Monday, June 29, 2020
Politics is NOT a Dirty Word
We invite our AoA readers to watch the latest video from the Dr. Pence inspired YouTube channel Religion, Sex, and Politics. Click on the picture link below or the following link to watch the new video: Politics is NOT a Dirty Word.
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JUNE 27
by A. Joseph Lynch
I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
WHAT IS RELIGION? AoA's own A. Joseph Lynch has launched YouTube channel inspired by the thought of Dr. David Pence entitled Religion, Sex, and Politics. We invite our readers to watch the channel's first video: What is Religion Really About?
CHRISTIANITY UNDER SIEGE: While statues dedicated to St. Junipero Serra in Los Angeles and San Francisco were desecrated by angry mobs in California, a prominent Black Live Matter leader, Shaun King, has called for all statues, paintings, and stain glass windows of Jesus and Mary be destroyed. For the most part, the bishops are silent. Talyor Marshall chimes in on the episcopal silence.
CONDEMNING RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM: A Vatican publication is denouncing religious nationalism. The writer, a Jesuit priest from India, argues that religion and national identity should never be brought together. As is the case with all anti-nationalists, the author "straw man's" nationalism by framing it with a pejorative definition so that it can be contrasted unfavorable with patriotism. It is clear that this Indian Catholic isn't a fan of Prime Minister Modi, whose Hindu nationalist party is the largest political party governing the world's largest democracy. More from Church Militant.
A CHAPLAIN RESIGNS: A Catholic priest and chaplain at MIT has resigned for saying that George Floyd had not lived a virtuous life. Floyd in fact had a mile long criminal record - including the home invasion of a pregnant women who he robbed at gunpoint (the gun was pressed into her pregnant belly - a threat to both her and her baby and an attack on motherhood).
II. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND AMERICA
HOLLYWOOD STATUES: Ben Stiller wants the statue of Teddy Roosevelt in front of NYC's Museum of Natural History to be replaced by a statue of Robin Williams. The arrogance, narcissism, and smugness of Hollywood know no bounds. Tear down American history and replace it with monuments to themselves. Stiller and Williams co-stared in A Night at the Museum during which Robin Williams played the come-to-life statue of Roosevelt now being removed. T.R. must be rolling in his grave.
RENAMING YALE: The utter hypocrisy of the Left becomes more unbearable by the day. Conservatives have demanded consistency from the Left by demanding Yale University - named after the slave trader Elihu Yale - be renamed. The lack of consistency is not mere hypocrisy, however. As Tucker Carlson has reminded us, the Left only attacks institutions they do not control. This is why big tech, the FBI, and the US military are not under attack but the police, American history, and religion are. That's also why famous Democrats like Japanese-interning president FDR remain immune from the mob.
NO COVID TRACKING: Reports are saying that the Black Lives Matter protests are miraculously not spreading the coronavirus. The truth, however, is far less miraculous. It turns out that contact tracers, who track the whereabouts of infected patients, have been told NOT to ask if they have been to any protests. As a result, spread via protest will look much lower than it actually is. The fact that this is taking place in NYC, ground zero of the virus, is absolutely unconscionable.
NAMES AND REPARATIONS: A new poll reveals that 56% of Americans oppose renaming military bases while 73% oppose making slavery reparations to black Americans. So much of the BLM demands are unpopular among Americans - would that Republicans capitalize on that.
BIDEN'S DEMENTIA: A recent Zogby poll shows that 55% of Americans believe Joe Biden is suffering from early onset dementia. One may wonder why the Democrats would nominate a candidate such as this. It's likely they realized his election was a long shot, but if it was successful he could be easily controlled by the far Left wing of the party.
GOP WINS AGAIN: Republican Chris Jacobs won a New York state House seat on Tuesday with nearly 70% of the vote. Liberals said it would be close, but the GOP wins its latest string of victories. Meanwhile, the far Left continues to nominate and renominate extremists like AOC.
TRUMP RALLY: Liberals mocked President Trump for a smaller turn out at his Tulsa rally last week. They forget to mention that the rally netted FoxNews a new Saturday record for viewers and that anywhere from 10-13 million watched the rally online. Biden's online presence, according to the Left-leaning Atlantic, is a disaster. His live audiences are not much better. Compare Trump's rally photo to Biden - who do you think is winning?
III. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION
SCOTUS CAVES TO THE SEXUAL LEFT: Trump's own appointed Justice Gorsuch redefined "sex" to no longer mean gender but also homosexuality and transgenderism. No matter how much he tried to limit the ruling, there is no doubt that the impact of this will be wide-reaching. More on the story from Church Militant. Gorsuch is a textualist, not an originalist, and he used his judicial philosophy to read his opinion into the civil rights law rather than read the law as it was originally written. What America needs is not justices rooted in textualism or originalism but rather rooted first and foremost in the natural law.
"WHITE LIVES DON'T MATTER": Dr Priyamvada Gopal, a Caimbridge professor, has tweeted that "White lives don't matter" and called to "abolish whiteness." The racism of her language was clear, yet the university not only defended her, it promoted her.
ALL LIVES MATTER POLL: Rasmussen has completed a poll regarding American preferences for Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter. The results should not be surprising. A majority 59% of voters preferred All Lives Matter. Those who favored Black Lives Matter were usually wealth college educated - indoctrinated may be a better word - elites.
FED TO THE LIONS: Enamored with a the Lefist sexual libertarian "sexologist" Helmut Kentler, for thirty years the German government placed orphans in the homes of pedophiles. This thirty years war on children left the nation with countless victims of the sexual revolution run amok.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Religion, Sex, and Politics on YouTube
A new channel, steeped in the language of AoA and Dr. David Pence, has launched on YouTube. The channel is called Religion, Sex, and Politics and we invite all our AoA readers to begin watching our weekly videos and subscribe to the channel for more updates. Below you will find our inaugural episode on Religion. Please feel free to share it with friends and family and thanks for watching.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Father's Day: Before there was time or space or matter, there was Fatherhood
Thank you, God. Thank you, Dad.
