Author: Michelle Arnold

Mary, Did You Know?

Weyden18_1 Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Will one day rule the nations?

Did you know, that your baby boy
Was Heaven’s perfect Lamb?
And this sleeping Child you’re holding
Is the Great I AM

From the song Mary, Did You Know?, lyrics by Mark Lowry

Okay…

Tim J here.

I know a lot of people like this song, especially at this time of year, and I am NOT trying to get anyone all twisted up about it, but I have to get something off my chest…

Every time I hear this song, I want to stand up and holler "YES, Mary knew! If ANYONE knew, she did!!"

In my mind, the song conjures up an image of Mary as a nonplussed and naive young girl, caught up in events she can’t comprehend or control. This is not surprising, since the song was written by a Protestant Evangelical and this is the prevailing view of Mary among Protestants.

But, consider this from the first chapter of Luke’s gospel:

And Mary said:
   "My soul glorifies the Lord
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
      of the humble state of his servant.
   From now on all generations will call me blessed,
    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
      holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
      remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers."

Now, even if I didn’t believe that Mary was born without sin, after reading her Magnificat, I would begin to suspect that this was no ordinary little Jewish girl. She was perhaps 16 (give or take a year or two) at the time. How many sixteen-year-olds do you know who would put together a psalm of praise like that? Mary’s Magnificat demonstrates that she not only knew who Jesus was, but what he meant to the nation of Israel and to the world.

Consider what the angel told her, also from Luke 1:

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

But Mary had not just been told who Jesus was, she had direct experience of who he was, having been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit at his conception. She knew! Boy, did she know!

Now, I am not saying this is a bad song, or that Catholics shouldn’t listen to it. I do, however, want to invite those who hear it to consider that Mary DID know precisely who Jesus was. The next time you hear Mary, Did You Know?, go and read the first chapter of Luke, and give thanks for all that God has done for us through our Blessed Mother.

Oh, and pray a Rosary!

Monkey Bild-ness

Drcornelius I had to do a quick post on THIS STORY out of Switzerland, via an Australian news service.

Seems that art expert Katja Schneider (ALERT: Tim’s first rule of Life in the Real World – "EXPERTS GROW ON TREES") of the State Art Museum of Moritzburg in Saxony-Anhalt (everyone got that located on their globe, now?) had pegged the artwork of a local chimp as that of the famous (??) painter Ernst Wilhelm Nay.

He really is famous. Honest! He won a Guggenheim prize, and everything, so you can be assured that he is a GENIUS.

According to the article;

"The canvas was actually the work of Banghi, a 31-year-old female chimp at the local zoo.

While Banghi likes to paint, she is not able to build up much of a body of work as her mate Satscho generally destroys her paintings before they can get to the gallery."

See? Even in the animal world, creative types are misunderstood and oppressed.

Now, animal "art" is  nothing new, but this expert got caught in a big faux-pas, and it must be explained in some way.

There can really only be two explanations: Either chimps are under-appreciated as creative artists, or a lot of modern "art" is meaningless garbage.

Which way do you think the art community will split on THIS one?

Can we look forward to a major retrospective of Banghi’s surviving works?

GET THE STORY.

Equal Choice

Dragontail_1 Some indication from the L.A. Times that the absurdities of "choice" are beginning to be understood, even by some of those who support it.

What the writer of the article, Meghan Daum,  is trying to figure out is – in these days of absolute equality in everything, for everybody – why should killing your unborn children be the exclusive purvue of women? Shouldn’t men have "choice" too? What is sauce for the goose…

She does an admirable job of beginning to lay out objections to this proposal, and finds none that hold water. All objections to the idea of a man having the right to terminate his child in utero (or at least legally terminate his parental responsibilities) also apply to women.

From the article:

"The way the law is now, a man who gets a woman pregnant is not only powerless to force her to terminate the pregnancy, he also has a complete legal obligation to support that child for at least 18 years.

In other words, although women are able to take control of their futures by choosing from at least a small range of options — abortion, adoption or keeping the child — a man can be forced to be a father to a child he never wanted and cannot financially support. I even know of cases in which the woman absolves the man of responsibility, only to have the courts demand payment anyway. That takes the notion of "choice" very far from anything resembling equality."

So the liberal dragon has again turned on itself and bitten it’s own tail. What is being suggested would require, not just spousal notification for an abortion, but the legal permission of any male sex partner, be he spouse, boyfriend or the guy you hooked up with one weekend.

I only hope the new thinking being manifested on the far left will result in a continued disillusionment about abortion and it’s supposed benefits. If not, and this warped logic is followed to it’s conclusion, we can expect more abortions, rather than fewer.

Thanks to Eric Scheske (The Daily Eudemon) for the link.

GET THE STORY.

New Improved Carnivore

Catcreature_1Automatic cameras have captured photos of the first new carnivore found on the island of Borneo since the Borneo Ferret-Badger was discovered over a hundred years ago.

