The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Today, we bring to you the first part of Bishop Barron's discussion with Dr. Tod Worner on the way a Catholic should navigate the crossroads of religion and politics. Enjoy!

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Bishop Barron had the privilege of speaking to members of Parliament in London, England. He reflects on the presence of the Church in society, her endurance throughout the ages, and why Christianity is consistently a powerful cultural force. Enjoy.

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Over 83 percent of Americans still believe in miracles, but what, specifically, are miracles? What are the grounds for believing in them, especially for non-eye witnesses? In the Catholic context, who has the authority to deem an event miraculous? Should Catholics incorporate devotions to Church-approved supernatural events like apparitions of the Virgin Mary and post-Ascension appearances of Jesus Christ into their faith life? We discuss the Catholic understanding of miracles and how the miraculous fits with a comprehensive evangelical vision of the life of the Church.

A listener asks if it was a sin when those healed by Jesus in the Bible told others of their miraculous healing, though Jesus had told them not to tell.

00:00 | Intro 01: 20 | Update on Winona-Rochester's new pastoral center 03: 10 | Distinguishing miracles from improbable or impossible events 06:15 | Conditions necessary for the miraculous 10:58 | The relationship between nature and grace 14:10 | How miracles are confirmed 16:44 | Science and miracles 20:09 | Miracles and the Bible 23:19 | If God's revelation is complete, why do miracles continue? 25:50 | The Vatican's recent document on apparitions 27:14 | Addressing skepticism of the miraculous 31:05 | Listener question 32:54 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Poll citation: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4400922-americans-ghosts-aliens-devil-survey/
• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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We have arrived at the end of our journey with Dante. At the top of Mount Purgatory, Dante ascends the Paradiso and in the highest heaven, he beholds the divine glory of the beatific vision: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Bishop Barron's course, "Dante's Catholic Imagination," is timeless and ever-relevant. Watch it in its entirety in the Word on Fire Institute.

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The atheist political commentator and television host Bill Maher has long been a bitter critic of Christianity. In additional to regular swipes at Christians on his shows, Maher also devoted an entire documentary film, sardonically entitled Religulous, to lampoon what he takes to be Christianity's moral and theological absurdities. However, Maher has recently tempered his anti-Christian rhetoric and started focusing his biting wit on criticizing progressive woke ideology and condemning positions like neo-racism, the denial of biology, and the stifling of free speech in ways that the Catholic tradition would largely agree with.

In light of this apparent shift, is it time for people of faith to reassess Bill Maher? Has one of Christianity's most vocal opponents now become an ally or, perhaps, even a friend?

A listener asks, "What is truth?"

00:00 | Intro 01:32 | Bishop Barron's recent diaconate ordinations 02:35 | Bill Maher's analysis of religion 04:47 | What rationalism misses in its critique of religion 06:35 | Historic interpretive strategies for reading the Bible 10:31 | Freedom of speech and cancel culture 12:14 | On racial emphases 14:11 | Equality vs. equity 17:05 | Oppressors and the oppressed 18:21 | The philosophical roots of classical liberalism 20:01 | The value of classical liberalism over political progressivism 22:14 | Critiquing classical liberalism 26:18 | Is classical liberalism necessarily doomed? 28:39 | Finding points of agreement 30:41 | Listener question 32:48 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Religulous: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815241/quotes/
• Bishop Barron's CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/opinions/catholic-bishop-found-an-ally-in-bill-maher-barron/index.html
• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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Our journey continues through Dante's poetic imagery of the seven deadly sins. As Bishop Barron describes them in order of their severity, we discover that in order to atone for each sin, those in purgatory are punished with the repetitive practice of a countervailing virtue.

Bishop Barron's course, "Dante's Catholic Imagination," is timeless and ever-relevant. Watch it in its entirety in the Word on Fire Institute.

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Is Christianity a useful religion to the West? Atheist Richard Dawkins recently claimed that, while still an atheist, he considers himself a "cultural Christian" because of Christianity's utility in supporting Western cultural and political values, which he laments are under attack. Former atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali also recently shared that she became a Christian upon realizing that Christianity is necessary to preserve Western political norms.

There are some complex and even troubling underlying questions about making the connection between Christianity and utility, especially as it relates to contemporary "Western values." How is the utility defined and in response to what specific societal goals? Is Christianity's utility limited to the West alone? Aren't there some "Western values" that are antithetical to Christianity?

A listener asks how to respond to the common criticism from atheists that Christians only believe in God because they are scared of death.

00:00 | Intro 01:32 | Bishop Barron's recent farm visit 03:00 | Recapping Richard Dawkins and the New Atheism 07:14 | Unpacking Richard Dawkins as a "cultural Christian" 12:38 | Can Christianity be culturally useful without a fixed cultural aim? 14:13 | Making moral judgments without a fixed standard 16:43 | The fundamentality of Christian thought in the West 19:51| Remembering the doctrinal dimension of Christianity 21:51 | Other influences in Western thought 25:16 | Is linking Christianity and Western thought evangelically helpful? 27:23 | Listener question 29:44 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Article: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257276/famous-atheist-richard-dawkins-says-he-considers-himself-a-cultural-christian
• Article: https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/
• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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Continuing the journey in the fourth lecture of Bishop Barron's course, "Dante's Catholic Imagination," we see notion that "we're damned alone, but we're only saved together" on full display as Dante climbs Mount Purgatory. While hell was a place of violence and self absorption, purgatory is a place of charity, hope, and faith.

This timeless and ever-relevant course is available in its entirety in the Word on Fire Institute.

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Terms like "safe spaces," "trigger warnings," "harm reduction," "micro-aggression," "emotional wellbeing" and "fragility" are dominating the culture as well as the governance of many institutions. But by some measurements, our society is more physically compromised and mentally delicate than ever. Today, we discuss the contemporary embrace of "safety" and whether it overlaps with a Catholic understanding of the individual and common good.

A listener asks, can a priest ever deny absolution during confession?

00:00 | Intro 01:51 | Bishop Barron's Confirmation season 02:30 | Understanding the contemporary use of "safety" 07:45 | The relationship between risk, safety, and flourishing 12:23 | The emotional life and its role 16:14 | Physical safety as the highest good 21:36 | Speech as a form of violence 24:04 | The spiritual works of mercy vs. coddling 25:16 | Safety and the cardinal virtues 26:42 | Christ crucified and the value of safety 27:58 | Listener question 30:03 | Word on Fire Institute

• Learn about the Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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We continue with the third lecture of Bishop Barron's course, "Dante's Catholic Imagination." We uncover the horrors of hell as Virgil takes Dante on a journey to see the three levels of sin and their corresponding punishments. This ever-relevant course is available in its entirety inside the Word on Fire Institute.

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.