Little Neros & A Pinch of Incense

From Polycarp.net:

Polycarp's greatest contribution to Christianity may be his martyred death. His martyrdom stands as one of the most well documented events of antiquity. The emperors of Rome had unleashed bitter attacks against the Christians during this period, and members of the early church recorded many of the persecutions and deaths. Polycarp was arrested on the charge of being a Christian -- a member of a politically dangerous cult whose rapid growth needed to be stopped. Amidst an angry mob, the Roman proconsul took pity on such a gentle old man and urged Polycarp to proclaim, "Caesar is Lord". If only Polycarp would make this declaration and offer a small pinch of incense to Caesar's statue he would escape torture and death. To this Polycarp responded, "Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" Steadfast in his stand for Christ, Polycarp refused to compromise his beliefs, and thus, was burned alive at the stake.

A pinch of incense. That's it. That's the price. But he couldn't do it, and was put to death for his stubborn refusal to abandon his Christian beliefs. And he's not the only one. Throughout the ages, there have been many, many Christians who would prefer the most excrutiating death over the most trivial denial of Christ. One would almost think we have a martyrdom fetish.

Quick Takes

The "I must post something or there'll be no entry for July in the Archives" edition.

Happy 33rd Birthday, Harry Potter!

In honor of his 33rd birthday, we present some titles from the forthcoming series Harry Potter and the Midlife Crisis:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Gallstone
• Harry Potter and the Bedchamber of his Secretary
• Harry Potter and the Tax Auditor of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Urination of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Cholesterol Panel
• Harry Potter and the Rancorous Credit Card Debt
• Harry Potter and the Reliving of the Glory Days
• Harry Potter and the Ex-wife's New Husband
• Harry Potter and the Rising Hogwarts Tuition
• Harry Potter and the Bright Red Sports Car
• Harry Potter and the Speeding Ticket

An Odd Providence

Consider Fr. Barron's latest (perhaps one of his best):


Then Marc Barnes' latest: 5 Reasons to Kill Christian Music.

Writing a Jesus-song is a well-intentioned denial that Jesus is the transcendental source of every song. We cannot actively attempt the creation of something beautiful without reference to Beauty itself, who is God. We cannot sing something true — even if it is the most misunderstood truth that “all you need is Love” — without reference to Truth itself, who is God. We cannot attempt to lift the spirit and transcend the world — which is the innate goal of all music — without acknowledging a transcendent reality towards which we have the incredible capacity to lift our spirits.

All of which serve to further reinforce the maxim I create by:
The artist serves the muse, never the agenda.

If you want to write a novel that will lead people to God, don't call it How to Get to God. Call it This Is a Beautiful Novel.

The Hunger Games

Well, I might as well turn this blog into an archive of my comments on other sites. I recently (as in, five minutes ago) commented on a Video Game/Entertainment website's forums about the Hunger Games and thought I could expand on what I had said a bit more here. I write, after all, not for your benefit, but because it's cathartic for me; it helps me develop my thoughts into something tangible and releases the roiling pressure of the ideas imprisoned in my head.

So, the question posed on the forum was "what did you think of The Hunger Games?" The emotion bubbling under the surface of my thoughts since I caught it on Blu-ray, like, the day after release (thanks, Netflix!) was that I hated the movie. Not because it was bad, but because, I realized, it was true. Every bit of it was true. In fact, I nominate The Hunger Games as Exhibit B for the argument that something can be, in every sense, counter-factual and at the same time be, in every sense, entirely true.

So how was it a true story?

All Saints Day

Catholicism on Public Television

Father Robert Barron's Catholicism will be airing on PBS stations nationwide, as well as on EWTN. You will want to catch this one. It's inspired by Kenneth Clark's Civilisation and looks to be amazing. You can find out more (and watch clips from it) here.

You can also find out air dates for your area here.

For those of us in LA/Orange Counties, episodes 1, 3, 4, and 5 will be on KLCS (channel 58) Mondays at 9pm, starting October 3rd. KVCR (channel 24) will air it Tuesdays at 8pm, starting on the 11th. Those in Lake Elsinore, I assume, can get KVCR (Riverside/San Bernardino).

If those in Bakersfield can get Fresno stations, KVPT will air all four PBS episodes on October 23rd starting at 11am.

In the Tampa area, you can catch it on WEDU on Wednesdays at 11pm, starting October 5th.

In Chicago (Fr. Barron's home diocese), it will be on WTTW Thursdays at 8pm starting October 13th, with encores the following Sundays at 4pm.

In South Bend (I think I have readers there?) it will be on WNIT Thursdays, October 13th and 20th, from 9-11pm.

If those in the DC area weren't so busy trying to raise well-adjusted children, and still had access to on-air television, they could have watched the first episode on Maryland PTV this past Thursday at 8pm, and the second this coming Thursday, the 29th, at the same time.

If I missed anyone, check here for your market.

The remaining episodes (2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) will air on EWTN on November 16th-19th, repeatedly.

And if you can't catch it on TV, potentially because you're lame or because you live in a stone-age commune and don't have TV, you can buy the DVD box set for a kingly sum of $150 (I know what's going on my Birthday/Christmas list this year!). Or you can wait for your parish to host a showing, unless you go to some hippie new-age parish.

There's also a book to go along with it. Again, you will not want to miss this.