SDG – Page 20 – Jimmy Akin

King Of The Box Office

King Kong may have thrashed Aslan in a Google Fight, but at the box office, where it really counts, Aslan proves that he remains the King of the Beasts:

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe snatched the box office crown from King Kong during another fierce four-day holiday battle for the top spot.

"Old acquaintances met again: Less than $2 million has separated Kong and Narnia the past two weekends.

"’We edged out Kong. It’s been neck-and-neck,’" Buena Vista’s Dennis Rice said Monday. "’These are two great movies in the marketplace that are doing great business.’"

"Narnia took in an estimated $32.8 million during the Friday-through-Monday period, nudging Universal’s King Kong out of the No. 1 spot and into second with a New Year’s weekend take of $31.6 million."

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B16’s Visit To Cologne Synagogue

You may remember that during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cologne, Germany, for World Youth Day last August, he also set aside time to visit the synagogue in Cologne, which was reminiscent of John Paul II’s historic visit to Rome’s synagogue in 1986. Although the pictures were posted by a German news site at the link below in August, I recently found the link when I dropped in on a sedevacantist site that was still in a lather over the event four months later. I thought the pictures lovely and couldn’t resist posting one of my favorites here: a picture of a Jewish man wearing a commemorative yarmulke (i.e., a Jewish skullcap that looks similar to the episcopal zucchetto) that had been made in honor of Pope Benedict’s visit.

SEE THE PICTURES.

(NOTE: To better see the lettering on the yarmulke, you can click on the image to see the full-size photograph.)

De Nada

Michelle here.

My high-school Spanish is pretty sketchy, but I do know that de nada is the Spanish response to "thank you" (gracias). Literally, it means "of nothing," which would be roughly translated to the English colloquialism "It was nothing."

It seems that a good many generous Americans should consider taking up the phrase "It was nothing" rather than "You’re welcome" if and when they receive a modern thank-you note. The notes they’re receiving are often worse than having received nothing at all in response to a gift they’ve given.

"In fact, that’s what many generous Americans will receive during this season of giving: absolutely nothing in return. This time of year, when virtually everyone owes someone a thank-you, many people assume that if they open a present in the presence of the giver, no formal thank-you is required.

"Even when it comes to expensive baby shower and wedding gifts, the thank-you note increasingly is becoming the thank-you not. Putting fountain pen to ecru eggshell has just about gone the way of plunking IBM Selectric keys onto onion skin.

"It’s not just that people don’t write as many personal notes as they used to. Today, when gratitude is expressed in writing, it’s often done grudgingly, as obligation rather than art — via a casual card or e-mail with a generic, hastily scribbled message: ‘Thank you for the present.’"

GET THE STORY.

I recently read a great book on the art of thank-you notes. Among other interesting factoids, it reprinted a lovely letter that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis managed to write to President Lyndon B. Johnson within days of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. At the time I reflected that if she could set aside the enormous hardships she was suffering at the time to write what today would be considered a "gratuitous" thank-you letter (not a note), lesser excuses for failing to write thank-yous do not suffice.

GET THE BOOK.

Thou Shalt Abort?

Michelle here.

It seems to be a given of human nature that, sooner or later, the choice to break God’s law will become a commandment to break God’s law. Taking B16’s Dictatorship of Relativism as an inspiration, we might call it the Dictatorship of Choice.

Exhibit A: The European Union is on a trajectory to declaring that doctors do not have the right to refuse to provide abortions.

"Every year one in three pregnancies worldwide ends in an abortion. A total of 40 million abortions are performed each year, which means that since 1980 one billion children have not been allowed to be born. Contemplating Baby Jesus in the crib one may wonder whether the fact that there are 6.5 billion of us today instead of 7.5 billion is a human achievement or not. Some think it is, some think it is not. But why do those who consider universal legalised abortion to be a sign of progress want to force those who regard abortion as a crime to be a part of it?

