No persecution without representation

This is a second draft of my Letter to the Editor concerning Allen Young’s Editorial in the Worcester Telegram. We all need to keep in mind that unless the Legislature brings the Marriage Amendment up for a vote at the Constitutional Convention July 12, we will have dire situation for Religious Freedom in Massachusetts.

Allen Young, in his ‘As I See It’ editorial in support of gay marriage (T&G 5/22/06) engages in argument by insult, calling those who seek civil debate on marriage ‘anti-gay’, against civil rights, and discriminatory. Young further inflames the situation by claiming the Bible justified “slavery, child labor, women as property and archaic rules about food, clothing and sexuality.”

Mr. Young’s errors require correction. The Slavery in America, known as Man-Stealing was expressly forbidden by the Bible (Ex21:16). The slavery of indentured servitude was tolerated by the Israelites, but with provisions to temper it, such as freeing the indentured slaves after 7 years (Lv25). Those ‘archaic rules about food’ were actually changed for Christians by Jesus himself (Mk7:19), not ‘as the result of improved information and technology’.

Jesus also taught on sexuality, not archaically but clearly; that the two, male and female, become one flesh in marriage (Mt19). Mr. Young’s insults and errors indicate that the Religious Liberty to oppose same-sex marriage will no longer be tolerated and religiously principled teachings on Traditional marriage will be equated with morally repugnant racist beliefs.

If you give the devil a ride

"if you give the devil a ride, he will like to handle the steering"
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national
/2006/may/31/national-31-05-2006-005.htm


via Spiritdaily.com

Does 'anti-gay marriage' = 'anti-gay' ?

May 22, Allen Young, coordinator of the North Quabbin Region Diversity Awareness Group, was given the opportunity to explain why same sex marriage would be a good thing, in the Worcester Telegram's "As I see it" editorial page. He did not; instead he explained how bad people are who disagree with him. I will send the following Letter to the Editor, which will answer some of Young's misstatements. At 250 words, I cannot address all of Young's points in a letter to the Editor, but I will do so here.

-----------------
In the gay marriage debate, one side emphasizes ‘gay’, the other ‘marriage’; and we end up talking past each other. Allen Young continues this disconcerting trend, in his ‘As I See It’ editorial in support of gay marriage (T&G 5/22/06) by calling those who seek civil debate on marriage many names, including; ‘anti-gay’, against civil rights, and discriminatory. Concerning the Bible, Young further inflames the situation by grouping those maintaining the traditional definition of marriage with the same people who justified “slavery, child labor, women as property and archaic rules about food, clothing and sexuality.”

Mr. Young’s errors about ‘a narrow interpretation of ancient scripture’ require correction. The Slavery in America until the Civil War is known as Man-Stealing and was expressly forbidden by the Bible (Ex21:16). The slavery of indentured servitude was tolerated by the Israelites, but with provisions to temper it, such as freeing the indentured slaves after 7 years (Lv25) – a thoroughly progressive view compared to the surrounding barbarians. Those ‘archaic rules about food’ were actually changed for Christians by Jesus himself (Mk7:19), not ‘as the result of improved information and technology’ as Young asserted.

Jesus also taught on sexuality, not archaically but clearly; that the two, male and female, become one flesh in marriage (Mt19). Mr. Young should not take Jesus’ seat, nor proclaim unrestrained and lawless falsehoods encouraging many to fall away from their faith.

Jay G

Original Young Editorial:

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20060522/NEWS/605220447&SearchID=73246061397898

2 or 3 gathered in My name

I went to the Showcase North Cinema tonight about 6:30PM. The manager said I could not give out flyers on their property, so I went out front, on the sidewalk by the Street. I didn't have a sign, just copies of the book, The DaVinci Deception. I assumed that I'd basically be ignored, or possibly laughed at, but settled in to silently praying the Rosary and standing around. Then I figured I'd write "FREE" on the side of the small box they came shipped in. As I was doing, a guy with his two teenage boys stopped, asked if he could have a copy, and if I was a Christian. He gave me a cardboard box so I could make a sign. I wrote "See another movie."

A little later, a woman in a minivan stopped across the street, as she was leaving, and commented that the book was a 'really good read'. I said I knew that, but the problem was Brown denied Jesus was the Son of God. She said "Oh no" he did not do that, which kind of surprised me. I offered her a book; she declined politely, and then actually said she commended me for standing there.