FOUR ESSAYS FROM AOA
Originally posted June 17, 2018 by Dr. David Pence
Sunday, June 14, 2020
CORPUS CHRISTI: Lessons from Nature and History
First published Thursday June 19, 2014
Dr. Pence writes on this feast day, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (a holy day of obligation in the universal Church; and a national holiday in countries such as Brazil, Portugal, and Poland) --
The feast of Corpus Christi seldom inspires dialogue with Protestants. This is unfortunate, for much more than theological formulations of justification and faith, it is the sacral priesthood’s irreplaceable role in forgiving sins and bringing the Eucharist to the faithful that divides Catholic and Protestant. The consecrated Apostolic Priesthood and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist are indivisible truths. The faithful Protestant with a Bible in his hand, a heart for his Savior, and the name of Jesus on his lips cannot fathom that liturgical actions of the sacramental priesthood are an indispensable means to proximity with Christ. The personal faith of the Reformers has trumped the priestly works of the Papists.
In the same way as Andrew did with Peter, Catholics run to our brothers saying: “We see the Messiah. Come and be with Him; come and be with us.” We know that believing Protestants want to hear us, but it is a hard saying. They want to be close to Christ. They say He is their personal friend and Savior, and they mean it. But especially during Corpus Christi processions and Eucharistic Adoration hours, the Catholics seem so radically different.
Catholics kneel and say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God” – expressing the awe and veneration owed to the God who made heaven and earth. We join the centurion in saying that we are not worthy that Christ should enter under our roof. In the Holy Communion that immediately follows, He enters under our roof and our souls are healed in an act of incorporation beyond any act of friendship.
Why don’t Catholics display the continued unrelieved intensity of a “personal relationship with Christ”? Because we live in a different sort of emotional universe. At times we do not dare the familiarity of friendship, as we take off our sandals with Joshua and “fall down and worship.” Other times we know the communion of theosis for which friendship is too sparse a term. We admire the intensity of our Evangelical friends, but we should neither envy nor imitate the one-dimensional emphasis on friendship that compensates for centuries apart from the Eucharistic presence. Receiving the Lord in the Eucharist introduces a kind of interpersonal consummation, which generates an abiding peace. This rhythmic liturgical experience of Presence is less excitable than the enthusiasm of college friends; but like marriage, it is a deeper communion.
Corpus Christi invokes an irresistible lesson from the Book of Nature as well. Bacteria were the first forms of physical life created 3.8 billion years ago. Bacteria live as single cells or in colonies. They consist of prokaryotic cells, which have no nuclei and multiple coverings – a membrane, a cell wall, and a capsule. Around 2 billion years ago, one of the great transformations in life-forms occurred as certain bacteria lost some of their external coverings (the capsules) and merged with other bacteria to form something new: eukaryotic cells. This type of cell was larger and had a nucleus. Most importantly, the new cells had fewer coverings, and the membranes of their cells were capable of much more complex social interaction with other cells. These cells would develop over time with a capacity to “incorporate” into multi-cellular organisms.
These new eukaryotic cells would become the multi-cellular organisms of the protist, fungal, plant and animal kingdoms. [The protist kingdom is that of amoeba and algae; the ‘silly putty’ of the biological world, or the living goo from which emerges the more defined forms of plants and animals].
I have always pictured this event as the best biological analogy to the capacity of persons with spiritual souls to be incorporated in the Body of Christ. There is something about shedding an outer self to allow a deeper bonding in a new multidimensional organism that resonates. The sacraments of Initiation and Holy Orders seal our souls with indelible characters that configure us in a radically transformed mode of living. The feast of Corpus Christi calls us to consider this truth: that Christ is fully present in the Eucharist and being incorporated in Him (and participating in His Sonship) is the way members of our species are going to live forever in the Father’s household.
UPDATE: From a letter of J.R.R. Tolkien to his son (November 1, 1963) --
"Oculi omnium in te spirant, Domine:
et tu das illis escam in tempore opportune."
(The eyes of all look towards you in hope, O Lord:
and you give them their food in due season.)
"Ecce Panis Angelorum, factus cibus viatorum."
(Behold this bread of Angels
Which hath become food for us on our pilgrimage.)
Dr. Pence writes on this feast day, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (a holy day of obligation in the universal Church; and a national holiday in countries such as Brazil, Portugal, and Poland) --
The feast of Corpus Christi seldom inspires dialogue with Protestants. This is unfortunate, for much more than theological formulations of justification and faith, it is the sacral priesthood’s irreplaceable role in forgiving sins and bringing the Eucharist to the faithful that divides Catholic and Protestant. The consecrated Apostolic Priesthood and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist are indivisible truths. The faithful Protestant with a Bible in his hand, a heart for his Savior, and the name of Jesus on his lips cannot fathom that liturgical actions of the sacramental priesthood are an indispensable means to proximity with Christ. The personal faith of the Reformers has trumped the priestly works of the Papists.
In the same way as Andrew did with Peter, Catholics run to our brothers saying: “We see the Messiah. Come and be with Him; come and be with us.” We know that believing Protestants want to hear us, but it is a hard saying. They want to be close to Christ. They say He is their personal friend and Savior, and they mean it. But especially during Corpus Christi processions and Eucharistic Adoration hours, the Catholics seem so radically different.
Catholics kneel and say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God” – expressing the awe and veneration owed to the God who made heaven and earth. We join the centurion in saying that we are not worthy that Christ should enter under our roof. In the Holy Communion that immediately follows, He enters under our roof and our souls are healed in an act of incorporation beyond any act of friendship.
 |
| from "Last Communion of Saint Jerome" by Botticelli |
Why don’t Catholics display the continued unrelieved intensity of a “personal relationship with Christ”? Because we live in a different sort of emotional universe. At times we do not dare the familiarity of friendship, as we take off our sandals with Joshua and “fall down and worship.” Other times we know the communion of theosis for which friendship is too sparse a term. We admire the intensity of our Evangelical friends, but we should neither envy nor imitate the one-dimensional emphasis on friendship that compensates for centuries apart from the Eucharistic presence. Receiving the Lord in the Eucharist introduces a kind of interpersonal consummation, which generates an abiding peace. This rhythmic liturgical experience of Presence is less excitable than the enthusiasm of college friends; but like marriage, it is a deeper communion.
