Allah—in radical contrast with the coherence of faith and reason under Christianity, that is, within the displaced Jesus Christ as the LOGOS.)
FOURTH, historically, Muhammad departed from the USCCB predisposition that openness to Judaism and to Islam are sort of equivalent. Instead, he found the Christian priests and religious can be assimilated–because non-tribal, and fraternal. Before Christianity in later centuries was overrun throughout the Middle East, Anatolia and parts of eastern and western Europe, and the Twin Towers.
What, if anything, have fraternal theologians learned in fourteen centuries? As still in the USCCB today, this from the Qur’an in the 7th Century:
“Thou shalt find the Jews to be very great Enemies to the true Believers; and the Christians to have great Inclination and Amity towards them, for they have Priests and Religious, that are humble, who have Eyes full of Tears when they hear mention of the Doctrine which God hath inspired into thee, because of their knowledge of the Truth, and Say, Lord we believe in thy Law, write us in the number of them who profess thy Unity. Who shall hinder us from believing in God, and the Truth wherein we have been instructed. We desire with Passion, O Lord, to be in the number of the Just (Q 5:82).”
SUMMARY: Quite a mistake to conflate interfaith ecumenism within Christianity, with interreligious dialogue. And, to confuse personal contact with some Muslim neighbors with supposed harmony toward the Qur’an and Islam as a religion. Islam is a system of collective “belief” (“the word made book” and the brotherhood of the ummah, and jihad), unlike personal “faith” in the incarnate person of Jesus Christ (“the Word made flesh” and the theological virtue of Christian charity, and fraternity).
I lived in the Middle East for eight years and loved the people for their generosity and devotion to God. During my time there, I traveled across North Africa and the GCC nations. While I did encounter a small minority who were not fond of Westerners, it was the warmth and kindness of the majority that left a lasting impression. Studying Islam reveals its aim to dominate all religions, and faithful Muslims are not radicals but simply those who follow the teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith. Labeling them as terrorists is a misunderstanding—they are just living out their faith. When I returned home, I still had great love for the people but became convinced that cooperation should happen from a distance. Christianity and Islam are not compatible; while Islam may offer some lessons, it cannot come at the expense of Jesus Christ.
“A White-Nationalist Influencer – “Tucker Carlson, knee-deep already, has taken another step into the muck with a friendly interview with Nick Fuentes.” A Time for Choosing on Antisemitism (National Review)”
We are Catholics. We profess a faith that is unique to us. We, as a Church, have a mission to fulfill. We are not a political organization. There is no Right or Left; there is only Truth or Lies. Let’s stop wading into politics and get busy with the mission of the Church and Christ’s mandate to us. National Review does NOT inform my faith one iota.