Ben Folds says this song is not meant to be pro-choice or pro-life. It is just something he had to write after going through this experience.
I think this song is true. And by being true, it is pro-life. Sorry Ben.
Honesty about Abortion
November 27, 2009
2 Comments | 
Abortion, Brett Salkeld, Music | 
Permalink
Posted by brettsalkeld
Welcome to Black Friday
November 27, 2009Today is the day – the day of great sacrifice, the day of great salvation. Today, a great multitude of people will go out and celebrate their materialistic salvation, going forth to the altar of consumer sacrifice and giving generous donations to the gods of big business. Today is the day salvation, in which those struggling gods, weakened by the lack of faith shown to them throughout the year, find their flocks return, bringing with them a bounty of treasure, enough to provide their high priests a livelihood for another year. Today is the day, the inverse of Good Friday. Today is Black Friday. Welcome to the darkness which imitates the light. Read the rest of this entry »
13 Comments | 
Henry Karlson | Tagged: Consumerism | 
Permalink
Posted by Henry Karlson
‘Tis the time to liberate, indeed!
November 26, 2009
This is nonsense only Christians could come up with.
Get this. The American Family Association (you know we’re in trouble right there) has initiated a boycott of the GAP and all of its offshoot companies because of this year’s GAP ad campaign which AFA says does not feature “Christmas” prominently enough among other holidays which are also mentioned. Read the rest of this entry »
8 Comments | 
Capitalism, Christmas, Culture of Death, Economics, Economy, Fair Trade, Holidays, Jesus Christ, Justice, Media, Michael Iafrate, Spirituality, TV, Weirdness | 
Permalink
Posted by Michael J. Iafrate
CNN Chooses A Catholic as Hero of the Year
November 26, 2009Efren Penaflorida, a young Catholic from the Philippines has been declared hero of the year for his work educating the poor children of his country and helping them away from gang membership. See the report here.
Are you pro-life? Resist or subvert Thanksgiving.
November 25, 2009I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth. – Theodore Roosevelt
[W]e shall destroy all of them. – Thomas Jefferson, referring to Native peoples
How does a country deal with the fact that some of its most revered historical figures had certain moral values and political views virtually identical to Nazis? – Robert Jensen
Thanksgiving in the united states is a holiday observed by pious Christians without much thought. What could be more Christian than thanking God for the blessings God has given us? The reality of this “secular” feast day is, of course, much less innocent and much more monstrous than we assume.
As I’ve suggested elsewhere in relation to another state holiday, Christians should be very mindful of the “secular” rituals in which they participate and the truth-claims that they embody. In fact, because they embody powerful truth claims that bind together a people in relation to “transcendent” realities, Thanksgiving and other civil “holi-days” (holy days) are indeed not “secular” at all, but are intrinsically religious. More than that, they are idolatrous and pagan in that they give heavy theological significance to the nation-state of the u.s.a.
22 Comments | America, Animals, Culture of Death, Dissent, Eucharist, History, Holidays, Idolatry, Indigenous People, Justice, Michael Iafrate, Nationalism, Patriotism, Politics, Pro-Life, Prophetic Witness, Racism, Radical Catholicism, Spirituality, Terrorism, The State, Truth, Violence, social justice | Permalink
Posted by Michael J. Iafrate
Justice, Freedom and Love
November 25, 2009
Oh Mary. You were a national treasure. Your heart was golden, you sang for justice, freedom and brotherhood, and to top it all off, you were one fabulous babe. RIP, Mary Travers.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Matt Talbot
Quote of the Week: Archpriest Gregory Petroff
November 25, 2009From the Akathist of Thanksgiving:
Into the world I was born as a weak, helpless child, but Your Angel spread wings of light over me, guarding my crib. Ever since then Your love lights all my paths, wonderfully guiding me towards the light of eternity. Gloriously, the generous gifts of Your Providence have been manifest from the very first day. I am thankful to You and with all who have come to know You, call out:
Glory to You, Who called me to life,
Glory to You, Who have shown me the beauty of the universe,
Glory to You, Who have opened before me the sky and the earth as an eternal book of wisdom,
Glory to the eternity of You, in the midst of the world of time,
Glory to You, for Your hidden and evident goodness,
Glory to You, for every sigh of my sadness,
Glory to You, for every step of my life, for every moment of joy,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
Read the whole Akathist and listen to a sample of it being sung here, where you can learn of the extraordinary circumstances in which it was penned.
Leave a Comment » | Quotes | Permalink
Posted by Henry Karlson
I Am NOT a Word: On the Ontological Stupidity of Nomenclature
November 24, 2009To those—including myself in yesterday’s post—who insist on calling me words, here is why I am not.
