Medical Ethics

Don't be alarmed by the specific organ that was transplanted in this story. My question/comment has to do with the donor and the fact that they are in China.

I have a difficult time respecting the determination that this transplant was done ethically. First, because they say the organ was donated by a "brain dead" person. What does that mean? Was this person dead with the exception of them being on a heart/lung machine? Was he "brain dead" the same way Terry Schiavo was in a "vegitative state"? Second, was the "donor" mutilated and left alive without the donated organ? was the person killed to harvest the organ?

I fear that this is a case of eugenic donation. I define that as the harvesting of body parts from non productive "donors" so that the body parts can be given to and used by "productive people" for the "betterment of society as a whole". How much longer until people start holding off on having abortions until the third trimester so that they can sell the "biological substances" contained in their wombs for medical research and procedures such as organ "donation"?

Pyro

IRONY ALERT!

Outraged over Pope Benedict XVI's remarks made during a speech in Germany, Muslims worldwide are calling for a personal apology. The link above will provide for you the text of the Pope's remarks. In short, he cited a 14th century text from a Christian Emperor that characterized Islam as violent, and that that violent spreading of a religion is wrong.

Now to the Muslim world... So outrage by this unfair assesment, or reading of a 14th century assesment, they are rioting and burning the Pope in effigy. So let me get this staight, It's not acceptable to call Islam violent. If you do make the mistake of calling them violent, they burn you in effigy, fire bomb your churches, and recall their ambassadors.

I told a guy at work that he swears and curses too much. He told me to #$%@ &@#. Nothing like proving someones point. I'm glad that the pink elephant is starting to be pointed out.

Pyro

single gender schools

Just read this article, and it brings to mind something. The use of the words "equal" and "same". For some of today's people, the words are synonyms. In actuality they are not. I don't have the same rules for each of my kids (because of age differences). I don't treat all people the same. That doesn't mean that I don't use equal fairness when interacting with others. Men and women are not the same. They are, however, equal in dignity. Because of their equal dignity they deserve to be treated justly.

I believe that history bears out that single gender education is effective and cuts out lots of problems that are present when the genders are mixed. Many private schools have been doing it for hundreds of years.

The complaints against single gender schools are mostly red herrings that are being fished up to support an agenda. After all, if we recognize that women and men aren't the same (and they aren't) then somehow the genderless, same sex marriage, homosexual adoption, secular feminist, agendas will be defeated. Right? I don't know, but those seem to be the groups that fight against it. Sometimes it's easier to pick a side on an issue when you see where your enemies line up.

Do you think it bothers the left that TITLE IX was championed and signed in to law by President Richard Nixon?

Pyro

Long time no blog II

Well, It's been nearly two weeks since I blogged. We were very busy at work. Several red flag days, (extreme fire conditions). I had one stretch where I was on duty (24 hour shifts) 5 out of 7 days. When I was home I had other things to do besides sit at the computer.

In a way it was similar to lent. Sometimes it does a person good to deprive themselves of an activity. It helps to refocus ones attention to some of the basics.

There is so much that occured in the last two weeks; The 9/11 anniversary, Steve Irwin's death, NFL football regular season starting, election stuff, huge oil discoveries, faith news...

I can't go back and catch up, so I will just start in again.

Back in School!!!!!!

Kids are back in School. Funny thing is, they were telling me last week how they were done with Summer! I don't know if that's because Summer was terrible or because it was so good that they were all rested up. I think they really just missed their friends and were ready to get back to work.

Thankfully my kids' school is headed by a pastor who is attentive to the Catholicity of their education. There is a Mass every Friday and get this, the Mass is celebrated with fidelity to the authentic liturgy of the Church. The pastor focuses his homily on the kids and their issues but, he doesn't dumb down the liturgy or invent his own "Children's Mass" to make Church more "entertaining" for the kids. I had a similar experience when my kids went to a Missouri Synod Lutheran school. The pastor there had a church service every Wednesday for the school kids. It was done with almost identical similarity to the regular Sunday worship service. The sermon was geared at the kid level but the other stuff wasn't "dumbed down". I think lots of Christian communities sell kids short. Or maybe there is an over commercialization of "church". In order to compete in the free enterprise church environment you have to excite your customers and give them something unique. I think having a "kids service" that uses the "entertainment value" concept to make kids interested does much harm in the long run. It focuses the service on the individual instead of on God. The adjective "service" begins to modify the mortal subjects as opposed to the Divine Person. Then, when the kids are adults and out looking for their own church, they instinctively look for a community that entertains them. Maybe not on the conscious level, but it certainly happens. And it happens in both the Catholic and Protestant worlds.

