Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 141

The Rise of Conservative Cafeteria Catholicsism

When Benedict XVI and John Paul II were pope the conservative Catholics loved to throw around the phrase “cafeteria Catholic” as a term of derision. It’s a name I used a fair bit to parody those Catholics who would pick and choose what bits of Catholicism they liked and rejected the bits they didn’t like. [Read More...]

All That Really Matters is How Much You Love Jesus?

When I resigned from my position as an Anglican priest one of the ladies in the parish was very upset. She couldn’t figure out the point of my decision. “Surely!” she cried, “All that really matters is how much we love Jesus?” This is the response from many non-Catholics when faced with the doctrinal claims [Read More...]

The Five Stages of Persecution

Seeing the rise of persecution against Christians in Iraq, the far East and Africa, Mgr Pope has a great archived article here on the five stages that precede outright persecution. Can it happen in the USA – land of religious freedom? Mgr Pope observes the five stages. I. Stereotyping the targeted group - To stereotype means [Read More...]

Playing the Blame Game

You know the old playground rebuke, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me.” Well, that’s a lie. Names do hurt you. Calling other people names is the first symptom of genuine hatred and the first step toward violence against that person. When I disagree with a person the worst [Read More...]

FaithWorks! – 29

Go here for this week’s FaithWorks! – My weekly newsletter on the practical practice of the Catholic faith. Over the summer I’m publishing a series on the Ten Commandments, resources for learning, reflections, comments and quotes If you’d like to subscribe to FaithWorks! go here.

Nice or Nasty?

Joseph Pearce analyzes what it means to be nice and what the word ‘nice’ means anyway. You don’t want to be nasty, but do you want to be nice? Or is that setting the bar too low? A few days ago, whilst being driven around Tampa, I noticed a car bumper sticker telling me to [Read More...]

Is Proselytism Solemn Nonsense?

Pope Francis has been criticized in some quarters because he has said, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense.” He has also told Evangelical Christians and an atheist interviewer that he “doesn’t want to convert them.” In a meeting last week in Caserto he explained to his priests that their job was not “proselytizing” and he quoted Pope [Read More...]

Richard Dawkins Gets Guts

Damian Thompson has a brilliant piece at The Spectator here in which he points out that noted atheist Richard Dawkins is now attacking feminists and Muslims. Well at least Dawkins has the guts to attack Muslims. Most atheistic secularists have this inexplicably love affair with Islam–calling people out on “Islamaphobia” while overlooking or indulging in [Read More...]

America: Spoiled Rotten

This week’s article for the Imaginative Conservative reflects on the spoiling of America. We are so used to being treated like royalty that we get uppity and stroppy when we can’t have our own way. Americans have been subtly conditioned to see themselves not primarily as patriots or serious citizens, but as customers, and if [Read More...]

Francis and the Evangelicals

  Here is my latest article for Aleteia which is a further reflection on Pope Francis’ friendship with Charismatic Evangelicals. His reach to this extreme group brought to mind this quote from C.S.Lewis who said, when he was asked about church re-union: “It seems to me that the ‘extreme’ elements in every Church are nearest [Read More...]