Inkling is on assignment this week and has been given the week off. As always, whenever BF Admin receives an opportunity to post on Being Frank, we use it for shameless self-promotion 
On this occasion, we’d like to alert Being Frank readers to the latest project that Icon Media — BF’s keeper — has launched. The show is cryptically named “15 Minutes with the Bishop”, and features an interview format with Bishop Patrick Dunn of Auckland. No prizes for guessing how long the show is (roughly).
15 Minutes with the Bishop is a weekly show, with new episodes released each Friday. The inaugural episode went live last Friday, Good Friday, and is available by visiting the website of The 15th Station. On there, you will also find other shows that are part of the network.
The 15th Station, the first show in the franchise, is a monthly show that discusses the big Catholic stories from New Zeland and abroad from the previous month. Catechiwi is another interview style show with a focus on the fundamentals of the Faith. Ignition, launched a couple of months ago, is another educational show, with talks from Catholic events like Hearts Aflame and the Eucharistic Convention serialised over several weeks.
The other non-Being Frank project that Icon Media operates is The Catholic Soapbox, a blog authored by Gavin Abraham, the former editor of NZ Catholic (and Icon director). He writes posts (almost) every day.
We’ve also branched out into book publishing, with the launch earlier this month of “Truly Blessed — My Story”, the autobiography of Bishop Robin Leamy, SM. The book is available from NZ Catholic.
There are more projects in the pipeline, too, so keep an eye our for those in the coming weeks in months. You can follow us on Facebook, where all news is passed along to our friends and supporters.
Here ends the lesson.
Thank you Admin for all you do and organize for so many of us …. hope your Easter was a blest and happy one .
Shalom
All seems rather pointless really, as I’ve heard on the grapevine that Jesus is returning to take you all away on Saturday 21st May. Personally, I’m looking forward to the relatively empty roads on Monday 23rd, although I’m not sure how much of a difference it’ll make – frankly I’m not sure that there’ll be many who’ll live up to Jesus’s standards
KA
Where did you read that prophesy KA?
I’ve linked the Catholic Soapbox to my blog, so maybe you’ll get a few more readers coming in from my way.
Hi Mrs Mac, there are posters up in Lower Hutt/Petone proclaiming the fact, but it’s a worldwide thing. I’m surprised you haven’t heard as you clearly need to prepare yourself.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/25/believers-warn-neighbors_n_853505.html
KA
Ah, one can always rely upon Kiwiatheist to post something respectful and indeed relevent on these blog entries.
KA,
HI and God Bless you too.
It reminds me of a song by the comedian Tom Lehrer ” We Will All Go Together when We Go ” there was a line I remember about LLoyds of London will be lodded when we do… anyone remember Tom or am I showing my Age?
Shalom
Andy, Why should I be respectful to such complete nonsense? What you fail to acknowledge is that this prophecy comes from another part of the Christian world. To the rest of humanity, you’re all the same, it’s only in Christianity that you differentiate yourselves
KA
Mrs Mac, No, I remember him too
KA
“…this prophecy comes from another part of the Christian world.”
Not so KA.
These people are Adventists, who are actually not Christian in the true sense of the word.
The other point is, that Jesus told us that even He did not know the date of the end of the world, that it was for the Father alone to know this.
These types of prophesies are always false – but then, of course, atheists don’t believe in any sort of prophesy, so whats the problem?
Don,
Read what I said. You may deploy the ‘No True Scotsman’ argument amongst yourselves, but to the rest of the world, you’re all just Christians. In fact, to Muslims, anybody living in a western country is counted as Christian, which I obviously object to!
KA
As it seems that the meaning of my last comment is lost on KA, let me clarify.
It is not at all relevent on a Catholic Blog to make reference to what some sect has prophesised. It’s like posting the manifesto of the monster raving loony party on a Tory forum. Having said that…
Also the implication that because one “christian” sect makes doomsday anouncements, all Christians do is rather insulting. It’s a real straw man fallacy. And Ka, the claim that only christians differentiate between ourselves is patently untrue. Social scientists do it all the time. And in Chinese the words for Catholic Christianity and Protestant are different, showing a clear distinction made by the Chinese.