Anyway, (How'd I get off on that tangent) My kids are happy to back in school. I'm happy they're back in school. My wife's happy they're back in school. Everyone's happy!! Now I have the computer and X-BOX to myself!!!!!! I mean,.... Now my wife and I can spend more quality time together.

Just wait till next week after the first test...

John Mark Karr

Well, looks like Karr is just a stupid, demented, pervert and not responsible for JonBenet's murder. Will they be able to keep him off the streets? Probably not, we will most likely have to wait until he brutalizes some poor innocent child before we can protect society from this sexual deviant.

Will the news media just go to using his first and last name now? They seem to use the full name whenever they report on a serial killer or molester. Shouldn't they refrain from using the middle name until the guy is at least put on trial?

Seahawk 2006 team preview - Running Backs

This part of the preview seems like a no brainer. The problem with no-brainers is that they have a way of making you look dumb. You can't take credit for being right because, it is after all a no-brainer! And if you're wrong, your dumb for not seeing it coming and just going along with the prevailing opinion. But here goes...

Half Back - Shaun Alexander 5'11" #225
What is there to say? 1800+ yards and 29 TD's last year. Shaun has talked about how he needs to have an even better year this year for the Hawks to win the Superbowl. I like that kind of talk. Realistically however, there will probably be a drop off in productivity. Even with only 1400 yards and 20 touchdowns though, Shaun will still be the starting pro-bowler.

Full Back - Mack Strong 6'0" #245
Mack finally got his due last year and started in the pro bowl. He is the best blocking full back in the NFC and that doesn't look to change this year. Mack also had a good year running the ball in 2005 and set a Seahawk playoff record for the longest run during the Redskin game after Alexander went out with a concussion. He is in the twilight of his career with 14 years in the league.

Backups -
Maurice Morris 5'11" #202
Mo is faster and quicker than Shaun but doesn't have the field vision or shiftyness that #37 brings to the game. Mo is experienced with the offensive scheme and can be trusted to spell Shaun without it affecting the play calling. He is not a legitimate starting NFL half back but is a good insurance policy for Shaun.

Leonard Weaver 6'0" #251
Weaver has been impressive thus far this pre-season. He has shown the ability to fill in at both fullback and halfback. He is a big bruising back who is also fast on his feet. This in two pre-season games he has 15 rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown. He also has two catches for 7 yards.

Josh Scobey 6'0" #220
Scobey was with us last year and was used mostly as a kick returner. He stuggled in the playoffs and isn't really that reliable in my opinion.

Ran Carthon 6'0" #218
four rushes for 19 yards this pre-season. Father was a good running back

David Kirtman 6'0" #230
Drafted out of that USC program. Overshadowed by Reggie Bush and Lendale White. Time will tell if he's a diamond in the rough. He has three yards in his only attempt so far.

We have the talent, the health, and a history of success. This is the stronges part of our team. Hopefully Alexander doesn't slack off now that he has the big contract. And I don't believe in curses so the Madden and Superbowl loser things have no bearing on my outlook. The only thing to improve as far as I'm concerned is Alexanders pass blocking skills.

Overall A

Crossing yourself illegal in Scotland?

This is alarming.

There may be more to the story, or maybe not... But at face value I find this alarming. Especially when other physical gestures, (such as those done by the female music star who refers to herself as "Madonna"), openly mocking Christianity and other religions throughout Europe are ignored by the European governments.

Hopefully the United Nations Human Rights Committee will condemn this action by the Scottish government because of it's religious intollerance.... YA RIGHT!!!!!

Lt. Watada is a "disgrace"

Lt. Watada is the Army officer who earned his commission after the war on terror started. The Army helped pay for his education and he in turn agreed to serve. He subsequently decided that the invasion of Iraq was unjust so... when his unit is deployed to Iraq, he refuses to ship out. Pretty convenient. Hey Watada!! the invasion is over!!!!! Iraq is now occupied and the troops there are preventing a civil war and large scale sectarian violence. If all the allied troops pulled out, there would be enormous atrocities. To go to Iraq and assist in the stabilization of the legitimately elected Iraqi government is moral and just. I think you have been studying too many Democratic Party talking point memos... Didn't you get taught to think when you went to college?

Here's what Japanese-American veteran groups have to say about Watada.

Labor Unions Are Their Own Worst Enemy

After reading this post, I am reminded what it is that people despise about organized labor. The fact that I'm pro labor doesn't transfer to the fact that I "Goose Step" with organized labor politically. As with many political groups, they lose focus of the issue they are addressing and begin to promote agendas that have little to do with the purpose for their existance.

I'll do a quick review here of what labor unions justly stand for.

1.- A fair living wage for their family.
2.- Reasonable hours of work.
3.- Reasonably safe working conditions. Both physically safe and psycholigically safe from being treated unjustly by managers or other people of authority.

Justice for workers is derived from the fact that we are created "Imago Dei". By virtue of this fact people have a right to be treated with justice. Treating workers unjustly is specifically condemned in Scripture (Deut 24: 14-15, James 5: 1-5). There are two great Encyclicals written regarding workers justice including: Loberm Excercens, Rerum Novarum, and the letter Centesimus Annus. These writings by the Popes do much to promote social justice and were written at times of great injustice (the industrial revolution with it's horrible working conditions and reliance on child labor, and the rise of modernism).

I am pro-labor. But I am not going to compromise my morality and Christian witness to blindly support and defend the actions of labor unions. I particularly can't stand the NEA. They are culpable for erroding our public education system. To draw an analogy, they are washing away the top soil of our public schools and have created the dust bowl of education.

JonBenet

So, there has been a lot of attention again pertaining to the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. I remember back when this all first came out in the news 10 years ago. My feelings now are the same as they were then. What the h*$% is the matter with parents who dress up their six year old to look like she's a women in her 20's? It's just creepy the way they do it, it's not right. It can't just be modeling because models are selling something. You get attractive men or women to put on new and stylish clothing and you take pictures of them. Then those pictures are put in a magazine. People read the magazine, see the pictures, think the models look nice in the clothes, or the clothes look nice on the models, then they go buy the clothes so they can look nice too. Models are used to sell make-up, cars, alcohol, furniture, jewelry, electronics... you name it. There are also legitimate child models. They are dressed up like kids and used to market kid stuff.

JonBenet and other kids like her are different. You don't see them used to market merchandise, because people are weirded out by a 6 year old that is made to look like she's 20. The only people who enjoy looking at them are their parents (usually their mothers) and perverts. There must be something missing in the mothers life to want to emmerse their little daughter in to the world of JonBenet style modeling.

I think that these parents have a disorder similar to Munchausen's Disorder or Munchausen's by Proxy. Munchausen Disorder is a psychological illness whereby a person seeks attention by making their child sick. A very famous case of this was Kathleen Bush who was paraded around by Hillary Clinton for being a devoted mother back in 1994. This disorder is of course named after the famous Baron Von Munchausen. John Neville starred in a movie adaptation of the books called The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen.

I have a pretty harsh take on this whole JonBenet story. First, it's a horrible tragedy, what happened to JonBenet. She was a true victim of a hideous crime. An innocent life snuffed out by perversion. Second, I believe that JonBenet's parents share culpability in her death because of the type of modeling environment they had her in. Third, the person most responsible for JonBenet's death is the person who actually killed her. The killer deserves very harsh treatment by our judicial system.

Homily Joke

Got this from a priest who has a blog. He posts his homilies there (usually). This one is pretty funny. I'm going to send it to my Fire Chief. That should get me some brownie points!! Oh well, my family has never been accused of playing the corporate game... We're to smart for that!

“Welcome to Heaven,” said St. Peter. “Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we’ve never once had someone like you make it this far and we’re not really sure what to do with you.”
“No problem, just let me in” said the woman. “Well, I’d like to, but I have higher orders. What we’re going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in.”
“Actually, I think I’ve made up my mind, I prefer to stay in Heaven”, said the woman. “Sorry, we have rules...” And with that St. Peter put the executive in an elevator and down it went, straight to hell.

When the doors opened she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a clubhouse and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow executives that she had worked with and they were all dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the clubhouse where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kinda cute even) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved good- bye as she got on the elevator. Up and up the elevator went and opened back up at the Gates of Heaven where good old St. Peter waiting for her.

“Now it’s time to spend a day in heaven,” he said. So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got her. “So, you’ve spent a day in hell and you’ve spent a day in heaven. Now you must choose your eternity,” he said.

The woman paused for a second and then replied, “Well, I never thought I’d say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell.” So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again down she went, straight back to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks. The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.

“I don’t understand,” stammered the woman, “yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a clubhouse and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable.”

