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It is the message preached from so very many pulpits. It is the theological underpinning of universalism. It operates on five beliefs:

1) There is a God who created and ordered the earth and watches over human life on eartth.

Okay, we can agree that God exists and created the earth. We believe He watches over us. This jibes with our faith.

2) God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.

Hear that? That would be the train coming off the rails, sliding down an embankment into a dry creek bed, and exploding!

First off, nowhere in the Christian Scriptures are we told to be nice. We are told be to be humble, merciful, compassionate, bold, courageous, holy, strong, loving, and whole host of other things. But never merely nice. And let’s be honest, nice is a really low bar.

MTD is a plea to be inoffensive. It is why all religions can be the same. The goal isn’t holiness, it’s being nice. It is believing in nothing so strongly that one triggers no one. It is theological milquetoast.

Our Catholic faith calls for us to be virtuous, strong, courageous, and so willing to love as God loves that we will lay down our lives, embrace sacrifice and suffering, and be heroic. Our Catholic faith produces knights and ladies, not snowflakes and SJWs.

3) The central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself.

Hello, Narcissus! Life is about me being happy, huh?

It is enslavement to the self. It is a life where one pushes oneself not for the good of others, but to suit one’s own goals. Seriously? It is isn’t like there isn’t a long, terrible, and destructive track record that this sentiment produces. MTD requires no nobility of soul, no heroism of character, no selflessness.

It isn’t that Catholicism wants you to feel bad about yourself. This is a common retort from the MTD types. Catholicism does expect you to grow in virtue and wisdom. The Soul is like the body and mind: left unchallenged, it goes into atrophy.

The actual goal is to grow closer to Christ. Sometimes that will be happy, sometimes it will be a dark night of the soul. If I judge the worth of something by how it feels, I am operating on the cognizant level of a toddler. Sin has no place here. Sin is what other people do. Sin effects me, but my choices effect no one else. want a good idea why we are such an unhappy society? The sentiment that life is about being happy and feeling good is and always will be a dead end street.

4) God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.

Ah yes, God the butler, God the servant, God the sugar daddy, God the EMT. Nothing says mature relationship like only wanting a person around when it is convenient.

“This God is great! Just stay away until I need you to give me something or when I need someone to blame for tragedy or the consequences of my own bad decisions.” I mean, what divine being wouldn’t want a perpetual user living in His home for all eternity?

In Catholicism, though, we look to have a functioning and loving relationship with God. If we were to treat a spouse like we do God in MTD, we would be setting land speed records to divorce court. Love is about total self gift not about be total receiver.

5) All good people go to heaven.

Conveniently enough, I get to be the arbiter of what constitutes good, and by golly I will stroll right through those pearly gates. Heaven is the ultimate participation trophy!

So, what has MTD gotten us? First, it has driven men away from the Church. Men have a deep desire to be courageous and strong. I am not saying women don’t. However, men look for virtue and strength. They may not always articulate it, but they want to be challenged. It is bad enough that when they see themselves portrayed in the popular culture as dolts, cavemen, criminals, animals, and thugs. It is bad enough that the society only approves of the emasculated and effeminate as role models for men. When they hear that from their churches, you can bet they will head for the exits and encourage their sons to do the same.

MTD has downgraded the idea of selfless service. If the focus is on me, then service is reduced to being important only if it makes me feel good. That will kill service in the community and church. It will gut vocations. It will shred the idea of getting married. It will change the attitude of having children. MTD has reduced parishes from families to businesses selling goods and services at bargain basement prices. It has nurtured a society of the entitled where too much free stuff is never enough.

One of the conscious decisions I made long ago was to be MTD’s worst enemy. I don’t want anesthetized sheep but a courageous and able army. That means challenging and pushing. It means demanding more out of ourselves and using God’s grace to push us to be better and more virtuous. It means not living by the beast like passion of emotions but rising to our true level of reason and virtue. It means embracing discipline and selflessness.

I will admit it is harder on the ears that MTD. But, a good leader within our faith, be it in the home or the parish is more concerned with a person’s eternity than they are about their feelings.

