John Keyes

Is not a miracle a violation of the laws of nature?
It is not strange that one should grant that man can interfere with the working of laws, v.g., overcome the law of gravitation by holding a stone in his hand, and yet deny that the infinitely free God can act above and beyond the laws of His own framing?

A counter argument which makes sense.

Is it not unjust to impose the obligations of a church on children without their consent , and before they begin to understand their import?
Christ’s baptism is not something to be accepted or rejected at will, but is an absolute necessity of salvation. No obligations, therefore, are imposed on the child, save those which he is bound accept when he reaches the age of reason. We acquire out civil citizenship by the fact of our natural birth, without being questioned on the matter. Why not our divine citizenship, an infinitely greater good, by the fact of our supernatural birth in baptism. If someone left your child a large inheritance, would you demand that it be left in abeyance until your child was old enough to accept or reject it. And behold baptism makes us heirs of the kingdom of God, our “eternal inheritance”.

One of those traditions that have gone by the wayside.

Why are women not allowed to be bareheaded in a Catholic Church as well as men?
Because an Apostolic tradition forbids it (I Cor. xi. 5-11). “Every woman praying, or prophesying with her head not covered, disgraceth her head……therefore ought the woman to a power (veil, or covering) over her head, because of the angels……You yourselves judge: doth it become a woman, to pray unto God uncovered?”

Hat Tip to Volcano Insurance

Given recent events I made a wee tribute to Family Guy’s Volcano Insurance episode.

The Shirky Principle declares that complex solutions (like a company, or an industry) can become so dedicated to the problem they are the solution to, that often they inadvertently perpetuate the problem. Unions, or example. Unions were a brilliant solution to the problem of capital management which tended to exploit uncapitalized workers. But over time as capital increased in complexity, unions complexified as well, until unions needed management. The two became one system – union/management. So now the problem with unions is that they are locked into the old framework, the old system. They inadvertently perpetuate the continuation of the problem (management) they are the solution to because as long as unions exists, companies feel they need management to offset them, and so the two became co-dependent. In effect problems and solutions tend become a single system.

—The Technium: The Shirky Principle

Is NAMA unconstitutional?

Madam, – In relation to the banking crisis, and the solution proposed by the Government, has anyone thought of the implications of Article 45.2 (iv) of our Constitution? The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing: “That in what pertains to the control of credit the constant and predominant aim shall be the welfare of the people as a whole”. – Yours, etc,

From: Johnny Rants