The Devil looked at her and smiled. “Yesterday we were recruiting you, today.....you’re staff.

Seahawk 2006 team preview - wideouts

This years wide receivers are hard to figure out. There is potential for them to be very good. There is also the potential for them to be a great weakness. There were lots of injuries last year and the glue that held them together (besides Hasselbeck) was Jurevicius who is now gone to Cleveland. This years two starters are the same as last years.

WR1- Darrell Jackson 6'0" #200
D-Jack was hurt last year only starting 6 games. He had offseason knee surgery and won't play in pre-season until late August. When he's healthy he's very good. He runs well after the catch and is able to get good separation. He lacks the speed to make him a deep threat or the size to make him a good target over the middle.
WR2- Bobby Engram 5'10" #188
Engram is the small posession receiver that teams like to have. He's tough and will go over the middle. Last year he was hurt (broken ribs) during the Redskins loss in game 4. He finished the game and then was in and out of the line-up the rest of the year. Very dependable but starting to get a little old.
WR3- Nate Burleson 6'0" #192
Burleson was a free agent acquision after the loss of Jurevicius. I loved Jurevicius and only hope that Burleson can provide the leadership and example the Joe provided last year when the receiver corps was depleted by injury. Burleson is supposed to be the speed guy that stretches the defense. He was injured last season but put up good numbers prior to the injury for the Vikings. He's a hometown boy and a graduate of O'Dea High School.
Backups-
Peter Warrick 5'11" #195 - starting his second year with the Hawks. Heisman Trophy winner with Florida State six years ago. Has all the tools to be an NFL great. But hasn't done it on the field yet. Will he finally break out with the Hawks.....? I sure hope so!
D.J.Hackett 6'2" #199 - Had some nice catches last year. Has filled the role of the "speed" receiver, but only gets maybe 1-2 catches a game. The D doesn't stand for dependable. Has an injured hamstring and isn't traveling with the team to Indy for the pre-season game.
Taco Wallace 6'1" #190 - I included him here because he has a cool name. Not someone to be excited about on the field however. Probably will be covering kickoffs and punts.

Tight End- Jeramy Stevens 6'7" #260
Stevens was much improved last year and turned in to someone for defenses to plan against. Big target over the middle with dependable hands (except in the Superbowl) he seems to be injury prone and is now out 6 weeks with a torn cartlidge in his knee. Had a history of personal problems in college (Washington). Another hometowner (Tacoma).

Iutla Mili 6'4" #260
hurt last year but a dependable receiver and a better blocker than Stevens.

Will Heller 6'6" #265
brought in from Tampa to be a third string player. Not much excitement out of him in Tampa his first 4 seasons.

It's a good thing that our running game dominates. That makes our receivers better than they really are. If they play up to their potential, escpecially Warrick and Jackson, and avoid injuries they could be a big surprise to the rest of the NFL.

overall B-

Way to go France!!??

Those French!!!

If France was a football player they'd be the 2nd string punter.

(I know who that is in the photo, it's just the closest I could get to a chicken all talk and no action Frenchman)

Lower Than Whale Dung

This guy has the same job that I had in the Navy. Looks like he hates his country though. What should they do with him? I can think of a few things I'd like to do. I don't want to have to go to confession however.

Respond or Not II

Well, I have lost the pamphlet so perhaps my course of action has been decided for me. It's just as well, I've had discussions with fundamentalist Christians before and they just aren't very reasonable. Their knowledge of Scripture and Christian history is also very limited. To paint them with a wide brush, they proclaim that Scripture is literal and the truths of Scripture are plainly evident for a person who reads it with a sincere desire to understand the truth. The problem is, they don't adhere to their own belief when it contradicts their tradition. As I said however, I'm generalizing and lumping a group of people together and all are not exactly the same. There are exceptions to the generalized observations that follow but, they are just exceptions and not the rule. One of the differences between Catholic Christians and Fundamentalist Christians is in how they view eachother.

Fundamentalists view the Catholic Church as a non Christian cult that practices necromancy, sorcery, and the worship of false gods. Catholics are not Christian and are therefore condemned to hell. They are in need of salvation and are targeted for conversion. The Catholic Church is an enemy of the Gospel because of her perversion of the Gospel message. The reluctance or failure of Catholics to leave the Church after a fundamentalist presents the Gospel to them is only evidence of the power of the Catholic cult. When that rare Catholic is found who can explain Catholic teaching with logic and reason while using Scripture, it only reinforces how powerful and twisted the Church is and how much control she has over her members. These are all things I have experienced first hand in discussions with fundamentalists.

