Fernando Tatis Jr. and ignominy?

I don’t normally post photos of myself (see above), but I thought some might enjoy reading about my current dilemma. But first, a little background.

San Diego Padres shortstop, Fernando Tatis Jr., has been in the sports news quite a bit lately. The Padres picked up 17YO Fernando Tatis Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox back in 2016. After three years of rapid development in the Padres’ minor leagues farm system, Fernando was promoted to the big league roster in March 2019 at the tender age of 20. El Niño was so impressive in his first two seasons and widely acknowledged as a “generational talent” that the Padres gave him a 14-year, $340 million contract extension prior to the 2021 campaign.

Above: Fernando “El Niño” Tatis Jr.

Giving a young man a lot of recognition and money is usually a recipe for disaster. Tatis was involved in multiple motorcycle accidents in the 2021-2022 offseason. He reported to Spring Training with an untreated fracture of the scaphoid bone in his left wrist. That was really dumb. Surgery was performed on Tatis’ wrist on March 16 and after nearly five months of rehab, he was close to rejoining the team. However, on August 12, MLB announced that Tatis was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing anabolic steroid. Tatis accepted the suspension, but alleged, “I inadvertently took a medication to treat ringworm (supposedly contracted from a haircut) that contained Clostebol.” Many doubt the veracity of Tatis’ alibi. The bottom line is the Padres’ $24M/year young and reckless superstar won’t be returning to baseball until May 2023.

Okay, now what about the old guy in the top photos decked out in a Tatis t-shirt? Our oldest son gave me that shirt as a gift a year ago. Clothes hounds say no sensible man should wear a sports jersey/t-shirt past the age of 29. Ach. I never did conform to fashion. But now I feel kind of foolish wearing the t-shirt of a cheater in public. What a dilemma!

Back in the day, when a person got caught in some type of nefarious public scandal, they became social outcasts/pariah for the rest of their lives. Hester Prynne had to wear a scarlett “A.” Oops! She was fictional. What about the 1919 Chicago White Sox who blew the World Series on purpose and became known as the Black Sox? What about the Milli Vanilli guys who went into hiding after being exposed for not actually singing on their albums? I remember a young Kodak Elmgrove HR hiring manager back in the 1980s, John B—-, who extorted from $500 to $1000 from job applicants, but got found out when people were subsequently laid off and demanded their money back. It’s certain B—- never held a job in the corporate world again. But things are loosening up a bit in this degenerating society. These days a person can be elected president of the United States even after having multiple adulterous affairs. Experts in “crisis PR” are kept very busy coaching scandal-tainted celebrities on how to rehabilitate their careers. Fernando Tatis Jr. will serve out his suspension and be back on the field in nine months, but many baseball fans will always think of El Niño as a cheater.

I’m so grateful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, because He didn’t turn away the social outcasts and pariahs. He actually hung out with them and preached the Good News! to them. We all have done or thought sinful things that we’re ashamed of, whether we got caught or not. Jesus knows all and will forgive all if we repent and trust in Him as Savior by faith alone. There’s no ignominy in Christ Jesus.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1

Truth from Arkansas! Sunday Sermon Series, #151

Today, in our ongoing “Truth from Arkansas” series, we’re featuring two new sermons from the brethren down under.

First, we have Pastor Roger Copeland of Northern Hills Baptist Church in Texarkana preaching from Romans 6:16-23 on “Whose Slave Are You?”

Next, we have James Patterson, pastor emeritus of Holly Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Star City preaching from Ezekiel 14:12-18 on “A message of judgement.”

Both of these sermons were delivered on Sunday, August 14th.

Pastor Roger Copeland – Whose Slave Are You?

Pastor James Patterson – A message of judgement – Sermon starts at 44:10 mark

Back to the “older Legion” storyline

Hmm. How can I explain this “reset” without writing a tome? Bullets always do it for me.

• In 2010, DC Comics had two comic books with non-corresponding plots devoted to the Legion of Super-Heroes: “Adventure Comics” featuring the “young Legion” (based upon the Silver Age era) and the “Legion of Super-Heroes” featuring the “older Legion.”

