A Sound of Sheer Silence

Rev. Jordan Haynie Ware's twitter feed directed my attention to  this excellent article , written by Jem Bloomfield.  Mr. Bloomfield is a British academic, and he makes three points that I think are critical in thinking and talking about the interaction between Christianity, the broader "secular" culture, and in particular the younger slice of that culture.  But it also interacts in a way with people who are searching for some sort of "third way" on the contested issues of sexuality, most recently in the form of Fr. Jim Martin's book Building a Bridge , which was based on a talk he gave last fall and which I talked about here . Before turning to the article, it's worthwhile to get the "whatabout"-ist objections out the way (some of which can be seen in the comments section of the post).  Yes, "secular culture" is not a monolithic entity, and neither are Millennials/young people.  There are quite a number of young people who are very...

"She's the One" (off of Born to Run (1975)) Concert Footage:  Madison Square Garden, New York (U.S.A.), 2007 That thunder in your heart at night when you're kneeling in the dark, it say's you're never gonna leave her But there's this angel in her eyes that tells such desperate lies and all you want to do is believe her And tonight you'll try just one more time to leave it all behind and to break on through Oh, she can take you, but if she wants to break you, she's gonna find out that ain't so easy to do And no matter where you sleep tonight or how far you run Whoa-oh, she's the one She's the one The message of "She's the One," if reduced to one cliched sentence, would be: "Women; can't live with them, can't live without them."  Like I said, it that is well-worn ground for songwriters, which is why it is cliched.  But there are treatments of cliched tropes that further the cliche, and the...

Until stumbling upon this article today , I had not heard of Michael Coren.  He's Canadian, known primarily for existing in that narrow subculture known as "Catholic apologetics," along with the Catholic Answers crowd, Scott Hahn, Mark Shea, etc.  Most of those folks are converts, and Coren was as well.  He wrote books with frying pan-to-the-face titles like "Why Catholics Are Right." I should say he was part of that crowd, because now he is part of the Anglican Church of Canada.  His reasons for leaving Catholicism are not unique--LGBT issues primarily--but perhaps a little surprising for someone who used to walk in those circles.  Still, h is discussion of why he left seems honest and heart-felt , and certainly something I can relate to very easily.  He is walking the line that I am walking, and so I wish him nothing but the best. What was interesting to me is his discussion of the reaction from his former fellow travelers to his decision.  I sup...