Reconversion: "Showgirls" screenwriter rediscovers his Catholic faith

This is the type of story that brings a tear to the eye of movie producers... when they realize that one of their oil wells has dried up and become a spring bubbling forth natural fresh water.

Joe Eszterhas, who wrote the memorable screenplays for Showgirls and Basic Instinct among others, has returned to his Catholic faith. Listen to an interview with him on NPR. He has a book out titled Crossbearer, and he has a new screenplay written about the life of St. Paul.

[H/T: Eric Pavlat @ Inside Catholic]

News: Dr. Beckwith speaks to NCR on his return to Rome

From National Catholic Register, May 29, 2007:

Looking back, and knowing what I know now, I believe that the Church’s weakness was presenting the renewal movements as something new and not part of the Church’s theological traditions.

For someone like me, who was interested in both the spiritual and intellectual grounding of the Christian faith, I didn’t need the “folk Mass” with cute nuns and hip priests playing “Kumbaya” with guitars, tambourines and harmonicas. And it was all badly done.

After all, we listened to the Byrds, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, and we knew the Church just couldn’t compete with them.

But that’s what the Church offered to the young people of my day: lousy pop music and a gutted Mass. If they were trying to make Catholicism unattractive to young and inquisitive Catholics, they were succeeding.

What I needed, and what many of us desired, were intelligent and winsome ambassadors for Christ who knew the intellectual basis for the Catholic faith, respected and understood the solemnity and theological truths behind the liturgy, and could explain the renewal movements in light of these.

News: President of the Evangelical Theological Society returns to Rome

Dr. Francis Beckwith, the (former) president of the Evangelical Theological Society, has returned home to Rome. Since the ETS seeks to keep Catholics out via its statement of faith (which a Catholic would agree with), Dr. Beckwith will probably not be maintaining his membership much longer.

The responses are varied. Some non-Catholics are furious, disappointed, and regretful. Other non-Catholics are sympathetic and encouraging. All the Catholics are overjoyed -- surprise, surprise. One wonders if some of the non-Catholics are now sure that Dr. Beckwith was never saved to begin with, if he's gone off and joined the "pagan church". There's a fair share of ignorance of the Catholic faith in the comments on Dr. Beckwith's blog article, regarding the history of the Biblical canon, the saving work of Christ on the cross, justification (yes, Catholics believe we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, cf. Eph 2:8), and other topics.

Pray for him and his family. The angels and saints around the throne of God are doing the same; you'll be in good company.