Really!

According to Dutch biologist Stephan Wulffrat;

"We have consulted several Bornean wildlife experts. Some thought it looked like a lemur, but most were convinced it was a new species of carnivore…"

Now, biologists are discovering new species all the time. Not new like "fresh-out-of-the-box" new, but more like "previously unknown to us"-type new. New carnivores are comparatively rare, though.

What struck me is how much it resembles the dreaded Chupacabra!

GET THE STORY.

All the Right Enemies

Johnpauliiwave_1Not surprisingly, a group of Catholic dissidents has bravely united to offer opposition to the beatification of John Paul II.

According to the Catholic World News article, the group includes "11 theologians and one journalist from Europe and Latin America". Apparently, the group tried to enlist Hans Kung, but he didn’t bite.

We Are Church "has not taken a public stance" on JPII’s beatification, but earlier noted that his pontificate was "full of contradictions".

Let’s look at the list of problems the group saw with the JPII’s pontificate:

"1. the "repression and marginalization" of controversial theologians;
2. the movement away from collegiality in Church governance;
3. the unwillingness to engage in "real and serious debate about the status of women in the Roman Catholic Church;"
4. the opposition to "a reconsideration– in the light of the Gospel,
science, and history– of certain norms of sexual ethics;"
5. the adherence to the discipline of clerical celibacy–which, the
statement said, continues despite the evidence that many priests in
some geographical regions live with women, and the sexual abuse of
children in other regions;
6. the lack of control over Church financial institutions, leading to the banking scandals of the 1980s;
7. the "ecclesial isolation" of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the failure to support the theology of liberation in Latin America."

Gee, they talk about repression and marginalization like its a bad thing. This looks like a list of recommendations, to me. Not that there couldn’t be some legitimate gripes about JPII, but overall, if this is the opposition, he must have been doing something right.

GET THE STORY.

Student’s Altar Call Rankles ACLU Prigs

Altarcall_1Agapé Press notes that the Arkansas chapter of the ACLU is freaking out over a student-initiated "altar call" at Jonesboro High School’s graduation ceremony last May.

For you cradle Catholics, an altar call is the point in many
evangelical church services (usually at the end) where those who have
not yet come to "know Jesus" are invited to "ask him into their heart".
They are normally encouraged to pray the "sinner’s prayer" and accept
Jesus as "Lord and Savior".

I spent alot of time in Jonesboro (or Jome-ber) during my formative years. As a high-school student in tiny Black Rock, Arkansas, Jonesboro was where we took our dates to the movies. Later, I attended Arkansas State University, which is located in Jonesboro.

Catholics don’t "do" altar calls, and as a Catholic, a surprise altar call is not something I would expect at a graduation ceremony. Given Jonesboro’s location smack in the middle of the Bible Belt, though, I would not be that surprised, either. I certainly wouldn’t be offended. The young woman giving the speech, Jessica Reed, was voicing her own views about life, having been invited to do so by virtue of her standing at the head of her class.

According to the article, the ACLU is, oddly, accusing her of violating the first amendment. Now, I’m no lawyer, but it would seem to me that it would be a violation of her first amendment rights if the school were to vet her comments or censor her speech, unless it were for obscenity. It is settled law that schools can’t censor student newspapers in the same way.

One observer notes that-

"…the ACLU is
frantically searching for a plaintiff in Jonesboro in hopes of suing
the school for an alleged unconstitutional endorsement of religion, but
has yet to find one.".

I would think that, whether or not you see eye-to-eye with Jessica Reed on the subject of Eternal Salvation, her comments would at least provide an opportunity to talk with your kid about the meaning of life. It would be what they call a "teachable moment", whether you were pro- or anti-altar call. Or does the ACLU expect everyone to accept the twisted notion that people just shouldn’t discuss such things?

I thought that one of the benefits of our advanced, industrialized society was that we would all have more time to think about and discuss such things. I thought our increased leisure was supposed to be dedicated to higher pursuits, like sharing ideas about the meaning of life. 

This Catholic supports Jessica Reed’s right to free speech.

When the subject comes up, I always tell my kids the same thing: asking Jesus into our hearts is a good thing, and it is important that we do it every day.

Being Catholics, though, we believe the invitation runs both ways. Even as we ask Jesus to dwell in our hearts, we are invited to take refuge in his Sacred Heart.

GET THE STORY.

Right now…

Don’t put it off…

Just stand up wherever you are… that’s right… come right on up front and GET THE STORY.

I’m going to ask the piano player to just keep playing quietly…

Picture Puzzler Revealed!

Mysteryproduct_1Okay…

Time to let everyone off the hook on the mystery cube, though I’m afraid your combox speculations may be more entertaining than my original thought.

Gene Branaman’s comment only served to remind me that I am not running in the right artsy social circles. If, during my art career, I had payed more attention to strategic shmoozing, I might indeed be able to display my cube of meat on a marble pedastal in some urban gallery and probably make several thousand dollars on the thing.

