#John Macquarrie

[apenitentialprayer]

[T]he conception of a child is not only a physiological happening, but the personal commitment in love of the parents [...] Children, unfortunately, are sometimes conceived in drunkenness, sometimes in lust, sometimes by accident, and such children, alas, from the very moment of conception have been made victims of human sin. If we could imagine a child conceived out of pure love before God, would not such a child from the very moment of conception —I mean, conceived in the loving desire of the parents for the child even before they came together in sexual union— would not such a child be from the beginning the recipient of grace?

John Macquarrie (Mary for All Christians, page 68)

[apenitentialprayer]

Okay, so let's talk about this. By unanimous teaching, I mean the apparently uncontested praxis of the Church combined with a lack of any variance in stance when articulating teaching on the matter. As such, it is an exercise of the ordinary magisterium of the Church in extrapolating from the plain sense of Scripture, and it seems like a pretty solid stance to me. (One could argue that John Boswell's Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe problematizes this, but it is a pretty controversial book).

I am going to axiomatically assert something that you are free to challenge, but I think is self-evident: attitudes toward a group of people are inherently more complicated than commands concerning one action. And I think that this is going to be on display in the situation that you brought up; but I also want to make it clear that I am trying to be truthful, so I am going to say in advance that a lot of our guys are not going to come out of this looking awesome. Because yikes. But I do think that the "unanimity" claimed by this counter-argument isn't as unanimous as the teaching on gay sex. And that's where the burden of proof on my position lies: not that the Fathers were unanimously pro-women (but that would have been nice), but simply that their position was not unanimously anti-women, giving the Church the room to step in and clarify Her position as mentioned in my original response.

And with that, I am going to start with praxis and the New Testament. Throughout the book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul (and maybe the Johannine Epistles, but the "lady" is unnamed and may actually be referring to a particular Church, so if you want to exclude that, I get it. I would), we have women who seem to hold pretty prominent positions in the early Christian movement. We have a Chloe in 1 Corinthians 1 who runs a household, we have Phoebe who definitely holds some sort of position in the Church in Corinth, and Junia who is "prominent" or "outstanding" among the early Christian missionaries as described by Paul himself. Even if we want to drop Chloe as an example because Paul mentions her neutrally, we have one prominent woman who Paul praises as outstanding and another that he trusts to deliver (and recite?) the Epistle to the Romans.

And, of course, there is Priscilla, who I think deserves her own paragraph. Priscilla is prominent enough in the early Christian community that Paul mentions that she sends her greetings to the community in Corinth (remember: she is from Rome, not Corinth, so this isn't a strictly personal thing), and Paul declares that both Priscilla and her husband are coworkers of his in Christ. I will note that "co-worker" does not necessarily imply equality in Greek as it does in English, but I think it is important that Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned in tandem here, especially since the book of Acts describes both members of this couple as catechizing Paul further after they hear him preach.

So, right off the bat, I think the claim of unanimity of teaching that "women are inferior to men" is on shakier grounds than "gay sex is sinful." The only argument I can think of from the New Testament for the permissibility of gay sex is that some claim that the servant (literally παῖς, "servant" or "boy" in Matthew's Greek) whom a centurion asks Jesus to heal may have been in a sexual relationship with his master; the Matthean text, as mentioned, uses a more tender word for servant than the Lucan, while the Lucan text also mentions that the servant was "highly valued." Jesus heals the sick servant without condemning homosexuality. And maybe you're convinced by that argument. I am not. Because even if the "high value" placed on the servant was romantic or sexual in nature (which is an inference)... controversial opinion, but the servant would still be worthy of Christ's compassionate healing.

Of course, the elephant in the room is that Paul (or the letters attributed to him; whatever) also writes quite a few things that allow for... what I'll call a polyphonic tradition concerning women and their status in society. I am going to ignore what are called the "household codes," because I don't think they are as problematic as modern readers make them out to be. I think there is something to be said about the fact that Paul establishes a pattern where he asserts the dominant culture's traditional values, and then quickly adds something new. As the Franciscan scholar of Biblical theology Jude Winkler mentions in his commentary, Paul asserts responsibilities towards each member of the household without explicit mention of any privileges over other members of the household. But even so, there are plenty of verses for the Church Fathers to draw from to establish "women are inferior."