 

hat tip to https://churchpop.com

On Transubstantiation

Few things today separate the Christian community like the topic of Transubstantiation. The doctrine of the host becoming the actual body of Christ during the Eucharist or Communion.
I have heard the foolish arguments about exactly when the host becomes the body.
When the priest blesses it?
When it enters your mouth?
When it entered the stomach?
Am I chewing Jesus?

Let’s look at this from a Biblical view. I put to you that the subject as about authority and faith. Not bread and wine.

Do you like baseball? Ever watch a game? If a batter hits a single and runs for first base, sliding for it, and the crowd yells “He’s out”
Is he?
If the video shows the ball hitting the base before the batters foot? Is he out?
When the Umpire says “he’s safe” then he is. If he says he is “out” then he is.
Because he has the authority to determine out or safe. The crowd may yell and the video may show different but when the authority has spoken the determination is final. The manager bumping, yelling or kicking dirt on the umpire doesn’t matter. Only the decision matters.

When the Centurion came to The Lord in Matthew 8 he recognized that Jesus was a man of authority and only needed to say the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus counted this recognition to him as faith saying that nowhere in Israel has he found such faith.

When Jairus came to The Lord about his daughter they arrived at the home to see the people mourning. The Lord said that she was sleeping.
Was she? The crowd said she was dead, the fact on the ground was that she was dead to every observable test.
But when Jesus went into her room he didn’t make long speeches or prayers for His Father to return the spirit of the girl or make any grand flourishes. He just said “little girl, arise” in today’s vernacular we would say “sweetheart wake up” and she did because He was the authority. He said she was sleeping, so she was. Mark 5

After Lazarus had been dead for four days, Jesus arrived and said simply “Lazarus, come forth” and he did. The crowd was mourning and said he was dead. The facts of the situation were that Lazarus was dead.
but He said to come forth and so Lazarus did. Regardless of the facts or public opinion. John 11

I could go on about calming storms (Who is this that the sea and the waves obey him) or about the demons recognizing Him and not arguing about being cast out but asking to go into pigs. Etc, etc.

When The Lord taught the people he would tell them that the kingdom of heaven is like such and such, not is such and such (a man who finds a pearl, a house built on rock, etc)

Now, lets look at the Eucharist, Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 13
At the last supper. The Lord said “Take this and eat for it is my body, take this and drink for it is my blood” not is like but is.
The disciples didn’t react with disgust or revulsion at a chalice full of blood or raw meat given to them. Jesus wasn’t turning them into vampires or cannibals. It was an authoritative statement. Form and substance, word and substance. They submitted to His authority and as an act of faith took and ate. It was his body and blood not because it changed into raw meat or blood, but because He said it was. The substance still looked like bread, tasted like bread, digested like bread.
But the same Voice that said the girl was asleep, that told Lazarus to come forth, that told the storm to calm, that told the Centurion to go home, said this is my body, this is my blood.

When the priest stands in The Lords stead and says The Lords words he is acting in The Lords authority. When the priest says “the body of Christ” and you say Amen and accept it as such. It is such. Not because of you, but because of Him.
Taking Communion or celebrating the Eucharist is a acceptance of The Lords authority. An act of faith.

Now to go a step further. If you believe John chapter one and that nothing was made without Jesus and through him everything was created. Then that same voice also said “Let there be light”
And that same voice is the one you will hear at the last judgement when the enemy says that you are unworthy and full of sin. That you are “out”
That same voice says “Safe”
“That one is mine, and I say Safe”

Now don’t you feel silly asking if you’re chewing Jesus?

 

About  Peace

I think that peace is a presence, not an absence.
The absence of war is not peace, it’s silence.

The last few years (like 40+) the idea of winning a conflict has been superseded by the idea of stopping the fighting. Stopping the killing and showing heart string pulling images of suffering rather that the “Flag Raising on Iwo Jima” type of images.

“blessed are the peacemakers” does not mean the idea of stopping the fighting.

Throughout history when a ceasefire or armistice was signed, even a peace treaty. It was an opportunity for both sides to reload and rearm.

