Disrupting the Narrative of the New Left, its allies in Academia, Hollywood and the Establishment Media, and examining with honesty the goals of cultural Marxism and the dangers of reactionary and abusive political correctness.
THE NARRATIVE AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
“Threats to freedom of speech, writing and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen.”-George Orwell
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen,just as it had been told to them...
Is there a day of greater expectation for Christians than
Christmas Eve? Holy Saturday, perhaps, should be; but while the
Resurrection of Christ is a more remarkable act even than the
Incarnation of God as Man, the simple fact that the former depends on
the latter - God must become Man before He can die and rise again - has
ensured that Christmas captures our imagination more fully than Easter.
It is not just visions of sugar plums and glorious roast beast that set
our hearts afire on this day; it is the recognition - perhaps less
conscious than more so - that, in the words of one of my favorite
Christmas carols,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
Even
as Christians, we may have reduced the Nativity of Our Lord in
practical terms to a holiday of family and friends, of home and hearth
and happiness. Yet our souls know more than our minds acknowledge, and
on this night of nights they cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" That is the
cry, too, of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church, of saints and
sinners down through the ages...
It is the cry of humanity broken
by sin, of men and women who too often rebel against the realization
that we cannot repair our lives, much less the world, on our own, yet
who recognize, deep within their souls, the scars that only Christ can
heal. Our pride threatens to stifle that cry, and perhaps for 364 days
of the year, it succeeds in doing so. We act as if our salvation lies in
our hands, as if we can heal ourselves through our own works.
Yet
on this day, and even more so this night, our souls may speak more
loudly, if we will let them. They may cry to the Lord Who will greet us
in the morning from His humble manger; they may admit that we need the
Child Who is also the Man Who died for our sins - not just the sins of
Adam and Eve, and the sins of our fellow man, but our sins, that we have
committed yesterday and today, and which we will commit tomorrow.
And
our souls may allow us, this night, to set aside our spiritual and
intellectual pride, and to hear the truth of the prophets, who likened
those souls to an arid desert, which no man can make bloom but God can
make fruitful.
To receive the gift of God, the gift that He gives
us starting this night, requires setting our pride aside and
acknowledging that we are broken, that we are barren, that on our own we
can only bring death rather than life.
This night, of all
nights, our hearts seem ready to hear these words, to admit the longing
in our souls for something that we cannot gain for ourselves, but can
only accept as a gift. Or rather, the longing for Someone, the only
begotten Son of the Father Who wants nothing more than for all of His
children to receive the ultimate gift in the spirit in which He gives
it: freely, without reservations.
Tomorrow, He comes: the greatest gift of all. Tonight, we watch, we wait, we hope...
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen,just as it had been told to them...
Is there a day of greater expectation for Christians than
Christmas Eve? Holy Saturday, perhaps, should be; but while the
Resurrection of Christ is a more remarkable act even than the
Incarnation of God as Man, the simple fact that the former depends on
the latter - God must become Man before He can die and rise again - has
ensured that Christmas captures our imagination more fully than Easter.
It is not just visions of sugar plums and glorious roast beast that set
our hearts afire on this day; it is the recognition - perhaps less
conscious than more so - that, in the words of one of my favorite
Christmas carols,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
Even
as Christians, we may have reduced the Nativity of Our Lord in
practical terms to a holiday of family and friends, of home and hearth
and happiness. Yet our souls know more than our minds acknowledge, and
on this night of nights they cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" That is the
cry, too, of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church, of saints and
sinners down through the ages...
It is the cry of humanity broken
by sin, of men and women who too often rebel against the realization
that we cannot repair our lives, much less the world, on our own, yet
who recognize, deep within their souls, the scars that only Christ can
heal. Our pride threatens to stifle that cry, and perhaps for 364 days
of the year, it succeeds in doing so. We act as if our salvation lies in
our hands, as if we can heal ourselves through our own works.
Yet
on this day, and even more so this night, our souls may speak more
loudly, if we will let them. They may cry to the Lord Who will greet us
in the morning from His humble manger; they may admit that we need the
Child Who is also the Man Who died for our sins - not just the sins of
Adam and Eve, and the sins of our fellow man, but our sins, that we have
committed yesterday and today, and which we will commit tomorrow.
