eChurch Blog

The cross is the devil’s mousetrap.

SOURCE: Experimental Theology

Time for a little Saturday morning levity.

I’m sure this issue worries many of us; but lose no more sleep, here’s how we will defeat our robot overlords when the times comes:

Let’s say we want to reform a religion in a new direction. We look for a founder who we can claim fits the kind of profile everyone is expecting. This leader, this messiah, is most likely to be a successful warrior, a general who wins battles of God’s own side. We can’t find one, so we invent a purely imaginary figure instead. Then we explain how he was a total disaster, unable to raise an army, deserted by his followers, and executed by the enemy.

SOURCE: DOUG – Read it all it’s brilliant.

This is ABSOLUTELY outrageous. Read it and weep.

Peter’s commented on this also.

And Jim in the US has picked up on this.

And now Gillan and John.

And here’s some more:

Lisa Graas, Ben, Prodicus, Tangled Web, Tim Worstall, Boiling Frog, Vic, Roger, The Bones, LMS, Part Time Pilgrim, Admiral Creedy, Neil Addison, Opinionated Catholic, John, Creative Minority Report, Richard, Nic, Ruari, David, Calvin, Max Farquar, Stand Firm, Nick, Harry’s Place, Lazarus, James, Chris, Mulier Fortis, Melon Farmers, Defend Marriage Scotland, Anglican Mainstream, David, Steve Kneale, Woman on a Raft, Fr Finigan, NSS, Mundabor, Maria Stops Abortion, Ecumenical Dialogue, BritNorAmFreedom, New Zealand Conservative, Quid Deinde, Ed West (Telegraph), Crooked as Corkscrews, defende nos in proelio, Huffington Post, Daily Mail

Let me know if I’ve missed any.

UPDATE: Cranmer blogs his response to the ASA

UPDATE II: The ASA responds

UPDATE III: Cranmer blogs on Advertising Standards Authority “semantics and lies”.

UPDATE IV: Cranmer fisks the ASA response.

UPDATE V: Cranmer notes the Chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority is also Vice President of The Campaign for Homosexual Equality

UPDATE VI: Cranmer on Further ASA response – an admission of error

And here is the offending advert:

Whilst I’m on a roll having a pop at Biblical fundamentalists, on the Biblical Evidence for Catholicism blog, Dave Armstrong lists the table of contents of his upcoming book entitled: 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura. The contents alone are well worth reading as it happens and contain some good nuggets for use in discussion.

I really enjoyed this image and wish I knew a good resource to link it to:

Anyway, this is where Sola Scripture inexorably leads:

The other day on Twitter, Paul made a passing comment remarking that celebrating the Mass in the Extraordinary Form strengthens the battle against social evils.

Well, this piqued my interest somewhat and Ben has kindly taken up the baton and does a rather good job of making the case. As I write this Ben has just posted some further thoughts that I haven’t yet read, but most certainly will do so, and encourage you to do the same.

1) I asked a pro-”choice” lady on facebook when she thought that human life begins, and she responded uber-emotionally and repeatedly that she would not allow herself be “intimidated” by me. Well, thank goodness she did not cave to my mob-like tactics.

SOURCE: Little Catholic Bubble

I just thought this lovely.

From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Following Vatican approval, the “Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb” is now available for use by dioceses in the United States.

[.....]

“We hope the use of this blessing will provide not only support and God’s blessing for expectant parents and their child in the womb, but also another effective witness to the sanctity of human life from the first moment of conception,”

You can find the Rite on this link in PDF format.

Here’s a sample of the prayers:

For all expectant mothers, that as they await the birth of their children they may experience tranquility and good health, and safely deliver their children, we pray to the Lord.

And

For children who are unwanted, unloved, abandoned, or abused, that the Lord may inspire his people with compassion and courage to protect and care for them, we pray to the Lord.

And here is the prayer of blessing for the expectant Mummy:

God, author of all life,
bless, we pray, this unborn child;
give constant protection
and grant a healthy birth
that is the sign of our rebirth one day
into the eternal rejoicing of heaven.
Lord, who have brought to this woman
the wondrous joy of motherhood,
grant her comfort in all anxiety
and make her determined
to lead her child along the ways of salvation.

And for Daddy:

Lord of the ages,
who have singled out this man
to know the grace and pride of fatherhood,
grant him courage in this new responsibility,
and make him an example of justice and truth for
this child.

Gorgeous!

Following my earlier post on the Dunning-Kruger effect, I concluded by noting that I believed this afflicts some believers also. I was thinking specifically of those I would term as “Biblical fundamentalists”.

Briefly, this fundamentalism is characterised by Scriptural literalism with a special dislike of  ‘institutional’ churches such as Anglicanism and Catholicism, which are viewed as ‘deceived’ or ‘pagan’. Accompanying this is a cast iron certainty of being ‘right’ and a guardian of ‘the truth’ and if anybody deviates from these specific beliefs, they’re probably not saved anyway.

How do I know this?

Well, I don’t know this through interacting with fundamentalists; which I do from time to time, I know this because I was a Biblical Fundamentalist.

And when I was in the grip of fundamentalism there is no doubt that I was also afflicted with the Dunning-Kruger effect.

My knowledge and ‘truth’ were all based on private revelation and interpretation of Scripture; I was my own Pope and Magisterium and the Church was simply in error. Not that I knew what the Church really believed anyway, as I was busy watching God TV, believing in the Prosperity Gospel, and under the delusion that theology was a ‘man-made deception’.

The irony of course, was that at the very time I was under the fundamentalist spell, I was completely sundered from the traditions and teaching of the  accumulated body of knowledge revealed to the Church over two millennia.

I didn’t know that I didn’t know anything about Christianity, and so had the utmost confidence that I was right in my beliefs and anybody that didn’t agree with me was simply wrong.

Why do I bring this up?

Because I shall be answering the call for papers and submitting an Abstract for consideration of my essay being included in a book that deals with moving away from Christian fundamentalism.

Now depending on where you are on the spectrum this will elicit one of two responses:

If you’re one of those that consider me a fundamentalist, you’ll now be choking on your lentils. If you’re one of those that consider me a wishy washy liberal, you’ll now be repeatedly banging your head on the desk.

Either way, I’m still going for this even though I don’t feel confident; which given the Dunning-Kruger effect, is probably a positive sign.

I’ll hand over to Joel to explain the project further:

People who move out of deep-seated fundamentalism, of any stripe of Christianity, often have deep anguish. They more often meet a personal crisis of some sort which leads them to break with all that they were. Perhaps it is intellectual or even spiritual or perhaps they were met with a sudden choice of morality. They have hit a wall, or perhaps suffered the humpty-dumpty affect, and lay shattered waiting for the King to put them back together again. The black and white world  they formerly inhabited has been flooded and destroyed with doubt. How do they survive, or rather, do they survive? Some go the route back to fundamentalism, that is to say, to a militant atheism. As much as their world was defined by believing in a ‘literal’ interpretation of Scripture, their new world is defined by disbelieving in a ‘literal’ interpretation of Scripture. But, what about those who make it? What about those who continue to believe and more, grow in faith? Those who, even if all the pieces no longer fit like they are supposed to, get put back together again?

This book will be a collection of essays of personal stories from those who have otherwise changed their anchor in fear of fundamentalism. They are now seeking a path which entertains the notion of doubt. We are seeking stories of this crisis and how believers made it through. Specifically, most essays will involve some of these points:

…..continue

Can we expect people to consent to the rule of natural law, as a basis for State enforced social policy, when serious contemplation of the natural law illuminates our shortcomings? Or should we focus on pushing the sharp conviction of the law upon the human heart, so hard hearts are plowed, and the ground is made fertile for seeds of grace?

SOURCE

Tim recently reminded me of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Put simply this effect occurs when someone knows very little about something and fails to realise they know very little. Their lack of knowledge leads them to a lack of insight into their lack of knowledge and gives rise to an erroneous confidence. Conversely, those that have much knowledge realise how little they know and this leads to a lack of confidence.

Tim mentioned this effect in relation to an article on New Atheists and specifically Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion.

Obviously there are atheists with a profound knowledge of Christianity, but I suspect I am not alone in encountering atheists suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The other day on Twitter I was challenged by an atheist who pontificated that I worship a “reanimated corpse” and indulge in cannibalism and such like. I tried briefly to engage him seriously, but quickly realised that he was in no way interested to learn my views and was happier constructing a straw-man of my beliefs and then gleefully knocking it over. As I bowed out of our “conversation” he pronounced his victory, declared he had trounced me and said that as a result of this interaction he wouldn’t be surprised if my faith crumbled.

There is no doubt that this chap was subject to the Dunning-Kruger effect in relation to Christianity.

Having said this, I believe that the Dunning-Kruger effect afflicts some believers also. However, I will post my thoughts on this later, with a small announcement.

PART 2 HERE.