Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 4/30/22

• Putin attends midnight Orthodox Easter mass in Moscow

Pseudo-Christian mass murderer, Vladimir Putin, attended the Russian Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on Sunday, April 24th (photo above). See the one-minute video here. Putin can be seen piously “blessing himself” by making the “sign of the cross” with one hand as he sanctimoniously holds a candle with the other. Irony? The loss of life, misery, and destruction in Ukraine since Putin ordered Russian troops to invade nine weeks ago is incalculable.

• Pope to Patriarch Kirill: May we become peacemakers for Ukraine

Pope Francis invoked the promises of the supposed Marian apparition at Fatima in 1917 when he consecrated Ukraine and Russia to the “immaculate heart of the blessed virgin Mary” on March 25th. Many Catholics joyfully assumed a peace would miraculously transpire following the consecration, but one month later the Russians continue with their bloody invasion of Ukraine.

• What is the “Easter duty” for Catholics?

Roman Catholics are required to consume the consecrated Jesus wafer at least once per year under threat of acquiring a mortal sin. Catholics who opt for the once-per-year minimum are encouraged to “discharge their obligation” at Easter mass, hence the phrase, “Easter duty.”

• “The Chosen” uses “devil” faux-vandalized billboards marketing ploy

“The Chosen” streaming show aimed to present the story of Jesus and the apostles in a “hip,” contemporary way. A few misguided bloggers encouraged me to watch, but a quick google search showed that the LDS/Mormon church was involved in the production. The show’s creator, Dallas Jenkins, recently opted to utilize an “edgy” reverse-marketing campaign using billboards appearing to be vandalized by anti-(c)hristian haters and orchestrated by Satan. The entire “The Chosen” project is demonic.

• Catholics celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday

Last Sunday, Roman Catholics celebrated “Divine Mercy Sunday.” What’s that? A Polish nun, Maria Faustyna Kowalska (d. 1938), claimed to have been visited by Jesus regularly. The ersatz-Jesus allegedly gave Maria Faustyna instructions on a cultish “divine mercy” painting and a “divine mercy” collection of rote prayers to be recited with the rosary beads. All of this as part of meriting salvation. Fellow-Pole, Karol Wojtyla aka pope John Paul II, had Kowalska canonized as a saint in 2000 and the cult within a cult continues to grow.

• Finnish lawmaker Charged With Hate Speech for Quoting Bible Walk Free

It’s surprising that the “hate speech” charges against Finnish parliamentarian, Päivi Räsänen, were withdrawn. Räsänen spoke out against same-sex marriage as contrary to Biblical teaching. This is only a short respite. The L*** steamroller steadily advances.

• Cardinal: Pope will intervene to end German synod’s threat of schism to Catholic Church

Conservative Catholic prelates around the world have been nervously observing the German Catholic church’s Synodal Path initiative (2019-2023), which is discussing multiple radical reforms. The possibility of schism within the RCC stemming from the synod is very real.

• U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: Satan Controls Catholic church

Controversial U.S. representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene, raised the ire of Roman Catholics this week when she stated “Satan (is) controlling the (Catholic) church” because it’s soft on illegal immigration. Greene qualified her remarks afterwards, saying they were directed at the American Catholic bishops, not the rank-and-file Catholic laity/voters. Actually, the Roman Catholic church is demonic because it propagates a false gospel of salvation by sacramental faux-grace and merit.

Forty Answers to “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic”: #39

Thanks for joining me today as we continue our series examining and responding to Catholic apologist and philosopher, Peter Kreeft’s book, “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic” (2018).

Claim #39: I am a Catholic because I value reason

Kreeft begins this chapter with the following, “I mean two things by (the statement, “I value reason”). One is that my reason impels me to be a Catholic; that Catholic apologetics ‘works.’ The other, deeper, and more important thing is that Catholicism broadens my reason. For the object of modern reason is not being, not reality, but Cartesian “clear and distinct ideas” and arguments. And among the arguments, the objects of modern reason are arguments whose validity can be determined by a computer, using mathematical logic, while the object of reason in the older, Catholic sense is wisdom, intelligence, intellectual intuition, insight, or understanding, whose natural object is great ontological mysteries. The Church shows us what reason really means at its highest. It is ancient, it is big, it is metaphysical, not mathematical. It is at home in the most mysterious things of all – which are the great mysteries of life – whereas modern reason is at home in the least mysterious things of all, which are numbers” (p. 127). Kreeft goes on to express condescending sympathy for “modern atheists and agnostics who perceive that Catholicism is full of astonishing and barely believable mysteries” (p. 128).

Response

It’s quite revealing that in this chapter devoted to reason, Kreeft abstains from mentioning God’s Word, the Bible. Of course, he’s barely referred to the Bible throughout this entire book. So we read from Kreeft that he is attracted to Roman Catholicism because it appeals to his human reasoning. The pomp, ceremony, rituals, and grandiosity of the RCC is certainly enticing to the natural man (Kreeft initially became enamoured with RC-ism when he visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City as a twelve-year-old boy). Rome’s scholasticism and philosophical wranglings seduce the intellectually vain. Most significantly, the RCC’s works-righteousness gospel of Cain “makes sense” to the reasoning of the religious lost. The genuine Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone is not reasonable to the natural man. It is impossible for him to understand on his own. It is the Holy Spirit Who removes the spiritual blindness of the lost and elucidates God’s Word and the Gospel. The natural man craves to merit his own salvation and rejects as repugnant the doctrine that he is a depraved sinner and unable to obey his way into Heaven.

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14

“The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” – John 1:5

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” – Colossians 2:8

“The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?” – Jeremiah 8:9

“Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become ‘fools’ so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.””- 1 Corinthians 3:18-20

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” – Proverbs 14:12

“This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” – James 3:15

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18-21

“For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” – 1 Corinthians 2:11-13

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2

“That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians 2:5

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:21-24

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'” – Isaiah 55:8-9

For 100 Bible verses on God’s wisdom versus human wisdom, see here.

Next week: Claim #40: I am a Catholic, in the last analysis, because Jesus is there, in the church, in his body

Throwback Thursday: Accommodator and compromiser, Norman Geisler

Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on August 12, 2016 and has been revised.

Several months ago, I wrote a post regarding one of the strangest books I have ever read in my entire life. In “Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences” (1995), evangelical theologian, Norman Geisler (d. 2019), examined the many doctrines that separate evangelicals and Roman Catholics. Most importantly, Geisler noted that Catholicism’s false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit was not in accord with the Biblical Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Nevertheless, Geisler still somehow concluded that Catholicism is a Christian entity. Huh? It was like a courtroom prosecutor closing his presentation by ripping up his water-tight evidence and turning to the judge and asking that the case against the clearly-guilty defendant be dismissed. Needless to say, ecumenists loved Geisler’s book. See my review here.

I’ve come across Geisler’s name several times recently. While he’s certainly not a household name, Professor Geisler is esteemed in evangelical academic circles as one of the most respected theologians, philosophers, and apologists. I’ve learned that several of evangelicalism’s most popular apologists were mentored by Geisler; men like Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, and Lee Strobel. Ahhh. Now I get it! The apple never falls too far from the tree. I’ve mentioned Zacharias’ ecumenical leanings here. I’ve also read a couple of offerings from Strobel’s best-selling “The Case for…” series, but I jumped off that assembly line, never to return, after he cited Roman Catholics, Mother Teresa, pope John Paul II, G.K. Chesterton, and Saint Teresa of Avila as exemplary Christians in “The Case for Faith.” I’ve also documented Craig’s ecumenical compromise (see here).

While searching on Amazon the other night, I came across a book titled, “Why I Am A Christian: Leading Thinkers Explain Why They Believe” (2001), which was edited by Geisler. Among others, contributors include Zacharias, Craig, and Roman Catholic philosopher, Peter Kreeft. Kreeft, a convert to Catholicism from the Dutch Reformed Church during his college years, is definitely one of Rome’s most prolific champions. He has authored many books which proclaim and defend Rome’s false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit. Isn’t it strange that a Catholic philosopher would be invited to contribute to a book devoted to evangelical apologetics? Not if the editor is Norman Geisler. Imagine Catholicism’s EWTN or Ignatius Press inviting John MacArthur or R.C. Sproul to contribute to a book on Catholic apologetics! Oy vey! The concept is laughable from either side. But accommodators like Geisler would much rather err on the side of “Christian unity” than be known as – heaven forbid – “uncharitable” Protestant sectarians.

