Dear AOC, please stop

   Alexandria Occasio Cortez considers herself Catholic.  Okay, fine.  I'd make the argument that a bad Catholic is still a Catholic.  That being said, I really wish she would stop doing things like supporting the porn industry, and the so called "sex worker" industry.  

    Let's be honest, doing those things for money is prostitution.  It doesn't matter if there's a camera there or not.  It's prostitution.  

    And sometimes though, there's not much of a difference between politics and prostitution.  I believe it was Ronald Reagan that said something among those lines.  

    In all seriousness, when the porn industry is THANKFULLY going through lawsuits like with "Girls do Porn", and the like, this is progress in the right direction.  People should be SHAMED for looking at porn.

    I would actually have no problem outlawing porn (yes, I said it), but, what I think would be more effective, is having to show an ID to buy, rent, use, or look at porn.  

    I have to show an ID when I order a beer at a restaurant (I am 32, in a jurisdiction where the legal drinking age is 21), I had to show an ID when I signed up for Parler, I used to smoke cigars and I had to show an ID to do that.  

    I don't agree that porn is protected speech.  It isn't.  The US does have obscenity laws, and the US Supreme Court has ruled that they are, in fact, constitutional.  Not sure why we don't enforce them.  

    I also find it kind of odd that, to do those things for money, it's against the law.  Unless a camera is there.  So, why does recording it make it legal?

    And here's the thing, even with that provision, there are still illegal things being done.  Underage children being exploited, (as a New York Times article recently touched on).  Porn being legal, and having consent laws is not going to stop this.

    Jesus says, as recorded in The Bible, that those who cause children to sin deserve to be drowned. (Matthew 18:6,  Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2) 

    Yeah, that's pretty series.   

    I feel as though AOC is just trying to get  a rise out of her opposition.  She might actually believe the absurdly stupid things she says.  

    After all, she is a socialist, and socialism has a history of failure.  Oddly though, pornography is usually something socialist regimes, you know, ban.  I think I have to agree with them on this.  

    "Democratic socialism", is still socialism.  But, that is a blog post of another day.  

    Look, AOC and I are approximately the same age.  We were the first generation to grow up on the internet.  We were also the first generation to grow up with easy access to pornography.  

    And I think it's warped her mind because of it.

    FYI, the average age a child first looks at porn, is 11.  We need to make it harder to access, if nothing else.

    If you'd like to learn more about this (and learn my taste in Podcasts), check out here, AOC Praises PORN and Sex Work

REACTION: "The Children of PORNHUB" Article 

#385 – Fighting Pornhub and the Scourge of Pornography

I haven't touched on the topic, but I will, I have to keep my content PG, so I kind of have to circumvent it, somehow, and if you're curious, my own podcast can be found here, Adam Charles Hovey Podcast

Here, Adam Charles Hovey Podcast,

and here, Adam Charles Hovey Podcast

    Y'all, porn is a scourge.  

We need to talk about suicide

     For those that don't know, a priest who resided in my diocese, seems to have committed suicide. 

    Suicide, by the way, is one of the hardest things for me to talk about, right up there with my dad's death when I was nine.

    Now, I actually have a suicide in my family.  My maternal uncle (my mom's younger brother) killed himself.  

    And I have a history of self-harm.  

    Now, let's get this out of the way:  Do people who commit suicide go to hell?

    Maybe.  Here's what the catechism of the Catholic Church says about it: "

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide."

       This is important to note, because it seems to be the case in this situation.

        He was taking medication to treat symptoms of COVID-19.  And one of the side effects is delusions.

         Y'all, pray for his soul.Litany of the faithful departed  

          For those of us on earth, remember these words:

            "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted"-Matthew 5:4Matthew 5:4 RSVCE

        Repose en paix, mon père  Grief feels like fear

Our biblical illiteracy

      "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path",(Psalm 119:105)  these words, from the authorised version of the Bible, are words that I know well.  In fact, it used to be, most of Christendom knew them.  But it seems to me, that we have forgotten the Christian foundations of our culture.  

    Now, I have never been a Shakespeare fan (though, I do appreciate his use of puns), but, one thing about him, is that his works largely consisted of biblical allusions.  (According to Joseph Pearce, Shakespeare may have secretly been a Catholic, and provides pretty good evidence to that point, just an aside).  One who knows a little Shakespeare knows at least a little bit of the Bible.  

    I bring this up, because the alleged "president elect" (that's not how that works), Joseph Robinette Biden, referred to the Psalmist as the "Palmist".  Hear more about that, here.Biden's palmist

    Now, to be fair to Biden, a Palmist IS a real thing, just not the thing he's thinking of.  It's also something that I am pretty sure the Bible prohibits that 1 Samuel 28 RSVCE.

    And I feel like that IS the issue.  Biden should know how to say "Psalm".  It's not something he can blame on a childhood stutter, that magically reappeared.  (Side note:, as a lifelong stutterer, I find that accusation offensive).  For we Catholics, the Psalms ARE the prayer of the Church.  It is something that we are very thankful for the Jewish people for blessing us with.  

    You'll note, I started this with the Psalms.  Yeah, because it's one that a lot of people know.  God's word IS the foundation for the western world.  

    Now, when I say "God's word", I do not just mean The Bible.  Catholics LOVE The Bible, and we follow its precepts, and we believe it is God's written word.  We do not detract from The Bible by saying "God's word in The Bible".

    Obviously, when God spoke some of those words (like when God spoke to Moses, like in Exodus 3:4), it had to be spoken BEFORE it was written down.

    Back to the point I was making.  How many people these days know "an eye for an eye", is from The Bible?  (Leviticus 24:20)  How many people know that, whilst it exists in other cultures, the reason western culture knows "Do unto others", is because of The Bible?  (Usually as a paraphrase of Luke 6:31, though, there are other examples of it it both the Old and New Testaments)

    Then we get to the opposite problem.  Things that AREN'T from the Bible that we think are Biblical.      An example of this is "God helps those who help themselves", which is often attributed to Benjamin  Franklin, but comes from Algernon Sidney.

    If we knew our Bibles, like even people in the Middle Ages knew them (an illiterate society that was still biblically literate), we would not make these mistakes.  

    If, during the Middle Ages, you went to Mass daily, saw passion plays, and paid attention to the stained-glass scripture, you would know your Bible multiple times over. 

    The hyper reliance on Scripture alone, instead of LOVE of Scripture, is what, I would argue, lead to a scripture illiterate society.

    It's why Biden can say "Palmist".  It's why he can openly support the murder of unborn babies.  It's why my country (The United States) is in the mess it's in.

    A nation cannot be governed without the Bible and strong morality.    

    And one that quotes The Bible, that calls himself a "Devout Catholic" (Which I find arrogant), one would think, would able to quote the Book of The Bible read at every Mass.  

    Read your Bible, learn history, learn scripture.  

    Oh, and saying two Corinthians is a completely acceptable way to say 2 Corinthians.   

As Christmas approaches, let's celebrate the gift God gave to us

   2020 has been a crazy year.  With a woke Pope (no offense to Pope Francis, but PLEASE find out what BLM supports), an election whose results we're not supposed to question (because making sure an election is fair is a threat to DEMOCRACY, you see, just ask the people that believe in SCIENCE, because, you know, it's not like scientists ever change their mind, it's not like they ever believed in social darwinism or anything).  It's not all bad.  We've seen some of the world's fastest medical work, and the death rates of COVID 19, don't seem to be as bad.  Our economy (at least here in the United States) actually got a boost from the vaccines (not, contrary to popular belief, a Biden "win", economics doesn't work that way).  But, y'all know something?  I even went to the cinema (for more on that, see here Faith, Fatalism, and Spies: The Tenet Review)No matter what crazy policies politicians support (contrary to the protestations of a certain "reporter", that seems not to know the meaning of the word "politician"), we always have Jesus.  

And this is especially important, because we are called to a relationship with Jesus(which is, as I have stated before, a RELIGION,  Don't call yourself a Christian if you have a problem with the word "religion")

 Jesus calls his followers "friend", John 15:13-14, Jesus is our brother (not in a Mormon way, but follow the logic, God is our Father, via our Baptism, Jesus is the Son of God, this would make Jesus our brother), these are things that require a relationship.  

For Catholics and Orthodox, we receive Jesus, physically, in the Most Holy Eucharist, which is, WHO is, the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:23-32) .

    In fact, one of the titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is "Mother of the Eucharist".  Because she is.  She herself is like a tabernacle, in the sense that the presence of God dwelt in her.

