The Areopagus 7-17-08
posted by Phil Lawson
7-17-08
My family and I moved to the country last summer—and are loving it---nonetheless, we had to chuckle when we received a flier from one of the local Lutheran churches advertising: “Drive your tractor to Church Sunday.”
Welcome to the country life!
Phil’s Tidbits:
There have been a number of stories concerning abuse/desecration of the Eucharist. The story below gives the details on those.
Attending Mass at an out of town parish this weekend, we saw one parish’s solution to these forms of sacrilege. At the time for Communion, the 2 side doors at the front of the Church were closed, and an usher was stationed at each one. They were there to ensure the people who received Communion actually consumed the Blessed Sacrament. (It didn’t hurt that one of the ushers happened to be a fairly large fellow with a Harley Davidson t-shirt on!) Nonetheless, they were unobtrusive, and had I not been simply a visitor, probably would not have even noticed their presence. Another possible solution would be to restore the practice of receiving Communion on the tongue only. Incidentally, Pope Benedict XVI has said this is his preferred way of distributing Communion.
As far as the story below---this professor obviously has no clue what he’s talking about. The blogger at The Curt Jester http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/index.html , himself a former atheist, stated that his response is simply to pray for this gentleman—a sentiment that we do well to imitate.
Minnesota professor encourages theft and desecration of Eucharist
Morris, MN, Jul 11, 2008 / 07:09 pm (CNA).- A Minnesota professor and science blogger has said he will personally desecrate the Eucharist and publish photos of the desecration on the internet if any of his readers acquire a consecrated Host and mail it to him. "I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare," he has written.
Paul Zachary Myers, an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota at Morris, made the threat while commenting on a University of Central Florida incident in which a student senator stole and held hostage a consecrated Host from a June 29 Mass.
In the Florida incident, student senator Webster Cook presented himself at Sunday Mass to receive the Eucharist. According to wftv.com, Cook said he intended to take the consecrated Host back to his seat to show a curious friend. After being stopped on his return to his seat, he put the Host in his mouth but removed it upon sitting down.
He said a church leader grabbed his hands and tried to retrieve the Eucharist, after which he left with the Host. Cook filed an official abuse complaint with the UCF student court, while Catholic students filed other complaints alleging Cook engaged in disruptive conduct.
Cook stored the Eucharist in a Ziploc bag for a week and then returned it last Sunday.
"I want to thank the individuals who explained the emotional and spiritual pain my possession of the Eucharist caused them to experience," Cook wrote in a letter to the church, according to wftv.com. "They have demonstrated that the use [of] reason is more effective than the use of force."
He said some people had threatened to break into his room to retrieve the Eucharist. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Orlando said the diocese does not condone the threats but is happy Cook returned the Host.
Professor Myers criticized the incident in a derisive July 8 post on his science blog Pharyngula, hosted at scienceblogs.com. He also solicited his readers to acquire consecrated Hosts.
"Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers?" Myers wrote. "…if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won't be tempted to hold it hostage… but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web."
Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, on Thursday said that Myers' blog could be accessed through a link on the University of Minnesota Morris web site. He noted that Myers' remarks could be in violation of the university's code of conduct, which requires faculty to be "respectful, fair and civil" when dealing with others.
Donohue also stated the Catholic League was contacting the Minnesota legislature because the university is a state institution.
"It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ," he said. "We look to those who have oversight responsibility to act quickly and decisively."
While a July 6 Google cache of the University of Minnesota Morris biology faculty listings showed a link to Myers' Pharyngula blog, the link was removed as of Friday morning. According to Baylor professor Francis Beckwith, writing on the blog "What's Wrong with the World," the internet archive at web.archive.org shows that the University of Minnesota Morris biology faculty page had linked to Pharyngula since at least November 9, 2006.
Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13208
Anecdotal and experiential evidence seems to indicate that Christian men are better husbands and fathers---it’s nice to see statistics that further back up the claims.
Study Shows Christianity Makes Men Better Husbands and Fathers
By Tim Waggoner
VIRGINIA, June 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a research brief this month, Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, analyzed three national studies in order to discover if "there is any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men?" His research led him to conclude that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not.
