Recently in American Culture Category

President-elect Obama has put his pro-abortion agenda into overdrive. I've now seen several articles where he lays out initial plans and they typically include two things:

• Renewing the requirement that nations who receive American funds must have legalized abortion (President Bush had stopped this policy)
  
• Removing President Bush's ban on government funds for embryonic stem cell research
  

And remember his big promise: to pass the Freedom of Choice Act, which will remove most state obstacles to abortion.
 
So I was happy to see today that American Catholic bishops are vowing to fight Obama on his pro-death agenda:

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops vowed Tuesday to forcefully confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights, saying the church and religious freedom could be under attack in the new presidential administration.

It is heartening to see the Bishops stand up for life like this. Unfortunately it seems a little late, but the article does note that they spoke out more forcefully on abortion than they have in the past. The Bishops were also clear on one of the key problems:

In an impassioned discussion on Catholics in public life, several bishops said they would accept no compromise on abortion policy. Many condemned Catholics who had argued it was morally acceptable to back President-elect Obama because he pledged to reduce abortion rates.

Let us pray that the Bishops can unify behind a pro-life agenda and get the Democratic party to back off on the pro-death agenda! Hopefully this marks a turning point in the relationship between the Catholic Bishops and the Democratic Party, which hasn't been a friend to Catholics in a long time. And as Catholics, let's get behind this initiative of our Bishops and hope that other pro-life Christians join in!

God bless,
Jay

Bishop Finn of Kansas explaining why a Catholic cannot vote for pro-death Obama:

Pray for our country.

God bless,
Jay

Ironically, President Obama is likely to do more damage to his race than most white presidents have done. Why? Because abortion disproportionately damages minorities - particularly the black race. Margaret Sanger, who started Planned Parenthood, conceived of abortion as a way to reduce minorities. And the statistics show that it has done just that.

We'll see if President Obama follows through on his campaign promises, but if he does, state laws restricting abortion will be overturned at a Federal level. That would be devastating for our culture and for his race, in particular.

This sets back the culture of life significantly, since at least one, possibly two, Supreme Court Justices will now be chosen by an avid supporter of abortion. Pray for us.

God bless,
Jay

Bella is a phenomenal movie that I recommend you see. It's a powerful movie on the nature of life. And the man behind it was Eduardo Verastegui. Now the famous Mexican actor has something else to say, and it's no less powerful.

This is a video that is a must-see in America today. However, one warning: it is graphic at times. Do NOT watch this with children in the room. Tonight, you will likely find yourself crying as you lay in bed. Unfortunately, this horror is a reality across America:

May God save us all. This happens thousands of times a day in America.

You can see more at his website: ObamaMustSee.com

 

God bless,

Jay

I just finished watching Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Despite the somewhat silly cover, this is a very serious movie that deserves your attention. Basically the movie starts by looking at the scientific community's view of Intelligent Design. But from there he delves deeply into Darwinism and ends by asking the question, "How would our society look if Darwinism where applied?"
 
I highly recommend you take the time to rent this movie (we got it from Netflix, so it's out there). At a minimum, it will make you think about the nature of Darwinism, God, and society. It really made me look at Ben Stein (Bueller, Bueller) in another light. And the movie is very well thought out. He builds his case in a logical way that makes a compelling argument. Even if you aren't an Intelligent Design proponent, it's worth your time. I want to say more about it, but I think it's much more interesting if you watch it yourself. If I simply tell you the conclusions, it wouldn't mean as much.
 
Clear enough? Don't miss it! You can buy it at Amazon.com here.
 
God bless,
Jay

What are the key issues in deciding who should be the next president? Promises are great, but what really matter is the character and moral strength of the person who we vote for. Anyone can promise tax breaks, new programs, etc, but as a Christian, I believe we need someone who has the moral character to choose what is right, even if it isn't popular. Here's a list of the moral issues in the next presidential election.

Issue	John McCain	Barack Obama
Abortion	Pro-life. Believes life begins at conception and should be protected.	Pro-abortion. 100% pro-abortion record in voting; even worked to block a bill that required doctors to provide medical care to babies born during a botched abortion.
Supreme Court Judges	Committed to adding strict constitutionalists to the Supreme Court who are pro-life	Committed to protect abortion rights in choosing Supreme Court justices
Euthanasia	Against Euthanasia.	Approves of Euthanasia
Gay Marriage	Against gay marriage or civil unions that are equivalent to gay marriage	Against gay marriage, but for civil unions that are "indistinguishable" from a heterosexual marriage
Death Penalty	Supports the Death Penalty	Supports the Death Penalty
Torture	Against torture of terrorists, others	Against torture of terrorists, others

Any other issues I should add? Who wins on the moral front? Certainly not the Democratic Candidate.

God bless,
Jay

What's at stake this election? Senator Obama is clear:

With one more vacancy on the Supreme Court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a women's fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe v. Wade. The next president may be asked to nominate that Supreme Court justice. That is what is at stake in this election.

That's from his statement on the 35th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. But he even went further: he vowed to pass the Freedom of Choice Act. If you aren't aware of the Freedom of Choice Act, now is the time to become familiar. You can read the full text here.

