Prayers didn't cause the terrorist attacks in Paris, murderers did

  On 13 November, 2015, members of the Islamic State carried out an assault on the city of Paris, île de France, France.  Paris, as you may know is the most populous city in France, and one of the most visited cities on earth.  France has a peculiarly high Muslim population for a western European country, although most of them would not do anything of this nature.  Which brings me to my next point.  Is religion responsible?  Well, saying that the attackers had "religious motives" does not in and of itself mean religion is responsible.  You can make an excuse for almost anything.  I saw a Buzzfeed article that asked that people not pray for Paris, as "prayer was responsible for the attacks".  I must admit to being a little confused by the statement, and not just because of the sheer stupidity of it.  My prayers did not kill Parisians at a rock concert and a football match.  Many of those people were around my age, some younger.  A few were even Muslim.  Murderers killed these people.  Murderers were not responsible because someone prayed, they were responsible for the attacks because they were murderers.  Can religion turn people violent?  Certainly, but that does not mean it is the religion.  I can't say whether the ISIL attackers are true Muslims or not, as I am not Muslim and I cannot make that pronouncement.  I am Catholic and other Catholics have killed in the name of God (Sack of Constantinople, for instance), they were also excommunicated from the Church because of it (everyone seems to forget that part).  I will say that I can think of many times where Atheists reacted in unjustifiable violence.  Like the communists killing the entire Russian royal family, including children.  That was irreligious violence.  So religion, or in the latter case, irreligion, may not be the problem.  My guess is that there is a psychological component.  In the United States, radicalisation is not too terrible uncommon (which is really sad).  Much of the time, people become radicalised in prison as Islam does not have a clergy class, an Imam does not have to be formally trained, and what happens is that radical Muslim imams make their way into prisons as chaplains.
With all of that, I leave you with this verse from the bible:  "Et Dieu essuiera toute larme de leurs yeux, et la mort ne sera plus, et il n'y aura plus ni deuil, ni cri, ni douleur, car les premières choses ont disparu. " Apoc 21:4
 God bless France, pray for Paris.

A boy in a dress is not a woman

  In these days of political "correctness", gay "marriage" and Bruce Jenner, everything that we know s is not, and everything that should not be is.  Here on campus there is someone, who is quite obviously male, that fancies wearing dresses and what not.  Wearing dresses doesn't make you female either.  In fact, I can't really think of many instances of the women I have dated wearing dresses.  If the dude wants to wear a dress, fine, I can't stop it.   But I am VERY uncomfortable with this fact.  If I say something to someone in charge, they will just tell me they can't tell anyone.  If I tell any of my fellow students, they will just tell me I am a bigot.  So what to do?  I must admit, I am a little confused as to WHY we accept this.  Yes, there are cases of cross-dressing that may serve a purpose (such as nuns fighting in the Spanish Civil War), but to me this is just gross.  I don't even like to wear shorts, so I can in no way shape or form see why this man would want to wear a dress.  I am not trying to sound "judgmental" (does anyone actually know what that word means)?  I am just trying to make the point that this is what happens when a nation turns its back on traditional morals.  I know it automatically makes me a bigot in this day and age, but I want to vomit thinking about it. 

That's not marriage

  Last month, an entire nation was forced to accept a position that man in said nation did not want.  That marriage was not in fact between a man and a woman.  Even more disappointing, is that a Catholic was responsible for the final ruling.  We were told that because of the Supreme Court rulings on contraceptives, that we knew marriage was not about the lifelong union of a man and a woman.  People cry equality, but whose equality?  We won't be free to speak our minds anymore.  Next month, I will be attending the University of South Carolina-Aiken, a very good public university at least by academic standards.  But they're already given in to the culture.  When I was at Aiken Technical College, a woman in a hallway shoved a box of condoms in my hand, which I promptly threw away.  I guess she didn't notice that cross around my neck.  I have a friend who is married and the same thing happened to him.  He said something along the lines of "what would my wife think"?  His line of thinking is more or less closer to what marriage should be viewed as.  Marriage is not a contract, as we so often say in legal terms, it is a covenant, and this covenant is not just between the couple, but between the couple and God.  This type of relationship is impossible in homosexual unions.  I have heard people say many times that "Jesus never said that marriage is between one man and one woman".  He said exactly that.  Read Mark 10:1-12.  Save marriage.  Stop calling yourself "moderate" or "progressive", you're not moderate when you directly contradict Church teaching, and you're not "progressive" when you think that sex is only about animal instinct.  Jesus loves you, live for him.  

