TRUMP stands up for Christians

Yesterday, Sunday, January 29, 2017, trump wrote the following:

Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

He's absolutely right! According to the Center for the Study of New Religions, in 2016, Christians were the most persecuted religion in the world. 90,000 Christians were executed for their faith. Obama pretty much did nothing. Our Canadian Prime Minister doesn't even care about Christians who are being persecuted. He has focused exclusively on bringing in Muslims into the country.

I think a lot of people are upset because Donald Trump is challenging this view of many people that all religions are absolutely identical. So saying that we need to stand up for Christians who are being persecuted more than any other religion is really terrible to these people. They somehow think specifically mentioning the plight of Christians will diminish their belief that all religions are the same despite the fact that they are absolutely and completely different in practically every way.

Christians have a view of the universe and of God which is very spiritual and goes beyond our human nature. However Muslims do not have the same view. Islam is a very human religion which sees God as sort of a master and that we must serve him or we will be punished severely. However if we obey our Heavenly master then we will be rewarded with lots of food and virgins and all of our carnal desires will be fulfilled.

Christians have a much more spiritual and transcendent view of the afterlife and the rewards that are in store for those who follow God's will. Another difference is that Islam would find it repulsive to call God Father. They do not see God as a father but as a harsh master who is punishing people for disobeying him. Christians obviously on the other hand see God is a loving father who is loving them so much that he would do anything for them including giving his only son to die for them so that they could have eternal life in spiritual union with God.

It's so refreshing to finally have a president of the United States who is willing to call things what they are. He says that Christians are suffering and he actually uses the word Christian. He doesn't just say many people of various different faiths or something very generic like that. He points them out and he names them. Secondly he points to the root cause of so many of our world problems which is Islam. He doesn't beat around the bush and call it "other people" or radicalism or some other generic euphemism. He comes right out and calls it what it is - Islamic extremism.

BREAKING NEWS: 5 DEAD IN MOSQUE SHOOTING

Photo Credit: CBC News

There are very few details yet, but it seems not long ago, there was a shooting at a Quebec City mosque. One report says there are 5 dead. This happened in Quebec City, which is in the province of Quebec in Canada. In total there are about 250,000 Muslims in the province of Quebec out of a total of about 8.18 million, or about 3%.

Quebec was once the hub of Canadian Catholicism, but since the 60s, Quebec has turned strongly against the Church. There was a massive revolt. It's so bad that most Quebecois swear words are words from Catholicism, such as references to the tabernacle, the wounds of Christ, the chalice of Holy Communion and more.

Let's hope this incident is now over.

More information here:
CBC
Globe and Mail
Global News

What I think faithful Catholics want to see from Pope Francis

Pope Francis needs to focus way more on speaking to the faithful about personal sanctity and how to achieve peace and joy in our lives. He seems to spend an awful lot of time talking about the environment or calling pro-lifers and people who like the traditional Latin Mass “rigid” and other mean words. Basically any traditional Catholic can find himself at the end of a critical comment by the pontiff. What’s going on with this? A couple of days ago, he issued a statement about the US election where he insinuated that Trump’s rise is the same as HitIer’s and we must be very weary of Trump as president for the same reasons. I don’t recall him mentioning anything about how Trump is pro-life and has ended funding for international ab0rtions.

The thing I also find is that the pope will say pro-lifers and traditional Catholics are rigid and mean-spirited and not loving enough, but then he will say things like capitalism is the greatest evil, and just use very over the top language when describing people or behaviors he doesn’t like. He bashed anyone who questioned his encyclical about giving communion to divorced and remarried Catholics. So while he is saying some people are mean, he acts very meanly himself.

I think part of the blame lies in the reporting that we hear. Whether or not the pope is aware, the media yearns for stories of dissent, or for any indication the Church will accept their immoral views. So those stories are widely reported with glee. The pope has issued strong statements opposing ab0rtion and many lgbt causes, but these are less reporter and often when they are it’s in the context of something like “although he has said x, the pope is changing the direction of the church”.

As I’ve said before I think the pope should stick to official pronouncements and seek to avoid confusion rather than adding confusion through off the cuff interviews on an airplane or issuing encyclicals and denouncing anyone who asks questions about it. These actions add confusion which we definitely don’t need right now.

The Young Pope: My Review

First of all, I want to mention that I haven't watched all episodes of this new show called "The Young Pope" yet. In fact, I have not watched complete episodes. What I have watched is a large selection of 1-5 minute clips available on YouTube of this show.

The show seems somewhat interesting from a fictional point of view. But I think it's very far from reality. As with most shows and movies from secular sources, they portray the Vatican, the pope, and cardinals in a very particular way. Let me know explain.

In most fictional portrayals of the Holy See, the pope and cardinals are seen as very and exclusively political. They have little, if any, spiritual aspect whatsoever. Usually cardinals are scheming and plotting in order to advance their own causes. They are seeking most power, but also wealth and notoriety. These "church politicians" have people blackmailed, assaulted, or even killed to advance their evil. Plus they are so powerful, little can be done about it.