When Eisenhower was in Germany as a victorious General he was just that. When he marched the local populace through the death camp and they did a lot of crying and vomiting and were forced to look at the things they were turning a blind eye to, they repented of the things that were done in their name.
thats when Eisenhower became a peacemaker. The rebuilding of Germany began, not the occupation of Germany.

not to get too biblical and start a fight with the anti religion crowd. The argument could be made that David was a peacemaker (even with all the wars and killing) and Solomon was a politician. Joshua was a peacemaker and Saul was a politician.

many times the way to the presence of peace is through victory, not ceasefire.

Eisenhower was a peacemaker. We could use another.

just my opinion. And remember that my opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.

On Mary
(A look at the genetics of The Lord)

Few things are as contentious as Mary. Her position, importance, and place in the history of the church.
But I want to take a look in a fresh way at Mary and her history. God does things in a very methodical way, layer upon layer and precept upon precept. Laying a foundation and building on it one step at a time in a logical manner. Could He have snapped His fingers and made His wishes instantly? Yes, but that is not how He seems to do things.
Let’s go all the way back to the Garden of Eden and the creation of Adam. Where does Adams DNA come from? From God of course, it was designed and created by Him for modern mankind. It was developed complete and without corruption. Adam had full genetic expression, perfectly functional and without error.
When the time came for the creation of Woman, God didn’t go back to the dust of the Earth but took a rib from Adam. Why the rib?
What is in the rib but bone marrow. The genetic structure of the DNA of the host. Stem cells, RNA etc.
God took Adam’s DNA from the marrow and genetically modified it into the female version of his DNA, XX from XY, and created the woman. (God didn’t call her Eve, “they” were Adam. Mankind in male and female form, the species of Man) Thats why Adam said upon seeing her “this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23)
As much as I love and adore my wife she is not bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Thats a child not a spouse. She was literally of his bone and flesh,
male and female.
After the Fall (which is a whole other topic) corruption (sin) entered into the genetic structure of mankind. All the talk of the “sons of God entering into the daughters of man” notwithstanding (again, another topic) the genetic structure of man became corrupt until the point where “the thoughts of man were only evil continually” but Noah was “perfect in his generations” (Genesis 6:9) his DNA was not corrupted to the point of irreparable. So God saved Noah and his sons and his daughters in laws. (That will be important later)
We hear no more about the sons of God after the flood. All the corrupted DNA was purged and the Plan started again fresh with Noah’s DNA.
Dr. Rob Carter does great work on the genetics after the fall. With a study titled “Mitochondrial Diversity within Modern Human Populations” in his lecture series “Mitochondrial DNA and the Three Daughters of Noah”
As he focuses a great deal on the Tower of Babel and the effect on genetic diversity.
Eventually Abraham was called from his land and led away. After receiving the Promise of being the father of a great nation and the Covenant between God and Man through Abraham he was told of his upcoming son. After Abraham had Ishmael with Hagar, God rejected him and told Abraham that he will have a son by Sarah. (Genesis 17:19) And the others were sent away.
When Isaac was born and old enough to marry he was told not to marry local women but to take a wife from the family line. (Important) Sending a servant to find a wife from the family and returning with her.
When Isaac and Rebecca had children they were the twins, Jacob and Esau.
The boys looked very different. (Important)
Esau married local women but Jacob was sent to take a wife from the family line of his mother (mitochondrial line) and wed Leah and Rachael. Scripture states that “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated” (Romans 9:13)
The sons of Leah and Rachael were the influential tribes of Israel. The lessor tribes were the sons of the handmaids. The tribe of Judah was chosen even though he was not the firstborn or by any means the most moral. Why was not the tribe of Joseph the chosen tribe? He was the moral and upstanding son of Israel.
Joseph was given a wife by Pharaoh, not from the line of Israel. His sons were to receive an inheritance but were not important or influential compared to Judah or Levi.
When Israel and the brothers were introduced to Pharaoh, Joseph told them not to tell him the are shepherds as the are an abomination to the Egyptians.
They then told Pharaoh that they were shepherds. Separating themselves from the Egyptians and inadvertently (or by direction) segregated their line and culture from the local peoples. (Genesis 46:34-47:4)
When the son of Judah took Tamar as a wife he died without a son. The law said that his brother should marry and raise sons with his widow. But the son refused (a polite way to put it) and God killed him as well. When Judah promised his youngest son to Tamar but was later not given to him she took action on her own. Was this at Gods direction? Was her Mitochondrial DNA important to the Plan? I believe so. Remember that Tamar is listed in the genealogy of The Lord. (Genesis 38:6)
When Moses’s story begins and the people are led from captivity the people are a much more numerous but distinct people. When the law is given it is very explicit about marrying outside of the people of Israel. Keeping the genetics pure and on track. Upon the entry into the Promised Landwe are introduced to Rahab. We don’t know her genealogy but she was from Jericho and helped the Israelites enter the city. She later converted to Judaism and traditionally married one of the spies sent into Jericho. She is also listed in the genealogy of The Lord. (Joshua 6:25)
The book of Ruth is during this time and her mitochondrial DNA is also added to the narrative via Boas. The grandfather of David.
The book of Judges list all the times the people of Israel fell short of these laws, many times with marriages and religions outside of Israel. Again and again God sent judges to return the people to Him and His law until he gave them a king. The long story of the rise of David notwithstanding, lets look at him. David was not the firstborn of Jesse, and was different in appearance to his brothers. (Important) David was smaller and we are told he had a “ruddy” completion. But he was told that through his line the Messiah would come.
David married many women from different peoples but his line would be from Solomon, his mother Bathsheba was known for her uncommon beauty. (Genetics again)
Ten tribes were separated including the tribes of the handmaids and Israel was reduced to Judah and Benjamin. Benjamins land was within the borders of Judah. After many twist and turns, wars and idolatry, faith and falling of the Israelites. They are sent into captivity.
There are many stories about the captives keeping with their faith and returning to God. After the return of the captives and the rebuilding of the temple there is not longer any problem of idolatry amongst the people of Israel. In fact when Ezra returns and rebuild the nation, he is very distressed about the men marrying local women. After discussion and prayer, Ezra orders the men to put away their foreign wives and (important) their children. And take wives of Israel. Restoring the genetic line. (Ezra 9:1-10:44)

