Updated Post: Bishops With Spines!

Today I updated my post from a few days ago, "Bishops With Spines." I added an appropriate graphic. See below.

Christ the King

The Holy Gospel is written in the 18th Chapter of Saint John, beginning at the 33rd Verse.

Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

As I mentioned to you earlier, today is the feast of Christ the King.

This day is one of the newest feasts on the Christian calendar, having come to us in the latter part of the second decade of the 20th century. It came about because of a strange and deadly event.

The strange thing happened in October of 1917. The Russian government which had been a long-standing monarchy fell to what became Soviet communism. The Soviets had a very perverse and deadly philosophy that said that there was no God. That God existed, as Karl Marx had said, as an “opiate for the people.” And that the promise of heaven was something that had been invented simply to keep people happy and docile as they worked their way through the world for the benefit of the elite. It was, shall we say, the ultimate class-warfare argument.

Shortly after that, in 1925, Pope Pius XI created the feast of Christ the King and placed the feast on the very last Sunday in October. He placed it there for a simple reason: He wanted to make a final and definitive statement that, all appearances to the contrary, that Christ was the Lord of all things, both in heaven and on earth and under the earth. That all things ultimately stand under the authority of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the divine Godhead.

So on Christ the King we bring the season of Trinity almost to a dead stop. We put away our green vestments, bring out the royal gold, and celebrate this day to remind ourselves, especially to remind ourselves as Christians, Who is really in charge.

You know, things are not always what they seem. David Copperfield can make an elephant seem to disappear. He can make a building seem to disappear. However, elephants and buildings do not disappear because of a parlor trick.

When my wife and I were on a cruise, there was a magician who could take a deck of cards and he could make these cards do things that were statistically impossible. It was such an incredible trick, that I even wanted to sit as close to him as I could to see how it was done. The reason why? Things are not always what they seem.

Magicians create illusions. They blur the distinction between reality and illusion. They make you think that what is real is actually the opposite.

Now in the case of our Gospel reading today, we have the reverse. In this case the illusion is the starting point. Jesus stands before Pilate and appears to be weak and helpless and Pilate appears to hold all the cards. But that, my brothers and sisters, that is the illusion

Now any reasonable person in this situation seeing Jesus before Pilate, would have to say that Jesus was not the one with the power. After all, he had been taken captive by the Jews and Herod’s soldiers. He had been beaten and was probably a bloody pulp.And he was brought before Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman governor of the whole province.

Think about that for a minute.

It’s hard for us to realize just how powerful the Romans were. They controlled everything and their governors had the power to give life or demand death, whatever they wanted. A Roman governor could just do this on a whim: “Put that guy to death. Let’s go have lunch.”

It was that simple for them.

What is it that Pilate, standing there before this beaten man, says to Jesus? He says, “So, then, are you a king?”

“Are you a king?”

You can almost hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Are you, this bloody man in front of me, this little carpenter from Nazareth, are you saying to me that you are a king of the Jews?”

Any reasonable person in Jesus’ position would have said, “No, my Lord, I’m no king. This is all a mistake. Please let me go. Please don’t kill me. Torture me, if you want, but just let me live.”

But Jesus, standing before Pilate, says something very different. What he says essentially is this: “No. I’m not a king of the Jews. But I am a King. My kingdom is not of this earth. And if my kingdom were of this earth then my people and my soldiers would be here fighting for me. My kingdom is of far more than this earth.”

Saint Paul tells us about Jesus and his kingdom in our Epistle. He says that Jesus, this same Jesus who stands bloodied before Pilate, “…is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Later on, in his epistle to the Philippians, Saint Paul describes the kingship of Christ in terms that make clear Jesus’ confrontation with Pontius Pilate. Saint Paul says, “Though he was in the form of God, Jesus Christ did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

What a powerful statement.

What an incredible thing that the Word of God, that the Logos of God, who by his very speaking brought the heavens and the earth into existence. Who by his very speaking brought man and woman out of the dust. By his very thought knew each and every one of us by name before we were even in the womb. That this very Word becomes one of us, taking the form of slave. That this very Word of God is willing to humble himself to stand bloodied before a Roman governor, before a Roman governor who owes the fact of his very existence to this same humble and beaten man.

