Remember the kerfuffle regarding Senomyx and big name food companies testing flavor enhancers on fetal cell lines? PepsiCo is the latest company to reject the use of human tissue or cell lines derived from embryos or fetuses.

A little history:

• First Children of God for Life (COGFL) wrote to Senomyx in 2010 asking them to only use ethical cell lines in their flavor enhancer research, but they were ignored. Senomyx’s use of HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby — is well documented in their patent filing on sweet receptors.
• Since there was some misinformation floating about the web, I did a bunch of research on Senomyx which I wrote about here.
• Then in March 2011, COGFL called for a boycott of Senomyx’s main collaborators: Pepsico, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup, Solae and Nestlé. Immediately after going public with the boycott, both Campbell Soup and Solae cut ties with Senomyx.
• In July 2011, Senomyx scrubbed their website of “partners and collaborators” to try to tamp down the bad publicity from the PepsiCo boycott.
• After a year of denials and semantic evasions, PepsiCo’s VP of Global Public Policy, Paul Boykas stated in a letter to COGFL dated 26 April 2012 that “Senomyx will not use HEK cells or any other tissues or cell lines derived from human embryos or fetuses for research performed on behalf of PepsiCo.”

PepsiCo recognized the controversial subject was not in the best interests of PepsiCo and acted accordingly.

“We took the matter very seriously,” stated Mr. Boykas. “We have an official Statement on Responsible Research and we intend to live by that policy.”

You can see PepsiCo’s brand new Ethical Research statement here.

PepsiCo’s Responsible Research Statement

PepsiCo’s research processes and those of our partners are confidential for competitive reasons. However, PepsiCo does not conduct or fund research – including research funded by PepsiCo but performed by third parties – that utilizes any human tissue or cell lines derived from embryos or fetuses.

If you check the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), you will be able to confirm that the policy did not appear on PepsiCo’s website as far back as December 21, 2010. So it is, in fact, new. Now you can enjoy your PepsiCo products with a clear conscience with regards to this issue.  Write to thank them!

So you see it isn’t all doom and gloom. Prayers, petitions, and standing up for what we believe in can result in a more ethical society.

Keep the Faith!

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Today I gave a short talk in a University courtyard on “how guys should treat girls.” As I was preparing my presentation it occurred to me that I really wanted to sit down with a small group of Catholic Dads and shoot the breeze over this  before I wrote or spoke about it. Leaving the topic of my talk aside, this thought has been popping up more and more these days. I find myself yearning for the comapny and conversation of good Catholic Dads. It is more than just getting advice. It is about sitting in the company of men who are sharing the struggle to be a holy husband, father and man in today’s crazy world. It is about listening, yes. But it is more about learning, being affirmed completely absorbed in the sanity and common variety goodness of being a Catholic man. The trouble with common sense, common manners and common variety goodness as a whole is that they are no longer common. More and more I feel the need to seek out the company of common sense Catholic men, even if they aren’t that common!

Prompted by our wives who meet regularly in a local Rosary group, a small group of friends now regularly get together for ’steak and movie’ nights every so often. The only expectation of these evenings is that we eat, see an action flick of some kind, and nobody orders vegetarian. We never come with an agenda, but the guys tend to throw up whatever is happening or whatever is bothering  them in life at the time, and we hear the guys toss the matter around in a relaxed, humorous and gentle way. In other words, they bring a balanced, sensible perspective to the table and help each other to navigate the world’s rough seas with laughter and love, while never losing sight of the big picture.

The group has grown steadily over the past few years and I often get a subtle reminder that it is time to get another movie happening. The guys have come to value this casual fellowship as a regular part of life.

What about you guys? In the revival of Catholic life here in Australia, this area is still relatively undeveloped so I am thinking this one through before making suggestions to others. Do you have this kind of guy time in your life? How did you get involved? What form does it take?

So, my common sense guys… let’s hear it.

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My father died yesterday at 63 years old. The man who taught me how to be a man, how to be a father, how to be a Christian died after a fight with cancer that took him from a strong bear of a man to someone weak who did not know where he was or what was happening. In the span of not two years, he aged what seemed like 20. It was hard to watch this, to be there and not able to do anything. At the end, it was the strength of my brother and I helping my mother with our sisters tell our father he had to stay in bed because he will hurt himself, as he insists that we were fighting him rather than helping him. It was hard to see him in a comma and struggle to breath at the end.