This particular series is no different. It is produced by Sky and HBO, and it has a clear resemblance with the Sopranos, also produced by HBO. The pope, played by Jude Law, is ambitious, rigid, and Machiavellian. He is a control freak and power hungry. He is not very Christ-like.

The activity within the Vatican seem no different than within a political party or something portrayed on West Wing, except in West Wing the characters aren't nearly as evil.

In the show, the pope and cardinals discuss doctrine as if it is as changeable as the policies of any political party. For example, the pope and a bishop who was almost elected are discussing abortion. But the way they talk about it was the bishop was urging the pope to change the Church's teaching on abortion. To say that it's not the intentional killing of a human person and therefore murder. They made it seem like the pope, on a whim, could easily just change the Church's teaching.

This betrays a complete lack of understanding of how doctrine works. It's not a "coincidence" that most popes don't change anything with regards to doctrine. Rather, once something is declared a doctrine it does not change. The only things that are changeable are disciplines. For example, not eating meat on Friday is a form of penance and practice, but not an eternal moral law. Therefore, a pope, or the church in general can change this teaching. But the Church does not see itself as having the ability to change the teaching on murder or abortion or marriage, or other issues such as this. I hope that makes sense.

The sad part about all of this is that people are left with completely incorrect views of how the Church functions and the people in it. The pope isn't a politician who can change any law, no more than a physicist can change any law of physics, even if he is the head of a department. Also, after watching the show, many non-Catholics and fallen away Catholics are left with the impression that the pope and cardinals, and others in the Church are conniving, ambitious, immoral people, which is very far from the truth. To see why, we need look no further than the last several centuries of popes to see their personal holiness which is usually exemplary.

For example, both Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI were known for living very simply. JPII didn't even usually remember what he ate because he was too focused on his dinner guests. They had small rooms and did not live in luxury. To improve himself spiritually, John Paul II would even use a discipline or small whip to "mortify" his flesh. These great holy men would pray (and in the case of Benedict XVI continue to pray) for hours daily for the needs of the Church and the world.

The papacy is not somewhere a traditionally ambitious person would want to end up. Most of a pope's days are spent entertaining guests and dignitaries, attending events and making big decisions. When a bishop is first elected pope, he goes to a room to get his outfit. This room has been dubbed the Room of Tears, given that most new popes break down in tears upon realizing the huge responsibility they are now charged with. Pope Benedict XVI made clear his desire not to be pope, but when elected anyway, he accepted.

On the bright side, it is possible that if people find this show interesting, they may seek more information themselves. Perhaps in their search they will find the truth and be attracted to it.

In the Netherlands, this prodigy would have been killed!

Last night my fiancée and I were watching a show about a man named Derek Paravicini.  He's an extraordinary piano Prodigy who can play any piece of music after hearing it just once. He is also able to improvise with very complex patterns of music. But there's something unique about this person. He was born premature and after being exposed to high levels of oxygen he became blind. He is also extremely autistic and cannot even take care of himself to do normal day-to-day activities. He doesn't interact with people in a normal way. However his musical genius outperforms almost anybody currently living.

 Then this morning I was going through my Facebook feed and I noticed an article from lifesitenews where they explained that doctors in Groningen Netherlands are legally allowed to kill children who have been born if the doctor believes that the quality of life of this child won't be sufficient. And their definition of what constitutes a good quality of life to these doctors is more stringent than you may think. As far back as 1992 the Dutch  Royal Society of Medicine decided that it's best to kill a child if that child would not be able to live independently and experience self realization which includes the ability to hear read write and labor among other things as well as having meaningful interpersonal relationships. They decided that if a child does not meet these criteria he does not have the right to even live and should be killed by the doctor.

Obviously Derek Paravicini would not qualify for life under these strict conditions. Clearly Derek does not have the ability to live independently as he requires people to take care of him. He is not able to read or write or labor in the normal sense of the word. Obviously killing Derek would not make the world a better place but this is precisely what doctors in the Netherlands feel is the best course of action. This is absolutely unbelievable and extremely shocking and sad. That a so-called modern society can even get away with such atrocities is unimaginable. We are currently seeing Eugenics and genocide occurring before our very eyes in countries we thought more advanced but clearly are more barbaric than almost any others.

Even though the situation is particularly terrible in places like the Netherlands and Belgium, where the Culture of Death is, ironically, alive and well, we too have our fair share of blame. In our so-called modern Western cultures, over 90% of unborn babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. Down Syndrome people are some of the happiest, joyful, and unconditionally loving people in the world. And yet, they are killed before they see the light of day.

Whenever a small opening is allowed for the culture of death into a society, it inevitably expands. At first, doctor-assisted suicide was allowed in some countries under strict conditions. But as years go by, the conditions are continually reduced, and more and more people start being killed. Before you know it, anyone can become a victim. And so it goes in so many area.

Let's do everything we can to end these barbaric practices in our so-called modern societies.

Here's the video about Derek: