Today I began the (serious) study of Latin, commencing with the first book in the Lingua Latina per se Illustrata series. My goal is to be able to read Classical Latin without translation. I have no illusions that this is going to be easy. Latin morphology is much more complex than English and...
Christians do not need to investigate pagan religious systems to know that the first commandment prohibits pagan worship. So the relative worth of your interlocutors' opinions on Taoism are irrelevant. Can a Christian take up Taoist religious beliefs and not run afoul of the first commandment...
I could get behind granting foreign contractors who serve with Australian forces an easy pathway to Australian citizenship should said contractors desire it.
The attention is on prescribed sets of biblical scenes called mysteries on which you are meant to mediate as you recite the prayers. The beads serve as a tracking mechanism.
Prayer is a fundamental impulse of religion. So we should expect to see shared forms. Catholics and Hindus may both use...
As I have mentioned before I have always had a low key interest in UFOs and aliens. (In all things paranormal and strange actually). As such I have been following a couple of subreddits on the subject for some months now. While there is much silliness in these subreddits every once in a while...
The use of prayer beads or knotted ropes long predates the modern Rosary. But the Rosary itself is of Catholic origin. Tradition says it was given to Saint Dominic by the Blessed Virgin in a vision. Pious legends aside there's no reason to posit anything insidious about its development. As I...
You can count on the mercy of God. But the mercy of God presupposes a genuine attempt to live by the commandments. Many are under the delusion that they can live carnal, worldly lives and maintain an assurance of salvation, but anyone who has actually read Scripture knows that is not the case...
Grace is the unmerited help of God. Prevenient grace is that unmerited help which proceeds any act of human will and allows it (if cooperated with) to perform salutary acts. (Acts lead to salvation).
And God will allow you to.
In Heaven, should I make it, I expect to spend eternity face to...
It is not that simple. There is no forgiveness without repentance and repentance demands contrition. To count on the mercy of God without a sincere effort to keep the commandments is the sin of presumption. Mercy is for those who stumble not for those who continue in willful sin.
I perceive...
I thought the movies were great though the written word remains my preferred medium. I haven't seen the Hobbit movies as of yet so it will be interesting to see how they've translated it to film. I've learnt from reading Stephen King novels to not compare films to their books but to treat each...
I'm not saying you're wrong for having an opinion that differs from mine but I couldn't imagine finding the Hobbit boring. It does have a much lighter, less serious tone than Lord of the Rings and I could imagine that being off-putting for some. But appealing to my inner overgrown child isn't a...
Last night I finished reading the Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. Hitherto I had not read any novels for quite some time nor had I read anything of Tolkien. (I attempted to read Lord of the Rings as a child but I never got far). It was only out of whim when I saw the book lying around that I started to...
Abortion has taken half a billion lives since Roe. Fathom that number for just a second. Half a billion. The horror of that number alone should render any comparison to support of the death penalty asinine. As the previous pope pointed out. Not all issues have the same moral weight.
Every...
I can't watch the Matrix without seeing Elrond every time Smith appears on screen. Nor can I watch the Lord of the Rings without seeing Smith every time Elrond appears on screen.
I'm not saying women should be prevented by society from pursuing careers. If that's what you really want to do.
It's interesting though as this discussion reminds me of an article I read many years ago written by a women who left her high ranking corporate career to live as a housewife with...
In a strict Christian conception of family life the wife would not work unless necessary. She has enough on her plate with the house and the kids. It is not strictly speaking her responsibility to provide materially unless she is forced to by hard circumstances. Hence my comment about Adam. It...
It is the husband's job to lead the family. To lead does not mean to rule with arbitrary authority. It does not mean a husband does not listen to his wife. It does mean the primary responsibility to make those family decisions rests upon him as he is the one responsible for the family's material...