Fanatholic!

Back from an Extended Leave

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:12:22 +0100

It's been a few months since the last post. The primary reason for this was because I was on military deployment and it was a little difficult to manage a website among every other responsibility. However, now that I am back in the States and everything is back to normal, I should be able to resume this site, as well as Agnus Daily. Thank you for your prayers and understanding. God bless!

More on Why Evolutionists Would Make Good Christians

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:50:09 +0100

I've been thinking a lot lately on the the good that comes from those who adhere to the modern evolutionary view. I wrote about some of these so-called virtues in a previous article titled, Why Evolutionists Would Make Good Christians, and what continually strikes me as odd is how often virtues that are praised by Christians are magnified in secular evolutionary thought.

The Writing is Not on the Wall

Modern evolutionary thought seems to be heavily dominated, not by the empirical sciences (i.e. archeology and chemistry), but by a type of pseudo-anthropology. It is thought that is soaked in faith and touched up with science.

We often hear of the life of prehistoric man. We know stories of the caveman who hunted and foraged for food, warred against neighboring cavemen and tribes, and were generally more animalistic and barbaric than we are today. We hear these tales and take for granted the fact that, not much is really known about prehistoric man simply because he was just that – prehistoric. The bone fragments, cave drawings, and simple tools we've discovered tell us that prehistoric man existed, but they do not tell us much about him. Simple tools and bones cannot inform us as two whether or not he wrote primitive music or dragged his prehistoric wife by the hair. We cannot know for a fact that prehistoric man acted in any particular way. Because of this, modern evolutionary anthropology seeks to answer questions that it simply cannot answer, not because it is an inferior science, but because there is no data.

Faith and Storytelling

It seems to me that those who espouse the modern view of prehistoric men have an impressive level of creativity. To hypothesize the day-to-day life of a man that has left no evidence of his daily musings and wanderings is a spectacular exercise in imagination. I dare say that it is almost mythical.

Those who hold the popular views of the life of prehistoric man have a faith that rivals that of a religious believer. For at least the Christian, Muslim, or even Hindu has written historical texts that explain the history of their adherents, and give light to the daily life of their ancestors. But, the evolutionist does not have anything besides fossil records to rely on for their beliefs on prehistoric man. Imagine trying to determine the intricate details of the life of a today's road worker simply from studying a "Road Under Construction" sign.

Faith that Moves Mountains

I don't mean to be negative about the views of prehistoric man, nor is my point is to discredit them. On the contrary, it is to bring to light the extraordinary amount of faith involved in these views. A Christian can only be jealous at the level of creativity, zeal, and steadfastness inherent in those who seek to explain the life of our earliest ancestors. It takes a great amount of faith to dream up an entire micro-civilization from a set of fossilized teeth, or even an entire body. If we had half of the faith and zeal they had, we'd convert most of the world.

The Art of Manliness: Are You a Real Man?

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:56:37 +0100

It’s not often that you come across a site that is not just information, but also inspires you to be better. The Art of Manliness, a blog created by Brett and Kate McCay, seeks to reclaim the lost art of manliness. Rather than promoting sexual promiscuity and six-pack abs, The Art of Manliness blog instructs men on things as simple as good manly hygiene and appearance, to more complex topics such as family relationships and careers.

What makes this blog absolutely unique is it’s rejection of modern “manly” social norms. For example, the authors of the site are very explicit in their negative view of pornography, and give great examples as to its harmful effects on men. Typically you would expect a blog that espouses counter-cultural views such as the acceptance of pornography to have overt religious overtones riddled throughout each topic. However, the site stays away from the religious. Rather, the authors promote their views by using traditional American and European conduct as a litmus test to determine whether an act is manly or not.

Whether you are a man that is seeking to be manlier, or a woman that wants to know how real men should be, anyone will find this site interesting at the least and inspiring at the most. With almost 20,000 subscribers to their RSS feed, hopefully we’ll see more “men” man up.

Here are some choice articles from the site:

The Five Best Sites for Modern Catholics

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:44:17 +0100

Sometimes it's difficult to find places on the web that have up-to-date information on Catholicism and its teachings on theological, moral, and social issues. The majority of Catholic based sites are either outdated, or focus solely on Catholic news, rather than issues that affect the Church or individual belief. Below are 5 sites that are exceptional in presenting the Catholic worldview effectively on a wide range of pertinent topics.