Corpus Christi invokes an irresistible lesson from the Book of Nature as well. Bacteria were the first forms of physical life created 3.8 billion years ago. Bacteria live as single cells or in colonies. They consist of prokaryotic cells, which have no nuclei and multiple coverings – a membrane, a cell wall, and a capsule. Around 2 billion years ago, one of the great transformations in life-forms occurred as certain bacteria lost some of their external coverings (the capsules) and merged with other bacteria to form something new: eukaryotic cells. This type of cell was larger and had a nucleus. Most importantly, the new cells had fewer coverings, and the membranes of their cells were capable of much more complex social interaction with other cells. These cells would develop over time with a capacity to “incorporate” into multi-cellular organisms.
These new eukaryotic cells would become the multi-cellular organisms of the protist, fungal, plant and animal kingdoms. [The protist kingdom is that of amoeba and algae; the ‘silly putty’ of the biological world, or the living goo from which emerges the more defined forms of plants and animals].
I have always pictured this event as the best biological analogy to the capacity of persons with spiritual souls to be incorporated in the Body of Christ. There is something about shedding an outer self to allow a deeper bonding in a new multidimensional organism that resonates. The sacraments of Initiation and Holy Orders seal our souls with indelible characters that configure us in a radically transformed mode of living. The feast of Corpus Christi calls us to consider this truth: that Christ is fully present in the Eucharist and being incorporated in Him (and participating in His Sonship) is the way members of our species are going to live forever in the Father’s household.
UPDATE: From a letter of J.R.R. Tolkien to his son (November 1, 1963) --
"But for me, that Church of which the Pope is its acknowledged head on earth has as its chief claim that it is the one which has (and still does) ever defended the Blessed Sacrament and given it most honor and put it as Christ clearly intended in prime place. 'Feed my sheep' was His last charge to St. Peter… It was against this that the West European revolt (or the Reformation) was really launched – 'the monstrous fable of the Mass' – and faith/works a mere red herring."
"Oculi omnium in te spirant, Domine:
et tu das illis escam in tempore opportune."
(The eyes of all look towards you in hope, O Lord:
and you give them their food in due season.)
"Ecce Panis Angelorum, factus cibus viatorum."
(Behold this bread of Angels
Which hath become food for us on our pilgrimage.)
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Religion, Nations, and Geopolitical Review: SATURDAY, JUNE 13
by A. Joseph Lynch
THE WEEKLY BRIEF
MOB RULE THREATENS AMERICA
Unrest over the unjust murder of George Floyd on May 25 has rapidly spiraled out of control, with the far Left doing it best to hand America over to a mob. What has taken place in the past two weeks began with calls for police reforms but soon became riots and demands for defunding and abolishing the police altogether.
AoA will be unpacking these events in future R&G's along with more stand alone articles. We invite readers to keep their eyes open to more as we post it.
Americans who gleeful converted to the rising Black Lives Matter religion are waking up to see how far the radical Left is attempting to change America. Some may wonder what the murder of George Floyd has to do with tearing down statues of Christopher Columbus, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson - even Abraham Lincoln. Or why the monument to the 54th Massachusetts - the famed first African American regiment in the US history - was so viciously assailed by the mob. Why did Dallas have to remove its innocuous statue to the historic Texas Rangers from their international airport? And if the Texas Rangers are now evil racists, will the eponymous baseball team located in the same city need to change its name now, too?
Average Americans may wonder why Disney is being asked to re-theme Splash Mountain and why HBO Max threatened to ban Gone with the Wind, the film that gave America its first black female Academy award winner. It's no surprise that the film's sales jumped to #1 on Amazon following HBO's announcement. Why does a kid's show like Paw Patrol need to be condemned for having a dog dressed in a police uniform? Why do shows like COPS Live PD need to be cancelled? And why is the Washington Post demanding that all police-themed movies and TV shows be shut down?
Why does Lady Antebellum need to change its name to Lady A? Is the term "antebellum" racist now, too? Yet even the change to Lady A is attacked as racist. Why? It's apparently the name of a black female musician. Oh the irony.
The same liberals who denounced religion as anti-math and anti-science have pulled out their pitchforks and declared STEM education racist, too. Will we now need to include social justice and trigger warnings before teaching our children geometry in the classroom?
Speaking of children, why is it all of a sudden trendy for children to be praised for denouncing their parents on social media like TikTok? Why is the New York Times telling us to dissociate from family and friends who don't support this radical agenda? They say we must tell them that we "will not be visiting them or answering phone calls until they take significant action supporting black lives either through protest or financial contributions." The average American may wonder, as we at AoA do, why the party of tolerance and inclusion is being so intolerant and exclusive?
Has big business gone too far when a corporation like Wal-Mart has told it's employees that they "are expected to truly, authentically, and more deeply embrace inclusion"? If you're deemed not inclusive enough you will be excluded from a job. Does it make any sense that a black restaurant owner is effectively being labeled a racist and losing GoFundMe donations because she criticized Black Lives Matter?
Americans are now scared. Many now too scared to speak up. They need to find their voice and we at AoA will do all we can to help them find one.
I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
THE WEEKLY BRIEF
MOB RULE THREATENS AMERICA
Unrest over the unjust murder of George Floyd on May 25 has rapidly spiraled out of control, with the far Left doing it best to hand America over to a mob. What has taken place in the past two weeks began with calls for police reforms but soon became riots and demands for defunding and abolishing the police altogether.
AoA will be unpacking these events in future R&G's along with more stand alone articles. We invite readers to keep their eyes open to more as we post it.