On the other hand, AndyM, we now have KA’s permission, given via his example, to regard all atheists as the same, regardless of their personal beliefs or ethics. I can think of a lot of fun I could have with that concept.
KA. I know it’s your favourite but the “no true Scotsman” logical fallacy does not apply to just anything and everything. You constantly use it inappropriately giving us the idea that you do not really understand what this favourite saying of yours really means.
Go ahead JP, but I’d much rather live in a world where rational thought was the norm than to live in one where delusion and cognitive dissonance reign supreme!
And I should just say in answer to Andy’s suggestion that the Seventh Day Adventists are a ‘sect’ is the same as saying that Catholicism is a ‘sect’.
KA
“I’d much rather live in a world where rational thought was the norm than to live in one where delusion and cognitive dissonance reign supreme.”
Me too, KA. I’d miss all you other human beings, though.
There have been several atheist societies in history: the first was France immediately following the French Revolution: the time is not known as The Reign of Terror for nothing.
In the 20th Century, we have examples such as the Soviet Union, North Korea, China, Albania, and Cuba.
None of these have been spectacularly successful at getting rid of delusion and cognitive dissonance. They’ve just readdressed it.
“To the rest of humanity, you’re all the same…”
This statement lacks credibility for the same reason as any statement of bigotry. Restated, it says “all Christians believe the world will end on 21 May 2011″, which is just as stupid as: “all Chinese people look alike” or “all Maoris are musical” or “all Muslims are terrorists” or – for that matter – “all Pommie immigrants are whingers”.
“I’d much rather live in a world where rational thought was the norm, rather than to live in one where cognitive dissonance and delusion reign supreme.”
Really? So what is rational about this:
Creation according to Atheism.
– the belief that there was nothing, and nothing happened to nothing, and then nothing magically expolded for no reason, creating everything, and then a bunch of everything magically re-arranged itself for no reason whatsoever into self replicating bits which then turned into dinosaurs….And so on…
Cognitive dissonance, or simply a refusal to engage the intellect and logic ?
KA “all Christians believe the world will end on 21 May 2011″
JP “I’m a Christian and I don’t believe the world will end on 21st May”
KA “all true Christians believe the world will end May 21″
and there you have an example of the “no true scotsman” logical fallacy
(I hope this clarifies things for you KA. It does not in any way relate to Catholics claiming we belong to the one true faith)
Are Adventists like Mormons in that they don’t believe in the Trinity? Wiki is unhelpful and I am not motivated enough to look further.
So if Jesus does come again on 21st May, would you lot go with him or would you say, “No you’re an Adventist Jesus, we’re waiting for our Catholic Jesus”?
KA
Seraphia.
Yes, the three Adventist religions are Seventh Day Advetists, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
They all believe that Jesus is not God, but a very special person somewhere between man and God who is to be the King.They all have their differing teachings on Jesus. Its really very much the re-incarnation of Arianism.
Who’s to say they’re wrong and you’re right?
KA
Saying “all just Christians” is just deliberate ignorance. I don’t believe it. If you or your peer group truly and honestly is that ignorant then… wow, just wow!
Most educated people are aware of at least the major sects of Islam and most are aware of the spectrum of atheist-polytheist inclination in Buddhism. Most people know a few names of Roman gods, maybe their “jobs”, and could maybe even tell you a little of what Australian Aborigines beleive.
Most people roughly know how the British Parliamentary system works and how US Presidents are elected… all without making a deliberate study to tease out nuances!
An educated person, no a civilized person, does not brag about ignorance of “all that classical music” (they can, at a push name a few composers) or “all that rock and roll music” (like whatever dude) or “all that fruity art stuff”.
Most people are aware that everyone hates Manchester United and that the Dallas Cowboys play gridiron not league. And most know the difference without being PE teachers.
Since when is lack of general knowledge worth bragging about?
