Silence is a faith-based film for those (like me) who can’t stand faith-based films. It is not, however, an easy movie to watch. It is a film which was made not to entertain an audience but rather, as all good art should, to provoke an emotional response. Perhaps even to, (and dare I say it of a faith-based film?) cause the audience to…
Tag: faith
Can Miracles Be (Dis)Proven?
Catholic Canonizations With Mother Teresa’s recent canonization and elevation to Saint Teresa of Calcutta, I’ve had quite a few friends and family members asking me how exactly the Catholic Church goes about making someone a saint. In answering that question, there are a couple of important distinctions which must be made. The first distinction that we should make is that the Catholic Church…
Share this:
On Faith and Works – The Parable of the Talents
Two of the five solae (only’s) of the Protestant Reformation are those of sola fide or “faith alone,” and sola gratia or “grace alone”. With that in mind, a dispute often arises among Christians over the role (or even necessity) of good works in the life of the believer. Many believers claim that faith alone is enough – even the word “believer” connotes images of faith and…
Share this:
Why do I Blog?
Or alternately – Why bother? This may seem like a silly question. After all, you have only to go to my home page to read that, “I created this blog as a way to share some of my thoughts on life and faith, and also as a way to share my journey with others.” There you have it, question answered. Except…
Share this:
Why I’m Catholic ~ Catholicism and the Reformation
Part 2: Catholicism and the Reformation (This is part two of a three part series. For part one click here.) Before moving on I should probably note that I’ve always been fairly anti-Catholic. As I said before, growing up I was raised in a context that was dubious about whether or not Catholics were even saved and I was even exposed…
Share this:
Why I’m Catholic ~ Context
Your Starting Point Doesn’t Always Determine Your Conclusion… Part 1: Context A pastor friend who had heard of my conversion to Catholicism cautioned me that, “Your starting point always determines your conclusion.” Often this is a maxim that I would wholeheartedly agree with. I too have recognized that frequently a faulty conclusion is indeed the result of an erroneous starting point. This certainly seems to…
Share this:
Thoughts on Absolute Truth and Certainty in a Post-Modern Relativistic World
Is there a more perfect foil for amateur philosophers and theologians than Calvin? I grew up in a society and a culture which says, “Question everything and especially all authority. You can’t really know anything. There is no ultimate truth.” We’ve all been led to believe that there are no absolutes – that if you submit to any authority you…
Share this:
That Damnable Catholic “And”…
Growing up as a Protestant, I remember being frustrated when I encountered theological arguments that would look at two “diametrically opposed” positions in Scripture, and would essentially seek to pit one side of the issue against the other. A perfect example of this is the argument over divine election and predestination versus human free will and choice. I remember returning to…
Share this:
Thoughts on the Intersection of Faith and Reason
There is tendency in our world to juxtapose faith against reason as if the two are somehow mutually exclusive to each other. As if they represent polar opposites and are, in fact, so diametrically opposed to each other that one cannot be both a person of reason and a person of faith. There seems to be a high degree of agreement as…