When Dave showed up, I admitted to him that there was no plan, so then we decided stand right next to the Enter sign, that way we would be facing the driver's side window of any car coming into the Cinema parking lot. We started praying the Rosary, and it was then that some people started stopping and asking for a book. I was kind of surprised; I thought we would basically be ignored. We gave out about 25 books with a flyer from Dave as an insert.

Some teenage boys from the local neighborhood stopped by and asked for books, I think they kind of wanted to poke fun at us, or a least see what our story was. In typical teenage boy wise-guy fashion, but with an exterior sincerity persona, they asked for our autographs! Then I'm not sure if they were serious or seeking to shock us, but one said he was a wiccan, and added his father was even more of a wiccan. I simply said that I could not figure out all those little gods they have in wicca, and asked how you could know who was in charge, who was the One who created the universe. The kid actually said sometimes he thinks of God.

I didn't stay that late, and just figured I could put up with a little embarrassment of standing there in public, after all, Jesus did. But once Dave showed up - we had two praying in His name, and stuff started happening.

Nina should be there tomorrow (Saturday PM).

Dude, where's my sacred feminine goddess?

It looks like the DaVinci Code could reach the commercial (and artistic) success of the Aston Kutcher movie, "Dude, where's my Car?" The audience in Cannes laughed; even though this movie is billed as a Thriller. Perhaps this would be funny if so many people had not swallowed Brown's phony historical premise and lost their faith. Or thrown their faith away.

You might argue that if they lost their faith based on this movie, then they never really had the Faith. A valid point, but I still think however that we are called to help those who have less faith than us, to help them on their path towards Heaven. Wouldn't evangelization also include those who've basically heard the story of Christ, but they just don't get it yet? The family metaphor works very well in Christianity, and some of us are spiritually the older children in the family, and some of us are spiritually 2 years old. Just like in a real family, when Dad gets home and the house is a mess from a wild party, Dad does not yell at the little kids first, Dad goes to the ones who should have known better.

Evil does not often come with a warning label. Sometimes it is dressed up, packaged, prettified. Sometimes it is simply cold and efficient, as the Nazi Concentration Camps were. The phrase, ‘the banality of evil’ was used to describe the everydayness of these camps of death.

Peggy Noonan summed up this idea in her latest Opinion Journal Piece, writing:

“There is a God. Or, as a sophisticated Christian pointed out yesterday, there is an Evil One, and this may be proof he was an uncredited co-producer. The devil loves the common, the stale. He can't use beauty; it undermines him. ‘Banality is his calling card.’ ” http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110008389

The bad reviews highlighting the banality of the DaVinci Code movie could help prevent an even greater loss of Faith by the ignorant, weak and feeble, but then again if the Prince of this world was an uncredited co-producer, this story is not over yet. We spiritual older brothers and sisters know how the story turns out, but our Spiritual younger brothers and sisters don’t seem to. Please keep praying - especially the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

DaVinci Deception

This Friday evening I'll be at the Showcase Cinemas North in Worcester, MA, handing out copies of the DaVinci Deception, encouraging people to see another movie instead of the DaVinci Code, and praying.

If anyone wants a (or several) copies of the DaVinci Deception, just let me know.
Nina T. will be a the Showcase North on Saturday afternoon, and I heard others may be organizing Other-cotts in Worcester (Fred L. are you listening?). Let me know.

Gnosis in the Biblical sense

Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s most preposterous claim is that Jesus fathered children with Mary Magdalene. Preposterous for 2 reasons, what it contradicts and the evidence it is based on.

Brown contradicts the Bible and the Church Fathers St. Augustine and St. Athanasius, who both quote from the Gospels that Jesus was a “guest” at the wedding in Cana, not the bridegroom. Christian theology also teaches that Jesus’ spouse was the Church, He came because He loved us, and He would not have had two spouses, the Church and Mary Magdalene.