KA that is precisely the question we wish the Adventists would ask us.
Is it so hard for you to understand the difference?
For arguments sake let’s say you decided to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Now which of the many Christian denominations and other off shoots would you choose?
Would you look at what the early Christians and choose the denomination closest in practice and belief to them? Identical in belief even?
If I ever decided to dispense with rational thought and start accepting differing standards of evidence for different things, and if my levels of cognitive dissonance developed to the stage where I could believe something for which the evidence wasn’t present, then yes, I’d probably want to join a group who followed the path that it’s founder had trodden. Sadly in Christianity, there is no such organization.
KA
I dunno, KA.
That wonderful Catholic magazine Commonweal has a great post on their blog contrasting a billboard pushing the end of the world on May 21 with an atheist billboard “The Rapture: You KNOW it’s Nonsense” (love the slogan!).
http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=13308
Catholics and atheists are united in rejecting the false theology of rapture and predictions of the end of the world May 21.
We’re probably also somewhat united on the idea of karma, that what comes around goes around, that there are consequences for moral choices.
Do you really know enough about Jesus to blandly assert that there is no Christian organisation that follows his path ? Surely there are a whole bunch of Christian organisations which follow Jesus to a greater or lessor extend. None of them claim they follow Jesus perfectly, because none claim they are without sin.
God Bless
You would probably want to join the one on the same path as Christ?
Follow along this thought a little longer … how would you work out which one that was?
Rational thought involves seeing the distinctions that are there.
Hasty generalizations are not only illogical but can be motivated by emotional/psychological prejudice. Plus, finding these distinctions involve work – humans can be lazy when it comes to these things.
On the issue of cognitive dissonance, it would seem clear that materialism relies on a foundation that supports nothing else, since it cannot justify reason itself. A materialist, by virtue of his own creed, “believe[s] something [i.e., reason] for which the evidence wasn’t present”. As Darwin himself stated:
As well, materialism is monistic – for a materialist, there is only ever one thing: matter. If rationality and knowledge of truth involves making distinctions, it’s doomed in such a task right from the outset.
‘Rationality’ so-called in materialism, then, involves cognitive dissonance at two most defining points – in its foundation, and in its end (knowledge of things).
it would seem clear that materialism relies on a foundation that supports nothing else, since it cannot justify reason itself.
There are computer programs which can reason, so I think that, yes, reason can be explained quite materially.
Mathematical reasoning can be applied quite mechanically. From a set of premises and rules one can write a computer program which will go about reasoning from them and drawing conclusions.
The great Marxist materialists certainly did acknowledge more than just matter. They understood and accepted the human role in shaping history – the key role played by exceptional and inspired human persons at key points in history – a role which rose above the mere material conditions then prevailing. These materialists may have had a purely materialist understanding of the nature of the human person, but the fact that they accepted the human role in history does indicate a certain openness to the idea that there is something in man that transcends the merely material.
God Bless
Chris,
symbolic logic of computers can achieve consistency, but this is not the proper object of reason, which is the attainment of truth, or the reality of things. It is beyond symbolic logic, which does not have to involve reality; fairytales can be perfectly logical. The cognitive dissonance referred to here is the ‘rationalist’ claim to be able to arrive at a true knowledge of anything.
Virtual reality is in fact the object of ‘reason’ for materialists, who tend to be nominalists (where the reality and essence of things are in the mind virtually, rather than “out there” in reality). Afterall, in this view, if there were actual things out there that are more than merely material (i.e. more than simply what they’re made of; if the whole is more than the sum of its parts), they would no longer be materialists.
Marxism is monistic too – it cannot accommodate the notion of distinction and complimentarily. It’s also as artificial as computers, and as virtual/ideological as mathematics. The same goes for its offspring, such as radical feminism – it is not willing first to seek the unbiased data of plain ol’ (everyday & common-sensical) reality of things.
“There are computer programs which can reason”
There are certainly computer programs that can follow logic paths. These logic paths, however, have been created by a being that could reason; they did not evolve spontaneously from early non-reasoning forms.