Theology

12 04, 2020

Resurrection and the Problem of Pain
Resurrection and the Problem of Pain

Resurrection and the Problem of Pain

By Father David Nix|2020-04-13T17:52:24+00:00April 12th, 2020|Theology|

I have thought a lot about "The Problem of Pain" this Lent. The Problem of Pain is the modern atheist's main objection to believing in God: How could an infinitely good God who is infinitely powerful allow so much evil on earth? Indeed, there have been many books written to defend the existence of God and the goodness of God. But the one line that kept returning to me this Lent was: "Why must we suffer? Because here below, pure love cannot exist without suffering."—St. Bernadette. This sounds like an oversimplification of an answer to the Problem of Pain, but it is the most perfect explanation I have ever read [...]

4 04, 2020

In Mary is the Way and the Truth and the Life?
In Mary is the Way and the Truth and the Life?

In Mary is the Way and the Truth and the Life?

By Father David Nix|2020-04-04T14:03:18+00:00April 4th, 2020|Theology|

Many good Catholics are often hesitant to share with Protestants the Marian writings of heavily-Marian saints like St. Louis De Montfort and St. Maximilian Kolbe. I would number myself among such Catholics, at least at initial conversations with Baptists, Pentecostals and "non-dommers." Our Catholic giants of Marian theology write so much of "surrendering our life to Our Lady" that such vocabulary could be confusing to someone who has already surrendered his or her life to Jesus Christ (as well as Protestants and Catholics alike both should have.) Even the old Divine Office seems to ascribe too much to Mary, the Mother of God. In the set of Psalms called None [...]

29 03, 2020

Shipwreck of this World
Shipwreck of this World

Shipwreck of this World

By Father David Nix|2020-03-29T18:28:12+00:00March 29th, 2020|Theology|

Lauds in the old Divine Office of today, the first Sunday in Passiontide, says we life in a "shipwreck of a world" (mundo náufrago) here on earth. This seems like a very negative world view to the modern Christian who is repeatedly taught that God wants him happy on earth. There is some truth to that (that God wants us happy on earth) but the old Irish-Catholic worldview was that our pilgrimage on earth was actually escape from a wretched "shipwreck" to just get to heaven. People nowadays liken this worldview to Jansenism. But I'm going to propose in this blog post that putting the emphasis on original sin in [...]

25 03, 2020

What if Catholics Avoided Pornovirus Like Coronavirus?
What if Catholics Avoided Pornovirus Like Coronavirus?

What if Catholics Avoided Pornovirus Like Coronavirus?

By Father David Nix|2020-04-22T16:20:38+00:00March 25th, 2020|Theology|

Every Catholic—lay and cleric—would spend months talking about nothing except how to end the pornography problem among Catholics and worldwide. The mortal sin of pornography would be avoided as vigilantly as plague-stricken hospitals, especially if access to priests were limited. Catholics would wear modest clothes to Mass at least as much as masks are currently worn to Wal-Mart. Priests and biological fathers who make concessions out of laziness to the danger-at-hand would be held morally culpable for endangering more than just their own parish or family. Bishops would shut down the indiscriminate approach to Holy Communion until every man was porn-free and every woman was birth-control free. Every diocese would [...]

20 03, 2020

Is It Ever Permitted to Lie to Your Children?
Is It Ever Permitted to Lie to Your Children?

Is It Ever Permitted to Lie to Your Children?

By Father David Nix|2020-03-20T20:00:17+00:00March 20th, 2020|Theology|

What is the cost of lies? It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all.—Chernobyl, TV series. Most people today will lie if necessary. If you ask them why they lie, it seems that most people believe that all will be forgiven at the end of time, especially if they are lying "for a good reason." Now, most of these people remember their Ethics 101 that teaches, The end does not justify the means. "This is a nice philosophy," they say, "but when the rubber meets the road of my life, I [...]

14 03, 2020

How Should I Spend My Sundays when Public Masses Are Canceled?
How Should I Spend My Sundays when Public Masses Are Canceled?

