If the devils' motto in The Screwtape Letters, if I'm recalling correctly, is "Anything but God" then we are all guilty of diverted attention, particularly in the age of the Internet. Keyboard warrioring is not a substitute to an authentic prayer life, but prayer is an actual battle and thus more difficult. Regardless, I have often thought that if most of us spent half as much time in prayer as we do in online engagement, myself included, the Powers and Principalities might not be having the field day they seem to be enjoying currently. The difficult thing though, is to be detached from outcome. To focus on God for His sake and not for some benefit.
I’ve seen a LOT of conversions to Christianity, particularly Catholicism, lately. I can only guess at the reasons. For some, maybe it’s the fascination with The Chosen, or even the horror at what the West has become. Whatever the reason, it’s a good thing.
For others, surely it’s fear that the end times are at hand. And there’s a fair reason for that fear. The Lord God of Israel destroyed 4 of the 5 cities of the plain for less than we are right now. Is there any reason to think any western nation, particularly the US, might be another city of Zoar? I don’t know about that. 🤔
It makes me wonder how much longer He will wait for us to repent of our iniquities and return to the straight and narrow road.
But those conversions are a good sign. It is not the time now to be shy in your faith. Don’t be afraid of a raised eyebrow or scoffs, when you tell others why you are a Christian. And if they ask why, tell them and be as confident as Charles Colson was, when he said this:
“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
God called out the apostles, come Matthew, come Mark, come John…. follow me. Is He telling you to follow Him? If you are reading and studying God’s Word, you will answer with a resounding yes.
Rod Dreher's substack recently addressed the current explosion of wickedness and the erosion of the church (no capital) in the Western world by exploring new scandals in the RC parish in New Orleans. State police are actively investigating child sex abuse that involves organized sex trafficking of children within that organization. Meanwhile, the Pope has refused to sanction a priest who has been credibly accused of raping nuns and holding orgies based on desecration of the Host. Lord have mercy indeed!
Also, Francis removed Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, TX for opposing the pope’s inclusiveness of LGBT. I understand he’s the head of the Church, but he did not seem willing to enter into a debate about accepting what the Lord called abominations. The pope is a leftist.
The revival is now. The revival is here. “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) It wasn't about the time or place. The kingdom of God was near because Jesus was standing there.
Andrew, as I experience always with your work, your words here resonated with me. I was particularly struck, though, by your last paragraph in which you describe the building blocks of the new church. My wife and I have been planning to do just that: gather in small groups and discuss the Word--simple, straightforward, directly to the Spirit of Christ. We are thinking of opening our home to whomever wishes to join. I understand that this is a longshot, but if ever you have the desire and the time to discuss this topic with me, I would be overjoyed. And the same invite goes to you, Spencer. Honestly, the invite goes to anyone on here. My email is: tygallaway@gmail.com
Reading through the Revelation of Yeshua to Yochanan, chapter two with gnarlywife this morning, we found the community in Ephesus doing all the right things, but...they'd lost their first love, and so were in danger of losing everything. I'm afraid we're way past that point.
It's not that God's judgement is coming, it's already here. The fact that a majority of women in the West view the destruction of their unborn children as a thing to be demanded and celebrated is the judgement of God against our culture. Our soil and our souls, awash in the blood of the defenseless, lie exposed, poluted, corrupted, desolate. The gods of Egypt would be grinning.
Drew nailed it: return to the Messiah, submit to His Ruach, embrace His words, live His agape.
I fully agree with Andrew in that we need a revival of faith and the Church (in my case the Roman Catholic Church but pretty much all the mainline Christian churches) but I differ in that the RCC must be reformed from within and without, not abandoned. Chesterton stated that in his time the RCC was “reeling but erect” and it has had many missteps prior to our present social justice Pontiff. He is far from the worst pope we have ever had, and will not be the last. Simply abandoning the Church and all its teachings is foolhardy. I’m not talking about the recent social justice foolishness, but the clear and substantial teachings over 2000 years of scholarship. We must not abandon Aquinas and Augustine, the Catherines and Francis, Anthony and all the rest of the great teachers. The great popes of my lifetime (From Pius XII up through Benedict) were all remarkable scholars and spiritual leaders. To abandon them and go Sola scriptura is a mistake. (It also does not state that anywhere in scripture.) Learning from the great teachers of the past as well as the time tested teachings, refined over thousands of years of scholarship must be carefully digested as well. We can take a lesson from our elder brothers, the long history of Talmudic scholarship, to indicate that there is much wisdom available, and abandoning it all to go it alone with a bible and a few believers can lead one quickly astray. I mentioned in an earlier post of a friend who was reading the passage in which the admonition was to put away childish things, and gave up running as exercise because he enjoyed it and he had done it since he was a child.