What was God trying to do this whole time?

Step by step, generation by generation, God was selectively breeding his people. Remember Noah’s daughter is laws, they were not perfect in their generations as Noah was. Noah’s sons were genetically correct but the daughters were not. We ate told that mitochondrial DNA can be traced back farther than nuclear DNA. This is because it is traced back through the daughter to Eve. Nuclear DNA goes back to Noah. Thus the adjustments to the mitochondrial (mothers) DNA through Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth.
God was rebuilding, a little at a time, logically, step by step the original DNA of Adam and Eve. Separating distinct people and then distinct individuals. Massaging the genetics of the people until he finally got to…Mary.
I don’t believe God sat on his throne and said it was time for His Son to come into the world then look down on the crowd in Israel and pick Mary at random. She was prepared and designed for this time.
When Gabriel came to Mary he said “full of grace” as a greeting. There had not been a salvation yet, how could she be full of grace. When he told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would bear a son.

No, God did not rape Mary, The Holy Spirit didn’t molest Mary, aliens didn’t inseminate Mary. Thats modern mans foolishness.

God did the same thing that he had done with Adam. He modified her DNA and inseminated her with a male version of her own, original, DNA.
That is what God meant in the Garden when he told the serpent that He would put enmity between him and her “seed”. Woman doesn’t have seed, men do, women have the egg. How can she have seed? he also didn’t say “woman’s seed” but “her” seed, referring to Eve as an individual. Mary was genetically the same as Eve. And a male version of her DNA was the same as Adam’s. Fulfilling Gods word from the beginning. (Genesis 3;15)

Points to consider:
St Paul refers to Jesus as the last Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:47)

One of the criticisms of the Church is that the traditional image of Jesus doesn’t look like a typical Jewish man of the era. Why should he, he was not the same as them genetically, he probably looked a lot like Adam

The Church has described Mary as the Immaculate Conception, the pinnacle of Creation, and teaches that she was born without original sin. I’ll quote Pope Pius IX;

In 1850, Pope Pius IX taught that all Catholics must accept an ancient Christian belief about Mary, the mother of Jesus: that God granted her a kind of baptism at her conception.
Since God stands outside of time, He could give her the graces of Christ’s redemption in advance. So when she was born, she was just like Adam and Eve at their creation: free of original sin.

The only people born without original sin were Adam and Eve…

And Mary.