Basically the Freedom of Choice Act would, on a federal level, invalidate any laws (even state laws) that limit abortion in any way. It's a despicable way of preventing voters from standing in the way of abortion. And how does Senator Obama put it?

The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do.
-- Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007

Don't mislead yourself: Senator Obama worships at the altar of abortion. Remember, he blocked a bill that would have required doctors to provide medical attention to babies accidentally born after a botched abortion. This isn't your average abortion candidate, he's a serious supporter and brags (in the link above even) about his 100% perfect rating from the abortion lobby.

Vote pro-life. Vote McCain.

God bless,
Jay

What happens to babies who are born during a botched abortion? Right now they are required to receive medical attention from doctors and nurses once they are born. But that will end if Senator Obama has anything to say about it:

A new website called BornAliveTruth.org is trying to bring the reality of Obama's message home. And one abortion survivor, Gianna Jessen, is challenging Senator Obama to change his position:

I find it appropriate that she has the same first name as Saint Gianna Molla for obvious reasons. Be sure to check out BornAliveTruth.org for more information.

Thanks to Catholic Fire for bringing this to my attention!

God bless,
Jay

PS - How can you vote for Obama in good conscience?? He has said before that the issue of abortion is the biggest issue of this election. But his goal is pass a constitutional amendment to prevent it from ever being overturned. A Vote for McCain/Palin is a Vote for Life.

As a person committed to the pro-life cause, I was relieved by McCain's selection of a strong pro-life Vice Presidential running mate. Rumours kept circulating about a pro-abortion candidate, but thankfully McCain stayed on course and selected Governor Sarah Palin as the potential VP.

So on one side, you have the Democratic Pro-Abortion machine and on the other a Pro-Life team. And when we say "pro-abortion machine" we mean it - as I've noted earlier, Senator Obama actually supported a bill that would let babies born during a botch abortion simply died in front of a doctor that could save their lives. This is the extreme, but how could a man so heartless run our country?

The Right to Life is the basis of all other rights in our country. Without this right, no others seem to matter. And the way to stop the holocaust of abortion is by starting with yourself: be pro-life, live pro-life, and vote pro-life. Governor Sarah Palin not only says she's pro-life, but she actually has proven it in her personal life, which matters more than any words she could speak. Governor Palin had her fifth child knowing that he would be born with Downs Syndrome. This is a woman that understands the value of life, unlike those on the other side of the aisle.

Let's pray that God gives Americans the wisdom to vote pro-life in this presidential race. The last thing we need is Senator Obama bringing his horrific policies to a national stage.

God bless,
Jay

One thing you don't realize when you start a blog is the amount of obscene spam that you'll get. It's difficult to create a spam filter for a blog that will actually filter out everything, so some will make it through as a comment on your blog. This is expected. What isn't expected (or wasn't from me) is the level of obscenity and deviance involved in the comment spam. I'm a grown man, but as I'm going through and deleting it, I still get a little sick over the contents.

My concern is that this reflects in some way the acceptable deviance of society. Clearly we have a problem with pornography addiction in our country. There is now no stigma to walking in a store and trying to buy a porn magazine. You can simply go online, believing (wrongly so) that you are anonymous while surfing the internet. People who wouldn't have considered pornography ten years ago are surfing it regularly online.

How can we fix this? Or can we? Pornography is intrinsically dangerous to people and societies. It increases the violence against women. It hurts marriages and marital relationships. It changes the way the user feels about love. And it exploits women in unspeakable ways for money.

I really this this in part goes back to our loss of the sense of sin. I wonder how many who view pornography realize they are endangering their soul - for all eternity - for a small amount of pleasure that can't ever fulfill their desires. If only they felt that Jesus Christ was looking over their shoulder as they engaged in this. Or even better, picture the Virgin Mary crying at your side as you surf the dark side of the Internet.

If you have a pornography problem, do something about it. Know when you are tempted and stay away from the computer. Put software on your computer that will stop you from viewing it. If you have children, you should do this anyway - they certainly shouldn't be sucked in at a young age. And most of all, pray.

If you know someone who has problems with pornography, pray for them. And pray for the women of our society, who seem to be exploited more as every year passes.

An email service just for our protestant brothers and sisters . . . it's way too much to pass up. Apparently YouveBeenLeftBehind.com will send up to 62 emails out to your "left behind" friends and family explaining what happened when you are raptured. That's right, for the small fee of $40, you can send out messages to those left behind to explain the good news of Jesus Christ.

Now, I'm still trying to figure out why only 62 messages (you'll have to guess which 62 friends are least likely to be raptured). But it also appears that it's $40 a year until the rapture, which could be some time off (I'm not sure what Hal Lindsey's latest date is, but he could possibly be wrong).

As a slightly technical guy, I should point out the obvious problems from a technical perspective. But Ken Magill at Direct magazine has already done a good job of explaining the realities:

Also, let's say the service gets 10,000 subscribers. That's 620,000 messages coming all at once from IP addresses that previously have shown little to no activity. As a result, Internet service providers' anti-spam filters will most certainly block or divert them into recipients' spam folders.
 
