Month: March 2005

A Different Kind Of Link Request

BTW, I wanted to thank all the readers who have been sending links to stories and other items of interest for the blog. I can’t use them all, but I really appreciate them.

I do have one request, though: When sending a story, can y’all be sure to include a link to the original story rather than just the text of the story?

Makes it a lot easier, as I frequently can’t quote the whole story in a blog post and need to link to it (in which case I have to find it on the web if I don’t already have a link to it).

Much obliged, folks, and thanks for your contributions to making the blog a better, more interesting place!

(I’d love to give readers credit by name for stories they send in, but last time I broached the subject of changing Rule #15, folks seemed to like things the way they are. If I actually use an e-mail as a guest blog, though, I’ll contact the author to see if he’d like me to suspent Rule #15 in a single case.)

Cohabitation & Easter Duty

A reader writes:

The Catechism states that we should accept the Eucharist at least once a year, especially during Easter.  I am a practicing Catholic, but have not presented myself for the Eucharist for the last 8 months, since I moved in with my girlfriend.  I entered into this situation out of convenience and without knowledge of the severity of this sin.  On going to confession, I learned that I cannot be forgiven for this sin until the situation is resolved.  My confessor explained the sin of scandal, and that even removing sexual intercourse from the situation, by presenting myself for the Eucharist, I could influence another to enter into the same sin.  I am writing to find out if I should continue to refrain from receiving the Eucharist until I have resolved the problem or if I should make an exception and present myself to receive the Holy Sacrament during the Easter Season after confessing my other sins as the Catechism appears to suggest.

I know that my situation is dangerous and want to come to some solution, but for many reasons, mostly, obviously my own unwillingness or fear of standing up for what I know to be right, have not been able to.  I long to receive Christ in Communion, and hope that I come back to full participation in the Church as soon as possible.

Do you have any guidance concerning the Catechism’s statement concerning this and also concerning how to handle my cohabitation situation?

Okay, there are several issues here:

First, I want to compliment you for asking the question. This shows that God is working in your heart and that you are responding to his grace.

Second, what you need to do immediately is stop conjugal relations with your girlfriend (if you have not already done so).

Third, what you need to do is stop cohabiting with your girlfriend unless and until such time as you are validly married in the Catholic Church or with a dispensation for a non-Catholic wedding.

Fourth, you cannot confess your other sins and be validly absolved. One must repent of all of one’s mortal sins and, to the best of one’s ability, confess all of them for the absolution to be valid. Otherwise it is a sacrilege against the sacrament of penance.

Fifth, I’m not 100% convinced of what your confessor said about scandal. The reason is not that scandal in such matters isn’t a grave sin. It is that for scandal to exist there has to be a knowledge of the scandal by others and a likelihood that those individuals will be drawn into sin as a result of their knowledge. I don’t know whether there are such individuals in your case. If there are, your confessor is right.

Sixth, the Easter Duty is not an absolute. According to the Code of Canon Law:

Canon  920

§1. After being initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, each of the faithful is obliged to receive holy communion at least once a year.

§2. This precept must be fulfilled during the Easter season unless it is fulfilled for a just cause at another time during the year.

Being in a state of mortal sin throughout the Easter season is a just cause to fulfill the Easter obligation at another time during the year.

"Just cause" is a term of art that indicates that the timing of the fulfillment of the obligation is not grave matter. The obligation itself may be grave matter, but the fact that only a just cause–as opposed to a grave cause–is needed to alter the timing shows that the timing is not itself grave. Consequently, there would not be a new grave sin if one failed to repent and receive Communion during the Easter season. There would only be the state of grave sin one is already in.

Even though there would not be a new grave sin by fulfilling one’s Easter duty later in the year, this is no excuse to keep living in an objectively sinful situation. The thing to do is to stop conjugal relations immediately, stop cohabiting as soon as possible, go to confession, and fulfill one’s Easter obligation in the Easter season (which, for purposes of the obligation, runs from Ash Wednesday to Trinity Sunday here in America).

Hope that helps. I encourage you to continue to respond to God’s grace and to get these matters taken care of now, and I encourage other readers to pray for you and your girlfriend.

God bless!

20

Cohabitation & Easter Duty

A reader writes:

The Catechism states that we should accept the Eucharist at least once a year, especially during Easter.  I am a practicing Catholic, but have not presented myself for the Eucharist for the last 8 months, since I moved in with my girlfriend.  I entered into this situation out of convenience and without knowledge of the severity of this sin.  On going to confession, I learned that I cannot be forgiven for this sin until the situation is resolved.  My confessor explained the sin of scandal, and that even removing sexual intercourse from the situation, by presenting myself for the Eucharist, I could influence another to enter into the same sin.  I am writing to find out if I should continue to refrain from receiving the Eucharist until I have resolved the problem or if I should make an exception and present myself to receive the Holy Sacrament during the Easter Season after confessing my other sins as the Catechism appears to suggest.