Why does Jesus, our Lord and King, the One through whom all things were created, why does He humble himself to accept even death, death on a cross?

He does it to set us free from our sins.

His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His kingdom is not restricted by geography, it is not restricted by time, it is not restricted by rulers, it is over all things from everlasting to everlasting.

Maybe this is a good time in our national history to think about the kingship of Jesus Christ. As we go into an election to decide our nation’s next leader, maybe this is a good time to gain some true perspective and ask ourselves: Who is really in charge? Who do I, as a Christian, really serve and honor as my Lord?

Maybe it’s time to understand that the real challenge which confronts every person and every nation is: When will we bow the knee to Jesus and acknowledge him as our sovereign Lord? Will we do it now, while we live and have the ability to give our will to him in all freedom? Or will we do it later, when we are forced to our knees to acknowledge him as our Judge?

To whom do we owe our allegiance? Do we owe our allegiance to something that is bound by this time and this place? Or do we owe our hearts to that One, who is God and who comes from God, who is Jesus Christ our King, and who exists to set us free from sin now and for all time.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Some Great Stuff from Focus on the Family

Stuart Shepard, the talented creator of Stoplight, has a great perspective on polls and the coming election.

Check this out here:

http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000008486.cfm

Ever wonder how things will look in the 2012 after four years of President Obama? FOF has an interesting perspective on this with a letter from the future. Read and weep. Better yet, read it and vote.

Here's the link:

http://focusfamaction.edgeboss.net/download/focusfamaction/pdfs/10-22-08_2012letter.pdf

Finally, Bishops With Spines!!

I've been a little tough on Roman Catholic Bishops of late. I suppose that I will now have to eat some crow.

To me, the absolute defining issue of this presidential campaign has been abortion, even though no one is really talking about it. I have always believed that a person who denies a baby the right to life is capable of denying anything to anyone. Add to that, Barack Obama's absolutely radical abortion stance (including infanticide) and there is no way that I could vote for a Democrat, particularly Barry Obama. Make no mistake, Barry will appoint judges all throughout the Federal bench who will guarantee that Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land for generations to come. Barry will further sign the Freedom of Choice Act and he says that will be his top priority. This act will effectively federalize the entire abortion issue and remove any "reproductive rights" practice from the control of the states. Scared yet?

John McCain is no prize, either. He's been wrong on taxes, although he says he's seen the light. He's been wrong on energy, although he says he's seen some of the light (ANWR is still in the dark for him).He's wrong on immigration. He's wrong on climate control. He is wrong on the $700,000,000,000 bailout (actually $830,000,000,000). He's abrasive and seems to really enjoy ticking off every conservative in the country, if not the world.

BUT...

John McCain is PRO-LIFE. That's enough for me. I'll pull the lever for him for that reason only.

Now, back to the bishops. Bishops Farrell of Dallas and Vann of Fort Worth have issued a brilliant statement that says that although there are many issues that are important to the election, abortion is an issue that trumps all the others. They go so far as to say, "To vote for a candidate who supports the intrinsic evil of abortion or “abortion rights” when there is a morally acceptable alternative would be to cooperate in the evil – and, therefore, morally impermissible."

Compare this to Pastor Brady Boyd, who heads New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Ted Haggard's former church. In an article in the New York Times (or, as Mark Levin aptly calls it, The New York Slimes), reporter Timothy Egan says this regarding Pastor Boyd, "Boyd is ...saying that the environment, the poor, and helping those in his church who’ve lost a job or a house are things that matter to his congregation.

"Abortion? Homosexuals? Bill Ayers?

“'To be focused on those things at a time when people are hurting would really be to the detriment of families,' said Boyd."

Yes, I really equate losing money in my 401k, seeing my housing price drop, and facing greater economic uncertainty as being far more important than whether some innocent little blob of protoplasm, otherwise known as a human being, gets to live. And God knows abortion is not to the detriment of families. Maybe Pastor Boyd needs to re-read Genesis or any other book of either testament.

Shame on Pastor Boyd. Thank God for Bishops Farrell and Vann. May their tribes increase.

Here's the link to their letter:

http://www.fwdioc.org/img2/homepage_items/joint_statement_eng.pdf

Some Thoughts on Fear

Debby Morgan is a friend of Mimi's (my wife). Recently, she sent a piece to Mimi that was so impressive, I asked her permission to post it here. She graciously agreed, so here it is.