Kreeft’s false gospel of salvation sacramental grace and merit is NOT the genuine Gospel of grace. Including Kreeft in “Why I Am A Christian” blurs the Gospel just like Peter’s accommodation of the legalistic judaizers in Antioch. Shame on accommodator and compromiser, Norman Geisler.

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” – Galatians 2:11-14

Note from 2022: Readers of this blog know I’ve been critically examining Peter Kreeft’s book, “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic” (2018), every Friday. Chapter after chapter in that book, Kreeft has disparaged the genuine Gospel of grace and Gospel Christians and advanced the RCC’s false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit. Norman Geisler’s influential role as an accommodator and compromiser is manifested even more clearly in the reading of Kreeft’s anti-Gospel apologia. Many people within the evangelical camp have contributed to the ecumenical compromise with Roman Catholicism, but none more so than Billy Graham, Charles Colson, and Norman Geisler. The argument is made that Geisler and cohorts got a lot of things right, so it’s unfair to judge them solely on their acceptance of RC-ism. With my background as an ex-Catholic who escaped the RCC and its false gospel, I can only view these accommodators and compromisers as traitors to the genuine Gospel who regrettably influenced many others.

Sanctimonious dumbness

A short time ago, Christian blogger, David, published a good post, “When Christians Act Ignorantly” (see here), about a sanctimonious restaurant customer who noticed the L*** rainbow tattoos on his waitress’ arm and not only declined to tip her, but also wrote a piously nasty little note on the check, “Can’t tip someone who doesn’t love Jesus. Bad tatoo (sic).”

Ach. Sometimes we Christians get way too big for our britches. None of us has one single plea of our own. Our righteousness is only the imputed perfect righteousness of the Savior, Jesus Christ! It would have been much wiser if the customer left a generous tip for the waitress along with a Gospel tract. Instead, the incident made the news and shrouded the Gospel in foolhardy sanctimoniousness.

It’s one thing to discuss sinful worldly agendas and false religions with other believers, but when we go out into the world we need to present Jesus Christ and the Gospel in a winsome way. As I read in my New Testament, Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul confronted sin, but reached out to individuals with the Good News! in an inviting way. Remember, by definition the Gospel is Good News!, not harsh, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou judgement.

This incident caused me to think of the Westboro Baptist Church based in Topeka, Kansas. Remember them? WBC was founded by Fred Phelps in 1955. Fred became such a vitriolic preacher that most of the congregants left, except for his own immediate and extended family members. Phelps and WBC began publicly protesting against homosexuality in 1989 because of indecent activity at a nearby public park. The church expanded its activity throughout the city of Topeka. Emboldened by the media coverage they received, the WBCers traveled around the country staging their protests. The WBCers infamously brought their hate signs to the funerals of U.S. servicemen, with messages such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “Death to Fags,” and God Hates Fags.”

As readers of this blog know, I’m not a fan of the L*** steamroller, but the WBC’s method was counter-productive. Phelps and followers brought dishonor to the Gospel. Every WBCer was/is a depraved sinner and would be in hell for eternity, just like any L*** crusader, except for the saving work of Jesus Christ. Some might respond offhand that the WBCers couldn’t possibly be genuinely saved. I don’t know about that. I have seen many Christians get drawn into political hate and conspiracy mongering.

Fred Phelps died in 2014 and the activities of WBC have seemed to have declined in recent years. Or maybe the news media is according them less or no coverage. Several younger members have left and taken very public stands against the church.

Fred Phelps and WBC signs

Before we get too sanctimoniously proud about our own “goodness,” “righteousness,” and “morality” we believers need to take a good, long look in God’s mirror, the Bible.

Postscript 1: We attended an IFB church in Rochester from 1983 until 1991. We left the church in part because we could no longer tolerate the pastor’s regular harangues against homosexuals. Thirty-years later, in 2021, the same pastor was arrested and convicted for sexually abusing two children.

