Actually… Tarot/Tarocchi cards were originally supposed to be all about Christian and philosophical symbolism in human development, sorta like The Game of Life or Monopoly uses symbolism. Although a lot of the cards had different names and pictures than the ones common today in occult circles. (The Waite deck is sorta trying hard to get rid of all that tarocchi cake while eating it too.)

If you want something a bit more romantic, there’s also C.S. Lewis’ buddy Charles Williams, who wrote a whole novel with Christian tarot symbolism.

That said, playing tarocchi card games is fun, but divination is un-Christian.

You know, there are probably actual quotes from the Bible condemning about half of that list of “spiritualities”. Yet obviously, the person writing the flyer has no clue that this is so.

Thank Heavens! At last–the last act of a very bad play begins. Soon now . . .

It interesting to read this story after reading another “whore of babylon” comment at the oh-so-civil Titusonenine.

By the way, the guy who made that linked comment once denied the fallen state of humanity, dismissing the witness of Genesis 1-3. Heresy and spiritual pride are truly a pair!

“Soon now . . .”

And the sooner, the better.

I was thinking of being in Manchester around then but I decided to delay my trip. Looks like I won’t be missing much.

Last year they had some Lenten artwork, or maybe it was stations of the cross. Either way it was unidentifiable and ugly as sin. Maybe the artist and the Cathedral thought hideously ugly art was a fitting Lenten fast from the luxury of beauty.

Sounds like the usual gang of “re-enactors” and “exhibitors” that you’d find at a “Medieval Faire” – in other words, it doesn’t really have to fit the venue, but these vendors gotta make a buck any way they can.

I have no idea what “readings” using a Jesus Deck involve and, frankly, I don’t want to know.

I’m guessing: Jesus loves you just the way you are!

http://sallysjourney.typepad.com/sallys_journey/2009/04/the-jesus-deck.html

bet ya have to look!

I was feeling a bit down, but the silliness of all this gave me a good laugh. At least CofE/TEC are still good for something.

“Personality profiling” and “labyrinths” sound like presentations ripe for pop psychology and bad history, to say nothing of new-age “religion.”

FW Ken, that guy of “whore of Babylon” fame is an odd bird, I think. According to postings from a few years ago, he had discovered that his ACA bishop and (possibly) priest were heading towards the Roman option without being straightforward about it with parishioners. This was unfortunately not an uncommon experience in that group. Whereas in Australia the TAC was completely open about its intentions, some ACA leaders tried to keep it quiet. This guy may already have been fairly anti-Catholic, pushed into the rabid ranks by bitter experience in his home church. Doesn’t excuse it, of course.

Katherine -

I’ve read enough of his comments that I know he claims that, but never believed (or disbelieved) it. However, if you say its gone on, then I can believe it. There seems to be a lot of ambivalence in the ACA in general about the Ordinariate, which could be some of the source of what appears to be underhandedness. Which doesn’t excuse that, of course.

Katherine & Ken,

Larry Morse is indeed an odd duck. He is (or was) a member of the Portland, Maine, ACA parish, and yet he has criticized those who leave the Episcopal Church as, effectively, deserters. His theological views, as expressed at SF and T19 seem to be an odd mixture of quasi-deistic rationalism (he has attacked, both biliously and ignorantly, Catholic “Marian dogmas” and the ideal of ascetical celibacy) and conservative generic Christian moral views.

On the other hand, there seems to have been, shall we say, some “economy with the truth” in that Portland parish about the goals and aspirations of the ACA vis-a-vis Rome. I saw a newspaper report from a Maine newspaper some years ago in which some ACA or TAC dignitary was reported to have stated at that church that what the TAC was seeking was “an intercommunion agreement” with Rome similar to that reached between the Church of England and the Union of Utrecht Old Catholic churches in 1931, which, if accurately reported, was either a lie or an amazingly ignorant assertion. Then, too, the ACA’s Diocese of the Northeast seems to be the most solidly opposed of all the ACA’s dioceses to Anglicanorum Coetibus, and its bishop seems to have shaped his own views to suit those of his flock.

I had a brief e-mail exchange with Mr. Morse, who solicited my thoughts on these matters, a couple of years ago. I gave them, and suggested that, given his views, he perhaps ought to investigate the local Missouri Synod Lutheran congregations. It does not appear that he has done this, although in all honesty it is not easy to work out from his various comments whether he is an Episcopalian or a Continuing Anglican.

Paraphrase GK CHESTERTON: “Those who cease to believe in God do not believe in nothing,but will believe in anything.”

As for the” “whore of babylon” Paraphrase Bishop Fulton Sheen: “Millions hate the Catholic Church for what they think it is but only a handful do so for what it really is.”

ooo “fire breathing”! Sounds like they’re trying to get used to something…. oh, never mind, it’s too easy.

I was short-stacked and went all-in, and luckily I caught my fifth Luke on the river. Praise the Lord!

I don’t actually mind the “Christian symbolism of gemstones” because this is a perfectly acceptable mediaeval practice; however, you all know that I get twitchy about “Celtic” anything and if they’re dragging in Celtic saints, somehow I get the impression it will be the ‘hello trees, hello sky’ version of Celtic Christianity (and not, say, the asceticism of the Skellig Michael monks, or the call to confession and penance of St. Columbanus, or indeed the tendency remarked upon by Gerald of Wales for Celtic and particularly Irish saints to have short tempers and to lay curses on all who offended or displeased them).

Also, the modern day notion of angels gives me hives. Fluffy bunny nonsense on stilts.

I like tarot decks myself and even collected a few, but the Jesus Deck is – as that link says – really bad art

And in other news:

http://www.zenit.org/article-32164?l=english