I tend to be playful about what I call myself. I enjoy the sheer pleasure of trying to be—pretending, in other words—something heterodox to the status quo. We all do. And, invariably, it gets stale and we go some place else and repeat the same process again and again.
Yesterday (linked above) I had one of those moments. I seem to have made a case for something I only talked about casually: post-structural conservatism. Those who have known me for some time might recall my brash assimilation of the entirety of politics into something fundamentally liberal. If I parse-out ‘liberal’ (libertas) and argue for something like “true freedom,” I can still make that argument. But neither name is the real point.
3 Comments | Sam Rocha | Permalink
Posted by samrocha
Rod Dreher on Palin, Israel, and the End Times
November 24, 2009Rod Dreher’s latest post is quite long, but well worth reading. God save us all if ex-governor Palin becomes President:
Did you catch this response Sarah Palin made last week to Barbara Walters, when Walters asked about the West Bank settlements?:
“I disagree with the Obama administration on that. I believe that the Jewish settlements should be allowed to be expanded upon, because that population of Israel is, is going to grow. More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead. And I don’t think that the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand.”
14 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: end times, foreign policy, Mickey, Palin | Permalink
Posted by standmickey
The Machine, Part 1
November 24, 2009There is this conceit among the management class (particularly members of that class who style themselves as left-of-center) that if we just send millions of former workers in our devastated manufacturing sector to college so they can become “knowledge workers” or something, then that will make up for destroying the industries that provided them a decent living. One of former President Clinton’s more annoying habits was to harp on this.
Not to put too fine a point on this, but that plan isn’t going to work, at least not in a place of the scale, history and complexity of the United States. Or, hell, I’ll put a fine point on it after all: it’s a bunch of friggin’ nonsense.
9 Comments | Matt Talbot | Permalink
Posted by Matt Talbot
From the Recent Bishops Meeting in Ghana
November 24, 2009As reported on AllAfrica.com:
The Catholic Bishops of Ghana have condemned certain social crimes such as pedophilia, incest, homosexuality, greed, bribery, corruption, violence, killing of others for the power and wealth infamously referred to as ” sakawa” which have been on the increase in recent times.
[...]
The Conference drew attention to the fact that some Ghanaians have gradually sidelined the imperatives of our culture which included the respect for life and elders, decency, promotion of Justice and peace through dialogues and hospitality.
2 Comments | Africa, News | Permalink
Posted by Henry Karlson
Congratulations, Mr. President!
November 23, 2009Although it largely went below the radar in the United States, the European Union passed another milestone with the selection of Herman Van Rompuy as its first president (well, technically he’s president of the European Council!). Van Rompuy is the Christian Democratic former prime minister of Belgium, a man who is committed to Catholicism and European integration. In this, he follows in the footsteps of the great Christian Democrats who came before him, people like Adenauer, Schuman, and de Gespari. As Austen Ivereigh notes, this is a man who once gave a talk on Caritas in Veritate, and made the following remarks:
“According to [Catholic] social doctrine, the political community is at the service of the civil society from which it is born. Civil society represents the sum total of the goods, cultural or relational, which are relatively independent of politics and the economy. The state should make sure that the legal framework allows the social actors (societies, associations, organisations, and so on) to carry out their activities in total freedom; it should be ready to intervene, only if needed and in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity, in order that the interaction between freedom of association and the democratic way leads in the direction of the common good.”
Could you imagine an American political leader, of any party, giving such a speech? There is really no authentic Christian Democratic tradition in the United States, merely two variants of liberalism. What many forget is that the European Union was a fundamentally Catholic idea, twinning anti-nationalist instincts with notions of subsidiarity. We should support it.
11 Comments | Europe, Morning's Minion, Politics | Tagged: Christian Democracy | Permalink
Posted by Morning's Minion
Liberalism is a Bunch of Lies: Or, Why Rush Limbaugh is Right about Being Wrong
November 23, 2009To those who insist on calling me a liberal: Here is the reason I am not.
During my routine listening to 610 AM radio this afternoon, I caught the recap from Rush Limbaugh’s first hour. He summed it up this way: “Liberalism is a bunch of lies.” And, truth be told, I agree.
The problem is that both parties are decidedly committed to liberalism. They may vary in certain degrees; there are pre/anti-Rawlsian classical liberals of many libertarian stripes on the one hand, and social democratic progressives of all kinds that seem to take the point of Rawls’ Theory of Justice (or Marx, as the case may be) seriously on the other, but, make no mistake: There are no real conservatives out there today.
Many will want to accuse me of word-switching here, but I do not think that is the case. Let me give two very simple—and historically accurate, as far as I know—summaries of liberalism and conservatism.
