“The reason that the use of images in worship was not controversial in the first generations of the Church was because nobody was doing it. Centuries later, when they began to do it, the controversy came” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 113).
As In, Not Very Well
“The veneration of icons in a Christian synagogue in A.D. 57 would have gone over like a big pile of greasy bacon at their men’s prayer breakfast” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 112).
As the Letter Cometh
Intransigence is Such a Great Word: Regarding your well detailed essay on godly intransigence I have experienced significant whiplash on this matter. Back in 2004 I had moved to my new home in an area populated with Democrats. Since this was a presidential election year I knew the overall sentiment was for John Kerry based …
And They Could Use a Patron Saint
“In another instance, when the people had been told to ‘look to’ the bronze serpent, over time this looking became devotional looking, and Hezekiah had Nehustan destroyed. To which we should respond, good for old St. Hezekiah, patron saint of righteous iconoclasts” (Papa Don’t Pope, pp. 110-111).
Sanctification and the Bell Curve
Introduction: So I have been mulling over a point which, if thought through, will help explain various misunderstandings, kerfluffles, and upcoming events. They are different issues, but there is a common thread to them all. The problems are very different, but the thing they all have in common is a sort of egalitarianism when it …
We Cannot Duplicate It
“The fact that God took on human flesh in the Incarnation (a miracle He was competent to perform) does not mean that we have the ability to recapture that miracle in any paltry representation of ours—whether done by shutter, brush, hammer and chisel, or an interpretive dance junior high troop performing Godspell” (Papa Don’t Pope, …
As Regrettable As That Might Be
Because They Were Chinese
“The likelihood of Adam and Eve looking just like your neighbors next door in Cleveland is remote” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 106).
Though He Did Look a Certain Way
“We don’t know what Jesus looked like, thank God” (Papa Don’t Pope, p. 100).
Intransigence as the Key to Reform
One of the features of modern life together, one that requires some explanation, is our apparent limitless capacity to adapt to absurdity. Examples surround us on every hand, but let’s take the fact of tranny boys running in girls’ track meets. And lo! It turns out that boys are better at being girl runners than …