It’s Better to Pray to God than to a Saint or at some Shrine

Because you don’t have to go on pilgrimage to pray to God. And the consequences of trudging off to a spot of idolatry can be hazardous to your health…

And killed after only a mile into his journey. How very unfortunate: A year earlier, he had been injured in a road accident and made a full recovery. So the man decided to make a pilgrimage to a shrine to give thanks for his survival – only to be knocked down and killed by a car less than a mile into his trek. The 40-year-old Spanish man died instantly after being hit by the vehicle just 20 minutes into his journey. Two women walking with him wer … Read More

via Fr Stephen’s Blog

Polish Singer Acquitted Over Bible-ripping

From the ‘people can be jerks’ category

Ynet news: A Polish court has found a singer in a heavy metal band, who tore up the Bible during a performance, not guilty of offending religious sentiments. The judge ruled last week that the ripping of the holy book by Behemoth frontman Adam Darski could be defined as “artistic expression” consistent with his band’s style. Darski, who uses the stage name Nergal as the Babylonian god mentioned in the Book of Kings, is a famous figure in his home … Read More

via Fr Stephen’s Blog

The Right Archbishop Who’s Wrong

He’s right that the various networks mentioned get religion wrong most of the time. He’s wrong in not saying that most journalists do as well and not just those from those news outlets.

Archbishop Charles Chaput is conservative, and I really do like the sounds he’s making: (CNSNews.com) – The news outlets CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, and MSNBC do not “provide trustworthy information about religious   faith,” said Philadelphia’s incoming Archbishop, Charles Chaput, at the Catholic World Youth Day ongoing this week in Madrid, Spain. Chaput, the former Archbishop of Denver, made his remarks in an address on religious freedom to … Read More

via Fr Stephen’s Blog

Another Pagan Anglican Priest

This guy should be removed from his office today. Not because of his acts but because of his words. Any priest who states that the God of the Bible is wicked and perverse has no business being a priest. Let him join the tribe of angry atheist ex Christians. But kick him out of the Church first.

To allow him to remain in the priesthood is a travesty and an injustice.

  What a wicked man! The Church in Wales says it is investigating after a Gwynedd rector burnt some pages from the Bible. The Reverend Geraint ap Iorwerth of St Peter ad Vincula Church, Pennal, also cut up pages from the King James Bible to create an artwork. Unveiling it at a church event, he said it revealed a “cruel and vile God”. The Bishop of Bangor said: “Destroying parts of the Bible we don’t like is disrespectful and will offend many … Read More

via Fr Stephen’s Blog

The New Dark Ages

Fascinating stuff via Stephen.

The Judeo-Christian worldview was perhaps the most important element in the rise of Western civilisation. Other factors can be mentioned, but without the biblical worldview and its impact, the West as we know it would never have arisen. Many scholars and experts have spoken to this. As just one example, American sociologist Rodney Stark has written a number of important volumes on these themes. Consider his seminal 2005 volume, The Victory of Rea … Read More

via Fr Stephen’s Blog

Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients

It’s an idea whose time has come. Responsible employees of lots of companies undergo drug testing and if they fail, they’re fired.

Welfare recipients are being paid to do nothing by taxpayers who work very hard for their income. Why should that hard earned money be doled out to people who will use it to buy drugs (or alcohol or cigarettes for that matter). It seems reasonable that they experience the same requirements as people who actually labor for their money. Welfare is already an excuse for too much laziness. Why should it also provide the lazy with drugs?

If welfare recipients don’t like the idea of having to prove they aren’t being subsidized in their substance abuse by taxpayers, they can always refuse the money.  ‘If they don’t work, let them starve’- St. Paul to the Thessalonians.  Nothing motivates to labor like hunger.

I agree completely with the Governor. Every State should adopt the same law.

So it would seem: (CBS4) – Expect challenges to a bill signed by Governor Rick Scott which will require welfare applicants to undergo drug testing. The bill also requires that those who apply for welfare must pay for the drug testing out of their own pockets. However, the cost would be reimbursed if the person passes the drug test… “While there are certainly legitimate needs for public assistance, it is unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize … Read More

via Fr Stephen’s Blog