Who's going to be around at You've Been Left Behind to conduct ISP relations? Maybe the group should employ a staff of the damned to make sure things go smoothly after all those who are saved disappear. Some Unitarians would probably be up for the job--they're such an amenable bunch, after all.
 
Otherwise, imagine Satan standing at the gates of hell laughing manically and telling a seemingly endless procession of new souls: "You should have checked your spam folders! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
 
Lastly, envision the circumstances under which this service will operate: Among other things, four horsemen will have come riding out of the sky, the forces of righteousness will be locked in the ultimate battle with the antichrist, celestial trumpets are blowing, and the gates of hell are open and beckoning.
 
And someone's going to say: "Wait just a second while I check my e-mail?"

Just to explain from a Catholic perspective: the Rapture is a protestant invention brought about because protestants don't have the Mass. That's right, the Mass. The Book of Revelation (or The Apocalypse) is a book based on the Mass and is virtually impossible to understand without understanding the Catholic liturgy. Revelation explains that the liturgy we celebrate in Mass is an actual participation in the Heavenly Liturgy that is being celebrated at all times (and will be in Heaven forever).

So if you don't understand the Mass, you tend to see the book of Revelation as only a difficult explanation of the end of time. And interesting human concepts like The Rapture are invented to explain it. It's important to note that the Rapture is primarily a 20th century concept, with little to no precedent for the belief. At this point in time there are multiple versions of the belief in the rapture: pre-millennial, post-millennial, even those who are essentially mid-millennial.

So what is the Truth? Jesus Christ will come at the end of time and separate the wheat from the chaff, taking the wheat to heaven. Those who haven't achieved holiness, but aren't in mortal sin, will be perfected through purgatory.

I pray that through the Sacraments, we all become wheat for Jesus.

God bless,
Jay

In case you aren't aware, Pope Benedict XVI is headed to the US this week. His visit starts in Washington, DC, then moves to New York City (where he'll speak to the UN). It provides non-Catholics a wonderful opportunity to hear the Pope's words and listen to him call us all to Jesus.

In advance, he has released a video statement to Americans (you can read the text version here). I hope Christians of all stripes and persuasions will take this opportunity to listen the Pope and hear him call you home (he is the successor to St. Peter, the first pope). Here's the AP's take:

I'm guessing abortion might come up as well, and it's a great time considering the upcoming election (the AP leaves that out of the list of "controversial" subjects). You'll also be able to follow his talks here; I believe they will post a text version of each speech he gives.

Also, pray for his visit - may our ears be opened to hear the truth!

God bless,
Jay

A new movie actually looks pretty good: The Ten Commandments. The early reviews seem to suggest the movie sticks to it's Biblical roots, which is great. The website includes some games and information for children. Be sure to support these Christian movies when they hit the big screen! You can watch a trailer for the film here.

God bless,
Jay

Michael O'Brien is one of my favorite Christian writers. And he's the author of A Landscape With Dragons: The Battle for Your Child's Mind, which I would highly recommend for all parents.

Today I read an excellent article by Michael O'Brien called Harry Potter and "the death of God" (full article here). It's a great analysis of the whole Harry Potter series and some of the big issues Christians should have with it (we've posted on those problems previously). It is a very good analysis and I wanted to point out some of the key parts of it. This is what every parent considering letting their children read it should hear:

Lev Grossman, in the July 23, 2007, issue of Time magazine, writes, “If you want to know who dies in Harry Potter, the answer is easy: God.” In this he has expressed the core problem with the Potter series. There is much that could be written, and has been written, about the specific problems in the books. Without neglecting the valid point that good fiction need not be overtly Christian, need not be religious at all, we might ponder a little the fact that the central metaphor and plot engines of the series are activities (witchcraft and sorcery) absolutely prohibited by God. We might also consider for a moment the fact that no sane parents would give their children books which portrayed a set of “good” pimps and prostitutes valiantly fighting a set of “bad” pimps and prostitutes, and using the sexual acts of prostitution as the thrilling dynamic of the story. By the same token we should ask ourselves why we continue to imbibe large doses of poison in our cultural consumption, as if this were reasonable and normal living, as if the presence of a few vegetables floating in a bowl of arsenic soup justifies the long-range negative effects of our diet. Leaving aside a wealth of such arguments, let us consider Lev Grossman’s insight.

“The death of God?” many a reader will respond. “Surely he is making too much of the matter! Aren’t we discussing a single phenomenon in a vast sea of cultural phenomena? And aren’t there a lot of positive values in these books and films—even some edifying moments of courage and sacrifice? And isn’t it all about love?” Yes, in a sense it is. But what kind of love? What kind of sacrifice? And for what purpose? The series is also about the usefulness of hatred and pride, malice toward your real or perceived enemies, seeking and using secret knowledge, lies, cunning, contempt, and sheer good luck in order to defeat whatever threatens you or stands in the path of your desires. It is a cornucopia of other false messages: The end justifies the means. Nothing is as it seems. No one can really be trusted, except those whom you feel comfortable with, who support your aims and make you feel good about yourself. Killing others is justified if you are good and they are bad. Conservative people are bad, anti-magic dogmatists are really bad and deserve whatever punishment they get (hence the delicious retributions against the Dursleys). The ultimate cause of evil is rejection of magic: the arch-villain Voldemort, for example, first went off track when he became a dysfunctional boy abandoned by his anti-magic father. Then there’s the adolescent romance in the atmosphere, a potent element when mixed with magic, usually latent but growing with each volume and culminating in domestic bliss for the central characters at the end of the final volume. Yes, Harry faces near-satanic evils, passes through an unceasing trial of conflict and woe, triumphs against insurmountable odds, saves the world, marries Ginny and brings forth with her a new generation of little witches and wizards. If it were a spoof or satire we might laugh. But it presents itself as very serious stuff, this festival of noxious half-truths and overt falseness, interwoven so conveniently with some positive values, some attractive role-modeling, and the timeless authorial device of an under-dog orphan as the hero/anti-hero of the series. So pleasurable, so thrilling at every turn. So deathly and hollow.