But in spite of all of the pain, Christ was there throughout. My father showed me how to to deal with this not just as a man, but as a Christian man. With faith in the face of death. He was not eager to leave nor free of fear, and his strong will kept him here for a long time, but he reconciled himself to what was happening and was at peace with God and availed himself of all the Church had to offer. He was anointed weeks before death, days before death and then again hours before death.

Dealing with the death of my father is hard. It is hard to see my mother in her pain. It reminds me of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane where he asked that the cup be taken from him. We, who are left, are at that point. Do we embrace the cross we are now asked to bear or do we rebel or despair? All in life is for a purpose, though we do not always know what it is. We are asked to follow where God leads. Sometimes he removes those things upon which we rely, so that we may rely on him and become more the person he intends. I do not know exactly how God was asking my Dad to grow, though I have an idea. Nor can I see fully what it is for me, but he is asking that I trust him. It is at these points in our lives where we willingly can choose to take up our cross or we can fight it. It is at times like these that we see if our faith is real.

As we face this with the death of my father, I beg your prayers for my mother, and all of our family that we may embrace this cross now so we may rely even more on Christ in our hour of need.

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Road to Emmaus - Inconspicuous Catholic artwork for your office.

Imagine how much time you spend at work throughout your life. With the direction our society is moving it seems that people are working longer and longer hours for more years of their lives and therefore spending more time in their cubicle, office, etc. The office has become our home away from home which should encourage us to treat it as such.

If this is true for you it is important that you try to make your office space comfortable, peaceful, and encouraging. It’s easy to pick the basics for decorating your workspace: plants, pictures of family, pictures of nature, or the all important stress ball. I think that it is important to add Christian items to your office space which call you to prayer, bring you peace, help you focus, and help you handle stress more effectively.

Many different items exist which are perfect for making your office space into this kind of environment. For example, prayer cards make a wonderful edition to your office space as they are simple, easy to put up, and are typically very beautiful with a simple prayer or pleasing image. If prayer cards aren’t to your liking, then maybe a simple crucifix or rosary speaks to your needs more effectively. Whatever works for you, whether it is prayer cards, icons, a rosary, or a crucifix, it is important that you make your office a good holy space in which you will spend a substantial amount of time.

If heavily religious articles are not welcome in your work place, perhaps a contemporary piece of Catholic art might be a better choice. You can display a Biblical or inspirational verse, your patron saint, or a Biblical scene.

For the amount of time most people spend in their cubicle or office space, you might as well make it as enjoyable and pleasant as possible. Consider also that if your work environment is more peaceful and serene then perhaps the stress of work will be minimized and not come home with you. Taking a moment when times are tough to meditate with a religious devotional can help you better deal with stress, be better able to leave that stress at work, enjoy work more, and live a life filled with more peace and comfort.

What do you add to your office in order to make it holy?

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I have a recommendation for you. It is at a blog by a Catholic mother called My Broken Fiat. The particular post is titled My Darkest Secret. It describes the pain of a woman caused by husband’s selfishness.

Gentlemen, this article deals with the problems of contraception from a tremendously insightful and deeply personal perspective. It deals with a woman’s longing for children within the bonds of sacred marriage. It is about the pain caused because her husband does not agree and insists on contraception. I think there are so many lessons in this, but I see two. The first is the obvious problem with the contraceptive culture and how it tears at marriage through a focus on selfish motives.

The bigger lesson though is on the tremendous pain we as husbands cause our wives because of our selfishness. Contraception and unwillingness to have children may not be where we are selfish (or it mat be…), but we cause pain whenever we are selfish. Good sirs, please read this. See the pain. Then ask yourself, are you causing your wife pain through your selfishness? If so, then change.Click here to read My Darkest Secret at My Broken Fiat.

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“Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell us about God?”

-Tyler Durden, “Fight Club”

This quote comes from a movie I wasn’t really fond of, but thinking about this quote hit me.  In today’s society the importance of having a father is becoming downplayed in a lot of ways.  One-third of all children in the U.S. do not live with their biological father, according to fatherhood.org.  Studies also show that living without a father increases the chances for teen pregnancy, child abuse, crime, and poverty.  These children need fathers that are active and engaged in their lives.  What are all of these absent fathers doing?  Why don’t they care about their children?