Yes, read the Bible, talk to others, pray together. There is so much more than that to be had, however. The RCC belief in the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation are not to be abandoned.
It is a very long tradition of the Church to receive corrections from outsiders , many saints who offered sometimes gentile, sometimes stinging corrections to the powers that be. I believe there is going to be a big one coming up. We may be more reeling than erect, but the same can be said of America these days. I’m not ready to head for the hills just yet on that one either.
I don’t defend Pope Francis much, but I have to admit he has been misquoted and improperly translated MANY times. Consequently, when I hear the worst of things he says, I wait for those who know Latin (I don’t, other than phrases, mostly legal and martial) to decide.
My dislike of his policies are multifaceted. He also has a tendency to shoot his mouth off to his favorite reporters making wild statements that later have to be clarified. These are not his official letters, although they are too heavy in "social" justice for my taste as well as general attacks on capitalism in favor of socialism. His recent proclamation regarding blessings for individuals was immediately taken overboard and abused. His statement is of course correct in that any one in any state of grace may ask for a priestly blessing but not in a liturgical setting or with any special vestments. However, his turning it toward homosexual unions immediately led to liturgical abuse. This would be classified as theological scandal, that is leading another to serious sin by one's actions.
Overall, his socialist approach to life shines through many of his pronouncements. He has a right to his opinion, as we all do, but when he is supposed to be spiritual leader of 1/7 of the world's population, one would hope he would be a bit less careless or inflammatory. I have read some of his more official writings, and have Dignitias Infinita on my kitchen table now.
I watched Brian Holdsworth’s take on Dignitas Infinita, as I did not read it myself. I originally heard from Larry O’Connor that it was meant for individual blessing, but Brian said it specifically said “couples.” If that is true, it is unacceptable.
The day he was elected we were told he was a socialist (I had never heard of him before that). Now, I believe he’s a far-leftist.
If the devils' motto in The Screwtape Letters, if I'm recalling correctly, is "Anything but God" then we are all guilty of diverted attention, particularly in the age of the Internet. Keyboard warrioring is not a substitute to an authentic prayer life, but prayer is an actual battle and thus more difficult. Regardless, I have often thought that if most of us spent half as much time in prayer as we do in online engagement, myself included, the Powers and Principalities might not be having the field day they seem to be enjoying currently. The difficult thing though, is to be detached from outcome. To focus on God for His sake and not for some benefit.
I’ve seen a LOT of conversions to Christianity, particularly Catholicism, lately. I can only guess at the reasons. For some, maybe it’s the fascination with The Chosen, or even the horror at what the West has become. Whatever the reason, it’s a good thing.
For others, surely it’s fear that the end times are at hand. And there’s a fair reason for that fear. The Lord God of Israel destroyed 4 of the 5 cities of the plain for less than we are right now. Is there any reason to think any western nation, particularly the US, might be another city of Zoar? I don’t know about that. 🤔
It makes me wonder how much longer He will wait for us to repent of our iniquities and return to the straight and narrow road.
But those conversions are a good sign. It is not the time now to be shy in your faith. Don’t be afraid of a raised eyebrow or scoffs, when you tell others why you are a Christian. And if they ask why, tell them and be as confident as Charles Colson was, when he said this:
“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
Love the Charles Colson logic. He is an amazing story or redemption.
2 points
1. We've seen this movie before. The Church being sick, losing its way, and what happens in society because of that. God has a plan and I Trust Him.
2. That which Unites Us (Jesus) is So much greater than that which divides us (Doctrine).
This is an icepack on my distressed and inflamed mind. Thank you.
God called out the apostles, come Matthew, come Mark, come John…. follow me. Is He telling you to follow Him? If you are reading and studying God’s Word, you will answer with a resounding yes.
Rod Dreher's substack recently addressed the current explosion of wickedness and the erosion of the church (no capital) in the Western world by exploring new scandals in the RC parish in New Orleans. State police are actively investigating child sex abuse that involves organized sex trafficking of children within that organization. Meanwhile, the Pope has refused to sanction a priest who has been credibly accused of raping nuns and holding orgies based on desecration of the Host. Lord have mercy indeed!
Also, Francis removed Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, TX for opposing the pope’s inclusiveness of LGBT. I understand he’s the head of the Church, but he did not seem willing to enter into a debate about accepting what the Lord called abominations. The pope is a leftist.
The revival is now. The revival is here. “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) It wasn't about the time or place. The kingdom of God was near because Jesus was standing there.
What God requires of us is faithfulness.
And faithfulness leads to fruitfulness.