• We began our reviews of the Legion of Super-Heroes “older Legion” series in July 2021 and progressed to LSH #7 (January 2011) when I discovered that DC switched Adventure Comics from the “young Legion” storyline to the “older Legion” storyline beginning with issue #521 (February 2011).

• I then backtracked and reviewed the six “young Legion” stories over the last six months.

• With Adventure #521 below, we return to the “adult Legion” plotline where we left off last January with LSH #7 (see here if you need a refresher).

Phew! That was a mouthful. With all of that rigmarole out of the way, let’s now board our time bubble and travel to the 31st Century for another adventure with…

The Legion of Super-Heroes in “The Summons of the Ring”
Writer: Paul Levitz, Penciller: Geraldo Borges & Mario Alquiza
Adventure Comics #521, DC Comics, February 2011

Plot

A contingent of Legionnaires – Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Sun Boy, and Tellus – arrive in Kamapala, Uganda to help stabilize the city after a severe earthquake. Dawnstar and Wildfire are nearby and discover the cause of the quake, a strange force, which quickly departs into space. Dawny and Drake pursue, but the force sends out a bolt that stops them in their tracks.

Dyogene, an emissary of the Guardians of Oa (see cover), continues his search for the next Green Lantern after being rejected by Earth-Man and Professor Li. He enters Legion Headquarters and assembles the heroes – Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl, Earth-Man, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Polar Boy, Quislet, Shadow Lass, Sun Boy, and Tellus – and ultimately chooses the powerful Mon-El, who accepts the role as the next Green Lantern. Shadow Lass visits her former boyfriend and tries to change his mind, but Mon-El is resolute and departs with Dyogene.

Comments

While I enjoyed the “young Legion” books, it was good to return to the “older Legion” storyline after an eight-month hiatus. What is that force that caused the devastating quake and nearly killed Dawnstar? In the final panel we’re told the Durlan assassins will strike in LSH #8 and Mon-El will embark on his first adventure as a Green Lantern in Adventure #522. Legionnaires missing in action in this installment include Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Gates, Lightning Lass, Saturn Girl, Sensor Girl, Shrinking Violet, Timber Wolf, Tyroc, and Ultra Boy.

Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 8/27/22

• Catholics rip Biden as “no JFK” in post-Roe church attacks

U.S. President, Joe Biden, a self-described “faithful Catholic,” has not condemned the multifold attacks on Catholic churches by pro-abortion radicals following the SCOTUS’ Dobbs vs. Jackson decision, which overturned Roe vs. Wade. Biden is an enthusiastic supporter of pro-abortion legislation. A conservative Catholic advocacy group has launched a million dollar ad campaign (watch here) unfavorably comparing Biden to the first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, who stated, “To burn churches, I consider both cowardly as well as outrageous.” It’s important to note in the midst of this internecine squabbling that JFK was not a born-again Christian and neither is Biden.

• “Matthew 25 Catholics”?

Pro-abortion Catholic politicians like Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and New York Governor, Nancy Hochul, seek to justify themselves by claiming they are “Matthew 25 Catholics,” intending to mean that THEY support the “disadvantaged” and “oppressed,” unlike conservative politicians who are anti-abortion, but largely oppose social entitlement programs. But why weren’t the 60 million pre-born babies killed in America since Roe vs. Wade included in the “oppressed” category? I suspect Biden, Pelosi, and Hochul rarely or never read the Bible.

• A New Ghetto for American Catholicism

American Catholics once revelled in their urban ghettos/ethnic enclaves as havens from Protestant “anti-Catholicism.” This Catholic writer advocates new Catholic ghettos (physical and virtual) in the face of encroaching atheistic secularism. Both Catholics and atheists need the genuine Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

• Transubstantiation: What Catholicism Teaches About the Lords’ Supper

The above is an excellent article on RC-ism’s heretical teachings on transubstantiation. The author, Reid Karr, is Associate Director of the Reformanda Initiative.

• Pope Francis again meets with transgender group sheltering at Rome church

Francis is systematically preparing the RCC for full acceptance of practicing S&G-ites.

• Young boy rushes stage to greet Pope Francis in adorable scene

Situations like the above are widely promoted in the media to portray Francis as a “loving papa.” However, the false works-gospel propagated by Francis and his bishops and priests is deadly spiritual poison.

