Category Archives: Polemics
Polemics
Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote an excellent article called “The Decline of Controversy.” He gave the Center permission to publish it in From the Housetops magazine. His major point was that false ecumenism and religious indifference were undermining the art of religious disputation. The good old days of vibrant argumentation were being replaced by soulless dialogue. The more controversy declines the more truth becomes relative.
Polemics can be called the art of disputation. It is more than debate; it is animated debate. By its very nature polemics is meant to be a stimulating exercise, which fortifies the mind by establishing the reasons that support the truths we believe in. And one way to do that is by exposing the fallacies of the arguments used to support false doctrine. With liberals and Protestants, polemics employs arguments based on the authority of scripture and tradition. But the polemicist may also utilize contrast in exposing doctrinal or moral fallacies. Whatever tools are used, charity is the balm that softens the opponents hearts so that they may listen to or read arguments rather than ad hominems.
Reacting to Pope Francis
I am a convert. If I wanted to be my own Pope, I’d have stayed Protestant. That is to say, I accept that it is the exclusive right of the Church headed by the Pope, not mine as an individual, to decide what is authentic Christian belief and practice. She teaches, I can only repeat the teaching (and try to live by it). One of … More →
‘Sentimental Theology’ and ‘Faith is a Gift’
In this video, Michael Voris presents some good thoughts on the subject of sentimental theology. There are two points here where he appears to have borrowed from Saint Benedict Center’s founders. (Note that I do not say he borrowed, but “appears to have” done so.) First is the name itself, which was the title of an article by Dr. Fakhri Maluf (later Brother Francis, M.I.C.M.) … More →
Sophists Running the Academy
You’ve no doubt heard the expressing “lunatics running the asylum.” Well, The Telegraph reports that a new article, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, says newborn babies are not “actual persons” and do not have a “moral right to life”. The academics also argue that parents should be able to have their baby killed if it turns out to be disabled when it is born. … More →
Reply to a ‘Gay Christian’
Our most recent Mancipia, which was mailed last week, featured an article I wrote called “Where Have the Real Men Gone.” The piece was originally posted on this web site. A gentleman who read the newsletter, and who calls himself a “Gay Christian” wrote me objecting to what I said therein. I will not give the gentleman’s name or reproduce his email in its entirety … More →
Open Email to Boy Scouts of America
Dear Boy Scouts of America, This is a brief message requesting that you maintain the present policy of not admitting homosexuals into Scout membership. If you reverse this policy, you will… reduce the Scout’s pledge [s/b "Scout Oath"] to utter meaninglessness, as homosexuality is intrinsically dishonorable; open up BSA to a flood of lawsuits when predatory homosexuals infest your troops and government at all levels; … More →
‘Religious Liberty’ and Conflicting Rights Claims
Rereading the excellent post on Rorate Caeli, “Religious Liberty or Liberty for Christians?,” led me to some broader considerations on the subject of religious liberty. Roberto de Mattei, the author of the piece, expresses what is no doubt a controversial, if very true, thesis: “For this reason we say that man has the right to profess, not any religion, but to profess the only true … More →
Vote Fraud vs. Reality
From the corner where I sit, I see much of the conservative reaction to last month’s election as more dismaying than the election itself. After all, whichever of the two principal candidates won, the country was not going to be measurably better off. Certainly Christian interests would not be served, not that more than maybe a half-dozen Americans care about that. It can’t be more … More →
Jesus Does Have a Bride, and She’s Named…
Sancta Mater Ecclesia. We did not need the New York Times to tell us that, right? But the Times has told us that A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus’ Wife. This will, of course, be taken seriously by the enemies of the religion. It will then fade from memory, and when the actual significance of the discovery turns out to be something the … More →
More Catholic Than the Popes
Dr. Jeff Mirus of Catholic Culture website has misled his readers by putting his own gnostic interpretation on a thrice-defined dogma, Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (no salvation outside the Church). In response to an article by John Vennari of Catholic Family News defending the unambiguous, ex cathedra teaching of the Church on salvation, as defined by Pope Eugene IV at the Council of Florence, Mirus … More →
New York Times Contracepts Science
Donna Harrison, M.D., is an obstetrician-gynecologist in southwestern Michigan and director of research and public policy for the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She wrote a rebuttal to a recent article in The New York Times. (National Review Online) The recent New York Times article by Pam Belluck, asserting that so-called abortifacient drugs may not be abortive at all, is a wonderful example … More →
ADL’s Foxman: Christ the King ‘unAmerican’
Abraham Foxman, the pro-abortion, head of the ADL, recently proclaimed Our Lord Jesus Christ the King to be unAmerican. Religion, specifically Rick Santorum’s Catholic religion, has no place in American politics, according to Mr. Foxman. In a confused statement, the ADL proclaimed that “Senator Santorum’s remark comparing himself to a ‘Jesus candidate’ was inappropriate and exclusionary.”
Posted in Columns, News, Polemics, Politics and Society Leave a comment
Fr. Thomas Keating on NPR: Heresy as Mysticism
Saturday, December 24. I went to Keene, N.H. to run errands. On the way, I said a chaplet of the Rosary. While carrying out my errands and on the trip back, I clicked on the local NPR affiliate to see if there was any news worth hearing. It would have been better had I prayed more chaplets of the Rosary.