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Some Thoughts on Fear
by Debby Morgan

In light of the upcoming election, I think we all need to remember several things. First of all, I do believe it is our responsibility to vote, but we have to leave the outcome in the hands of our Heavenly Father. Many are expressing fear that the wrong person might be elected President. I was one of those. When I realized that I was afraid, I had to ask myself, of what was I afraid?

If we are truly putting our trust in the Lord, then we need not be afraid of anything—fear is a sin and is the opposite of faith.

Sometimes I think we are afraid of the unknown, but the whole aspect of faith involves the unknown--being certain of things not seen, being certain that we have a God in heaven who loves us with a perfect love, and if His love for us is perfect then nothing is to happen that is not part of His plan for our lives. Trusting Him in the unknown, and not being afraid of anything is the essence of true faith.

Is our trust in our government, or in the one and only true God? No matter who wins the election, our God in heaven is still the same yesterday, today and tomorrow—He is never changing, and to me that is awesome!

I do not believe we know what God’s will for this election, yes, it would seem that it is His will that it would be for a man of His principles to be elected; but the times of the greatest oppression have produced some of the greatest revivals in history. We have been spoiled, living in this free nation, and we have taken for granted many things—maybe we will begin to experience really hard times in this United States; but would that be so bad? WE have taken so many things for granted that our nation is turning away from God, doing hideous things and making a mockery of His holy name. Maybe it is time for God to turn His back on us, as we have done Him, in hopes that in desperation, we will cry out to Him and beg for repentance and mercy, of which His supply is vast.

In the book of James we are told to count it all joy when we have trials, joy because we know God will use it to strengthen us and refine us as pure gold. Are we to desire a life of comfort, or a godly life, a life that brings God glory no matter what life’s trials may bring? Can we honestly pray and ask God to work His will in our lives, NO MATTER WHAT may happen?

The Israelites did not know from day to day whether or not God would tell them it was time to take up their tents and move. For those of us, like myself, who like to have our lives all neatly planned out months in advance, the unknown is a scary thing, but maybe it is time for us to live out our faith in a moment by moment dependence on God and knowing that whatever time brings, whatever comes in our life, He will give us the grace and strength to endure. He promises grace for the moment, not for what has not yet happened. That is why we get fearful, because we are looking ahead to unknown circumstances and taking our eyes off the Lord.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, not seek ye first a Christian government, not seek ye first quality healthcare, not seek ye first our rights, not even seek ye first our 401Ks and retirement plans, but seek ye first God’s Kingdom! And all these things will be added unto you (the necessities of life).

I have to confess that I have not been putting my faith in God first in my life. My faith has been in my comfortable life that I have been living in this United States. You know how I know that? Because the thought of losing these freedoms, the thought of losing the money in our savings account (because of the financial collapse lately) began to cause me anxiety. That is when I had to stop and reflect what really had first place in my heart. It was certainly not God, because if it was, I would be obedient to His word when it says “do not be anxious about anything, but with …prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God that passes ALL understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”. If I have not peace, then God is not first place where He belongs.

Let’s not try to fit God neatly into our lives, and only having faith when things are good; but let’s make God our whole life, bringing Him glory by not having fear in these times, but by having faith, knowing that no matter what happens, our God is still on the throne and our God reigns and one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Some Food for Thought

Not too long ago, I wrote of a document produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that attempted to provide assistance in helping Roman Catholics vote on issues. I mentioned that the document was esentially spineless (which it is). However, not all Roman Catholics lack vertebral reinforcement. CatholicVote.com has put out a video that should be viewed prayerfully by all Christians. This is an important election coming up, one that has the opportunity to define us for several generations. View this and pray.

http://www.catholicvote.com/cv_homepage_theater_live.swf

Adventures in Atheism, Part 2

Back in July, I wrote a piece called "Jesus and the Professor." I included the text of an entry that Professor Paul Myers, a biologist at the University of Minnesota - Morris in which he stated his desire to blaspheme the Holy Eucharist, using his massive intellectual powers to coin the elegant and original phrase, "It's just a freakin' cracker."

