The Church of Oprah

Oprah has become a real cult prophetess. For some time, she has been in cahoots with sham artist and new age guru Eckhart Tolle, as was pointed out here by prolepticlife not so long ago. The latest information indicates that this is not just a passing interest. What is more, her new religion is also good for her bottom line:

And what’s different about the Tolle connection for Winfrey is that for the first time in her much-applauded Book Club’s history, she’s gone into business with the author. And the author is not one of a novel, memoir or cookbook; he’s the mysterious creator of a philosophy that Winfrey endorses and suggests her readers live their lives by.

I noticed that even Salon.com was scandalized by Oprah’s crooked promotion of The Secret.

Just how shameless is all this too-good-to-be-true hype that has become the hallmark of Oprahware? Salon author Peter Birkenhead refers to The Secret sham as a “bottle of minty-fresh snake oil.”

Here is just one example: when I was researching The Secret, I took a look at the cast of characters employed by the author Rhonda Byrne. One of her gurus is a gentleman by the name of “Dr.” Joe Vitale, who goes under the revealing nickname of Mr. Fire (take it as you like), and promotes himself as a marketing expert. Indeed. I checked out some of his books. If this is not a red flag, I do not know what is. That’s right, the title is Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words. Now that’s shameless.

I cannot emphasize enough how destructive this way of thinking is to our moral and cultural future. Turn Oprah off.

New Wave of Islamic Converts to Christianity (Video Added)

Here is an amazing story of a coptic priest, Father Zakaria Botros, who is bringing Muslims into the Christian faith by droves using the Quran in arabic and other primary sources for Muslims. He brings up some touchy points of Islamic law about which most of us in the West know nothing:

A third reason for Botros’s success is that his polemical technique has proven irrefutable. Each of his episodes has a theme — from the pressing to the esoteric — often expressed as a question (e.g., “Is jihad an obligation for all Muslims?”; “Are women inferior to men in Islam?”; “Did Mohammed say that adulterous female monkeys should be stoned?” “Is drinking the urine of prophets salutary according to sharia?”). To answer the question, Botros meticulously quotes — always careful to give sources and reference numbers — from authoritative Islamic texts on the subject, starting from the Koran; then from the canonical sayings of the prophet — the Hadith; and finally from the words of prominent Muslim theologians past and present — the illustrious ulema.

Needless to say, Father Botros has a big price on his head. God bless him for his courage.

(Update)

Fr. Zakaria in action. This man has courage:

The Spirit of Chivarly in Action

Hartford Courant photo by Shana Surek, 7/26/07

Peter Wolfgang, the executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut will be at our Holy Hour tomorrow night (Thursday, April 17) and after will speak about his work. We have always conceived the spirit of the Knights of Lepanto to be one of both prayer and action, and this spirit is exemplified by Peter and his colleague Larry Taffner.

Many of us know and appreciate the work FIC does, because we know how hard the anti-family and anti-life forces work to undermine traditional values, and we also know that without FIC, those forces would have been far more successful than they have been up to now.

Anyone who has spent even a modicum of time at the capital in Hartford knows how the same-sex marriage lobbyists walk around the State House as if they run the place and yet their schemes have been so often thwarted by the persistent efforts of just a couple of guys at FIC who keep up the fight everyday, while the rest of us show up now and again for the easy stuff. The efforts of those who donate, or show up at rallies and lobbying days, who volunteer to stuff envelopes and flood the legislature phone boards with calls to their legislators are not to be minimized; however, few of us realize how quickly Connecticut would be overrun by those who hate our values if it weren’t for a couple of guys that just won’t quit.

The fact is that the day to day work on the ground, in the State House and in the midst of enemies is being done by a couple of guys who bear up under the weight and keep going. This is a real knighthood, where men of honor do the right thing, no matter what the cost in the face of hopeless odds and push forward.

I really am urging the guys local to Connecticut to make the effort to come and pray with us during the holy hour and to hear Peter speak afterward. He really needs your prayer and support.

The Culture of Death

The arts contribute to the moral environment in which we live. Culture is the product of people and their particular mindsets. But culture is also contributes to the moral environment. It is is the moral and psychological air we breathe. I have long thought that a Catholic and chivalrous aesthetic is vital to the restoration of Christian sanity; hence, for example, my prudential support of the use of chapel veils.

I realize that educated individuals have rather sophisticated views of art and in view of their very enthusiastic interest in artistic inspiration are inclined to be somewhat more broadminded than the average person, but what is his Eminence Christoph Cardinal Schönborn thinking, when he allows an erotic homosexually oriented art exhibit to be shown in the Vienna Cathedral museum? This is the aesthetic of death. The average person, even in Vienna, knows that this is not just art or a reflection of the world today. There is a context for all of this. I find this story pretty grim.

To be fair, the Cardinal claims he did not know that a blasphemous depiction of The Last Supper was to be shown, and he had it removed; however, the rest of the exhibit still remains. Even in Vienna, one of the art capitals of the world, there is no excuse to be giving mixed messages. More importantly, our first duty is to God, and we must fight blasphemy in all its forms. For this reason, I support the TFP protest against this atrocity.

St. Louis of France, that paragon of chivalry and flower of courtesy, who poured himself out on behalf of his people, especially the poor and needy, would absolutely not tolerate blasphemy and punished most severely with corporal punishment. I am not suggesting a return to the medieval penal forms, but when something like this is defended by a churchman for the sake of art, we have a problem.