Catholics view fundamentalists in a different light. As fundamentalism is a new tradition (only about 150-200 years old), that has no central authority, there is not one single view of them. As with all Christian churches that profess the Trinity and Baptize in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, fundamentalists are considered to be part of the Catholic Church. Being imperfectly united with the Church, there are certain obstacles in their realationship with God and His grace. Just as there are obstacles for Catholics who are within the visible Church yet through ignorance or obstinance, deny thruths of the faith.

The irony I find here is in the dogmatic judgement of the two traditions. The Church is accused of being controlling and rigid, supposedly denying the necessity of having a personal relationship with Jesus while teaching a salvation by works theology. Yet this controlling and rigid Church recognizes the Christianity and membership of the fundamentalists in the Body of Christ while the opposite doesn't hold true.

An example of how fundamentalists aren't faithful to their own theological beliefs and Scriptural exegesis is in their view of creation as compared to their view of communion. Remember that fundamentalists profess that Scripture is to be interpreted literally.

Fundamentalists hold that God created everything in six literal 24 hour days with one 24 hour day of rest around 6,000 years ago, give or take a thousand years or so. This view is maintained in the face of enormous scientific (anthropological, archeological, astrological, and geological) evidence that points to a different time frame. Fundamentalists arrive at this belief because they interpret the creation story in Genesis very literally. The literal interpretation of Scripture trumps all physical evidence.

Fundamentalists hold that the bread and wine used in communion, or the celebration of the Lords Supper, are just bread and wine and are only symbols of Jesus' Body and Blood. (NOTE: they don't use wine because in their tradition consuming alcohol is a sin. Therefore, even though Scripture refers to wine being consumed by Jesus at the last supper, it was really just non alcoholic grape juice despite what is literally written). They hold this symbolic belief despite the very literal words ("...this is my body...") of Jesus regarding the bread and wine used at the passover meal that was the Last Supper. And despite the very literal words of Jesus during the Bread of Life discourse (John 6). Their justification for not following the literal words of Scripture? Because the enormous physical (scientific) evidence that the bread and wine continue to have the appearance of bread and wine. What happened to the literal interpretion of Scripture?

I've had this discussion with fundamentalist friends. They get very agitated and do everything possible to keep from having to justify their position. They try to change the subject to something they have a couple of memorized "proof texts" for, like... how us Catholics worship Mary, or how we are wrong to believe in justification by "works" and not faith. When you explain the actual teaching of those things they believe you are trying to trick them and that you aren't telling the truth about what the Church teaches. They don't acknowledge that they must have been misinformed about what the Catholic Church professes.

Seahawk 2006 team preview

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

I'm starting a series on the Seahawks getting ready for the 2006 campaign. I went to the first pre-season game against the Redskins and I wasn't impressed by what I saw. It's only pre-season but... when your #1 draft pick can't cover 2nd and 3rd string receivers with 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks throwing to them, you may have problems.

I'll focus on different positions each post. This post will focus on the offensive line.

2005 saw the Hawks with the best offensive line in football with three members being selected to the pro-bowl. One of those guys (Steve Hutchinson) went to the Vikings in the offseason, other than that our line should be a bright spot again this season. Here are this seasons starters.

Left Tackle - Walter Jones -
Six time pro-bowler and regarded as the best left tackle in football. For the second straight year Jones has been in training camp since the first day. Expected to have another standout year. Measures out at 6'5" #315
Back-up (Tom Ashworth) acquired from New England as an unrestricted free agent in '06. Ashworth is a four year veteran and would probably start on half of the NFL teams. Measures out at 6'6" #305.

Left Guard - Floyd Womack -
Five year NFL veteran and has been in and out of the starting line-up over his career. He replaces all pro Steve Hutchinson. This will be a downgrade over last year but, Womack has much experience with this line and the scheme. Nicknamed "Pork Chop" he measures out at 6'4" and weighs #330. back-up (Tom Ashworth again) (third string William Henry) Henry is a free agent acquisition with one year experience. He has started in no games and also has experience at center. Measures out at 6'4" #295.

