eChurch Blog

“And while Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind!” (Acts 26:24). Paul answered the charge by insisting that he was speaking “words of sober truth.” The Greek word translated “sober” denotes “mental soundness, moderation, good sense, self-control.” Certainly Paul’s measured and controlled response to Festus bears out the truthfulness of his soundness of mind.

Poor Festus! He’s new to the Jews and their problems. Perhaps he had never heard of Jesus of Nazareth. He had lived a world away from the miracles and the controversy surrounding the man of Galilee. Also, it is probable that he knew little if anything about the Prophets and Moses. Festus’ frustrated cry was one borne of his own ignorance as he tried to follow Paul’s defense but simply did not have the knowledge necessary to put it all together. It reminds me of today, as folks who know little about what the Bible actually says make similar baseless charges against believers. Humanists, atheists, feminists, hedonists and others mock that which is holy, true and righteous, not knowing at all what they are talking about. It is a matter of the blind leading the blind and everyone ending up in the ditch.

SOURCE

Thanks go to Goy for sending this one in to me.

This is part of a comment received on another’s blog in relation to me:

The tone of the echurch blog has changed of late, losing its gentle humour and its even temper. Stuart has often blogged about his mental health. I cannot help but wonder whether continued blogging is helpful to his well-being.

I received a similar comment from the same person quite some time ago when I made the decision to censor her comments on this blog. All of this appeared to coincide with my decision to convert to Catholicism.

It’s fair to say that as I began to absorb Catholic teaching, some of my views shifted from a liberal position to an orthodox one. This upset many.

I think the tactic, to undermine a persons credibility as blogger, due to a disability, and to do so on somebody else’s blog, is despicable.

I have blogged in the cause of mental illness and have done so through being open with my own struggles, and will continue to do.

I will not be cowed into silence and remove myself from interweb discourse by smears of this nature.

I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth.

As I recently keep happening upon the terms: “Responsible Capitalism” and “Moral Markets”, which to my untrained ears sound somewhat oxymoronic, I was determined to find out a little more.

I think the best piece I have read on this so far is written by Catholic economist Philip Booth, and is worth a read if this topic is of any interests to you.

I love to be inspired. I love sharing my life with others, and supporting them with their endeavours and being supported in return. These are important aspects of my church experiences and I have not managed to find other groups here at university that fill those roles in my life. Finally, I think I just really love food. My Thursday bible study group? We cook each other dinner! When I have a dinner party, who is by far most likely to attend? My Christian friends! Meal-sharing is emphasized in Christianity and there is little else in the world I appreciate more than good food and good company at the same time.

So yes, I love church. And no, I don’t believe in God. I hope that is okay with you, but even if it isn’t– that doesn’t matter to me, since I have a whole bunch of friends from my church who love me anyways

SOURCE

Hat-tip: Opinionated Vicar

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth,

O Lord: consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

Gospel Mark 7:14-23

Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!Jesus called the people to him and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’
When he had gone back into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.) And he went on, ‘It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’

On Sunday I received notice of an intent to pursue me legally for this blog post which would presumably come under the law of defamation and specifically libel.

This was part of the correspondence I received:

I have referred the rest of your grossly inaccurate comments about the situation with [names forum] to my legal advisors, and have sent them a copy of what you have published here.

Confusingly, today there appeared to be something of a backtrack with a denial of intent to pursue legal action. Apparently, passing information relating to an accusation of libel to your legal advisors, should not be conflated with a threat to pursue me legally?

Not exactly sure how else you could view it!

This chap is now awaiting to hear from his legal advisors, to weigh his options, even though of course, he’s never threatened me with legal action!

This was the second comment I received:

Still lying, Stuart, don’t worry, so many people on [names forum]  know what you have done I doubt you will ever be able to show your face there again without people laughing at you. You have made a mockery of a religion that used to be mine but will never be yours, you will never make any sort of Catholic, your behaviour demonstrates that you know nothing of the Christian faith at all, only the words.

Which speaks for itself.

Today a request was made for me to demand the removal of blog posts written by other bloggers on this incident.

I’d like at this point to mention that this particular guy had been previously suspended from the forum, due to his malicious comments towards me.

The unending stream of continuous attacks against me still rumble on….

Gospel Acclamation 

Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!

The Gospel Mark 7:1-13

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:

This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’

A few links I found interesting for one reason or another:

Catholic Boy Richard – “Getting It Straight” on Same-Gender Attraction…And Rick Santorum

A Grain of Sand – Fairness

Liberal Conspiracy – Why was my friend jailed over botched attempt to end his own life?

Dreaming Beneath the Spires – Successful Christians; Hidden Christians

Get Religion – Last temptation of Castro

Psych Central – Are You In Recovery But Not Really Recovering?

The DfE [Department for Education] data, summarized in appendix 4 of the 2011 Digest, revealed that 19% of pupils at Catholic primary schools lived in the 10% most deprived areas, compared to 14% of pupils at primary schools across England. At secondary level, 17% of pupils at Catholic schools lived in the 10% most deprived areas against 12% of pupils nationally.

Read all