Americans who gleeful converted to the rising Black Lives Matter religion are waking up to see how far the radical Left is attempting to change America. Some may wonder what the murder of George Floyd has to do with tearing down statues of Christopher Columbus, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson - even Abraham Lincoln. Or why the monument to the 54th Massachusetts - the famed first African American regiment in the US history - was so viciously assailed by the mob. Why did Dallas have to remove its innocuous statue to the historic Texas Rangers from their international airport? And if the Texas Rangers are now evil racists, will the eponymous baseball team located in the same city need to change its name now, too?
Average Americans may wonder why Disney is being asked to re-theme Splash Mountain and why HBO Max threatened to ban Gone with the Wind, the film that gave America its first black female Academy award winner. It's no surprise that the film's sales jumped to #1 on Amazon following HBO's announcement. Why does a kid's show like Paw Patrol need to be condemned for having a dog dressed in a police uniform? Why do shows like COPS Live PD need to be cancelled? And why is the Washington Post demanding that all police-themed movies and TV shows be shut down?
Why does Lady Antebellum need to change its name to Lady A? Is the term "antebellum" racist now, too? Yet even the change to Lady A is attacked as racist. Why? It's apparently the name of a black female musician. Oh the irony.
The same liberals who denounced religion as anti-math and anti-science have pulled out their pitchforks and declared STEM education racist, too. Will we now need to include social justice and trigger warnings before teaching our children geometry in the classroom?
Speaking of children, why is it all of a sudden trendy for children to be praised for denouncing their parents on social media like TikTok? Why is the New York Times telling us to dissociate from family and friends who don't support this radical agenda? They say we must tell them that we "will not be visiting them or answering phone calls until they take significant action supporting black lives either through protest or financial contributions." The average American may wonder, as we at AoA do, why the party of tolerance and inclusion is being so intolerant and exclusive?
Has big business gone too far when a corporation like Wal-Mart has told it's employees that they "are expected to truly, authentically, and more deeply embrace inclusion"? If you're deemed not inclusive enough you will be excluded from a job. Does it make any sense that a black restaurant owner is effectively being labeled a racist and losing GoFundMe donations because she criticized Black Lives Matter?
Americans are now scared. Many now too scared to speak up. They need to find their voice and we at AoA will do all we can to help them find one.
I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
BENDING THE KNEE: Black Lives Matter has appropriated the body of language of religion: genuflection and prostration. Genuflection (bending the knee to the ground) symbolizes our worship of God and prostration (laying facedown on the ground) symbolizes our complete submission to the God. As more Americans - and even law enforcement officers - hand over these symbols to the mob, we must not forget their meaning and understand what their appropriation means. One black state trooper in Georgia understood this, telling protesters he only kneels for one person - God.
BISHOPS BEND THE KNEE: Bishop Seitz of El Paso, Texas, has bent the knee. We hope it was just in prayer, but the media are happy to co-opt it for their own ends. Archbishop Gregory of DC understands religious symbolism - that's why he ordered all his priests to protest the president wearing cassocks.
ROBERTS' CLOSES CHURCHES: As liberal protesters jam up streets in cites across the nation, Chief Justice John Roberts has joined the liberals on the Court to keep church's all but closed during the pandemic. The selective protections of Americans' First Amendment rights are growing more appalling by the day.
DC ARCHBISHOP LYING: Archbishop Wilton Gregory's "surprise" response to President Trump's visit to the John Paul II memorial was anything but. Through he claimed he didn't know the president was visiting, Gregory had turned down an invitation to join the president only week before. The president fittingly visited the shrine ahead signing his new executive order on advancing international religious freedom.
II. DEFUNDING THE POLICE
DEFUND THE POLICE? Though only 16% of Americans want it, Black Lives Matter mobs are demanding it. The mayor of Minneapolis - the pathetic loser who allowed the mobs to burn down one of his city's police precincts - was booed and made to take the walk of shame for refusing to disband the local police. Joe Biden says he won't defund the police and even socialist Bernie Sanders agrees with him. Yet the Black Lives Matter DC denounced liberal pandering as "performative distraction" and declared "Black Lives Matters means defund the police." Wearing Kente cloths, renaming streets, and tearing down statues is not enough for BLM - the police must go. If the "Defund/Abolish" movement becomes a litmus test around the necks of Democrats in November it could spell their doom at the ballot box.
DEFUND POLICE BY THE NUMBERS: This article offers a good chart on the opposition to defunding the police. Guess who is most likely to support it? Post-grad Democrats under the age of 30. When only 29% of blacks support defunding the police, we can be clear that this agenda is being pushed by college-educated liberal elites who live in their safe suburban homes or Hollywood mansions.
A CASE STUDY IN DEFUNDING POLICE: Chicago, known for its high murder rates, saw its deadliest day in sixty years during the riots. LA saw it's murder rate spike 250% in one week and NYC's major crimes rose by 12%. Yet both Los Angeles and New York City plan to cut funds to their police. The San Francisco police chief says he's "open" to defunding his own police force. No wonder the well-off citizens of both San Francisco and New York City are leaving in droves. Readers who have Netflix should consider watching the documentary, Flint Town. It documents what happens when a crime-ridden city cuts police funds. According to a review from The New Yorker only two years ago: "Flint went broke and could no longer afford its police. To save money, the city shuttered its police academy and cut its police force in half. Crime, naturally, doubled." When you cut police in half and crime doubles what do you think will happen when the police are disbanded? Common sense has not kept the New York Times from running the op-ed: "Yes, we mean literally abolish the police (because reform won't happen)."
DEFUNDING POLICE AND TRUCKERS: A poll of truckers has revealed that 77% of truck drivers will not make deliveries to cities that have either defunded or abolished their police forces. How much will goods cost when the number of truck delivers slows to a trickle?