How Should I Spend My Sundays when Public Masses Are Canceled?

By Father David Nix|2020-04-22T16:12:11+00:00March 14th, 2020|Theology|

Part I: Why the Cancelation of Masses due to COVID-19 is probably a good thing. (If Church history does not interest you, feel free to skip to Part II: How Should I Spend My Sunday when Public Masses Are Canceled?) Many bishops in the world have canceled Sunday Masses for several consecutive weeks due to fear over coronavirus (COVID-19.) You might be surprised to read that I actually agree with their decision on this. First, epidemiologically, COVID has the potential to grow big and rapidly in its reach. Even if COVID stayed small in the amount of infections, many people over 50 years old would be placing themselves in harm’s [...]

29 02, 2020

Islam Still Promotes Kidnapping Christian Children for Sex-Slavery
Islam Still Promotes Kidnapping Christian Children for Sex-Slavery

Islam Still Promotes Kidnapping Christian Children for Sex-Slavery

By Father David Nix|2020-03-02T19:38:47+00:00February 29th, 2020|Theology|

What Happened? A 14 year old Catholic girl in Pakistan named Huma Younus was kidnapped on 10 Oct 2019 by an adult Muslim named Abdul Jabbar of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab Province, who wanted her as a sex-slave for life. He has obtained her for just this sordid purpose. Her family's attorney, Tabassum Yousaf, said, "We have not heard anything from her. Her situation is heart-wrenching. The longer she remains in the hands of her kidnappers, the more she will suffer sexual and mental abuse.” Tabassum Yousaf was able to bring this case to court four months after the kidnapping, but he told Morning Star News: "The hearing on Feb 3 lasted [...]

27 11, 2019

Why “The Young Pope” Had To Be North American
Why “The Young Pope” Had To Be North American

Why “The Young Pope” Had To Be North American

By Father David Nix|2021-04-07T14:38:00+00:00November 27th, 2019|Theology|

Despite what I’m going to write here, I would dissuade any readers from watching anything on HBO. It’s a very lewd channel and I don’t want to go to Purgatory for extra time for you watching The Young Pope or anything else on that channel on my account. What I put together below came after talking to friends and researching the episodes. The Young Pope was a TV drama series produced in Europe in 2016. When the liberal Pope dies, a controversial and conservative young prelate named “Lenny"(Jude Law) from the U.S. is elected to the throne of Peter. He takes the name of Pope Pius XIII. His rallying reform [...]

19 11, 2019

The Steeling of Adversity in a Church Crisis
The Steeling of Adversity in a Church Crisis

The Steeling of Adversity in a Church Crisis

By Father David Nix|2019-11-22T20:24:25+00:00November 19th, 2019|Theology|

The 2016 New York Times Bestselling book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging was recently discussed by the author Sebastian Junger on a podcast by another host. Neither the host nor his guest, Yunger, have a Christian worldview, but they both said something very profound to Catholic men out there "who have ears to hear." Junger described on the podcast (and in his book) that when the Nazis bombed London in the early 1940s, the British banded together in fire brigades to put out the fires; they slept shoulder-to-shoulder in the tube; they found meaning and camaraderie in pulling the living and the dead out of the rubble amidst 30,000 deaths. [...]

7 11, 2019

40 “Smaller” Heresies of Modernism
40 “Smaller” Heresies of Modernism

40 “Smaller” Heresies of Modernism

By Father David Nix|2019-11-07T12:37:49+00:00November 7th, 2019|Theology|

Many Catholics studying the current crisis in the Church have become numb to the definition of Pope Saint Pius X that modernism is "the synthesis of all heresies." Some may think "synthesis of all heresies" is an amorphous problem of general doctrinal malaise. Others might classify it as a paranoid papal prophesy that never really materialized for the good-willed but jumpy Pope. But what has been astonishing to me lately is that I keep seeing that I learned everything, yes, quite literally everything, while growing up in Catholic grade school, high school and even seminary—wrong. I don't mean just liturgical issues. I mean the seemingly-smaller issues of Catholic doctrine are all turning [...]