"A European Union advisory panel has issued a statement saying that medical professionals are not allowed to refuse to participate in abortions. According to the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights doctors should be forced to perform abortions, even if they have conscientious objections, because the right to abort a child is an ‘international human right.’

"The Network, which consists of one expert per EU member state, assists the European Commission and the European Parliament in developing EU policy on fundamental rights. The Network wrote a 40-page opinion stressing that the right to conscientious objection is not ‘unlimited.’ The opinion was given in connection with a proposed treaty between the Vatican and Slovakia. This treaty includes a guarantee that Catholic hospitals in Slovakia will not be legally obliged to ‘perform artificial abortions, artificial or assisted fertilizations, experiments with or handling of human organs, human embryos or human sex cells, euthanasia, cloning, sterilizations, [and] acts connected with contraception.’"

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In reading through this article, my brain momentarily stuttered to a halt at the mention that there are forty million abortions every year and that one billion children have been murdered since 1980. Pro-lifers are so used to the figures of 1.5 million abortions a year and 45 million children killed since abortion was legalized that we sometimes forget that these are national figures. The figures cited by the columnist are worldwide totals.

"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne; they cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?’" (Rev. 6:9-10).

The Death Cruise

You’re a doctor who watched the Schiavo case with interest, wondering how you too can legally starve your patients to death? Well, now you can study up on how to commit murder without forfeiting your freedom while soaking up sun in the Bahamas. As a bonus, you can also earn continuing education credit — and, for all I know, perhaps write off the cruise on your taxes.

"The assisted suicide advocate [George Felos] who was Michael Schiavo’s lead attorney during the legal battles with Terri Schiavo’s parents will be heading up a ‘euthanasia cruise’ during the first week of January. Doctors and attorneys who participate in the Caribbean cruise can earn continuing education credits by learning more about the medical and legal tactics that can be employed to end patients’ lives.

"Felos will be one of two faculty members leading a program called the ‘Advance Directives/End-of-Life Care and Neurology.’ Those participating in the five-day cruise will leave January 3 for the Bahamas, according to a North County Gazette report [sic, it’s North Country].

"James Barnhill, a physician and longtime partner with Felos in advocating euthanasia, will assist in leading the courses.

"In 1998, Barnhill saw Terri for 10 minutes and told Circuit Court Judge George Greer that he believed she had no chance of recovery. That claim was later refuted by other doctors and experts on caring for incapacitated patients but Greer allowed Michael to take Terri’s life anyway."

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It’s stuff like this that make me wonder if hell is going to be a sail on a lake of fire with happy, smiling people plotting to create hell on earth–Michelle.

Setting The Standard

Pre-16 was long interested in liturgy and his book on the liturgy titled The Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger is chock-full of his great insights on the liturgy. Now as B16, Pope Benedict has recently stated that papal liturgies must set the liturgical gold standard for other liturgies to emulate.

"Pope Benedict XVI today said that papal ceremonies ‘must be exemplary liturgy for the entire world.’

"The Pope was speaking to choir of the pontifical chapel, led by director Giuseppe Liberto, after a concert in the Sistine Chapel. Speaking extemporaneously, the Pope spoke about the importance of liturgical music.

"The importance of pontifical liturgy has become more pronounced, the Pope said. He noted that ‘today, with television and radio, many people, from all parts of the world, follow the liturgy.’ Those who follow the papal ceremonies are likely to use them as a yardstick against which liturgy should be measured, the Pope said. Thus the liturgy becomes a way in which the Pope teaches the Catholic faithful, giving them a proper idea of what they should expect."

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Stargazing

Explaining God, to the extent that it is possible for humans to understand him, is not a bad thing. I think what makes the cartoon hilarious is that it captures the attitude of those theologians who do not consider themselves bound by doctrinal orthodoxy and end up trying to explain away God.

Season’s Greetings

No, I’m not wishing you "Season’s Greetings" instead of a "Merry Christmas." It turns out that the season’s greeting that many Americans prefer is "Merry Christmas." Imagine that!

"In the cultural battle over whether to use the seasonal greeting ‘Happy holidays’ or ‘Merry Christmas,’ the latter appears to be winning, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Tuesday.