17 Comments | Liberalism, Politics, Sam Rocha | Permalink
Posted by samrocha
Vox Nova at the Library: Out of My Bone, The Letters of Joy Davidman
November 23, 2009Like many others, C. S. Lewis has been an inspiration for my life. When I was in high school, his essay “On the Reading of Old Books” led me to the writings of the Church Fathers. He told us to read primary sources, because we can understand them without secondary commentary. He was right to a point (secondary commentary helps highlight aspects which we might otherwise overlook and it puts the text into context so we do not misread it anachronistically). Like many others (such as Walter Hooper), Lewis’ writings helped lead me to think about theology differently, and he helped lead me to the Catholic Church. The irony of this, of course, is that Lewis never became Catholic, had no interest in becoming Catholic, and was instinctively hostile to the thought of becoming Catholic. His good friend, J.R.R. Tolkien, believed Lewis’ Irish-Protestant background caused Lewis to hold to various anti-Catholic prejudices, and this prevented him from taking the challenges of Catholicism seriously. Lewis did not like the pressure that his friends, be it Tolkien or Dom. Bede Griffiths, put on him to become Catholic. Yet, his ecumenical approach led him to form friendships and relationships with Catholics that let him appreciate the faith of his friends, even if he never did approve of the Catholic Church itself.
For many years, I’ve wrestled with this relationship Lewis has had with Catholicism. Now, with the release of Joy Davidman’s letters in the book, Out of My Bone, I feel I have seen another side of Lewis and understand more as to why he could never become Catholic.[1] Despite the friendships he had with Catholics, his greater circle of friends and loved ones reinforced his anti-Catholic bias. Joy, indeed, seems to have had far more influence on Lewis than we might otherwise have known. She helped reinforce attitudes by having them herself. Indeed, it seems her influence led Lewis to become more willing to bend religious rules than he did before he met her, which is why he would eventually look for and find a priest to marry him to Joy despite the fact that Joy was unable to get an annulment from her first marriage (when Lewis married her secularly, he did hope it would lead to a religious ceremony, and they were trying to get an annulment, even before she got cancer).
Out of My Bone provides us an up close and personal view of Joy Davidman. Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Books, Henry Karlson, Inklings | Permalink
Posted by Henry Karlson
Truth Doesn’t Matter Much to Nihilists
November 22, 2009From John McCain:
“I remain committed to opposing any bill that puts your health care decisions in the hands of government bureaucrats while adding more than a trillion dollars to our country’s deficit. Taxpayers simply cannot afford this government takeover of our health care system and this is our opportunity to put an end to it.”
To which Ezra Klein asks the obvious:
“That’s interesting, I guess, but what about the bill being considered by the Senate, which cuts $130 billion from our country’s deficit and leaves health-care decisions exactly where they are now, wherever that might be?”
5 Comments | Health Care, Healthcare, Morning's Minion | Permalink
Posted by Morning's Minion
An article every American should read…and a prayer
November 22, 2009There are some pretty scary statistics contained in AlterNet’s 15 Signs American Society Is Coming Apart at the Seams. A sample:
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, America, chastisement, injustice, Mickey, Torture | Permalink
Posted by standmickey
Vox Nova at the Jazz Concert: Miles Davis. So What?
November 21, 2009
Something for the weekend. Here are Miles Davis and John Coltrane in a live performance of the opening track of the classic and most popular of all jazz albums, Kind of Blue.
3 Comments | Culture, Mark DeFrancisis, Music | Permalink
Posted by markdefrancisis
Let’s Get a Few Things Straight (Yet More on Abortion and Health Insurance)
November 20, 2009I’m going to repeat some things that I think need repeating. I’ve seen far too much fuzzy logic on the relationship between the taxpayer and abortion.
The basic premise is that we want to erect as high a wall as possible between each and every abortion and taxpayer involvement. A worthy aim, even if the taxpayer is complicit in other morally dubious acts, especially related to military spending – but I’ll let that pass for now. But if we think there is no subsidization of abortion today, we are kidding ourselves. The famous Guttmacher study showed that 13 percent of abortions are billed to medicaid, about the same as to private insurers – clearly, the Hyde rule can be bypassed quite easily at the state level. This is a direct relationship. More indirectly, the government provides funds to Planned Parenthood, on the understanding that this money does not fund abortion. But again, if you use the fungibility argument that many are using in the current debate, then this practice too is unacceptable. Medicare doesn’t fund abortions of course, but it makes payments to plenty of hospitals that do.