"70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are 'very happy' in their marriages, compared to 59 percent of husbands who rarely or never attend church," explained Wilcox, who also said that the studies indicated that wives experienced more marital happiness when their husbands attended regular religious services.
This is likely one significant reason why the studies showed that married couples who attended regular Christian services were approximately 35 percent less likely to divorce then those couples who did not.
Wilcox's research also looked at the effect religion has on the relationships between fathers and their children.
Fathers who attended regular Christian services spent an average of two more hours a week engaged in youth-activities with their children than fathers who did not attend regular services. Christian fathers also spent more one-on-one time with their children and were 65 percent more likely to hug and praise their children.
The studies also found that children born inside of wedlock had much more "involved, affectionate, and consistent relationships" with their fathers. This is an important statistic given Wilcox's findings that church attending men are more likely to have children inside of wedlock then non-church going men.
Wilcox concluded his research brief by strongly advocating the positive effects that religion has on husbands and fathers: "This brief provides an array of evidence indicating that religion is an answer to the male problematic - that is, the tendency of fathers to become detached, emotionally or physically, from their children and the mothers of their children. I find that fathers who are religious, and who have partners who are religious, are - on average - more likely to be happily married, to be engaged and affectionate parents, and to get and stay married to the mothers of their children."
To see the full research brief:
http://center.americanvalues.org/?p=75
Germany continues to crack down on homeschoolers….
German Homeschooling Parents Sentenced to Three Months in Prison
By Tim Waggoner
June 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The parents of a homeschooling family in the German state of Hesse have each been sentenced to three months in prison for the crime of homeschooling their seven children.
According to a staff attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), the sentence was issued to Juergen and Rosemarie Dudek after the federal prosecutor, Herwig Muller, said last year that he was dissatisfied with the fines the couple had already paid for homeschooling their children.
As reported by WorldNetDaily (WND), staff attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association, Mike Donnelly, was appalled by the decision.
"Words escape me, it's unconscionable, incredible, shocking." He then affirmed, "They will appeal of course."
He concluded by summarizing the actions of the prosecutor: "You guys are rebelling against the state. We're going to punish you."
Homeschooling is illegal in Germany under a law dating back to the Hitler era. Homeschooling families in the country have faced increasing persecution in recent years, with police in several cases physically transporting children to school and even removing one teenager from her parent's care.
A spokesperson for the German homeschool advocacy group, Netzwork-Bildungsfreiheit, commented on the mandatory public school attendance laws, which deem homeschooling families to be in breach of the state's criminal code.
"It is embarrassing the German officials put parents into jail whose children are well educated and where the family is in good order," wrote Joerg Grosseleumern. "We personally know the Dudeks as such a family."
WND also reported that Judge Peter Hobbel, who originally imposed the fines on the parents, criticized the school system for denying the requests of the parents to have their "private school" recognized.
In a previous WND article, it was noted that the Dudek's wrote a letter to the HSLDA regarding a new law that gives German authorities the right of "withdrawal of parental custody as one of the methods for punishing 'uncooperative' parents." The law is essentially enacted when "child abuse" is suspected. Conveniently, German courts have consistently deemed homeschooling a form of child abuse.
"The new law is seen as a logical step in carving up family rights after a federal court had decided that homeschooling was an abuse of custody," read the letter signed by Juergen Dudek.
In a blog, Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany, attempted to defend these new developments, saying the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion."
Arno Meissner, the chief of the government's local education department, has also promulgated the government's intolerance of homeschooling families, confirming they will continually rely upon the mandatory school attendance law.
And lastly some pointed humor via last Sunday’s homily. The pastor was seeking to underscore the need to confront our sins before it’s too late. Recall the Gospel reading discussed various types of soil and the growth they produce (Matthew 13:1-23).
A husband is lying on his deathbed with his wife by his side. He looks at her and feeling his life ebbing wants to confess his faults, saying “I’ve cheated on you numerous times, I’ve lied to you, I’ve drank away my wages, I’ve been a horrible husband to you all these years.”
To which his wife looks down at him sweetly, and says, “It’s alright dear, I know,, just relax and let the poison work….”