Catholic Answers - When it comes to apologetics, the guys at Catholic answers are by far the leaders in the field. I personally do not care too much for their written resources on the site, but their radio show is absolutely invaluable. The guests on their show are always relevant, and often they have shows dedicated to a particular topic of interest. They also have Q and A shows that are focused primarily on audience questions. I highly recommend subscribing to their radio podcast.

Biblical Evidence for Catholicism - This website (operated by apologist Dave Armstrong) had a tremendous impact on my decision to return to the Church. It is by far the most resource heavy Catholic apologetics site I have ever come across. He has transformed it into a blog, but all of the information is still there. It is almost inhuman how much this guy can write.

Godspy - Here is a site that is spot on when it comes to Catholicism in pop culture. It is a remarkable and up-to-date look at everything that affects Catholics in the modern world. From politics to sports, this site has it all and is an absolute must-read for any serious Catholic.

Ave Maria Radio - This site is the home of one of America's most popular Catholic radio stations. The radio program itself is a great way to stay abreast of Catholic culture, apologetics, and even family issues. The staff on the radio program are top notch, and the majority of the shows are available on podcast.

EWTN - Of course, this list cannot be complete without mentioning this one. EWTN is the most popular Catholic broadcasting organization in the world. The best part of their site is that you can stream their programming on your computer. At home, if you have a VGA cable available to connect your computer to your television, or a wireless home setup, streaming EWTN offers a free way to get great Catholic programming without having buy a package of programs you don't want or have questionable content.

There are many other great Catholic sites out there, but these 5 are - in my humble opinion - the best there is on the Internet. If I am wrong, let me know in the comments!

Suggested sites from commenters

New Advent - Tim (A.K.A. The God-Fearin' Fiddler) from Army of Martyrs suggested this one. I can't believe I forgot to include this one, since it is the home of the Catholic Encyclopedia Online. Good catch!

Five Steps to More Effective and Persuasive Apologetics

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:01:00 +0100

Because of the various religious and non-religious worldviews in our society, it has become necessary to have some knowledge of apologetics. For those that do not know what apologetics is, it is the study or method of defending your faith through reason. There are a vast amount of resources on the Internet that deal specifically with apologetics, but information is not enough. Apologetics is somewhat of an art, and in order to be effective, you have to know how to argue, prepare, and conduct yourself.

1. Know your audience

The foundation of an apologetic discussion is knowing who your audience is. This little bit of information makes or breaks an argument. All too often you see Christians argue from a biblical point of view with members of another faith, or with atheists and agnostics. In reality, that is about as effective as trying to fit a round block through a square hole. For example, if you are Christian, and a Muslim is debating with you about a religious issue, would you regard his citation of the Koran as credible evidence in your argument? Of course not, because you probably don't believe that the Koran is an authoritative source. Likewise, why argue using the Bible while discussing issues with an atheist? In order to be effective you must know and understand what the other person holds as authoritative. It is necessary to seek common ground in order to make any progress intellectually. If the other person holds a religious book as authoritative, read their book and use it in your argument. Likewise, if they do not espouse a religious belief at all, use reason alone, which is common to everyone. There are many philosophers that present very clear and powerful arguments for Christianity strictly from reason such as Pascal, Kierkegaard, and Aquinas.

2. Research, research, research!

It is prevalent in today's society for people to spout off what they believe to be fact, when in reality it is often only their opinion. There is nothing wrong with giving your opinion, but in argument it can be harmful to your attempts at persuasion. With the advent of the Internet, there really is no excuse not to be able to research and educate yourself on a particular topic. As Paul Giamatti says in John Adams, “Facts are stubborn things!” People can ignore your opinion, but they cannot ignore facts unless they are dishonest. Now, don't just research the things that bolster your points. It is imperative that you also research the other side's case. This is where we get back onto arguing from common ground. There are always hints of truth in every belief, even those that are ultimately in error. That being the case, if you know the ideas of the other side then you can better bring out the good points of their belief in order to break barriers and guide them over to your side. We will discuss this a little bit later. Here are some resource recommendations that I feel are essential to learning for the beginning apologist:

Handbook of Christian Apologetics, by Peter Kreeft & Ron Tacelli– Hands down the best general Christian Apologetics book to date. It discusses not only Christianity, but philosophical reasoning and argument.
Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, by Dave Armstrong – A very thorough presentation of Catholic biblical proof texts. The author does a great job of explaining the context of each scripture so as to present a strong argument for the Church's beliefs and teachings.
Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis – The best presentation of Christianity next to the Bible.
Pensees, by Blaise Pascal – A tough read. It's not really meant to be read straight through, but it presents nuggets of philosophical and apologetic golds throughout the entire book.
What's so Great about Christianity, By Danesh D'Souza – I haven't read it yet, but from what I've heard, and from watching debates by Danesh, the book is an supposedly an excellent rebuttal to a lot of popular modern Atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Scott Harris.