CHAZ - ANTIFA'S FIRST VICTORY: "You are now leaving the USA," a sign reads as you enter a downtown Seattle. Antifa may or may not be running the secessionist territory calling itself the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), yet it is unarguably a victory for the Antifa cause. Members from the John Brown Gun Club - a radical Leftist organization - are providing "protection" from law enforcement. It was a member of the John Brown Gun Club and Antifa loyalist who attacked an ICE detention center in Washington state last year. The women in charge of the city (Jenny Dukren) and the surrendered police precinct (Carmen Best) have revealed their inability to govern and protect their streets. The Governor, Jay Inslee, is so inept a leader that he didn't know a chunk of his state had declared independence. CHAZ is now led by an armed warlord, is forcing businesses to pay "taxes," and has started its own "new police" force that is threatening violence on its "citizens." Absolutley none of this is legal. yet Washington's Democrats refuse to restore law and order to CHAZ. Meanwhile the media describes CHAZ as both a place of peace and love but warns authorities from going in because it could lead to bloodshed. So which is it, an occupied warzone or a utopia? Given their call for more supplies of vegan food, we don't suspect it would take much to clear out the secessionists - yet who can expect the cow-towing leftists governing Washington and Seattle to end this while their (supposedly anti-nationalist) liberal media warn Trump to leave the new "nation" alone.
III. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND AMERICA
PROTEST RACE: The Democrat governor of North Carolina banned outdoor gatherings above 25 people. Thankfully a local car race worked around the restrictions by declaring itself a "Peaceful Protest of Injustice and Inequality Everywhere." Over 2,000 were thus able to attend.
NORTH CAROLINA DOUBLE STANDARD: Despite restricting outdoor gatherings to 25 people, Black Lives Matter protesters by the hundreds marched freely in North Carolina. During the lock down Americans were not allowed to bury their dead, yet George Floyd received not one but three funerals. His North Carolina funeral was packed with hundreds of participants. Yet the governor would not allow President Trump to hold the Republican National Convention there in August.
DALLAS DOUBLE STANDARD: The mayor of Dallas was happy to arrest a salon owner who stayed open during the coronavirus lock down so that she could feed her children. Dallas' female police chief, however, was pleased to announce no charges would be placed for the nearly 700 protesters she arrested. The next day the mob demanded her resignation and the defunding of the Dallas PD. In neighboring Fort Worth, the police chief announced all rioting charges were being dropped.
LEAVING MINNEAPOLIS: The president of 7-Sigma Inc., a manufacturing company razed during the Minneapolis riots, has announced the company will be leaving Minneapolis after 33 years. The Democrats running the city "don't care about my business," president Kris Wyrobek said to reporters. "They didn't protect our people. We were all on our own." The riots are costing the city dozens of employees and tax revenues. Was all this really worth it?
MAKING BLACK LIVES BETTER: During the Trump presidency, black-owned business grew by 400% and the minority share of small businesses climbed from a meager 15% to an astounding 45%. Sadly the Democrat-pushed hard lock downs have resulted in the the decimation of 41% of black owned businesses. The rioters didn't mind burning down what was left - like the restaurant owned by a retired black firefighter. A combination of a booming economy with a restoration of Christian masculine protective culture in the inner cities will do much more than looting, rioting, and even protesting George Floyd's unjust murder.
REPLACING JARED KUSHNER: Trump's power couple, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, have long been an albatross around his neck. They represent the globalist, feminist, crony capitalist positions that Trump has long stood against. It's believed Kushner has been responsible for keeping the president from implementing many of the conservative nationalist-populist policies he said he'd enact. Rumor has it Trump is listening to Tucker Carlson and Kushner might be going. We hope so.
IV. THE NATIONS
US REMOVING TROOPS: Almost 10,000 troops will be coming home from Germany. A good move by the president, but sadly 25,000 troops will remain.
BLM IN UK: Statues are under assault in the UK as Black Lives Matter spreads across the pond. Locals have taken up protection of some statues while others have come down. Shockingly statues to both Churchill and Boy Scout founder Robert Baden-Powell are in the mob's cross-hairs.
POLES RESIST IDEOLOGY: The Polish president has compared the LGBT agenda to Soviet indoctrination. Pope Francis calls it ideological colonization. Both men are correct.
V. CULTURE OF LIFE, CULTURE OF PROTECTION
"IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" These words were screamed by the mob at a police chief who shamed himself and his profession as flung himself in prostration before the crowd. Our athletes are learning the same message. Drew Brees has done nothing but apologize for loving the flag. He even forced his wife to cave to the mob. Does the man have any manhood left? A pro-soccer player from Ukraine player faced graver consequences after his wife was critical of Black Lives Matter on Instagram. Though she wrote in Ukrainian from Chicago while he practiced with his team in LA, he was forced to apologize twice, publicly denounce her, and pledge support for BLM. After all that the team fired him anyway. Nothing these people do will ever be enough. Apologizing only gives them ammo to do more harm. "It's not enough!" is a phrase we must all remember before we bend the knee and acknowledge our supposed privilege.
 |
| Denouncing the flag and shaming law enforcement will not heal the wounds we face as nation. Honoring the flag and protecting our nation, states, and cities together as brothers under a common Father is the only solution. |
KNEELING NO MORE: Cops are starting to stand up and push back against the mob. One cop has apologized for bending the knee and acknowledged his shame for doing so. Chicago's police union has now said it will ban members who bend the knee in uniform. The NYPD union head gave a rousing defense of police, and another said it will sue rioters who were let off the hook by Democrat city rulers.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION: Democrats are under fire for wearing the Kente cloth as they bent the knee to Black Lives Matter. It has also been said that the pattern on the cloth represents an African tribe known for selling defeated enemies to European slavers centuries ago.
MORE CELEBRITY CRINGE: We all remember the tone deaf, mansion-dwelling celebrities who brought us the cringe-worthy singing of Imagine with its call to end possessions, borders, and religions. The celebrities are at it again, now calling out white people for their "privilege." It's no wonder a recent Morning Consult poll revealed that American trust in Hollywood stands at 4% - behind trust in Wallstreet (5%) and the U.S. government (7%).
ARRESTING NYC PROTESTERS: The NYPD has finally arrested two black women for protesting without social distancing. Sadly they were pro-lifers protesting outside a NYC abortion clinic. The thousands of BLM protesters not social distancing down the street continued unabated.
EMPOWERING WOMEN: The leftist-backed shutdowns are bringing more and more people into poverty. Some women are turning to sex work to make ends meet. The website "OnlyFans" claims it's empowering these desperate women. Nothing could be further from the truth.
