Magic Statistics

You are the Celtic Cross: This cross was first made out of stone and is often found atop hills, in front of castles and in graveyards throughout Ireland and Scotland. The stone was carved with various symbols including a circle or halo (representing eternal life) and variations of the celtic knot.

What Kind of Cross are You?

brought to you by Quizilla

For some reason, it does seem appropriate.

via North Western Winds.

. . . but the US State Department doesn't want to talk about it. The reason? Fear of offending Muslims.

via DhimmiWatch.

Alvaro R. Morales Villa, (former) resident of New Orleans, has posted Five Days With Katrina, a collection of 197 photos with commentary that he took during and after Katrina's passage over his city. This is really an amazing document and well worth the time to view. It shows the hurricane's effects and captures the mood of the people. Immediately after Katrina passed, the damage was not as severe as had been predicted, and there was joy and hope in the air. But then the flooding started, and then the looting and violence–and then suddenly everyone, including Alvaro and his buddies, wanted to get out of town, and it wasn't so easy to do that; but he gets away. God be with you, Alvaro.

via LifeSiteNews.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the link to the photo gallery has gone dead. Perhaps Alvaro's exhibit got too much traffic for the site to handle. Thanks to commenter Anon Emous for the info.

This is one of the fundamental theological differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics, as Paul Zahl, Dean and President of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, points out in this essay in the latest issue of Modern Reformation. Many of Dean Zahl's colleagues are, as they say, swimming the Tiber–i.e., converting to Roman Catholicism. Among their reasons are Roman Catholicism's strong stand against the relativistic and dissolute trends in modern culture, as well as the recent selection of Pope Benedict XVI, who seems determined to maintain and strengthen the orthodox theological traditions of his church.

But Zahl, as much as he understands the motivations of his colleagues, cannot join them because of disagreement over what happens when God justifies a believer.

The big problem with Roman Catholicism is the old and enduring problem, which has never been resolved. It is the problem of the first formal cause of our Justification. "They" believe in infusion, "we" believe in imputation. For the layman, this means "they" teach that we are OK when we become actually OK, while "we" teach that we are OK before we become actually OK. The classic way of putting this is that we become righteous after we are regarded, in our lostness, as righteous. And we remain, in this human life, both 100% righteous (from God's point of view because of Christ's perfect sacrifice) and thoroughly flawed (instrinsically) even as our fruited works show the gradual growth of actual righteousness within us.

Zahl cites Article 9 of the Anglican Communion's statement of faith, The Thirty-Nine Articles, in support of his understanding:

Here is how the ninth article of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1561) puts it: "Man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated."

Read the whole thing.

As an aside, Dean Zahl's essay mentions an editorial in a Frankurt (Germany) newspaper that referred to Pope Benedict XVI as the Counter-Reformation in person. Not exactly the sort of description to inspire a Reformed Protestant, I would think.

via titusonenine.

UPDATE: More here.

Celine Dion, for some unfathomable reason, was invited to Larry King Live last week. When the discussion turned to the Katrina disaster in New Orleans, she cried and shouted and became very upset on national television. Michael Coren thinks Celine Dion should get over her own self-importance:

Celine Dion is not in any way a bad woman, but she apparently believes that as a celebrity she has an automatic right, even a duty, to express her feelings about a public tragedy.

I feel something and I am famous; thus it has to be important.

I, too, have often wondered why many celebrities feel everything about themselves is so worthy of notice that they express opinions on political and social issues on which they have no particular knowledge or expertise. That anyone takes such views seriously baffles me. Let's face it, folks: they're just entertainers!