The Mouth That Rory-d

Rory Sabbatini let his clubs do the talking this time, by winning the PGA's Colonial tournament in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday, for his fourth career win on tour. For his efforts he got approximately $1 million US, a large trophy, and a hideous tartan jacket.

Sabbatini had caused a stir a couple of weeks ago by making this known: "I want Tiger." Rory also added that with Tiger's new swing, "He's more beatable than ever. We like the new Tiger".

The Man (who didn't play Colonial) had responded thusly: "I've won 9 of the last 12 tournaments I've played...and three so far this year. What's he got? Three career wins? I like the new Tiger, too."

This is great stuff. You just don't hear this kind of trash-talking in golf, like you do in other sports. Golfers are usually oh-so-polite to one another in the media, even though privately you know they feel otherwise.

It's refreshing to hear somebody like Sabbatini speak his mind and stir the pot a bit. We need more rivalry in golf; it creates fan interest. Problem for Rory is, Tiger has a memory like an elephant. He never forgets a slight. Anybody remember the 9 and 8 whupping Tiger laid on Stephen Ames at last year's match play tournament, after Ames made disparaging comments about Tiger's driving?

After that shellacking, Tiger simply said of Ames, "He understands now."

No doubt the Teacher wants to open young Mr. Sabbatini's mind as well.

And Here's the First One!

Dr. Robert Koons, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, has followed Francis Beckwith into the Catholic Church.

Dr. Koons was also a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, and had been considering this move for quite some time himself. Incidentally, he didn't talk to Beckwith about his own conversion plans, even though they were part of the same society.

A former Lutheran, Dr. Koons, as a gift to the world, has made public a substantial essay called A Lutheran's Case for Roman Catholicism. It's must reading...check it out!

Welcome home, Dr. Koons!

Keep 'em comin', Lord!

Beckwith Comes Back With...

...hopefully, a trail of other converts and "re-verts" in his wake. I'm speaking of Dr. Francis Beckwith, a very highly regarded Christian scholar who has returned to his Catholic roots. Considering his high-profile standing as the president of the Evangelical Theological Society (he has since resigned), this couldn't have been an easy decision for him.

I pray for him and his family, because I went throgh a similar struggle myself when I returned to the Catholic Church, after years in Protestant ministry. I hope you'll pray for him too, as he will undoubtedly face many trials of criticism and misunderstandings, along with the support he's bound to receive as well.

For more on the reasons why Dr. Beckwith returned to the Catholic Church, read his blog, Right Reason, which features a hot-off-the-press Q & A with Beckwith by Christianity Today, as well as a post by Beckwith himself about his move:

The past four months have moved quickly for me and my wife. As you probably know, my work in philosophy, ethics, and theology has always been Catholic friendly, but I would have never predicted that I would return to the Church, for there seemed to me too many theological and ecclesiastical issues that appeared insurmountable. However, in January, at the suggestion of a dear friend, I began reading the Early Church Fathers as well as some of the more sophisticated works on justification by Catholic authors. I became convinced that the Early Church is more Catholic than Protestant and that the Catholic view of justification, correctly understood, is biblically and historically defensible. Even though I also believe that the Reformed view is biblically and historically defensible, I think the Catholic view has more explanatory power to account for both all the biblical texts on justification as well as the church’s historical understanding of salvation prior to the Reformation all the way back to the ancient church of the first few centuries. Moreover, much of what I have taken for granted as a Protestant—e.g., the catholic creeds, the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation, the Christian understanding of man, and the canon of Scripture—is the result of a Church that made judgments about these matters and on which non-Catholics, including Evangelicals, have declared and grounded their Christian orthodoxy in a world hostile to it. Given these considerations, I thought it wise for me to err on the side of the Church with historical and theological continuity with the first generations of Christians that followed Christ’s Apostles.

You can read the rest of that post here.

Welcome home, Dr. Beckwith!

Bible Study Tonight: The Book of Daniel

All are welcome to our Bible Study, Daniel: Faith Under Fire, led by yours truly, tonight (and every Thursday), at St. Justin Martyr Parish, at 7:30 PM in the hall.

Tonight, we're studying Daniel chapter 2. Come on out and learn how we can draw from Daniel's example as we seek to live for God in an often godless world.

Schoeman's a Shoo-In...

...to be on any list of the most exciting Catholic authors today. Roy Schoeman, author of Salvation is From the Jews, and the just-released Honey From the Rock (which catalogues the conversion stories of twelve people from Judaism to Catholicism), both of which are published by Ignatius Press, will be speaking here in Toronto at a Marian conference on Saturday. For location info and tickets, $12 in advance, $15 at the door (youth:$5; clergy: free), call (800)663-MARY.

I know I'll be there. I can't recommend this man's work highly enough. Salvation is From the Jews is the best book I've ever read on the link between Judaism and Christianity. The title is a quote from Jesus himself in John 4, and has to do with the role of Judaism from Abraham to the Second Coming. Schoeman was trained by some of the most influential rabbis in American Judaism, and was a former professor at Harvard Business School before entering the Catholic Church.

There have actually been several prominent Hebrew-Catholics, as they are known, who have come to know Christ as the Messiah and entered the Catholic Church in recent years - people like Bob Fishman and Rosalind Moss, to name two of the more well-known converts.

And, for reasons that are made clear in the book, if a Jewish person comes to realize who Jesus is, it is far more likely that person will become a Catholic than a Protestant Christian.

In an interview with Ignatius Insight, Schoeman explains some of his prior misconceptions about Catholicism and what led to the writing of his first book:

IgnatiusInsight.com: As a convert from Judaism, what do you think are the major misconceptions that many Jews have about the Catholic Church? As a Catholic, what are the misconceptions that many Catholics have about Judaism and the Jewish people?

Roy H. Schoeman: Prior to my conversion, the central misconception I held about the Catholic Church was, of course, that it was in fundamental theological error, a misguided, naïve illegitimate offshoot of the true Judaism. I saw Catholics as misguided followers of a false Messiah engaging in a host of childish and superstitious practices.

To read the rest, click here.