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In the site notifications this morning came the news that it is eight years since Jess set this site up. I thought it right to notify her and she was glad to hear that it was still active and wished all old friends well; but she indicated firmly that her life is now cast in other directions. That left open the question which has exercised me for some time, which is what is this blog for?
It’s original, somewhat polemical character was retained, as it seemed to me, as acting editor, not my place to revise it. It made it difficult for me to blog regularly once I took on a new post in 2016, partly because ill-wishers were apt to comb it for “mico-aggressions” about which they could then use to complain to my employers; some liberals in academia are not, alas, very liberal in anything other than the licence they accord to their own feelings. Not wishing to cause difficulties for others, and given the pressure on my time, I withdrew from regular blogging. But this place has a life of its own and it continued thanks to the efforts of others.
The reminder of the eighth anniversary and Jess’s formal withdrawl seem to me an occasion for a review, and to that end I’d like to solicit comments from those who write and read this blog.
I have just done something I do rarely, that is to block a commentator. There are limits beyond which the hospitality of any site should not be tested, and an Orthodox commentator trespassed them. I have no problem with a certain waspishness of tone, and indeed, having been guilty of it myself, it would be hypocritical to complain of it in others; but all things in moderation, otherwise moderation of another sort is in order.
I have deliberately not commented on intra-Catholic issues for a number of reasons: there are many others better-qualified than me to do this, just as there are others less qualified; I don’t, in all honesty, have anything to add that would be edifying; and I find it quite tedious. Those who want to argue over whether the current Pope is the real Pope can do so in the many parts of the internet where they will find congenial company. For me, he’s the Pope and that’s all I really have to say on the matter.
What I have done latterly, is what I did four years ago, which is to comment on theological issues and on the intersection between Faith and the public square, and that is what I intend to continue to do. If there are any topics people think of particular interest, let me know; if you’d like to write here, let me know.
There is a rich back catalogue of pieces here, and whether I agree with what others have written or not, I am letting them stand for the edification, or otherwise, of the reader, and I commend them to those who peruse these pages.
I’d like to thank those who have contributed here across the last eight years, and to fromally thank Jess for her founding the site and all she contributed before life took her in other directions. All those who have written here have my thanks; I have learned much from you all. So, in short, I intend to continue to blog as often as I can. Christians are not Christians in isolation, we are part of a community, and this community, after seven years here, is part of me.
Thank you, all those who have shown and show an interest in this, and here’s to another eight years.
All Along the Watchtower 
To be honest, someday I’d hope Jess would return. Many who have participated in the blog tend to only remember the good of it and lament the bad that has caused its loss of use. I started “On the Pilgrim Road” in the image of this blog. I invited many non-Catholic users to write on it because I thought the protestant voice was missing from this particular blog that made it so unique. A place where Catholics and protestants could engage in mere Christianity, but “On the Pilgrim Road” was artificial and eventually, the sense of it became too much, it wasn’t organic like AATW and so when you returned to blogging, I thought it best to simply end it. It’s also difficult to write posts while completing assignments for my Master’s in Theology, so at the moment, I need to engage passively, not as an editor so to speak.
It’s too bad about Scott. I’d like an Orthodox voice here, but sadly, as I commented, it seemed that his comments were pre-written and copy-pasted—perhaps barely modified to fit the reply. There was no interest in engagement, merely an interest in talking at people and not with people. One aspect to evangelize is to listen. And that was clear that was not his prerogative.
It made me reflect though that at the current moment, I have no interest in engaging in inter-Christian strive. In fact, I don’t think I’ll engage it and will simply be meant with silence.
Pope Francis has called Catholics to unity to preach the Gospel to the world. This is good. I’ve decided to no longer engage in inter-Catholic disputes. My loyalty is my local bishop and most importantly to Pope Francis.
I meditated last night on John 17 on the matter of Christian unity. I think this needs to be taken to Christianity as a whole. Fighting brothers unite when a crazy man is at the door and I fear that the crazy man is in the house. We need to put our differences aside and engage the secular culture together with Simple Christianity. In NT Wright’s book Simply Christian, I remember balking at his thoughts on the Eucharist, as a Catholic, I felt he was still engaging the matter from an Anglican standpoint not as merely Christian; however, engaging with the secular world that is increasingly isolated, increasingly individualized WE SHOULD acknowledge the communicable aspect of Simply Christianity together.