Moral of the story, don’t wait until it’s too late to honestly confront your sins…and change!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com
(You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
My family and I moved to the country last summer—and are loving it---nonetheless, we had to chuckle when we received a flier from one of the local Lutheran churches advertising: “Drive your tractor to Church Sunday.”
Welcome to the country life!
Phil’s Tidbits:
There have been a number of stories concerning abuse/desecration of the Eucharist. The story below gives the details on those.
Attending Mass at an out of town parish this weekend, we saw one parish’s solution to these forms of sacrilege. At the time for Communion, the 2 side doors at the front of the Church were closed, and an usher was stationed at each one. They were there to ensure the people who received Communion actually consumed the Blessed Sacrament. (It didn’t hurt that one of the ushers happened to be a fairly large fellow with a Harley Davidson t-shirt on!) Nonetheless, they were unobtrusive, and had I not been simply a visitor, probably would not have even noticed their presence. Another possible solution would be to restore the practice of receiving Communion on the tongue only. Incidentally, Pope Benedict XVI has said this is his preferred way of distributing Communion.
As far as the story below---this professor obviously has no clue what he’s talking about. The blogger at The Curt Jester http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/index.html , himself a former atheist, stated that his response is simply to pray for this gentleman—a sentiment that we do well to imitate.
Minnesota professor encourages theft and desecration of Eucharist
Morris, MN, Jul 11, 2008 / 07:09 pm (CNA).- A Minnesota professor and science blogger has said he will personally desecrate the Eucharist and publish photos of the desecration on the internet if any of his readers acquire a consecrated Host and mail it to him. "I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare," he has written.
Paul Zachary Myers, an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota at Morris, made the threat while commenting on a University of Central Florida incident in which a student senator stole and held hostage a consecrated Host from a June 29 Mass.
In the Florida incident, student senator Webster Cook presented himself at Sunday Mass to receive the Eucharist. According to wftv.com, Cook said he intended to take the consecrated Host back to his seat to show a curious friend. After being stopped on his return to his seat, he put the Host in his mouth but removed it upon sitting down.
He said a church leader grabbed his hands and tried to retrieve the Eucharist, after which he left with the Host. Cook filed an official abuse complaint with the UCF student court, while Catholic students filed other complaints alleging Cook engaged in disruptive conduct.
Cook stored the Eucharist in a Ziploc bag for a week and then returned it last Sunday.
"I want to thank the individuals who explained the emotional and spiritual pain my possession of the Eucharist caused them to experience," Cook wrote in a letter to the church, according to wftv.com. "They have demonstrated that the use [of] reason is more effective than the use of force."
He said some people had threatened to break into his room to retrieve the Eucharist. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Orlando said the diocese does not condone the threats but is happy Cook returned the Host.
Professor Myers criticized the incident in a derisive July 8 post on his science blog Pharyngula, hosted at scienceblogs.com. He also solicited his readers to acquire consecrated Hosts.
"Can anyone out there score me some consecrated communion wafers?" Myers wrote. "…if any of you would be willing to do what it takes to get me some, or even one, and mail it to me, I'll show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare. I won't be tempted to hold it hostage… but will instead treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web."
Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, on Thursday said that Myers' blog could be accessed through a link on the University of Minnesota Morris web site. He noted that Myers' remarks could be in violation of the university's code of conduct, which requires faculty to be "respectful, fair and civil" when dealing with others.
Donohue also stated the Catholic League was contacting the Minnesota legislature because the university is a state institution.
"It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ," he said. "We look to those who have oversight responsibility to act quickly and decisively."
While a July 6 Google cache of the University of Minnesota Morris biology faculty listings showed a link to Myers' Pharyngula blog, the link was removed as of Friday morning. According to Baylor professor Francis Beckwith, writing on the blog "What's Wrong with the World," the internet archive at web.archive.org shows that the University of Minnesota Morris biology faculty page had linked to Pharyngula since at least November 9, 2006.
Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13208
Anecdotal and experiential evidence seems to indicate that Christian men are better husbands and fathers---it’s nice to see statistics that further back up the claims.
Study Shows Christianity Makes Men Better Husbands and Fathers
By Tim Waggoner
VIRGINIA, June 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a research brief this month, Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, analyzed three national studies in order to discover if "there is any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men?" His research led him to conclude that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not.
