Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 176

At the Side of Pope Benedict

Here is a moving account from Msgr Alfred Xuereb–secretary to Pope Benedict–in which he gives a first hand account of accompanying Pope Benedict through his resignation and departure. The news was communicated to us personally. I was called by him officially. I sat down in front of his desk. Although it wasn’t the first time [Read More...]

Belle Knox — Why Not?

Porn star Belle Knox has revealed herself to be a freshman student at prestigious Duke University Law School. She went on the Piers Morgan show to reveal her name and defend her decision to pay for her law school tuition by acting on porn movies. She might be a student in North Carolina. A Southern [Read More...]

The Fuss at Fisher More

What’s going on at the little traditionalist Fisher More College in Texas? Why did that nasty bishop suppress the celebration of the Latin Mass for those college students? Mark Shea sums up the situation quite neatly and with his usual (ahem) forthright manner. There’s your problem right there. (A problem anybody but a blind man [Read More...]

Read, Mark and Learn – 3

Welcome to Day Three of our Blobble Study for Lent. That is a Bible study on a Blog. If you are enjoying this Bible study so far, why not share it with a friend and make it a point to discuss and learn together? One of the great things about the new technology is how [Read More...]

The Hidden Historicity of the Gospels

If you’re following my Lenten Blobble Study–a Bible study on a blog–you might be interested to learn more about how and why we trust the gospel accounts to be genuine and trustworthy. Read this long post from the archives, How Do We Know the Gospels are Historical? Jimmy Akin does some of his usual sharp [Read More...]

Communicating with C.S.Lewis

Here is my latest article for ZENIT C.S.Lewis wrote an essay in 1961 about the basic principles of communication for those trying to talk about the Christian faith with ordinary people. He says those who are specialists have to ‘translate’ the faith into everyday language. Catholic priests, theologians and scholars use specialized ‘insider’ talk. Even [Read More...]

Read, Mark and Learn – 2

Today we begin the second day of our Lent Bible Study. Remember not to read too quickly. Take time and let the Holy Spirit work through the Word of God into your heart and mind. After reading the gospel story click through for my reflections. Come back to the combox to comment, ask questions and [Read More...]

Do Aliens Believe in God?

Morgan Freeman–the actor who has played God in a couple of films–speculates here on the question of whether aliens would believe in God. It’s part of a new TV show about such speculative stuff. “When you look at the heavens, you imagine that people initially thought about gods, and they may also have thought about [Read More...]

Repentance and Responsibility

Every year in Lent I’m reminded of how healthy repentance is. The default setting for the human being is to blame someone else. “He did it first!” or “She did it too!” or “Everybody does it” or when we’re unhappy to blame somebody else for our problems. “It’s my wife, my husband, my kids, my parents, [Read More...]

Why Utilitarianism is Useless

Here is my latest article for The Imaginative Conservative–on why utilitarianism does not bring the greatest good for the greatest number, but brings about the greatest evil for the greatest number. when applied to social systems, utilitarianism is useless. The practical proposal of the utilitarian is to ask “what brings about the greatest good for [Read More...]