There is no easy answer to these questions.  What we need to ask ourselves is, what can we do to change the tide?  What can we do to ensure that children have fathers?  There are many different ways to go about this goal, but one of the chief ways is to show men what authentic fatherhood looks like.

What does authentic fatherhood look like? An authentic father is a father of faith, strength, character and courage.  A father who is obedient to God and courageous to the point of sacrificing his own child, as St. Joseph did, and Abraham would have done.  An authentic father has faith that the Lord will provide for him, and more importantly, for his family.  In the words of Abraham . . .“God himself will provide” (Genesis 22:8).  How do we fathers live so as to set an example of authenticity to other men?  How can we live up to the challenge?

There are lots of little things we can do which can make a huge difference in our lives and the way in which we serve as fathers.  A men’s cross necklace might serve as the perfect reminder of Christ and how he has taught men to live.  Perhaps even praying 20 minutes a day might allow us to connect on a deeper level with our spiritual father so that we can bring our children to him as well.  For some, reading a good book for fathers might do the trick.  The important thing is to find what reminds you and guides you to being the best father that you can be for your children—because they deserve it.  As the movie quote shows, we are our children’s models for God, therefore the model that we set can greatly influence their views of God.  What do you find that helps you be the best father you can be?  What’s the hardest part of being an authentic Catholic father?

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            Where was Joseph during the Passion of Jesus Christ?  In fact, where was St. Joseph during Christ’s entire public ministry?  I found myself asking this question after Holy Week and reading over and over again the Passion narratives of Christ.  In these narratives we seem to see Christ’s most beloved disciples, apostles, and His own Mother, but not his adoptive father St. Joseph.  What does this absence of St. Joseph mean?  How are we as Christians to understand this and what does this teach us about fatherhood?

             Many conjecture that St. Joseph isn’t mentioned in the narratives of Jesus’ ministry because he died before these events took place. However, there isn’t concrete evidence to support the conjecture that St. Joseph died before the public ministry of his adoptive son. Regardless of why St. Joseph was not mentioned, it does teach all fathers an important lesson.  There might come a time when we are called to step out of the spotlight and allow our children to shine.  As we were once let free from our parents we must do the same for our children.

             We are living more and more in a society in which parents are afraid to let go of the chains they have on their children.  According to the Pew research Center, nearly 1 in 5 adults from age 18 to 34 still receive some sort of financial aid from their parents.  That’s 20% of all adults in the US.  20%!  Can you believe that?  We as parents have to learn to let our children out of the nest and learn to fly.  Just as we taught them to walk on their own, we must teach them to be responsible on their own.

             This does not mean we should ignore our children or refrain from giving them advice.  We should continue to encourage them in their faith journey and lives.  Of course we ought to continue to encourage them to pray the rosary, read the Catholic Bible, pray the Stations, etc.  That will never change because every Christian ought to encourage every other Christian to live rightly.  However, we, like St. Joseph, must allow our children to live their lives without dependence so that they might be responsible adults and live out God’s call for them.  What advice would give to parents struggling to let their young adult or adult children live their lives?

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Men in or near Orange County, California, there is an opportunity for you this Saturday at Rosary High School in Fullerton. You have an opportunity to see four outstanding Catholic speakers who may very well offer you the vision for the future that you need in your life.

“There is more to life, but you need to invest in yourself to discover that. Four hours can change your life. Attend the Made 4 More conference, it will be a life-changing experience!” — Matthew Kelly

The goal of Made 4 More is to provide contemporary Catholic Men with a transformative experience. One that will lead participants to a deeper and more personal relationship with Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church. We do this with a four hour encounter which presents engaging speakers who are tops in their field and address real, tangible issues that many men can identify with.

Speakers include the following (click here for more details on the speakers):
Allen Hunt: Allen Hunt was born and raised Methodist. While serving as a mega church pastor (with more than 8000 members), Allen began a remarkable journey culminating in his conversion to Catholicism. He is the author of three books, including his most recent release, Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor: How I Discovered the Hidden Treasures of the Catholic Church.

John Abbate: John is a strategic adviser to the Dynamic Catholic Institute and on the board of directors for JMJ Maternity Homes. John has been publicly speaking for over a decade on a wide range of business topics such as brand strategy, entrepreneurship, leadership, and management. Now – he is branching out to speak about his Catholic faith journey, pro-life work, and a commitment to work/faith integration – Inspired by Saint Jose Maria Escriva’s theology of sanctification of our work.