    I feel like this is what Protestants are missing out on.  It's not that they don't have that idea (Lutherans do, to at least some extent), but, because many have this either/or idea when it comes to religion.  Either tradition or scripture (not both, for some reason, even though scripture IS a tradition), either Mary is the Mother of Jesus or the Mother of God (Luther himself really did not have a problem calling the Virgin Mary the Mother of God).

    Mary is the Mother of God, BECAUSE she is the mother of Christ.  The Eucharist really is the body and blood of Christ, because Jesus said so.  Now, there's too much to get in here, but, for more on sacraments, see here, PART TWO THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY SECTION TWO THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH CHAPTER ONE THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION 

And also, here, PART TWO THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY SECTION TWO THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

    Y'all, what I am not saying is that Protestants don't have a relationship with Jesus, I would not make that claim.  What I am saying, is that it's hard for me to understand a Jesus, that you can accept into your heart, but can't receive physically.

    Happy Advent, y'all.  

    Come, O Come, Emmanuel.   

An open letter to Pope Francis

   Holy Father, I have been very much a defender of your Pontificate.  I have defended many of the criticisms levied against you, but, now I feel like I must no longer hold back.  I am a son of the Church, and I recognise your position as the rightful successor of Saint Peter.  

    That being said, I think you have just made several huge mistakes.  I am not talking about your encyclicals, as I have not read them, so I am unqualified to comment.  I do, however, know, that you compared "MAGA" rallies to Nazi rallies, so it seems.  Since when did the Nazis have people of every socio-economic background, race and ethnicity attending them?

    That insinuation, Holy Father, is baseless and hurtful.  I know you don't speak English very well, so I hope you're translator tells you that isn't true, unless he or she is the one feeding you the lies to begin with.  It's hurtful Holy Father, to the Romani, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and Jehovah's Witnesses, who lost family during the Holocaust.  

    I also know that you met with representatives from the NBA.  Whilst racism IS  a real thing, there is NO STATISTICAL evidence that Black people are shot by police at an anymore significant rate than Non-Hispanic Whites in the United States.  I'm willing to bet that the NBA did not tell you that.  

    Holy Father, you must understand that "Black Lives Matter", supports undermining Church teaching.  It is actually a Marxist group, per their own leadership.  You yourself have condemned communism.  The NBA lied to you.

    Holy Father, I hope this letter finds you well, but please don't believe everything you learn from the News.  Here, it is incredibly biased.  Keep in mind, President Trump's opposition candidate is incredibly supportive of abortion, and is called a "Devout Catholic" by our media.  Thank you for reading, God Bless.

    -Adam Charles Hovey.

Since I left YouTube, I am now podcasting. And I have concerns.

   Many of those same concerns were ones that I had whilst on YouTube.  If you're curious, you can find me here, Adam Charles Hovey Podcast at Anchor 

and also, here, Adam Charles Hovey Podcast at Spotify.

    One of the things you can do is turn on monetisation for podcasts.  Okay, I get that, you can do that on YouTube videos, too.  But I checked, the rules are so much against free speech, that almost anything you say can be considered offensive and de-monetised.  YouTube is like this as well.  The problem is, that this definition of what is offensive is much too broad, and I think, because of this, our legal system is now being set up this way, too.

    In Norway, the land of 1/16 of my ancestors (I'm a full blooded mutt), PRIVATE comments about transgender people and bisexual people are forbidden. Norway can now imprison someone for a year for "private remarks" deemed discriminatory against trans people   Seriously, you can be arrested.  Now, here's the thing, I don't care if you disagree with me.  Lots of y'all probably do.  

    But let's not pretend like this doesn't matter.  Can you openly discriminate against straight people there?  Like yell "get out of my store, breeder"!.  If not, this law actively discriminates against straight people.  Could you discriminate against non-transgender people?  Like, a transgender person tells you, "get off my train you cisgender".  

    I'm sorry, but, no matter how much left leaning people want to push transgenderism, you are what God made you.  And a culture that blindly follows the laws of man, instead of the laws of God, which can be known by nature (Romans 2:14-16), is not a culture that will produce a moral society.  Seriously.

    Norway is allegedly a  Christian County (Church of Norway), even if but culturally.  But, I guess when the Culture leaves the church, the church leaves the culture.

    One does NOT need to have a divine revelation to know what can be known by nature.  

Are Catholics socialists, Capitalists, or something else?