And it is at this point that I am going to cheat a little bit, and deploy a hermeneutical tool proposed by an Anglican scholar. John Macquarrie states, regarding the attitudes toward women in the early Church:

Sociologically, a religious institution tends to reflect the traditional mores and so usually exercises a conservative influence. Theologically, however, such an institution may be bringing in new and even revolutionary ideas, without at the time being fully aware of the implications of these ideas. One could even say —if the comparison is allowed— that the theology is like a time-bomb which will explode at some future date with unforeseeable consequences.

Now, I want to make something clear: What I am not saying is that Revelation allows for sudden switches when we "discover" some hidden meaning in the text. If that were so, well, the Church affirming gay sex as not sinful wouldn't be enough to make me leave. What I am suggesting is that Revelation leaves ideas or principles that we can see irritating the proponents of a view contrary to that idea or principle within the historical record. And I think that irritant in this case is the combined creation narratives in the Book of Genesis, with it's dual doctrines of (I) man and woman share a nature, and (II) that nature is made in the Image of God.

I think that the use of these doctrines to establish the equality of the sexes reaches its height in the premodern world in Aelred of Rievaulx's On Spiritual Friendship, where he states:

It was from no similar, nor even from the same, material that divine Might formed this helpmate, but as a clearer inspiration to charity and friendship He produced the woman from the very substance of the man. How beautiful it is that the second human being was taken from the side of the first, so that nature might teach that human beings are equal and, as it were, collateral, and that there is in human affairs neither a superior nor an inferior, a characteristic of true friendship.

Now, you may be thinking, Aelred of Rievaulx died in the 1160s. Yes... and when I asked another blogger to similarly give me one example of a pro-gay sex theologian who lived before 1200, the best she could do was "I cannot find a Christian theologian before 155 who talks negatively about homosexuality." I think this is another leg up for my position on the differences between these two "unanimous" teachings. But again, if you can find an orthodox Christian defending its permissibility (or even an unorthodox one, not because that would convince me but because it would be interesting to learn about) in that time period, I am all ears.

But, back to the irritant thing. I am going to look at two passages right now, one from a commentary by Pseudo-Ambrose on 1 Corinthians 11:7, and the other from John Chrysostom on 1 Timothy 2:11-15. I will admit up front that I think my analysis of Pseudo-Ambrose is the weaker of the two arguments.

So Ambrosiaster (that's faster to type than Pseudo-Ambrose) is commenting on a verse that reads: "for [man] is the glory and image of God; but woman is the glory of man." And this could be an argument for the innate inferiority of women. And Ambrosiaster does make the argument that man is first "by cause and order." But here's the thing: that pesky Genesis gets in the way. Ambrosiaster has to address it, and the way he argues for it (in my opinion) shows how he has to square this verse with the Genesis narrative, and not the other way around. And to explain this apparent discrepancy, he says "although man and women are of the same substance, man has relational priority because he is the head of the woman." The immediate riposte here is that man is not "the head" of woman. This would be, Biblically speaking, the specific relation between husband and wife. (And that's another can of worms, but this is getting to be long). And the clearest analogy to what Ambrosiaster seems to be trying to formulate is the relationship between the Father and the Son, who are also of one substance, and, as per the Athanasian Creed... are coequal (coaequales) because of that. Moving on to Chrysostom, who uses Genesis 3 to explain his position on the infamous passage in Timothy. In his ninth homily of that book, Chrysostom uses the Genesis narrative as an etiology for the unequalness of the sexes. Eve had one opportunity to "teach" Adam, and that was a disaster for the human race. And, what's worse, Eve fell harder than Adam did, because she was deceived by an animal, while Adam was deceived by an equal: "she made bad use of her power over him, or rather her equality over him." Whoa, there! Adam and Eve were equal before the Fall? And that inequality was the result of the Fall? I think that by hinging his argument on Genesis, Chrysostom has exposed his position to an immediate critique — which he just glosses over! If inequality of the sexes is the result of the Fall, and if the Redemption reconciles us and saves us from the effects of the Fall.... you get where I'm going with this?

