Do Abortions Go Down in Democrat Administrations?

The United States has recently gone through (still going through) a tough election season. With abortion seated center stage among the USA's cultural conflicts, that's a prime target for people's political storytelling efforts.

Among those is the following assertion:

"The Republicans bill themselves as the Pro-Life party.  But if those fascist morons who call themselves 'Pro-Life' would just look at the national abortion statistics, they'd realize abortion numbers decrease during Democrat presidents, and hardly go down at all during Republican presidents. And that's because Democrats try to increase our social services, which allows people to not choose to abort. What fools!"

Today I want to examine this narrative.  Is it true?  

Short Answer: Were some Early Church Writers Anti-Semitic?

 Dear Apologist, I was told that the early Church fathers expressed anti-Semitic attitudes.  Did they?  And what does that mean for us today?

What is the Timeline in the Gospels?

 I remember the first time I read the John's Gospel.  I was horribly confused by different it was from the other Gospels.  How did it fit together with the others?  

In fact, it wasn't even clear how Matthew, Mark, and Luke fit together.  

Recently I've spent some time laying out the various events and trying to piece them together. The citations marked with a '*' are those which had to be moved out of the sequence in which they appear in their own Gospel.  

Here goes:

Is Social Welfare the True Way to be Pro-Life?

The core assertion of the Pro-Life movement is that children in their mothers’ wombs are real human beings whose lives should be protected.  The Catechism states the following:

“The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. [It] must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority” - CCC 2273  

Therefore, it is mandatory for Catholics to demand the total abolition of abortion. Whether it happens all at once or gradually, it must be our goal.

The Welfare-State Alternative:

Unfortunately, many people feel a tension between various political commitments and want to find a way out of this duty.  The most common tactic is to claim the economic policies of Pro-Choice politicians will “reduce the need for abortion”.  And thus the Pro-Choice politician is the more practical option for a true Pro-Life voter.

Now, whether or not a robust welfare state is a good policy choice is besides the point.  Catholics can disagree on that in good conscience.  But there are huge problems – (both practical and philosophical) - with using the goal of a social welfare state to dismiss the need for legally protecting the unborn.  

Three Questions on God and Time

Today I thought I'd round out some common questions about how God relates to time and space. 

How Do the Resurrection Accounts Fit Together?

The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the most important event in the Christian faith.  Without it, we all might as well sleep in on Sunday.  But how does the story of the Resurrection, spread across four Gospels and Acts, look when you put them all together?

That's what I intend to lay out today...

The Passages which Say Salvation Can be Lost

As one travels the world of Christian theology, one encounters an idea which has several names.  It is called "Blessed Assurance", "Once-Saved-Always-Saved", or "Perseverance of the Saints".  This doctrine states that once a Christian comes into a saving relationship with Christ, that status cannot be lost.  The person will ultimately be saved, no matter what.

Of course, we've all encountered people who are "former Christians".  What do people who adhere to this doctrine make of such people?  The standard solution is to say, retroactively, that the person was never a true, regenerate Christian at all.  He may have believed himself to be one, but he was self-deceived.

The weirdest thing about this doctrine is how it is arrived at by those who believe in it.  There is scant evidence in the New Testament for this doctrine.  I've reviewed a couple passages which are used to support it [here].

So how DO people arrive at this belief?  And are there passage which contradict it?  Let's dive in.

How did Jesus take His Final Trip?

A week ago I was preparing some Bible studies for Lent when I stumbled across a Biblical conundrum.  In trying to plot out the events leading up to Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, I encountered a major discrepancy between the Synoptic (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) accounts and John's Gospel.

Today we'll be exploring those differences and how to resolve them.

Answering 5 Myths About the Catholic Church and Salvation

Recently I was asked by a staff member at a Peru, Indiana parish to make something to help rebut the preaching of a local pastor.  He'd been preaching about the Catholic Church's erroneous teaching on the subject of salvation - and apparently urging his congregants to bother their Catholic friends about it. 

So after some brainstorming, I came up with a simple trifold brochure which answers five of the common myths which are spread about the Church's teaching on salvation.  Enjoy!

Lent Bible Study: The Entry into Jerusalem

With everyone trying not to give one another the plague, my students will no longer have to endure my crude jokes and foul language. Instead, I'm taking the Bible Study to Youtube.

In today's Bible Study, we begin Jesus' approach to Jerusalem...

Lent Bible Study: The Approach to Jerusalem

With everyone trying not to give one another the plague, my students will no longer have to endure my crude jokes and foul language. Instead, I'm taking the Bible Study to Youtube.  

In today's Bible Study, we begin Jesus' approach to Jerusalem...

Two Become One Flesh

Back in 2015 the conservative Christian world lost the legal fight over the definition of marriage, but today's youth are still called upon to explain why the Catholic Church sticks with the natural/classical understanding.  Last Thursday I gave a talk on how to navigate these discussions.

Enjoy!

Male, Female, and Gender Ideology

Today's youth are confronted by a myriad of different ideologies.  Foremost among them is Modern Gender Ideology, which accompanies the phenomenon of Trangenderism. 

Last Thursday I was given the opportunity to talk to our assembled high schoolers about this ideological battle and how they can respond as Catholics.

Enjoy!

Two Passages for Once Saved Always Saved?

I was recently invited to... and promptly expelled from... a Calvinist Bible study on the letter to the Hebrews.  Specifically it was on the latter half of Hebrews 10, a passage which warns Christians about the danger of returning to intentional sin.  That is, the danger of being damned.

When I pointed this out, several in the room were a bit disturbed and pointed to other passages which they think assert the Calvinist doctrine that salvation - once attained - cannot be lost.  Today I'm going to look at two of those passages:  John 10:25-28 and Ephesians 1:4-14.

Homily Notes: Jan 19 2020

Readings: 

• Isaiah says the "servant" will be a light to the nations

• Paul's opening to 1st Corinthians... for some reason.

• John says, "Behold the lamb of God!"

Homily Notes: Jan 12 2020

Reading:

• Isaiah speaks more about the "servant of God"
• Peter talks about the Gentiles receiving baptism
• The baptism of the Lord