The Practical Parson

 20 days ago a young man was assassinated in front of his own children and a crowd of several thousand people on a college campus in Utah.  Almost spontaneously, our "progressive" brethren broke out in thunderous celebration for the death of this man; posting fictitious quotes attributed to him and calling him every manner of slander the left is capable of summoning as an insult against their opponents.  One of the more fascinatingly ironic facts of that phenomena for me personally, was a massive increase in downloads of/ internet searches for the song "no One Mourns the Wicked", from the titled movie "Wicked" which was released just a year ago.  The lyrics proclaim that the wicked die alone, the wicked's life is lonely, etc.; much to the delight of the liberals who played the song in celebration.   However the irony of them playing this song as a celebration of that man's death is overwhelming to those of us who have seen the movie and know the st...

 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ- Today the world witnessed a horrific act of targeted political violence, in the form of the assassination of a conservative commentator, Charlie Kirk, in Utah.  As people of Christian faith and charity, I ask you all to remember his family and friends in your prayers; and commend to your prayers the intention of the repose of his soul.  Before too long, media outlets will shift the narrative of this day away from the story of what happened, and will begin blaming inanimate objects and victims themselves for acts of horrific violence; in a spectacle that is a revolving circle of self-righteous grandstanding rather than meaningful discourse or transmission of fact.  As both a Bishop but first and foremost a Christian; I have been heartbroken and utterly sickened to see so many people who profess Christian faith and love, actively celebrating the death of a man whom they deemed “the enemy.”  While he may have held views that we...

You hear the call to arms from the liberal progressives every day: free food, free housing, free healthcare, etc.  Free?  Is anything in life ever truly Free?  The answer, much to the chagrin of our liberal neighbors, is sadly not.  Nothing in this world is ever free; not even the gift of salvation is truly free, since the price of salvation was borne by our Savior.  Yes we receive it at no cost to ourselves; but the price has been paid and most dearly, by someone else, somewhere else.   This is the answer to the great myth of the "free" anything.  There is nothing in life that does not come without cost, however you try to frame it.  The only thing one can do is to try to mitigate the appearance of the costs, and usually by transferring it to another person, and also usually another person as far removed from ourselves as possible.   In the secular state, 'free' programs are funded by taxpayer investment; which rise and fall accord...

 This past week, the state of Georgia was gripped with what is always a horrific tragedy whenever it occurs: a school shooting.  While we pray for the recovery of those injured, the repose of the souls of the victims killed, and justice on those responsible for this crime; it is worthwhile to remember that crimes such as these are never an appropriate time nor place for political propaganda-ing.  In the wake of any school shooting, there always seems to be the eternal argument between the Left and the Right; one side arguing for increased gun control, the other opposing it as unconstitutional.  Perhaps ironically enough, both sides are correct and incorrect in equal measures.   While it is true that our founding fathers gave us the 2nd amendment in order that we might be able to defend ourselves against enemies, both domestic and foreign; it is untrue that they would have likely intended people to carry large rifles into public eateries and grocery stores o...

 Yesterday evening a group of self congratulatory, wealthy people gathered in California to give each other awards.   They call it the "Academy Awards", however that title is as offensive to Academia as it is unrepresentative of the term in general.  Perhaps one of the more shocking things to come out of the Oscars this year was the number of 'celebrities' donning red pins in order to (allegedly) support demands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.  Much like everything celebrities do, however; they are blissfully ignorant of the origin of their rallying cry for purported social justice.   As a symbol of "palestinian" solidarity, the raised bloody hand dates back to the year 2000; when a mob of Palestinians broke into a jail in Ramallah on the West Bank, and proceeded to beat, kick, stomp, stab, etc. 2 Jewish men to death.   These 2 men had accidentally taken a wrong term while driving that afternoon, and had ended up in Ramallah by accident....

 We hear it all too often in the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict: "Hospitals must be protected!"  "An assault on a hospital is a war crime!!"  One would ordinarily agree with that assessment; though such demands are only made against Israel for military strikes near hospitals in Gaza.  I would like to draw your attention to the destruction wrought at a hospital during this conflict-  Examine these pictures well.  Take a moment to reflect on the destruction and devastation that has been inflicted on this hospital; and then ask yourself:  Who on earth would dare do such a thing to a hospital?  That's a war crime! No, these photos are NOT from Gaza.  They are, in point of fact; pictures from the Barzilai Medical Center (hospital) in Ashkelon, Israel.  This hospital was struck by multiple rockets from Hamas in Gaza from October 7th to the 11th; far removed from the situation in Gaza.  Yet has the World community come together to condemn H...

 Cardinal George Pell of Australia passed away in Rome this past week, and the media has shown its typical classless act of condemning his soul and memory to hell; because he was a Roman Catholic Bishop.  I must preface my opinions on this by reminding the reader that, as a survivor of many forms of abuse myself at the hands of evangelical Christian abusers when I was young; I have a particular insight into the matters at hand in this story.  That being said, here's my take on the BS that has surrounded the liberal outrage and delight on this poor man's passing into the next life: Cardinal Pell was the principle figurehead of the Australian Catholic Church for many years, before he was called to answer on trumped up charges of sexual abuse of 2 choir boys which allegedly occurred in the 1990's, in 2017.  He was convicted, and spent 404 days in solitary confinement before the charges were dismissed completely upon appeal.  Now when you take those facts in isolati...