Combine this with a range of views from Augustine's "women are good, actually" argument against the Manicheans (not a solid argument for equality, I know) to Tertullian's (who is not a saint) "monstrous creatures" comment, and I think you can make an argument that the Church has plenty of room to step in and clarify what contents of these many voices actually ring true.

So, to recap: what I am not saying is that "actually, the Church Fathers always taught women were equal to men and we've always been awesome on that :)))." (I haven't read a lot of Epiphanius of Salamis's works, but one passage enough was to make me rethink my stance on womens' leadership in the Church, because holy shit, dude. We put you in charge of women???). But what I am saying is:

the Church's historical attitudes towards women are not as singularly monolithic as its teaching on the impermissibility of gay sex.

the teachings of the Church Fathers who argued for or justified the total subordination of women had to address the opposing view in a way that (arguably) undermines their position.

And I think these weaken the "unanimous teaching" enough to justify an acceptance of a development in doctrine within the Church in a way that a reversal of the Church's stance on same-sex sexual activity does not.

I think it is also worth mentioning that the articulation of doctrine and the unfolding of concepts as transmitted from Revelation is a process that is historically conditioned. The way that it grows into itself is often a response to the social factors and cultural conditions around it that demand a response. The Church draws from the intellectual atmosphere around it, sanctifying what is good in it for a higher purpose, and enriching Her articulation of the faith through it. So I would not to downplay, and would in fact like to thank, the feminist and personalist movements that contributed to the development.

Does this strain the credibility of the Catholic Church? Yes. Is it a death-blow? I don't think so. But also, I need to re-emphasize this, I am Literally Just Some Guy on the internet. So, if you want to investigate this yourself, I would recommend looking for works dealing with women in Late Antiquity and the Medieval Periods.

lol I love when straight catholics are like if the church affirmed homosexuality i would leave bc she'd clearly be wrong and it'd undermine fundamental catholic doctrine cus like. I do somewhat get it. it'd certainly put a question mark over simplistic ideas of church authority. it does undermine credibility of the church and perhaps even of Christianity as a whole.

but also. the idea your faith is actively resting on not affirming gay people and would be destroyed if you discovered it was otherwise - that gay marriages would annihilate whatever else you found in Christianity that's good and life giving and meaningful - that feels a bit personal lol. and it's functionally saying 'I think lgbt peoples suffering is not just a sad fact of life but necessary for my own faith to exist; you need to be alienated from God so I can have my certainty Im doing the right thing'

[docrotten]

PROM NIGHT (1980) – Episode 268 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“The killer’s comin’! The killer’s gonna get you!” Ah, yes, the childhood game everyone played. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they discover who wins and loses in Prom Night (1980).

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 268 – Prom Night (1980)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Gruesome Magazine is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of Decades of Horror 1980s and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

At a high school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously.

Directed by: Paul Lynch

Writing Credits: William Gray (screenplay); Robert Guza Jr. (from a story by)

Music by: Paul Zaza, Carl Zittrer

Cinematography by: Robert C. New (director of photography)

Selected Cast:

Leslie Nielsen as Mr. Hammond

Jamie Lee Curtis as Kimberly Hammond

Casey Stevens as Nick McBride

Anne-Marie Martin as Wendy Richards (as Eddie Benton)

Antoinette Bower as Mrs. Hammond

Michael Tough as Alex Hammond

Robert A. Silverman as Mr. Sykes (as Robert Silverman)

Pita Oliver as Vicki

David Mucci as Lou Farmer

Jeff Wincott as Drew Shinnick

Mary Beth Rubens as Kelly Lynch (as Marybeth Rubens)

George Touliatos as Lt. McBride

Melanie Morse MacQuarrie as Henri-Anne

David Gardner as Dr. Fairchild

Joy Thompson as Jude Cunningham

Sheldon Rybowski as Seymour ‘Slick’ Crane

Rob Garrison as Sayer

David Bolt as Weller

Beth Amos as Housekeeper

Sonia Zimmer as Melanie

Sylvia Martin as Mrs. Cunningham

Elizabeth M. Mason as Adele (as Liz Stalker-Mason)

Pam Henry as Car Hop

Ardon Bess as Teacher

Lee Wildgen as Gang Member

Brock Simpson as Young Nick

Leslie Scott as Young Wendy

Tammy Bourne as Young Robin

Dean Bosacki as Young Alex

Debbie Greenfield as Young Kim

Karen Forbes as Young Jude

Joyce Kite as Young Kelly

Prom Night (1980) is one of six horror films in which Jamie Lee Curtis appeared over a three-year span from 1978 to 1981 and the last covered by the Grue-Crew. Three John Carpenter films (Halloween, The Fog, Halloween II) and Prom Night are joined by Road Games and Terror Train. 

