Why You Should Read Luke Timothy Johnson's New Book





First Amy has a wonderful post over at

open book:



"But doesn't this bulletin notice scream 'Miracle of Sharing?' I mean - my experience as a religious ed coordinator tells me very definitely that what adult Catholics want, more than anything else, is answers, and they live with this fantastic hope that God has revealed answers, through Scripture and Tradition. To suggest that 'there is no final answer' to the question of who Jesus's identity is absurd and not Catholic, and not even Christian. It is a shabby god in whom I have no interest who leaves us bereft, with no answers.



And ultimately, those who fall back on this technique for 'teaching' are showing, in the end, how stupid they are. They don't have the knowledge or skills to be able to explain the Creeds - they don't understand them in context, they're not smart enough to be able to elucidate them so that they are comprehensible and relevant to modern sensibilities...so they throw up their hands and say, 'Discuss, class.'"



She's right and I would say that the above average Catholic has little understanding of what the Creed says we believe. The Catechism is based on the Creed and it is a reliable source of belief but it is based on a presumption of belief. Luke Timothy Johnson's new book points out that the norm for Scripture interpretation and belief is the Creed and he lays out a great presentation of the Creed and why we "modern" just don't get it.

Pope-Hopes for Peace Fell with Twin Towers



From Reuters AlertNet:



"'In a few days we will be commemorating the tragic attack on the Twin Towers in New York,' he said in a message to the annual meeting of the internationally renowned Catholic peace group Sant'Egidio.



'Unfortunately, it seems that many hopes for peace collapsed along with the Towers,' he said in the message released by the Vatican on Monday."

September 11th is D-Day for Terry Schiavo



From EPIVALOTHANASIA:



Latest News From Ground Zero



Contributing editor Pamela Hennessy of the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation brigns us the latest news from Ground Zero in the fight to save Terri:



As you may already know, a hearing is scheduled for Thursday, September 11, 2003, at the courthouse in Clearwater, Florida. This hearing is to be at 10.00am (GMT -5) and, at that time, Judge Greer is expected to schedule a date when Terri Schindler-Schiavo's feeding tube will be removed. When that is done, Terri will die from dehydration and/or starvation. Though the attorney representing Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, contends that this is a peaceful and painless death, the truth is that Terri will be made to suffer tremendously. You can read more here.

Sad News-Warren Zevon Dies



I was just thinking a few days ago how he was given only a few months to live almost a year ago--it seemed like he was beating the odds.



From CNN.com - Singer Warren Zevon dead at 56:



A lifelong smoker until quitting several years ago, Zevon announced in September 2002 that he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and had only months to live. He spent much of that time visiting with his two grown children and working on a final album.



Zevon died in his sleep Sunday at his home, publicist Carise Yatter said.

I Apologize to Zook



Turns out Florida starting quarterback, Ingle Martin, suffered a concussion in the first half of the Miami-Florida game. So that is why he didn't play in the second half. Makes the coach's moves more understandable.

Today is the Feast of the Birth of Mary



Here is a link to hearing AVE VERUM Corpus Natum de Maria Virgine chanted. The prayer composed by a pope at one time was recited by the faithful during the elevation at Mass as a way of contemplating the true presence of Jesus.



Here is the prayer in Latin and then in English:



AVE VERUM Corpus

Natum de Maria Virgine:

Vere passum, immolatum

In cruce pro homine:

Cuius latus perforatum

Fluxit aqua et sanguine:

Esto nobis praegustatum

Mortis in examine.





HAIL, true Body, truly born Of the Virgin Mary mild Truly offered, wracked and torn, On the Cross for all defiled, From Whose love-pierced, sacred side Flowed Thy true Blood's saving tide:

Be a foretaste sweet to me In my death's great agony.

Is bin Laden the 'Mahdi'?



The Hadith predicts the rise of a messianic figure toward the end of time, interestingly also the reappearance of Jesus. Shows in some way how Islam captured some of the teachings of Arius that were prevalent in Arabia during the time of the Prophet. Anyway World Net Daily reports that Bin Laden might see himself as this "enlightened one" who will lead the Islamic people in a fight against the infidel and if that is true how that changes the type of war that the US faces.



From WorldNetDaily:



"If bin Ladin – or some other Islamist leader – were to declare himself the Mahdi, should that make a difference to U.S. policy-makers? Yes.



If the claim were believable to the Islamic world, then the U.S. could no longer claim to be fighting terrorism alone. Indeed, it would become a global religious conflict. "