Memorial Day 2015

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The Most Catholic Show Out There

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The Millennial Catholic:

Who am I fooling? It's Daredevil.

Now, before you think I've lost my mind, allow me to explain my reasoning.

-Unlike other Marvel superheroes who mention Catholicism but it's nothing more than a passing reference, this show puts Catholic notions front and center of the story.

-Morals are a big part of the series no matter who's making the moral choice. You may not always agree with the decisions made, but it does give the characters more depth.

-The lead actor has roots in Catholicism. Charlie Cox--the actor who plays Matt Murdock/Daredevil-- was not only raised Catholic but also played Josemaria Escriva in the film There Be Dragons.

-Also unlike other series, there are jokes about Catholicism but they're tasteful and they're not at Catholicism's expense. Not to give away spoilers, but there is one particular line exchange in episode 2 that every single Catholic I've talked to about it laughed and enjoyed. I'm not going to say what it is: you have to watch the episode yourself and you'll know which one.

Now, for those who are either not that familiar with the comics or only know Daredevil from the 2003 movie:

Daredevil--created by comic legends Stan Lee, Bill Everett and Jack Kirby--debuted in April 1964 but the version most audiences know comes from writer Frank Miller. He was the one who gave Daredevil his red costume, gave the stories a grittier feel, made him more an anti-hero, made his heightened senses more believable, and put his faith front in center. In fact, Miller was once asked why he made Daredevil this way. This was his answer (and I am not making this up):

I figured Daredevil must be Catholic because only a Catholic could be both an attorney and a vigilante.

Granted, they don't get things 100% correct, but then again it never advertised itself as a theology guide. 

If you haven't seen it, go watch it. It's better than the idiocy atheists make.

Blog Changes

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THE CATHOLIC MILLENNIAL:

Yes, this is the same blog from a few days ago. I just need to update my loyal viewers on some changes:

1. Yes, I have changed my online name again, but unlike the first time, I do have valid reasons for changing it:

People who follow movie news might have heard Martin Scorsese is directing a film version of the
Shusaku Endo novel Silence. I'm not going to go into the plot points here but I will say my old online handle has something to do with a key plot point and I didn't want people to think I obtained the idea form a directing legend. 

The other reason is more personal. I am a Millennial and it distresses me to no end that those in my age group are leaving religion and are now awash in an empty sea, drifting and having no idea how to live a full life. I want to bring them back to sure happiness as well as set them right in certain notions…in the spirit of fraternal correction, of course.

2. I'm on Twitter!

Sure, I was on Twitter before I did this but I've updated my account to connect everything together. Everyone can follow me at @MillennCatholic

4. Request for videos

Ever since the Freedom From Atheism Foundation endorsed my post about the riddle of Epicurus, people have wondered if I'm ever going to do videos.
To that, my answer is I'd love to but right now I don't see that happening. It's not because I don't know how, but it's more a technical and presentation issue. I am looking at what topics I can talk about and I am pricing cameras and equipment. If there is anyone willing to give me a hand, just send me a Tweet.

5. New Profile Pic

One will also notice I've changed my profile picture to St Thomas Aquinas. I've taken a closer look at his philosophy and have found deep, profound insights from it. Since he is also my confirmation name, I feel I owe it to him to promote all he stands for (plus I like the joke in this particular picture).

 6. Rate of Blog Posts

Some may have also noticed new posts have been coming up less frequently than usual. This is because of the same reasons I will not be able to do videos at this time…that plus some of the topics I'm working on now call for greater research than I originally thought.
But trust me: I have an inspiring post coming up for Memorial Day so be ready.

7. Atheists are idiots.

Atheist Thought Experiments Debunked #6

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"Aren't you being un-Christian by disobeying civil authority in some matters? Doesn't the Bible say to always obey them?"

THE ANGEL POSSENTI:

In light of the recent disagreements (to put it lightly) concerning government policies, many have raised the question of why it's always Christians protesting these policies; some wind up further confused when the protestors are against measures designed to help the less fortunate, because "aren't Christians supposed to be for helping the less fortunate?"

It may interest people to know that the Bible actually teaches Christ's followers to question things.

"What?" you may ask. "How can that be? Look at all the things in the Bible that people accept without question. You're telling me it teaches people to be skeptical?"

Yes…that's EXACTLY what I'm saying…and example after example can be shown in the Bible.

-Jesus tells those who doubt Him to search the Scriptures to see if what He says is true. (John 5:39)
-Paul preaches in Berea, the citizens double-check his claims and he does nothing to stop them from checking. (Act 17:10-11)
-Paul tells people not to trust right away anyone---even a supposed angel--who preaches anything different than what the Apostles taught. (Gal 1:8)
-John writes to test all spirits to see if they are of God. (1 John 4:1)
-Even in the OT, the prophet Daniel doesn't believe the claims of other priests.  (Daniel 14)

Is it any wonder then that Christians also learn not to put their faith in princes? (Psalm 146:3-5)

                                                                     --------

Speaking of not putting trust in princes, Christianity teaches a principle called subsidiarity. This is defined as an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. Let's look at this closer:
Centralized- is it as local as possible?
Competent- can it prove it can do the job?
Authority- does it have the authority to do so?