Jesse Romero: Jesse Romero is a full-time bilingual Catholic Lay Evangelist, who is nationally acclaimed for his dynamic, upbeat Christ centered preaching. A resident of California and a retired Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff, he is a devoted husband and father. He was a three time world Police Boxing Champion and a two time U. S. A. Kickboxing Champion.

Reid Carpenter: Reid Carpenter has served as president of Leadership Foundations of America (LFA) since 2001. With almost 45 years of experience in community-based ministry and management, he leads and directs the mission of LFA to “Connect Leaders, Change Lives, Transform Cities.”

Pete: Bowen. Pete Bowen has been practicing and teaching leadership for more than 25 years. An expert on ethics, leadership and culture, Bowen has been a guest on national television and radio shows including the O’Reilly Factor, Discovery Channel and Fox News Channel.

click here for more details on the speakers

Check out this event at their website, and sign-up for the event. You ARE made for more, and this CAN be just what you were waiting for.

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What prayer was quoted by Margaret Thatcher after winning the 1979 United Kingdom general election, by Nancy Pelosi after becoming Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007, and by Bill Clinton in his welcoming speech to Blessed Pope John Paul II? Answer: The prayer of St. Francis.

The prayer of St. Francis of Assisi is by far one of the most popular Catholic prayers in the United States. According to an article from The Franciscan Archive, the prayer might not actually date back to St. Francis himself as it cannot be traced farther back than 1912.  Despite its questionable authorship, this prayer not only invokes the Divine Master, but also teaches us an important lesson about how we are to live our lives.  The prayer of St. Francis reads:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair. Hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

 Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

 Amen.

This prayer is beautiful and unique in that it asks God to grant us gifts in order to benefit others.  Many times we pray that God will help us to be understood and loved by others, as if others are the problem and not us.  The prayer of St. Francis of Assisi reminds us that the problem isn’t other people, the problem is us.  The problem is how we treat and approach other people.  In this prayer we seek to be able to love, understand, pardon, and give to others through the grace of God.  The beginning of the prayer reminds us that as Christians we are called to bring Christ to every place and situation, for Christ is joy, light, hope, faith, and pardon.  I encourage you to make this wonderful prayer a part of your daily prayer life through a prayer of St. Francis prayer card.  As a husband or father, how might you change your approach to prayer or other people through the guidance of St. Francis?

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Dave Armstrong is a man of many talents. He is an apologist, author, speaker, researcher and many more. I encountered his writings a number of years back while doing a Religious Studies Specialization in Roman Catholic Thought. I have always been impressed by his style, his books are written with great academic rigor and yet easily accessible by the layman. He recently took some time out of his busy researching, speaking and writing schedule to answer some questions for us.

1. If you had not become a writer and apologist what do you think you would be doing for a living?

I have no idea what other serious (i.e., skilled) career I could have pursued. I have known I was called to apologetics in some capacity since 1981, when I was an evangelical Protestant. Prior to that I had many career ideas: none very definitive. Yet I did have sort of a “second career” as a delivery person in several capacities: quick delivery of small packages and a route in which I delivered payroll to companies. I did this (quite enjoyably) for ten years: from 1991 till 2001, when the company I worked for went out of business: at which time I began full-time Catholic apologetics, almost by default, in a “nothing to lose” scenario.

What else was I to do at age 43, with four children (my fourth had been born two weeks earlier)? I gave it a shot (making my situation known on my website), and it has worked, though I’m in no danger of cracking the Fortune 500 anytime soon.

2. How did you go about pursuing your career as a writer and apologist?

From 1981 I started spontaneously writing short tracts, defending and sharing evangelical (Arminian) Christianity. In particular, I was trained “on the spot” at the Ann Arbor Art Fair all through the 1980s (near the University of Michigan campus). From 1985-1989 I was a campus missionary / evangelist (University of Michigan-Dearborn and Wayne State University): supported (well, theoretically . . .) by my own churches, but mostly by friends. That collapsed in 1989.

I was 31, disenchanted, a seeming total failure in my chosen occupation and most important goal in my life, and in a sort of existential crisis: not knowing what my future held in store, since all I really cared about was apologetics and evangelism.

But God had plans for me; something I couldn’t anticipate at all was about to happen. Within a few months I started pondering Catholicism, as a result of some Catholic friends, who were vocal participants of an ecumenical discussion group in my home. By October 1990: exactly a year after the demise of my campus ministry, I was persuaded of the truth of Catholicism, as the fullness of the Christian faith.

