Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Our Lady of the Parkway

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Most of the content in Pittsburgh City Paper is a bit raw, but this article is interesting and respectful.

Mass Transit

My office looks out over I-376 to the hill next to Bates Street. During the winter, I noticed wooden crosses and a white sculpture that looked like the Virgin Mary on the hillside. What is it?

Question submitted by: Vivienne Marshall, Glenshaw

Writer: CHRIS POTTER

You are not the first to have a vision of the Virgin Mary on that spot, though in its long history of religious visionaries, you may be among the few to identify a two-foot-tall statue from across a six-lane highway.

Talk Soup

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Since I’ve been listening to quite a bit of Marty
Minto lately, I decided to search Google for at-large opinions about him. He
doesn’t seem to make much of a splash in the blogosphere (not surprising, since
his broadcast is local to Pittsburgh), but I did find the following.

Talking
the Talk, Driving the Drive
Why I unprogrammed WORD-FM from my car radio

There are two kinds of people one should never argue with. The first is drunks. There’s no point in arguing with a drunk. As a paramedic, I found that it was often better to confuse them into doing what I wanted, or jujst call the cops to cuff the intox so that the intox had to do as instructed. The second kind of people one should never argue with are talk-show hosts. They have the control: the off switch.

I have to agree with this blogger that “Unfortunately, it would seem that Mr.
Minto has trapped in the materialist culture.” However, I disagree that teachings
against homosexuality are “based on some New Testament verses that actually
refer to pedophiles, not homosexuals.”

The post is a mix of points I agree and disagree with, but it’s interesting to me
as another viewpoint on Pittsburgh’s loudest Christian.

Saved

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I forgot to mention something yesterday. Marty Minto‘s been on a bit of an anti-Catholic tirade for the last week. One of his listeners wrote in to ask if anyone who truly loved Jesus could go to Hell, even Catholics. I sent the following as part of an email to him during his broadcast.

“I was saved when Christ died for man’s sins.

I am being saved as I attempt carry my cross daily.

I hope to be saved when I face final judgment.

I love Jesus. He is my Lord and Savior. I know you feel the same way. We should work with each other, not against each other.”

He responded by saying he doesn’t think I’m saved! He said that those who are truly born again in the Spirit have assurance of salvation and to think otherwise suggests a lack of rebirth. I sent the following as a rebuttal, but he didn’t respond to all of it on-air.

Paul spoke of running a race (1 Cor 9:24), working out salvation with fear trembling (Phil 2:12), and completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions (Col 1:24). Obviously, endurance is called for.

When I say that I was saved, I mean that Christ’s sacrificial act redeemed mankind. Through baptism by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are buried with Christ and are entitled to rise with Him. Salvation is a gift. In order to be saved, however, we must actively accept that gift. Furthermore, that gift is not irrevocable. If we accept Christ one day and reject Him the next, we cannot possibly expect to be saved.

When I say that I am being saved, I mean that every day is a struggle and I know I can be led astray, lose hope, and lose faith.

When I say that I hope to be saved at the last judgment, I mean that I hope to persevere in Christ until the day I die. I pray that I will be counted among the sheep, rather than the goats. Not all who say “Lord, Lord” shall be allowed into the wedding banquet of Heaven.” I pray to be one who is.

Do I have any Evangelical Protestant readers who’d like to comment on this exchange? Anybody of any denomination want to chime in? What part of what I said is incompatible with “mere” Christianity (c.f. C.S. Lewis)?

Scrollin’, Scrollin’, Scrollin’

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Marty Minto‘s really
been plugging this exhibit. It seemed interesting, but I hesitated to blog it due
to some implicit Evangelical Protestant bias. However, Pittsburgh Catholic seems
to think it’s a good thing, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Dead Sea
Scrolls ‘fragments’ on exhibit
Tour includes other ancient biblical texts drawn from private collections

A remarkable array of ancient and antique biblical texts, including four fragments
of the Dead Sea Scrolls, will be on exhibit at the Monroeville ExpoMart from Friday
through June 20.

Fragments
of Dead Sea Scrolls on view at ExpoMart

Documents written 5,000 years ago sit a mere arms-length away. Peruse a copy of
temple-era biblical scrolls or skim through a page of the Guttenburg Bible.

Dead
Sea Scrolls exhibit emphasizes Bible history

Early colonial printers in Philadelphia played a key role in Bible history in this
country when they produced the first Bible in English in America in 1782, followed
eight years later by the first Catholic Bible. The city�s printers also produced
the first Hebrew Bible.

On a related note:

Local
museum boasts rare finds

Buried in the basement of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Highland Park is a
small archaeological treasure: The James L. Kelso Bible Lands Museum.

What’s to Debate?

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Pa.
House delays vote on same-sex marriage
Critics of bill cite difficulties it could cause seniors, heirs
Thursday, May 27, 2004
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

“HARRISBURG — After nearly two hours of emotional debate on legislation to prohibit
same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania, state House members decided they weren’t ready
to take a stand on the hot topic, and put off a vote until after the Nov. 2 election.”

I’m really at a loss as to why there’s even a debate in the PA legislature about
homosexual marriage. According to Title
23, Chapter 17, Section 1704, neither in- nor out-of-state homosexual marriages
are recognized, endorsed, or legal. I’m not a lawyer, nor do I know any. Perhaps
a reader can help me with this.

“It is hereby declared to be the strong and longstanding public policy of this
Commonwealth that marriage shall be between one man and one woman. A marriage between
persons of the same sex which was entered into in another state or foreign jurisdiction,
even if valid where entered into, shall be void in this Commonwealth.”