But that is the point, isn’t it. If the universe in which we live is not “hallowed” (sacred, holy) but rather hollow and deadly, then we must do what we can to change it, right? There is no God, apparently, so we must be our own gods. If there is no father (as every orphan knows) than we must be our own fathers. A tough job for anyone to do, but with the help of some incredible powers it can be done. And even if there is, after all, something in existence a little more than the material world and this materialist magic, can it be trusted? Definitely not, according to the story. There are hints of other realms in the Potter series, immaterial or metaphysical dimensions devoid of any reference to a higher moral order. But these are window-dressing to the cosmology Rowling establishes. Throughout the series there is overwhelming evidence that a Gnostic worldview is being slowly but surely presented. In fact, it is a new form of that ancient archipelago of heresies, a neo-gnosticism that borrows remnants of Judeo-Christian symbols and mixes them with cultic concepts of life and afterlife. For example, toward the end of the final volume, Harry’s headmaster and mentor, Dumbledore, meets with Harry in a nebulous otherworldly zone, after Dumbledore’s death and Harry’s pseudo-death, before the latter’s mysterious “resurrection.” Yet even these and other metaphysical references are merely used to serve the author’s real goal, which is the exaltation of the humanist ideal. Such humanism cannot long survive without a “spirituality” of some kind or other—and what better spirituality for Homo Sine Deo than one which offers the thrills and rewards of the preternatural, without moral accountability to God. One might call this, paradoxically, the religion of secular humanism. In this religion, as in most other religions, the world is gravely threatened and needs its saviour. What, then, is a lovable hero to do in this situation? He must grow up, it goes without saying, and he does so throughout the seven tales by coming into the realization of his inherent semi-divine powers. These are never referred to as god-like powers because that would be a tacit admission of some kind of higher authority, and Potterworld will admit no absolute hierarchy in creation.

Studies repeatedly show that children who read Harry Potter develop an interested in witchcraft and sorcery. And why not? These books glorify both in rich fashion. I really think the statement above almost says it all. But the article continues with some great points and this is near the end:

Genuine freedom is possible only where there is genuine love. And genuine love is not possible without truth. As Tolkien once pointed out in his essay on fantasy literature, the writer who hopes to feed the imagination in a healthy way must remain faithful to the moral order of the real universe, regardless of how fantastic the details of the fictional world may be. The Natural Law which God has written into our beings cannot be entirely eradicated, but it can be gravely deformed, leading to distortion of consciousness and conscience, and hence our actions. Healthy fiction, no matter how wildly it may depart from the material order, teaches us to love ourselves in a wholesome manner, by loving our neighbor. Indeed, even by loving our enemies—at least by trying to learn to love them, and by believing that it is right to do so. With grace this is possible. But selective love (coupled with selective hatred) does not lead to freedom. It is the feelings of love without the substance of love, the feelings of freedom without the foundations of freedom. If God is the absent father—or the father who perhaps never existed—the hero and his readers are left only with such emotions, their hooked loyalties, their love of the self’s insatiable appetites, which they feel cannot be denied without a killing curse of self-annihilation. That is why so many people cling fiercely to the “values” in the Potter books while ignoring the interwoven undermining of those very values. That is why the defenders of Potterworld exhibit such adamancy, frequently outrage, against critics. According to their perceptions, the critics of Potterworld are the enemies of freedom and identity.

Harry Potter is not good for your children. I've heard several parents say, "I'm just so glad s/he is reading," These same parents would be shocked if their children were reading obscene books, but love Harry Potter. Remember: the Bible puts sorcery and magic as one of the worst sins, since it attempts to elevate man to the position of God. Harry Potter teaches children to love sorcery. Stay away! And tell others.

Please read the article - it's very good. And our thanks to Michael O'Brien for keeping this information out there.

God bless,
Jay

In a fascinating move, the Jesuits’ official paper, La Civilta' Cattolica, reports that they are entering Second Life as missionaries. And it makes sense as Father Antonio Spadaro explains:

This virtual Second Life is becoming populated with churches, mosques, temples, cathedrals. synagogues, places of prayer of all kinds. And behind an avatar there is a man or a woman, perhaps searching for God and faith, perhaps with very strong spiritual needs.

