Fr. Robert Barron is a gifted theologian. In the video commentary above, he helps modern man understand the high drama of Palm Sunday by linking the event to a critical understanding of the Old Testament. The Jewish audience of the day got it, but do we? … More…
Tag Archives: Fr. Robert Barron
Liberal totalitarianism vs. America 3
By Tom Quiner
America’s political Left is working hard to impose their perverse political philosophy on America: Liberal Totalitarianism.
It is characterized by increasing government control of all aspects of our life except one.
They call for massive new government regulations in running our businesses, in the way our economy is structured, in the way healthcare is structured, in every aspect, but one.
They want the state to move into our churches and tell us what we may and may not believe and who we must hire. They are adamant that the conscience of the faithful is irrelevant and must bow to the besotted wisdom of the elite.
They want control of everything except one area, and that of course is when it comes to the right of a human life to be born. They revile the rights of the preborn. They use their considerable clout to block even the most modest regulations on the billion dollar abortion industry.
They have set their crosshairs on the faithful with the Obama Mandate. By presidential fiat, Barack Obama will force religious organizations to violate their conscience by forcing them to provide services to their employees they find immoral, including abortifacients.
Some characterize this as simply a “Catholic thing.” It’s not. The president targets ALL people of faith including Jews, Protestants, and Muslims.
Is there anyway out of this for the faithful? Yes. Catholic hospitals must fire all non-Catholic employees and probably face anti-discrimination lawsuits. They must expel all non-Catholic patients and refuse admission of all non-Catholics in the future and again face anti-discrimination lawsuits.
Even worse, the Obama Mandate will prevent Catholics from carrying out Christ’s call to serve the needy, whether they are Gentile or Jew, white or black.
It’s not just Catholics who will feel the wrath of liberal totalitarianism. It is any faith-based organization that serves anyone outside of their faith.
One of the most thoughtful commentators on the subject is Fr. Robert Barron out of Chicago. I’ve posted his eloquent video above which any person of conscience will respect, whether they agree with him or not.
Like this:
Is atheism the new opiate of the masses? 3
By Tom Quiner
A stranger washed my feet last night.
This unusual experience took place at the Holy Thursday service at my church last night. Just as Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, we washed each others’ feet in remembrance of the relevance of His actions today.
In a short while, I’ll be back at church for the celebration of the Lord’s passion, better know as Good Friday. And then comes the most glorious event in the history of heaven and earth: Easter.
History turned on these three days, regardless of what one thinks of them.
American atheists evangelize with billboards
As I write these words, the American Atheists are holding a convention here in Des Moines, Iowa. I received a letter in the mail from them inviting me to attend, the price of attendance being $159 for non-members. They also ask for donations to purchase billboard space to evangelize their brand of faithless religion. The message displayed on their billboards read: “You KNOW there is NO GOD! We know you’re right!”
Such a leap of faith.
I can understand the agnostic who isn’t certain God exists. And I can understand those who make a leap of faith in their belief in God.
But in light of evidence in nature, in light of evidence in the cosmos, in light of the historical record, in light of revelation to man down through the ages, in light of philosophical logic, it takes a far bigger leap of faith to state with certainty that “we KNOW God doesn’t exist.” So, in a way, it really isn’t a faithless religion.
Fr. Robert Barron discusses the intellectual vacuity of the modern atheist movement in the video commentary above. Karl Marx famously said that religion is the “opiate of the masses.” Fr. Barron says he got it backwards, that atheism is the opiate of the masses, that it attempts, much like a drug, to mask our deepest longing. And what is that longing?
It is our longing for God, our desire for something beyond the abilities of this world to satisfy.
Fr. Barron puts it this way. Our hunger for food isn’t a sign that food is a projection. Our hunger proves the reality of food, just as our hunger for God proves His reality.
Like man down through the ages, these atheists desire to practice their religion together and win converts.
Many people didn’t believe in Jesus two-thousand years ago, either. Tonight, we celebrate His unjust execution. Why use the word “celebrate?” Because it was necessary to reveal God’s glory.
I encourage each of us to stop and think seriously about these events, known as the Easter Triduum in the Catholic Church. We give up everything that our heart truly longs for if we discount the Easter miracle.