Brown’s research is based on the Gnostic Gospels, written no earlier than 150 AD, probably closer to 250AD, in Alexandria, in the Coptic language, and not included in the Christian Bible. The Gnostics taught that one needed special knowledge or “gnosis” in order to get into heaven. Gnostics also taught some other, rather weird stuff, such as the body and all matter is bad. This is why the Gnostic Gospel of Judas “praised” Judas for betraying Jesus, so that Jesus could be killed and rid of His evil shell of a body. Gnostics are “weird” because in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas women are taught to become men in order to get into heaven.

The Gnostic Gospel of Phillip refers to Mary Magdalene with the Coptic translation of the Greek word, ‘koinonos’, which Brown’s claims should be translated as ‘consort’. To Brown, this translation proves Mary Magdalene had sexual relations with Jesus. However, Strong’s Concordance of the New Testament Greek defines ‘koinonos’ as partaker, as in Christians have become partakers in the divine nature of God through His son Jesus, or as partner, as in Simon Peter was the partner of John and James in their fishing business.

Madman, Teacher, or God?

Brown’s other proof is the Da Vinci painting, where the young, beloved Apostle John, who died about 96AD and was young enough to not shave at the time of the Last Supper, is referred to as Mary Magdalene. This may be good enough for a murder mystery, but it’s not scholarly research.

Brown has to ignore and distort an incredible amount of history to come to these conclusions. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus refers to Jesus as the Messiah. Tacitus and Pliney the Younger also mention Jesus. Augustus Caesar called for 3 censuses during his reign, one at the time of Jesus’ birth. The Christian Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, provide the most historical detail of Jesus’ life, death, miracles and his bodily resurrection.

Not just a teacher, but God
The resurrection of Jesus cannot be dismissed; you can’t sit on the fence on this. As Oxford and Cambridge Professor, C.S. Lewis said, "Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about Him being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

Jesus declared himself to be God, He proved it by his miracles, and resurrection, and many of his followers, the early Christians, died horrible deaths for this belief, rather than renounce Jesus or offend God.

Don’t make Dan Brown any richer by going to this Movie.

Problem Priory

Another problematic historical fact from Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code is The Priory of Sion, which Brown claims was started in 1099AD. It was actually started in 1956, by a French Anti-Semite.

This is from CBS, no right-wing nut case blogger or friend of Catholicism:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/27/60minutes/main1552009.shtml

Mary Magdalene

Resurrection of the Son of God

February 9, 2004
editor@thelandmark.com
fax: 508 829-5984

Dan Brown’s blockbuster, The Da Vinci Code, has implications for Christians, so Ria Megnin’s article on the book reading was timely for those who seek their own path; hopefully the path of Jesus. Brown’s fiction has as its premise the idea that early Christians invented the historical Jesus Christ in 325 AD. In effect, Brown denies that Jesus physically and bodily rose from the dead, so Christianity is false. Should we believe the Gospels or Brown?

Brown’s research is based on the apocryphal Gnostic Gospels, 150-250AD. The Christian Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, written between 42-69AD, give historical detail from Jesus’ life, death, miracles and bodily resurrection. Historians Josephus, Tacitus and Pliney the Younger all write of Jesus.

N.T. Wright, in “The Resurrection of the Son of God”, concludes that the only reasonable explanation for the rapid growth of Christianity, was that the Resurrection took place. Being a Christian in the 1^st Century was not a good career move; people don’t go to their deaths to defend a metaphoric resurrection.

The New Testament is quoted so often by ancient sources that it could be reconstructed from those sources. J. B. Lightfoot proved that early Christian writings from Ignatius and Clement dated from 80-107AD. The Dead Sea Scrolls, 67AD, contain parts of Mark’s Gospel. Hershel Shanks, Jewish editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, said the scrolls publication was "without the slightest shake of or shock to the church's foundations." John A.T. Robinson noted that in 70 AD, Emperor Titus destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, and with it the Jewish priesthood, yet there is no mention of this single most catastrophic event in the history of Judaism in any of the Gospels. Everything takes place as if the Four Gospels had been written at a time when the Temple was still standing. Archeological finds in the 20^th century confirm this.

Sincerely,

Jay G

Other-cott Opie & Tom

Here is a list of 10 things you can do on or before May 19th:

1. Go see another movie, such as Over The Hedge, on May 19th and send a message to Hollywood that you will not tolerate your faith getting maligned in such an overt manner. Hollywood “rates”
   movies through opening weekend box office sales, so sales for any movie BUT this one will
   affect its ratings.
   