• Pope Francis on tradition and the development of doctrine

The above article is a good summary of how pragmatic Francis views RCC teaching as malleable. We’re currently witnessing a concerted effort to change the church’s stance on S&G-ism and on non-abortifacient contraceptives.

• World Boxing Council bans trans-identified males from competing against women

Trans-women have been barred from competing in women’s swimming and boxing events. Other women’s sports governing bodies will surely follow, as will lawsuits. Athletic competition is where S&G-ism absurdities meet biological realities.

Responding to “Meeting the Protestant Response,” #13: “The other apostles have the same authority to bind and loose.”

Thanks for joining us today as we continue to examine and respond to Catholic apologist, Karlo Broussard’s book, “Meeting the Protestant Response” (2022). This week, Broussard concludes this “Keeper of the Keys” chapter and his argument for Petrine primacy using Matthew 16:19 as his proof text. For those of you who have been following along, but are tiring of Broussard’s prolonged dwelling on this Petrine primacy claim, you won’t want to skip this installment.

¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:19

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Broussard continues his argument from the last five weeks, that there is a direct parallel between Eliakim being appointed to the royal stewardship of the Davidic Kingdom in Isaiah 22:15-22 and Peter being given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (and, hence, vicarship of Christ’s church as Catholics would claim) in Matthew 16:19.

Protestant response #13: “The other apostles have the same authority to bind and loose.”

Writes Broussard, “Some Protestants collapse the meaning of the ‘keys of the kingdom’ into the meaning of ‘binding and loosing’ and argue that since Jesus gives this latter authority to the other apostles in Matthew 18:18, ‘Peter is not unique.’ Geisler and MacKenzie concur: ‘The same authority Jesus gave to Peter (Matt. 16:18) is given later to all the apostles (Matt. 18:18)'” (p. 53).

Broussard’s response

Broussard argues that the keys of the kingdom were uniquely granted to Peter and that act should not be combined with the bestowal of the power to bind and loose,* which was also granted to the other apostles in Matthew 18:18.

My response

Although Broussard refers to Matthew 18:18 in this argument, he avoids quoting it, so I will:

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

While the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” are not explicitly mentioned in Matthew 18:18 as they are in Matthew 16:19, they are certainly implied. In the context of Matthew 16:19, we see that the keys are immediately used to bind/close and loosen/open. The same contextual meaning is understood in Isaiah 22:22, which Broussard loves to reference:

I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

To be able to bind and loose, the other apostles necessarily required the aforementioned keys. By granting the other apostles the power to bind and loose, Jesus was necessarily bestowing to them the keys to do so. Broussard’s ludicrous attempt to dissociate the keys (noun) from the binding and loosing (verbs) is duplicitousness and artifice of the lowest order.

Jesus’ granting of the keys and the power to bind and loose to the other apostles in Matthew 18:18 is a powerful refutation of Catholic claims for Petrine primacy and papal authority. It’s really a “Gotcha!” debunking of the Catholic argument. It’s no wonder that Broussard craftily does not quote the verse and sweeps it under the rug as the last entry in his Matthew 16:19-Isaiah 22:22 discourse.

*Catholics errantly interpret the power to bind and loose as the priestly ability to forgive sins in the confessional while Gospel Christians correctly interpret the power to bind and loose as the preaching of the Gospel for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

Next week: A new chapter, “Leader of the Church,” and Protestant response #14: “The prayer is to ensure that Peter will repent and not lose his faith completely.”

Throwback Thursday: Ruth: Who/what was the other kinsman?

Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on September 5, 2016 and has been revised.

Have you ever sat there, reading your Bible, and the Holy Spirit revealed something delightful in a passage that you had read many times previously, but had never before grasped the full import? I’m sure you can relate. The Old Testament has many types and foreshadowings of Jesus Christ and when we understand their full meaning for the first time it’s a bit of a “eureka” moment.

As I mentioned in some recent posts, my wife and I are currently studying through the Book of Ruth, one of my favorite books of the Bible. I’ve read this book many, many, many times, but just like every book in the Bible, the Holy Spirit reveals something new each time I read it.