     I can tell you, without hesitation, that Catholics are most certainly not socialists.  So, are they capitalists?  Not quite.  It turns out, that you can believe property rights, and earning income, and not be a capitalist.  

    Mercantilism, for instance.

    So, what are Catholics?

    Christians in communion with the Pope of Rome.

    Now, of course, and this is of the utmost importance.  

     We're expected to pay our workers a fair wage.  ( 1 Timothy 5:18 )

       But, whilst our bishops support minimum wage laws, it's important to note, that, cost of living varies between jurisdictions.

    Ideally, private property should be widespread, and workers should own their means of production.  

    That said, it's not socialism or communism (CCC #2425)CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SECOND EDITION, as Catholics believe that companies have a right to form, and that you have the right to work for another person, if you so please.  The distributist view is largely based on the middle ages view of guilds.

    Guilds, not unions.  That way, you can ensure people of different social groups have a voice.

    Of note, is the concept of subsidiarity, that things that CAN be done at the local level, SHOULD be done at the local level.  And via the tenth amendment to the US constitution, this is entirely possible. Tenth Amendment 

    So, what are Catholics?

    Christians, following Jesus.

 

Why I am leaving YouTube

   I don't want to, but I feel like I am being forced into this.  First of all, YouTube, it turns out, is just another big tech, corporate overlord.  They started using the "fact" checkers, whom we should all be skeptical of.  I would not care so much, if they provided unbiased fact checks, but they don't, and I suspect, since they got into that business, THEY NEVER WILL.  

    Now, I am not here to argue about the election results, but, a winner can't be declared during litigation, so there's that.  (For the record, I voted for Donald Trump).  The AP does not decide the president.  CNN and Fox News do not decide the president.  This is not how our Democratic Republic is set up.  And when the fact checkers (who are fact checking opinions and censoring the sitting American president's tweets), are abusing their power, there's a problem.  Why shouldn't we call something like election results into question?  Wasn't it the other side saying "count every vote"?  But, it's their side that is actively preventing it.  

    And, so it is, when even judges and lawyers think there is a problem, there probably is.  Mail fraud is incredibly common, but we're not supposed to question mail in ballots (especially suspicious, when the CDC told people with Covid to vote in person).  The truth is, I don't know what's going on, but I would not put it past the "Catholic" presidential candidate that supports abortion to commit election fraud.  

    The irony is, this blog hosting site, is owned by Google, as is Android (don't think Apple is as private as they want you to believe), and my opinion and point of view has never been checked on this.  In 2016, it was those on the far left pushing for more "fact" checking, not normal, everyday, centre-right folks like me.     To quote (or possibly paraphrase) Mike Pence (may he return home to the Church)

    "You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts".  

    And this is what is happening.  We don't dare question.  The machine is perfect.  Just ask Senator Ted Cruz, who was censored by Politifact when he said males and females are different.   Just ask Matt Walsh, whose OPINION was censored.  Just ask the New York Times ten years ago, when they said that mail in voting was incredibly dangerous.  I am leaving Youtube, because I am sick of "Alternative facts", becoming reality.  Now, that said, all my videos will stay up, and I'll still use it to listen to music, watch Mass, some other stuff, and comment, but that's it.  

    Eventually, they are going to fact check everything.  Don't think you're safe.  You're never safe.  Big Tech is big brother.

Satan is the Father of lies.

What the Pope can and cannot do.

     Not too long ago, Pope Francis seemed to have come out in favour of same sex civil unions.  Whilst we're not sure (Vatican spokesmen don't always speak clearly), but one thing that will never change is Church TEACHING on on homosexuality.

    First, let's start with the Old Testament, "If a man lies with a male, as with a woman; both of them committed an abomination: They shall be put to death, their blood is upon them". (Leviticus 20:13, RSVCE, 2nd Edition).

    Now, I'm not sure we need capital punishment for homosexual acts, but the Old Testament does point to one very important truth: Men and women are made for each other.  Take for instance, this verse:

"And the Lord God said: It is is not good for man to be alone: Let us make a help like unto himself". (Genesis 2:18 Douay Rheims)

    Now, there are some people that say they support Civil Unions for Same Sex couples, but not same sex marriage.  I understand the logic, but, in legal terms, it would still be analogous to marriage.  If you get the same benefits and legal protection as marriage, that's the way the law looks at it.  

    Now, there are some people that make the mistake of saying that Jesus never said marriage was between one man and one woman.  There are two problems with that.

