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Showing posts with the label Truth

"A Writer Who is Catholic"

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My #3 daughter has some of my qualities, and attitudes. About four years back now, she vented frustration about writers, faith, and assumptions. She wasn't nearly as loud as I've often been during 'vents.' When folks learned she's a writer, they'd often say something like 'oh, good: we need more Catholic writers.' She'd say something like "I'm a writer who is Catholic, not a 'Catholic writer.'" I know what she means. She isn't writing another 'lives of the Saints,' or book of prayers. She's a Catholic who writes.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Moral Behavior: Are We Losing Sight of Objective Truth?

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I am an adjunct professor of Theology, who specifically teaches a morality course at the undergraduate level. Given the recent shooting at a Republican baseball practice, and the ensuing remarks from Congressional representatives that “we are on one team,” I was encouraged by the willingness of both parties to place vitriol commentary into the history books; to reset, so to speak, and begin toning down the rhetoric. However strong this intention may be, the spirit is weak. It will take more than mere effort to be more civil to one another. There is an underlying concern that must be addressed to allow civility to flourish. As a society, we must face objective truth, together. Objective Truth The belief in objective truth seems to have taken a back seat to such erroneous concepts of morality as situation ethics, proportionalism and consequentialism. But before I get ahead of myself here, by diving too deep into these topics, let’s first define objective truth, as it is my greate

Oldest Human Fossils?

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Humanity's current model may be a whole lot older than we thought. A team of scientists say that remains found in Morocco are human, Homo sapiens. The scientists also say these folks lived about 300,000 years ago. If that's confirmed, they were around 100,000 years earlier and about 2,000 miles away from where we thought Homo sapiens showed up. Other scientists say T. rex may not have been fluffy. It looks like the big dinosaur lost its feathers somewhere along the line. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Acting Like Truth Matters

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"Folks have thought truth is important for quite a while... "...I think truth is important, too. As a Christian, I'd better...." More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Repeatable Results That Aren’t

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I'll be talking about scientific research that may not be "fake:" but isn't reliable, either. The good news is that many scientists want to fix the problem. I'll also take a look at truth, beauty, Copernicus, and how a science editor sees faith and science. Faith and science Truth and Beauty "...There Will be Babblers...." Being Scientific News and views... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

You Will Know the Truth, and the Truth Will Set You Free

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This very famous bible passage, “ you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free “(John 8: 32), is the subject of today’s Gospel reading. What is Jesus trying to say to us? Didn’t He give us free will, which automatically makes us free? Why then, would we need to know the truth to be free? We need to read a few more verses to get the full gist of Jesus’ message. In John 8:34, Jesus states, “ everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin .” When we sin, we give up our freedom and become enslaved to the sin. We diminish our relationship with God. We reject God’s grace. This begs us to ask then, what is freedom and free will? Apparently, it does NOT... Read more...

DNA and Cancer

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Apparently quiet a few sorts of cancer 'just happen,' no matter how much fiber we eat, how much we don't smoke, and how far we run each day. Or exercise, in my case. Thanks in part to now-replaced defective hips, my running days never really happened. That doesn't mean that we're all gonna die from random cancer. I think it means we should think about paying more attention to testing before symptoms appear.... After talking about oddly-under-reported 'cancer' news, I kept going; mostly about mutations, and why being healthy is okay... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Footprints in Ancient Ash

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Scientists are pretty sure that Saccorhytus coronarius is an ancestor of lancets, sea squirts, fish, amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, and mammals: including us. Much more recently, about 3,660,000 years back, five Australopithecus afarensis strolled across volcanic ash. One of them was "astonishingly larger" than any other A. afarensis we know of. Exactly what that means isn't, I think, clear. Not yet. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Epiphany Sunday

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Statues 1 of Caspar , Melchior , and Balthazar started near the clock in our living room. I took those pictures of them on Wednesday. Their trip to the nativity scene ended today, Epiphany Sunday. We read about "magi from the east" in today's Gospel: Matthew 2:1 through 12 : " 1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, 2 behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, "saying, 'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star 3 at its rising and have come to do him homage.'" ( Matthew 2:1 - 2 ) "Magi" is how μάγοι, mágoi, looks in my native language. That's the Greek version of an Old Persian word that would sound something like "magus" if I tried pronouncing it. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

8 Notes to a Nobody, by Cynthia T. Toney - Book Review

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8 Notes to a Nobody , by Cynthia T. Toney, is a heartwarming, yet truthful, depiction of what it is like to be a teenage girl, coming of age. In Cynthia Toney’s tale, Wendy Robichaud, an eighth grader, comes face-to-face with some of the struggles that teens unfortunately face: eating disorders and teen suicide; feelings of inferiority and loneliness. Read more...