THE COMPANY: A good video on the military unit, the size of which makes it a natural formation of men.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Originally published June 15, 2014; additive edits June 11, 2017 by Dr. David Pence
The coming of Jesus announced a Messiah for the Jews, proclaimed a new Kingdom amidst the nations, dethroned the Enemy Prince, and revealed the mystery we contemplate on this day -- that the God-made-man is one Person in a Trinity.
"Even our God is a community," said G.K. Chesterton. Humans will overcome death only by entering into this triune God as sons of the Father, incorporated into the Body of the Son. The Spirit will bind us properly if we humbly let Him act… and He acts through the sacramental Church. He indelibly conforms our souls into Christ's Body through Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. The Trinity, marriage and the family, Holy Orders and the Church – these are the communions we know as Catholics.
Our proposal here at Anthropology of Accord is that the Communio theology which takes its origin from the metaphysical reality we celebrate today must be further developed as the theological and anthropological principle of the public life of the Church and nations. The three persons of the Trinity are revealed to us in the masculine forms of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A serious theology will ponder and learn from the masculine apostolic priesthood and the male covenantal nature of the prototype nation: Israel. The Communio nature of the Eucharistic church and marriage are enriching themes of the last century. They have their champions and journals and institutes. Masculine public communio is a bit underdeveloped. Ubiquitous, fundamental, and yet (for fear of embarrassment) unmentioned.
The communal bond of men in nations is the natural polity which ensures the freedom of those more sacred bonds of Church and marriage. In different places and times in history the masculine public polity might have been fellow tribesmen and a warrior chief, or the Emperor and his subjects, or the 'polis' and its citizens. But, today, from Singapore to Germany, from Canada to China, from Brazil to Poland, and from Egypt to the Philippines, the natural bond of men in public communal work and protection has developed in the form of territorial nations. The Scriptural template of this masculine national form is the ritual of circumcision and the forging of one nation under a Law from the twelve tribes of Israel. The nation was built on a forgiving act of brotherly reconciliation. It is deeply tied to the possession of a common land. It is ordered by a common law. Leaders rise as prophets, priests or rulers to keep the communal body in concordance with God. It is our hope that Catholic theologians and philosophers would spend some fraction of their attention on history and the relationships of the natural armed authorities, which constitute public life and the legitimate State.
Possibly the next three graduate students who request to study the Theology of the Body might be reassigned to a project studying how Singapore got to be the polity it is today. We could call it the "theology of the corporate body" if that would make this ancient study of the natural polity more palatable. It was such men making civic agreement and the peace of 'Tranquillitas Ordinis' whom Christ had in mind when He said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
Marriage is an important but not all-embracing covenant. Neither the Church nor the nations are families writ large. Christ did not found His church on a sacral marriage, nor was the bond of sacred honor which forged America the union between George and Martha Washington! Both the Catholic Church and the American nation are founded on sacral covenanted brotherhoods of adult men. Religious and political public life are both defined by public communal and masculine loves which include the apostolic priesthood and the particular territorial loves of men for their fatherland. Christ wept over Jerusalem, not Antioch. More than 2000 years have passed and Jerusalem once again is guarded by a nation called Israel. Christ never ordered the apostolic Church to move beyond the nation. He said, "Baptize the nations." Those of us who believe the Trinity is the fundamental form of love and life can no longer ignore in our religious discourse the public form of communion -- the life of nations -- that God promised Abraham 4000 years ago.
The 20th-century Catholic thinker who best navigated in the waters of Christianity and the formation of political cultures in history was Christopher Dawson:
The most articulate explanation of the dilemma of present-day Catholic political thought, scissored between the sacral relations of marriage and the Church, has been presented by Russell Hittinger.
On Trinity Sunday let us pay heed to the nature of our communal bonds – all of which in their proper order give glory to that greatest of bonds – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
UPDATE: Here is an earlier review of Christopher Dawson’s Judgment of the Nations.
And a fascinating address given by Professor Hittinger on the troubled interaction of nations and theology.
"When we speak of the Trinity, we must do so with caution and modesty, for, as St. Augustine saith, nowhere else are more dangerous errors made, or is research more difficult, or discovery more fruitful."
(Saint Thomas Aquinas)
The coming of Jesus announced a Messiah for the Jews, proclaimed a new Kingdom amidst the nations, dethroned the Enemy Prince, and revealed the mystery we contemplate on this day -- that the God-made-man is one Person in a Trinity.
"Even our God is a community," said G.K. Chesterton. Humans will overcome death only by entering into this triune God as sons of the Father, incorporated into the Body of the Son. The Spirit will bind us properly if we humbly let Him act… and He acts through the sacramental Church. He indelibly conforms our souls into Christ's Body through Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. The Trinity, marriage and the family, Holy Orders and the Church – these are the communions we know as Catholics.
Our proposal here at Anthropology of Accord is that the Communio theology which takes its origin from the metaphysical reality we celebrate today must be further developed as the theological and anthropological principle of the public life of the Church and nations. The three persons of the Trinity are revealed to us in the masculine forms of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A serious theology will ponder and learn from the masculine apostolic priesthood and the male covenantal nature of the prototype nation: Israel. The Communio nature of the Eucharistic church and marriage are enriching themes of the last century. They have their champions and journals and institutes. Masculine public communio is a bit underdeveloped. Ubiquitous, fundamental, and yet (for fear of embarrassment) unmentioned.
The communal bond of men in nations is the natural polity which ensures the freedom of those more sacred bonds of Church and marriage. In different places and times in history the masculine public polity might have been fellow tribesmen and a warrior chief, or the Emperor and his subjects, or the 'polis' and its citizens. But, today, from Singapore to Germany, from Canada to China, from Brazil to Poland, and from Egypt to the Philippines, the natural bond of men in public communal work and protection has developed in the form of territorial nations. The Scriptural template of this masculine national form is the ritual of circumcision and the forging of one nation under a Law from the twelve tribes of Israel. The nation was built on a forgiving act of brotherly reconciliation. It is deeply tied to the possession of a common land. It is ordered by a common law. Leaders rise as prophets, priests or rulers to keep the communal body in concordance with God. It is our hope that Catholic theologians and philosophers would spend some fraction of their attention on history and the relationships of the natural armed authorities, which constitute public life and the legitimate State.
