Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 156

So Can We Eat Oysters or Not?

A good question came up in the comment box regarding this post okaying a little tattoo for a Catholic boy. A parishioner asked if it was okay to get a tattoo since a verse in Leviticus forbids it. I explained that in Old Testament times pagan people had tattoos as a way of making a [Read More...]

Donne and Undone

Now for a little break from the news, the fuss and the clamor of the world. Here is a favorite sonnet by John Donne. It knocks me dead every time. I memorized this poem in college and it still resonates in my mind today. Read the poem for a meditation and below it read my [Read More...]

Irish Priests Call For Women’s Ordination

The Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland have called for married priests and women’s ordination. This article outlines their appeal which is based on utilitarian arguments: ordinations are becoming increasingly rare in the Irish Church so married men should be ordained, priests should be allowed to marry, priests who left to get married should be [Read More...]

Catholic? Abortion? No Dissent Allowed

Patricia Miller writing here at the HuffPo blames the Catholic Church for stifling dissent on abortion. In recent years the U.S. Catholic bishops have been among the strongest proponents of “religious freedom,” by which they mean the right of Catholics to express values, such as opposition to same-sex marriage or contraception, in their daily lives. [Read More...]

Union Theological Seminary To Save the World

Video of an Ecumenical Meeting of Seminarians from UTS and the Staff of National Catholic Reporter This article from the HuffPo trumpets the news that New Yorks’ Union Theological Seminary has voted unanimously to divest from fossil fuels. For those who are unfamiliar with UTS, it bills itself as the flagship of American Progressive Protestant [Read More...]

Anglican Church Ladies Triumph!

Anglican Church ladies used to be stout matrons in tweed suits and sensible shoes. Manning the tea urn, setting up tables for the church bazaar and knocking some sense into the vicar, they were a formidable (if not monstrous) regiment of women. It’s all change now! The Anglican ladies are all being ordained and this [Read More...]

Hey Father Can I Get a Tattoo?

So I get a text from one of the high school kids, “Father can I call you?” I text back, “Call me now.” I’m wondering if he is in some kind of trouble. We’ll call him Sam. Phone rings, “Father, this is Sam.” “What’s up?” “I want to get a tattoo, but it says in [Read More...]

Selfie Sex and Neo Narcissism

  This vapid article from The Daily Telegraph explains that the “metrosexual” man has evolved into the “spornosexual” man. For those who are not familiar with the terminology, the “metrosexual” was a term coined by a fashion writer Mark Simpson in 1994: How quickly your children grow up. Although it seems only yesterday, I first wrote [Read More...]

Muslims and Catholics: What I Did Not Say…

My post asking whether Muslims and Catholics worship the same God was probably the most mis-understood post I have ever written. I’ve had a good number of comments from people who understood and appreciated it, and a good number of comments from people who did not seem to understand what I was saying at all. [Read More...]

Is Pope Francis a Koran Kisser?

Is Pope Francis a rabid Muslim love and Koran kisser? My article this week for Aleteia is posted today. In this article I analyze yesterday’s prayer service in the Vatican with Muslims and Jews. Among the non Christian religions we recognize Islam and Judaism as having a special place. Judaism because it is the foundation and [Read More...]