I know that my situation is dangerous and want to come to some solution, but for many reasons, mostly, obviously my own unwillingness or fear of standing up for what I know to be right, have not been able to.  I long to receive Christ in Communion, and hope that I come back to full participation in the Church as soon as possible.

Do you have any guidance concerning the Catechism’s statement concerning this and also concerning how to handle my cohabitation situation?

Okay, there are several issues here:

First, I want to compliment you for asking the question. This shows that God is working in your heart and that you are responding to his grace.

Second, what you need to do immediately is stop conjugal relations with your girlfriend (if you have not already done so).

Third, what you need to do is stop cohabiting with your girlfriend unless and until such time as you are validly married in the Catholic Church or with a dispensation for a non-Catholic wedding.

Fourth, you cannot confess your other sins and be validly absolved. One must repent of all of one’s mortal sins and, to the best of one’s ability, confess all of them for the absolution to be valid. Otherwise it is a sacrilege against the sacrament of penance.

Fifth, I’m not 100% convinced of what your confessor said about scandal. The reason is not that scandal in such matters isn’t a grave sin. It is that for scandal to exist there has to be a knowledge of the scandal by others and a likelihood that those individuals will be drawn into sin as a result of their knowledge. I don’t know whether there are such individuals in your case. If there are, your confessor is right.

Sixth, the Easter Duty is not an absolute. According to the Code of Canon Law:

Canon  920

§1. After being initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, each of the faithful is obliged to receive holy communion at least once a year.

§2. This precept must be fulfilled during the Easter season unless it is fulfilled for a just cause at another time during the year.

Being in a state of mortal sin throughout the Easter season is a just cause to fulfill the Easter obligation at another time during the year.

"Just cause" is a term of art that indicates that the timing of the fulfillment of the obligation is not grave matter. The obligation itself may be grave matter, but the fact that only a just cause–as opposed to a grave cause–is needed to alter the timing shows that the timing is not itself grave. Consequently, there would not be a new grave sin if one failed to repent and receive Communion during the Easter season. There would only be the state of grave sin one is already in.

Even though there would not be a new grave sin by fulfilling one’s Easter duty later in the year, this is no excuse to keep living in an objectively sinful situation. The thing to do is to stop conjugal relations immediately, stop cohabiting as soon as possible, go to confession, and fulfill one’s Easter obligation in the Easter season (which, for purposes of the obligation, runs from Ash Wednesday to Trinity Sunday here in America).

Hope that helps. I encourage you to continue to respond to God’s grace and to get these matters taken care of now, and I encourage other readers to pray for you and your girlfriend.

God bless!

20

International Regulation Of The Internet?

Guest blog from guestblogger <Rule #15 Suspension>Tim Robles</Rule #15 Suspension>:

A couple of days ago, I heard a news report on the radio (Fox News) about the recent elections in the Ukraine. A youth who demonstrated there said that The United States Policy of "Spreading Democracy" and in general, freedom, was an inspiration to their cause. The youth also noted that the internet played a large part in their ability to spread the word of their cause. He warned "…just wait and see what happens in Russia next").

This new found strength and use of the internet can be also found in Lebanon where the people there have had enough. The use of the internet to spread the word I’ll bet can also be found there as a major tool. In China the faith is spread there….you guessed it through the internet. I personally know of an elderly gentleman of Korean decent who sneaks into North Korea to pastor a church there. He communicates via…..once again … the internet.

It’s typical for many people to pour themselves that morning cup of coffee, and instead of opening up that newspaper (…the only time I open a newspaper now-a-days is to line the bird cage. My bird has a preference for the Los Angles Times Editorial page) we check one of our favorite Blogs or news wires on the internet. News is instantaneous today. If we want to converse with a friend or an acquaintance, whether local or on the other side of the world, we can text message or login to one of our favorite Forums (CA Forums are the best!) We can talk about anything under the sun, from religion to politics. My sending this thought to share with you and others (…possibly) is a good example of one of the freedoms we enjoy, without much thought on a day to day bases.

Enter the Dragon: China now thinks that where should be some controls on that freedom and it wants it controlled by the United Nations. One can imagine the "Internet Control Committee (…ICC for short) comprising of Syria, Iran, Congo, Russia and headed by China.

Your thoughts?

My thoughts?

It’s our Internet. We developed it. We bought it. We paid for it. We’re keeping it.