If this is a little complex, ask yourself this: if you wanted to donate money to a cause, do you give the money to a charity or do you give it to the government? If you answered charity, then you believe in subsidiarity. True, not all charities do a good job, but overall their track record is far better than the government.

                                                                    ------------
Lastly, there is a particular hierarchy to how the world works:

                                                             GOD
                                                              then
                                                         CHURCH
                                                              then
                                                           STATE
                                                              then
                                               EVERYDAY PEOPLE

Now, before people get all atheist-level nuts over this, this DOES NOT MEAN the Church or the State can do whatever they want nor does this mean people can't move to the others.
What this does mean is as people move to either Church or State, more will be expected of them and the more humble they are expected to be.

For those who think that the Church has no place in the state or policies, let me remind you one thing:

You can no more do that than you can tell people what they can or can't use for evidence. It just can't be done!

If you think otherwise, then you're an atheist idiot.

A Mother's Day Surprise!

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THE ANGEL POSSENTI:

Great news!!! The Freedom From Atheism Foundation has humbled me by posting my refutation of the riddle of Epicurus.
Thank you for passing this needed counter to atheist nonsense and have a wonderful Mother's Day!!

How to Smell a Traditionalist Catholic Rat

I'd like to take a break from my usual bashing of atheist idiots and talk about a little discovery I've made about the traditionalist Catholic community.

Quick disclaimer:
I do consider myself a member of this group. I do think the Church is in a dire condition, I do think we must do something to stem the tide of people leaving the Church in droves, revive dying religious orders--in particular, female religious orders--I do think a good number who claim to be Catholic are, at the end of the day, material heretics, and I do think one of the best weapons we have in solving the problem is the pre-Vatian II Mass.

Having said that though…I do not believe that the vast majority of traditionalist Catholic groups one can find in a basic web search are doing Holy Mother Church any favors. In fact, I see no difference between a priest who offers a "clown Mass" and a priest who says "our current Pope is not legitimate."
Neither one deepens the faith in anybody and it just leads to more confusion.

Now, if any traditionalist Catholic is reading this, please keep in mind I am not attacking the good you as an individual are doing. Every single one I've encountered try to live holy lives and spread this lifestyle to their fellow man. However, that does not change the fact I see eerie parallels between some groups and some financial scammers.

One may ask what one has to do with the other. Well, much like investing, it is important to go with your gut instinct and after looking at several financial con-men--as well as reading a whole book on how to detect one--I've come up with my own method of how to spot when a Trad Catholic is trying to fool and/or scam you and whether you should just walk away. On some of these, I have a little anecdote to get the point across:

-If the parish is not listed on the (arch)diocese website...walk away.
(Note: Opus Dei is the only exception, because they don't have to follow the same rules.)

-If you ask the people at the questionable parish why they're not listed, and their answer includes either modernists, Freemasons, or heretics…walk away.

-If the parish is either run by an order not in good standing…walk away.

-If they claim they're a branch of a recognized order but the order in question doesn't recognize them…walk away.

-If they quote from Vatican II documents, but misrepresent what the documents say…walk away.

    (I should note this does go both ways. For example, most parishes will claim Vatican II said it was okay to have female altar servers, when the subject can't be found in the documents. Likewise, trad Catholic scammers will make claims like "so and so document says all religions are valid" when the document was actually talking about the points Christianity and other faiths agree…salvation not being one of them.)

-If they say or imply "the Vatican made a mistake making so-and-so a saint"…walk away.

(Even the Doctors of the Church say it is not the place of lay people to question the Vatican on this. Sure, the Doctors of the Church are all saints, but then again they made their statements BEFORE the fact, not after.)

-If they claim there has been no legit Pope since a certain year…walk away.

(This is such an obvious error on so many levels. Jesus promised the gates of hell will NOT prevail against the Church. Some have tried to go around it by saying either someone else is the real pope or the current pope is the real one but because he promotes modernism he does not attain full office. Neither one really makes a lot of sense if you think about it.)

Speaking of which….

-If they say the pope is either a modernist, heretic or worse…walk away.

( If they keep insisting, point out to them that they most likely are not as holy as St Catherine of Sienna, who actually did critique the pope at the time…but then she had valid reasons for it and others admired her holiness. The point is Catholics are to submit their will to the papacy, not pick and choose who they feel like listening to).

"But wait a minute," a traditionalist Catholic might interject. "I've grown closer to God with these groups than I ever did with a Norvus Ordo parish. Other parishes don't talk about hell, or sin or salvation, or quote the Church Fathers. I know more about the faith. Aren't these beneficial things?"

To that, I say it's great you get more from your parish, but then again people made money from Enron..does that mean what that company did should get a pass?

But if you do want all those teachings but still be in line with the Vatican, take my advise and get in touch with Una Voce.

You don't want to come off as an atheist, because atheists are idiots.