Enduring Hatred for Opposing Same-Sex "Marriage"

Earlier today, a same-sex "marriage" supporter on Twitter informed me that I have been featured on a blog called be[4]marriage (http://be4marriage.com/). The blog is written by another person I've had discussions with on Twitter regarding the same-sex "marriage" issue.


After a quick look at the posts on the main page of the blog, it is obvious that the purpose of the blog is to support same-sex "marriage" by attacking those who oppose it. At the top of the home page, you'll see a menu link called "The People". Hover your mouse cursor over the link and a list of people who oppose same-sex "marriage" will be displayed. One of the people on the list is yours truly.


If you click on my name in "The People" list, you'll be taken to a post that features me (http://be4marriage.com/the-people/paul-schlenker). In the post, the author does his best to portray me as a hater of gays. He starts out the post by calling me an "anti-gay activist and online bully". The rest of the post consists of references to several tweets I made on Twitter regarding the same-sex marriage issue. The funny thing is that the author misquotes or distorts most of my tweets that he references, and then provides a link to the actual tweets that prove that he misquoted or distorted what I said. For example, the author accused me of saying that gay people harm society, but if you look at the actual tweet, you'll see that I said that "homosexual behavior" harms society. That's totally different than saying gay people harm society, but I'm sure the author knows that.


If you take the time to read the rest of the tweets that the author links to, it will become apparent that the author is twisting what I said in an attempt to incite hatred towards me among the gay community. While it's never enjoyable to be hated, I am willing to endure it because what I said is true, and I stand by it. No amount of hatred will force me to stop sharing the truth about same-sex "marriage" and other moral issues facing our society.

Where Charity and Love are, God is There

I was listening to my "PS - Celtic" radio station on Pandora this morning, and heard a song by Connie Dover called "Ubi Caritas". After a little research, I discovered that "ubi caritas" is the opening words to a Catholic hymn. Here is a YouTube video of the song:




Here are the words to the hymn in Latin:


Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exultemus, et in ipso jucundemur.
Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.


Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur:
Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus.
Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites.
Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.


Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul quoque cum beatis videamus,
Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus:
Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum,
Saecula per infinita saeculorum. 
Amen.


Here is the English translation:


Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ's love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.


Where charity and love are, God is there.
As we are gathered into one body,
Beware, lest we be divided in mind.
Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease,
And may Christ our God be in our midst.


Where charity and love are, God is there.
And may we with the saints also,
See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God:
The joy that is immense and good,
Unto the ages through infinite ages.
Amen.

Abortion Doula - Killing With Compassion

Several times during my discussions with abortion rights supporters on Twitter I heard the term "abortion doula". I had never heard the term before, and didn't know what it was. Earlier today I came across a post on the Jill Stanek blog about abortion doulas. The post provided a link to an article on the New York Observer web site called "The Rise of the Abortion Doula". After reading the article, I discovered that abortion doulas work at abortion clinics, attempting to provide comfort and support to women who are in the process of aborting their unborn child, or who have just had an abortion. The abortion doula tries to convince the women that they made the right decision when they decided to kill their unborn child via abortion. The article doesn't use the terms "killing an unborn child" when referring to an abortion, however, but instead refers to abortion as "choosing not to take a pregnancy to term". It sounds much nicer that way, doesn't it?


Anyone who is pro-life who reads the article has to wonder how anyone can consider abortion doula work or any other work related to abortion a good thing, but it is obvious that some people do. The article features a class that trains people on how to become an abortion doula, and the training includes instruction on how to respond to a woman who has had an abortion who remorsefully says something like "I just killed my baby." The trainees are told to tell the woman that the abortion procedure is legal because "the fetus is not a baby, it just has the potential to be one." That statement pretty much sums up how people can justify abortion. They justify it by denying that the unborn is a baby, a living and distinct human being.