Someone named Aatish found my column, probably from doing an RSS of any mention of Professor Paul Myers, and suggested that until Christians could prove their point from fact and reason, then we needed essentially shut up and put up with whatever stuff good ol' Professor Myers wanted to say.

After thanking Aatish for his comment, I said that I was more than capable of explaining my position from reason.

However, any argument that I could make on this matter pales compared to a wonderful article by Michael Novak that appeared on today's National Review Online.

By the way, Professor and Aatish (whoever you are), I don't care if you consider this smug or condescending. I'll continue to pray for you both every day. In the event that you are right and I am wrong, and there is no God, then I've just wasted my time. But if I am right and you are wrong, you're going to need all the prayers you can get.

Here's the link to Novak's article.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWJiM2NhNTVhYWU2NDhlYjc4MmM4NDczZjJjYmVjZWY=&w=MA==

We could start with you, Baroness!

Now here's a story you don't see everyday. Baroness Mary Helen Warnock, considered by many to be the premier moralist in England, has said that anyone who is demented has a duty to commit suicide and spare themselves, their families, and - most of all - the national health service the burden and expense of caring for them.

I will agree to this outrageous proposal only if all titled British moralists will lead by example since, at least in this case, there is reason to suspect an advanced dementia.

Here's the link:

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=29538

Well said, Father.

Father John Roddy is the Rector of Saint Hilda of Whitby Anglican Catholic Church in downtown Atlanta. Father is a wonderful writer who picks up the pen much too infrequently for my taste. When he does write, he says quite a bit worth remembering. (He's also a fine priest and a fine man, but that's the subject of another post.)

Over on Father Roddy's blog, Anglican Catholic Priest (http://anglicancatholicpriest.blogspot.com), he has posted an entry which should be read and seriously considered by most Continuing Anglican churchmen and, indeed, by all Christians of a traditionalist mindset.

Father puts forth the thesis that continuing Anglicans and all traditional Christians may be adversely affected by the Episcopal Church's complete submission to the radical leftist agenda promoted by its leadership and most recently expressed in the illegal deposition of the Right Rev. Robert Duncan from his position as Bishop of Pittsburgh. Father Roddy states that the Episcopal Church will now probably join forces with other leftist causes and seek to inhibit continuing Anglicans through legal battles and through the support of "hate crime" and "hate speech" legislation.

Over on The Continuum, an outstanding traditionalist Anglican blog (http://anglicancontinuum.blogspot.com), one writer responding to Father Roddy used the term "paranoia" in describing Father's perception of the current situation.

I think it is important we remember that not all paranoia is pathological. We need a certain amount of it to survive. Even in situations where paranoia is pathological, never forget the old saying, "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean that they are not out to get you!"

I agree with Father Roddy that those of us in the Continuum are at risk for attack from the leftist Episcopal Church and from others of the same ilk. Consider that our freedom of speech and freedom of religion proceed from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Since the Bill of Rights was adopted, the freedom of the churches have been guaranteed.

However, in the last few decades, attacks on other freedoms should give us pause. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the current debates surrounding the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. Historically, that amendment has always guaranteed the citizenry the right to own weapons for whatever legitimate purpose a citizen has in mind. Recently, leftists have attacked this interpretation, claiming that the amendment really means that citizens have the right to form armed militias, much like the National Guard. Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court upheld the traditional understanding of the Second Amendment. However, it would not take a change of too many justices on the U.S. Supreme Court for that opinion to be overturned and their are many liberal jurists who would be only too happy to do it.

If the Second Amendment could be so easily distorted, what about the First? What would keep a radical court from claiming that freedom of religion does not extend to anything that is described as "hate speech"? What would keep a radical court from saying that any church that holds to doctrine that is "hateful" and proclaims or teaches that doctrine should have their tax-exempt status revoked? Any reasonable person living today would have to answer that nothing would stand in the way of such a position. We already see evidence of this same tactic in the election-year restrictions that are placed on churches. A further example can be found in a recent edition of The International Herald-Tribune in an article described many legal scholars who urged that the First Amendment needed to be modified to take "hate speech" into consideration, much as it is in Canada and Europe. Is it too hard to imagine that could happen here? I think not.

In my opinion, Father Roddy's argument should be read carefully and prayerfully by all. Our freedoms are precious things and while they come to us from God, they are assured by a vigilant citizenry. May God grant us the grace to stay sober and alert, the grace to guard the freedoms that God has given us in our great nation.