And
our souls may allow us, this night, to set aside our spiritual and
intellectual pride, and to hear the truth of the prophets, who likened
those souls to an arid desert, which no man can make bloom but God can
make fruitful.
To receive the gift of God, the gift that He gives
us starting this night, requires setting our pride aside and
acknowledging that we are broken, that we are barren, that on our own we
can only bring death rather than life.
This night, of all
nights, our hearts seem ready to hear these words, to admit the longing
in our souls for something that we cannot gain for ourselves, but can
only accept as a gift. Or rather, the longing for Someone, the only
begotten Son of the Father Who wants nothing more than for all of His
children to receive the ultimate gift in the spirit in which He gives
it: freely, without reservations.
Tomorrow, He comes: the greatest gift of all. Tonight, we watch, we wait, we hope...
"Christianity should enjoy a worldwide boom in the coming decades, but the vast majority of believers will be neither white nor European, nor Euro-American," writes scholar Philip Jenkins of Baylor University, author of The Next Christendom.
A few examples: Christianity grew from 40 million African members in 1900 to 100 million in 2000, and hasn't stopped; India has five times as many Catholics as Ireland, and China will be the country with the largest number of Christians in the world by the year 2050.
Secular scholars see this: Books like God's Century by Monica Duffy Toft of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and God Is Back by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge of The Economist are trying to figure out what that will mean. British geneticist Steve Jones sees sceptics dying out and religious people on the rise.
2. Believing Christians are Replacing Nominal Christians.
Meanwhile, in America, research showing Christian numbers in decline is a little misleading. Ed Stetzer points out that the data shows a decline in "cultural Christians" and "congregational Christians" but a rise in "convictional Christians."
In other words: The total number of people claiming they are Christians is dropping; the total number of people saying they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is growing.
3. Catholics are rediscovering Confession and Mass.
Meanwhile, among Catholics, there is a rise in interest in the sacraments. Many parishes that rarely offered confession have returned to regular schedules and the Church has gone through a long process of renewing the Mass.
In 2005, RealPresence.org's president, Mike Mortimer, estimated that there were 715 perpetual adoration chapels in America. The Vatican now estimates that there are 1,100 perpetual adoration chapels in America. More people are spending more time with the Lord than they have for years.
I don't remember encountering Eucharistic Adoration ever as a child or teen in the faith; now it is part of every youth activity my children attend from a variety of different groups.
5. Catholic youth movements are huge…
A movement's future is only as strong as its next generation, and so for Catholicism to have a future it has to have a youth movement. Catholicism does. Our most recent World Youth Day attracted 3.7 million - one of the 30-year event's largest gatherings ever.
At home, we see a pro-life force largely led by young American Catholics, which dwarfs almost every other activist movement.
I love the startled reaction of Nancy Keenan of NARAL when she stopped at Union Station in Washington, D.C., during the March for Life. She saw the young pro-life protesters and said, "There are so many, and they are so young..."
I encourage you to follow the link and read the rest of the list!
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.
Is there a day of greater expectation for Christians than Christmas Eve? Holy Saturday, perhaps, should be; but while the Resurrection of Christ is a more remarkable act even than the Incarnation of God as Man, the simple fact that the former depends on the latter—God must become Man before He can die and rise again—has ensured that Christmas captures our imagination more fully than Easter. It is not just visions of sugar plums and glorious roast beast that set our hearts afire on this day; it is the recognition—perhaps less conscious than more so—that, in the words of one of my favorite Christmas carols,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
Even as Christians, we may have reduced the Nativity of Our Lord in practical terms to a holiday of family and friends, of home and hearth and happiness. Yet our souls know more than our minds acknowledge, and on this night of nights they cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" That is the cry, too, of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church, of saints and sinners down through the ages, who await His Second Coming with all of the longing of the patriarchs and prophets for His First.
PJTV fan Lenna asks, "How do you find God?" Will believers close the gate in her face? Can you use the scientific method to find God in 60 days, or 30 years? Are people with high IQs too smart for their own eternal good, or are their IQs just not high enough? And how is it possible that so many super geniuses believed in God? Don't miss Bill Whittle's trip to "Island 120."