Center - Robbie Tobeck -
A 14 year NFL veteran and the reserve pro-bowler for the NFC in last years pro-bowl. Robbie is rock solid, and is probably starting to be "long in the tooth" but for a center, wisdom and experience are more important than youth. Measures out at 6'4" #297
back-up (Chris Spencer) the number one draft pick from last years draft. Has all the physical tools for the job but probably needs a little more time before he's ready to make all the offensive line calls. Measures out at 6'3" #309

Right Guard - Chris Gray
Another 14 year veteran, Gray is probably in the last year of starting every game. Has been a solid performer for the Seahawks. Measures out at 6'3" #308
back-up (Tom Ashworth) again...

Right Tackle - Sean Locklear
Third year player from the '04 draft. Sean is emerging as one of the NFL's best right tackles. Unfairly Sean will forever be remembered for the Superbowl holding call that resulted in the Jeramy Stevens reception on the one yard line being called back. The Hawks were down by four points at this stage of the game and were on a good drive. The sad thing is that the player he held was shown to have been offsides at the snap because he started his rush a little early. Sean got called for holding because the blitzing Pittsburgh player had a head start. ANOTHER BAD CALL BY THE REFS. This one, I think, cost us the game. Measures out at 6'4" #301
back-up (Tom Ashworth) again...

There are some 3rd and 4th stringers I didn't profile.

Overall grade A-
Even with the departure of Hutchinson the line should be great. They have at least three years experience working together across the board. Look for some huge holes getting ripped in defensive lines and look for Matt having lots of time to throw the ball. One of last years highlights was the blocking ability of the tight ends. The did great at sealing off the ends on many of Sean's big runs. I will profile the tight ends with the receivers.

Respond or Not?

I took three hours off from work on Sunday so that I could go to 11:00 Mass. I was scheduled to be the MC (master of ceremonies) so I needed to be there by 10:30. The MC acts as the primary assistant to the Priest when there is no Deacon present. As MC, I ensure that the other altar servers (boys between the ages of 9-18) do their assignments properly. I set the Altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist (communion) and clean it after the consecration. This Sunday we had a wonderful visiting Priest who is a missionary in Tanzania.

After Mass I returned to my car so that I could get back to work. My car had a flyer under the windshield. The flyer was about being "born again". The gist of it was that to be born again you had to "accept Jesus in your heart as your personal Lord and Savior". I agree with this, but what it means, and what it means to the writer of this pamphlet is not exactly the same. There were several Bible verses that, I guess, were supposed to prove the theology of what the pamphlet proposed. The short story is that Catholics aren't saved but if we recite the sinners prayer that was provided in the pamphlet, we surely would be... forever!!

Now, I have some theological differences with all Christians who aren't Catholic. I have more theological commonness than differences with them however. I have no problem discussing these differences with them. And I enjoy discussing our commonality even more. They are often surprised at how much we agree on. I think this is because there are many untruths told to people about Catholic teaching due to ingnorance and sometimes, unfortunately, out of bigotry.

I would never go to some other Christian's church who follows a different tradition than me, and pamphlet their cars. Espescially while they were inside celebrating Jesus. I would never go to a synagogue during their service and pamphlet their cars explaining how they should embrace Jesus as the long awaited Messiah. I believe in evangelizing. But it needs to be in the proper time and place. It is imprudent, demeaning, cowardly, and ignorant to do what these pamphleteers did, IMHO.

I guess these guys (the pamphleteers) just have a corner on the truth. Must be nice to be infallible. Oh wait, no one's infallible... no wait... it's just that AntiChrist the Pope who isn't infallible, the pastor of the local church of the Gospel Truth founded in 1998 is infallible because he teaches that the Whore of Babylon is the Catholic Church and that the bread and grape juice at communion are just symbols of the body and blood of Christ, (uuuhhhhhh [BIG BREATH]) and that the world was created in six 24 hour days with a day of rest just like it says in Genesis because the Bible is literally true. Ummmmm.... why isn't the bread and wine at communion really the body and blood of Christ if the Bible is literally true??? Hold it... why did God wait until 1998 to get the word out infallibly..?

So... Do I write to the P.O. box that was on the pamphlet? Is it worth it? Where would I begin?

Mike Wallace

I was browsing the news and came across this short report regarding Mike Wallace and the Iranian president. I wonder if Mr. Wallace would have been impressed with Hitler, Stalin, or Pol Pot?

prayers

To all who read this, I have a mission for you. My good friend and his family are engaged in a life or death struggle with cancer. Their 14 month old daughter has a rare form of liver cancer that is already in stage 4. She is very sick and needs answered prayers if she is to win this fight. There is a website where you can keep up to date on her story here.