Postscript 2: Don’t get the wrong impression. I’ve acted or thought like a sanctimonious jerk many times in my Christian walk.

Truth from Arkansas! Sunday Sermon Series, #133

Today, in our ongoing “Truth from Arkansas” series, we’re featuring a new sermon from the brethren down under. We have Pastor Roger Copeland of Northern Hills Baptist Church in Texarkana, preaching from Romans 1:1-7 on “The Constitution of Christianity.” This sermon was delivered on Sunday, April 10th.

The sermon from that Sunday from Pastor Cody Andrews of Holly Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Star City was not available due to technical difficulties.

Pastor Roger Copeland – The Constitution of Christianity

Spotlight on Saturn Girl

It’s time again to board our time bubble and travel to the future for another adventure with the Legion of Super-Heroes of the 31st Century. In the previous installment of Adventure Comics’ “young Legion” storyline, we witnessed the origin of the Legion and its three founding members, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl. In this issue, we’ll follow the fledgling team on its first crime-fighting adventure.

The Legion of Super-Heroes in “Saturn Rising”
Writer: Paul Levitz, Pencillers: Kevin Sharpe and Marlo Alquiza
Adventure Comics 517, DC Comics, October 2010

Plot

Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) engages in a strenuous workout at the Science Police gymnasium while the Legion’s clubhouse is being constructed. The Titan native is hoping to bolster her physical fighting abilities to compensate for her less-flashy super power (mental telepathy). She’s soon joined by the Legion’s other founding members, Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn) and Lightning Lad (Garth Ranzz). The trio accompanies Science Police Sergeant Esquivel on a training mission. We learn that offworlder Zaryan is raiding robot manufacturing sites and the Science Police are attempting to apprehend the criminal. The heroes stake out a facility and, sure enough, Zaryan’s robo-flunkies arrive at the scene. The novice heroes attempt to stop the heist, but are largely ineffective. The Science Police end up thwarting the robbery. Saturn Girl receives some additional training from Sgt. Esquivel and the two females and Cosmic Boy stake out the next suspected robbery site in Taiwan. One of Zaryan’s raider ships appears and the trio engages. The ship’s captain kills Esquivel when she is momentarily distracted by Saturn Girl. After the crime scene is secured, the Legion regroups. Brainiac 5 (Querl Dox) of Colu (who’s not yet a Legionnaire) contacts the Legion and informs them that his experimental time bubble is operational and ready to transport the heroes to the 20th Century to attempt to recruit Superboy.

Comments

This was a decent tale of the fledgling Legion’s first crime-fighting adventure. Levitz did a good job of presenting the teens as well-meaning, but bumbling novices.

Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 4/23/22

• Pope leads crowd in first outdoor Easter Mass since pandemic

Last Sunday, all major news sources reported on the “celebration” of Easter mass by pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, the first time since 2019 because of the pandemic. The Vatican estimated 100,000 people were in attendance. Roman Catholics and others take solace in this Easter mass, alleged to mark the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, but the theology of the Catholic mass contradicts the Good News! of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone on many levels, i.e., the sacerdotal priesthood, transubstantiation, perpetual sacrifice for sin, source of graces, etc. The Roman Catholic church “celebrates” Christ’s resurrection, but usurps Christ’s offices as Redeemer and Mediator and insists people must merit their salvation.

• Nancy Pelosi jokes that the Catholic Church ‘would like to throw me out’ over pro-choice views

The “wafer wars” reached fever pitch after the 2020 election of Joe Biden to POTUS. Many conservative American Catholic prelates and laypersons called for Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and all other Catholic Democrat politicians who support pro-abortion legislation to be banned from receiving the Jesus wafer and the other sacraments. Pope Francis stepped in and vouched for Biden and Pelosi and warned conservative prelates not to turn the Jesus wafer into a political weapon. The conservative bishops backed down and have concentrated their efforts on the upcoming three-year-long “eucharistic revival” campaign.

• History Of The World’s Most Macabre Catholic Relics Explained

The above is an interesting article on Roman Catholicism’s infatuation with relic veneration/worship.

