August 2014 - To Give a Defense

That life exists and identity: Thoughts on Robin Williams and depression.

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • August 18, 2014 • Catholicism & Culture; In the News; Literature

The powerful witness in all of this, in depression, in suicide, in loss, in unbearable confusion and grief and pain, is the witness of life. That life exists. That you are here, and that it matters. The great horror and pain of depression is that it robs you of any sense of self and identity. And that may be why, in a cruel irony, some seek relief from it in self-annihilation. But they value their life, and they do not want it to end. They only want the pain to end. But one of the great joys of recovery from depression is the joy of discovering identity again, and who you are.

Once more, regarding the Monophysites and the Crusades.

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • August 13, 2014 • Apologetics; Church History

Now, lest it be forgotten against the gale force of his incessant wind, Mr. Bugay did not “point to” the “historical record.” He pointed to himself, on his own Facebook page. He’s that sure of his own wise wisdom and right rightness. His post contained no history whatever, but only a claim, no more — a mere assertion, supported by not one fact, nor footnote, nor reference to one soul who says what Mr. Bugay does. Am I to think that Mr. Bugay’s Facebook page, and his wild leaps into space, now count as the “historical record”?

Polemical rogue Mr. John Bugay blames Catholic Church for ISIS.

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • August 9, 2014 • Anti Catholicism; Apologetics

No doubt, dear reader, you have been reading serious things about the wicked horror and evil that does its Satanic deeds under the name ISIS. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the polemical rogue Mr. John Bugay — a man whose reason turned vagabond long before — has once more become possessed by the mad desire to out-do Jack Chick for clownish buffoonery. Listen to his newest dumb outrage upon good sense. (But pray do not have food or drink in your mouth, make sure you are secure in your chair, and say a few Aves first.

The Saints and Social Justice by Brandon Vogt: A review.

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • August 5, 2014 • Book Review; Church Social Teaching

Glenn Beck’s panic attacks aside, the Church is certainly “down with this whole social justice thing” because “social justice” is a Catholic concept in the first place. Those be our words. And the reason you should read Mr. Vogt’s fine book is that it very skillfully helps us to distinguish between “social justice” in the true, Catholic sense and “social justice” in the false, politically exploitative sense. For just because a false and atheistic political ideology has demagogued the poor does not mean that we have no real obligation to the poor.

The New Evangelization, sans puns: Scott Hahn’s “mission manual.”

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • August 1, 2014 • Book Review

Readers who expect with each new book to find Scott Hahn’s trademark puns in the subtitles won’t find them here. I admit that was the first thing I noticed about Evangelizing Catholics. It was a bit disappointing — but only bit; it’s a good book. The life of the mind is not in the pun. (Someone once told me, with a grave shake of his head, that Dr. Hahn’s puns will only get him more time in Purgatory.) The title of his new book—Evangelizing Catholics — might make one think that it is all about whipping pick-and-choose Catholics into shape.