Prom Night is not the best of Curtis’s 1978-1981 six-pack of horror movies (does that go without saying?), but is it the worst? Leslie Nielsen, soon to go through his transformation to a standout comedic actor, has little to do as Curtis’s character’s father and the school’s principal. There’s also the student body providing fodder for the killer, the creepy kids that set the whole thing in motion fifteen years earlier, and athe disco music and dancing. Don’t worry. The Grue Crew will give you the straight poop.

At the time of this writing, Prom Night is available to stream from Shudder, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hoopla, Kanopy, Tubi, PlutoTV, and Freevee. It is also available on physical media as a Blu-ray formatted disc from Synapse Films. 

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Chad, will be Ghost Story (1981), based on Peter Straub’s 1979 novel! The Grue-Crew has been wanting to do this one for a long time! If you heard them announce Without Warning (1980) on the podcast, they apologize for the change, but it is on the schedule for November. Be patient, fellow babies.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans – so leave them a message or comment on the Gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the Gruesome Magazine website, or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.

Check out this episode!

[pclysemia]

Inquiry, as a kind of seeking, must be guided beforehand by what is sought. So the meaning of Being must already be available to us in some way. As we have intimated, we always conduct our activities in an understanding of Being. [...] We do not know what 'Being' means. But even if we ask, 'What is "Being"?', we keep within an understanding of the 'is', though we are unable to fix conceptually what that 'is' signifies. We do not even know the horizon in terms of which that meaning is to be grasped and fixed. But this vague average understanding of Being is still Fact.

Being and Time by Martin Heidegger (1962) [1927] (transl. John Macquarrie & Edward Robinson)

[mariocki]

The Black Room (The Black Room Mystery, 1935)

"Don't you want to kiss me?"

"A pear is the best fruit."

"Every time you see her, you want to be rid of me."

"Lots of juice in a pear."

"Well, you'll find I'll not be got rid of so easy. Do you hear what I say?"

"Adam should've chosen a pear."

"You've got it all planned, haven't you? You're gonna marry her, you're gonna make her your wife, your Baroness."

"I like the feel of a pear."

[nofatclips]

Whack World by Tierra Whack - Director: Thibaut Duverneix

[thevindicativevordan]

Thoughts on James Gunn taking over DC films?

You are the first person to ask me about all the twists and turns related to DC of late. Disappointed in the rest of you, are my hot takes on the latest gossip not why you all keep coming back? Well let's jump in, first up a minor character I have more than a passing interest in: Superman.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Henry Cavill (@henrycavill)

Five years, two major Superman projects meant to reboot the character, and... we end up right back with Cavill. Hamada's departure cleared the way for Cavill to return as the "main" Superman, with the help of the Rock of course. Between Jim Lee and the official DC Comics/Superman social media accounts welcoming Cavill back, and the trades putting out that WBD is eager to get another solo Superman film starring Cavill up and running, the Abrams/Coates project is all but dead already. No need for a new reboot if you're going to keep using the guy the previous regime planned on replacing, especially since they've passed on everything Abrams was working on thus far. Plus Hamada seems to have left on very bad terms, he didn't even take a production deal to smooth his exit, and he was the main backer for this project, I doubt Zaslav has any intention of greenlighting whatever Hamada projects in development that are left.

How do I feel? Well cautious would be the right word. I've made no secret of the fact that I thought Snyder sucked and I'd rate Cavill's acting as "wooden" at best. Perhaps with a new director and scriptwriter all the people who hail Cavill as the definitive post-Reeve Superman will finally get something they can point to in order to convince me, perhaps not, he did say For Tomorrow was his favorite Superman story - and if that's what he chooses to adapt with his second chance I fully expect him to crash and burn yet again. However he also mentioned wanting to fight Brainiac in old interviews, and his last pitch for a solo with MacQuarrie was rumored to essentially be Superman and the GLC teaming up to fight Brainiac. Lose the GLC and I'd be game, at this point all I want is an Aquaman tier Superman movie. Something fun that makes a billion and gets DC to greenlight more interesting Superman projects on the comics side (and maybe we could even get a video game too). Adapt Johns Brainiac arc which lets you use Sasha's Supergirl too, and I think it's possible to make a Superman movie that reviews well and crosses the billion dollar threshold at the box office.