In the Book of Ruth, Boaz is a wonderful type of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He’s a relative by marriage to Naomi and Ruth, and Ruth claims him as her kinsman-redeemer. Boaz loves Ruth and is more than happy to oblige her claim, but first he must deal with an unnamed individual, a closer relative of Naomi and Ruth, who is first in line to act as their redeemer. In chapter four, Boaz brings the individual before Bethlehem’s magistrates, but the person ultimately declines to be the women’s redeeemer, freeing Boaz to legally assume the role and marry Ruth.

While reading about Boaz’s dealings with this other kinsman, a question popped into my mind for the first time. If Boaz is a type of Christ, who/what does this other kinsman represent? The unnamed nearer-kinsman plays a small, but pivotal role in the story and I sensed he symbolized something very important, but what was it? I found a very credible answer in J. Vernon McGee’s commentary on the chapter. McGee suggests the other kinsman represents the Law. Although he came before Boaz (Christ), he (the Law) could not/would not redeem the women. A light went on in my spirit. Yes, yes, that was it! The nearer kinsman who could not/would not redeem Ruth represented the Law. I found that other commentators have drawn the same conclusion as McGee.

I remember as a Catholic struggling to find redemption through the Ten Commandments. It was impossible. The Law cannot save, for it only shows us that we are sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus Christ took on human flesh to become our Kinsman. But you must reach out to Him and accept Him as your Savior, your Kinsman-Redeemer. Oh, Lord Jesus, thank you for redeeming me from the heavy burden of sin. Thank you for loving me and saving me!

http://www.gotquestions.org/kinsman-redeemer.html

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Romans 8:1-8

Eva’s European Sweets Polish Restaurant in Syracuse, NY

My wife and I had to take a short trip to Syracuse (a one hour drive from Rochester) last Wednesday, so I took the opportunity to arrange for us to have dinner at that city’s only Polish restaurant, Eva’s European Sweets (photo above).

Eva’s European Sweets Polish Restaurant
1305 Milton Avenue
Syracuse, New York

Polish immigrant, Eva (spelled Ewa in Polish) Zaczynski, nee Marcinkowska, opened her desserts bakery in 1997 and gradually transformed it into a full-scale restaurant serving a wide variety of Polish and Eastern European ethnic foods. I had visited Eva’s many years previously as a side-trip on one of my solo visits to the Syracuse Polish Festival, but this time I brought along my piękna żona.

My non-Polish bride is not as familiar with Polish cuisine as myself, so as she scanned Eva’s extensive menu she asked for my help. I knew she would enjoy the breaded pork cutlets, popularly known in Germany and even in America as Schnitzel and as Kotlet Schabowy in Polish. It was served with red cabbage, pan-fried potatoes, and cucumber and tomato salad. My piękna żona enjoyed her dinner very much.

I ordered the Polish Platter, which included a gołąbek (a single gołąbki is properly called a gołąbek, cabbage stuffed with a rice and ground beef mixture), a serving of bigos (Polish Hunter’s Stew), which is a melange of sauerkraut, cabbage, kielbasa, beef, ham, bacon and mushrooms, two pierogies (Polish dumplings) stuffed with potato and sauerkraut, and a kiełbasa (Polish sausage) link.

Above: My Polish Platter at Eva’s, clockwise from left to right: A gołąbek, bigos, sauerkraut, pierogies, and kiełbasa at the bottom.

My dinner was good, but I had a few quibbles. The gołąbek (pronounced gaw-WOAM-bek) filling was plentiful, but a bit bland and there was no tomato sauce topping. The bigos was very good, although not quite as good as my homemade recipe. The pierogies were tasty and the dough edges were chewy, just the way I like them, but they were quite small. The undersized, cut-in-half link of smoked kiełbasa was waaaaay over-fried. The above criticisms are minor, except for the kiełbasa. A meaty and properly-cooked kiełbasa portion would have erased all of the other minor objections. I do realize this was a sampler platter and that portions would be limited. However, I have nothing but sympathy for the poor patron who makes a full dinner of this cringeworthy over-fried kiełbasa (note: a “kiełbasa dinner” is on the menu).