As I said in a previous post, people can refer to the unborn as a "potential human being", a "clump of cells", or whatever they want, but the undeniable fact remains that if a pregnancy is not terminated, a human being will be born. That "clump of cells" or "potential human being", if allowed to continue to develop, will be born a human being. Therefore, the termination of a pregnancy via abortion prevents a human being from being born. People can sugar coat it as much as they want, but the fact remains that abortion ends the life of an innocent human being. The killing of innocent human beings can never be justified, is not a good thing, and should be illegal.

A Wealth of Inspiration

Yesterday I participated in a 40 Days for Life prayer vigil at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic not too far from where I live. When I arrived at the clinic at 7 AM, no other vigil participants were present. I prayed by myself outside the clinic for about an hour. During this time a few people arrived at the clinic. I couldn't tell for sure why they were there, but I suspect that they might have been clinic employees. One lady was dropped off by a man who flipped me off as he drove by on the way out of the clinic parking lot. Nice.  


About an hour after I arrived at the clinic, a woman appeared across the clinic parking lot carrying some sort of abortion protest sign. She spotted me, and gave me a friendly wave. I waved back in a show of pro-life solidarity. After praying a while longer, I decided to join her and some other vigil participants who had gathered with her. As I approached, I could see that she had several signs with pro-life messages, and a knapsack slung over her shoulder, bulging with various pamphlets of information. Everyone in the group took a few minutes to introduce themselves. The woman with the knapsack said that her name was Joy. In addition to Joy, there were several Catholic college students from the Newman center at a nearby university, and a couple of non-Catholic Christian women who said that they were involved in a crisis pregnancy center in the area. I believe one of the women said she was a director of the center. The photograph above shows Joy on the left, and a vigil participant named Lisa. Lisa works in the library at a nearby university. Everyone in the group was at the clinic as part of the 40 Days for life vigil, but Joy mentioned that she prays and ministers at this clinic all year. She is also the director of pro-life ministries at her Catholic parish.


After chatting briefly, we continued praying. The women from the crisis pregnancy center took up station across the parking lot, at the exit where I originally was, and Joy, the college students, and I remained where we were. The technique we used to connect with the people entering and exiting the clinic was similar to a military operation, as strange as that may sound. In a military operation, ground troops enter enemy territory, while friendly aircraft fly overhead to provide air support. At the clinic, Joy was the "ground troops", engaging not the "enemy", but rather those who have been deceived by the enemy, who is the devil. Rather than "air support", the rest of us provided "prayer support". When Joy saw someone entering or exiting the facility, she would ask us to start praying for them, and for her, as she engaged them in conversation. She would then call out a friendly "Hello!" to the person to get their attention. Once they looked her way, she would call them over. What surprised me was that most people actually responded and came over to her, instead of ignoring her. I believe it was God's hand guiding them to her. As they approached her, she would say something to them that would break the ice, like "You have a nice outfit", or something similar, to show them that she was friendly, and not some loony protester. She was very sincere in what she said, and I could tell that it put them at ease.


Once the person reached her, she would begin a conversation with them. She asked them about their situation, and why they came to the clinic. As she talked to them, she shared information with them about the harmful effects of abortion, and provided information about the facility they were about to enter or had just left. She often shared a story about a friend of hers who aborted her first child, and became sterile as a result of the procedure, never able to have children. She told them about the grief and heartache that her friend experiences every day because of the abortion. Even if the person was coming to the facility for a service other than abortion, she would direct them to other facilities in the area that provided those services without doing abortions. She did everything she could to save lives by taking business away from the abortion mill. The clinic was undergoing renovation, and she even tried to convince the contractors working on the clinic to stop working there and take their business elsewhere.


What was really inspiring about the way Joy ministered to people at the clinic was her sincere caring and compassion for them. She simply loved them where they were, and didn't make any assumptions about their situation. She shared information with them that enabled them to make an informed decision. Abortion proponents who think pro-life activists are nothing but crazed fanatics need to watch Joy in action. She is a shining example of what it truly means to be "pro-life". May God bless her and all those like her who work tirelessly to educate people on the hurt that abortion causes women and men.     