Something We Discover

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(from The Breadbox Letters)

The Virtue Trap

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I generally identify with the tax collector in today's Gospel reading: Luke 18:9 - 14 . That's okay, since emulating "those who were convinced of their own righteousness," despising everyone else, is a bad idea. The problem wasn't what the Pharisee was doing. Fasting, within reason, is a good idea. It can be part of penance. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1434 , 1438 , 2043 ) Along with tithing , it's part of being a Catholic. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Faith That Matters

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Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2016: Habakkuk 1:2 – 3 , 2:2 – 4 2 Timothy 1:6 - 8 , 13 - 14 Luke 17:5 - 10 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2016 By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas October 2, 2016 I'm sure we are all saddened to hear that by this time Father Tom is back home. ... He will be missed! There is one word that is repeated in all of the readings for this day. That word is Faith.... ...Now we can't just let this word Faith hang out there alone without some support.... ...If now we should take our Catechism and referred to paragraphs 142 through 165 we get a far more complete explanation of Obedience and Faith.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Art, Truth, and Reflecting

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("Not All Times" – posters, art prints, greeting cards, and postcards available on DeviantArt.com .) "l'art pour l'art," " Art for art's sake ," popped up in the early 19th century. The idea is that "the only "true" art, is divorced from any didactic, moral, or utilitarian function." George Sand , Friedrich Nietzsche , and Chinua Achebe , said it was an empty phrase, self-contradictory, and Eurocentric, respectively. ( Wikipedia ) I wouldn't go that far, but I think it's a silly idea: at least when applied to anything other than doodling to pass the time. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Money Matters: Honesty & Counsel (or lack there of)

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Week 4 (Part B) - Honesty and Counsel This week forced me to take a very long hard look at my mindset towards what I admit and will share about my personal finances and what is really happening.  Although my name Allison means "truthful one" and I do feel sometimes I am honest to fault; this week's teachings and ponderings on the topic of honesty made clear, there was some areas I saw okay to paint  gray .  There really is no legal or honest gray areas with regards to money, especially if those finances are shared.   This week also challenged my filing system (or lack there of) and how pride had (and probably still does) hinder my seeking and accepting counsel.  Let's evaluate these struggles & triumphs more closely ...     FILING, HONESTY AND COUNSEL  All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

Truth and the Big Picture

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Pontius Pīlātus was the fifth prefect of the Roman Province of Judea . That sounds important, but Pilate was one of the Equites : Roman aristocrats, but ranking below Patricians . Think of him as 'middle management.' Judea was a strategically important border province, giving the empire access to Egypt's agricultural resources, and a measure of protection from the Parthian Empire . More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove

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Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove Have you ever heard that phrase before? It was new to me until the day I had to deliver some bad news on an audit. The auditee said that I had an “iron fist in a velvet glove,” meaning that I delivered a hard punch, with not much comfort, since velvet wouldn’t soften the blow of an iron fist very well. In my innocence, and to some degree of arrogance, at first I took it as a compliment! Then I got to thinking about what he said. How we deliver truth is just as… Read more...

You Get More with Honey!

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Honey versus Vinegar What’s your choice? “You get more with honey than you do with vinegar” – a classic American idiom that speaks volumes. I think all of us would choose the sweet taste of honey over the bitter taste of vinegar. I think all of us would choose to be spoken to in truth with respect and dignity, versus in a cold, unfeeling manner. I have learned a great deal about the importance of practicing tact. I have found ways of speaking truth, with tact. For example, have you noticed how all of my posts have a positive spin… Read more...

Tact: Life Lesson Learned!

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Tact has always eluded me, until I began researching and practicing the virtues. I saved this virtue for discussion until now, because I had much work to do in this area, myself, before I could write about it. Bluntness, or lack of tact, can diminish the quality of relationships. It is confession time for me. I have a classic example of how the lack of tact can destroy relationships. Here goes: While I was still working as a technology audit manager, I was attending one of those “off-site” kumbaya type meetings, where I thought complete truth would be openly accepted... Read more...

Honesty with Tact: Can It Be Done?

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Honesty truly is the best course of action. The thing that I like most about honesty is that I never have to worry about what story I may have told in the past, because truth is Truth, and the truth doesn’t change. Therefore, if I live in truth, I speak consistently, and by doing so, I build good character. Through honesty, we build integrity in the eyes of others and with God. Let’s face it, the only thing we get to take with us when standing in judgment before God, at the end of this life, are our sins and our integrity. I don’t know about you, but... Read more...