Abstinence may be a mere means to an end, but it’s often given a bit of a bad rap. Indeed, in the recent spate of posts on the subject, abstinence is treated at best as...

I've long been wanting to try some of the late Fred Saberhagen's fiction. Where better to start than on his most well-known work, the Berserker series. For some reason, I had never really thought to look for him in the local used book chain, but some t......

Much as I might bemoan the state of theology as taught and practiced (e.g. in catechesis) in the Catholic Church, it's worth occasionally recalling that the problem is more widespread than this. Consider, for example, this post which shows up in my new......

I stumbled across this column by Miss Eve Tushnet, a Catholic woman whom experiences same-sex attraction, defedning the Church's teachings on sexuality:

"I didn't expect to understand every element of the faith. It is a lot bigger than I am.... Faith is no escape from...

"Folks who disagree with me typically start off by saying 'I agree with Peters on the ‘law’ or on the ‘principles’, but . . .' These folks should stop and reflect on what they are saying. Agreement with Peters on ‘the law or the principles’...

--1--It's fairly chaotic around here this morning, so these quick take will be truly quickly written.--2--We have a word for this. When an individual does it, it's hypocrisy; when a government does it, it's tyranny. Government officials--whether electe......

"As for those who say that the whole IRS affair becomes irrelevant if no one can prove that Obama is not directly involved, that’s completely wrong. Of course, if the president was involved, it shows that he is the most corrupt, tyrannical...

An expansion of footnote [1] from my column for IGNITUM TODAY, "Abstinence, Chastity, and Purity Part 1--Drawing Distinctions."
 
These days, premarital virginity is now taken to mean merely that a person has not had sexual intercourse prior to marriage, which is I think an unfortunate oversimplification...

The semester is dead. Long live the new semester! And speaking of long-lived endeavors, it sounds like the request for a 1-year extension on my dissertation has been unanimously approved by my committee. Here's hoping that I have a Ph.D. by year's end.


I'm noticing a whole lot...

I prefer silent retreats--or, more accurately, monastic retreats, organized or otherwise--to the various "movement" retreats ("Awakenings" for college kids in the south and equivalents elsewhere, ACTS for everybody else). Yes, there may be a time for a......

"I don't necessarily want you to think the same way about this issue as I do, but I do want you to really think about this issue."So was the (since-deleted) response to one of my comments in a recent exchange I had. It really doesn't matter what the is......

When I read books, I find that occasional passages jump out at me right away—and that oftentimes these passages, which strike me as initially interesting, seem to fade out of my memory. Other passages kind of sneak up on my mind a little more, barely registering at...