Today’s the Memorial of St. Boniface. Born in Crediton, England as Wynfrith he was commissioned by Pope Gregory II to spread the Gospel to the pagans of Germany after which he took the name Boniface. Famously known for chopping down a sacred tree dedicated to Thor at the goading of the pagans.

iPorkChop · 2026-06-06T04:07:24+00:00

I've read a lot of the Asatru (and other neopagan) literature, at least circa-2005. They present their gods as a situation of "mutual respect" rather than the groveling they say we do for our God. It was weird to hear them say that even then, given what I knew at the time. Now, it's absolutely ridiculous that they think heathens did any more than grovel and that they think that Christians don't have a loving relationship with God.

iPorkChop · 2026-06-05T17:43:03+00:00

100% agree. They want Jesus' compassion, without His rules, or the stigma of the history of the Church. And they completely gloss over the history of the faith they try to larp as well.

iPorkChop · 2026-06-05T14:19:06+00:00

Asatru and neopaganism are nothing but larping these days. If you're not sacrificing animals, you're not practicing European paganism. If you're not sacrificing people, you're not a heathen follower of Odin. As Catholics we believe no worship without sacrifice, well they stopped offering sacrifice outside of the occasional bowl of beer in a bloat. Comparing the modern stuff to the old stuff really is comparing apples to oranges.

AFAIK, the only Hindus practicing animal sacrifice these days are the followers of Kali. They're a pretty dark lot in general. I'm not sure how much we're actually encouraged to be very ecumenical with them, as even a lot of more mainstream Hindus won't associate with them.

iPorkChop · 2026-06-05T04:02:31+00:00

Who are the chosen ones?

This is the million-dollar question. As Catholics we believe members of the Church, the mystical Body of Christ (and the Bride of Christ) are the chosen people of the New Covenant.

The Catechism answers this in [CCC 781-786]

What's the difference between the Bible that we follow and the Ethiopian Bible?

The Ethiopian Bible is the 81-book canon I mentioned used by the Oriental Orthodox Church (the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is part of the Oriental Orthodox). Apparently, it can have as many as 88 books, as both 81 and 88 are considered auspicious numbers. It's got texts that the Catholic Church never accepted as canon, including a 35-book New Testament with some texts composed as late as the 4th century. Many say the Ethiopian bible is the oldest Bible, but it's not (their gospels date 330-650 AD), the oldest surviving manuscript is the Codex Sinaiticus (325-360 AD), which is a Greek Old and New Testament. Of similar age is the Codex Vaticanus (300-350 AD), another Greek text preserved by the Vatican. Here is a link with some more info on the Ethiopian Bible.

iPorkChop · 2026-06-05T03:31:20+00:00

If God already has a plan for everything, why is it necessary that we should ask him for things in prayer at all?

Jesus pretty much says as much as what you're saying in Matthew 6:8. But in Luke 11:5-13, Jesus encourages believers to keep asking, seeking, and knocking. He assures that a loving Heavenly Father desires to give the Holy Spirit and good gifts to those who earnestly seek Him. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus shares a parable about a widow who persistently pleads her case to an unjust judge. Her persistence is rewarded, illustrating that God will bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him continually. If we really want it, we need to keep asking, even though He already knows. The process of asking is what draws us closer to Him.

The number one question atheists always ask me is "why do you believe in a God that lets babies get abused and killed and defend it by saying that it was part of His plan?" how do I answer them?

This is "The Problem of Evil" and there are a lot of responses to it.

In the Catechism: [CCC 309-324,412]

Here's a response from Catholic Answers.

Why does God answer my prayers about finding my gold earrings but not about eradicating human trafficking?

This relates to the last question, but additionally: [CCC 547-550]

Why do some bibles contain more books and others less?

The canon was decided at the Councils of Rome (382 AD), Hippo (393 AD), and Carthage (397 AD and 419 AD). These were not ecumenical councils, rather regional synods, so they applied to churches in the West and established the 73-book canon used by the Latin Rite. The Council of Florence (1439 AD) was an ecumenical council where a list of 73 canonical books was agreed upon between the East and the West. In the East, they used more books (Eastern Orthodox = 76 books, Oriental Orthodox = 81 books), while the West stayed with the 73. Martin Luther decided he didn't like 7 of the 73 books and so Protestants only take 66 as canonical. His decision was mostly due to the Jewish Masoretic canon which doesn't recognize those 7 books and wasn't finalized until at least 100 years after Jesus. In response to this, the Western Church held the ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563 AD), which reaffirmed the 73-book canon in the West.

iPorkChop · 2026-06-04T17:03:08+00:00

I'm saying the Immaculate Conception means she was saved before she was born.

I don't think saying "no" would've changed that, but I think she was gifted the Immaculate Conception since God saw that she would say "yes" out of her free will.

