Centesimus Annus, ECCT, Solidarity, Third (aka Via Media) Way, End of History, etc., etc. And so many lessons to learn from the piles of wreckage produced from worshiping the idols of the last century. What a time, what an opportunity, what a test.

Luceferius nailed a lot of it for us, so I may go on to Evangelicalism.

Bible-based Christianity is essentially Catholic, i.e. Athansian, as opposed to Arian, Gnostic or any other evolutionary dead-end variant. This is because the Bible, as it has come down to us, is the book of the Catholic Church, without whose efforts all the bizarre, heretical rantings of the early heretics would be on equal footing with the canonical Bible the Evangelicals revere.

This recognition is a difficult adjustment on the part of Evangelicals, who have historical connections to minor sects which were roughly handled by the Church in the past.

There are plenty of indications that both kinds of Catholics, the Roman and the Evangelical are aware of their connections. Politically, we have all wised up to the reality that we must hang together to avoid being fed to the lions separately.

On another point, The popes, particularly JPII, have not been opponents of capitalism, only of unrestrained, inhuman, ideological capitalism. John Paul II has written extensively of capitalism as the engine driving what he called "solidarity"--what we are calling the third way.

OJ and Lou have both pointed it out, but I'm still astounded that folks like Foer can still say with a straight face that JP2 was a "potent critic of capitalism" -- as if the man hadn't put his name to Centesimus Annus, a document which could have been written by Novak and Neuhas.

As for "ply[ing] more Catholics from their attachment to the New Deal coalition", well, jeez, how many are left in that coalition at this point? I mean, the so-called coalition itself is a shambles, and the vast majority of church-going Catholics are long gone. What's left is a handful of geriatrics who haven't got the news that FDR and Harry T are no longer with us, and their boomer children, most of whom don't go to church and reject almost all the teachings of the church.

So at the End of History we'll all be Roman Catholic, train riding, witch persecuting Third Wayers who share a deep distrust of anyone foolish enough to believe that Eric and Julia Roberts are different people.

I, for one, look forward to it.

"This is because the Bible, as it has come down to us, is the book of the Catholic Church"

Parts of it.

Jefferson Park: LSHCFOMN

Jefferson:

Yes, as well as monarchists with a soft spot for nuclear war and a knack for including anyone who agrees with us in the Anglosphere.

Robert: Two points. :-)

And double headers every day....

Of course theology is intellectual gymnastics, it isn't easy making changes to unchangeable objective truth. This kind of stuff requires a good descriptive oxymoron: how about "adaptive objectivity".

The objective truth is always the same, men are just poor at perceiving it.

So y'all is just making it up as you go along. Funny, that's what you accuse secularists of doing.

No, secularists make up their own truths to live by. Jews and Christians struggle to bring their ideas and institutions into accord with the Truth.

But you have no idea where to find "the Truth" so you're just blindly searching. How will you know if/when you finally stumble across It? We're all in the same boat.

Of course we know the Truth, God told us. We just have a had time organizing our societies aropund it and behaving according to it.

It's you who deny that Truth who are in the sinking boat.

How do we know that the Buddhists haven't come closest to behaving according to The Truth ?

Because Christians have a lot more nukes ?
And big homes and fancy cars ?

"Might makes right" is a useful, utilitarian way of looking at life, but are you sure that you want to embrace it as a means of choosing the "correct" God ?

Will no one rid us of these turbulent rationalists?

Michael:

Faith.