We all know that the New Testament was written mostly in Greek, with a little Aramaic. Hmm, well unless Matthew was originally written in Hebrew, as Pappas says, in which case the Matthew we have is a second version and a translation. However, that is not my point. Unless you are a Greek scholar, who […]
Late follow-up on penology
Well, I had thought I had left penology behind, but a recent incident in Florida leads me to take one last crack at what we have become as an American culture, and, sadly, as way too many Christians. The story of William Dillon is a nightmare of injustice. That is how the article begins in […]
On celibate priests
I have previously been asked several questions about celibate priests that need some answering in the light of yesterday’s post. Some of these are rather “rough” questions. 1. Don’t you believe that priests who wish to be celibate should have a psychological examination? Answer: Absolutely! I think anyone who wishes to be a priest, celibate […]
Cutie problems
I live in Florida, just three hours from Miami, and I am a Cuban. Which means that I get periodic updates from relatives in Miami on all the latest scandals. And, the latest scandal is an incredibly juicy one. The Rev. Father Alberto Cutie, a Roman Catholic priest, is blue-eyed, handsome, and a national Spanish-language television host. He is an […]
On creeds and what is important
So, why were certain things left out of the creeds (see my previous post)? I really liked the two replies that I received for some of the reasons listed. Let’s summarize: I agree with David. The creeds were responses to circumstances at their time and place. They dealt with then current controversies. There is usually […]
On undefined places in the Nicene Creed
We recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday in the Orthodox Church. You all know it. In the original version it reads: We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of […]
Some final thoughts on penology
I will stop here on the subject of penology, but there is more that could be said. Let me just make a couple of final comments. Yes, I do believe in incarceration for some. There really truly are evil people who need to be taken away from society, who make society significantly less safe by […]
The Bible and penology
In the previous post I received a comment about crime being a moral problem. That is absolutely correct with a very important caveat. Crime is a moral problem unless the law itself is immoral. Think about both the Soviet era and Nazi era laws that required citizens to turn in otherwise moral people based on their religion. […]
The penitentiary movement and harm to this culture
As I wrote on my post for 21 May, the original penitentiary movement was meant to do away with cruel and unusual punishment and replace it with a system based on Christian thought and oriented towards rehabilitation. In fact, there are three words that are often found in discussions of our prison system: Rehabilitation — […]
Fr. Paul Moses
About five months ago I wrote a post called, And the Bishop Cried. In it I reported about our bishop’s reaction to the news that one of my fellow priests, The Very Rev. Fr. Paul Moses, had terminal cancer and was expected to last only four months. He actually lasted five and a half months. […]
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