I highly suggest checking out Peter Kreeft's website. There are a lot of great audio resources available for free.

As I mentioned before, it is good to study up on the thoughts of those on the other side of the argument. Here is a list of popular books that espouse a secular worldview:

The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins – A look at religion as a source of superstition and hostility in the world. He not only attempts to show that God does not exist via science, but also by anthropology.
Letter to a Christian Nation, by Scott Harris– I am currently reading this book. It's short and east. Focused primarily on how Christianity has repeatedly ruined civilization and progress not only in America, but around the world.
God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, by Christopher Hitchins – Similar to Dawkin's book, but with a lot more British cynicism.

If you do not want to purchase them (which I usually don't), check them out at your local library or go to the author's website. Typically the authors have the majority of their concepts on their site.

3. Apologetics is swordplay, not carpet bombing

When I first started to take my faith seriously and learn the reasons for it, I had numerous scriptural cheat sheets and resources on hand at all times. I never knew when I would get into a heated debate with an Anti-Catholic, or a militant atheist (at least that's how I viewed them at the time), so I needed to be prepared. In discussions, I would blast them with scriptural proofs for Catholicism, or I would cite multiple scientific proofs that showed God's existence. I was a walking Wikipedia of Christian apologetics, and a failure. I failed time after time to convince anyone of the validity of my position. Why wasn't I successful? A dialogue requires two people in order to be effective. Unfortunately, I was too busy talking and spouting out proof texts to listen to what my interlocutor was saying.

I insist that 95% of the time listening is the best form of apologetics anyone can do. It is not hard to find arguments that bolster your position, but it takes skill to get to the root of why someone believes what they believe. Think of listening as a defensive parry in swordplay. You are still actively participating in the match, but you are (for a lack of a better phrase) looking for an opening in your opponent's position by letting them advance. Even though they are doing most of the talking, you are still in control. By doing this you are able to evaluate thearguments presented to you, and procces them in a calm and intelligent manner.

On the other hand, every swordsman needs to attack and advance, so eventually you will need to open your mouth. In argument, the best method of attack is not direct, it is indirect. When the opportunity arises try not to blurt out a proof text of some sort, rather, ask a question. It seems odd, but that is exactly what the father of philosophy, Socrates, did. He would question his cohorts, and through his questioning they would both come to the truth of an issue. Questions do two things: they show that you actually care about the conversation and their position, and they force the other person to re-asses their their ideas. Anyone can ignore a direct rebuttal, but when a question is asked the other person has no choice but to think about their argument and then respond. Of course, your question needs to be sincere, and it's aim should truly be in order to learn more about the thoughts of the other person or else you will lose credibility. But, I can't tell you how often I've listened to people explain their position to me for 10 – 15 minutes and with one question in response, they were impacted more effectively than if I wrote a entire book explaining my beliefs. Questions penetrate the barriers that many people instinctively put up to guard ideas that are valuable to them, and provide a non-threatening method of changing hearts and minds.

4. Be patient

You are not going to win anyone over to your side overnight. Conversion of thought is a long, introverted process. Often it requires a difficult change of lifestyle and habits, and people don't like change. Patient endurance is key. Unfortunately, Christians tend to get a bad rap because of people who are impatient (you know, the street sign “Everyone is going to hell” type). It is a refreshing change when people speak and interact with Christians that actually listen and don't expect instant conversions.

5. Pray

Prayer is so cliché, but necessary. Of course, the primary reason is to pray for the conversion of those you are discussing with, but the alternate reason is to regain your spiritual and intellectual composure. Obviously, the whole reason we defend our faith is to bring others to a greater understanding and relationship with Christ. However, if we don't take time to know Christ, how can we expect to help others to know him? Often, prayer is overlooked. If we don't pray, all our words mean nothing and will be ineffective. Without grace our words will not penetrate the heart.