1) He did, and

2) An argument from silence doesn't disprove or prove anything.  By that logic, your neighbour is a serial killer because he never said otherwise.

    So, where did Jesus mention marriage being between one man and one woman?  When the Pharisees asked Jesus about divorce, and that the commandment about divorce was written for the "hardness of heart".(Mark 10:2-12, and condemns divorce in Lk 16:18, amongst others, not to mention, the Old Testament flat out says God hates divorce, Malachi 2:16)

    Now, I know the classic proof text in defense of the Pope's authority (See Matthew 16:14-19), but I want to focus on this verse: "And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.  (Lk 22:31-32 Douay Rheims).

    Now, here's the thing, the office is protected, not the Pope's personal opinions.  A Pope can be heretical, a Pope can even make heretical statements, but a Pope can never teach, as dogma, heresy.

    Here's some more information:Papal Infallibility

     PART ONE THE PROFESSION OF FAITH SECTION TWO THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH CHAPTER THREE I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT ARTICLE 9 "I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH"  

Jesus is God, not merely a human prophet, and the crucifixion is historical fact

     According to Qur'an, 112:3, "He (God) neither begets nor is begotten".  Odd, as Christians believe Jesus is the only (John 3:16) begotten Son of God (Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5, Hebrews 5:5).  Now, Islam claims to be a continuation of Christianity, but, since it denies this (My guess is that Muhammad didn't know what Christians meant by that phrase, Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God, but not the same way that you reading this and I typing this are sons of our respective biological fathers). 

    I think that Muslims are wrong about who they think Jesus is (and wrong about the "prophet" Muhammad.  I do not mean to offend well over a billion people, but the evidence that he was a divinely appointed prophet, just isn't there.  For one, no serious historian doubts the crucifixion (which makes Surah 4:157 very problematic)  even if they may doubt the resurrection.  Yet, over a billion people deny an historical fact. 

    Here's the thing:  Jesus's contemporaries certainly believed that he was crucified.  (Antiquities 18:3:3).  So, whom am I going to believe?  Someone several hundred years after the fact, or someone that was at least born (and writing) in the same century?  Islam is not a continuation of Christianity, and it doesn't correct Christianity.  I'm willing to concede that Muslims and Christians worship the same God (there's no other God to worship, and, also, Middle Eastern Christians call God "Allah"), but their Isa, is not my Jesus (Yasū). 

    If you live in an Islamic country, without access to a Bible (if you have Christian friends and you live in Jordan, you should be good) please download TOR, and read it here.  http://bible4u2lvhacg4b3to2e2veqpwmrc2c3tjf2wuuqiz332vlwmr4xbad.onion/en/bible?lang_ref=en&bible_ref=DRA&book_ref=Gen&chapter_ref=1, that is the Douay Rheims version, but, be warned, I am pretty sure that the site is hosted by a Protestant,but this is a Catholic version.  I am going to give you a list of verses to lookup, but, keep in mind, the DR has a different numbering than most modern Bibles, so there's that.  Anyway, in the modern numbering, check out:

    Matthew 27:64, 28,  Mark16:6, 16:14, Luke 24:5, 2 Timothy 2:8, also, important to remember that he appeared to his followers AFTER rising from the dead.  The Quran conveniently ignores this, so it doesn't have to try to explain it away.  Here are some verses, Luke 24:34, (and here's one for, at the time, a non-follower Acts 9:4), 1 Corinthians 15:5-8).  Here's the thing though, whilst the Quran does acknowledge that God does forgive sins (Quran 3: 15–16, Quran 4: 3),but, does not think that blood sacrifice is necessary  (Qur'an, sura 22, ayat 37)  For the Christian, that is EXACTLY what is required.  1 Corinthians 15:14.  Judaism has the the idea of blood sacrifice as well (see the Book of Leviticus), so Christians are hardly alone on this. 

    As for my own views on this, I think many Muslims are misinformed about WHAT Christians believe.  They have been told things that are a misrepresentation of Christian belief.  I think many Muslims may be good, holy people, that try to serve God.  But they are wrong about Jesus.

 

          By the way, least I forget, the Bible does explicitly call Jesus God.  See, Philippians 2:6, John 1:1-4, and John 8:58.  The whole reason that Jesus's death is a big deal is because he is the one mediator between God and man, because he IS God and man.  (1 Timothy 2:5).