I think this was always the direction of this blog should now be ordered to the concept of Simple Christianity together as engagement with the culture. The culture no longer sees us as Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, etc. And while that is important—the theological distinctions, it is no longer the 16th century and those matters are not the most pressing.
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Phillip, we are in harmony. There is a place for Christians discussing matters of common concern, and your theme is a good one. Thank you.
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What exactly will you do when the thin wedge of the subjugation of the Catholics in China to the state winds up making an opening for another apostate to become Pope I wonder? Will you still be the pacifistic follower of a Pope who has taken a vow to have allegiance to the CCP first, and God second? That is the real world we are living in and it requires warriors and not sheep, unless, of course, you are a great contemplative Saint that speaks directly with God or Our Lady and will be granted great favors and miracle to straighten things out. I wish I could simply pray or teach our way out of this but God also has always raised up an army of men to confront evil . . . like Lepanto. He likes for us to involved in our own salvation and in the protection of the Church. At least that is my understanding. Without our zeal for cleaning out our own stable we have no other option than to live in this smoke (I knew those Covid-19 masks would come in handy) and hope God returns to do that which we would not do.
But every man will have to make his own decision on such matters. In this confusion and these dark days nobody sees things the way our fellow Christians understand things. Seeing God through a dark glass comes to mind and each man seems to see something different or has decided on a path that is also different to others. Confusion abounds and Satan is unleashed as wherever there is confusion the Father of Lies is prowling about trying to take souls.
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I have no impact on what’s going on at the Vatican or in China.
I suppose at the most fundamental sense, I cling to Jesus Christ. He asks, “Who do you say that I AM?” The prime revelation is Christ himself–He reveals the Blessed Trinity. So, what am I getting at?
On behalf of those who will believe, Jesus prays that we may all be one, so the world may believe that world the Father has sent the Son. It’s very telling, why should the secular world accept us–the Body of Christ–as its moral compass when the Body of Christ is not even unified?
And until Christ returns, what are our options? Our option is to go out into the world preach the Gospel of salvation by the forgiveness of sin because the dawn of Hope breaks upon the shadows of the world. Jesus Christ has come to set us free! This is good. This is something to be joyful about even in the midst of today’s problems!
I use to think out of the Dark Knight triology, the Dark Knight Rises was the weakest out of the movies. And this partly because Christopher Nolan has to improvise with the death of Heath Ledger. In fact, with our recent current events, It may prove to be the strongest out of three. In that movie Bane says to Batman after defeating him, ” I learned here that there can be no true despair without hope. So, as I terrorize Gotham, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls. I will let them believe they can survive so that you can watch them clambering over each other to stay in the sun.”
Bane is correct in some sense because that’s actually the type of hope that only the secular world can offer it. As NT Wright notes in the first chapters of his book Simply Christianity, our issues of today is our appeal to a sense of justice? But what IS justice? Or rather how can there be any sense of justice if justice is not WHO.
There is no postive law without natural law and there is no natural law without the eternal law. Law without God is only ever violence, so the application of such a thing of morality by the secular skeptic is pure absurdity–there is only nature. If there is no eternal law, you cannot complain about injustice, you can not pretend there is justice.
However, justice is something communicable, and again, I cannot affect what happens in China, I cannot affect what happens in the Vatican or with the Pope or theories about the Pope. What I can do is trust that Christ gave the keys to him in affirmation of the Cardinal-elect and that’s all I can confidantly conlcude.
My purpose in the world is to help bring the gospel to those most immediate to me. To go out to my community and help feed the poor, cloth the naked, and give drink to the thirsty. It is no longer I who lives, but Christ, who is justice, who brings food, clothing, and drink to those who are in need.
That is simple Christianity. That is the Gospel of hope that will bring people to the fullness of truth.