At scale.
Amen.
I love this dialogue so much. Thanks, you two, for the ray—no, the beam—of hopeful light this conversation shines on the darkness of these times.
Andrew, as I experience always with your work, your words here resonated with me. I was particularly struck, though, by your last paragraph in which you describe the building blocks of the new church. My wife and I have been planning to do just that: gather in small groups and discuss the Word--simple, straightforward, directly to the Spirit of Christ. We are thinking of opening our home to whomever wishes to join. I understand that this is a longshot, but if ever you have the desire and the time to discuss this topic with me, I would be overjoyed. And the same invite goes to you, Spencer. Honestly, the invite goes to anyone on here. My email is: tygallaway@gmail.com
Reading through the Revelation of Yeshua to Yochanan, chapter two with gnarlywife this morning, we found the community in Ephesus doing all the right things, but...they'd lost their first love, and so were in danger of losing everything. I'm afraid we're way past that point.
It's not that God's judgement is coming, it's already here. The fact that a majority of women in the West view the destruction of their unborn children as a thing to be demanded and celebrated is the judgement of God against our culture. Our soil and our souls, awash in the blood of the defenseless, lie exposed, poluted, corrupted, desolate. The gods of Egypt would be grinning.
Drew nailed it: return to the Messiah, submit to His Ruach, embrace His words, live His agape.
He is here. Always. We just have to let Him in.
Brother Andrew, you have ceased "pontificating" and gone to "preaching" to which I say a resounding "Amen!"
I fully agree with Andrew in that we need a revival of faith and the Church (in my case the Roman Catholic Church but pretty much all the mainline Christian churches) but I differ in that the RCC must be reformed from within and without, not abandoned. Chesterton stated that in his time the RCC was “reeling but erect” and it has had many missteps prior to our present social justice Pontiff. He is far from the worst pope we have ever had, and will not be the last. Simply abandoning the Church and all its teachings is foolhardy. I’m not talking about the recent social justice foolishness, but the clear and substantial teachings over 2000 years of scholarship. We must not abandon Aquinas and Augustine, the Catherines and Francis, Anthony and all the rest of the great teachers. The great popes of my lifetime (From Pius XII up through Benedict) were all remarkable scholars and spiritual leaders. To abandon them and go Sola scriptura is a mistake. (It also does not state that anywhere in scripture.) Learning from the great teachers of the past as well as the time tested teachings, refined over thousands of years of scholarship must be carefully digested as well. We can take a lesson from our elder brothers, the long history of Talmudic scholarship, to indicate that there is much wisdom available, and abandoning it all to go it alone with a bible and a few believers can lead one quickly astray. I mentioned in an earlier post of a friend who was reading the passage in which the admonition was to put away childish things, and gave up running as exercise because he enjoyed it and he had done it since he was a child.
Yes, read the Bible, talk to others, pray together. There is so much more than that to be had, however. The RCC belief in the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation are not to be abandoned.
It is a very long tradition of the Church to receive corrections from outsiders , many saints who offered sometimes gentile, sometimes stinging corrections to the powers that be. I believe there is going to be a big one coming up. We may be more reeling than erect, but the same can be said of America these days. I’m not ready to head for the hills just yet on that one either.
I don’t defend Pope Francis much, but I have to admit he has been misquoted and improperly translated MANY times. Consequently, when I hear the worst of things he says, I wait for those who know Latin (I don’t, other than phrases, mostly legal and martial) to decide.
My dislike of his policies are multifaceted. He also has a tendency to shoot his mouth off to his favorite reporters making wild statements that later have to be clarified. These are not his official letters, although they are too heavy in "social" justice for my taste as well as general attacks on capitalism in favor of socialism. His recent proclamation regarding blessings for individuals was immediately taken overboard and abused. His statement is of course correct in that any one in any state of grace may ask for a priestly blessing but not in a liturgical setting or with any special vestments. However, his turning it toward homosexual unions immediately led to liturgical abuse. This would be classified as theological scandal, that is leading another to serious sin by one's actions.
Overall, his socialist approach to life shines through many of his pronouncements. He has a right to his opinion, as we all do, but when he is supposed to be spiritual leader of 1/7 of the world's population, one would hope he would be a bit less careless or inflammatory. I have read some of his more official writings, and have Dignitias Infinita on my kitchen table now.
I watched Brian Holdsworth’s take on Dignitas Infinita, as I did not read it myself. I originally heard from Larry O’Connor that it was meant for individual blessing, but Brian said it specifically said “couples.” If that is true, it is unacceptable.
The day he was elected we were told he was a socialist (I had never heard of him before that). Now, I believe he’s a far-leftist.