My hunch is S&L will get to keep running until MoS2 is ready, which I predict will be in 2025. Two more seasons then for S&L, for a total of five, which isn't a bad run at all for the show. Maybe Hoechlin will even get to show up in a film adaption of CoIE if that ever happens, he deserves it without a doubt.

Oh and I guess the Rock wants to have a Black Adam vs. Superman fight. Look just use Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam as your foundation for that and it might be entertaining at least. I predict Black Adam's overall box office return to be around $500 million (maybe $600 million if it releases in China), enough to keep Johnson in the game but not enough to make him the center the way he wants. Not sure how that will affect things going forward but hey, the new DC head - or at least one of them - loves B and C-Listers, maybe that will work in the Rock's favor.

Gunn taking over is not a move I was expecting but it makes sense. He's a comics guy who has a good track record with adapting characters others would write off as worthless, and Safran is there to keep him in check so he doesn't run wild. If you're a fan of the B and C-Listers at DC this is great news, Gunn shares your affection and is a guy who actually reads modern comics. Just recently he gushed over Tom King's Strange Adventures mini, which might not be a good thing depending on your views regarding King, but it shows that he loves the source material and has respect for the actual creators who are making the comics. Upside for me is I think we will get a Bloodsport miniseries which makes me happy, and lots of comics creators were very happy at this news, which is an encouraging sign.

Regarding Superman specifically I'm not thrilled. Gunn does not seem to have any interest or affection for the character, it's hilarious the Snyder cultists hate Gunn so much because he and Snyder are of one mind when it comes to using Superman. Gunn too wanted to use a mind controlled evil Superman for The Suicide Squad, and that's hardly the kind of guy I want in the exec suites deciding which of the Superman scripts to go with for Cavill's second solo. No doubt that if Gunn had been calling the shots, he would've saved Batman: The Caped Crusader and sent My Adventures With Superman out to be shopped around, he's the type to greenlight Noonan's over Wonder Woman: The Animated Series, I'm not holding my breath on Gunn pivoting away from the overreliance on Batman. One point in his favor: given he wanted to make a Krypto movie (admittedly because he found Superman's dog more interesting than Superman himself) we're probably going to get League of Super-Pets 2, with the first movie being something I enjoyed and wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to. I think he's also friends with Grant Morrison, maybe he'll reach out to Morrison for advice regarding Supes which would be the best possible way this could play out.

Zaslav was said to not be planning on giving up all that much power per old reports. He wanted a Feige but didn't intend to let that Feige do as he pleased, Zaslav would still be involved. Given the Trinity were specifically called out as brands he wanted to grow separately from the DC brand as a whole, my hunch is Zaslav will continue to be hands on in anything involving the Trinity. Gunn will get more freedom with the rest of the DCU, but those three are going to need Zaslav's approval for anything major.

For better or for worse it seems WBD has found a new direction for itself, having tossed the old roadmap out. As we approach Superman's 85th I just pray the stuff I'm interested in survives and the new guys in charge are less shitty in their handling of the character than the old regime was.

[20th-century-railroading]

SP Mesa Arizona Depot by James Schultz Via Flickr: An interior view of SP's Mesa, Arizona depot in 1962. Waiting room highlights were two expansive murals painted on the east and west walls by muralist John A. MacQuarrie who did work for SP. Passenger service ended here in 1982. Sadly, the grand station building was destroyed by fire (transient campfire in the abandoned structure) in 1989.

[campaignoutsider]

Boston Globe Flatters John Bercow, Skips Misconduct

Boston Globe Flatters John Bercow, Skips Misconduct

It’s not just that the headline on this piece in yesterday’s Boston Globe about outgoing Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow is so thoroughly tin-eared and obtuse.

