Over on Facebook yesterday I posted an observation that in times of insecurity, social unrest, economic uncertainty and moral decline, people turn to nationalism to give a sense of security, belonging and confidence. Nationalism invariably requires a strong, dynamic and charismatic leader. Furthermore, history shows that the masses, when given the chance in such times of [...]
...or maybe not. In Mass Exodus -Catholic Disaffiliation in Britain and America since Vatican II English sociologist Stephen Bullivant takes an objective and fact based look at the decline of Catholic commitment over the last sixty years. Some traditionalists are in the habit of slamming the second Vatican Council as the cause of huge decline in the [...]
A headline in one of the tabloids trumpeted that Pope Francis Blessed Gay Weddings. Typical. They grab an inch of rumor and take a mile of headline. The rumor is the result of a documentary film that was edited in such a way to give the impression that Pope Francis believes civil union ceremonies for homosexual [...]
Yes, I know you think President Trump is obnoxious, immoral, creepy, vulgar and an embarrassment. Worse than that, you fear he is corrupt, venal, conniving and crooked. You don't like his playboy history, his ownership of casinos and strip clubs, his shady family history and worst of all his bragging, strutting, foul mouthed public persona. I [...]
Can you help me stand on my head? The name of the blog comes from G.K.Chesterton's observation that "Most often a scene is more clearly seen when it is seen upside down." That quip helps inspire my writing and whenever I am stuck for an idea, but standing on my head I usually see things from [...]
Tom Howard's Chance or the Dance was one of the influences that affirmed the decision I had already taken to leave Evangelicalism and head down the road first to Canterbury then to Rome. I read the book while I was a theology student at Oxford, and it was while I was at Oxford that I met Tom's sister [...]
I have been uploading articles I have written for various sources to the Archived Articles section of the blog four at a time. However, with the new "What's New for Donor Subscribers" feature on the website homepage, it is easier to load two at a time. So I plan to upload more fewer, but more frequently. [...]
Nobody can accuse Teresa of Avila for being a dormouse or a doormat. She wasn't a sleepy little submissive mouse, nor was she anybody's fool. She rolled up her sleeves and got on with the job of reforming the corrupt Carmelite order in Spain and wasn't afraid of the knocks she would get for it. Reading [...]
There's a joke going around that Justice Amy Coney Barrett should be called "Amy Grin and Bear It" for the ordeal she has had to put up with these past two days. I was only able to catch about a half hour of the hearings yesterday and today, but Wow! What an amazing woman! She was [...]
In getting this series up and running at YouTube I also meant to post them here on the blog. With the re-fit going on this week I realized some of the early episodes didn't get posted here. In this first episode I lay out the purpose of the series: to explore my interests in film, stories, [...]