"In the poll, which surveyed 1,003 adult Americans by phone, 69 percent said they prefer ‘Merry Christmas’ over ‘Happy holidays,’ which garnered 29 percent.

"Compared with the 2004 Christmas — or holiday — season, the number of people who said they use ‘Happy holidays’ has dropped 12 percentage points, from 41 percent to 29 percent."

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Santa Benedict

I love how Pope Benedict is bringing traditional papal attire back into fashion. It’s also fun seeing the confusion of the secular world, as exemplified by a comment that Michael Dubruiel heard on CNN calling the papal camauro a "Santa’s hat." Leaping on the idea of a "Santa Benedict" instead of a Santa Claus this Christmas, St. Blog’s resident parody king, the Curt Jester, has created a Christmas carol for B16:

"You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Benedict is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Benedict is coming to town
He sees you when catechizing
He knows when you’re a fake
He can only teach good not bad
So be good for Jesus’ sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Benedict is coming to town
Benedict is coming to town."

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Last year an exhibit of papal treasures came to San Diego and it was fascinating to see vestments, clothing, and jewelry of the popes. Some of it was fantastically adorned but much of it was simple, like this camauro worn by Pope Benedict. One of my favorites was a red wide-brimmed hat that belonged to Pius XII and was said to be worn by him as protection against the sun when he walked in the Vatican gardens. If papal artifacts fascinate you, too, I highly recommend the catalogue from the exhibit Saint Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes. At fifty bucks, it’s expensive, but an Aladdin’s cavern of beautiful papal art.

GET THE CATALOGUE.

READ ABOUT THE EXHIBIT.

How To Spot An Anti-Catholic

If you’re ever in doubt over whether someone who insists that he is not anti-Catholic really is anti-Catholic, drop in on his blog when a story that highlights the foibles of some Catholic is making the rounds of the blogosphere. Does he carefully note that such a story may be silly but reflects poorly only on the Catholic in question and not the Church as a whole? Or does he snatch up this handy stick and start using it to beat the Church while ignoring those Catholic bloggers who are decrying the silliness?

Case in point: When a Polish Dominican friar, not a monk as the press claimed, sought a recording of John Paul II’s heartbeat for playback at a Christmas Mass, Catholic bloggers rolled their eyes and duly noted that this was a Bad Idea. It wouldn’t have taken an Evangelical blogger much research to find the posts by Mark Shea, Amy Welborn, and JimmyAkin.org (written by yours truly). You would expect an Evangelical apologist who vigorously denies charges of anti-Catholicism to report on such posts in his coverage of the subject. At the very least you would expect him to refrain from giving the impression that all Catholics or the Church as an institution approve of such goings-on.

In the case of Evangelical apologist James White that just ain’t the case.

White not only reaches for the stick and starts swinging; but, in his eagerness to make the Church look bad, he repeats a basic error in the media report:

"Monk [sic] Seeks Recording of JPII’s Heartbeat: OK, this is just plain creepy, but then again, the listing of what Frederick had at the castle church at Wittenberg is just as creepy, just not high-tech. There is something so very non-Christian about this kind of thing you wonder how anyone with a scintilla of respect for biblical teaching could possibly find it attractive."

GET THE POST. (The quote is current as of my visit on 12/20 at 12:40 PM Pacific Time.)

Had White bothered poke around some of the major Catholic blogs, of which he has demonstrated in the past that he is a reader, he would have found out that Dominicans are friars, not monks. (Yes, Mr. White, there is a difference.) But then he would have seen that this particular news story was of an anomaly in the Catholic world, not representative of Catholicism in general, and wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun giving his own readers the impression that Catholics do not have "a scintilla of respect for biblical teaching."

Although the particular "relic" in this case — JPII’s heartbeat — is of questionable taste, authentic relics are not "creepy." Catholics appreciate them because they have much more than "a scintilla of respect for biblical teaching."

READ ABOUT THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR RELICS.