Tag Archives: Christianity

An Evangelical Catholic?

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Participation in Christ’s prophetic office

904 “Christ . . . fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy . . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith [sensus fidei] and the grace of the word”438

To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer.439

905 Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.” For lay people, “this evangelization . . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.”440

This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful.441

906 Lay people who are capable and trained may also collaborate in catechetical formation, in teaching the sacred sciences, and in use of the communications media.442

907 “In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”443


438 LG 35.
439 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh. III,71,4 ad 3.
440 LG 35 � 1, � 2.
441 AA 6 � 3; cf. AG 15.
442 Cf. CIC, cann. 229; 774; 776; 780; 823 � 1.
443 CIC, can. 212 � 3.

I suppose, as a faithful Catholic Christian who blogs, the above could serve as my misson statement.

It is my intention to “teach in order to lead others to faith” by being always “on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful” through the “use of the communications media”. I also act knowing that I “have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”

In some sense, then, my mission makes me an evangelical. That’s the only way I can justify my presence in the Church Directory, an Evangelical blogroll.

“As the blogosphere matures it�s influence will continue to expand. It will continue to shape ideas, set political agendas, and shape culture. Christians who believe that a Biblical worldview has something important to add to the conversation cannot afford to ignore this medium. But that is what much of the church will likely do � at least until the blogosphere begins to have the same impact on society as the universities or the film industry. Then we will be rolling out the trebuchets for another cultural war siege.”

“But evangelicals are already within the walls. By simply coordinating our efforts we can soon become a force that won�t be easily ignored. To do so, however, we must set aside both envy and false piety. We must set aside petty jealousy when someone else�s blog has more links or gets more traffic. And we must also reject the simplistic notion that we should not strive to gain recognition for our blogging efforts. Our work should be pursued with godly ambition, helping others as we form a genuine community.”

“To be successful in this effort will require that we band together and help others whether their blogs are more popular or completely unknown. We need to link to and visit each other�s blogs, provide encouragement, and praise excellence and quality wherever it is found. Evangelicals can have a profound impact on society and culture. But first we must ‘buy a ticket [out of the Evangelical ghetto].'”

I am honored to have made the list and I hope that through it I can be help to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the blogosphere.

Carnivals 01/21/05

The
13th Catholic Carnival is up at A Penitent Blogger
. The post-hoc theme is “Death,
Sacrifice, and Life”.
The 53rd Christian Carnival is up at Sidesspot
. Several of the posts address the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The proprietor, Mark, has the
flu, so the carnival is very late in posting. Be sure to make it worth his while
by visiting. The
first Vox Apologia is up at
Every
Thought Captive
. The theme is based on the question “What does apologetics
mean to today’s Christian church?”

Go check them out!

No Accounting For Taste

Rand, of A Pattern of Sound Works, has posted a scathing criticism of C.S. Lewis,
one of my favorite authors and someone partially responsible for my return to faith. NOTA BENE: The following fisk is not personal. Rand comments a lot at Christian Conservative and seems to be a nice guy. From what I’ve seen, he comments intelligently and politely. He’s just kinda off his nut about Lewis. 😉

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Not Quite an Emmy, a Grammy, a Tony, or even a Bloggie

A Warnie?Adrian Warnock, a prominent God-blogger, is seeking to shed some much-deserved light on some little-known blogs.

I have often thought that prominent bloggers have a responsibility to help deserving bloggers from what is often called the "tail" get there share of the limelight….

Today I announce my latest iniative to give a little back "the warnies". i will issue a warnie whenever i feel that a particular blog or blogpost is worthy of special honor. Entrys should be via email and since this is a totally subjective competition judged by me a link to my site on your blog is likely to have some influence on the outcome! To be honest, if you dont like my blog enough to link to it then you probably wouldnt enter for a warnie anyway!

Today, he awarded his first Warnie to Dr. John Mark Reynolds.

Covering the war on terror, philosophy, creation, Star Trek and a host of other subjects I love it. Dr Reynolds is a professor of philosophy and I can't recommend his blog enough.

Please do mention his award on your own blog, and submit your own blog for the next "Warnie" award ceremony which will happen as and when I feel that a worthy candidate has arrived.

I've submitted my blog for consideration and anxiously await possible scraps from the master's table. 😉

Against the Grain

…as well as 2000 years of Church teaching. According to AP, "the spokesman for the Catholic Church in Spain has said it supports the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS." Well, doesn't this makes things interesting?

Church officials in Spain are attempting damage control by telling the press, "Contrary to what some have said, it is not true that the Church has changed its position on condoms." I doubt such back-peddling will make this issue go away.

I'm quite curious to see what Rome does about this little rebellion. Some will argue that a bishop has the authority to instruct the members of his diocese however he pleases, so long as he doesn't go against dogma or infallible pronouncements. This is true. Technically, the injunction against artificial contraception was not declared infallibly. However, three popes have declared such an injunction and as St. Augustine said, "Rome has spoken; the case is closed". Papal encyclicals are authoritative and the instructions therein can only be rescinded by a pope. Others will claim that while the Church speaks authoritatively against using condoms as contraceptions, She has not condemned their use to prevent the spread of AIDS and other diseases. This is flawed reasoning. Sex is intended for reproduction within marriage. Sex outside marriage is unaceptable. If people do not have sex with multiple partners, disease cannot spread. What then of babies born to infected parents? Those infected should refrain from all sexual activity and become "eunuchs for the kingdom". If the infected cease sexual activity and everyone ceases extra-marital sexual activity, the disease will not spread further. Using condoms is like covering a bleeding artery with a band-aid.

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