• Is Pope Francis, a polarizing figure for Catholic hard-liners, ready for the coming schism?

Some conservative Catholics have been whispering schism since 2016 when pope Francis guilefully lifted the ban on sacraments for remarried divorcees and co-habitators in the footnotes of his Amoris Laetitia encyclical. Conservatives are handcuffed by their own ultramontanist belief in absolute fealty to the papacy, but another major “reform” could force their hand.

• Street preacher cleared of ‘hate speech’ charges for preaching from the Bible

Evangelical pastor and street preacher, John Sherwood, was charged with hate speech in April 2021 after preaching against same-sex marriage near a London subway station. The charges against 71YO Sherwood have been dropped, but the L*** steamroller continues to advance.

• American Bible Society survey finds ‘unprecedented drop’ in Bible reading

I’ve previously read that people were buying Bibles in record numbers during the distressful pandemic. Now we’re reading about a huge drop in Bible reading. Which is it? Perhaps people buy Bibles with “good intentions,” but end up watching Netflix.

• Catholic priest: ‘Father Stu’ needs redemption — and a rewrite

Marky Mark Whalberg’s pro-priest propaganda piece, “Father Stu,” earned an estimated $8 million in its first five days in theaters, but it’s a bit too worldly and too pro-conservative/traditionalist for the taste of the parish-priest writer of this article. Whalberg conceived of this project as an effort to rehabilitate the tarnished image of priests following twenty years of pedophilia scandals. The sacerdotal priesthood was done away with by Jesus Christ.

• Catholic diocese of Camden, New Jersey reaches $87.5M settlement with hundreds of sexual abuse victims

In counter-point to Marky Mark’s “Father Stu” propaganda piece is this news headline out of New Jersey. Here in Western New York, the survivors of priest sexual abuse are still waiting for reparations from the dioceses of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. All three dioceses declared bankruptcy to minimize forthcoming payouts to the former victims.

Forty Answers to “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic”: #38

Thanks for joining me today as we continue our series examining and responding to Catholic apologist and philosopher, Peter Kreeft’s book, “Forty Reasons I Am A Catholic” (2018).

Claim #38: I am a Catholic because the Church defends all of God’s creations as well as the Creator

Kreeft opens this chapter, by stating, “The Church defends nature as well as grace, because she believes grace perfects and redeems and loves and validates nature instead of dispensing with it, minimizing it, by passing it, or rejecting it” (p. 123). Kreeft then presents eight examples of the RCC’s alleged defense of nature:

• The Church defends man as well as God.
• The Church defends reason as well as faith.
• The Church defends the body as well as the soul.
• The Church defends the notion of itself as the prolongation of the incarnation of Christ.
• The Church defends matter as well as spirit.
• The Church defends the state as well as the Church.
• The Church defends natural love as well as supernatural love.
• The Church defends secular literature as well as the Bible.

In his closing statements, Kreeft posits that Protestantism generally takes a negative, either-or approach to the relationship between grace and nature, while Catholicism takes a both-and approach, which even “magnanimously” accommodates Protestant unaccommodation.

Response

Kreefts acknowledgement of RC-ism’s exaltation of nature is revealing and points to the basic difference between Catholicism and Gospel Christianity. As I’ve mentioned previously in this series, evangelical theologian, Gregg Allison, summarizes the two basic constructs of Roman Catholic theology as 1) the Nature-Grace Interdependence, which claims the concrete conference of divine grace through nature, e.g., priests, water (baptism), oil (confirmation, last rites), laying of hands (ordination), bread (Jesus wafer), pilgrimage sites (healing), etc., and 2) the Christ-Church Interconnection, whereby the Catholic church presents itself as the prolongation of the incarnation of Christ. Kreeft appeals to both constructs in this apologia.

Let’s ditch the theological jargon and put it in simpler terms. The RCC views man as basically good, but spiritually wounded. The RCC provides sacraments, which allegedly help individuals to make it to the finish line of salvation. It exalts nature (priests, sacraments, baptismal water, Jesus wafers, etc.) as the means by which God provides salvation. Gospel Christians take the Biblical view that nature is fallen and man is depraved and that salvation is only by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. These two views are diametrically opposed and irreconcilable.