A Proper Birthday Celebration

Earlier today I took part in an event near my home called a "Life Chain", where people protest abortion by standing side-by-side along a busy street holding signs with pro-life messages. I especially wanted to take part in the Life Chain today of all days, because it's my birthday, and what better way to celebrate my birthday than to show support for the right of unborn children to have a birthday? On this day, I received the best birthday present I've been given so far: both of my sons took part in the Life Chain with me. It was definitely a "proud papa" moment.

A Human Being Exists at Fertilization

The fact that a human being comes into existence at the moment of fertilization isn't religious dogma. It is an embryological fact:

"Fertilization is a sequence of events that begins with the contact of a sperm (spermatozoon) with a secondary oocyte (ovum) and ends with the fusion of their pronuclei (the haploid nuclei of the sperm and ovum) and the mingling of their chromosomes to form a new cell. This fertilized ovum, known as a zygote, is a large diploid cell that is the beginning, or primordium, of a human being."

[Moore, Keith L. Essentials of Human Embryology. Toronto: B.C. Decker Inc, 1988, p.2]

God's Ways are Above Our Ways

Isaiah 55:6-9 ~ Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,

call to him while he is still near.

Let the wicked man abandon his way,

the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,

to our God who is rich in forgiving;

for my thoughts are not your thoughts,

my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.

Yes, the heavens are as high above earth

as my ways are above your ways,

my thoughts above your thoughts.

The Undeniable Facts About Abortion

You can call the unborn a child, a baby, a fetus, a foetus, a clump of cells, a blob of flesh, or whatever you want. What is undeniable is the fact that if the unborn child, baby, fetus, foetus, clump of cells, or whatever you call it, is allowed to continue developing, it will be born a human being, and will continue to develop through childhood into adulthood. Another undeniable fact is that if the unborn child, baby, fetus, foetus, clump of cells, or whatever you call it, is aborted, it will not be born a human being, and will not grow through childhood into adulthood. Whether you support abortion or not, you cannot deny these facts. Abortion prevents the birth of a human being.

Learning About and Sharing Jesus Without a Bible

If you were a Christian in the third century, long before the printed Bible was widely available, how would you learn about Jesus if you didn't have a Bible? Once you learned about Jesus, how would you share your knowledge of Jesus with others if you didn't have a Bible to quote from?

How Do We Know the Bible is Inspired?

When I talk to other Christians, I sometimes ask them how they know the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I've had several Christians tell me that they know the Bible is the inspired Word of God because the Bible itself says it is. Do you agree? If not, and you're a Christian, how do you know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God?

A Living Stuffed Toy

While visiting a farmer's market in South Haven, Michigan, my wife and I came across a little dog that looked like a living stuffed toy. The dog's owner said his name is Simon. He was so cute, I had to take a picture of him. Unfortunately, the picture I took was slightly out of focus. I almost deleted the picture, but decided instead to try to take the lemon of a photograph and turn it into lemonade. I edited the photo in Photoshop Elements and added some effects that made it look like a painting. Here is the result:

Thinking Good Things

In the apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians, the Christian community is encouraged to think of good things:


"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." ~ Philippians 4:8


Thinking about good things isn't always easy, especially when watching the news and hearing of the bad things that are happening in our world. One of the best ways I've found to think of good things is to listen to Christian music. When I was younger, I used to listen to a lot of secular pop and rock music. After a while, I realized that my mind was focusing more on the instruments than on the words. That's probably because the lyrics of many pop and rock songs are a bit random.


When I was living in San Diego in the early eighties, I started listening to contemporary Christian music. I quickly discovered that Christian music has a very positive and uplifting message. As I listened to more Christian music, I found myself thinking good thoughts more often. I actually listened to the lyrics of Christian music, not just the instruments.