As a result, I started writing “treatises” about big topics, and Catholic “distinctives”: points of controversy between Catholics and Protestants. I would produce these every few months: collecting all the information I could find, from my growing personal library, in order to explain Catholicism to my Protestant friends. After several of those, my Catholic friends suggested that I compile them into a book.

I did so in 1994: a 750-page monster! I decided to shorten that and make it a more compact presentation, and this was my first book: A Biblical Defense of Catholicism: completed in May 1996. As usual with aspiring authors, I was rejected by several publishers (one of these later came to me and is now interested in publishing my books). Fed up with that, I self-published in 2001 and sold over 1600 copies in less than two years: simply from advertising on my website.

But in 2003 I decided to make one last-ditch effort to solicit “official” Catholic publishers. The editor at Sophia Institute Press, Todd Aglialoro, took an interest in my work, and I signed a contract with Sophia for this book, which they published (only slightly modified) in the same year. It was followed by three more titles by 2009, and another (The Quotable Newman) is to appear by June 2012.

I also wrote the apologetics inserts (uncredited!) for The Catholic Answer Bible in 2002. This was revised as The New Catholic Answer Bible (co-author, Dr. Paul Thigpen) in 2005. It is my best-selling book, but alas (often to my dismay), it was not a royalty contract.

Also central (indeed, indispensable) to my career was my website, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, begun in February 1997. Thirdly, I had several published articles from 1993 onwards, in The Catholic Answer, This Rock, Envoy Magazine, and a few other print publications, as well as being included in the conversion bestseller, Surprised by Truth (edited by Patrick Madrid) in 1994.

I just wrote, wrote, and wrote, concentrating particularly on biblical indications of Catholicism, and debates with Protestants. By 2000 I already had well over 500 separate web pages and articles posted online. Now it is more than 2500, with still no end in sight. I’ve literally been writing Catholic apologetics constantly since 1996, and semi-regularly all the way back to late 1990.

3. What advice do you wish an apologist and writer had passed on to you early in your career, which you only learned through experience?

I would urge anyone to not depend primarily on donations and promises of people (or even of congregations or parishes), in order to pursue an evangelistic and apologetics apostolate, and to never quit a full-time job (as I did) without something else in place. This was a primary reason for the collapse of my first full-time ministry as a Protestant. I was full of youthful idealism and my usual nonconformism, and was certain of my calling.

I think the validity of the latter has subsequently been borne out by my success in getting published, and in much positive “testimony” feedback received. But I was far too naïve, in believing that evangelicals would “put their money where their mouth was,” so to speak, without the coercion of begging and pleading with them for support: a thing I have always steadfastly refused to do. I was far too unrealistic as well; so I learned the hard way, and it was an extremely painful lesson and odyssey: my trial by fire. My resolve and faith was tested mightily. That’s a good and very helpful thing in the long run, but not always fun when we are going through it.

When I began my full-time Catholic apologist career, I had book royalties as a growing source of income, and also supported myself with additional jobs where necessary (including three years as a moderator on The Coming Home Network Internet forum). This is what I would tell anyone else: do your writing / apologetics part-time until you are absolutely sure (financially) that you are able to strike out and do the work full-time. If it’s meant to be, it will be. I truly believe that, and have experienced it myself.

In any event, it’s extremely difficult to be a full-time Catholic apologist: especially without radio and television, affiliation with major organizations (like Catholic Answers), frequent strong solicitation of funds, or being on the lecture circuit. I’ve managed to barely do it without the help of almost all of those things (I’ve done a dozen or so radio appearances and have loose affiliations with many groups, mostly contractual).

4. Who were some of your biggest supporters and contributors to your early success?

Apart from the encouragement of several friends, I am very grateful to Fr. Peter Stravinskas, whom I met at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1992, and gave some of my writings on Martin Luther. He took an interest in them, and as a result, I was published in his magazine, The Catholic Answer, in January 1993 (my first published article). Five more of my articles were later published in that periodical. Scott Hahn encouraged my work and said nice things, and wrote a Foreword in 2002 to my second book, More Biblical Evidence for Catholicism. Patrick Madrid: who accepted my conversion story for Surprised by Truth, played a key role. Marcus Grodi published several of my articles in The Coming Home Newsletter, starting in 1996.