Kreeft reveals much by acknowledging and even boasting of Roman Catholicism’s syncretic reliance on nature (the material and physical) in its salvation theology. While Kreeft claims the RCC defends nature (“defends man as well as God”), we observe that the long history of the Roman Catholic church contradicts that claim. The RCC mandated forced baptisms, systematic anti-Semitism, the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the violent persecution of Protestants. The RCC didn’t just “defend the state,” it manipulated the state in its quest for wealth, power, and control. The RC-ism is a worldy, works-righteousness religion, and as Kreeft readily admits, is deeply integrated in worldly attitudes and philosophies. Gospel Christianity, with its Biblical message that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to salvation, cannot accommodate any false religion, including Roman Catholicism.

Next week: Claim #39: I am a Catholic because I value reason

Throwback Thursday: You won’t see this book offered on TBN

Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on August 14, 2016 and has been revised.

A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days
By Dave Hunt
Harvest House, first published in 1994, 544 pages

I’ve been meaning to read “A Woman Rides the Beast” for quite some time and finally squeezed it into my queue. The author, Dave Hunt (1926-2013), was a Christian apologist who was never known to mince words or to be deferential when defending the Gospel.

I had assumed from the full title that this book focused primarily on eschatology, but that’s not the case at all. Hunt begins by identifying the Great Harlot of Revelation, chapters 17 and 18, as the Roman Catholic church. He uses the remainder of the book to justify that conclusion. Many events from the Roman church’s sordid history are examined as well as the origins of many of its unscriptural doctrines.

This book definitely belongs in the collection of every Christian interested in critical examinations of Roman Catholicism. Yes, Hunt leans towards hyperbole at times, but that’s understandable given the subject matter. The author references “Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy” by former Jesuit priest, Peter de Rosa (see my review here), and “The Pope and the Council” by disaffected 19th-century ex-priest, J.J. Ignaz von Dollinger, to a fault, but it’s not a problem in my eyes. Few of the people purchasing this book are expecting an academic treatise, yet Hunt has done more than enough homework.

If you’re interested in comprehensive examinations of Catholic dogma you would be better served by reading “The Gospel According to Rome” by James McCarthy or “Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment” by Gregg R. Allison (only nerdy seminary alum need apply in the case of the latter), but this book does a fine job of highlighting some of the most unbiblical and anti-Scriptural elements of RC theology and the darkest chapters of Roman Catholicism’s dark history.

Let’s be honest; the average Catholic has very little knowledge of their church’s history. What they were taught was more idealistic than realistic. And evangelicals? Most evangelicals these days have no idea why the Reformation even took place. They hear Catholics speak about Jesus and “grace” and “faith” and assume everybody’s now on the same page. This book would be ideal for both Catholics and evangelicals who should know better. Don’t let the 544 pages scare you. Hunt breaks it all down into many short, manageable chapters. “A Woman Rides the Beast” would definitely make my top ten list of books about Catholicism. Now there’s an idea for a future post!

Final thoughts: You surely won’t find “A Woman Rides the Beast” at your local Christian bookstore, but it’s readily available from Amazon.com. See here. When I first read the Book of Revelation after coming out of Catholicism and accepting Christ, I knew exactly what was being referred to in chapters 17 and 18. As more and more evangelicals get swallowed up into mega-church ecumenism, those Christians who continue to identify the Great Whore of Revelation as the Roman Catholic church will be increasingly relegated to the fundamentalist/lunatic fringe.

My Polish Deli Haul

The liturgical calendar with its seasonal religious holy days/holidays is the warp and woof of Roman Catholicism. After 27 years of being a Catholic before trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior by faith alone in 1983, I had had my fill of following the liturgical calendar, but I don’t begrudge my fellow believers who enjoy the seasonal religious holidays. I’m also not a fan of using the word, “Easter,” for the commemoration of Resurrection Sunday since it may possibly have a pagan connection (although the presumed connection to the pagan fertility goddess, Ishtar/Asherah, is not an open-and-shut case as some assume, see here), but it’s not my hill to die on, either.