He makes a great point: each “resident” of Second Life is an actual person with an actual soul. And we have an obligation to evangelize those people in whatever way we have the opportunity – or in whatever world we have the opportunity. I also love this line:

Therefore any initiative which can help the souls of residents should be considered positive.

You can read more details here. Let’s pray that they can help bring the Second Life residents closer to God in their real life.

God bless,
Jay

Robin Williams attacked the Catholic Church (and all Catholics) Monday night on the Tonight Show. He was pushing his new movie in which he plays a protestant minister and he repeatedly suggested that all priests were pedophiles:

Williams pretended to play a game with Jay Leno where a pedophile is hidden under a cup. “Here we go. Find the priest, find the pedophile. Find the priest, find the pedophile. Here you go right now. Move ‘em around, move ‘em around. Oh, you found the pedophile.”

Williams then put his hand over his groin, saying, “You have to realize that if you are a Catholic priest, you have retired this. That’s it—no more sex.” Then he took a shot at confession: “But they are going to put you in a small dark box and people are going to tell you the nastiest sexual stuff they have done.”

Williams has never been a friend to Christians, but it's unfortunate that he can't see the ignorance of his statement. Catholic children are much more likely to be molested by a public school teacher than by a priest. The statistics are overwhelming, but I guess he is just focused on pushing the sterotype to help his career. What a shame.

The news article notes his recent statement that you can make "major fun of the Catholic Church but hey, they don’t blow you up." That sounds like a great reason to mock the Church.

God bless,
Jay

The five most visited articles at Deo Omnis Gloria are a bit surprising. I would expect one of our researched Eucharist articles or the anti-Christ. But visits are driven by general popular opinion – in other words, what’s on the mind of searchers. So our top five is an interesting mix of articles. I’ll start with the least popular:

Number Five: Presidential Election 2008

This article on the upcoming US Presidential election looks at the future candidates in terms of their view on Life issues. You can tell a lot about a person by whether they will protect the lives of innocent babies (who can’t vote). If you haven’t read it, go see if 2008 is a disaster for life. This is a recent article.

Number Four: Dr. Dobson’s Odd Teaching

This is one of the earliest articles written on this site and continues to see lots of visits because it directly addresses a very popular religious figure. The article criticizes Dr. Dobson’s approach to masturbation in particular. What’s the problem? Read A Bone to Pick with Dr. Dobson.

Number Three: Jehovah Witnesses and the Truth

This is a Catholic response to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ claim of the 144,000 elect. It addresses the issues pretty cleanly, which helps its popularity, I’m sure. Again, this is a slightly older article and it deals with a popular topic in American culture. Read Jehovah Witnesses and the 144,000 Elect: A Catholic Response here.

Number Two: Communion for non-Catholics

In an age of relativism that extends to religious issues, this topic is a bit controversial. The Catholic Church teaches plainly that you must be Catholic to receive communion during Mass. Why? Read Why Can’t Non-Catholics Receive Holy Communion here.

Number One: The Role of Godparents

Yep, this is the most popular article on the site. I’m guessing it includes parents trying to choose Godparents as well as Godparents trying to understand their role in the life of their Godchild. We also get a decent number of comments on this article. Read What’s the Point of Godparents here. By the way, this was by far the most popular article. Every week it has about twice as many visitors as the second most popular article.

So we end up with quite a mix of different topics in the top five. Number six is our Prayer Request page and number seven is a pure apologetics article: 10 Questions for “Bible Christians”.

This was an interesting exercise for me, so I thought I would share the results. Is it what you expected? Just curious.

God bless,

Jay

We seem to see this more and more in this country. Catholic hospitals are targeted in Connecticut. Basically a new law attempts to force hospitals to administer abortions. Believe it or not, the law refers to "compassionate care" in the title. Because Catholic hospitals refuse to kill unborn children, they apparently aren't "compassionate." It amazes me what passes for reason these days.

Just had to rant . . .

God bless,
Jay

This was too interesting to miss. Lent is Big Business for Seafood Chains. I thought this was fascinating:

At Long John Silver's, many of its more than 1,100 domestic restaurants ring up nearly a third of yearlong sales during Lent, a company executive said.

"It's for us what the Christmas season is for a clothing retailer," said Steve Provost, chief marketing officer for the chain, a subsidiary of Louisville-based Yum Brands Inc., whose brands also include KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and A&W All-American Food Restaurants.

The whole article is pretty interesting - and it makes quite a witness during this time of year. Millions of Catholics giving up meat for love of God.

God bless,
Jay

Zell Miller continues to impress me. He's what our grandparents though of when they thought of Democrats. And he pointed out the stark reality that abortion destroys:

Miller . . . declared that abortion has contributed to the military's manpower shortage, the Social Security crisis, and the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.

"How could this great land of plenty produce too few people in the last 30 years? Here is the brutal truth that no one dares to mention:
We're too few because too many of our babies have been killed," Miller said.

"Over 45 million since Roe v. Wade in 1973. If those 45 million children had lived, today they would be defending our country, they would be filling our jobs, they would be paying into Social Security,"
the former Georgia governor said. "Still, we watch as 3,700 babies are killed every single day in America. It is unbelievable that a nation under God would allow this." - - From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution [emphasis mine]

Now if the rest of the Democratic party would stop worshipping at the altar of abortion . . .