UK House Speaker takes the high road

Declines to criticize Johnson or Trump

John Bercow, the stentorian speaker of the British House of Commons, wouldn’t take the bait. In an interview Tuesday, Bercow wouldn’t criticize fiery…

[nikator]

Heidegger (tr. John Macquarrie & Edward Robinson), Being and Time pt. 1 div. 2.1 § 52

[scotianostra]

On January 31st 1953, while the "Great Storm" was raging that cost the lives of so many further south near Stranraer, there was better news as 66 crew were saved from the cargo vessel Clan MacQuarrie after it went aground near Borve, Lewis.

The huge vessel was en-route from Dundee to Glasgow when, at around midnight, she ran aground about 100 yards offshore, but the gales were so strong and the sea so ferocious that she was carried inshore and was left 'high and dry' when the tide receded. Stornoway Coastguard were alerted and soon the Life Saving Auxiliary Company (LSA)were on their way to the scene, the local lifeboat had been called out and was unavailable.

On arrival at Borve, along with having the horrendous weather to contend with, had the problem of dragging the heavy life saving gear over half a mile of cart track and then across rough ground to the beach. They eventually overcame this difficulty and managed to fire the first rocket line shortly after 3am. Unfortunately, it failed to make contact and although the second rocket line was initially held, it was soon lost. By this time the men were exhausted and reports said: "They (the LSA team) were soaked to the skin and several men were blown into ditches which had become raging torrents. Hands were swollen and puffy with cold, legs numb to the knees, and faces were caked with mud, oil and salt." After it was established that the ship and its crew were not in any immediate danger it was decided to leave the rescue until daylight and hopefully, a break in the weather. A line was secured after the tide had gone out and with the help of brave local volunteers, the process of rescuing the 66 crew members of the Clan MacQuarrie by 'breeches buoy' began at around 12pm.

The 'breeches buoy' is a device designed for 'ship to ship' or 'ship to shore' rescues. It consists of a canvas seat in the form of breeches hung from a life belt running on a pulley system that enables persons to be hauled to ship or shore. The wind, which was reported to have been gusting at over 100 miles per hour on the West Side during the night, had eased by the time of the rescue but it was still blowing powerfully enough for the rescuers to have trouble remaining on their feet while they held the hawser taut. All 66 crew members (and the ships cat) were rescued in just over three hours and the last man ashore was Captain Denis De Vall who, apparently, in his 30 years at sea, had, only once experienced such severe weather conditions. William Ogilvie, the ship's carpenter, paid tribute to the locals and his rescuers: "We are very grateful to the people of Borve for their hospitality and also to the LSA crew for turning out last night. They were worse off than we were - at least we had some shelter."

 Captain De Vall remained in Borve, staying at No. 28 with Mr John Graham. The first mate and chief engineer also stayed in the village whilst the remainder of the crew were taken to the sailors home in Stornoway where they were fed, watered and given a change of clothing. For their efforts during the incident, Stornoway LSA were awarded The Board of Trade 'Wreck' Shield and Station Officer Price received a B.E.M (The Medal of the Order) for Meritous Service. Brave locals were not forgotten though, and with a fantastic gesture of thanks, Clan Line, the ship's owners, paid for a community hall to built in Borve. The hall is still in use today.

The Clan MacQuarrie remained grounded at Borve for two more months until she was refloated on the high Spring tides but unfortunately she was beyond repair and was broken up at Troon and sold as scrap.

Also that day the Fleetwood registered trawler 'Michael Griffiths' sank seven miles south of Barra Head, at the southern tip of The Outer Hebrides, with the loss of 13 crew.

[apenitentialprayer]

[I]t is important not to think of conception only in biological terms. We may suppose that the conception of an animal may be so understood, but not the conception of a human being, for such a being has his or her proximate origin in the loving personal relation of the parents, and this love includes their longing for a child. The context of conception at the family level is therefore personal and even spiritual [...] This is no mere sentimentality but simply the recognition that human beings are personal beings, not just biological organisms, the recognition that sees the creative moment of conception, whether for good or bad, in the personal relation subsisting between the parents rather than in the biological phenomenon of a fusion of cells.

John Macquarrie (Mary for All Christians, page 67, 68)

[atlanticcanada]

'Nova Scotia has been seen as one of the leaders in COVID management': doctor

With just 11 active cases of COVID-19, Nova Scotia is doing better than many places in the world.