Here's the link to Father Roddy's article:

http://anglicancatholicpriest.blogspot.com/2008/09/critique-of-pure-dread.html

I'm Back!!

I've been so fed up with the upcoming election and its attendant media Obamania that I've been laying low for awhile. Finally, I decided that it was time to come in from the cold and submit another blog entry.

Today, I have a real treat for you. It's an article that appeared on NationalReview.com over the weekend by Bill Whittle. It's entitled The Undefended City and it describes in some detail the factors that frequently go along with the fall of a great society. It's a great article and provides some food for thought in these perilous times.

Here's the link:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OGVlY2RhOGM0MWE5MjNmMGM2ZjY0NzcxMjMzMTc5NWI=

Parents, Are You Paying Attention?

Here's an article from Phyllis Schlafly about the recent meeting of the National Education Association. This is particularly important because these are the people who set the agenda for our public school systems. Read what their plans are and ask yourself, "Is this the agenda I want for my children and grandchildren?"

Here's the link:

http://townhall.com/columnists/PhyllisSchlafly/2008/07/28/the_nea_spells_out_its_policies

Jesus and the Professor, Part 2

It seems that a young man in London stole a host consecrated at a Roman Catholic High Mass
and placed it in a condom, in protest over the Roman Catholic Church's prohibition on artificial birth control and the alleged problem that teaching has created with AIDs related deaths in Africa.

Now it further seems that the host may have been sent to Dr. Paul Myers, the atheist biology professor whose sacrilegious rant was posted on this website a few weeks ago. According to this story, Dr. Myers pierced the host with a rusty nail, commenting, "I hope that Jesus' tetanus shots are up to date." Dr. Myers then threw the host in the trash.

I've been trying to come up with a comment concerning this story, but its outrageous character, I think, speaks for itself. Pray for these people.

Here's the link to the story from the Catholic Herald:

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000341.shtml

Prayer in Public Life

"Quin Hilyer" is not exactly a household name but it should be. Quin is an editor for the Washington Examiner and writes a regular column for Spectator.org, the internet arm of The American Spectator. I also consider Quin a personal friend.

Yesterday, Quin published a great column on prayer and those who live in the public eye, particularly politicians. It's not only worth a read, it's worth several.

Here's the link:

http://spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13622

Spineless Bishops Strike Again

There's an old joke that goes something like this: When a new bishop is elected, he immediately undergoes surgery to remove his spine and tatoo a yellow streak up his back.

Well, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have once again proved the truth of that statement. The bishops have released a document entitled "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship." In this document they encourage Catholics to not be "single-issue" voters, i.e., a politician's stance on abortion should not necessarily be the sole determinant of how a person votes.

OK, I guess agree with that as soon as the boys in purple answer another question: If an elected official can deny something as basic as the right to life to our most vulnerable people, the unborn, what other rights can they deny? What other rights are even important? It's time for Christians to put first things first and stand up to defend life! Nothing else is more important.

One of the advantages of being in the Anglican Catholic Church is that we are, for the most part, a poor church. Because of this, our bishops can't afford the surgical procedures noted above.

Here's the link from nj.com

http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-4/1217390961251120.xml=&coll=5

Here's the link to the bishops' document:

http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf

Maybe we should sue God?

Here's one from the good folks at Stoplight. A man in Michigan is suing two Christian publishing houses for $70,000,000. His complaint: The Bible contains passages that offend him.


http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000007807.cfm

One More Reason Why I Am an Anglican Catholic

I could rail on about the travesty of modern liturgy and the loss of the sense of the sacred. I could speak endless words about how the Church of Rome, indeed almost all contemporary churches, have abandoned their ancient and timeless liturgical principles. I could say all of these things, but I think the video below, filmed at World Youth Day 2008, says it better than I ever could:

http://www.gloria.tv/?video=arbjp2rmxsioabwnmvyn

Are You Excited About the Election?? Yawn!

Four more months to go and I'm bored to tears with the upcoming election. I'm scared that Campaign 2012 will begin immediately after Election Day.

Do you feel this way, too? Then you'll be glad to know that the folks at jibjab.com have come up with a new election video that will brighten your spirits. These are the same folks that gave us the great Kerry-Bush, "This Land Is Your Land" video in 2004.

