Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 130

The Marriage Mess

Some Catholics are worrying themselves over whether the pope will allow Catholics who are divorced and remarried to receive communion. I am as concerned as anyone else about this issue and feel that the rule cannot be changed without changing the Catholic understanding of marriage. Indissoluble marriage is part of the revelation from Adam and [Read More...]

Why Do Catholics Fall For the New Age Movement?

I always meet fascinating people and new friends when I come to EWTN to tape programs. I had lunch today with Sherry Giganti of the New Age Deception website. We discussed what made the New Age Movement so attractive to so many Catholics. I traveled to EWTN today in my clericals, and as usual I [Read More...]

Drill Sergeant Wanted

It never ceases to amaze me how soft and spineless we are when it comes to our Catholic faith. Everything else takes precedence. “It’s the annual retreat for your sons and daughters. Your kids have to be there.” “They’ve got a volleyball game that weekend we’re so busy I don’t feel comfortable asking my child [Read More...]

The Truth and Charity Trap

In observing the Christian world in which I live and move and have my being it occurs to me that we too often fall into one of two different traps: we are charitable without truth or we are truthful without charity. By “charity” I mean the desire and inclination to be loving, kind and good [Read More...]

Flexible Marriage Vows? Enter Polygamy

John Allen reminds us that two thirds of the world’s Catholics are outside the developed world and their concerns about moral matters and family issues are not always the same as ours. While we debate divorce and re-marriage for Catholics and think same sex “marriage” is a hot topic, in many African cultures the difficulties [Read More...]

We’re So Much Better Than ISIS….Really?

In Jennifer Fulwiler’s conversion story Something Other Than Godshe recounts the time when she and her husband began to wake up to the implications of their pro-abortion convictions. She was into her second pregnancy when the reality of their views suddenly clashed with the reality of the ultra sound scan of their new baby. Here [Read More...]

The Day I Met Ian Paisley

Dr Ian Paisley was good friends with Dr Bob Jones Jr.–the son of the founder of Bob Jones University. In fact Paisley’s doctorate was an honorary doctorate from BJU. Paisley used to come to Bob Jones University every Spring to preach at their annual Bible Conference. I was a student at B0b Jones from 1974-1978 [Read More...]

Ten Things to Remember When You’re Fed Up With Other Catholics

Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to hear an increasing amount of grumbling from about the state of the church. Some folks complain about the new generation of priests, “All these guys seem to care about is lace and china tea cups! Are they all pansies? What’s going on? Why do they have to [Read More...]

Cardinal O’Malley at Crux

Last evening I attended the official launch of Crux–the Boston Globe’s new website dedicated to “all things Catholic.” The venue was the splendid campus of Boston College. In the afternoon I had the chance to tour the campus with fellow Patheos blogger Tim Muldoon, and had the better part of an hour with theologian Fr [Read More...]

Conversion or Conquest?

My latest post for Aleteia is here. It asks the question, “Is conquest the way to ultimately defeat Islamic radicals?” The military response may provide an adequate defense, liberate prisoners and bring a limited justice and a fragile peace, but it does not solve the deeper problem. One can be forced to convert outwardly to [Read More...]