Friday, June 14, 2002
Horrible, horrible... just horrible
I enjoy debating. Actually, I don't enjoy debating, I enjoy winning debates. I think there is a distinct difference. If I can pummel my opponent into submission with a literary show of force, I consider it a huge success. In my mind, I am a debate stud. This is not a Good Thing (tm). If pride always goes before the fall, I am bound to fall, and hard, sooner or later.
This past week I was debating a charge of anti-semitism leveled against the Church. Part of that charge involved the use of a book entitled "Babylon Mystery Religion" by a Mr. Ralph Woodrow. It relies heavily on another anti-Catholic book by Alexander Hislop entitled "The Two Babylons" which seemingly connects the Catholic Church with paganism. Both books are a piece of pooh. Neither one is worth the paper they are printed on.
Not all is lost though. Mr. Woodrow, after a long time of researching the subject further realized the greivous error he committed in publishing that first book that he pulled it off the shelves and replaced it with a book entitled "Babylon Connection?" in which he refutes his previous position. On his site he describes the newest book in the following way:
DESCRIPTION: THE BABYLON CONNECTION? shows that claims about Babylonian origins often lack connection, takes a closer look at the oft-quoted THE TWO BABYLONS by Alexander Hislop, and provides some much needed clarification on this subject. In a scholarly and understandable style, the book explains why Woodrow removed his Babylon Mystery Religion book from publication.
The person I was debating had no clue about the existance of this second book, nor did she know that the first book of Mr. Woodrow's had been pulled from the shelf. I reveled in the knowledge that I effectively cut her position out from underneath her. For two days after this, she remained silent on the board.
My egotistical self thought it was because I had stumped her and she was off licking her wounds. I was about as far from wrong as wrong can be. She was off the board because her youngest daughter (named Cheyenne) had been accidentally strangled in a set of mini-blinds.
A mea culpa is due on my part, and I really need God's forgiveness for the un-Christian attitude I portrayed and reveled in while another Christian suffered the worst possible loss anyone could ever experience. No parent should have to outlive their children.
Prayer for Cheyenne
Saints of God, come to her aid!
Come to meet her, angels of the Lord!
Receive her soul and present her to God the Most High.
May Christ, who called you, take you to himself;
may angels lead you to Abraham's side.
Receive her soul and present her to God the Most High.
Give her eternal rest, O Lord,
and may your light shine on her for ever.
Receive her soul and present her to God the Most High.
Let us Pray.
All-powerful and merciful God,
we commend to you, Cheyenne, your servant.
In this world she has died: let her live with you for ever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace.
Amen.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
Prayer for Cheyenne's Family
Lord, God,
you are attentive to the voice of our pleading.
Let Cheyenne's family find in your Son comfort in their sadness,
certainty in their doubt,
and courage to live through this hour.
Make their faith strong through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
I enjoy debating. Actually, I don't enjoy debating, I enjoy winning debates. I think there is a distinct difference. If I can pummel my opponent into submission with a literary show of force, I consider it a huge success. In my mind, I am a debate stud. This is not a Good Thing (tm). If pride always goes before the fall, I am bound to fall, and hard, sooner or later.
This past week I was debating a charge of anti-semitism leveled against the Church. Part of that charge involved the use of a book entitled "Babylon Mystery Religion" by a Mr. Ralph Woodrow. It relies heavily on another anti-Catholic book by Alexander Hislop entitled "The Two Babylons" which seemingly connects the Catholic Church with paganism. Both books are a piece of pooh. Neither one is worth the paper they are printed on.
Not all is lost though. Mr. Woodrow, after a long time of researching the subject further realized the greivous error he committed in publishing that first book that he pulled it off the shelves and replaced it with a book entitled "Babylon Connection?" in which he refutes his previous position. On his site he describes the newest book in the following way:
DESCRIPTION: THE BABYLON CONNECTION? shows that claims about Babylonian origins often lack connection, takes a closer look at the oft-quoted THE TWO BABYLONS by Alexander Hislop, and provides some much needed clarification on this subject. In a scholarly and understandable style, the book explains why Woodrow removed his Babylon Mystery Religion book from publication.
The person I was debating had no clue about the existance of this second book, nor did she know that the first book of Mr. Woodrow's had been pulled from the shelf. I reveled in the knowledge that I effectively cut her position out from underneath her. For two days after this, she remained silent on the board.
My egotistical self thought it was because I had stumped her and she was off licking her wounds. I was about as far from wrong as wrong can be. She was off the board because her youngest daughter (named Cheyenne) had been accidentally strangled in a set of mini-blinds.
A mea culpa is due on my part, and I really need God's forgiveness for the un-Christian attitude I portrayed and reveled in while another Christian suffered the worst possible loss anyone could ever experience. No parent should have to outlive their children.
Prayer for Cheyenne
Saints of God, come to her aid!
Come to meet her, angels of the Lord!
Receive her soul and present her to God the Most High.
May Christ, who called you, take you to himself;
may angels lead you to Abraham's side.
Receive her soul and present her to God the Most High.
Give her eternal rest, O Lord,
and may your light shine on her for ever.
Receive her soul and present her to God the Most High.
Let us Pray.
All-powerful and merciful God,
we commend to you, Cheyenne, your servant.
In this world she has died: let her live with you for ever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace.
Amen.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
Prayer for Cheyenne's Family
Lord, God,
you are attentive to the voice of our pleading.
Let Cheyenne's family find in your Son comfort in their sadness,
certainty in their doubt,
and courage to live through this hour.
Make their faith strong through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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