Folks at the New Yorker take note: This is how you do satire. Here's the link:

http://sendables.jibjab.com/sendables/1191/time_for_some_campaignin

Jesus and the Professor

Paul Zachary Myers is not exactly a household name, or wasn't until now. In what is a clear sign of our times, this biology professor at the University of Minnesota - Morris has recently stepped outside of his area of expertise to comment on the Holy Eucharist. Writing on his blog, Pharyngula: Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal, he addressed the situation where a young man smuggled the Sacred Body of Christ out of a Roman Catholic church and kept it for four days. Myers' reaction was amazing, even for an atheist academic. He proposed to have someone mail him a consecrated host so that it could be publicly desecrated.

I'm going to copy his entire post here so that you can read it in full. I warn you up front that this contains language that you will never normally encounter on my blog. However, controversial posts like his have a way of being pulled under some pressure and I'd like to make sure that a record of this post is enshrined somewhere.

How should we deal with this blasphemy as Christians? While it is easy for us to be angry, even outraged, I think it is important to recognize Myers' screed as the output of a sick soul and to pray for him as would our Lord, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Here's the post and here's the link:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/its_a_goddamned_cracker.php

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T'S A FRACKIN’ CRACKER!

Category: Religion • Stupidity
Posted on: July 8, 2008 8:05 PM, by PZ Myers

There are days when it is agony to read the news, because people are so goddamned stupid. Petty and stupid. Hateful and stupid. Just plain stupid. And nothing makes them stupider than religion.

Here's a story that will destroy your hopes for a reasonable humanity.

Webster Cook says he smuggled a Eucharist, a small bread wafer that to Catholics symbolic of the Body of Christ after a priest blesses it, out of mass, didn't eat it as he was supposed to do, but instead walked with it.

This isn't the stupid part yet. He walked off with a cracker that was put in his mouth, and people in the church fought with him to get it back. It is just a cracker!

Catholics worldwide became furious.

Would you believe this isn't hyperbole? People around the world are actually extremely angry about this — Webster Cook has been sent death threats over his cracker. Those are just kooks, you might say, but here is the considered, measured response of the local diocese:

"We don't know 100% what Mr. Cooks motivation was," said Susan Fani a spokesperson with the local Catholic diocese. "However, if anything were to qualify as a hate crime, to us this seems like this might be it."

We just expect the University to take this seriously," she added "To send a message to not just Mr. Cook but the whole community that this kind of really complete sacrilege will not be tolerated."

Wait, what? Holding a cracker hostage is now a hate crime? The murder of Matthew Shephard was a hate crime. The murder of James Byrd Jr. was a hate crime. This is a goddamned cracker. Can you possibly diminish the abuse of real human beings any further?

Well, you could have a priest compare this event to a kidnapping.

"It is hurtful," said Father Migeul Gonzalez with the Diocese. "Imagine if they kidnapped somebody and you make a plea for that individual to please return that loved one to the family."

Gonzalez said the Diocese is willing to meet with Cook and help him understand the importance of the Eucharist in hopes of him returning it. The Diocese is dispatching a nun to UCF's campus to oversee the next mass, protect the Eucharist and in hopes Cook will return it.

I like the idea of sending a scary nun to guard the ceremony at the next mass. But even better…let's send Webster Cook to hell!

Gonzalez said intentionally abusing the Eucharist is classified as a mortal sin in the Catholic church, the most severe possible. If it's not returned, the community of faith will have to ask for forgiveness.

"We have to make acts of reparation," Gonzalez said. "The whole community is going to turn to prayer. We'll ask the Lord for pardon, forgiveness, peace, not only for the whole community affected by it, but also for [Cook], we offer prayers for him as well."

Get some perspective, man. IT'S A CRACKER.

And of course, Bill Donohue is outraged (I know, Donohue is going to die of apoplexy someday when a gnat violates his oatmeal, so this isn't saying much).

For a student to disrupt Mass by taking the Body of Christ hostage--regardless of the alleged nature of his grievance--is beyond hate speech. That is why the UCF administration needs to act swiftly and decisively in seeing that justice is done. All options should be on the table, including expulsion.

