Catholics cop a lot of crap from fundamentalists for having statues in their churches. Even more damnable in the eyes of these heathen Protestants is the fact that Catholics bow down to the statues and some Catholics even go so far as kissing them. This seems like clear and undeniable evidence that Catholics disregard and stand in … Continue reading Venerate by your Hands; Worship in your Heart
Theosis
5 Rules For Life
A little over a week ago I tried cocaine for the first time, and for the first time my eyes were opened to the pure horror, brutal darkness and irrational terror of narcotics. During the night of the experience, I was kept awake, tossing and turning, reassessing my life and thinking over my views and … Continue reading 5 Rules For Life
Simplicity and Trinitarianism
In the previous post, we saw how pure reason, unaided by revelation, is able to arrive at an understanding of God which approximates the classical Christian presentation of the Trinity. In that article I used the words "Father", "Son" and "Spirit" to refer to the three hypostases out of habit, however this was something of … Continue reading Simplicity and Trinitarianism
A Universalist Catholic Account Of The Last Things
I affirm the dogmatic, three-fold, Catholic eschatological division of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. However I understand these three realities in ways that are different to the standard presentation, and I also propose a fourth realm which I'm not sure what to call, but will tentatively refer to as Teleoeschaton. Finally, there is also a state … Continue reading A Universalist Catholic Account Of The Last Things
The Abolition of Hell
He who understands the gospel will never fall from the state of grace - no matter what sins he commits - because to understand the gospel is to experience perfect contrition, and perfect contrition is the abolition of Hell. If you are unable to detect perfect contrition within yourself, you have not yet understood the … Continue reading The Abolition of Hell
Mariology and the Implications of Theosis
God Became Man so that Man Might Become God Salvation in the east is conceptualised in terms of theosis. In the west this concept is often referred to by the term "divinization", but it is eastern Christendom which has most fully developed the idea. Theosis is neatly summed up by a couplet attributed to many … Continue reading Mariology and the Implications of Theosis
Holy Saturday and the Unquenchable Love of the Latter Day Saints
Thought experiment: You go to heaven but your family goes to Hell. How do you feel? Option 1, The "traditional" option: Nothing can subtract from the joy of heaven, so you experience a sadistic pleasure as you watch your family burn. You rejoice at God's justice and glory, crying tears of ecstatic joy as you … Continue reading Holy Saturday and the Unquenchable Love of the Latter Day Saints
The Binding of Isaac, The Agony of Job, and The Dark Night of the Soul
The Hatred of Christ Luke 14:25-26 RSV-CE: 25 Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Matthew 10:37-38 RSV-CE: … Continue reading The Binding of Isaac, The Agony of Job, and The Dark Night of the Soul
Credo
There is me and there is the mystery. My goal in life is to realise unity with the mystery. This is achieved through love. My method for understanding the mystery is scientific, pragmatic realism: If something seems to be the case, it is reasonable to assume that it actually is the case. If something has … Continue reading Credo