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” . . . why should the secular world accept us–the Body of Christ–as its moral compass when the Body of Christ is not even unified?” Much to the point. The Church today IS THE WORLD . . . or at the least in lockstep with this new socialist, Marxist and Communist emergence as we see daily. The Church and Fatima show the concern of our Church and of Heaven itself for this blight which is ravaging the world. The world Is our enemy and we no longer can say that we fight against the world, the flesh and the devil. We placate them all and we have lost our moral leadership. To be a realist we have to ask what brought this about? How can I help? Jonah thought he was not qualified as did others as Scripture tells us. We each should be playing a part if you feel the call. If not then perhaps God has something else in mind for you. I only ask that we see the precarious situation we have arrived at. The world (we joined forces with after VII), the flesh (we seem to celebrate with the LGBT types and transgenders, the devil we almost pretend that he no longer exists and a few, like Coccopalmerio are still up there in the hierarchy after it is said that he participated in an occult Mass where there was an homosexual orgy taking place last year or maybe 2 years ago. Cd. Bernardin was praised as he left this world to the singing of The Windy City Gay Choir and he provided the defense of Msgr. Hopwood who raped orphanages children by the 100’s over years. Bernardin was said by the victim, Agnes, that he performed a statanic Mass at St. Mary’s in Greenville, SC with the Bishop and desecrated the Blessed Sacrament only to be eulogized and thanked by JPII for his outstanding service to the Church. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We have no moral authority because it was squandered and sold for a bowl of pottage.
I think that God is either going to raise up some real men to clean out this den of iniquity and lead the people to scream into the ears of their pastors and Bishops so that they will come out from under their desks and lead us instead of trembling with fear from this evil mafia and hoards of freemasons and modernists.
God help us . . . but God does like us to make an act of will even if it means martyrdom. Again, that is how I read our past history. If we won’t do it then when He comes again, He had a right to ask if there would be any faith left. We take God’s name in vain when we bear the name Christian and have not the stomach to fight for Christ, Our Lady, His Bride the Church and close a blind eye to what is taking place.
There is much that we all differ on unless it is that we love God and our neighbors. But if you love God and your neighbor, expect to be tested. Is this test? Do we have love for these . . . that goes beyond alms and words? What actions and what abuse will be asked to expose ourselves to or will it require our very lives? I don’t know, but I do think we are in such precarious times. This is the dark night of the soul for Christ’s Church and there is scarcely and voice who is confronting it.
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why should the secular world accept us–the Body of Christ–as its moral compass when the Body of Christ is not even unified?
not being unified is not why the secular world doesnt consider the CC a moral compass.
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Chalcedon – for what it is worth, I’ve enjoyed reading your recent posts (from this year) and I’d suggest you keep going in the same way.
I did enjoy the previous incarnation of the blog, but for entirely the wrong reasons. I found Quiavideruntoculi insanely funny – especially his exchanges with GRSS when he indicated that since the theological views of GRSS were pure heresy, that it would be quite in order to burn GRSS at the stake.
Aside: One of my colleagues, even though he is an engineer, nevertheless he seemed to get into theological discussions with one of his Ph.D. student. This student had very similar views to Quiavideruntoculi – and in one of these conversations, after the student had laid down some logical principles straight from 14th century Catholic scholastic theology, he asked the student, `so your view is that I should be burnt at the stake’ to which the student replied, `nothing personal, but yes – that would be in line with the teaching of the church’. The student later quit his engineering Ph.D. studies and went to study theology in a seminary in Germany – where they seem to have been very happy to receive him.
Bosco was a nutcase, whose contributions would have been very boring, but the reaction he elicited was highly entertaining – so I did enjoy it, but for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t very edifying.
I can actually sympathise to some extent with your colleagues who had bit of a problem with it. When the Good Lord was handing out virtues, he didn’t endow everybody with a sense of humour – I can quite understand how a completely po-faced individual might have reacted very badly to what was going on here. Also, discussions sometimes did degenerate into `we don’t like poofs’, `we don’t like Muslims’, etc …… and disapproval of liberal attitudes towards George Best’s favourite subject (and I don’t mean football).
So it isn’t completely clear to me that you want to re-create the AATW of the past.
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Thanks Jock. I think a touch on the tiller might be necessary, and that will in the direction of recent posts. I loved your comment!
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From my perspective, AATW as it operated in the past was a place where Christians came and discussed theology amongst themselves.
I think the direction of uniting under Simple Christianity because the mad man is inside of the house would be a similar but organic growth of AATW. What is at heart of Simple Christianity that is amiss in the world?
Authentic community.
Fundamentally, what drew me here is folks who talked about the eternal and mystery, something lost in Western society. At the same time, we cannot let the digital world become the safe haven. We cannot simply build out booths here and be good. It has to be taken out into the real world or we become digital Gnostics.
The push for digital worship especially after the passing of the pandemic should be resisted. Our faith is one of both body and soul. It is communal and digitally is only a shadow of it.
At the same time, during the pandemic, the faithful needs to balance the common good with resistance to persecution, as states have used the opportunity to silence the moral conscience of the churches during this time.