Eva’s has a pleasant interior with many Polish-themed decorations. Outside dining is offered during the warm months, which I was looking forward to, but it was raining when we visited. The service was very prompt and friendly.

Overall, the experience at Eva’s was an enjoyable B to B+. I look forward to going back to Ewa’s in the future and trying the Placki (potato pancakes) and one of their authentic Polish desserts.

Polish restaurants are scarce here in Western and Central New York, so I appreciate that Eva’s has been able to survive and thrive for 25 years.

Postcript: The Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” with chef, Guy Fieri, visited Eva’s European Sweets in 2013. Eva prepared Placki Hungarian Style in that episode.

Above: Eva Zaczynski, left, and her two children David and Karolina

Truth from Arkansas! Sunday Sermon Series, #150

Today, in our ongoing “Truth from Arkansas” series, we’re featuring two new sermons from the brethren down under.

First, we have Pastor Roger Copeland of Northern Hills Baptist Church in Texarkana, preaching from Romans 6:1-14 on “Our Union with Christ.”

Next, we have Pastor Cody Andrews of Holly Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Star City preaching from John 11 on “The Master Is Calling for You.”

Both of these sermons were delivered on Sunday, August 7th.

Pastor Roger Copeland – Our Union with Christ

Pastor Cody Andrews – The Master Is Calling for You

After the Fall

Making the Fall: An intimate account of Elia Kazan and Arthur Miller working together on After the Fall, Miller’s play about Marilyn Monroe
By Richard D. Meyer
CreateSpace Publishing 2013, 191 pp.

Today’s Broadway theater fare is almost exclusively musical extravaganzas, but back in the 1940s and 50s, Broadway drama was a vehicle for critical social analysis and for pondering the “human condition.” America’s most distinguished playwright of that era was Arthur Miller (1915-2005 – “Death of a Salesman,” 1949, “The Crucible,” 1953), and the nation’s most revered director, both on Broadway and in Hollywood, was Elia Kazan (1909-2003). The two had collaborated on well-received plays and became good friends. However, Kazan’s friendly testimony in front of HUAC in 1952 during the Red Scare alienated Miller and many more of Kazan’s friends on both coasts. However, when it was proposed that a national Repertory Theatre company be founded at the new Lincoln Center in New York City, Miller and Kazan put bygones aside and agreed to write and direct, respectively, the company’s first play. Miller’s semi-autobiographical “After The Fall,” was mainly about his first two failed marriages. His second wife, from the years 1956-1961, had been the popular movie actress and celebrity icon, Marilyn Monroe. The play premiered on January 23, 1964, just five months after Monroe’s suicide. Audiences were ambivalent regarding Miller’s thinly-veiled, unsympathetic portrayal of Monroe as a psychologically-troubled alcoholic and prescription meds addict.

Theater professor, Richard Meyer, visited Kazan in 1963 while on sabbatical and requested that he be allowed to document the beginnings of the Repertory Theatre. This book, published independently 50 years later, is the result. Kazan fans will very much appreciate “Making of the Fall” for its interesting, first-hand insights regarding the director’s methods on the theater stage. Kazan resigned from the Repertory Theatre after the critically-lambasted play’s five-month run and never directed a play again.

The three main protagonists of the “After the Fall” on-stage/off-stage drama, Miller, Kazan, and Monroe were “extremely successful” people, but were also deeply troubled. Kazan and Miller were both atheists, Miller a notably radical God-denier. Monroe, although “admired” (i.e., lusted after) by literally tens of millions of men around the world, was as mentally unstable as Miller had portrayed her. What to make of this “After the Fall” quagmire? The three were spiritually lost people looking for happiness and truth outside of Jesus Christ and God’s Word.