At the end of 2007, I discovered a wonderful website called Pandora (http://www.pandora.com). Pandora enables users to create their own radio stations, and customize them to play the music they want them to play. To create a radio station, you choose a song or an artist that exemplifies the type of music you want the radio station to play. For example, if you want to create a radio station that plays 1950's era rock-a-billy, you might create a radio station based on Elvis Presley, or on one of the songs he wrote. I've found that it is best to base a station on a particular song, rather than basing it on a particular artist. Once the station is created, it starts playing songs like the song you based the station on, or songs that are like the songs played by the artist you based the station on. As each song plays, you can give it a "thumbs up" to indicate that the song is the type of song you want the radio station to play. If the song doesn't match the type of music the radio station plays, you give the song a "thumbs down". As you "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" songs, you "train" the radio station to play the type of songs you want it to play.


So far, I've created 38 radio stations that play a very wide variety of musical genres. One of my favorite radio station creations is my Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) radio station. If I'm in the mood to get my ancient Christian music groove on, I listen to my Gregorian Chant radio station. Both of these radio stations help me to think good thoughts, even when I'm feeling down in the dumps. When you get a chance, check them out. I hope they lift your spirits as much as they lift mine.


Here is an example of the music played by my CCM radio station. It's a song by Christian music artist Chris Rice, called Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus):


 


Here is an example of the music played by my Gregorian Chant radio station. It's a chant called "Veni Creator Spiritus", which is Latin for "Come, Creator Spirit":

Well Adjusted Children

I find it interesting when people say that children raised by same-sex couples are as "well adjusted" as children raised by heterosexual couples. I wonder what they mean by "well adjusted"? The term is subjective, to say the least. I firmly believe in my heart that it is best for children to be raised by a mother and father.

Eucharistic Adoration: Adoro Te Devote

One of my favorite pastimes is sharing my Catholic faith on the social networking site called Twitter. This afternoon I was on Twitter sharing the Catholic Church's teaching on the sacrament of the Eucharist with a person I met. While I was talking to him, a friend of mine, a Catholic nun named Sister Lisa, noticed the conversation. When she saw that the topic of the conversation was the Eucharist, she sent me a link to a beautiful YouTube video of a Catholic hymn called Adoro Te Devote. It is a hymn that is usually sung during Eucharistic adoration. It is one of my favorite hymns. I shared the video with the person I was talking to, and now I share it with you:






Here is another version of Adore Te Devote that is equally awesome:







Thank you, Sister Lisa! :)

Book Preview: Theology of the Body - Explained

The following is a book preview of "Theology of the Body - Explained", by Christopher West. It is described as a "clear and profound commentary on Pope John Paul II's theology of the body, which 'breaks open' the Holy Father's thought regarding the human person and sexuality."

The Humanity of the Unborn, in 3D

Time and time again I hear stories of pregnant women who decided against having an abortion after they see an ultrasound of their unborn baby. As I was getting ready for work this morning, I wondered how many women would decide that abortion is wrong if they could see an ultrasound of an unborn child before they even get pregnant?

Budgeting 101: How Taxpayer Money Can Indirectly Fund Abortion

Most people have a budget. They budget their income for expenses like clothing, food, medical expenses, etc. When they receive income, they set aside money for each of the different types of expenses. If an unexpected windfall of money is received, it can free up budgeted money to be used elsewhere. Consider the following scenario:


A husband and wife budgets $500 a month for college expenses for their daughter. They would like to budget money for medical expenses, but after setting aside the $500 for college expenses, there isn't enough money left over. At the beginning of the school year, they receive a government grant to help pay for their daughter's college expenses. When the grant is divided up over the 9 month school year, it equals $300 per month. If they apply the $300 towards their $500 monthly college expense budget, it frees up $300 that they can use to budget for medical expenses. 


Even though the purpose of the grant is to pay for college tuition expenses, does it not indirectly fund the couple's medical expenses? If the couple didn't receive the grant, they wouldn't be able to budget money for medical expenses.


