Tag: Christianity

Yes, Angela and I are engaged. I am a happy man!

Daily mass readings are now available as a podcast.

Merry Christmas!

It’s been at least a couple weeks since I wrote a post about Sufjan Stevens, so I guess I’m due. In his recent post about Sufjan, Ben Brazil wrote:

But I also suspect that people are drawn to someone so openly unsure of his faith and of his feelings yet so sincere in his spiritual search. The dominant brand of American Christianity almost requires certainty: If you’re saved, you know.

And of course it’s not that simple, at least for most people. Stevens music speaks, subtly and tangentially, to a faith that allows for our muddled, confused reality. And it does so with a fragile yet tenacious hopefulness. That’s why it resonates with me, and perhaps that’s why it has resonated, so surprisingly, with so many others.

That’s exactly right. His music is a breath of fresh air in a world of unthinking, “born again” maniacs who are intent on dragging everyone into hell with them.

Speaking of hell, the Christmas shopping season is almost upon us. One bright spot: Asthmatic Kitty is going to sell Sufjan’s quasi-mythical Christmas albums. The box set of five albums will go on sale on November 21st. And all this time I thought that there were only three.

Finally, if you have an extra ticket or two to Sufjan’s October 13th show at the Crystal Ballroom, I’d love to hear from you. You will be well compensated.

In his latest Washington Post column, Charles Krauthammer, who is far from being a liberal Democrat infidel, explains why the “intelligent design” movement is a bad idea (via Crooks and Liars):

The relentless attempt to confuse [science and religion] by teaching warmed-over creationism as science can only bring ridicule to religion, gratuitously discrediting a great human endeavor and our deepest source of wisdom precisely about those questions — arguably, the most important questions in life — that lie beyond the material.

I think this is a big point that many people are missing. At the very least, the “intelligent design” movement makes Christians look stupid because they apparently can’t distinguish between science and religion. But, even worse, I think it’s going to foster anti-religious feelings. People don’t like to have religion force-fed to them.

The Vatican has issued a stout defence of Charles Darwin, voicing strong criticism of Christian fundamentalists who reject his theory of evolution and interpret the biblical account of creation literally.

Right on (via Slashdot). (For real, this time.)

Right on. (And, yes, I’m Catholic.)

A few days ago, I wrote about Catholic families looking to adopt being turned away by Bethany Christian Services of Mississippi.

Yesterday, they sent out an e-mail to everyone who wrote in about the issue. Much to my surprise, they’ve changed their policy.