Above all, I am indebted to Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. (Servant of God), who recommended my work (Foreword to A Biblical Defense of Catholicism). He was my mentor from the beginning, since I was attending his catechist classes even before I was a Catholic.

5. What were some of your favorite authors in your teen years who helped shape you?

No one “shaped” me to any extent in those years (in a lasting way), since I had no interest in Christian theology at all till age 19. When I did start taking an interest, C. S. Lewis was the one writer who had a profound and lasting influence on me. He has been my favorite writer ever since, though possibly now tied with G. K. Chesterton. The most influential work of his in my life at this early stage, was Mere Christianity.

6. What does your writing process look like? Take us through the steps from idea to publishing?

Rather than being a particular formal process, it’s more of a motivation-driven thing for me. What I regard as my “secret” for the large amount of material I put out is my determination at most times to “follow my muse” (to use an analogy to music composers). I have the luxury of being able to write, for the most part, about whatever happens to interest me at any given time.

Secondly, several of my books were drawn from efforts I initially undertook on my website: often as a result of challenges and subsequent debates. I respond readily to challenges, and find that they are a great stimulus and motivation to both think about and respond to issues raised. Later I tighten up and compile these efforts into books.

Other projects are more of the nature of editing or organizing projects. My Chesterton and Newman quotations books were labors of love, that resulted from my desire to share with others the writers I love: who have taught me so much. Collecting quotes is an easy and enjoyable thing for me because I love to compile and organize (desires also suited for the task of a webmaster).

The most difficult part in my case is the initial organization and outline, which I find tedious and even a bit stressful. Once that is done, I find it far easier to flesh out the idea of a book within the framework. I don’t know why that is. I liked writing my books, The Catholic Verses and The One-Minute Apologist a lot, because both were initially ideas originated by my editor, Todd Aglialoro. Thus, he came up with the initial outline: the part that I like least in the whole process. He was also immensely helpful in the organizational aspects of an upcoming book, 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura (Catholic Answers: 2012).

Once the idea, goal, and outline is in place, it’s simply a matter of my relentless drive for completion (flowing from perfectionism and being a self-starter) kicking in. Basically, then, it is a three-step process: 1) organize the framework, 2) allowing a free flow of ideas to occur, that come from previous study and reflection, and 3) the drive to finish the project.

I don’t have difficulty writing at all. I’ve never suffered from writer’s block (thank heavens). It just flows (as fast as I can type), because ideas are in my head, and I seem to have no particular difficulty expressing them in words. Whether the results are worthwhile is, of course, for others to judge, but it’s not a hard thing for me to do. I think it’s a lot easier to write non-fiction.

Coming up with a good work of fiction, on the other hand, is a whole different ballgame. I’ve never done that, but I can imagine the difficulties and challenges that one would run into: of a very different nature from theological non-fictional writing (character development, descriptiveness, plot, evoking images, psychological complexities, etc.).

7. What current projects are you working on or are in the back burner in some stage of development?

I’d like to put together a new volume devoted to apologetic arguments for the Church (i.e., Catholic ecclesiology) and the papacy, drawn from many existing papers. This is one of an ongoing series of books devoted to one major theme or sub-category in Catholic apologetics. I’d also like to compile some historic (public domain) apologetics along the same lines. I am just about to commence this project.

Another book likely in the works in the future (a publisher idea), is one devoted to the “hard sayings” of the Bible: including issues that atheists bring up: supposed contradictions, etc. Much of this will be drawn from existing papers as well, along with a lot of new, fresh material.

8. Which of your books is your favorite and why?

The Quotable Newman, because of Cardinal Newman’s huge personal influence on my conversion and my theological approach. I am very excited about sharing his superb thoughts with others, and I hope that this will become the “standard” Newman quotes book, and have a wide readership, including not just Catholics, but academics and theologians of all stripes, Anglicans, those who appreciate great English prose, and others beyond the usual Catholic apologetics niche market.

Since I only edited that book, I’ll also mention one of my own (self-penned) writings: The Catholic Verses. It’s a favorite of mine because it reflects most closely what I have often done in my online dialogues: interacting with opposing views and doing a “compare and contrast” with Catholicism. I always like to have that “edge” provided by competing views and the challenges therein, in my writing. I love history of ideas, historical theology, comparative theology, and the art of the dialogue (especially Socratic dialogue).

