Calvin's Trail - Why Free Will Matters

A couple weeks ago at Bible Study we were discussing the hard problem of human freedom and God's grace.  We began by asking:

What happens if you completely deny any role of human freedom in salvation?  What happens if you say God rescues a person like a puppet on strings - with no ability to assent or resist?

Today we'll be walking down that trail of logic.  

Response to Dr. Gunter on Late Term Abortions

A couple weeks ago a friend sent me an article by one Dr. Jen Gunter.  She is an OBGYN who used to perform late term abortions, and with all the attention recently given to the abortion laws being passed in New York and Virginia, she wanted to speak up in defense of her trade.

Today I wanted to formulate a layman's response.  What can be said against the testimony of an expert?

Was Jesus Disrespectful to His Mom at Cana?

Dear Apologist, why does Jesus refer to Mary as “woman” at the wedding feast of Cana?  Isn’t that degrading?

The exchange between Jesus and Mary in John 2:3-5 is among the most mysterious in the New Testament.  Indeed, some anti-Catholics seize upon this passage to prove Jesus actually held His mother in contempt (contrary to the claims of those Mary-obsessed Papists!).

However, this assertion would mean accusing the second person of the Trinity of sinning against the Fourth Commandment.  So let’s first dispense with the idea that Jesus meant anything harsh or disrespectful with the word “woman”.

Yes, the New York Law Allows Late-Term Abortion For Almost Any Reason

A quick post today.

I keep hearing people saying:

"You Pro-Lifer's are lying about the recent New York Law.  The Reproductive Health Act is designed to allow women to abort non-viable babies, or have an abortion if it endangers her life.  Not for any reason at all!  How about you read something other than your Pro-Life propaganda!"

And to back it up, you get "Fact Checking" websites like Snopes telling you stuff like this:

How Did the Roe vs Wade Decision Work?

Last December I posted an analysis of the Obergefell decision which changed the definition of “marriage” in the United States.  Today I thought I’d give the same treatment to another landmark decision:

Roe vs Wade

What was in that decision?  How was it decided?  Did it make any sense?

Let’s find out.

(The full text can be found [here] and all page number references will be to that PDF)

Lay Homily: Jan 13

Last week I began a little project to write example homilies for the readings each week.  Today I'll continue that series:

(649 words) (5 minutes)

Lay Homily: Jan 6th

Folks who know me have probably heard me gripe about the content of homilies.  Today I wanted to begin a series which I've been considering for a while.  What would I do if I was given the ambo for a day?  What that sound like?

(Total words:  599.  Total time: 3min 30sec)