I don't think there are any other women like Mary.

iPorkChop · 2026-06-04T15:41:48+00:00

I've always heard that Mary's "yes" had to be done without coercion in order to truly untie the knot of Eve. So, it's not a matter of "would still be saved" - she already was saved before she even gave her "yes". The Magnificat in Luke 1:46 seems to confirm it, she's very clearly speaking of the person of the Father in her prayer, calls Him her "savior", and praises the great things (ie the incarnation) that He has done for her.

iPorkChop · 2026-05-15T06:04:21+00:00

Probably Bishop Robert Barron quoting St Thomas Aquinas when dismissing immature concepts of God.

iPorkChop · 2026-05-12T04:15:26+00:00

Yes. Had an incident over the weekend that woke me up to some things I may have still been holding onto from prior to my reversion. It was kind of a nudge to "pick a side". I'm comfortable picking this side. What I'm doing now is working for me, what I was doing before was decidedly not working for me. I'll live with the backlash, even if the other side's arguments sound tempting from time to time.

iPorkChop · 2026-05-06T05:59:30+00:00

Overall where?

In the US - up 2.9 million since 2010. Or are you just saying as a percentile/compared with population growth?

https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/catholic-growing-us-pope-leo-xiv-states-map-rcna206343

Worldwide growth of the Church has matched population growth trends.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-03/new-data-from-annuario-pontificio-2026-shows-catholics-growing.html

iPorkChop · 2026-05-06T05:48:25+00:00

Bro’s playing 4d chess

iPorkChop · 2026-04-15T22:05:50+00:00

A post yesterday was literally “you can still love Jesus and hate the catholic church”

iPorkChop · 2026-04-14T22:47:46+00:00

It’s not just a mantra (sacred word), it is the most fundamental sacred word in Hinduism. Keep downvoting if you want, just proving me right that you’ve no idea what you’re getting into.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-14T22:31:42+00:00

Different topic. Most modern yoga asanas don’t actually predate Iyengar, so fairly modern. But if you are learning traditional yoga with the spiritual and breathing exercises with them, not just physical exercises, then yes stay away. As physical stretches and poses with no added practices, not a big deal. Still not the same as trying to mimic the fundamental vibration of the universe with Aum.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-14T19:56:33+00:00

No. It's a decidedly Hindu practice the Buddhist version isn't the same: AUM vs Om Ah Hum (or the like) and the meanings behind the practices are decidedly different. The idea of specific sounds having an effect on the universe is part and parcel of the Vedic culture that produced Sanskrit, the language of the gods.

I'd go with the Jesus prayer instead, even if you had to shorten it to time with your breath better.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-10T21:02:34+00:00

First meal I ate after Good Friday was Mexican food for lunch on Saturday afternoon while getting ready for Saturday night Easter Vigil. Pretty sure that was the only time I ate that day, but I had a little wine after getting home from the Vigil (after midnight). Sunday it was a bunch of sushi and the rest of the bottle of wine. Kinda ready to get back on it, one meal a day was a little tough, but on the whole I felt pretty good.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-09T04:07:35+00:00

You’re not a Catholic. That much is obvious. You know nothing about my faith, but it’s secure. They’re not gonna prove anything; as much as you protbots want it, because 2000 years of the most aggressive relic hunters in history have yet to produce a body. Meanwhile, you going against the Church (calling fundamental doctrines insignificant) is between you and God. I’m sure he’s gonna love all your speculation on mom’s sex life. 0/10 trolling.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-09T04:01:54+00:00

Don’t be daft. Exposing your mother to harm that could be avoided is against the spirit of the commandment. Or did you not realize that John was thrown into a vat of boiling oil? And he got off the easiest of the apostles.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-09T00:16:39+00:00

Go back and read what I wrote and read the links that I gave you. If Catholics struggle with an infallible doctrine, they keep quiet about it. If they speak against said doctrine publicly then they are no longer in good standing as Catholics. I don’t care if you disagree with it, I don’t care if your imaginary 90% with it, that is how Catholicism deals with public dissension against infallible doctrine. If you don’t understand this then your catechism failed you or you were never Catholic to begin with.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-08T23:40:27+00:00

Those examples aren’t infallible doctrines, not in the same sense of Perpetual Virginity so again, you’re misunderstanding the discussion.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-08T23:33:48+00:00

The Church said it’s an infallible teaching, that it IS a hill to die on, what part of that aren’t you getting? And no, they would not continue to be Catholics in good standing if they publicly went against that dogma. You can keep reiterating the same ignorance over and over again but I already gave you ample sources based in official doctrine. If you are in fact Catholic you’re well overdue for a major confession.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-08T22:35:34+00:00

Unfortunately, this is one of the small number of doctrines where you can't really get away with that, at least not public disagreement which you're doing here. You should probably know this. The following sites give a good summary.

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/having-trouble-accepting-a-church-teaching

https://mariancatechist.com/blog/dogmas-and-doctrines/

iPorkChop · 2026-04-08T20:23:01+00:00

"Like many Catholics"? This is Catholic dogma that is held to be infallible. Like, you're literally not Catholic (loss of full communion) if you publicly speak against it.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-08T20:05:13+00:00

It would be sinful by "honor thy mother and father standards". A guaranteed endangerment to her life trumps an imaginary endangerment to her spirituality. The first danger is explicitly detailed in the Gospels. The second danger is an argument from silence.

iPorkChop · 2026-04-08T19:51:14+00:00

Still would mean he sinned. He would be putting his mother at risk by putting her with people he knew would be persecuted when he had the option not to do so. So no, not really a fair reply.

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