For some reason, I find this story hilarious:

Video game giant funds fake Christian protest of ‘Inferno’ game

Video game giant Electronic Arts has admitted it funded a group of fake protesters who pretended to be Christians as a publicity stunt to spur interest in its upcoming action game very loosely based on Dante’s “Inferno.”

The game company hired a group of almost 20 people to stand outside the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the Associated Press says. The phony protesters passed out amateurish material and held signs bearing slogans such as “Trade in Your PlayStation for a PrayStation,” “Hell is not a Game” and “EA = Electronic Anti-Christ.”

I can just imagine a bunch of snotty marketing types, sitting around a table drinking their latte grandes and trying to imagine how those hick “Christians” would react to their product. Their best idea was:

A web page in the crude style of 1990s web design was also created in connection with the stunt. It depicted crosses crushing the word “sin” and placed images of the King James Bible among phony condemnations and thinly-veiled promotions of the game.

I like the attention to detail: “images of the King James Bible” were used. For we can’t have any modernist, pagan bible like the NIV or The Message – people who read those editions would never protest the game.

Of course, what they don’t realize is that anyone who would be a “King James Bible” Christian would also probably think Dante’s Divine Comedy is just Catholic propaganda anyway.

Here are a number of (completely unrelated) stories I found of interest:

• It looks like Connecticut is still striving for the title of “most anti-Catholic state.” Now they are harrassing the Church for having the gall to publicly question their wisdom.
• Sandro Magister reprints an interesting and informative article about Pentecost on Mount Athos, the spiritual center of Eastern Christianity.
• A former Episcopal priest, now Melkite Catholic priest, lets Fr. Cutié know what he is embracing by his entrance into the Episcopal church. And it’s not pretty.
• Dr. Scott Hahn blogs about the ending of the Year of St. Paul and the publication of his (rewritten) dissertation “Kinship by Covenant” by the very prestigous Yale University Press. (If you ever want to really understand the underpinnings of everything Dr. Hahn teaches and writes, read “Kinship by Covenant.” But don’t expect it to be easy reading full of his well-known puns – this is the serious, academic foundation of his popular works.)
• Dr. Janet Smith defends Christopher West from his critics, specifically Dr. Schindler’s criticisms.

I married my best friend. Since then she has been the best wife and mother I could ever hope for. I would write a long paean in her honor, but then I realized someone already wrote one about her:

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.
She obtains wool and flax and makes cloth with skillful hands.
Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar.
She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household.
She picks out a field to purchase; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms.
She enjoys the success of her dealings; at night her lamp is undimmed.
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.
She fears not the snow for her household; all her charges are doubly clothed.
She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing.
Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land.
She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts.
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come.
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel.
She watches the conduct of her household, and eats not her food in idleness.
Her children rise up and praise her; her husband, too, extols her:
“Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all.”
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.
Proverbs 31:10-31

sometimes even on fried salami.

(This story reminds me of the movie Henry Poole Is Here).

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who tried to assassinate John Paul II twenty-eight years ago this week, says that he would like to be baptized after his release from prison next year. If true, this is wonderful news, and a fruit of JPII’s response to this man’s attempt to kill him. However, there is reason to be skeptical of Agca’s claims, as he has also claimed to be the Messiah previously, and seems to want to wait until he is out of prison to be baptized so he can be baptized at the Vatican.

Like JPII, we should pray for this man and know that Christ is all-merciful to those who turn to him.

My friend Jason Negri is now blogging at the Inside Catholic blog. I’m sure he will be a great addition, so be sure to visit it!

This week the first reading at Mass is concerned with the life of the early Christian community. One of the key aspects Luke wishes to highlight is how the first Christian Church handled money:

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common…
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need. (Acts 4:32, 34-35)

The first thing I think of when I hear this reading is “detachment.” None of the first Christians considered their personal possessions so important that they could not give them away if another needed them more. Nothing came before the good of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Barnabas even sells what appears to be a sizable property in order to help the poor in the Church (Acts 4:36-37). Can we in the American Church honestly read this passage and not feel condemned?

Of course this passage also has significant political implications. Many, especially after the 19th century, have tried to use it to justify communism and/or socialism. And frankly, there is some support for a communal economical model in this passage. Monasteries and convents have had a long history of living under a communal model in which no one owns any personal property. Yet when this model was tried on a large scale and forced upon a populace, the results were devastating.

Yet I don’t think we can therefore declare that the most prominent 20th century alternative to communism, free-market capitalism, is perfect. I do believe the free-market system has many benefits to a society, but the past few decades have proven that it does not work under an immoral people any more than a communist system works under an immoral government. And when I say it “does not work” I do not mean that the economic model doesn’t accomplish what it is supposed to, but instead I mean that people are directed away from their ultimate goal: holiness. An economic model which simply promotes the accumulation of stuff is clearly not an ideal one.

A benefit to free-market economies is that they accept the reality of the Fall. Everyone is naturally self-centered, and the capitalism recognizes that. However, it also is true that, at least in America, capitalism can evolve to its logical conclusion: consumerism, in which each person’s self-centeredness is not just acknowledged, but encouraged and preyed upon. Capitalism, like all economic models, can only work if the people in the society restrain their lower impulses to some degree and put the good of others ahead of their own good. Like the first Christians did.

