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At the Extraordinary Synod held at the Vatican in October, several Catholic married couples were invited as “non-voting” auditors to offer some experiences “from the ground up” for consideration by the synod fathers.A Brazilian couple, Arturo and Hermelinda As Zamberline, were exceptional in focusing on contraception as the larger context in which the various problems concerning marriage should be understood. Their experience certainly coincides with the facts of Catholic existence in other parts of the world. As they put it: We must admit without fear that many Catholic couples, even those who seek to live their marriage seriously, do not...

When And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the...

Has science now proven that God exists? Douglas Ell, author of the new book Counting To God, will speak about this and other “big questions” related to science and faith in two lectures at Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach. Times: Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 6:00 pm Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 6:00 pm Location: Trinity Episcopal Church 2365 Pine Avenue Vero Beach, FL 32960 Both talks are open to the general public and there is no charge. In Counting To God, Ell applies the lens of mathematical analysis to a series of scientific discoveries, drawing startling conclusions about the relation...

In a dozen polls taken from 1982 to 2014, Gallup has asked Americans to choose among three views of evolution. One view is that humans “developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process.” Another view is that humans “developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process.” The third option is that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” In that three-decade span, the young-Earth creationist option has always...

The intellectual role that used to be occupied by theology is now largely filled by science fiction. Wikipedia lists only a dozen of possibly hundreds of books where writers, some of them practicing mathematicians or scientists themselves, examine the consequences of our current understanding of the universe. The familiar, everyday world that we know isn’t what it seems. It is actually a strange place. On large scales it isn’t governed by ‘common sense’ Newtonian physics but by the paradoxes of relativity. At very small scales, perhaps at its foundation, it is governed by quantum phenomena, which is stranger still. Arthur...

To assess the impact of community service on personal wellbeing in a mid-west church-based population a prospective survey was distributed evaluating self-reported community service, the perceived benefit of the service and its association to personal wellbeing. There were 309 participants. Those who served in some capacity had better scores on survey questions including: contentment, peace, joy, purpose and community acceptance, but not better self-perceived mental or physical health. Church going adults, who are serving in some capacity in their church or community, may demonstrate heightened personal wellbeing compared to those who are not assisting others.

Saint_Mary_Magdalen_Church_(Brighton,_Michigan)_-_Solanus_Casey_Shrine" Sixteen-month-old Elizabeth Fanning lies listlessly in her mother’s arms. Anxiously, drawn-faced Mrs. Fanning coaxes her child to take even a spoonful of the liver soup recommended by doctors. But al­though Elizabeth’s swollen belly and twiglike limbs make her look like a starvation victim, the lethargic baby has no interest in food of any kind. Little Betsy, as her parents call her, has a fatal disease in 1940: the blood cancer known as leukemia. What makes her case especially tragic is that the illness may be the result of new medical technology. Born in August 1938, Elizabeth appeared normal....

‘From the beginning of creation’—what did Jesus mean? There’s no getting around Jesus’ teaching on the age of the earth by Keaton Halley Published: 25 November 2014 (GMT+10) Not everyone welcomes this news, but some of Jesus’ statements imply, of necessity, that the world is young. This is something I regularly point out when I speak in churches about creation, and it is a theme on which we have written previously, in articles such as Jesus on the age of the earth and in chapter 9 of Refuting Compromise. To reiterate the argument briefly, Jesus claimed that human history began...

Pure myth! That is today’s typical view of a literal Adam and Eve. Yet, contrary to current skepticism, a real Adam and Eve remain credible—both in terms of Catholic doctrine and sound natural science.By calling the Genesis story a “myth,” people avoid saying it is mere “fantasy,” that is, with no foundation in reality at all. While rejecting a literal first pair of human parents for all mankind, they hope to retain some “deeper” truth about an original “sinful human condition,” a “mythic” meaning. They think that the latest findings in paleoanthropology and genetics render a literal pair of...

A mid-west, religiously conservative church-population was evaluated for the impact upon a subject’s Biblically based depth of religious adherence on quality of life. A survey was distributed on self-reported adherence to basic activities and knowledge of faith and perceived well-being. Of 303 included subjects we found differences between adherent and less-adherent groups in each of 7 questions (P≤0.01). The strongest separation between groups resulted from: if they met the needs of another Christian, studied the Holy Scriptures or praised God. Religious adherence may promote a sense of well-being in those who profess Christian faith.

