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The Dawah Dilemma

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The Qur’an speaks about Allah helping the followers of Jesus and keeping them “uppermost”, but this presents a dilemma since, historically, this has to refer to Trinitarian Christians… which is a very strange thing for Allah to support. If it wasn’t Trinitarian Christians, who exactly has remained “uppermost” since the time of Christ?

O believers! Stand up for Allah, as Jesus, son of Mary, asked the disciples, “Who will stand up with me for Allah?” The disciples replied, “We will stand up for Allah.” Then a group from the Children of Israel believed while another disbelieved. We then supported the believers against their enemies, so they prevailed. – 61:14

˹Remember˺ when Allah said, “O Jesus! I will take you and raise you up to Myself. I will deliver you from those who disbelieve, and elevate your followers above the disbelievers until the Day of Judgment. Then to Me you will ˹all˺ return, and I will settle all your disputes. – 3:55

Hello world…

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…and so to my first blog entry. So what’s the point of this blog? Several years ago I blogged fairly regularly about whatever was on my mind, but then Facebook came along and almost overnight I stopped blogging.

Facebook was an infinitely more convenient way of sharing news and photographs with my friends, but my blog served other purposes too. I wrote about my work in software development and about things going on in my spiritual life and, of course, life in general. I intend to re-launch my old blog at some point to write exclusively about technology, but what about everything else?

The title of this blog is “This Restless Pilgrim” and it describes well how I’ve felt over the last few years.  These years have certainly been interesting ones,  filled with uncertainty, adventure, frustration, heartbreak and excitement. I moved to London for the first time and moved around a lot before ultimately leaving England and travelling 5,489 miles away to live in the United States. Living a rather rootless life like this tends to teach you some important life lessons and the whole experience has left me with the feeling that they should be shared.

Also over the last few years I have also found myself increasingly called upon to explain and defend Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. Pope Benedict recently spoke about the use of technology to proclaim the faith and search for truth. As a consequence, I would like to share some of my exchanges regarding the faith.

It has been said that a wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others. So, if you would like to learn from my mistakes and get a little wiser (or just feel like having a bit of a laugh at my expense) please feel free to stick around.

Where do you draw the line?

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When speaking to pro-choice advocates who assert that unborn aren’t worthy of protection, I often ask:

(a) Is there a cut-off point during a pregnancy after which abortion should not be allowed?

(b) Are there any reasons reasons why someone might want an abortion which are insufficient? For example, if the mother wanted a son and was pregnant with a girl.

I like asking these questions because it helps lay out very clearly the limits of that person’s support for abortion, as well as that person’s reasoning for being pro-choice. For example, if someone says that they would be against Third Trimester abortions, then it allows us to probe for the reason why abortion in this case is wrong and not before. We can then see if there is any meaningful difference between the two cases.

Catholic Dating: Fear of rejection

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So, earlier today I wrote that I wanted to resurrect the abandoned blog series I began last year. I wanted to finally return to address the question I’ve so often heard asked about Catholic guys: why do they seem so averse to asking girls out on dates?

I would suggest that the main reason is simply fear of rejection.

It’s a pretty basic answer, but I think that this is all-too-often the reason why the Catholic guys I know haven’t dated more. This reason applies to non-Catholic men as well, of course, but I think there are some uniquely complicating factors for Catholics and I’ll talk about those in a bit.

Living Dangerously

Asking someone out is not exactly a stress-free activity. It involves risk. It involves “putting yourself out there” and risking  rejection. Sometimes that rejection can be swift and direct (“Sorry, but no thank you”), sometimes laced with platitudes (“You’re really special, but I think of you as more of a brother”) and sometimes you’ll just be ignored. However, in the mind of a guy there is always the irrational fear that it’d be cold and brutal (“You want to go on a date? Ewh! Ewh! Get away from me!”).

This fear of being shot-down is very real for a lot of guys, particularly those of the more sensitive variety. The lack of confidence and fear of rejection can lead to a paralyzing insecurity.

rejection

Asking someone out requires courage and willingness to be vulnerable, but I think there are two complicating factors which are unique for Christian men… Read more

The Fiery Imagery of Purgatory

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Recently, a listener to our C.S. Lewis podcast reached out to us. She had just begun RCIA with her family and they were quite taken aback when the priest described Purgatory in the following way:

“Purgatory is a place of fire and burning. However, there will be hope there because you will know you’re getting out someday.”

RCIA Class

It seemed to her that this would make the work of Christ incomplete. After the class, her daughter exclaimed:

“How do they expect anyone to convert if you’re still going to Hell? Because that’s exactly what Purgatory sounds like!”

When they got home, they did some googling and found several other sources that said Purgatory would be the same fire of hell, but with the hope of one day escaping.

Since my co-host and I had spoken about Purgatory on the podcast, she sent us a message expressing her consternation. I too once balked at the fire imagery I saw in some artistic depictions of Purgatory (such as in the altarpiece above), so I thought it would be a good idea to turn my answer into a blog post…

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The Epistle of Joy – Episode #15 (Video)

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Today we begin the final chapter of Philippians, Chapter 4:

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. – Philippians 4:1-3

Here are my thoughts on today’s text:

For an audio-only version of this video, please click here.

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You know what really grinds my gears?

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You know what really grinds my gears? :-/

The other day I overheard a conversation during which some of my Catholic friends were speaking particularly brutally about non-Catholics and the non-Catholic churches. There was little gentleness, respect or love. There were a few cheap shots and some statements that were just plain wrong. Ironically, what I heard was reminiscent of some of the anti-Catholic tirades I’ve heard in the past…

I spent several years in Protestant circles and was greatly blessed there. During that time my love for Scripture was nurtured and I was surrounded by many, many inspiring people who lived out lives of deep prayer and courageous virtue. For this I will forever be grateful.

Ultimately, I found certain issues within Protestantism to be troublesome and some fundamental questions which Protestantism itself is unable to answer. This is why I’m Catholic. Even on this blog, I occasionally post entries in which I critique some of my former Protestant positions. However, I do hope that I always do this with respect, gentleness and love.

I still have a great affection for our separated brothers and sisters in Christ. Virtually every conversion story that I’ve heard of those who left Protestantism for the Catholic Church have expressed similar sentiments. Although they ultimately came into conflict with Protestant doctrines, they speak very warmly of their former denominations and express gratitude for the Christian witness they received there.

So, when speaking about non-Catholics and non-Catholic churches, please do so with charity. Otherwise, I may have to shout at you for a while…with respect, gentleness and love, of course 😀

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