   
2. If you can’t get out to the movies that night, buy a ticket online at Fandango.com for Over The Hedge. From all we have heard, it’s a good family movie—rated PG.
   
   
3. Rent or watch a DVD about the life of Jesus or one that supports faith, such as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, or others like King of Kings, Ben Hur, or The Ten Commandments. Consult with MovieGuide (www.movieguide.org).
   
   
4. Run a Discussion Group on May 19th or in the weeks before or after. Although dialoging with Sony to encourage them to change the movie or add a disclaimer was fruitless, being prepared to discuss the movie with those who do go see it is essential. Run a discussion group, using the free resources at www.DaVinciOutreach.com.
   
   
5. Post a pithy message on your church's road sign. See below for some suggestions.
   
   
6. Download the free audio talk found at Human Life International's site (www.hli.org) called, "Read Between the Lines," by Fr. Tom Euteneuer.
   
   
7. Download the free Power Point notes at DaVinciOutreach.com and give a presentation at your church.
   
   
8. Encourage people to visit other good websites that promote the proper understanding of Jesus Christ, the authority of the Bible, and more, such as www.JesusDecoded.com or www.opusdei.org.
   
   
9. Purchase copies of the low-cost booklet, The Da Vinci Deception, and give them away. This highly-acclaimed booklet features 100 Questions about the facts and fiction of The Da Vinci Code. Click here to order, or call 800-376-0520.
   
   
10. Get together with some other Christians during the May 19th weekend and pray a prayer of reparation and praise.
    
    
    P.S. Please also ask your parish priest or pastor to charitably preach against the movie over the next few weeks. Da Vinci Outreach has provided free Homily Helps at DaVinciOutreach.com (in the Free Resources section).
    
    
    
    Outdoor Church Sign Options for All Christian Churches

• Da Vinci Code – A Code Without a Clue
• Don’t be Deceived by Da Vinci
• Don’t Reward Sony for it’s Da Vinci Bigotry
• The Da Vinci Code: Bigotry Goes Mainstream
• Da Vinci Code– Code Book for Slander
• Da Vinci – Anti-Christian Hits the Big Screen
• The Da Vinci Code is an attack on Jesus and the Church
• The Truth of Jesus is at Church, Not the Movies
  
  Outdoor Church Sign Options for Catholic Churches
  
  
• The Truth of Jesus Christ is at Mass, not the Movies
• Seek the REAL Truth in the Real Presence
• The Da Vinci Code is an attack on Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church
• The Da Vinci Code: Anti-Catholicism on the Big Screen

http://www.othercott.com/othercott.asp

DaVinci Bull Ignorance

May 9, 2006
cfpnews@catholicfreepress.org
fax: 508 756-8315

The opening of the DaVinci Code movie this coming weekend should truly, as the movie trailers ads suggest, prompt people to “seek the truth.” The problem is, there is very little truth in this book, or the movie. Author Dan Brown claims that the early Christians lied about Jesus; that He was a fake, and Catholics continue the cover-up!

Catholics should recognize this all out assault on the Church, and on Christianity. And we should be prepared to answer and correct the blatant falsehoods presented by Opie and Tom. Like the fact that the Priory of Sion was not founded in 1099AD, but in 1956AD by a French Anti-Semite (CBS news). Or the fact that the Gnostic Gospels were written 100-200 years after Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Ask them why, if Mary Magdalene was at the Last Supper, then where’s the missing young apostle John?

Want proof beyond the Gospels? Read Jewish historian Josephus, writing about 75AD in his work, ‘Antiquities’ (18.63) that Jesus was the Messiah, that Pilot crucified him, and that “On the third day he appeared to them restored to life.” Need more proof? Parts of Mark’s Gospel were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls – a veritable time capsule from 67AD.

Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright, in his scholarly and massively detailed historical work entitled, “The Resurrection of the Son of God”, concludes that the only reasonable explanation for the rapid growth of Christianity in the first two centuries, and why early Christians worshipped as they did, and died as martyrs, is that the Resurrection actually took place. People saw Jesus, believed, and evangelized. We should too.

Jay G

Do or Die for Marriage

Do or Die for Traditional Marriage Amendment!