God bless,
Jay

The now well-known book and DVD series called The Secret has been on Oprah (which makes any book a blockbuster), Ellen DeGeneres and even on Larry King Live. Ultimately, The Secret claims to be a simple secret that can lead to happiness, wealth, and even good health for you and anyone else who knows it. What is The Secret? I’ll let the author explain:

Author Rhonda Byrne says the secret is the law of attraction: If you think positively, you become a magnet that pulls everything you want toward you. - - USA Today

So is this simple plan real? Is it True?

The Secret is deceptively simple
I think one reason for the popularity of The Secret is it’s apparent simplicity. Just believe as Disney has told us over the years. But is this something new? Not really. The Secret in simple terms is another shot at New Age mysticism. On the Oprah show, Jack Canfield (co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul) explained it in terms of physics: thought is energy so positive thoughts are positive energy that attracts other positive energy. This is very theoretical, to say the least, but is it practical? Let’s examine a couple of cases . . .

The Secret in practice
If something works, it must be true, correct? In other words, if the Law of Gravity is real then it affects everyone. On Oprah the practitioners (so to speak) of The Secret pointed out that if you are negative, you attract negative things. Just to take one disaster – the New Orleans Hurricane – and try to explain it using The Secret: those people were thinking too negatively. If they were positive, it would not have happened.

Okay that’s a negative viewpoint, but you suggest it might work in the positive. Again referencing Oprah, they actually pointed out that someone who wants to be a great singer should just decide it was going to happen and think positive. It would then happen. That simple. But when I watch American Idol I notice that there are a lot of extremely bad singers that really believe they are good. Unfortunately they just don’t have the talent. In other words, they have faith in their singing ability and are positive enough to believe that the American Idol judges will select them. But they aren’t selected because their faith is misplaced: despite the claims of The Secret you can’t just wish to have a great singing voice (Lord knows I’ve tried).

Reality versus The Secret
The Secret is great as a motivational tool. It does encourage positive thinking and outlook, which is excellent. But the reality is that we live in a fallen world and suffering is a regular part of our world. The biggest error of The Secret is that it doesn’t reflect this reality and tries to suggest that suffering is somehow your fault:

Susan Folkman, a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, says she worries about The Secret's suggestion that "people can cure themselves and that if they don't, they are somehow to blame." - - USA Today

In fact, as Christians we believe that our suffering has value that can’t simply be wished away. With St. Paul our sufferings “make up what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings.” No amount of positive or wishful thinking will remove pain, sickness, and suffering from our lives. And it should be this way: perfection can only be attained in heaven.

The real Secret
The real secret for all of us is that Jesus Christ could have stayed in heaven as God and enjoyed eternity. But instead He decided to come to earth and die in order to that we might live forever with Him. Despite our own little secrets hidden in closets everywhere. The real secret is that God loves you and cares when you suffer. Every hidden pain and injustices is felt by God who remembers and loves you for trying.

Positive thoughts? Good. The love of God? Much, much better. That secret is all too hidden today and provides a lot more value than any book, even if it were a secret.

God bless,
Jay

It's good to see Christian movies becoming more mainstream - and I think it helps with our culture as long as the movies retain their Christian character. I just learned that The Screwtape Letters is going to become a movie. It's being made by the same guys who brought us The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so it could be very good. Although I must admit I'm curious as to how that book can be "adapted" to a live-action movie.

For more details, see this article. Kudos to Walden Media - and if you weren't aware, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is in theaters next year.

God bless,
Jay

Do you know the leading cause of poverty in the United States, according to the president of DePaul University? Last September I was at the National meeting for the St. Vincent de Paul Society where he was the keynote speaker, and his answer struck me: divorce.

Unfortunately, this was a minor side-note in his speech and he went on to say many other things, but my mind kept coming back to this fact. To me, it is obviously true that in this country of immense wealth, moral poverty often (not always) has a link with material poverty. Ironically, when many Catholic institutions talk about decreasing poverty, there is no mention of the moral link. For example, Catholic Charities (with St. Vincent de Paul Society) has set a goal of cutting poverty in half by 2020. The main means in their effort to reach this goal is changing government policy. To my knowledge, there is no mention of the moral poverty link.

The goal is a noble one, but I think a different approach would more successful. What if a huge effort was made to create healthy families? There would be fewer single mothers, and I know for a fact that single mothers are the main type of client that the St. Vincent de Paul Society serves. Children would grow up with more financial security, but more importantly, with more love, values, and emotional support. Many Christians know what most of secular society doesn’t; that the family is under attack and it is wreaking havoc on society. The breakdown of the family is a much greater problem in this country than material need. The huge piles of free bread thrown away every other day at the St. Vincent de Paul Society proves that to me.

If we focused our efforts in this area, not only would we reduce poverty, but we would increase people’s dignity and happiness, even if they fell on hard economic times. This approach would help people holistically, by addressing their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs, not just their physical needs. I’m sure many have seen the movie “American Beauty”. If we succeed in pulling thousands of families out of material poverty, but they are as dysfunctional as the ones in that movie are, have we succeeded in anything?