"Atlantic Canada, particularly Nova Scotia, has been seen as one of the leaders in COVID management,” said Dr. Todd Hatchette, NSHA Chief of Microbiology.

Last week, the province confirmed two samples sent to the National Lab in December had identified both the U.K. and South African variant. Both individuals have since recovered.

Hatchette says Nova Scotians don’t need to be concerned the variant was identified. In fact, it was expected.

"The virus is a new virus. It's crossed over from animals into humans and a virus' goal is to adapt to its new host so we expect to see viruses adapt,” he said.

Hatchette said even if the new variant is more transmissible, it still needs close contact, in close spaces.

"It's really important that people continue to do the physical distancing, making sure they wear masks, making sure they wash their hands and as importantly, keep your social bubble tight and limited,” said Hachette.

Nova Scotia has been under a state of emergency since last March. In that time, RCMP has issued 329 tickets to people failing to obey public health directives, while Halifax Regional Police have handed out 293. Just this week, HRP fined a man $1,000 for allegedly not wearing a mask inside the lobby of an apartment building.  

"We really hope that the public is, and the majority are, taking these measures to heart. These are things that you know, put our public safety and our health at risk. We would hope that we wouldn't have to issue any tickets, that people would understand that,” said Cst. John MacLeod.

As the pandemic lingers on, doctors say it’s important for people to stay active for both their physical and mental health.

"It's not only going to the gym. It's not only being on a treadmill,” said Dr. Robyn MacQuarrie, president of Doctors Nova Scotia. "Moving your body improves brain function, it improves stress release and just an overall sense of well-being."

For more information about how to stay active, you can visit the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation.  

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/2M5sBGt

[steviebee77]

Let's Go to Theology Class! Week Two

Let’s Go to Theology Class! Week Two

Summary of the first week of class in pursuit of my Master’s in Theology at Colorado Christian University.

Written by Steven Barto, B.S. Psych.

WE HAVE LEARNED SO far that theology is an attempt by faith to understand itself, its object, and its place in today’s world. Trevor Hart (1995) calls this exercise faith thinking. Although theology is typically undertaken as part of a higher education…

[ljones41]

My Ranking of the “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE” Movies

Below is my ranking of the six movies in "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE" franchise. Based upon the 1966-1973 television series, the movies starred Tom Cruise as IMF operative, Ethan Hunt:

1. "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" (2011) - In this fourth and in my opinion, the best movie in the franchise; Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear IMF's name, when the organization is implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin. The cast included Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg,  Michael Nyqvist and Ving Rhames. Brad Bird directed.

2. "Mission: Impossible - Fallout"  (2018) - In this sixth film in the "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE" franchise, Ethan Hunt and his IMF team are ordered to track down stolen plutonium, while being monitored by a CIA agent after a mission goes awry. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the movie starred Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin.

3. "Mission Impossible" (1996) - In this first movie in the franchise, IMF agent Ethan Hunt is framed for the murders of his fellow agents during a mission gone wrong in Prague, and selling government secrets to a mysterious international criminal known only as "Max." The cast included Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Henry Czerny and Vanessa Redgrave.  Brian DePalma directed.

4. "Mission Impossible III" (2006) - Directed by J.J. Abrams, Ethan Hunt returns as a field agent to investigate the death of his protégé and a ruthless arms dealer. The cast included Ving Rhames, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonathan Rhys Meyer, Maggie Q, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan and Laurence Fishburne.

5. "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" (2015) - After the IMF is disbanded, Ethan Hunt and a group of fellow agents take on the Syndicate, an international rogue organization led by a former intelligence agent bent upon blackmailing the major governments of the world with acts of terror. Directed by Christopher MacQuarrie, the cast includes Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Simon McBurney and Alec Baldwin.

6. "Mission Impossible II" (2000) - Ethan Hunt goes undercover to stop an ex-IMF agent's mad scheme to steal a deadly virus and sell the antidote to the highest bidder. Although my least favorite, it featured my favorite action sequence in the entire franchise. The cast included Ving Rhames, Thandie Newton, Dougary Scott, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, William Mapother, Rade Šerbedžija, and Anthony Hopkins. John Woo directed.

