Thursday, July 11, 2013

What is Christian Civilization?

Written by Plinio CorrĂȘa de Oliveira
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What Is Christian Civilization?The course of history, contrary to the claims of so many philosophers and sociologists, is not traced exclusively or preponderantly by the dictates of matter over men. Without a doubt these have their influence in human action but the direction of history belongs to men, endowed as they are with free and rational souls. In other words, it is they who direct the course of events, acting more or less profoundly over the circumstances in which they find themselves, and receiving in variable measure, the influences of these same circumstances.

Now, human action normally takes place in accordance with man’s view of the universe, of himself and of life. That amounts to saying that religious and philosophical doctrines dominate history, which the most dynamic nucleus of the factors that transform history is found in the successive attitudes of the human spirit in face of religion and philosophy.

Both the Old and New Laws contain the precepts by which man should model his soul in order to become like unto God, thus preparing himself for the beatific vision. They also contain the fundamental norms of human conduct in conformity with the natural order of things.

Thus, while man advances in the life of grace by the practice of virtue, at the same time he elaborates a culture—a political, social and economic order—in entire consonance with the basic and perennial principles of Natural Law. This is what we call Christian civilization.



What is Christian Civilization?

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Hundreds call to adopt Down syndrome baby, save it from abortion - Washington Times

When the Rev. Thomas Vander Woude learned about a young couple planning to abort their unborn baby that had been diagnosed with Down syndrome, the priest reached out and offered a deal: Deliver the child and he would help find an appropriate adoptive family.

But he had to act fast.

The woman, who has not been identified for her privacy and her protection, was just shy of six months pregnant and lives in a state that prohibits abortions past 24 weeks — which meant he had a short time to find a family willing to make a lifelong commitment.

So Father Vander Woude, the lead pastor at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Gainesville, Va., approached a volunteer who helped manage the church’s social media pages, and she posted an urgent plea on Facebook early Monday morning.

“There is a couple in another state who have contacted an adoption agency looking for a family to adopt their Down Syndrome unborn baby. If a couple has not been found by today they plan to abort the baby. If you are interested in adopting this baby please contact Fr. VW IMMEDIATELY,” the post read. “We are asking all to pray for this baby and the wisdom that this couple realize the importance of human life and do not abort this beautiful gift from God.”

The post asked people to call the church’s office after 9:30 a.m. Monday or to email Father Vander Woude.

No one expected the response they received.

“When we got in and opened up around 9:30, it was nearly nonstop. All day long, we were receiving phone calls from people who wanted to adopt the baby,” church staff member Martha Drennan said. “Father Vander Woude has gotten over 900 emails in regard to the baby.”


Hundreds call to adopt Down syndrome baby, save it from abortion - Washington Times

Monday, July 8, 2013

An Unhappy “Gay Day” Experience


Prior to the May 31– June 2 Gay Days” weekend event at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, America Needs Fatima petitioned Disney to drop this and all future celebrations of homosexual behavior. Within ten days, 14,077 petitions were gathered and sent to Disney’s CEO Robert Iger.

Later in June, America Needs Fatima received the following testimony from a French mother of nine. Her story perfectly illustrates why innocent children and unsuspecting families deserve better than a promotion of unnatural vice when they pay for Disney tickets.
           
My husband and I experienced the “Gay Days” in Orlando, in 2002, and it was a horrible experience. We went with our three first boys; seven, five and three years old. 

We knew that something was going wrong when we noticed that everybody was dressed in red t-shirts, we still hadn't gazed at the “Gay Days” on them.

Inside Magic Kingdom (the park intended for kids ages one to ten) things got worse. Some men were dressed with minimal Lycra shorts [a spandex brand], revealing everything, and with women shoes. Other men began kissing scandalously in front of our kids, in the waiting lanes, where we couldn't flee away.  We tried to cover the eyes of our kids with our hands; they enjoying our anguish, smiling meanly, doubled their kisses and hugs.

I'm not exaggerating if I tell you that [the] evil in the air could be sliced with a knife.

Finally we left the lane and sought a park executive. We told him that we had come from a far away country to have a pleasant and innocent day with our little kids in this park, and not to witness hell on earth.

The executive told us he couldn't do anything and gave us tickets to return another day. But the magic of Disney had fallen forever. Disney would never return to the fantastic park it was in the past. The magic had gone forever.

Thanks for hearing my testimony.

Friday, July 5, 2013

DOJ: Governments can punish homeschoolers

 The U.S. Department of Justice has revealed in a court filing it agrees with the philosophy of the German government that bureaucrats can punish homeschooling parents.

The agency contended parental rights to keep children free from instruction that violates faith essentially are negligible when the government’s goal is an “open society.”

The arguments were made in a pleading before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that urges the judges to send a German homeschooling family, the Romeikes, back to Germany where members likely would face persecution.

“The goal in Germany is for an ‘open, pluralistic society,’” wrote the government’s pleading, signed by Senior Litigation Counsel Robert N. Markle in Washington.

German law, he argued, requires attendance at government schools, and punishment is levied against anyone failing to comply, even due to  religious objections.

His argument to the appellate court cited a German court decision, which stated: “The general public has a justified interest in counteracting the development of religiously or philosophically motivated ‘parallel societies’ and in integrating minorities in this area. Integration does not only require that the majority of the population does not exclude religious or ideological minorities, but, in fact, that these minorities do not segregate themselves and that they do not close themselves off to a dialogue with dissenters and people of other beliefs. Dialogue with such minorities is an enrichment for an open pluralistic society.