Our families are dysfunctional because the heads of our families are out in the bar (or out in the ether) instead of at home watching over the children and guarding the gates. It’s not completely the fault of fathers, though, we are not always very good children either.

John 6: The Eucharist and Conversion

This is my homily from this morning. It was inspired by the contrast between the certitude, forcefulness and urgency of Our Lord in John 6 and the oprahfied presentation of religion that has infected even the Church. I know some of what I have said could be easily misinterpeted. I took the risk, not because I wanted to be controversial, or because I thought this was the best way to preach to the masses, but because so many Catholics have lost the faith.

Mass readings

Courtesy of AirMaria.

The Oprahfication of Gender Identity

I debated whether I would say anything at all about this and just decided that I must. St. Paul makes a rather paradoxical statement in regard to the discussion among Christians of the sin of impurity:

But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. . . . Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light (Ephes. 5:3, 11-13).

Several times in this passage he says not to even name or mention the shameful deeds of impurity, but on the other hand he also commands the followers of Jesus to expose such deeds to the light. Perhaps the explanation is this: when such sins are committed in secret, we should not bring the scandal to light, but when they flagrantly committed before all to see, then it is necessary to overcome the scandal already given. Thus this post.

When I heard about the “pregnant man” my inclination was to leave well enough alone. But since the issue has been “Oprahfied,” and spread to the four winds, I figure its time to say something. It is also an issue appropos to this blog, as gender identity must be presumed if it is at all possible to speak of masculinity and femininity.

Preposterous Templar Fiction

For me it was an opportunity to both tell a fun story as well as try and explore some issues that I thought were important, especially right now, given what is going on in the world.

Where have I heard that before? How long do you think it will be before he claims his rant is only fiction?

*Spoiler Alert (though not much to spoil, and you could have guessed it anyway)*

The issue is that–guess what–the Templars had a secret, and the secret–no it couldn’t be anything like the Da Vinci Code, could it?–the secret is that Jesus kept a diary in which he claimed he was man and not God. So very original.

“Vatican plot, you say? Oh, how interesting. Sure we’ll publish it.”

And you’ll be happy to know that we can look forward to a Canadian television adaptation of the novel. Thank God for the Canadian border!

Political Theology

The Master speaks:

I don’t think it [a same-sex union] should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state,” said Obama. “If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans.

He is jokingly being referred to as the Messiah. Or is it a joke? Or is he something else? Lord of the World comes to mind:

“Towards the close of the fourth verse, a figure in a plain dark suit was observed ascending the steps of the platform. For a moment this attracted no attention, but when it was seen that a sudden movement had broken out among the delegates, the singing began to falter; and it ceased altogether as the figure, after a slight inclination to right and left, passed up the further steps that led to the rostrum. Then occurred a curious incident. The organist aloft at first did not seem to understand, and continued playing, but a sound broke out from the crowd resembling a kind of groan, and instantly he ceased. But no cheering followed. Instead a profound silence dominated in an instant the huge throng; this, by some strange magnetism, communicated itself to those without the building, and when Mr. FELSENBURGH uttered his first words, it was in a stillness that was like a living thing. We leave the explanation of this phenomenon to the expert in psychology.

“Of his actual words we have nothing to say. So far as we are aware no reporter made notes at the moment; but the speech, delivered in Esperanto, was a very simple one, and very short. It consisted of a brief announcement of the great fact of Universal Brotherhood, a congratulation to all who were yet alive to witness this consummation of history; and, at the end, an ascription of praise to that Spirit of the World whose incarnation was now accomplished.

“So much we can say; but we can say nothing as to the impression of the personality who stood there. In appearance the man seemed to be about thirty-three years of age, clean-shaven, upright, with white hair and dark eyes and brows; he stood motionless with his hands on the rail, he made but one gesture that drew a kind of sob from the crowd, he spoke these words slowly, distinctly, and in a clear voice; then he stood waiting.

“There was no response but a sigh which sounded in the ears of at least one who heard it as if the whole world drew breath for the first time; and then that strange heart-shaking silence fell again. Many were weeping silently, the lips of thousands moved without a sound, and all faces were turned to that simple figure, as if the hope of every soul were centred there. So, if we may believe it, the eyes of many, centuries ago, were turned on one known now to history as JESUS OF NAZARETH (Book II, chapter 1).

Never mind that the Sermon on the Mount says little–oh yes, actually NOTHING–about homosexuality, but of course the Messiah need not explain his use of Scripture. Never mind that the first chapter of Romans is only obscure to someone who has not read St. Paul, after all, he’s the Messiah. Sigh . . .

When Our Lord referred to his followers as His sheep, it was no compliment. Anyone who has been around sheep knows that they are really, really dumb. Fortunately, Our Lord is the Good Shepherd. One who fools with Sacred Scripture has not entered by the gate but is a “thief or robber” or worse. Hopefully, the sheep are at least smart enough to recognize the true Shepherd’s voice.

Proud Liberal

Woooops!

Well, We knew that.

Hero Mom Stands Up for the Heroes

Debbie Lee is the Mom of Marc Allen Lee, the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq. In this video she stands up before the city council of Beserkeley, California that recently promulgated a resolution, asking the Marine Recruiters to close their office in the City.

God bless her.

Hat tip, Hot Air.