"70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are 'very happy' in their marriages, compared to 59 percent of husbands who rarely or never attend church," explained Wilcox, who also said that the studies indicated that wives experienced more marital happiness when their husbands attended regular religious services.
This is likely one significant reason why the studies showed that married couples who attended regular Christian services were approximately 35 percent less likely to divorce then those couples who did not.
Wilcox's research also looked at the effect religion has on the relationships between fathers and their children.
Fathers who attended regular Christian services spent an average of two more hours a week engaged in youth-activities with their children than fathers who did not attend regular services. Christian fathers also spent more one-on-one time with their children and were 65 percent more likely to hug and praise their children.
The studies also found that children born inside of wedlock had much more "involved, affectionate, and consistent relationships" with their fathers. This is an important statistic given Wilcox's findings that church attending men are more likely to have children inside of wedlock then non-church going men.
Wilcox concluded his research brief by strongly advocating the positive effects that religion has on husbands and fathers: "This brief provides an array of evidence indicating that religion is an answer to the male problematic - that is, the tendency of fathers to become detached, emotionally or physically, from their children and the mothers of their children. I find that fathers who are religious, and who have partners who are religious, are - on average - more likely to be happily married, to be engaged and affectionate parents, and to get and stay married to the mothers of their children."
To see the full research brief:
http://center.americanvalues.org/?p=75
Germany continues to crack down on homeschoolers….
German Homeschooling Parents Sentenced to Three Months in Prison
By Tim Waggoner
June 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The parents of a homeschooling family in the German state of Hesse have each been sentenced to three months in prison for the crime of homeschooling their seven children.
According to a staff attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), the sentence was issued to Juergen and Rosemarie Dudek after the federal prosecutor, Herwig Muller, said last year that he was dissatisfied with the fines the couple had already paid for homeschooling their children.
As reported by WorldNetDaily (WND), staff attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association, Mike Donnelly, was appalled by the decision.
"Words escape me, it's unconscionable, incredible, shocking." He then affirmed, "They will appeal of course."
He concluded by summarizing the actions of the prosecutor: "You guys are rebelling against the state. We're going to punish you."
Homeschooling is illegal in Germany under a law dating back to the Hitler era. Homeschooling families in the country have faced increasing persecution in recent years, with police in several cases physically transporting children to school and even removing one teenager from her parent's care.
A spokesperson for the German homeschool advocacy group, Netzwork-Bildungsfreiheit, commented on the mandatory public school attendance laws, which deem homeschooling families to be in breach of the state's criminal code.
"It is embarrassing the German officials put parents into jail whose children are well educated and where the family is in good order," wrote Joerg Grosseleumern. "We personally know the Dudeks as such a family."
WND also reported that Judge Peter Hobbel, who originally imposed the fines on the parents, criticized the school system for denying the requests of the parents to have their "private school" recognized.
In a previous WND article, it was noted that the Dudek's wrote a letter to the HSLDA regarding a new law that gives German authorities the right of "withdrawal of parental custody as one of the methods for punishing 'uncooperative' parents." The law is essentially enacted when "child abuse" is suspected. Conveniently, German courts have consistently deemed homeschooling a form of child abuse.
"The new law is seen as a logical step in carving up family rights after a federal court had decided that homeschooling was an abuse of custody," read the letter signed by Juergen Dudek.
In a blog, Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany, attempted to defend these new developments, saying the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion."
Arno Meissner, the chief of the government's local education department, has also promulgated the government's intolerance of homeschooling families, confirming they will continually rely upon the mandatory school attendance law.
And lastly some pointed humor via last Sunday’s homily. The pastor was seeking to underscore the need to confront our sins before it’s too late. Recall the Gospel reading discussed various types of soil and the growth they produce (Matthew 13:1-23).
A husband is lying on his deathbed with his wife by his side. He looks at her and feeling his life ebbing wants to confess his faults, saying “I’ve cheated on you numerous times, I’ve lied to you, I’ve drank away my wages, I’ve been a horrible husband to you all these years.”
To which his wife looks down at him sweetly, and says, “It’s alright dear, I know,, just relax and let the poison work….”
Moral of the story, don’t wait until it’s too late to honestly confront your sins…and change!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com
(You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
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