The learning and practicing of this in the sense of experienced tolerance is an important lesson right from the elementary school stage. The presence of a broad spectrum of convictions in a classroom can sustainably develop the ability of all pupils in being tolerant and exercising the dialogue that is a basic requirement of democratic decision-making process.”

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DOJ: Governments can punish homeschoolers

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Is There Anything to Celebrate on the Fourth?

Written by John Horvat II
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Is There Anything to Celebrate on the Fourth?The cloudy day set the mood for the Fourth of July barbeque. It was a family get-together but there was not much family to get together. Several members were too far away to come; others were on cruises. There were a few absent because they were no longer family since some marriages had turned ugly.

But the barbecue was lively as people gathered around the picnic tables eating plenty of ribs, potato salad, corn-on-the-cob and fixings. Not everything was homemade, much less homegrown — there was simply no time for that. As the night progressed, a discussion arose. Almost everyone agreed that Fourth of July was not what it used to be.

It used to be so happy. Everyone could remember the times when they would get together and there would be plenty of food, conversation, outdoor games and fireworks. It was a real celebration. Now everyone seemed to be complaining about everything.

“The problem is big government!”one exclaimed.“We need to just get rid of big government and that will solve everything.”

“It’s taxes! That’s what killing us. We need to cut taxes across the board. I can’t make my new car payments, student loans or pay my mortgage.”

“I can’t make it anymore on my Social Security,” an older baby boomer chimed in. “It’s not right.”

And so each had their own grievances, some complaining about too much government and others claiming not enough benefits.

At the end, someone made the comment that, with this government, there really wasn’t that much to celebrate this Fourth of July.

With that, there was a lull in the conversation that left everyone uneasy. Some took advantage of the awkward interval to check their emails on their iPhones or make small talk. And as the talk died down, the grandfather unexpectedly spoke up.

He was now a frail old man, a World War II veteran who had known hard times and good times; economic depression and happy days. He had difficulty getting around and spent a lot of his days thinking and praying.

Now he stood before them with an air of dignity saying: “Yes, government has changed. But you know something, we’ve changed, too.

“When I was growing up, families looked after their own members. We didn’t need or want handouts. We managed, even if we didn’t have the latest gadgets or the best car. When there were problems, everyone pitched in. Times were hard, but we were happier.

“Today, it’s all about money. Back then, money didn’t rule everything. People had honor. They were faithful to their spouses and family. People weren’t afraid to be leaders and accept responsibility.

“We knew the difference between our government and our country. Politicians are one thing and America is another. Today, people treat our county like a corporation where they expect only dividends. When the going gets tough, everyone abandons her and sells off their shares. That’s not right.

“No, America should be more like a family. When the family’s in trouble, everyone pitches in. I pitched in. I served my country because America is my country and I love her. Many of my buddies served too … and some didn’t return.”

A silence hung over the area as darkness was falling and lightning bugs were starting to appear.

The old man still continued: “I’m sorry for rambling on but I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. We need to turn to God again. We used to say ‘give us this day our daily bread’ now everyone turns to the government – they don’t even know how to ask God for things – or what to ask for.

“We complain about government but we’ve become just like the government we criticize. We’ve got the government we deserve. We should get our own ships in shape. We need to return to order.”

The silence was now complete and everyone became pensive. The old man settled down in his lawn chair still apologizing for rambling on. Everyone in their heart knew that he was right.

At that moment, a rocket soared into the night and burst in air and the darkness was lit by a marvelous display of light and a mighty boom. There was something grand about the way the fireworks exploded that stirred the hearts of those who watched and filled them with awe and pride. At least for an instant, they forgot about their own problems, and celebrated that special something called America.


Is There Anything to Celebrate on the Fourth?

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Rare Bird Killed...by Wind Turbine

There hasn’t been a sighting of a White-throated Needletail in the United Kingdom for 22 years, so nearly 80 birdwatchers flocked to Scotland this week to get a look, the Telegraph reported.  But instead of enjoying the world’s fastest flying bird soaring, they watched it fly into the small blade of a wind turbine and die.

"It was seen by birders fly straight into the turbine. It is ironic that after waiting so long for this bird to turn up in the UK, it was killed by a wind turbine and not a natural predator, “ Josh Jones of Bird Guides said.

The Needletail was apparently thousands of miles off course when two bird spotters identified it on the isle of Harris Monday. By Wednesday, scores of watchers had gathered in the Tarbet area of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland to catch a glimpse of the rare bird.   

“It’s tragic. More than 80 people had already arrived on the island and others were coming from all over the country. But it just flew into the turbine. It was killed instantly," Jones told the Telegraph.

Avid bird watcher David Campbell witnessed the accident Wednesday. "We all ran over there and were heartbroken to find the poor bird lying beneath the machine, in perfect condition apart from blood and slight trauma on the head - but it was stone dead. Cries of sorrow and anger from the assembled birders.

Monday, July 1, 2013

The Tide Has Turned?

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All right, hear me out! The tide has turned. After decades of resistance, the latest polls show that a slight majority of Americans have now changed their opinions on the issue. It is only a matter of time before it will be resolved. Let’s face it, the tide has turned. Youth are all going in favor. The only ones on the other side are the older generations. State legislatures are changing the laws. It is time to get modern. These people should have the right to live a normal life. They should later have the right to get married, adopt and raise a family! The tide has turned. It is futile to resist. Let’s get on the right side of history!

To read the full article, click below:

The Tide Has Turned