Sadly, many Catholics who are all about social justice do not see the intricate web of personal sin, corruption, and different kinds of poverty. They tend to put all the blame on what they see as black and white government economic policies. Let us pray for a deeper conversion to Christ in our pursuit of justice.

In Christ,
Daniel

Social justice is an important area of the life of the Church. It strives to protect the dignity of the human person, which is made in the image and likeness of God. When one says the phrase, what words come to mind? Most would probably say issues like poverty, immigration, just war, labor issues, etc. Indeed, the US Conference of Catholic Bishop’s website (rightly, I think) includes those issues under the topic of social justice. But I propose that the faithful need to start thinking of “life” and “family” issues as the primary subcategories of social justice. To keep this article short, I will only focus on the “life” subcategory. A second article will follow on the “family” subcategory.

The abortion issue needs to be front and center on the Church’s fight for social justice, and it must be seen as social justice. It is clear that the right to life is the fundamental right upon which all other rights can exist. And because the law currently does not allow some to have this right, this issue is of primary importance to fight. Ironically, many who fight for social justice do not assent to this truth, and this includes many Catholics who fight for social justice. I work for a Catholic non-profit organization that helps “the poor” and, sadly, I witness this often. I am frustrated at the extent of this problem, and how little it is addressed. Unfortunately, the divorce of “pro-life” issues from social justice perpetuates this problem, and makes wonderful organizations like Priests for Life look more like narrow-minded, single-issue focused extremists rather than the social justice champions they truly are.

Another reason why the abortion issue is of primary importance is that it is a black and white issue, while most social justice issues are in a gray area. They have to either balance the rights of two different entities, or have several moral options for their solutions. Let’s take the immigration issue and poverty for each example. People have a right to look for work and to provide for their families while being paid a just wage for their labor. On the other hand, nations have the right to protect their borders and enforce their laws. Social justice should lead us toward policies that balance the rights of both of these entities and bring about the most good.
There are several moral options for the question “what is the best way to help lift people out of poverty?” Should we raise the minimum wage? If so, how much? If we do, what negative economic consequences will that bring? Will the new economic equilibrium put in place by raising the minimum wage truly help the poor? There are no black and white moral answers to these questions, and policies that try to bring about the most good should be shaped by fair and sound economic research.

These are examples of gray areas where Catholics can disagree in good faith, and should debate the policy that would bring about the most good. Abortion does not fall into either of these gray areas; there are no opposing rights and the killing of an innocent is never a moral option. Fighting the holocaust of abortion is a black and white, non-negotiable, primary social justice issue; this we cannot debate. Unfortunately, many Catholics involved in social justice see it as a gray issue and the others as black and white. We must work and pray to clear this confusion.

In Christ,
Daniel

Good news: NBC has stopped removing God from the Veggie Tales episodes they air. Chalk one up for the good guys, since apparently it was public pressure in the form of letters that convinced NBC to leave Veggie Tales alone.

If you haven't seen Veggie Tales, they are excellent cartoons with very good moral lessons and a focus on the Christian God. My children have enjoyed them for years. When NBC first started airing Veggie Tales episodes, they censored any talk of God or the Bible. But thankfully it sounds like they have reversed this position and will now air episodes without the censorship.

Prayer can achieve amazing things. Thanks to NBC for taking the high road on this one.

God bless,
Jay

Google now allows you to create very targeted search engines on specific topics. So I've created a Catholic Search engine that focuses on quality (read: theologically-correct) Catholic websites. It's still a Google search, but the list of sites i added come up significantly higher in the search results. So it is an excellent way to understand the Catholic position on most topics. You can test it out here.

It's really revealing when you hit a topic like "abortion" or "da vinci code" - the results are excellent and focus on the Catholic position. So if you have a question about Catholicism, Mary, or any specific Catholic topic, it's a great way to quickly get a quality answer on what Catholiics believe. Hope you enjoy!

So go test out the Catholic search engine - and let me know how the results look.

God bless,
Jay

The Democratic Party has a problem: Church-attending voters tend to be overwhelmingly Republican. So, they've launched a new website to counter the problem, FaithfulDemocrats.com. Why? Because they believe that the problem is ultimately political: more faithful Christians vote Republican because Democrats aren't getting the message out. What's the real problem? The real problem is that the Democratic Party is diometrically opposed to the Christian faith. They are the party of abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, and public displays of religion. The only thing they seem to get right is poverty and you could make a strong argument that Republicans are doing that better these days, too.

The point I'm trying to make is that the Democrats are tackling the problem from the wrong direction. They assume it's political and it is not. The answer is simple: Let pro-life Democrats run for office. The Party founded on blue-collar Christian workers has become the party of abortion, first and foremost. Al Gore was required to drop his pro-life stance in order to run for Vice President (and he wasn't the first). When was the last time Democrats allowed a strong pro-lifer to run for a big office? It's been a long time, because they are too worried about upsetting their far-left base.

Want to capture the Christian vote? Don't try and change Christian values, rather try and emulate them. Allow Democrats to run on pro-life, pro-family platforms that don't require faithful Christians to give up their religion to support you. In these times, a pro-life Democrat could be a strong competitor. If you're willing to let him run.