Do-it-yourself exorcism schools, some aligned with actual Vatican guidelines, are on the rise. Is it really 2014?

Pope Francis’s recent remarks that evolution and Catholicism are compatible caused great deal of excitement in the secular media. While this compatibility will come as no surprise to educated Catholics, it is not the same as saying that Catholics cannot be creationists. However, in an article posted today on Catholic Household, Kevin Edwards makes a strong case for “Why Catholics Should Prefer Evolution to Young Earth Creationism.” Aside from science and common sense, Edwards draws on St. Augustine’s book on the interpretation of Genesis, from which he quotes some fascinating passages. Edwards’s article is thought-provoking enough to be worth reading...

Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, during a 2010 appearance on "The Larry King Show". Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, Ph.D., 62, is president of the Magis Center (www.magiscenter.com), headquartered in the new chancery office of the Diocese of Orange, California. The center’s goal is to demonstrate that faith and reason and science are compatible, and to combat the increasing secularization of society, particularly among young people. Fr. Spitzer was born and reared in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was an attorney and businessman; he was one of five children. His father was Lutheran; his mother a Catholic and daily communicant. He attended...

Traditions of a Global Flood by John D. Morris, Ph.D. * Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (1 Corinthians 1:20) One of the strongest evidences for the global Flood that annihilated all people on Earth except for Noah and his family has been the presence of flood legends in the folklore of people groups from around the world. And the stories are all so similar. Local geography and cultural aspects may be present, but they all seem to be telling the...

With the sad and scandalous news out of Oregon last night of Brittany Maynard’s state sanctioned suicide, thoughts turn toward the eternal consequences of such actions. The Internet and social media com boxes are full of praise and condolences for the terminally ill young woman and her grieving family. Many have offered their personal belief that Brittany is now in heaven with God who understands (and apparently condones) her decision. Even among professing Catholics there has been an incredible disconnect between what we are called to believe and what some “want” to believe. As word of her suicide was released...

The late Fr. Herbert J. Ryan, S.J., from Loyola Marymount University talks about the 1949 exorcism of a young man in St. Louis whose case inspired the novel by William Peter Blatty, "The Exorcist." Fr. Ryan served as a consultant on the film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." In 1949 the young man began to show signs of demonic possession in his Maryland home. An inexperienced local priest tried to conduct an exorcism at Georgetown University Hospital, with disastrous consequences. The young man was sent to St. Louis where he had family ties, and where Jesuit priests successfully conducted an...

If the mainstream media had a mantra these days, it would be "The Pope Is Just Like Us!" A recent variation on the meme of Francis as an earth-shattering revolutionary is the press's guiding interpretation of the pope's address to the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences. As Catholic blogger Damian Geminder observes, MSNBC Community Editor Daniel Berger had "the most popular article on msnbc.com for much of Tuesday, featuring this completely-not-sensationalistic-and-totally-journalistic headline" No need to give details here on where the MSNBC spin goes off the rails, as Geminder has done a serviceable (albeit highly polemicized) job. So too has...

A new hospital in Rome has opened a program to help childless couples better understand fertility, using minimally invasive, natural approaches without drugs. Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, noted that children “contribute greatly to the good of the parents themselves.”“Nevertheless,” he said, “we know that after a few years of marriage, some couples are faced with the ordeal of conjugal sterility. In addition to prayer, the Church is close to our brothers and sisters who are suffering, strongly encouraging scientific research aimed at overcoming natural sterility.”Zimowski’s words came just days...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore denounced reparative therapy at a conference here, saying the controversial treatment that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation has been “severely counterproductive.” Moore, who serves as president of the Southern Baptists’ Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, spoke to a group of journalists Tuesday (Oct. 28) covering the group’s national conference. “The utopian idea if you come to Christ and if you go through our program, you’re going to be immediately set free from attraction or anything you’re struggling with, I don’t think that’s a Christian idea,” Moore told journalists. “Faithfulness to...

The theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real and God is not “a magician with a magic wand”, Pope Francis has declared. Speaking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pope made comments which experts said put an end to the “pseudo theories” of creationism and intelligent design that some argue were encouraged by his predecessor, Benedict XVI. Francis explained that both scientific theories were not incompatible with the existence of a creator – arguing instead that they “require it”. “When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with...