If others don’t like it, they can go develop their own Internets.

The China angle just shows that the much-vaunted Great Information Wall of China (whatever they call it) is cracking.

GET THE STORY.

Greek: Ancient & Modern

A reader writes:

I’ve made a strong commitment to learn to read and write New Testament(Koine) Greek.  I also want to learn to speak Modern Greek because it seems that is the most useful to know of the variations.

What I’m unsure about is if I can learn to read Koine Greek but learn to speak Modern Greek without there being a conflict of understanding.

I’m willing to work very hard and desire learn as quick as possible, but don’t I know the best methods to learn.  How would you suggest to go about learning to read Koine Greek and speaking Modern Greek, assuming that they don’t conflict in that way.

Anything else that you think I would need to know please let me know.  I know you’re very busy and would greatly appreciate your help in this matter.  Thank you so much.

My standard recommend for learning New Testament Greek is Bill Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek (including the workbook). Best set out there. Lots of good ancillary study materials in the same line of books. Only major flaw is Mounce is too heavy on morphology.

For starting to learn Modern Greek, I recommend Pimsleur’s Greek set. (I only say starting because they only have 30 lessons in Modern Greek, so you have to switch to something else after that, but it’s still the best way to start studying it.)

Thing is, though: I wouldn’t recommend learning them at the same time. There are significant differences between the two dialects. Not only is the pronunciation quite different, the grammar is different, too. For example, modern Greek has no dative case (except in a few isolated expressions).

Learning one dialect will help you learn the other, but only in sequence. Try to learn both at once and it’ll be too confusing.

Greek: Ancient & Modern

A reader writes:

I’ve made a strong commitment to learn to read and write New Testament(Koine) Greek.  I also want to learn to speak Modern Greek because it seems that is the most useful to know of the variations.

What I’m unsure about is if I can learn to read Koine Greek but learn to speak Modern Greek without there being a conflict of understanding.

I’m willing to work very hard and desire learn as quick as possible, but don’t I know the best methods to learn.  How would you suggest to go about learning to read Koine Greek and speaking Modern Greek, assuming that they don’t conflict in that way.

Anything else that you think I would need to know please let me know.  I know you’re very busy and would greatly appreciate your help in this matter.  Thank you so much.

My standard recommend for learning New Testament Greek is Bill Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek (including the workbook). Best set out there. Lots of good ancillary study materials in the same line of books. Only major flaw is Mounce is too heavy on morphology.

For starting to learn Modern Greek, I recommend Pimsleur’s Greek set. (I only say starting because they only have 30 lessons in Modern Greek, so you have to switch to something else after that, but it’s still the best way to start studying it.)

Thing is, though: I wouldn’t recommend learning them at the same time. There are significant differences between the two dialects. Not only is the pronunciation quite different, the grammar is different, too. For example, modern Greek has no dative case (except in a few isolated expressions).

Learning one dialect will help you learn the other, but only in sequence. Try to learn both at once and it’ll be too confusing.

Bat Ye'or On Bill O'Reilly?

WHOA!

Powerline is reporting that Bat Ye’or is going to be on Bill O’Reilly tonight!

What is "Bat Ye’or"? The pseudonym of a Jewish woman from Egypt. Hence "Bat Ye’or" means "Daughter of the Nile" (in Hebrew).

Why does Bat Ye’or use a pen name? Because she is the foremost scholar of dhimmitude.

What is dhimmitude? The condition of  the dhimmi (THEM-ee), the "protected" non-Muslim peoples in Muslim society (e.g., Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians), whereby they are allowed not to be given the choice of convert-or-die as long as they pay special taxes Muslims don’t have to pay and live in subjugation to Muslims.

Who is Bill O’Reilly? Y’know . . . "the crabby man."

I’m amazed at Bat Ye’or going on TV. I was surprised before when I heard she was doing a public talk. Putting her face on international television is a whole ‘nuther deal! God protect her!

Bat Ye’or On Bill O’Reilly?

WHOA!

Powerline is reporting that Bat Ye’or is going to be on Bill O’Reilly tonight!

What is "Bat Ye’or"? The pseudonym of a Jewish woman from Egypt. Hence "Bat Ye’or" means "Daughter of the Nile" (in Hebrew).

Why does Bat Ye’or use a pen name? Because she is the foremost scholar of dhimmitude.

What is dhimmitude? The condition of  the dhimmi (THEM-ee), the "protected" non-Muslim peoples in Muslim society (e.g., Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians), whereby they are allowed not to be given the choice of convert-or-die as long as they pay special taxes Muslims don’t have to pay and live in subjugation to Muslims.

Who is Bill O’Reilly? Y’know . . . "the crabby man."

