7 Quick Takes – Vol. 3 – Controversy Edition

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I read lots of articles every day. Scads and oodles and (if they were in printed format) reams of them!  Often the writings that I read are from very opinionated authors (which, in all honesty, I much prefer to just-the-facts-ma’am reporting).  Other articles are news reports about events or issues that provoke highly volatile reactions from readers/commenters.  Today I will offer you a sampling of some of the controversy that flows across my screen on a day-to-day-basis.  Read at your own risk.  😀

~*1*~

James D. Miller essay:
Get Out While You Can
on how faculty should get out before higher ed collapses

I’ve been wondering for some time how sustainable the ever-increasing cost of higher education is.  Recently there have been several articles such as this one that predict the bubble will burst in the forseeable future.
It’s sensible for not only faculty to consider their alternatives, but families with children approaching “college age”.  Learning about alternative educational as well as entrepreneurial options seems prudent.

~*2*~

Brandon Vogt Reviews
CATHOLICISM
by Robert Barron

I’ve been waiting and waiting for Fr. Robert Barron’s DVD series to come out!!
Here’s a preview:

On the strength of Brandon’s review of the book,
I immediately pre-ordered it
and can’t wait for it to arrive next week.

~*3*~

The Femina Girls:
On Women, Divisiveness and Hobby Horses

I spent a lot of years beating myself up because of exactly what this article addresses.  And for a while, I was just as happy not to have any female friends, since I needed the space to breathe and just learn to be confident in establishing my own household without the constant finger wagging.

~*4*~

Faith & Family Live:
The Coming Christian Ghetto

Great quote:
“We do not serve people because they are Catholic; we serve people because we are Catholic.”
This article concerns the push in society at large to marginalize people of faith as they seek to obediently live out that faith in service to the world.

~*5*~

Forbes:
New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism

What – Global Warming controversial?  You mean all scientists don’t walk in lock step?

~*6*~

Matt C. Abbott at Renew America:
When attending Mass becomes an occasion of sin

Modesty in church, and the lack thereof.
Believe me, it’s a problem.

~*7*~

The Catholic Sun:
Cathedral’s policy change on altar servers ignites discussion

Wow, is this a hot button!
For the record, I support Fr. Lankeit’s decision, and pray that vocations will blossom in our parish and diocese.
A couple of quotes that resonated with me:

“If you look around the Church — and I’m talking about the overall Church — if you look at dioceses, if you look at religious orders and you look at parishes where they have the clear honoring of the distinction and the complementarity of men and women, you see both vocations flourish,” Fr. Lankeit said. “And when I say both vocations, I mean to the priesthood as well as vocations to the consecrated religious life.”

and

The fact is, Fr. Lakeit said, becoming an altar server is not at all about rights. The same goes, he said, for the priesthood.

“Prior to my ordination, as a single, Catholic man, I had no right whatsoever to the priesthood. And so when I went into the seminary, I was determining whether or not Jesus Christ was calling me to be a priest, but the Church was likewise discerning me and the ultimate decision was the Church’s,” Fr. Lankeit said. “Even if I felt very, very strongly at the bottom of my heart that I was called to be a priest and the Church didn’t recognize that, I had to accept that.”