For my father

  Today is the anniversary of your death.  You went through more than enough purgation in your last life, I can't imagine why you would need more.  Still, I pray for the repose of your soul on a daily basis.  Even if you are in purgatory, I know you suffer, but you rejoice for that day when you enter paradise.  I know, Dad, that your father had the same disease you had, and one of your brothers has died from it, and another has the diagnosis.  I know Dad, suffering has meaning.  Every time I've gazed upon a crucifix, or looked at the cross around my neck (which I rarely remove, I wear it even in the shower).  I know the saying is true "amor vincit omnia", the Romans knew it, and I know it too, and I ask, if you are in everlasting paradise Dad, to pray for me.  I miss you Dad, but I know that if you hadn't died, I wouldn't have my little sisters.  Shannon, my twelve year old sister, is so much like me.  She has some of the same issues I do, and I know that you'd pray for her too just as you'd pray for me.  Dad, when I was 21, I dedicated my life to Christ.  I was Baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, received my Confirmation and my first Holy Communion.  I have pieces of paper proving as much.  One of my favourite possessions is your Baptism certificate.  It says that you were Baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church Davenport, Iowa.  It has a quote from the Bible, "He that believeth and is Baptized, shall be saved". (Mark 16;16).  I am a little confused how you were a Lutheran and were born in 1952 but Baptized in 1961, since Lutherans generally Baptize infants (says the Catholic that was Baptized at 21).  I have heard (according to your eldest verifiable daughter and my eldest verifiable sister) that you became Catholic on your deathbed.  I don't know if it's true, but I like to believe that it is.  If not, I know you at least wanted to be Catholic.  Our family always said Grace before meals, sadly, we don't do that anymore.  I've tried to pick up the habit of making the sign of the cross before eating, but sometimes, I legitimately forget.  Dad, I want you to know that, through your suffering, I know suffering has meaning.  I love you Dad, pray for me.

When did science become a religion?

  If you hadn't noticed by now, I write quite a bit on the topic of fad atheism.  I have been reading books on evolutionary biology since I was twelve, so calling me "Anti-Scientific" is a little confusing to my ears, since, whilst I may not know the ins and outs of ATP production, I am most certainly not Anti-Scientific.  But here's the thing, science can only deal with things that are observable.  In other words, science cannot explain whether or not there is a God because modern science has come to the conclusion (much like communists before them) that the only reality is material reality, they do not believe there is a rational way to explain the metaphysical, as they don't believe metaphysical exists.  No, science has become Scientism, a religion unto itself, a religion with as many adherents as reddit accounts.  Science cannot disprove the existence of God, no matter when certain 23 year old "former" Christians think.  I respect atheists that honestly are searching for truth, but the ones that are atheists because they read a summary of Richard Dawkins, or because they have a wifi connection, not so much.  No one converts to scientism on their death bed,  Trying to imagine how Sacraments would work in scientism.  Their Holy Texts seem to be anything written by Hitchens or Dawkins.  I am not angry at people for being atheists, so people may be convinced there is no God, what I am angry at is how Anti-Scientific atheism has gotten, whilst simultaneously accusing people (especially Christians) of being Anti science.  I also admit to a particular confusion as to why they lump all Christians together and seem to think we are all Fundamentalist Protestants.  Do understand, I am not making a pronouncement on all atheists, but I fail to see why for something to be true I must be able to prove it with the scientific method.  What about the fact the modern atheist hero, Richard Dawkins, has been "proven" (by the way, science doesn't work that way) wrong on his idea of the "selfish gene" (which, by the way, is where the word meme comes from)?  In other words, there's no scientific evidence such a gene exists, so why should I trust Richard Dawkins again?
By the way, does anyone know how to make it where I don't get pro-atheist (Anti-Science at that)! video suggestions on youtube?  Thanks for your time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApLgbO_z2tg

When people say "I've seen no compelling evidence for God's existence"!

  What they're really saying is "I haven't been looking".  Sure, they may have been raised by a decent, church going Christian family.  May have even accepted Jesus at one point.  But then something happened.  Maybe they were hurt.  Maybe they saw someone else suffering.  Maybe they prayed.  And prayed.  But maybe they felt their prayers were unheard.  Maybe they came to the (selfish and probably inaccurate) conclusion that, since God didn't answer their prayers, God must not exist.  I could go into reason for the fallacy between making a decision that God doesn't exist based solely on faulty logic.  But to be fair to the non-believer, what is the alternative?  On the one hand, you have the person that claims to love God but would rather let their child die than have a blood transfusion after an auto accident.  On the other, you have those who reject all metaphysical reality and claim that something has to be material to be real (this is the same idea that brought about communism, by the way).  So what do you do?  This individual has prayed and prayed for God to alleviate suffering, maybe in a friend or a family member, and he sees that his friend or family member is still suffering.  When he thinks about how some people are not healed, and he knows some people rely entirely on prayer to relieve an injured child, he comes up with the most logical belief that he can think of: There is no God.  Now, the logical flaws with this argument are numerous, and I won't go into detail here, but I have found that those that hold a materialistic ideology can never seem to answer me about this question: "If God doesn't exist, why should we"?  They can give me all the scientific evidence that want, and that's fine, science is cool, but it still fails to answer that question.  Do you want compelling evidence for the existence of God?  Look around
-Adam Charles Hovey

Please watch this video

Sometimes, the things people say hurt very badly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2NB42_nEFQ