9. Which of your books was the hardest to write and why?

The One-Minute Apologist, by a wide margin, because it is very difficult to effectively condense complex and multi-faceted theological ideas into two pages and a standard Summa-like format, as I had to do in that book (and I am not known for brevity: to put it mildly!). Consequently, I am probably also proudest of this book, since I worked so hard on it.

10. Have you ever considered writing fiction? If so is it a project we might see in the near future?

Not at all. I’m just not a fiction person. I don’t read it, and certainly would never try to write it. The closest I come to fiction-writing is a series of Christmas poems and some fictional dialogues I have written, a la Plato and Peter Kreeft. I have nothing against fiction; it is strictly a personal preference of what I like the most. I think fiction is supremely important to building up and conveying a worldview and the most important things in life. People resonate with a story.

I see this (I hasten to add!) as a “deficiency” in myself: not at all in the medium of fiction. I take in fiction by means of filmed drama. I’m a great fan of cinema. Given the choice, I love the dramatization more so than written descriptions: due, in part, to time considerations, and partly due to my reading relatively slowly.

11. Do you use a playlist when writing? Are certain books written while predominantly listing to the same music?

No. Do some writers do that? That’s very interesting. When I am working on anything where I have to think a lot and be careful, I play no music at all. I usually only play it (and I’m a huge music collector and appreciator) when I am editing or doing tedious, time-consuming work of uploading a lot of necessary additions, and so forth.

12. If you could only recommend 10 books to a reader looking to be a well rounded and whole person what books would you suggest?

Well, I have a “Desert Island Top Ten Catholic Books List” which is confined to theology and has no fiction, and isn’t exactly what you ask, but it is close enough, and shows my own preferences. All of these have been hugely influential in my own life, and I think they are very important books, that would be of spiritual and educational benefit for anyone: though the Newman titles are quite “heavy” reading and not to everyone’s taste. No particular order . . .

Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton
Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis
The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism, Louis Bouyer
Evangelical is Not Enough, Thomas Howard
The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis
Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman
Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s Pensees, Blaise Pascal and Peter Kreeft
The Spirit of Catholicism, Karl Adam
An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent, Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman
St. Thomas Aquinas: “The Dumb Ox”, G. K. Chesterton

13. In many ways you are a modern renaissance man: philosopher, educator, researcher, student, author and more. Very few people today are as well rounded as you are. To what do you attribute this?

I strongly disagree with that far too kind assessment (but thanks). I’m simply a lay “popularizer” (not a scholar) with a wide range of interests. Why do I have these interests? I don’t know, except for (I think) a strong intellectual curiosity and drive to find truth wherever it leads. What ultimately causes even the desire for those things is a mystery, but it has to go back to God somehow. I passionately love the world of ideas, and in particular, history, theology, and philosophy. Ironically, in college, I majored in none of these (having majored in avocational music in high school), and chose sociology, because I was fascinated with the study of human beings and why they behave the way they do, but I have studied all quite a bit on my own.

14. I once had a university professor state that the true goal of a university education should be to teach one to learn how to think. What would you state should be the goal of higher education and why?

His is close to my own view: how to think and analyze, and how to cultivate a critical mind, able to discern between good and bad arguments and logic, and truth and falsity. But beyond that (and beyond how most secular universities approach learning today), the Christian must also submit that learning is about truth and attaining to a complete, consistent worldview, which we think, of course, is Christianity. Truth and beauty are also objectively ascertained in things like science and the arts: things not directly theological. The true, the good, and the beautiful are the goals to be sought in any education.

15. Many of your books are available in ebook format. But with eBooks come the distribution of them through torrents and other illegal means; is this a concern for you, both as an author?

There is not much I can do about it. I have to sell e-books in order to survive financially. I have added DRM protection to several recent ePub versions of my books that I have put together. But I haven’t discovered anyone illegally selling or distributing my books. I think my audience realizes that I have to sell books to stay afloat, so I don’t think many people are passing along my books and depriving me of sales. It’s one of those mixed-blessing scenarios that new technology brings about. But we can never go back to pre-Internet days. It’s too central to too many lives now.

16. Some authors monitor torrent sites and have their publishers contact them to remove their content. Do you do so or have someone do so for you?

No to both questions.