•. The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention is this Wed. May 10, 1PM at the Statehouse in Boston. If less than 50 legislators vote to pass the Defense of Traditional Marriage Amendment, the Amendment is DEAD and we will not be able to vote on it in 2008. There will be a rally by Defenders of Traditional Marriage starting at 11AM. http://www.voteonmarriage.org/ for more details, or send a message at http://votervoice.net/target.asp

?id=voteonmarriage:9303432

• If you can’t make the rally, send another email to our legislators, see below.

Sample email

Re: Constitutional Convention and the Traditional Marriage Amendment

Dear ____[rep’s/senator’s name]

I urge you to vote to allow the Marriage Amendment to advance to the next session. Massachusetts citizens have the right to amend the Constitution; the Attorney General has ruled that the language of this proposed amendment passes Constitutional muster, and the 176,000 signatures gathered, (certification stopped after 123,356, more than twice the number required for a vote) indicate that the citizens have earned the right to be heard on how marriage is defined in our state. Regardless of your position on same-sex marriage, the citizens should be allowed to vote for or against amending the Constitution – and I urge you not to thwart this right and privilege of the Citizens of the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

Joint Committee on the Judiciary Email links:

Senate Staff phone # (617) 722-1200

Robert.Creedon@state.ma.us

Steven.Baddour@state.ma.us (617) 722-1604

Robert.Antonioni@state.ma.us (978)-534-6946

Thomas.McGee@state.ma.us (617) 722-1350

Cynthia.Creem@state.ma.us (617) 722-1639

Brian.Lees@state.ma.us (617) 722-1291

House Staff phone # (617) 722-2396

Rep.GeneOFlaherty@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2396

Rep.GarrettBradley@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2396

Rep.KayKhan@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2140

Rep.CharlesMurphy@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2396

Rep.JamesLeary@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2030

Rep.JamesMurphy@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2396

Rep.MichaelCostello@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2575

Rep.AlicePeisch@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2080

Rep.JohnDKeenan@Hou.State.MA.US 617-722-2575

Rep.DanielWebster@hou.state.ma.us 617-722-2487

Rep.LewisEvangelidis@Hou.State.MA.US 617 722-2263

Or call and say the same thing, possibly adding: Regardless of one's opinion on same-sex marriage, the citizens should be allowed to vote to amend the constitution or vote against the Amendment - that's our right and privilege.

Other Email links:

Harriette.Chandler@state.ma.us 617 722-1544

Robert.Antonioni@state.ma.us 617 722-1230

Robert.Travaglini@state.ma.us 617 722-1500 Speaker

Rep.RobertSpellane@Hou.State.MA.US 617 722-2220

Rep.LewisEvangelidis@Hou.State.MA.US 617 722-2263

Rep.SalvatoreDiMasi@Hou.State.MA.US 617 722-2500 Speaker

http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenus.htm for State Senators and

http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenuh.htm for State Representatives

Find your Rep. based on your address at: www.WhereDoIVoteMA.com

St. Mary's still Catholic

Sometimes you need to be careful in how you phrase things. St. Mary's in Shrewsbury is hosting the Assabet Valley MasterSingers on Saturday May 6, under the direction of Dr. Robert P. Eaton at 8PM. Apparently Dr. Eaton is a fan of the Classical Jazz ensemble The Paul Winter Consort, but then again, so am I as I own the LP Record of Icarus by the same group.

The Paul Winter Consort has a music CD, available on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000000TU/104-1020085-
1002311?v=glance&n=5174

Here's the problem with not being careful in how you phrase things. The name of this music piece by the Paul Winter Consort, which the Assabet Valley MasterSingers will perform at St. Mary's is called the Missa Gaia/Earth Mass. So this is a song, not a Mass.

So who's not careful? The Hudson Arts Alliance, who published the following notice

If you only read this notice, you might think that St. Mary's in Shrewsbury had succumbed to those New-Age, Neo-Pagan influences so prevalent today and was offering idol worship on the Alter of our Lord. When I called, the secretary seemed confused that I thought there was an 8PM Mass on Saturday – it’s at 4:30PM. And outside of a few quotes by Fr. Leo from a banned nun, it’s always a Catholic Mass, not an Earth Mass.