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.

Atheist Thought Experiments Debunked #7

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                                                      "Hitler was Catholic"


THE ANGEL POSSENTI:

Funny how three words can be so misleading, isn't it?

I'm going to approach debunking this a little differently than the others because I've come to the conclusion atheists are put off to the side and taught a cookie-cutter way of presenting their evidence concerning this.

What makes me think that? Because in all the times this point has been brought up, I've noticed a) atheists believe Hitler was Catholic without question and b) they all follow the same pattern in proving he was Catholic.

So I would like to share this pattern with you.

First, when asked to provide proof of this, the atheist will always---and I mean ALWAYS--use this quote:
"I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."

Go ahead and try it. You will NEVER come across an atheist that doesn't use this. 

Now if atheists bothered to think (and too bad they don't) they would have realized that statement makes no sense. There is NOTHING in the OT that says God wanted all Jews destroyed. The closest you get is the prophets calling on Jews to greater holiness but that's about it. 

Next, the atheist will point out that on SS buckles, they had this:

The phrase on the buckle is German for "God with Us" so this must be proof the Nazis were Christians, right?

WRONG!!

That phrase existed in German armor LONG before the Nazis came along. In fact, evidence suggests it was first used in Prussia by the Teutonic Knights, then the Prussian Order of the Crown and then it was used on the Iron Cross during WWI.

The point is just because the Nazis used it doesn't mean it's true. Sure the Teutonic Knights used it, but they had admission standards and they were never condemned by the Vatican.

Which then leads to the final point atheists will try to make:

The Vatican never said anything against Hitler or the Nazis.

To that, I give three German words: Mit brennender Sorge

From wikipedia:

The encyclical condemned breaches of the 1933 Reichskonkordat agreement signed between theGerman Reich and the Holy See. It condemned "pantheistic confusion", "neopaganism", "the so-called myth of race and blood", and the idolizing of the State. It contained a vigorous defense of the Old Testament out of belief that it prepared the way for the New. The encyclical states that race is a fundamental value of the human community which is necessary and honorable but condemns the exaltation of race, or the people, or the state, above their standard value to an idolatrous level.

Not convinced? Maybe a few quotes from the piece will change your mind:

Whoever exalts race, or the people, or the State, or a particular form of State, or the depositories of power, or any other fundamental value of the human community -- however necessary and honorable be their function in worldly things -- whoever raises these notions above their standard value and divinizes them to an idolatrous level, distorts and perverts an order of the world planned and created by God; he is far from the true faith in God and from the concept of life which that faith upholds.

This God, this Sovereign Master, has issued commandments whose value is independent of time and space, country and race. As God's sun shines on every human face so His law knows neither privilege nor exception. Rulers and subjects, crowned and uncrowned, rich and poor are equally subject to His word. From the fullness of the Creators' right there naturally arises the fullness of His right to be obeyed by individuals and communities, whoever they are. This obedience permeates all branches of activity in which moral values claim harmony with the law of God, and pervades all integration of the ever-changing laws of man into the immutable laws of God.

None but superficial minds could stumble into concepts of a national God, of a national religion; or attempt to lock within the frontiers of a single people, within the narrow limits of a single race, God, the Creator of the universe, King and Legislator of all nations before whose immensity they are "as a drop of a bucket" (Isaiah xI, 15)

In your country, Venerable Brethren, voices are swelling into a chorus urging people to leave the Church, and among the leaders there is more than one whose official position is intended to create the impression that this infidelity to Christ the King constitutes a signal and meritorious act of loyalty to the modern State. Secret and open measures of intimidation, the threat of economic and civic disabilities, bear on the loyalty of certain classes of Catholic functionaries, a pressure which violates every human right and dignity. Our wholehearted paternal sympathy goes out to those who must pay so dearly for their loyalty to Christ and the Church; but directly the highest interests are at stake, with the alternative of spiritual loss, there is but one alternative left, that of heroism. If the oppressor offers one the Judas bargain of apostasy he can only, at the cost of every worldly sacrifice, answer with Our Lord: "Begone, Satan! For it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve" (Matt. iv. 10). And turning to the Church, he shall say: "Thou, my mother since my infancy, the solace of my life and advocate at my death, may my tongue cleave to my palate if, yielding to worldly promises or threats, I betray the vows of my baptism." As to those who imagine that they can reconcile exterior infidelity tO one and the same Church, let them hear Our Lord's warning: -- "He that shall deny me before men shall be denied before the angels of God" (Luke xii. 9).