Let this be our workshop for authentic community.
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Thank you so much Phillip – and I hope that going forward together we can do just that
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Philip says this:
” meditated last night on John 17 on the matter of Christian unity. I think this needs to be taken to Christianity as a whole. Fighting brothers unite when a crazy man is at the door and I fear that the crazy man is in the house. We need to put our differences aside and engage the secular culture together with Simple Christianity. In NT Wright’s book Simply Christian, I remember balking at his thoughts on the Eucharist, as a Catholic, I felt he was still engaging the matter from an Anglican standpoint not as merely Christian; however, engaging with the secular world that is increasingly isolated, increasingly individualized WE SHOULD acknowledge the communicable aspect of Simply Christianity together.”
And that has (almost) always been a salient characteristic of this blog. This is where we come together, not just between the major sects, but even across the line of heterodoxy and orthodoxy. For me, that has always been its appeal. I’ve learned much of my Lutheran heritage by comparing it to Anglican and Catholic comparables, not to mention the rich Baptist heritage which we learned.
I supported Phillip’s initiative last winter when we corporately thought moderation was needed and unavailable, and I also agreed with ending “Pilgrim Road” for the same reasons he gives. It just didn’t feel authentic.
We live in a time of deep divisions in our world, both in religion and in civil life. Perhaps a time of reshaking the jigger, after 500 years of the advancement of liberty, and yes, it has seemed to morph into libertinism in many cases. But there is still a need for us to maintain our vision which has done so much for so many. Will we win? Well, what would constitute victory?
Rome lost in the Reformation, changing itself to be more like the Protestants, who themselves were seeking to restore Rome. It led to some of the worst wars in our histories and it led to the nation-state as a counterweight to the church.
So, we are on a trip and the destination is unknown, and perhaps unknowable, even after we get there. All most of us can do is to civilly put forward our viewpoints, there are plenty advocating both verbal and physical violence, I see little need to joining them.
It’s a good chance to welcome Chalcedon back to the fray, his voice has been sorely (at least by me) missed. And so, as time permits, I intend to contribute here, but also like Philip, I am sorely distressed by internecine disputes, and see little point in contributing to them. It merely results in us all shouting past each other and nobody listening. Ther’s enough of that nonsense in politics, we don’t need it here.
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Thanks Neo. It feels the right moment to renew this blog, and I think the direction is clear. You are always more than welcome 🙂
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It does feel right, and the direction certainly is. I will be here, not always speaking. In fact, the AATW tab in my browser hasn’t closed in over 7.5 years. I doubt it will soon.
Very good to have you back! 🙂
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That’s good to hear on all counts, Neo.
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I would like to see more of C’s meditations and musings. I find them calming and I am.in need of calm moments amidst court deadlines and sundry other concerns.
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Thank you, Nicholas.
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Even though Jess and I have also long since parted ways, I am glad to hear she is well.
Honestly, I only recently got back into reading this when you started following me on Twitter. Otherwise, I would have probably just ignored this blog for the remainder of its existence.
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Thanks Daniel. She is well, but her life has taken another direction and she is happy, which is what matters to her.
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I knew something had been flicking about the periphery of my consciousness since C posted this. And finally, I managed to pin it down. It is part of a comment by Katleen of CP&S on an article of Jess’s on 14 Aug 2012.
“Jess, you are doing something very special and extremely important here; you are drawing together Christians from all denominations in inspiring and profound discussions on Faith topics. We can obviously not agree on all aspects of our beliefs, but we can exchange our views, traditions and teachings in lively conversation in an atmosphere of harmony and respect, and without any anger or self-righteousness. Really, this is absolutely amazing!
Through your gentle, respectful and sensitive personality (plus with your obvious high intelligence and vivid imagination) you are achieving something that no one else has managed to…… as far as I know anyway. Every other blog site that attempts such discussions always seems to end up in cyber-type battles and fights leaving no winners…… and a very sour tasting feeling of utter futility!
And you know, here we are eight years later, after whole seas of trouble, and we still manage to mostly live up to that assessment. Rather remarkable.
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What a lovely blast from the past Neo, and I hope we can still live up to it.
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Indeed. Well, we have more experience than almost anybody at doing so.
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well good brother chalcedon, give good sister jess a big kiss for me when you see her again. i think of her often. she was always understanding and kind to me.
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I did. She sends her love and hopes you are well.
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