Two very odd and rather funny things about this Matt McGuiness debate.
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1. McGuiness' defenders in the comboxes here keep telling me over and over that I'm misreading him. And then they proceed to paraphrase what he's saying so that I can understand it, and they proceed to say exactly what I'm claiming McGuiness is saying. It goes something like this ...
"You've misread him totally! He's not saying you can sin your way to salvation! He's saying that if you're sinning a little bit, you should sin a whole lot more so you'll be miserable and repent and find salvation!"
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2. It is impossible to criticize the content of anyone's argument without being accused of being judgmental and committing a mortal sin, such as calumny or detraction.
This is not so funny, actually.
For example, Dawn Eden, who was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, complains that McGuiness opens his article by making light of a teenage girl being sodomized. And what has the reaction been? Criticism of Dawn Eden! How dare she judge Matt McGuiness.
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1. McGuiness' defenders in the comboxes here keep telling me over and over that I'm misreading him. And then they proceed to paraphrase what he's saying so that I can understand it, and they proceed to say exactly what I'm claiming McGuiness is saying. It goes something like this ...
"You've misread him totally! He's not saying you can sin your way to salvation! He's saying that if you're sinning a little bit, you should sin a whole lot more so you'll be miserable and repent and find salvation!"
***
2. It is impossible to criticize the content of anyone's argument without being accused of being judgmental and committing a mortal sin, such as calumny or detraction.
This is not so funny, actually.
For example, Dawn Eden, who was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, complains that McGuiness opens his article by making light of a teenage girl being sodomized. And what has the reaction been? Criticism of Dawn Eden! How dare she judge Matt McGuiness.
Comments
Now, sometimes I have misunderstood and not be charitable, but that is the exception.
Thanks for following this issue.
It boggles the mind that anyone can even attempt to defend mortal sin. We are never justified in committing mortal sin, ever. Moral evil is moral evil. Ends do not justify the means.
We have a generation of "conservative" Catholics who know really don't know philosophy, theology, ethics, or even the teachings of the saints from the previous centuries. They are culturally and philosophically liberal with their Catholicism being shallow.
Any woman with a husband who is dealing with a porn problem needs to seek to understand the biochemical effects and the psychology of addiction; not to encourage him to find a rock bottom, because that's the only way out. Encouraging that only hurts her and her conjugal relationship with her husband.
I could go on quite a bit about this, as a woman, but my last words are BEWARE. Authentic help is available and the sacrament of reconciliation should be the first and frequent stop.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column.php?n=2433
Probably for the best. Nobody wants to outright censor Mr. McGuiness, but he should realize he is entering into the public sphere, so he needs to be a lot more careful.
And I hope nobody will mind me adding my own two cents to this debate over at Catholic Lane:
http://catholiclane.com/a-second-look-at-confession/
Good observation. I hadn't thought of that. Obviously we can't be dismissive of feelings, but too often they are used as a cover to obscure objective reality.
-Katheryn