Over the past few years, I have slowly weaned myself from “mainstream” news. I no longer have a TV, so I don’t watch CNN, MSNBC, FOXNews or the major network news. I no longer subscribe to the Washington Post. I have cut down how often I visit websites like cnn.com or foxnews.com. One of the primary reasons I stopped consuming such outlets was that I became sick of the tripe that they considered news: What did Bradgelina do this week? How did some pop tart disgrace herself today? What movie star or sports figure was arrested recently? And this focus on the inane crosses ideological and political boundaries as both liberal outlets like CNN and conservative ones like FOXNews engaged in it. The reason being is that it brings in viewers, and money is the almighty focus for all the networks, regardless of their political beliefs.

I was reminded of this recently when I glanced at the CNN website (shame on me!), and saw that the most popular story was entitled:

Woody Harrelson claims he mistook photographer for zombie

News for zombies, by zombies, and now about zombies. If this is not a sign that our culture has rotted to the core, I don’t know what is.

This is shocking news, but I just confirmed it myself: my former professor, famed Catholic convert Scott Hahn, is becoming Muslim! I talked to him about it and here is what he had to say:

“As you know, the focus of my Scriptural studies has been on the covenant, especially the covenant with Abraham. Recently, I was rereading Genesis and I noticed something I had never noticed before: did you know that Abraham had a son before Isaac? It’s true: his name was Ismael, and he is actually the oldest son of Abraham. And as everyone knows, the oldest son always receives the covenant blessings in Genesis – just look at Cain, Esau, and Reuben. So I realized that Ismael must be the true son of the covenant. So then I did some more research and I found that Islam claims to be descended from Ismael. Well, it doesn’t take a Scripture Scholar like me to realize that Islam must be the way to go.”

Hahn, who will be taking the name Muhammad Abril-fuul, plans to formally join Islam today, April 1st. No word yet on what Hahn’s wife Kimberly thinks of all this, but a well-placed source tells me that she saw Mrs. Hahn shopping for burqas recently.

Father Robert Stanion, a founding member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, passed away this week.

From the Friars’ website:

Father Robert Stanion, CFR, passed away on Monday, March 23, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was one of our founders and had been stationed at San Juan Diego Friary in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Fr. Robert was born on April 1, 1947 in Boston, MA. He entered the Capuchins on March 18, 1966 and made his final profession on May 8, 1972. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1992. He was an expert on rocks, precious stones, herbs, flowers, cooking, saints, eastern Christianity and many other things. His holiness and Franciscan joy will always be remembered by those who knew him.

We thank you for your prayers for our dear Fr. Robert, and we ask you to continue praying for his family and the entire CFR community.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

I have important news to announce: the University of Now Damned, the leading Wiccan university in the country, is going to give me an honorary doctorate in theology. I understand that many believe that a Wiccan institution giving a practicing orthodox Catholic an honorary degree, especially in theology, means that the Wiccans are honoring me and supporting my beliefs, but nothing could be further from the truth. They are honoring recognizing me for the purpose of dialogue. By giving one of their highest honors awards thingys to me they are in no way implying that they actually support me in any way. No, quite the contrary: by giving me this degree, they are actually engaging me in tough dialogue. I look forward to this dialogue, especially when I give my speech accepting this honor thing – a speech to which, in the finest traditions of dialogue, there will be no response.

Also, someone else is getting an honorary degree from another university for similar reasons.

My wife has always valued good food, and by that, she means non-processed, locally grown or raised food that hasn’t been treated by thousands of chemicals or been exposed to a multitude of antibiotics. So we have our own vegetable garden in our backyard and buy food from a local food co-op and cattle ranch. As someone who grew up loving McDonalds and Mountain Dew I’ll admit that it has taken me a while to get used to it. But I have come to realize that the food is better and obviously healthier.

I encourage everyone to consider having their own “kitchen garden” in their yard (or even on their windowsill) to grow tomatoes, green beans and other vegetables. It can be hard work, but it is well worth the effort, and man was not made to sit in front of a computer or TV screen all day eating processed food anyway. And you won’t be alone: I just read that First Lady Michelle Obama is going to grow one in her backyard as well.

Think the New York Times is biased against the Church?

Frustrated that the Washington Post doesn’t give the Pope a fair shake?

Well, take a look at this headline from Pravda, the formally-official news organ of the Soviet Union:

The Satanic Roman Catholic Church in limbo

It’s the story of the 9-year-old girl in Brazil who had an abortion, which led to the excommunications of her mother and the abortionist. Pravda doesn’t worry too much about the facts, however, as it reports that the bishop excommunicated the girl and not the rapist.

I know that the American newspapers are laying off workers left and right – perhaps some have gone over to Russia to find work?

(A more accurate account of this tragic story can be found here.)

There is a fascinating article at the Daily Mail website about a remarkable archaeological discovery. Called “Gobekli Tepe”, it is a “Turkish Stonehenge” which pre-dates any other such discovery by thousands of years. It calls into questions many theories about the development of man as it is more sophisticated than previously thought possible by men of that era.

But what was most interesting is that the author makes the claim that Gobekli Tepe is possibly the Garden of Eden. Needless to say, his evidence is sketchy, but it makes for fascinating reading if nothing else. Being a post-modern, the author of course ties Original Sin with the only sin still condemned today, exploitation of the environment.

Whereas I’m far from accepting that this is the Garden of Eden, it does raise some important questions about the development of man and religion in the ancient world.

Buried in this New York Times article about Newt Gringrich is a note that he is becoming Catholic (h/t: Christianity Today). Gringrich, who has a Baptist background, has had a checkered past personal life, especially regarding his marriages, so I can’t help but think of our Lord’s parable of the lost sheep:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:4-7)

Welcome to the Church, Newt!