Possibly the next three graduate students who request to study the Theology of the Body might be reassigned to a project studying how Singapore got to be the polity it is today. We could call it the "theology of the corporate body" if that would make this ancient study of the natural polity more palatable. It was such men making civic agreement and the peace of 'Tranquillitas Ordinis' whom Christ had in mind when He said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
Marriage is an important but not all-embracing covenant. Neither the Church nor the nations are families writ large. Christ did not found His church on a sacral marriage, nor was the bond of sacred honor which forged America the union between George and Martha Washington! Both the Catholic Church and the American nation are founded on sacral covenanted brotherhoods of adult men. Religious and political public life are both defined by public communal and masculine loves which include the apostolic priesthood and the particular territorial loves of men for their fatherland. Christ wept over Jerusalem, not Antioch. More than 2000 years have passed and Jerusalem once again is guarded by a nation called Israel. Christ never ordered the apostolic Church to move beyond the nation. He said, "Baptize the nations." Those of us who believe the Trinity is the fundamental form of love and life can no longer ignore in our religious discourse the public form of communion -- the life of nations -- that God promised Abraham 4000 years ago.
The 20th-century Catholic thinker who best navigated in the waters of Christianity and the formation of political cultures in history was Christopher Dawson:
The most articulate explanation of the dilemma of present-day Catholic political thought, scissored between the sacral relations of marriage and the Church, has been presented by Russell Hittinger.
On Trinity Sunday let us pay heed to the nature of our communal bonds – all of which in their proper order give glory to that greatest of bonds – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
UPDATE: Here is an earlier review of Christopher Dawson’s Judgment of the Nations.
And a fascinating address given by Professor Hittinger on the troubled interaction of nations and theology.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
The Prayers of D-Day: June 6,1944
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| I am honored to say I knew the man pictured at center above Eisenhower's thumb, Private Sherman Oiler from Kansas. When I knew him in the late 90s, he could still fit into the uniform from this picture. -AJL |
"Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity." FDR D-Day Prayer.
June 6, 2019 Update: These above words were quoted by President Donald Trump during his trip to England on June 5, 2019 - on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the invasion (AJL). Read President Trump's incredible anniversary speech from June 6, 2019 here.
Thursday, June 4, 2020
On the Passing of Dr. David Pence
Today marks one year since the passing of Dr. David Pence. His loss continues to be deeply felt. So much has changed since June 4, 2019. Be it in regards to the coronavirus pandemic or the burning of Minneapolis, our favorite M.D. oncologist and loyal son of the city would have so much to say. Yet we also know how it would pain him to see the fires of race hate decimating the areas just north of his final resting place. Perhaps it’s best that virus-sickened citizens and collapsing Minneapolis have a prayer warrior M.D. among the saints.
Nevertheless, the voice and vision, friendship and comradery of Dr. David Pence is missed beyond measure.
Much has also changed for me these past twelve months. I am very proud to say that we’ve kept Dr. Pence’s request to continue AoA’s regular posting of R&G’s, along with our sacred and civic time articles. Our book, The Catholic Palette is also in the process of publication. Much of my time this year, however, went to teaching middle school students at an area Catholic grade school. Unfortunately this meant I wasn’t able to do more for AoA. As the school year wound down amid the pandemic, health concerns have led me to leave teaching temporarily until a vaccine is discovered. Yesterday was my last day of work and as of today I plan to give AoA and the “Pence Project” my full attention… mostly.
A year ago my wife and I discovered we were expecting our first son. He was born in the hospital elevator during a snow storm on January 11, and in honor of Dr. Pence we named him David. Now over twenty pounds, “Little” David is a juggernaut of a baby. When he starts to crawl he’ll definitely keep us busy. David and Dr. Pence are receiving much of my attention going forward and I’m happy to take a step back from the teaching world to invest my time in my new son and the work of my “secondary” father.
This idea of a “secondary father” comes from Joseph Campbell. Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club, spoke of it in an interview with Joe Rogan:
“Joseph Campbell’s idea of that there needs to be a secondary father in men’s lives. You’re born – if you’re lucky – with a biological father that you do not choose,” but each man needs “to choose a new father. That father by choice typically is a minister or a teacher or a drill sergeant or a coach… and you put yourself in apprenticeship to the secondary father. And you have to consign your life to the secondary father, and agree to learn what he is going to teach you.I would have loved to discuss this idea of a secondary father with Dr. Pence, but I know he’d hear it and say, “I’m hip!” No young male can mature into a man without undergoing a process of socialization both by a group of men and through the guiding influence of a secondary father. As we mourn the anniversary of his passing, I know that no man could have a better “secondary” father than Dr. David Pence. God love you, Dr. Pence, you are missed! The work – the project – continues.
“Whether you apprentice yourself to a fighting coach or to a metallurgist or to a welder or to a bricklayer or to a mason, you are apprenticing yourself to somebody that you’re going to do all this grunt work for but in exchange you’re going to learn to a master skill at something. And so it’s a way of mastering yourself as you master this other thing.
“There is that existential moment when you realize that you have to sacrifice your youth for something. You’re not going to live forever… you have to become a being-towards-death… and you’ve got to give your life to something.”
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Uganda Martyrs, pray for us
by David Pence
Uganda is an independent (1962) African nation with 38 million people (84% Christian). Parliament recently passed an anti-homosexuality bill roundly condemned by activists in the northern white churches. Denmark, the Netherlands, America, and the World Bank have all threatened Ugandans with severe economic repercussions for their law.