Oh, beyond hate speech. Where does this fit on the Shoah scale, Bill? It shouldn't even register, but here is Wild-Eyed Bill the Offended calling for the expulsion of a student…for not swallowing a cracker.

Would you believe that the mealy-mouthed president of the university, John Hitt, is avoiding defending his student is instead playing up the importance of the Catholic church to the university? Of course you would. That's what university presidents do. Bugger the students, keep the donors and the state reps happy.

Unfortunately, Webster Cook has now returned the cracker. Why?

Webster just wants all of this to go away. Especially now that he feels his life is in danger.

That's right. Crazy Christian fanatics right here in our own country have been threatening to kill a young man over a cracker. This is insane. These people are demented fuckwits. And Cook is not out of the fire yet — that Fox News story ends with an open incitement to cause him further misery.

University officials said, that as for right now, Webster Cook is not in trouble. If anyone or any group wants to file a formal complaint with the University through the student judicial system, they can. If that happens, Webster will go through a hearing either in front of an administrative panel or a panel of his peers.

Got that? If you don't like what Webster Cook did, all you have to do is complain to the university, and they will do the dirty work for you of making his college experience miserable. And don't assume the university would support Cook; the college is now having armed university police officers standing guard during mass.

I find this all utterly unbelievable. It's like Dark Age superstition and malice, all thriving with the endorsement of secular institutions here in 21st century America. It is a culture of deluded lunatics calling the shots and making human beings dance to their mythical bunkum.

So, what to do. I have an idea. Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers? There's no way I can personally get them — my local churches have stakes prepared for me, I'm sure — but if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won't be tempted to hold it hostage (no, not even if I have a choice between returning the Eucharist and watching Bill Donohue kick the pope in the balls, which would apparently be a more humane act than desecrating a goddamned cracker), but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web. I shall do so joyfully and with laughter in my heart. If you can smuggle some out from under the armed guards and grim nuns hovering over your local communion ceremony, just write to me and I'll send you my home address.

Just wait. Now there'll be a team of Jesuits assigned to rifle through my mail every day.

Sliding Down the Slippery Slope

I'm often asked by continuing Anglicans, "Why don't we seek unity with Canterbury?" The short, correct, and undiplomatic answer, of course, is that Canterbury is in heresy and we cannot seek union with heretics. Yesterday, we saw the final insult as the Church of England Synod voted to "consecrate" women to the episcopate. Not surprisingly, the liberals of the Synod refused to allow for any provision for those who oppose the move to receive pastoral support from sympathetic bishops, much in the same way that the Episcopal Church did a cram-down on those who opposed women "bishops" in the United States.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, allegedly hung his head when support for traditionalists was denied, the implication being that he was somehow sorry that the church had failed to support traditionalists. I find this surprising, considering that Williams has supported the "ordination" of women for years. More than likely, he was just tired.

Many traditionalists are already jabbering about swimming the Tiber to Rome. If results in the United States suggest anything, a few will do so, a few will join a continuing church (such as the ACC), and most will simply draw a new line in the sand. In short, for the most part, nothing will change.

Ruth Gledhill of the Times of London covered the story. Here's her report:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4289994.ece

On other fronts, the Global Anglican Future Conference, or GAFCON, met in Jerusalem from June 22nd through June 29th. This conference of Evangelical Anglican primates, bishops, and others, formed mainly to protest the consecration of open homosexuals to the episcopate and homosexual marriage. GAFCON does not address other serious differences between traditional Anglicans and the modernist ones, such as the "ordination" of women, the role of Tradition and Scripture in the Church, to name two. Unless these are addressed, it is only a matter of time before even these evangelicals struggle with the same issues as plague Canterbury.

Archbishop Mark Haverland of the ACC has written a cogent and accurate assessment of GAFCON. Here's the link:

http://www.anglicancatholic.org/gafcon.html

DOMA and the Candidate

Back in the days when the homosexual marriage movement was getting under way, many people in the U.S. realized that gay marriages performed in one state would have to be recognized in other states because of the Privileges and Immunities Clause in the U.S. Constitution. Congress responded to this potential problem by passing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, stating that no state had to recognize a same sex union of another state and that the Federal government would not recognize these relationships.

Ever wonder what a political candidate might think about this issue? Check the link below:

http://www.citizenlink.org/turnsignal/A000007636.cfm