Personally, I'm Pulling for the Bobcat

Search continues for missing bobcat day after escape from Smithsonian Zoo enclosure

D.C. freaks out, Texans laugh.

Because, You Know, Christians Don't Believe in Science and All....

The Priest Who Taught Computers to Talk to Us

My First Editor Always Said, "More Than One Correction, Pull the Story"

But, that was in the days of reporters.  In the age of journalists, verifying facts is too low a responsibility.

Exhibit A from Crux, the Roman Catholic online magazine:

           Editor’s note about Sunday article on Chaput and Trump

Exhibit B, from The Atlantic [formerly Monthly]:

This article originally stated that there is "no heart to speak of" in a 6-week-old fetus. In fact, the heart has already begun to form by that point in a pregnancy. The article also originally stated that an expectant mother participating in a study decided to carry her pregnancy to term even after learning that the fetus was suffering from a genetic disorder, when in fact the fetus was only at high risk for a genetic disorder. The article originally stated, as well, that Bernard Nathanson headed the National Right-to-Life Committee and became a born-again Christian. Nathanson was active in, but did not head the committee, and was never a born-again Christian, but rather a Roman Catholic. The article originally stated that many doctors in 1985 claimed fetuses had no reflexive responses to medical instruments at 12 weeks. Finally, the article originally stated that John Kasich vetoed a bill from Indiana's legislature, instead of Ohio's legislature, after which the article was incorrectly amended to state that Mike Pence had vetoed the bill. We regret the errors.

If two corrections should cause an article to be bagged, FIVE corrections should require it to be killed with fire.

This Would Be Powerful If It Didn't Come from the Creator of Japanese-American Internment Camps

Our quote of the day is from Franklin Roosevelt, the 32nd American president pic.twitter.com/yJzyAXscYg

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) January 30, 2017

John Chrysostom, Bishop Of Antioch And Constantinople [c. 349 – 407]

John was called Chrysostom (which means "Golden Mouth") because of his reported eloquence. He was originally a priest of Antioch known as an outstanding preacher to the extent that listeners were warned not to carry very much money with them when they went to hear him speak, since pickpockets found it easy to rob those who were too intent on his wisdom to notice.

Although John was content and popular in Antioch, he became so famous that the Empress at Constantinople decided that she must have him for her court preacher, so she had him kidnapped and brought to Constantinople and there made bishop.* This turned out to be a gross error for all involved as John's sermons against corruption in high places earned him powerful enemies (including the Empress), and he was sent into exile, where he died in the year 407.

In our Anglican/Episcopal tradition, he is known through his familiar prayer that adorns our prayer book's Office of Evening Prayer:

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one
accord to make our common supplication to you; and you
have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two
or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the
midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions
as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of
your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. 

His collect reads as follows:

O God, you gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all bishops and pastors such excellence in preaching, and faithfulness in ministering your Word, that your people may be partakers with them of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[*Yes, he had to be kidnapped to be made a bishop, so reluctant was he for the office.  This may mean that he is the one person in Christian history who actually should have been a bishop.]

Archaeological News

Advanced geometry used by prehistoric architects in US Southwest

The Entire "Mannix" Theme with Music

There were a number of good jazz compositions used in TV of the '50's and '60's.  Peter Gunn, anyone?

As a Hobby of Poseurs, Nihilism is Mostly Harmless. As a Culture, It is Horrific.

Life and death in a Post-Christian age:

As you may have heard, Naika, a Miami teenager, hanged herself in the dark hours of a Sunday morning. She did this live on Facebook. We’ll likely never know why she chose to do it that way. Perhaps she felt invisible. Perhaps she wanted to be seen.

Her self-destruction drew attention, all right, but surely not the kind she wanted. To read the report by The Miami Herald’s Carol Marbin Miller and Alex Harris is to cringe with disgust:

“A thousand people watched for nearly an hour as Naika Venant prepared to kill herself. They kept watching for another hour as the 14-year-old dangled on her scarf from the shower door in the bathroom of her Miami Gardens foster home.

“People mocked the young girl, called her names and reacted to the video with Facebook’s laughing emoji, said Antonio Gethers, one of her 4,500 Facebook friends. Others posted cruel parody videos pretending to hang themselves, too.”

The Reality of Life for Iraqi Christians

“We Know that We Are Going To Be Killed”

Of Postmodernism and Our Nihilistic Times

[New readers: We read everything at The Coracle, be it liberal, conservative, libertarian, etc., and quote from it from time to time.  It's best to be aware of various perspectives as, to paraphrase John Donne, we are "involved in mankind".  We try not to be ideologically synoptic.]

In contrast to the many religions, systems of moral thought, and other ancient traditions that have distinguished every effort to better the human condition, postmodernism presumes that all of these endeavors are the cause of human failure. It therefore operates according to just one moral imperative: discredit anything that other people presume to stand for goodness, because the belief that anything is superior to anything else inevitably results in prejudice, interpersonal strife, and inequality.