I found Jimmy’s observation about the "greenish stripe" a little unsettling, as my family had already cooked and eaten the cube in question. I think it is a result, though, of a phenomenon we artists call "simultaneous color contrast". The "stripe" is actually grayish, but in contrast to the surrounding reddish color, appears green-ish.

I sure hope so, anyway.

What you have all been looking at is what I like to call (for want of a better name) Tur-Fu!

It is processed turkey meat, carefully formed into the approximate shape of a block of Tofu. I am hoping to market this to people who… umm… don’t like, or who may be allergic, to tofu.

Problem is, ground turkey tastes pretty good (we made chili), which is a characteristic not generally found in tofu. I have been trying to think of a way to extract all the flavor out of the turkey, so that it tastes more like styrofoam.

Or air.

Oh, well. I will keep trying.

I know that this won’t be everyone’s cup of Earl Grey, but I am just trying to provide alternatives, here. 

I do want to reassure everyone that no soybeans were harmed in the making of this post!

US Troops Beg to Differ

SoldiersThe Christian Science Monitor runs THIS article, in which American service-people in Iraq voice their perplexity at the gloom-and-doom coverage of the war.

While hardly a unique piece, it should be read by everyone with an interest in the U.S. mission in Iraq.

The current national debate is not actually about the Iraq war in particular, so much as it is about whether America has the stomach to really finish anything she starts. It is far more a test of our national attention span than a debate over the merits of the current conflict. We are the ADHD nation, the MTV nation. The truth is, many of us are just tired of hearing about the war.

GET THE STORY.

There seems to be a new understanding about what constitutes a Good War, if not a just one. Many, seemingly, will support a war in theory, but only if it meets the following requirements:

  • Victory must be assured (victory being understood as universal approval from our both our allies and our enemies).
  • There must be guarantees that no civilians will be harmed. Failure to achieve this makes the U.S. guilty of war crimes.
  • There must be no U.S. troop casualties. Any loss of U.S. personnel will be taken as a sign that Things are Going Badly. Only bad guys should be harmed.
  • We must know exactly how long the conflict will take. We are a busy people.
  • There should be a clearly set spending limit. Any overage will deducted from the next war.
  • We reserve the right to Change our Mind in the middle of any conflict. We consider that the above rules are binding, just not on us.

I am thinking of printing the following bumper sticker, a real morale-booster from the far left:

To Our Troops: We Support You!… even though we believe your mission is pointless and possibly evil. We hope you are home soon, you poor saps!

BIG RED DISCLAIMER: This post was NOT written by Jimmy Akin, but by me, Tim Jones, a guest poster. Combox flames should be directed solely at me, Tim Jones. Thank You.

A One Way Ticket to Cambodia, Please…

KillingfieldsHolland is the country of choice for tourists who want to smoke pot, shoot-up or patronize Amsterdam’s infamous red-light district.
Thailand is apparently a favorite of those interested in sex with children, along with a handful of other third-world nations along the pacific rim, including Cambodia.

Now Cambodia may be adding another category to the lexicon of sin-tourism: suicide travel.

See, apparently 57-year-old Roger Graham (from California – not that there’s anything wrong with that!) is encouraging people to come to Cambodia to kill themselves, as he has discovered that the nation has no laws regarding either assisted suicide or euthanasia. Most of its citizens have long been preoccupied with staying alive, and the whole assisted suicide debate hasn’t really shown up on the radar, yet.

He has a website, though it has been shut down once by the Cambodian government. They are not at all sure that they want their country to be known as a great place to shuffle off this mortal coil, but as yet they have found no legal mechanism to restrict Mr. Graham’s activities.

Chances are that if there is money to be made, little will be done to stop the suicide trade, even if the Cambodian government decides to outlaw the practice. Corruption is a national hobby.

Mr. Graham, who runs a coffee shop and internet cafe, says of his adopted hometown:

"Kampot is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I get to
see the sun rise and the sun set. I get people coming by and saying
hello with smiling and happy faces."

I could say the same thing about Rogers, Arkansas (where I live), but suicide is illegal here, and incurs stiff penalties (heh). If I am dead, though, what do I care about that? Why fly to Cambodia to avoid having the authorities prosecute my corpse?

I guess most of these folks are looking to be done in by a competent professional. It’s more comforting if you have someone there beside you, even if you are paying them.

Euthanasia proponents will no doubt use the situation as a justification for legalizing assisted suicide – "Look, because we are making criminals of these people, they feel it necessary to fly overseas and have the procedure done by unlicensed practitioners. If we make it legal here, the whole industry can be properly regulated (and taxed!). It is a matter of personal choice, and should be kept between a patient and their doctor. It also falls under the right of privacy secretly encoded in the U.S. constitution.".

If the same voodoo worked to justify abortion, there is nothing to stop it being used to legalize suicide, unless the balance of the Supreme Court tips in favor of life.

GET THE STORY.