"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
At the end of last year I was visiting my godson and saw Matt Fradd at the Sunday Liturgy. You might know Matt from The Man Talk, or his podcast, Pints With Aquinas. Here’s an old interview about Matt’s journey home to the Catholic Church:
Come On Home by Brady Troops:
Verse 1:
Haven’t seen you ’round here for awhile
I mentioned your name and I saw him smile
Sittin’ on the front porch waiting x2
Every little one to him belongs
You might be weak but he is strong
Sittin’ on the front porch waiting x2
Chorus:
So come on home, come on home
Though you left, He couldn’t forget
Just just come on home
Verse 2:
Love and pain you’ve known to well
Been backed right down to the gates of hell
Sittin’ on the front porch waiting x2
But mercy’s reach is within your grasp
You’ll find it where you found it last
Sittin’ on the front porch waiting x2
Bridge:
Can you see his eyes, they search for you
Can you feel his cries, they long for you
They long for you, They long for you
When studying the Bible, it’s often helpful to compare different accounts of the same event across the different Gospels. In this way, we can find out what particular kind of details were of interest to each Evangelist. I recently came across this tool on Bible Hub which allows you to do just that:
Earlier this week, I gave a talk entitled “Worship In The Early Church”. In case you weren’t able to make it, the event organizer recorded my presentation and put it up on Vimeo:
It is also available here on YouTube:
Across the dinner table a few months ago, we were discussing the subject of books and what we each thought were the “Must Read” books for adult Catholics. Today I would like to say a few words about a book which I think is the number one book on the subject of pro-life apologetics, “Persuasive Pro-Life” by Trent Horn from Catholic Answers.
I had originally intended to take some time to write a longer review, but since you can currently pick up a copy for $5 or download the eBook for free, it seemed wise to write a shorter review and have it published before the sale comes to an end:
The first thing which should be highlighted is that, although this book is published by Catholic Answers, none of the arguments outlined in the book are based on the Bible or even the existence of God. All arguments are based on easy-to-understand science and clear logic. Even if you are a pro-life atheist/agnostic, you will find this book extremely useful.
Typically, if I like a book, it’ll be in large part because of the way it is organized. This book is no exception. Trent assigns a separate chapter in his book to each pro-choice archetype. These archetypes include:
The Tolerant who personally don’t like abortion, but believe other people should be able to choose it.
The Skeptic who deny that anyone can know when life begins.
The Disqualifier who claim that unborn children do not have a right to life because the unborn are different from born humans.
The Autonomist, for whom it does not matter whether or not the fetus is a human being, because a woman has a right to bodily autonomy.
…
In each chapter, Trent addresses the essential arguments used by each archetype. He then goes on to explain the faulty science, incorrect assumptions or poor logic which are at work. The chapter then concludes with a (somewhat) imaginary dialogue between Trent and a pro-choice advocate. I particularly liked this feature since this shows how to apply practically what you have learned in that chapter. Not only that, it demonstrates how one can engage in pro-life apologetics in a respectful, productive and persuasive manner.
What other pro-life books would you recommend? Who else is going to the Walk For Life this weekend?
In Tuesday’s post, I shared a list of the equipment I took with me on the Camino. In today’s post I would like to share my suggestions for things which you can do in the time leading up to the Camino which will stand you in good stead for your trip…