Republicans in the House and Senate are currently trying to pass H.R. 217, which is a bill that would prohibit federal grants from being awarded to family planning organizations that provide abortion services, like Planned Parenthood. Opponents of the legislation claim that the federal grants aren't used to provide abortion services. They claim the federal funds are used to provide family planning services, such as the dispensing of contraceptives, cancer screenings, pregnancy tests, etc. Even if this is true, wouldn't the federal grants free up money that these organizations could use to fund abortions services? Of course they would. Anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves. The less money organizations like Planned Parenthood need to spend on family planning services, the more money they have to spend on the abortion part of their business.


The purpose of H.R. 217 isn't to prohibit all family planning organizations from receiving federal grants. It would only prohibit grants from being awarded to family planning organizations that also provide abortion services. If the opponents of H.R. 217 are concerned that H.R. 217 will prevent Planned Parenthood and other organizations like it from providing family planning services, maybe they should try to convince these organizations to drop the abortion part of their business. Then they'll have nothing to worry about, right?   

Someone is Wrong on the Internet

If I didn't know better, I'd think that someone wrote this comic about me. I'm confident that my wife would wholeheartedly agree. :) (Comic entitled "Duty Calls", courtesy of XKCD.com)

There is Life After Having a Child

Dr. John Bruchalski is an ob/gyn physician who used to perform abortions, but now he offers hope for women experiencing crisis pregnancies. The pro-life group Live Action posted a link on Twitter to an article about Dr. Bruchalski on LifeSiteNews.com. The following is an excerpt from the article that provides insights into how to reach abortion-minded women:


Dr. Bruchalski said his experience working with abortion-minded women has shown him the need to focus on offering women hope for life with their child, rather than emphasizing adoption or images of fetal development.

“You can show women fetal development and many of them it doesn’t phase,” he said.  “Remember the fetus, the baby, the unborn child is an adversary to the woman, it’s going to cramp her life.”

Abortion-minded women see adoption, on the other hand, as a “double negative,” he says. “Not only are you not qualified to be a mother and care for the child, but you have to give the child up,” he explained.  “They hate that choice, so for them the abortion becomes the best alternative, the least terrible of those options.”

“You really have to focus on [the fact] that there is life after having a child, that there is a way out of your predicament,” he said. “Just meeting women where they are by being able to listen to their pain and their agony and their suffering, and then love them so much that we walk them through this."


This is a really important message for people in the pro-life movement to hear. I think we're too quick to offer adoption as the only alternative to abortion. As Dr. Bruchalski says, it's important to help abortion-minded women to know that it is possible for them to keep their baby. Having a baby doesn't ruin a person's life. It completes it.


Please take a moment to read the entire article about Dr. Bruchalski:


http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/former-abortionist-spreads-gospel-of-life

Relativism and the Abortion Issue

If you held up an apple in your hand, and I looked at it and said "That's an orange!", would I be right? What would you think if I said that the object you held in your hand is whatever I believe it to be? If I believe it's an apple, it's an apple. If I believe it's an orange, it's an orange. Would you agree with me, or would you think I'm a few bricks shy of a full load?


How you answer these questions depends on whether you think truth is relative, or absolute. If truth is relative, the apple is whatever a person thinks it is. If truth is absolute, the apple is an apple, regardless of what anyone thinks it is.


While the apple analogy is extremely simple, the principle can be applied to complex moral issues. Let's take the abortion issue, for example. People usually take one of the following positions in regards to abortion:

1. Abortion is always bad.
2. Abortion is always good.
3. Abortion is good for some people, and bad for other people.
4. Abortion is good in certain circumstances, and bad in others. 

A person that takes position #1 believes that abortion kills an innocent unborn human being, and that killing an innocent human being is always wrong. A person that takes this position identifies themselves as pro-life, and denies any association with the pro-choice movement. A person that holds this position believes that abortion is wrong at any stage of the pregnancy.


A person that takes position #2 believes that abortion is always good, because it provides a way for a woman to avoid having a baby when she doesn't want one. A person that takes this position identifies strongly with the pro-choice movement, and believes that it is acceptable to perform abortions at any stage of the pregnancy, right up to the point of birth. Like position number one, position number two is an absolute position regarding abortion.