I’ve enjoyed studying Kazan and his 19 films over the years because the director had an excellent knack for tearing down society’s facades of “goodness” and “respectability.” He was actually very close to Part A of the Gospel message: man’s depravity/sinfulness. He missed Part B: the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Below: High-brow theater, low-brow soap opera, or the human (sin) condition?:

• “After the Fall” is an allusion to the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis. Clearly, Miller’s marriages weren’t the “paradise” he had hoped for.
• Miller unfavorably portrayed Kazan in the play as the character, Mickey.
• Monroe had been Kazan’s mistress for a period of time prior to her marriage to Miller. In his autobiography, Kazan confided that he continued to have relations with Monroe even after she was engaged to Miller.
• Actress, Barbara Loden, portrayed Maggie (Monroe) in the play. She was Kazan’s mistress in real life. Hence, she was the mistress portraying the former-mistress. Kazan married Loden in 1967, but the two were headed for divorce before Loden died of cancer in 1980.
• Kazan confessed in his autobiography that as a successful and powerful director, he purposely targeted beautiful, blonde WASP actresses for adulterous relationships because such women were totally inaccessible to him as a very “ethnic-looking” young man coming from a financially-strapped family. It’s interesting how the wounds/deprivations of our younger days continue to drive us as adults. Monroe’s pathological insecurities stemmed from being “orphaned” as a very young child (her mentally-ill mother had been institutionalized).
• Kazan’s faithful wife, Molly, died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 56 in December 1963, while “After the Fall” was being rehearsed.

Above: Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller while honeymooning in Jamaica in January, 1957.

Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 8/20/22

• Pope Francis on the Assumption: Mary ‘Rekindles Hope in Us … Shows Us That Heaven Is Within Reach’

The feast (or solemnity) of the assumption of Mary was this past Monday, August 15th. It is one of RC-ism’s most important celebrations on its official calendar and a “holy day of obligation,” a day in which Catholics are normally required to attend mass under threat of mortal sin. However, the U.S. Council of Catholic bishops declares, “When this Solemnity falls on a Monday or Saturday, the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated.” Hmm, how convenient. RC-ism declares as “binding dogma” (must be believed under threat of eternal damnation) that Mary was conceived as sinless (immaculate conception) and was necessarily assumed bodily into Heaven either before or immediately after her death (popes haven’t yet ruled which scenario is the correct one). All of the above is anti-Biblical hogwash.

• In synod reports, US Catholics call for women’s leadership, LGBTQ welcoming

Pope Francis is utilizing this two-year, church-wide “synodal” initiative to get input from the dissatisfied laity as a basis for future progressive “reforms.”

• What Makes Catholics Different From Other Christians?

The unknowledgeable author of this article misguidedly assumes Catholics are Christians and proceeds to point out some of the secondary doctrinal differences dividing Catholics and Gospel Christians, but he misses the prime difference. Roman Catholicism teaches a false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit while Gospel Christianity proclaims the genuine Good News! Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

• A ‘non-binary’ Joan of Arc? Theater’s spin on Catholic heroine stirs backlash

The nuns at my Catholic parochial school presented Joan of Arc (1412-1431) to us children as an exemplary heroic saint. Evangelical ecumenist, Eric Metaxas, shamefully included Catholic Joan as an exemplary Christian woman in his book, “7 Women and the Secret of their Greatness.” It’s interesting that pro-English Catholic bishop, Pierre Cauchon, had Joan declared a heretic and burnt at the stake while pro-French bishops later rehabilitated her. Why the ecclesiastical discord? The Vatican claims its bishops “are the authentic teachers of the faith, endowed with the authority of Christ,” yet they were diametrically opposed in the case of Joan of Arc. It’s notable that Joan is now being presented as a “non-binary” hero by some.

• Having a personal relationship with Christ and being Catholic? Yes, both are possible — and necessary

RC-ism has adopted some evangelical parlance, like “having a personal relationship with Christ,” while continuing to teach its false gospel of salvation via sacramental grace and merit.

• Global ratio of Catholics per priest growing more imbalanced

The RCC teaches its priests are absolutely essential to Catholics’ salvation as alter Christus (other Christs) and in persona Christi (in the place of Christ) in administering the sacraments. As the number of its priests continue to decline, the RCC will be forced to strategize as to how to respond to the challenge. Missing in all of this is genuine Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

• Most Evangelicals don’t identify as Charismatic or Pentecostal, but 25% say they’ve spoken in tongues

I’m currently reading a book on the beginnings of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement in February 1967 and will offer a few thoughts on Pentecostalism/Charismaticism and glossolalia when I write the review.