The motto of their flag is "For God and my Country." A formative event in their history is celebrated today to commemorate the martyrdom of Charles Lwanga and his companions. From 1885-1887, King Mwanga II of Buganda was responsible for the execution of a group of young Christian males who had been employed as court pages. They would not submit to his depraved desires. The king knew, in fact, that if a boy was taught the Christian faith and converted, that was one service he would no longer offer the sovereign. Both Anglicans and Catholics were martyred. Almost 80 countries have laws against sodomy which was a felony in all 50 U.S. states before 1962. The Ugandan celebration of these recently canonized saints reminds us that Christ has offered all men a share in the deepest and widest of all brotherhoods. All Christian men from the Asian islands to the African heartland know that we are forming a protective brotherhood of cities and nations in imitation of Christ's bond with his Apostles. Violence, racism, and war can break this bond; and so we must seriously and constantly pursue high and holy brotherhoods to form a public life which glorifies Christ.
Just as incest pollutes the love of sons for their fathers and brothers for their brothers, the brave young pages of Mwanga's court knew what he was asking of them was no insignificant call to duty. The 27 young men who were marched over twenty miles -- and then burned to death -- leave a bright light for our own so-darkened times.
Saint Charles Lwanga, pray that Americans may display the courage of sexual purity that you and your companions showed this day 130 years ago.
FROM TODAY'S OFFICE OF READINGS:
POPE PAUL VI SERMON CANONIZING UGANDAN MARTYRS
"These African martyrs herald the dawn of a new age. If only the mind of man might be directed not toward persecutions and religious conflicts but toward a rebirth of Christianity and civilization."
Uganda is an independent (1962) African nation with 38 million people (84% Christian). Parliament recently passed an anti-homosexuality bill roundly condemned by activists in the northern white churches. Denmark, the Netherlands, America, and the World Bank have all threatened Ugandans with severe economic repercussions for their law.
The motto of their flag is "For God and my Country." A formative event in their history is celebrated today to commemorate the martyrdom of Charles Lwanga and his companions. From 1885-1887, King Mwanga II of Buganda was responsible for the execution of a group of young Christian males who had been employed as court pages. They would not submit to his depraved desires. The king knew, in fact, that if a boy was taught the Christian faith and converted, that was one service he would no longer offer the sovereign. Both Anglicans and Catholics were martyred. Almost 80 countries have laws against sodomy which was a felony in all 50 U.S. states before 1962. The Ugandan celebration of these recently canonized saints reminds us that Christ has offered all men a share in the deepest and widest of all brotherhoods. All Christian men from the Asian islands to the African heartland know that we are forming a protective brotherhood of cities and nations in imitation of Christ's bond with his Apostles. Violence, racism, and war can break this bond; and so we must seriously and constantly pursue high and holy brotherhoods to form a public life which glorifies Christ.
Just as incest pollutes the love of sons for their fathers and brothers for their brothers, the brave young pages of Mwanga's court knew what he was asking of them was no insignificant call to duty. The 27 young men who were marched over twenty miles -- and then burned to death -- leave a bright light for our own so-darkened times.
Saint Charles Lwanga, pray that Americans may display the courage of sexual purity that you and your companions showed this day 130 years ago.
FROM TODAY'S OFFICE OF READINGS:
POPE PAUL VI SERMON CANONIZING UGANDAN MARTYRS
"These African martyrs herald the dawn of a new age. If only the mind of man might be directed not toward persecutions and religious conflicts but toward a rebirth of Christianity and civilization."
Monday, June 1, 2020
Mary: Mother of the Church -- Come Holy Spirit, Renew the Face of the Earth
Originally posted May 21, 2018
by David Pence
Mary is the new Eve. Her willingness to be the handmaid of the Lord reversed the sin of Eve who sought to "be like God." Satan has always resented the beauty of Mary. He can't get over that the mighty Lucifer (the light bearer, Phosphorous in Greek) must bow to a human queen. Pope Francis has designated the day after Pentecost to remind us that the Body of Christ was first revealed in Mary. Today we celebrate Mary, Mother of the Church. The Church is Marian before she was Apostolic. The masculine apostolic Church cannot be understood apart from Mary, Mother of the Church. Her authority abided in her presence as a living memory of her Son. Remembering Him, witnessing the truth of his Incarnation, she nurtured and showed Mercy. Mary, Mother of the Church, Model of the Church, pray for us.
Here is a reflection on the devotion of Pope Paul VI and Pope Francis to Mary as Mater Ecclesia. A sermon on Mary, Motherhood and Creation by Rev. Peter Stravinskas. The Humility of Mary, the Mother of God. by Jonathan Coe.
All of these reflections show why the Pope has given this Marian mark to the day after Pentecost (Whit Monday). Our Lady as the physical perfection of femininity is the model for every soul and for the Living Church! What mighty things the Lord can accomplish in our personal and ecclesial lives if we let ourselves be a sailboat driven by the Holy Spirit instead of a motorboat driven by our own will.
by David Pence
Mary is the new Eve. Her willingness to be the handmaid of the Lord reversed the sin of Eve who sought to "be like God." Satan has always resented the beauty of Mary. He can't get over that the mighty Lucifer (the light bearer, Phosphorous in Greek) must bow to a human queen. Pope Francis has designated the day after Pentecost to remind us that the Body of Christ was first revealed in Mary. Today we celebrate Mary, Mother of the Church. The Church is Marian before she was Apostolic. The masculine apostolic Church cannot be understood apart from Mary, Mother of the Church. Her authority abided in her presence as a living memory of her Son. Remembering Him, witnessing the truth of his Incarnation, she nurtured and showed Mercy. Mary, Mother of the Church, Model of the Church, pray for us.
Here is a reflection on the devotion of Pope Paul VI and Pope Francis to Mary as Mater Ecclesia. A sermon on Mary, Motherhood and Creation by Rev. Peter Stravinskas. The Humility of Mary, the Mother of God. by Jonathan Coe.
All of these reflections show why the Pope has given this Marian mark to the day after Pentecost (Whit Monday). Our Lady as the physical perfection of femininity is the model for every soul and for the Living Church! What mighty things the Lord can accomplish in our personal and ecclesial lives if we let ourselves be a sailboat driven by the Holy Spirit instead of a motorboat driven by our own will.
