Author Archives: John Rich
Owed
Romans 13, verses 1-7, is particularly vexing for a believer who values liberty. On its face, it tells the Christian to submit to governing authorities. Fair enough; in a free nation this is both logical and right. What about under a tyrant, or, in worst cases, evil tyrannies such as the Soviet Union or Nazi […]
…this will be a sign for you
The good news from Luke: 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, […]
The cafeteria is closed
The term “cafeteria Catholics” refers to those Catholics who pick and choose among the dogmas, dictates, and traditions (and, often, “Traditions” with a capital “T”) of the Church. That is, if one or more items of what the Church believes is required of its faithful is disagreeable, then the picky Catholics simply ignore them. Or […]
Hard questions
Kids say the darnedest things, and so do politicians. Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) is running for the U.S. Senate, and here’s what he stepped in: Akin, the Republican Senate nominee in Missouri, said that victims of “legitimate rape” rarely become pregnant because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” […]
“bigger and better”
Joel Osteen hit Washington D.C. in an event that, as reported by the Washington Post, had to be rescheduled because of rain. How tacky of God, to postpone the foremost proponent of the “gospel of prosperity.” The essence of Joel Osteen? A mega-church pastor who prefers not to call himself an evangelical, he preaches prosperity, […]
It is done
One of the more difficult things a Catholic needs to do is to let go of the Crucifix. That is, the cross with the slain Jesus. Protestants seem to prefer an unadorned, empty cross, pointing as it does to the glory that is Easter, when the risen Lord demonstrates that He did not die in […]
Jimmy Carter’s Bible
Jimmy Carter is one of my least favorite people. His incessant bleatings against Israel amount to anti-Semitism. What else to call a double standard where Jews must be perfect and Muslims excused for heinous behavior? As president, he was an abject failure, second only to the incumbent in his cluelessness. So, John Luke, you don’t […]
Cultural live wires
Confession: I pretty much agree with Rick Santorum on social issues. Except contraception, and in this I suspect I’m aligned with a pretty large majority of my fellow Christians. Even, I suspect, with my former co-coreligionist Roman Catholics. As a Catholic, it used to be “wink, wink, nudge, nudge: have you read humanae vitae? Interesting; […]
“poor, nasty, brutish, and short”
Thomas Hobbes (the fellow not wearing a New York Knicks uniform) may be best known for this quotation from his work Leviathan: Life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short…a warre of every man against every man.” This might be seen as an argument for liberty, but is actually an argument for the social contract […]
Tribes
Growing up in New York City, it was the usual practice for people to refer to themselves as “Irish,” “Jewish,” or “Italian.” Not “Irish-American,” but simply “Irish.” The same for all other ethnic groups in the so-called melting pot that was New York in the middle of the last century. We also lived in segregated […]
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