Anyway, last Thursday, Easter/Resurrection Day was coming up and for any Pole that means getting some “fresh” kielbasa. Many of you are familiar with the delicious smoked variety of Polish sausage/kielbasa, but you may not know about the fresh, unsmoked biała (“white”) version. Growing up, my family always had fresh kielbasa for the holidays. So delicious. But it’s hard to find. Fresh kielbasa was occasionally available at our local big box grocery store, Wegmans’, but I haven’t seen it there in long time. No big loss. Their version of fresh kielbasa isn’t all that good, anyway. The word “pedestrian” comes to mind when thinking about Wegmans’ fresh kielbasa. You see, a Pole is very fussy and discriminating about their fresh kielbasa. Nope, my aim was to drive to the Polska Chata (pronounced pole-skuh ha-tuh, “Polish House”) deli/restaurant in Irondequoit to pick up a couple of pounds of fresh kielbasa because I knew from experience that theirs was excellent.

So, on the Thursday before Easter/Resurrection Day, I first took a trip to the Dybowski Authentic Polish Market (photo above) on Hudson Avenue on the fringes of Rochester’s old Polish Town neighborhood. Dybowski’s has a much larger variety of Polish food items than Polska Chata and I had a few things in mind. The place was busier than downtown Warsaw with Rochester Poles preparing for Easter/Resurrection Day dinner. I bought two cartons of Krakus brand zurek (“sour rye soup”) and two bottles of Vavel (Americanized version of the Polish Wawel) brand black currant juice aka czarna porzeczka nektar. Both zurek and black currant juice are very popular in Poland. Both food items are so delicious. I also couldn’t resist browsing Dybowski’s impressive sausage display. They have about ten different varieties of smoked kielbasa in addition to many other types of Polish-style meats. I ended up buying two large links of cherry wood smoked kielbasa aka kielbasa wisniowa. I also noticed they had two varieties of fresh kielbasa, but I was determined to pick up my biała sausage at Polska Chata.

Above: Polska Chata deli/restaurant

I then got in my car and drove the two miles to Polska Chata and they were packed with customers as well. The deli/restaurant changed hands in 2018, but I was hoping they still offered the fabulous fresh biała kielbasa that the previous owner, Margaret Gorniak, had shipped in from Toronto. No such circumstance. As I stood in the long line, I noticed several customers requesting fresh kielbasa and the owner retrieving frozen…ach…FROZEN fresh kielbasa from the back freezer. Two problems, 1) fresh kielbasa should never be frozen, and 2) the kielbasa looked mediocre, like the stuff Wegmans’ sells’. It certainly wasn’t the sausage imported from Toronto that I bought in previous years.

So I got in my car and drove back to Dybowski’s. I asked the young pana behind the display cases, which of the two fresh biała varieties she recommended. She suggested the big, fat variety produced by the Winding River Meat Company (Bloomfield, NJ, Joe Krzyworzeka, proprietor). The kielbasa actually resembled my previous favorite imported by Margaret G.

I drove home with my Polish stash and a couple of hours later I prepared my fresh biała kielbasa. Unlike smoked kielbasa, you don’t pan fry fresh kielbasa. My mom always boiled it, but I subsequently learned from “old country” Poles that there’s only one way to cook fresh kielbasa and that’s to put it in a pyrex baking dish with about a half-inch of water, cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.

Mój, o, mój! My, oh, my! The fresh biała kielbasa from Winding River was sooooo good. The best I ever had. My wife concurred that it was the best she had ever tasted. Very little fat. Mild. No grizzle. The cherry wood smoked kielbasa wisniowa was also good, but I couldn’t detect the slightly sweet flavor it was claimed to have.

Well, my Polish fresh kielbasa excursion adventure definitely had a happy ending. I’ll be going back to Dybowski’s in a month or two for another Polish fix.

Note: Fresh kielbasa is served with freshly-ground horseradish.

Above: My Polish deli haul: Back row: Krakus zurek sour rye soup and Vavel Black Currant Juice. Front row: fresh biała kielbasa and cherry wood smoked kielbasa wisniowa.

Above: Some of the varieties of smoked kielbasa on display at Dybowski’s

Above: A large variety of food goods imported from Poland line Henry Dybowski’s store shelves