A person that takes position #3 believes that the morality of abortion is up to each individual. People who take this position are the ones who say "I personally wouldn't have an abortion, but I'm not going to prevent someone else from having one, if they feel it's right for them."


A person that takes position #4 believes that the morality of abortion depends on the situation. People who take this position believe that abortion is wrong except in certain situations, such as pregnancies due to rape or incest, or pregnancies that endanger the mother's life.


Which of these positions is correct? Positions 3 and 4 can be taken out of the running right away. Why?  Because they are both relative positions, and truth is absolute. An apple is an apple, regardless of what people think it is, or the circumstance. The same applies to abortion. To say that abortion is right for some people and wrong for other people is as ridiculous as saying that an apple is an apple to some people, and an orange to others. To say that abortion is wrong in all situations except for certain ones is as ridiculous as saying an apple is an apple except when you play catch with it.


Since positions 3 and 4 have been eliminated, all that's left is positions 1 and 2. Which of these is the correct position? The answer depends on when a human being comes into existence. The only logical point at which a human being comes into existence is at the moment of fertilization. To think that a human being comes into existence at some arbitrary point between fertilization and birth is unreasonable, and not in accordance with human embryology (http://catholiceducation.org/articles/abortion/ab0027.html). Therefore, position 1 is the only position that can be correct. Abortion is always wrong, because it ends an innocent human being's life, regardless of how the human being came into existence. Abortion is always wrong, whether a person thinks it's wrong or not. Abortion is always wrong, regardless of the situation.  

How Would You Handle the Planned Parenthood Sex Trafficking Scenario?

While I was driving home from the grocery store, I was thinking about the Planned Parenthood sex trafficking scandal. In case you haven't heard about it, you can read about it on the Live Action web site. Many people on both sides of the abortion issue would agree that what the manager of the Planned Parenthood clinic did was wrong, but I wonder what we would do if we were in her situation, or one similar to it? If you were the manager of a Planned Parenthood clinic, and a person you believed to be a real pimp came in and asked you if you would provide "health services" (including abortion and contraception) to under age girls that he is sex trafficking, how would you respond?


Obviously, your view on abortion and contraception use would affect how you would respond (I would hope). For the sake of this discussion, I'm going to assume that an abortion opponent wouldn't be in this situation, because they wouldn't take a job at a Planned Parenthood clinic. But what if you support abortion and contraception use? How would you respond? Would you:

1. Politely excuse yourself from the room and call the police, and refuse to provide abortions and contraception to the girls he's trafficking?
2. Politely excuse yourself from the room and call the police, and then provide abortions and contraception to the girls he's trafficking if you think they need it?
3. Inform the pimp that sex trafficking is illegal and ask him to leave, but not report him to the authorities?
4. Offer to provide abortions or contraception to the girls he's trafficking without informing the authorities?
5. Respond in some other way?

What if the pimp really has an underage girl that got pregnant while he was trafficking her? If you choose option 1, aren't you denying her what is currently a legal medical procedure? If the pimp really has an underage girl that is pregnant, and you had the clinic give her an abortion, would you inform her parents?

Why I Support Abstinence-Only Sex Education

Many people on Twitter are amazed when they find out that I advocate abstinence-only (ab-only) sex education. They tell me that ab-only sex education doesn't work, because people are going to have pre-marital sex regardless.

While some people are against ab-only sex education all together, most people advocate sex education that provides information on abstinence and the use of artificial birth control as a means of preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STD's). While this may sound reasonable to most people, as a Catholic, I cannot advocate sex education that teaches people that it's ok to have pre-marital sex, as long as they use "protection" (artificial birth control). Here's why:

1. The Catholic Church teaches that pre-marital sex is wrong (see http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=724&page=1). It would be a sin for me, as a Catholic Christian, to tell a person that it is ok to have pre-marital sex, whether it's protected sex or not.
2. The Catholic Church teaches that the use of artificial birth control is wrong (see http://www.catholic.com/library/Birth_Control.asp and http://www.ewtn.com/library/marriage/shouldbe.txt). It would be a sin for me, as a Catholic Christian, to tell a person it is ok to use artificial birth control, no matter how good their intentions are for using it.

