Apologetic

The Sacraments

The Eucharist: Excellent article by a recent convert here. (thankfully)
The Eucharist: John 6 (curiouser and curiouser)
Infant Baptism – excellent article by Karl Keating here. Keating is an incredible apologist and has a number of books worth reading include Catholicism and Fundamentalism.
WHY CAN’T WOMEN BE PRIESTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH? (why can’t men birth babies?)

Discipleship

Vain repetition of rote prayers and the rosary. (like memorizing scripture, going to church every week, daily devotions, Christmas every year)

Purgatory

Excellent article about the belief in Purgatory and its biblical basis. (What’t not to like?)

Priesthood

Why a celibate priesthood? Why not? Mark Shea explains.
Letting the Fly out of the Fly Bottle. Bishop Barron on the male priesthood.
All male priesthood. Female priests are feminists and feminism becomes paganism.
Why would you become a Catholic with all that institutional sex abuse? I don’t know–why do you send your kid to public school?

Canon of Sacred Scripture

Forming Sacred Scripture – excellent lecture by Eric Jenislawski who explains the history and process from which those books became Sacred Scripture. (you can’t have a sola scriptura without a scriptura)
Praying to the Saints and Praying for the Dead – read it here. (and you want me to intercede?)
You need a scriptura before you can have a sola scriptura.
Did the Church keep a lock on scripture? Vernacular Bibles before Luther.

The Church and Authority

Determining The True Church – a litmus test by Fr. Dwight Longenecker. (or create your own–although where will you go when you have a falling out with yourself?)
Protestantism and Authority – a video by Fr. Robert Barron. (Someone’s got to ref)
Calling Priests Father – another good one from Fr. Dwight Longenecker. You say tomato, I say tomato.
Scripture says – passages in the Bible that witness to the authority of the Church – Dave Armstrong, convert. It says it in the Bible Edith!
Does God want everyone to be Catholic? – Nah, I’ll just make up my own truth.
Papal infallibility – understanding ex cathedra, ex cathedra.
The limits of Papal authority – you can’t always get what you want
Algorithm for determining the One True Church – “Captain, your logic is impeccable–we are in grave danger.”

Marian Theology

Mother of God – why Mary’s role in salvation history has a lot to say about Christ’s dual nature and why it matters.
Devotions to Mary – Catholics “worship” Mary like Protestants “worship” the Bible.
St. Jerome takes apart Helvidius regarding the Perpetual Virginity of Mary. (It’s personal)
More on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary here.
Even Protestants agree on the Perpetual Virginity. (et tu zwingli)
Why what we read in the Bible isn’t the whole picture. Mark Shea explains.
Immaculate conception article explains here.

Science

Modern Science – Origins in theology
More of why science emerges with Christianity – Pantheistic, animistic, cyclic accounts of the generation of the universe do not place significance on a systematic investigation of the natural world because they point to some ultimate reality sundered from it.
The Galileo Affair – a summary of the Church’s dealings with Galileo surrounding heliocentricism. This article was written by an atheist. (Why listen to an expert when you can listen to a comedian)
Atheism in the Academy – Another article by Fr. Robert Barron
A Vatican Observatory in Arizona – (BBC) how the Church is looking for life on other planets (they will need a Trinitarian baptism to be sure) ; also see how an atheist astrophysicists named Lawrence Krauss comes off looking like a total dogmatic a**hole.
Questions regarding Evolution – common source of truth or bothersome nuisance?
Religion and Science – An interview with Vatican astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J. How can you night like this guy—a hint of nerd.
Religion and Science – How the process of each domain is exactly the same.
Religion and Science – Op-ed in LA Times by Fr. Barron
The Shroud. How a non-practicing Jew became a practicing Jew because of the ultimate Christian Relic.

Atheism

Can one be good without God? (Sure–as long as you get to define your own good!)
Oxford’s John Lennox talks about faith and science and atheism. “Faith is essential to science.” “Every scientist is a believer.” “The atheist solution is anti-scientific.” “Atheism is a hopeless faith”.
Richard Dawkins’ trinitarian faith.

Birth Control

History and its revision

The Crusades – massacre in the name of Jesus?
Children – how Christianity invented children. And you thought you did it.
Marriage – how Christianity defined marriage and how it was co opted by the toxic culture. Stay tuned for more moral decay.
The new ignorance. Another great essay by Anthony Esolen.
Why the Dark Ages weren’t so Dark – Secular article on the bias of history from the History Channel (ironically bias too). Should be a sequel Why the Enlightenment wasn’t so Light but don’t hold your breath.
Inquisition. Inquiring minds want to know.

Liturgical Calendar

Christmas Day December 25 — a recycled pagan holiday? (With only 365 days to choose from and so many pagan holidays, perhaps it was bound to be). Here.

Slavery

Magisterial failures – in which Mark Shea talks about the Church’s policy on slavery over time
A Necessary Bondage – When the Church endorsed slavery
A world of slavery – then Christianity came and messed everything up.

Worship

Images and idolatry. Here. (can we still set up the nativity scenes?)
Re-enactment of what the Mass would have looked like prior to the 16th century. Ironically, a swedish production.

Relics

Church and State:

The Magna Carta and its importance. In King John’s time, three centuries before Henry VIII also became head of the Church, we still find but one society with lords spiritual and lords temporal. This division of authority did not necessarily prevent one from usurping or infringing on what belonged to the other. The whole of medieval (feudal) society was a network of mutual obligations and duties. They did not speak of abstract “rights” but of defined concessions, agreements, promises, and duties. These latter were spelled out in detail, word for word. Agreements were to be enforced, if violated. The agreed duties were not just pious statements or unclear wishes that an individual, legislature, or court could “enact” or “deduce.”

Miscellaneous

Satire – odd essay on why religious ridicule is part of religious life. Very true in Thos. More’s time.
How to avoid becoming Catholic. Here.
The sign of the cross. (Tau about that!)

Accipite