I’m amazed at Bat Ye’or going on TV. I was surprised before when I heard she was doing a public talk. Putting her face on international television is a whole ‘nuther deal! God protect her!

No B5 Movie . . . For Now

B5 J. Michael Straczynski has been hinting for some time that there was a Babylon 5 movie in the offing, titled Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows.

Rumors emerged earlier this year that he was having problems with Warner Brothers over the casting of the movie. Some roles (such as Technomage Galen) were apparently under pressure to be cast with different (and more popular) actors.

Now JMS tells us that the movie deal is off . . . for now. And that he can’t use the script he wrote for it should a movie deal be revived with someone else. (Makes me glad that he, apparently, didn’t tell the story of the Telepath Crisis–as I was hoping–in this script).

JMS writes:

The rule of thumb in Hollywood is that for every thousand scripts that get written, only a few dozen get into development, and out of those, only one will ever get made…if that.

A little over a year ago, I was approached by a company that wanted to make a Babylon 5 movie. They optioned the rights, and commissioned a script. (It’s worth mentioning that I, not WB, own the rights to a B5 movie. When we were negotiating the original B5 deal — by whose terms I will never see a dime in profit — the one thing they did let me have were the movie rights, figuring they’d never be worth anything in the long run.)

Anyway…on December 27th of 2003, the script for "The Memory of Shadows" was turned in, and the process began of trying to make the deal work with all the various forces involved. It is, to say the least, a very difficult process on any movie where the studio does not directly take the financial reins. In terms of B5, Warner’s position was esssentially, "We only do big-budget movies with big names, so you’re on your own." If there were big-name movie actors in the film, they’d get behind it; without that, things become very problematic, especially as far as the financing was concerned. You much have to put together a consortium of international interests and business plans rivaled in complexity only by the Allied invasion of Normandy Beach.

Nonetheless, every attempt was made by the people involved to get this deal in place. This was not being done by Doug or myself, but rather by the company/individuals who approached us and optioned the rights. At times, it seemed we were inches away from a deal…stages were reserved at Elstree, actors were contacted, a director was in place, the script went through many revisions, a few key staff were hired, again not by me…it was really a year-long roller coaster ride. During that time, the people involved, with every good intention, tried very hard to pull the necessary pieces together on the deal. The option expired in late December 2004, but I renewed it without cost, to give those involved more time to try and make things work.

In the end, however, the deal could be put together, and it did not look as if that was going to change at any point in the foreseeable future. So the option has reverted, and to all intents and purposes, the project has dead ended. Nor do I think this particular incarnation will arise again at any point in the future, though prognostication has always been a tricky art, especially if you have to do it without the benefit of hindsight.

This was not the first time someone’s taken a run at a B5 feature film, and it will not be the last. Eventually it will happen, because such things are simply inevitable. If they can do a Brady Bunch movie, you can be sure that sooner or later, somebody’s going to do a B5 movie. The only thing I can say without equivocation is that when that day comes, as the rights-holder, I will make darned sure that it’s done right, because I’d rather have no B5 movie than one that doesn’t live up to what fans and I myself would want to see.

To that end…I can wait.

Anyway, just thought you should know the story.

jms

[SOURCE.]

More Retroviruses Jump From Monkeys To Humans

Scientists have found more retroviruses (the class of viruses to which AIDS, among others, belongs) that have jumped from monkeys to humans.

THIS IS A SCARY THINGS THAT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.

MORE THAN ONCE.

What I find interesting about an article reporting the fact that more retroviruses have made the jump is this remark:

"What’s increasingly clear is that the hunting and butchering of non-human primates is associated with the transmission of retroviruses to humans," says Nathan Wolfe, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, US, who led the study.

No, duh!

We’ve been luck so far that the viruses that have jumped either haven’t been very harmful or haven’t been transmissible by casual contact. If we got something as deadly as AIDS that could be spread as easily as a cold, we’d be in serious, serious trouble.

Of course, if it could spread that easily in us, it’d probably spread that easily in monkeys, but you never know. It could mutate.

In any event, monkeys and apes are just too close to us genetically for us to be hunting them and eating their meat. Their DNA is too much like our DNA. Their diseases (including SIV/HIV) have just too great a likelihood of infecting us.

For an American, I’m adventurous in what I’ll eat (Durian fruit? No problem! I like the taste of burning rubber. Raw squid? Love the stuff! Ika sushi is a favorite!), but I wouldn’t eat monkey meat if you paid me. Don’t know what human-transmissible virus (including HIV) might be lurking in it!

So how to we get the bushmeat industry SHUT DOWN?

GET THE (SCARY) STORY.