[apenitentialprayer]

Alright, so we have to remember that when we talk about Mariology, there are a lot of other things working in the background; Christology (what does Mary tell us about Jesus?), hamartiology (what does Mary tell us about sin?), ecclesiology (what does Mary tell us about the Church?), soteriology (what does Mary tell us about salvation), eschatology (what does Mary tell us about the World to Come?), etc, etc. I’m sure you get the point; all these things are interrelated. In particular, we believe statements about the nature of Mary have real things to say about the nature of Jesus and the nature of the Church. Jesus’s flesh came from Mary, and Mary is the first, and most perfect, Christian. I’m going to quote Edith Stein (The Church, Woman, and Youth):

The Church is that humanity newly created and redeemed through Christ. The original cell of all redeemed humanity is Mary, in whom first took place the purification and sanctification through Christ and impregnation by the Holy Spirit. Before the Son of Man was born of the Virgin, the Son of God conceived of this very virgin as one full of grace, and He created the Church in and with her. Thus the Church stands as a new creation beside Him, although it is indissolubly bound to Him.

Mary represents, on a micro-cosmic scale, what the Church will represent at the end of time: “she [will] be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). Since Mary is the ‘cell’ of the Church, the very center of it, this purification occurs wholly and totally in her before anyone else. Mary is unique among (non-divine) humans in that from the very moment of creation, she is in perfect accord with her destiny. That will be all of us, at some point; but Mary is the visible sign. As Protestant theologian John Macquarrie says, the Immaculate Conception reveals more than the negative exclamation that Mary is without sin; it is the positive affirmation that God has placed her in the right relationship with Himself in order to enact God’s will most fruitfully. By being able to give of herself entirely (in a way that we, with our sinful natures, aren’t quite capable of doing), Mary becomes (in the words of Stephan Ackermann) “not only the primordial image of the Church as a whole, but the type of each individual anima ecclesiastica as well..” That’s a lot of words. To simplify: Mary is a promise. What she represents perfectly and individually is what the Christian community as a whole will be on the Day of Judgment. The spotless Church, “prepared as a Bride adorned for Her Husband” (Revelation 21:2) will be made in the image of Mary, conceived by God in “the beginning of His works” as “His delight, day by day” (Proverbs 8:22a, 30b), and by being made in the image of her who perfectly conformed to Christ, and thus be conformed to Christ ourselves. This is a lot to cover in one post. But if you’re interested in the intersection between Mary and Church (which we see in the Bible; Revelation 12 uses Marian imagery to describe the Church), here’s a couple more quotes:

You too are blessed because you have heard and be­lieved. The soul of every believer conceives and brings forth the Word of God and recognizes his works. Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to glorify the Lord. Let her spirit be in each of you to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one Mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ by faith. Every soul free from contamination of sin and inviolate in its purity can receive the Word of God.

Saint Ambrose of Milan (d. 397)

Stretching out his hand over his disciples, the Lord Christ declared: "Here are my mother and my brothers; anyone who does the will of my Father who sent me is my brother and sister and my mother." I would urge you to ponder these words. Did the Virgin Mary, who believed by faith and conceived by faith, who was the chosen one from whom our Savior was born among men, who was created by Christ before Christ was created in her - did she not do the will of the Father? Indeed the blessed Mary certainly did the Father's will, and so it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ's disciple than to have been his mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb him whom she would obey as her master.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (d. 430)

So remarkable are the divine graces that they elevate one from the lowest depths to the highest summit, and transform one to a greater holiness. How entirely blessed was the mind of the Virgin which, through the indwelling and guidance of the Spirit, was always and in every way open to the power of the Word of God. She was not led by her own senses, nor by her own will; thus she accomplished outwardly through her body what wisdom from within gave to her faith. It was fitting for divine Wisdom, which created itself a home in the Church, to use the intervention of the most blessed Mary in guarding the law, purifying the mind, giving an example of humility and providing a spiritual sacrifice. Imitate her, O faithful soul. Enter into the deep recesses of your heart so that you may be purified spiritually and cleansed from your sins.

Saint Lawrence Justinian (d. 1456)

Just learned what the immaculate conception actually is.

It’s worse doctrine than I thought.

Weird idea that a person must first be without sin for God to use them.