February 2017 - To Give a Defense

Simcha Fisher speaks the truth about Milo apologists.

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • February 21, 2017 • Blind Guides & False Prophets; Church Scandals

This is not “complicated.” Don’t insult us. Pedophilia can not be defended. The seriousness of the priest abuse scandal can not be waved away. End stop. There is no nuance, there is no “very complicated.” Milo may be a victim of abuse. Milo may be wounded. We can and should have compassion on that, and no Catholic is permitted to judge him. But compassion does not mean that we can nuance what he said out of its sting. Nor can we claim, as Dr. Smith does, that Milo does not “promote pederasty.” No. That is what he said. You can read the transcript.

Michael Hichborn, aka “The Lepanto Institute,” under attack by eeeeevil social justice warriors.

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • February 16, 2017 • Blind Guides & False Prophets; Church Social Teaching; Exegesis

Michael Hichborn is still bunkered up somewhere at Lepanto after I posted a vicious hit piece against him. He writes to us from that bunker to defend himself against the “enraged” “social justice leftists masquerading as Catholics in our midst.” Said masquerade party is in a “blind rage” over his wery mention of Judas! Now Lepanto is being persecuted over a new meme suggesting that ugly and empty church buildings are a result of charity to the poor and that this is how “Judas got his wish.” Blind rage from SJWs ensued.

Hichborn meme attempts to link social justice to Judas Iscariot.

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • February 14, 2017 • Blind Guides & False Prophets; Church Social Teaching; Exegesis

Hichborn misses the point. Judas did not put service to the poor above worship of God. Judas does not want to give the money to the poor at all; he wants to keep it for himself and pretend he gave it to the poor. Thievery from the poor does not match any definition of social justice that I know of. If Mr. Hichborn thinks it does, he needs to point us to who defines it in any such way. If someone claims to advocate social justice, but in reality diverts money meant for the poor to his own use, that is a betrayal of social justice, not its essence.

Trump senior adviser: His powers are “substantial” & “will not be questioned.”

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • February 13, 2017 • Politics

No one doubts that presidents have authority in national security matters. But their power is not, never has been, and must never be, unlimited and immune from question or check. That is not the way of the United States. But now Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump comes along and utters words that—to my knowledge—have never been dared spoken about a president of the United States before, unless Mr. Trump imagines that he is about to suspend habeas corpus. The subject was the travel ban.

But what if a pope did teach heresy ex cathedra?

BY: Henry Matthew Alt • February 3, 2017 • Apologetics

Dustin Lattimore, a Protestant, asked the question on Facebook. Earlier today, Dave Armstrong also also blogged about it. Mr. Armstrong, in denying the possibility of ex cathedra heresy, still hedges a bit. “I don’t think it is an “impossible counterfactual” or “logically impossible” in all possible or conceivable worlds.” Oh, really? Now, as I see it, Lattimore’s question is like asking, “But what if God had made a round square?” There are no round squares. Round squares are logically impossible. I don’t like to get into quantum apologetics.