Be wary of the new atheism. As Fr. Barron says, stop taking that drug and wake up.
No Country for Christians Reply
By Tom Quiner
My new year was immediately jarred this morning with this report from CBS News:
“At least 21 people are dead and nearly 80 wounded after a bomb exploded outside a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt, early Saturday.
Officials believe a suicide bomber attacked as worshippers were leaving a New Year’s Eve mass.”
Alexandria’s Governor immediately blamed al-Quaida in light of recent threats made toward Christians in Egypt.
Over in Indonesia on December 26th, angry Muslims with the backing of the police surrounded homes of Christians in protest of “unauthorized (Christian) religious services.”
In December alone, explosive devices were found in four separate Christian buildings in Indonesia.
On Christmas Eve in Nigeria, as many as 38 people were killed by suspected Muslim terrorists in attacks on two Christian churches.
On Halloween in Iraq, 58 were killed by Muslims in attacks on a Catholic church.
The list goes on and on.
Muslims are attacking Christians and ridding Muslim countries of Christianity by murder and mayhem. Christians are fleeing in droves if they wish to escape death.
In the U.S., attacks on Christianity come from a different direction: the courts and the legislature. The new health care bill refused to exclude abortion coverage, forcing pro-life Christians to fund what they consider to be the killing of human life.
Even more, the ACLU is suing Catholic hospitals to require them to offer abortion services.
***
Today, my family is going to see “True Grit,” the remake of the classic John Wayne movie. The movie is directed by the always interesting Coen Brothers. Over Thanksgiving, we rented their movie, “No Country for Old Men,” a dark, violent film.
That movie does not have a happy ending. But the Coens leave you thinking and talking about the film, always a sign of a good film.
One of the questions we’re left with: should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the human condition?
One of the questions we’re left with in light of Muslim assaults on Christianity throughout the world and liberal assaults on Christianity in the U.S.: should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the future of Christianity?
Fr. Robert Barron, in his commentary on “No Country for Old Men,” suggests Christians can always be hopeful. Our faith is beautiful and transcends the pessimism we may feel for the human condition.
Last night at our church’s new year’s service, a priest quoted the late Swedish diplomat, Dag Hammarskjold, who is able to put the the human condition in perspective.
“For everything that’s been, thank-you, for everything that will be, yes.”
In 2011, let us persevere.
The rage against God Reply
By Tom Quiner
At the age of 15, Peter Hitchens burned his Bible and denied God’s existence.
At the age of 58, his older brother, Christopher, wrote a best-selling book, “God is Not Great.” If you didn’t guess, Christopher, too, is an atheist. However, something happened to younger brother, Peter, along the way.
He changed his mind.
He became a Christian … again.
The younger Mr. Hitchen also wrote a best-selling book at the age of 58 called “The Rage Against God.” The theme: ”how atheism led me to faith.”
I bet that makes for interesting family gatherings!
Whereas older brother, Christopher, believes religion has been the source of international conflict throughout history, younger brother Peter disagrees:
“They [atheists] have a fundamental inability to concede that to be effectively absolute a moral code needs to be beyond human power to alter.”
Unlike his brother, Peter Hitchens sees godlessness as the root cause of history’s most notorious examples of man’s inhumanity toward man:
“In all my experience in life, I have seldom seen a more powerful argument for the fallen nature of man, and his inability to achieve perfection, than those countries in which man sets himself up to replace God with the State.”
Germany and the Soviet Union quickly come to mind.
One of the Christian’s world most intellectual and articulate spokespersons, Fr. Robert Barron, weighed in on Mr. Hitchen’s book in the YouTube clip above. Take a few minutes to listen to him discuss Peter Hitchen’s premise, that there’s an essential relationship between a healthy society and Christianity. Then listen to Peter Hitchen’s commentary below.
The courts and liberal pressure groups are gaining momentum in removing God from the public square in America. They are systematically installing a different value system based on secular humanism.
Is that a good idea?
What will be the cost to America?
Listen to these commentaries … and weigh in with your own personal reflections. I want to hear from you.
Thank-you.