17. What were some of your favorite books and authors when you were younger?

Well, again, this was a “pre-theological” period of my life. In those days (prior to 1977) I was interested in sports, biographies (I’ve always liked those), and books about mysteries: ESP, ghosts, telepathy, the “Chariots of the Gods” series, the Bermuda Triangle, the pyramids: things like that. I suppose my interest in the supernatural and the occult led me in some ways eventually into a serious Christianity: the more I learned about the latter. I had a curiosity about supernatural things (real or possible). That was the tie-in. I just needed to be properly taught about Christianity.

18. Who are some of your favorite authors to read now?

The “big three” are Lewis, Chesterton, and Newman. I was privileged to be able to read many books and lots of letters from the last two, in preparation for my books of quotations. I am also very fond of Malcolm Muggeridge, St. Augustine, Peter Kreeft, Thomas Howard, Kierkegaard, Erasmus, Pascal, and Alvin Plantinga, along with many of the apologists (Catholic and Protestant) writing today. Honorable mention goes to a great book called The Gravedigger Files, by Os Guinness (1983). In the vein of Lewis’s wonderful Screwtape Letters, this book by a brilliant evangelical thinker takes the concept of that classic one step further by applying a searing analysis to various pitfalls and shortcomings in modern Christianity, from a profoundly Christian and historically long-sighted sociological perspective (influenced a lot by the Lutheran sociologist Peter Berger). At the present time I am reading The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914, by David G. McCullough (1978). He’s an excellent historical writer. I also enjoy reading music biographies (particularly about The Beatles): a complete diversion from my usual work.

19. If you were stuck on a desert island and could only have 10 books to read again and again, what books would you want with you?

I’ll appeal back to my answer for #12! But #1, beyond any of the books mentioned, has to be the Bible.

20. What advice would you give to young aspiring authors and artists particularly those looking to have their art reflect their faith?

I would suggest that they “follow their muse” and express their opinions and their art (as the case may be) in ways that can appeal to the culture they primarily write to, without compromising their faith. This was the recommendation of Vatican II and the example of St. Paul’s evangelistic methodology on Mars Hill in Athens (finding common ground with his hearers) and advice of “I have become all things to all men so that I might by any means save some of them” almost 2000 years ago. Our task is to make old truths fresh and appealing. Christian truth is just as true now as it has ever been. Being “old” does not detract from that at all. “Chronological snobbery” (C. S. Lewis’s delightful term) is a lie.

Nor does Christian writing and art have to be explicitly theological or “preachy” in order to be profound and reflective of Christianity. All truth is God’s truth: as the proverb says. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is suffused with Christianity throughout, while never mentioning it at all (as such). Beauty is an objective thing, grounded in God. Our task is to use to the best of our ability, the talents granted to us by God’s grace and design. I try to keep in mind the “three E’s” in my writing, and would urge others to, also: our writing as Christians ought to be “entertaining, edifying, and educational”: appealing and pleasing respectively to the heart, soul, and mind.

David thank you for taking some time to answer the question sand with such depth and insight. Check out is page of books available and his current special on 15 books as an eBook deal you cannot beat the price.

Books by Dave Armstrong:

“The Catholic Mary”: Quite Contrary to the Bible?
100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura
501 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura: Is the Bible the Only Infallible Authority?
A Biblical Defense of Catholicism
Bible Conversations: Catholic-Protestant Dialogues on the Bible, Tradition, and Salvation
Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths
Biblical Catholic Answers for John Calvin
Biblical Catholic Eucharistic Theology
Biblical Catholic Salvation: “Faith Working Through Love”
Biblical Evidence for the Communion of Saints
Christian Worldview vs. Postmodernism
Development of Catholic Doctrine: Evolution, Revolution, or an Organic Process?
Family Matters: Catholic Theology of the Family
Martin Luther: Catholic Critical Analysis and Praise
Mere Christian Apologetics
More Biblical Evidence for Catholicism
Orthodoxy and Catholicism: A Comparison)
Pensées on Catholic Traditionalism
Protestantism: Critical Reflections of an Ecumenical Catholic
Science and Christianity: Close Partners or Mortal Enemies?
The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants
The Church Fathers Were Catholic: Patristic Evidences for Catholicism Classic Catholic Biblical Apologetics: 1525-1925
The New Catholic Answer Bible
The One-Minute Apologist: Essential Catholic Replies to Over Sixty Common Protestant Claims
The Quotable Newman
The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips & Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton
Top Ten Questions Catholics Are Asked
Twin Scourges: Thoughts on Anti-Catholicism & Theological Liberalism

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