I know this seems like a lot to take in--mostly the shock of never hearing about this before--but keep in mind this was first written in German, the Nazis arrested people who had a copy of it, and referred to someone as a "crazy and insane dictator."

Who could that possibility be talking about? Hmm….

We've all most likely heard of the phrase "whoever brings up Hitler first loses." That itself comes from a logical fallacy called Reductio ad Hitlerum. True to form, atheists use this fallacy instead of putting any real thought into religious (in particular Catholic) notions. But to reduce the phrase to just this fallacy would be missing the broader point and multiple mental gymnastics the average, puny atheist mind uses.

And that is why atheists are idiots.

The Battle is WON!!

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We often hear from atheists how religion is dying out as mankind comes to see the clear light of reason.

Atheist “intellectuals” speak disparagingly about religion and predict that mankind is on the cusp of a new age in which religion will simply disappear as science, technology and reason are in the ascendant.

The facts indicate exactly the opposite. It is religion which continues to grow around the world while the statistics indicate that agnosticism and atheism are dying out.

A new report by Pew Research chronicled here at the Daily Telegraph tells a very interesting story.

While the numbers of those who are “religiously unaffiliated” is predicted to rise in Western Europe and the United States, in global terms their numbers are shrinking as Christianity and Islam continue to wrestle for spiritual domination in the world.

According to the Pew Research Centre, the religiously unaffiliated – referring to atheists, agnostics and other people who do not identify with a religion – are declining as a share of the population.

Sixteen per cent of the population was unaffiliated to a religion in 2010 and Pew predicted by 2050, this would fall to 13 per cent, mainly because individuals in this group are older and have less children.

The huge growth rate will be among Christians in Africa.

Furthermore, while the rise of Islam is looked on with dismay, by 2050 Christianity will still be predominant

It is widely known that Islam is increasing globally but despite this increase, by 2050, only two more countries (51 in total) will have a population of Muslims that is more than 50 per cent.

According to the projections it is not until the turn of the century that Muslims will begin to overtake Christians, and then only by 1% worldwide.

In Europe, however, the decline of Christianity and the rise of Islam will continue.

By 2050, the Pew report predicted that 30 per cent (2.8 billion) of the population will identify themselves as Muslim compared to 31 per cent (2.9 billion) identifying themselves as Christian. In Europe, it is suggested that by 2050, 10 per cent of the continent will be Muslim and in the US, it will become the second-largest faith.

These projections are based only on demographic trends. We should remember that most predictions like this end up being wildly inaccurate because they cannot predict a whole range of other variables. Here are some unpredictable variables which could affect these predictions:

• a revival of Christianity in the West. In the late eighteenth century atheism, rationalism and Freemasonry seemed to have taken over Europe. By the mid to late nineteenth century religious revival had swept through Europe and Christianity was surging forward. This revival was a result of fervent preaching, supernatural occurrences like Lourdes, new saints and evangelization.
• war or natural disaster – war, natural disaster or plagues can  affect the religious demographic–both wiping out whole populations and turning people back to religion
• Mass conversions – history has shown (Mexico in the sixteenth century) that there can be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and whole populations will suddenly convert to Christianity. While missionary efforts to Islamic countries are largely unsuccessful a supernatural conversion of Muslims to Christianity could change the landscape.
• Immigration and population controls. Western governments might start restricting Islamic immigration and deport Muslims. This would alter the religious scene and make the predictions go awry
• Unexpected change in human reproduction. Many of the predictions are based on the assumption that artificial birth technologies will continue to advance throughout the world. Things could go either way: Muslims who are reproducing more than Christians might start to use artificial contraception and abortion or Christians might stop using them. Social trends might be reversed by economic conditions and people may start wanting large families or the unimaginable might happen: birth control pills might stop working and everyone will start having more babies.

The bottom line is that religion is here to stay, and the predictions are that all religious groups will experience growth through the end of the century.

Atheists and agnostics are the only ones (along with Buddhists) who will see their numbers decline.

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2015/04/the-facts-atheism-is-dying-out.html#ixzz3Xbsj1vfx

THE ANGEL POSSENITI:

You hear that, atheists? Despite all your babble and bluster, in the end….
YOU LOST!!! BIG TIME!!!

So it's true what Revelation teaches: in the end, hell does not win. God and Heaven prevail. All this little other events? Those are just skirmishes that don't change the outcome.
Since we now are assured of victory, now we gather all we can from the atheist darkness. That way, a) the victory comes sooner and b) we have more to celebrate with us.

So you might as well give up now, atheists: your idiocy could not be more apparent.