Thus, the Venus de Milo has no more aesthetic value than a crucifix in a jar full of urine; Beethoven’s symphonies are no more profound than the latest round of top 40 hits; all religions are fundamentally the same, and their “moderate” postmodern adherents are all comfortably represented on the “Coexist” bumper sticker. In a sense, it isn’t culture at all, but rather an anti-culture that measures success insofar as it deconstructs anything that other people value.

The Feast of Thomas Aquinas [1225–1274]

It seems hard to believe now, but there was a time, specifically in the 13th century, when the works of Aristotle had fallen out of common usage and were not studied in the universities of Europe. Thanks to the Muslim scholars of Arabia and Spain, who were enamored of Aristotle's natural philosophy [Islam and its relationship with Western thought has changed since then], Aristotle was ready for re-discovery when Thomas of Acquin, a Dominican monk of no small intellect, published a series of works re-presenting Aristotelian thought to his contemporaries and matching it with the theological framework of medieval Christianity. [It is helpful to remember, despite what trendy secularists would have one believe, that Christianity created the university model that educates the Western world to this day; not to mention also enabling scientific method to develop.]

As one with degrees in both philosophy and theology, I can testify to the continued influence of Aquinas in both fields. In fact, his popularity in secular philosophy continues to grow, as subsequent Western philosophy is in reaction to Aquinas's works. There is no greater figure in history whose accomplishments so strongly stand in the face of the errant belief that there is, or should be, a separation between theology, philosophy, and science.

Perhaps his most interesting contribution to human thought is through the field of natural theology. In an overly succinct definition, natural theology is the study of God as known not through sudden revelation, but through the application of observation and reason.

I would encourage readers to follow the links for more information. I will leave with this piquant quotation from G.K. Chesterton, the Catholic writer [and creator of the literary detective "Fr. Brown"] as to Aquinas's ecclesial abilities and ambition:

"His experiences included well-attested cases of levitation in ecstasy; and the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, comforting him with the welcome news that he would never be a Bishop."

Almighty God, you have enriched your Church with the singular learning and holiness of your servant Thomas Aquinas: Enlighten us more and more, we pray, by the disciplined thinking and teaching of Christian scholars, and deepen our devotion by the example of saintly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Actually, I Think I've Seen this Website

Man Visiting Church Website Really Looking Forward To Upcoming 2009 Picnic

Tell Me About It. My Book Sold Three Copies.

Professors usually spend about three-six months (sometimes longer) researching and writing in order to submit a twenty-five-page article to an academic journal. And most experience a twinge of excitement when, months later, they open a letter informing them that their article has been accepted for publication, and will therefore be read by…… an average of ten people.

To be fair, it sold more in Australia [Thank you, Mermaid Waters], but the market is...um...limited.

First MTM and Now This

'Mannix' star Mike Connors dies at 91

It wasn't Saturday night without Mannix jumping out of speeding cars and receiving his weekly concussion. He had a skull like an anvil.  And those blazers....

"Does Religious Participation Contribute to Human Flourishing? "

Communal forms of religious participation sometimes come under criticism for promoting narrow-minded perspectives or even contributing to violence and terrorism. While these critiques are sometimes warranted, those leveling them too often ignore positive aspects of communal religious participation. The various ways in which religious participation contributes to human well-being are, of course, complex, but empirical research has been building over the last couple of decades that suggests a number of specific and powerful effects.

Short answer: Yes.

It's Australia Day

I want to wish all of my friends, colleagues, former students and parishioners a happy and joyous Australia Day.  It's a beautiful country filled with healthy, positive people and I'm the better for knowing them and spending an all-too-brief time in their nation.

As Well They Should

Admin to hold EPA accountable for massive toxic river spill

For those new to The Coracle, you will discover that I can get a little passionate about the antics of the EPA, especially as they have so nonchalantly poisoned one third of the water supply of the Navajo tribe and pretended not to know of the toxic water supply in Hoosick Falls, New York, where I once lived and served a parish and a school.

In fact, just entering the letters "EPA" in the search grid in the upper left of this page will reveal a surprising amount of untoward information about the agency.  That's usually not my style, but there you go.

Different Century, Same Problem

One of Whom I Buried. Thanks, VA.

7 People Buried in the Wrong Graves at Veterans' Cemetery

Imagine Trying to Evangelize in This Culture

Now, we live in a post-Christian age, but there remains a high degree of hostility to religion in general and Christianity in particular. As a result, religion is either left out of the history books or cast as some sort of malevolent influence. That’s a big problem as it is impossible to understand human history without understanding religion and its role in human affairs. This is especially true in the West where Christianity is arguably the most important feature of Western culture since the fall of Rome.