God bless,
Jay

It's it a sad critique on modern culture that pop singer Madonna can stage a mock crucifixion of herself for money. And somehow people still turn out.

Maybe no one told her she isn't god. And she's much too old for this crap - as Led Zeppelin pointed out "there's still time to change the road you're on." I'm not sure Madonna realizes there's another road. Or that at 47 it's going to be tough to change the one you're on. We can only pray for her - and not buy what has become crummy music anyway ;-)

God bless,
Jay

Where did the phrase "knock on wood" come from? I always assumed superstition, but maybe not:

The phrase "knock on wood" is believed by many to have come from the Catholic Church, when old-time rosaries and crucifixes were made from wood and were used frequently during times of stress and trouble.
Therefore, holding onto or rubbing the wooden rosary became a common way for Christians to deal with hardships and the term eventually evolved into "knock on wood" for good luck.

If only we would "knock on wood" a little more as a society!

God bless,
Jay

It's always sad to see someone choose popularity, publicity, and/or money over their faith - and that's what Charlotte Church just did. She was raised Catholic, but apparently feels the need for more press. Not only did she refer to Pope Benedict as a 'Nazi,' she also:

Miss Church, dubbed the ‘voice of an angel’ before she turned her talents to popular music, also dressed up as a nun and pretended to hallucinate while eating communion wafers imprinted with Ecstasy smiling faces.

She smashed open a statue of the Virgin Mary to reveal a can of cider inside, said she worshipped St Fortified Wine, and stuck chewing gum on a statue of the child Jesus.

All in the name of publicizing her new television show. The "voice of an angel" chooses to act like a fallen one, apparently.

I think most of the time when we choose the world over God it comes in small choices, little decisions over time that put God second and our wants first. However sometimes - this is especially true with celebrity - we can watch one seemingly fateful decision to mock God in order to gain our wants. Female singers seem especially prone to try and follow Madonna's example on this, which is regrettable.

We can pray for her and stop buying her music. But we also need to pray for a society in which a young girl feels this is the best way to the top.

God bless,
Jay

When I first read this USA Today article I had to double check and make sure it wasn't from The Onion. The main lady in the article claims to have "proof" that she is a direct descendant of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ. She not only believes The Da Vinci Code, she believes she is The Da Vinci Code. Unreal. The article does point out that she won't offer any evidence:

So far, McGowan is offering only her word about her lineage and only hints at her proof. In addition to the visions, she says, she has discovered that her family is related to an ancient French lineage that traces its roots to Jesus and Mary Magdalene's descendants. Legend holds that Mary Magdalene settled in France after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. "That's all I'm prepared to say right now," McGowan says. Some members of her family, she explains, want her to respect their privacy and not discuss it.

But what really got to me were some of the quotes:

[Trish] Todd [editor in chief at Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster] says she has no problem believing McGowan's claim that she descends from a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. "Yes, I believe her. Her passion and her mission are so strong, how can she not be?"

Wow. So apparently anyone with a strong "passion and . . . mission" must be true. What a sucker. How did Trish get a paying job? There's "no hard evidence" according to USA Today except her word, but that's enough for some, apparently. Don't miss this one either:

Kirshbaum [former CEO of Time Warner Books] believes McGowan when she says she is a descendant of Mary Magdalene. "I feel she's entirely credible," says Kirshbaum, who read The Expected One after McGowan self-published it last year. "She spent 20 years of her life researching this subject. You have to give her any benefit of the doubt because she's totally rational. I believe her absolutely. She had total credibility with me from the very beginning."

This guy uses rationality as the judge of Truth. If they are rational, they must be true. The ignorance in that statement is astounding.

I run into two types of people. The first group says, "No one is idiotic enough to believe The Da Vinci Code is real. It's just fiction." The other group says, "Well, he does make some good points." They're both wrong, obviously, but I'm surprised at how deeply some people believe this trash anyway. I've seen more and more good arguments that destroy everything Dan Brown put in his book. But people are still suckered in (it's our job to clear the air, so to speak). I did enjoy this part of the article:

"A historian simply has to look at what evidence there is," says Bart Ehrman, chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and author of Peter, Paul & Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend (Oxford University, $25). "You can survey anyone who is a scholar of early Christianity and they will all tell you the same thing. It's completely bogus."

Straight to the point. This is a load of garbage. Please don't believe it. Please do some homework before you get suckered in. Please.

God bless,
Jay

I used to work at a Catholic monastery and I can remember people coming in and returning a ten cent plastic rosary that they stole 20 years ago. Their conscience had burned to the point that they kept the rosary all that time and actually returned it in order to find peace and reconciliation.

Apparently something similar on a larger scaled happed last week. Some stolen items were returned 25 years after being stolen from a church. The guy obviously felt bad from the start, since he kept them rather than selling the goods (as I'm sure he intended to). It's amazing the power of a good conscience to keep one from evil.

My goal is to raise children with a conscience this powerful - a conscience that does great good in their lives. I think all Christian faiths should make it a top focus to form a good conscience and teaching chiildren right and wrong from an early age. It has the ability to transform our society for good.

What a fascinating story.

God bless,
Jay