Since I believe that pre-marital sex and the use of artificial contraception is immoral, I cannot advocate sex education that teaches that it's ok to have pre-marital sex, or that it's ok to use artificial contraception.


I imagine that some people who read this post will say "that's fine for you to believe that way, but I don't have to believe that way because I'm not Catholic." I believe that each person is free to believe whatever they want to believe, but I also believe that truth is absolute. In regards to pre-marital sex, I believe it is wrong for everybody, not just for those who believe it's wrong. I don't ascribe to the belief that what's wrong for one person can be right for another person. An apple is an apple, regardless of what a person may think it is. Pre-marital sex is either wrong for everyone, or right for everyone. It can't be right if you believe it's right, and wrong if you believe it's wrong. I believe pre-marital sex is wrong for everyone because the Catholic Church, which was founded by Jesus Christ himself, and the Bible that came forth from the Church, teaches it is wrong. I believe Jesus when he said that the Holy Spirit would guide the Church to all truth, including the truth about pre-marital sex.

Video Series: Introduction to Theology of the Body

The following YouTube videos by Christopher West provide an introduction to the famous series of talks on human sexuality given by Pope John Paul II called "Theology of the Body".

Video #1: "The Language of the Body"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #2: "Celibacy for the Kingdom"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #3: "Is the Theology of the Body all about Sex?"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #4: "How Can the Body have a Theology?"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Video #5: "The Playboy and The Pope"



To view this video on YouTube, click here.

Book Preview: Catholicism and Fundamentalism

Are you a Catholic whose beliefs have been challenged by a "bible Christian"? If you had difficulty answering their challenges, I strongly suggest that you read the following book by Karl Keating called "Catholicism and Fundamentalism". The book does an excellent job at answering the many questions that fundamentalist Christians ask Catholics.

If you'd prefer to preview this book on the Google Books web site, click here.

Book Preview: The Faith of Millions

When I was single, I read a book called "The Faith of Millions", by John A. O'Brien. The book is an easy to read overview of the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic faith. It is an excellent refresher for Catholics, and is a good book for non-Catholics interested in learning more about the Catholic Church. I gave a copy of the book to a good friend of mine, who eventually became a Catholic priest. He told me that the book inspired his calling to the priesthood.

Below is a preview of a book. If you'd rather view the book on the Google Books web site, click here.

Book Preview: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic

Below is a preview of a book called "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic", by K. D. Whitehead. Here is an overview of the book from the Google Books web site:

"Very often in the history of Christianity, "reformers", by whatever name, have aspired to return to "the early Church". The Church of their own day, for whatever reason, fails to live up to what they think Christianity should be] in their view there has been a falling away from the beautiful ideals of the early Church. Kenneth Whitehead shows in this book how the early Church has, in fact, not disappeared, but rather has survived and persisted, and is with us still. "Reformers" are not so much the ones needed by this Church as are those who aspire to be saints -- to follow Christ seriously and always to fulfill God's holy will by employing the means of sanctification which Christ continues to provide in the Church. Whitehead shows how the visible body which today bears the name "the Catholic Church" is the same Church which Christ established to carry on and perpetuate in the world his Words and his Works -- and his own divine Life -- and to bring salvation and sanctification to all mankind. Despite superficial differences in certain appearances, the worldwide Catholic Church today remains the same Church that was originally founded by Jesus Christ on Peter and the other apostles back in the first century in the ancient Near East. The early Church, in other words, was always -- nothing else but -- the Catholic Church."

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What Catholic Christians Believe - The Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed is the profession of the Christian faith. Background information on the Nicene Creed can be found here. The video below is a musical setting of the Nicene Creed, recorded by Musica Sacra. Other musical settings of the ordinary of the Mass can be found here.