And I have not even mentioned the elephant in the room. Every year, the government spends $250 billion to make employer-sponsored health insurance tax-free. This is an indirect subsidy, but still a subsidy, and a huge one at that. And since private insurance coverage of abortion is widespread, this amounts to the indirect subsidization of abortion on a huge scale. Why do we not hear much about this? Largely, because people don’t understand the economic nature of a subsidy, which is to change the relative price of some good, making it cheaper than it otherwise would be.
31 Comments | Abortion, Health Care, Healthcare, Morning's Minion | Permalink
Posted by Morning's Minion
Quote of the Week: William James
November 20, 2009Man is too helpless against cosmic forces, unless there be a wider Ally. Religion, the belief in that wider Ally, has thus the simplest of motives. Its arguments for me lie in the conviction that our normal experience is only a fraction, and in mystical phenomena. But by this extension of experience only possibilities are opened, and what most men want are certainties.
From Notes for a Metaphysical Summary, 1903-1904
Leave a Comment » | Quotes, Sam Rocha | Permalink
Posted by samrocha
St Maximus the Confessor Shows Us Why We Cannot Rely Upon the Church Fathers Alone
November 20, 2009I really like St Maximus; he is one of my favorite saints and one of my favorite patristic writers. There is much within his works that inspire me and my own theological development. Yet, he was a man of his time (the 7th century). And in this time, their understanding of human biology was woeful at best. Perhaps the best way to show this is to explore a quote of St Maximus on abortion:
Question 28 (III, 7): What is the meaning of the passage about the woman who is struck and ‘has an abortion,’ and ‘if the child comes out perfectly formed’ the law declares that the one who struck [her] must give ‘life for life.’ But if the child falls out unformed, [why] is it only an accident?
Literally, we understand the passage in this way: since the murder is of the body — for a soul, being immortal, is never murdered – for this reason ‘being not perfectly formed’ into the human form does not entail to danger but only mild damage. But if the human image is fully developed, it is reasonable to see such a person as committing the murder of a perfect human being [1].
We now know more about the biological processes going on during pregnancy. We know that human life exists at the time of conception, long before the embryo looks human. In the time of St Maximus, they did not have the means to investigate the process, and they assumed that life began when the fetus was in human form. If we find the ancients could be wrong on something so fundamental as when human life was formed in the womb, we can understand why their other opinions are not always to have a hold on us as well (something which those who quote patristic sources to make an argument against evolution fail to understand).
The Church Fathers are an important witness of the faith of the Church, but that witness must be understood within its proper context. They are not the final authority by which we know the dogmas of the faith — rather, they are a witness of our faith, and show us the difficulty we all face, in all times and places, to properly declare that faith in a way which is comprehensive and valid.
Footnotes
[1] St Maximus the Confessor, Questions and Doubts. Trans. Despina D. Prassas (DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2010), 57.
[1] St Maximus the Confessor, Questions and Doubts. Trans. Despina D. Prassas (DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2010), 57.
5 Comments | Abortion, Henry Karlson, History | Permalink
Posted by Henry Karlson
The Story of Occor the Monster
November 19, 2009Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a monster named Occor. Occor was the nicest and prettiest thing to be found in the entire forest. Everyday he would weave through the trees greeting whatever animals he met. Often, creatures of all kinds would come out to say hello as they heard him approaching. As he would make his way through the forest, songbirds would strike a pleasant tune and Occor would hum a simple melody. This soft, harmonious greeting would often end disagreements and bickering and is even said to have opened hearts to true love. For this reason, Occor never had to work to find food or drink; he just wandered and found everything he needed as he went. As the seasons changed, Occor met different friends who were always happy to share what they had with him. As they saw it, it was worth the joy he brought with him. After all, Occor was the nicest and prettiest thing to be found in the entire forest.
Leave a Comment » | Fiction, Sam Rocha | Permalink
Posted by samrocha
In All Things Charity: On the Pursuit of the Virtues with a Special Reflection on Christian Vegetarianism
November 19, 2009In the path we are to follow which leads to our deification, we are expected to grow in knowledge and virtue, though never at the expense of love:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.
For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love (2Peter 1:3:-7).
We must remember that in the pursuit of virtue, love is the highest virtue, and the principle by which all other activities must be judged. Read the rest of this entry »
5 Comments | Animals, Henry Karlson, Holiness, Love | Permalink
Posted by Henry Karlson
Harry Reid kills health care reform
November 18, 2009Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled his health care plan today, and according to Politico, it incorporates the language of the Capps Amendment on federal funding of abortion.
The bill grants the secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to determine whether federal money is being used to fund abortions under the public plans, but doesn’t ban those plans from offering the coverage. Reid’s bill also explicitly requires insurers to separate private premiums from any public subsidies used to pay for that coverage to assure taxpayer dollars aren’t used to fund the procedure – which, as we all know by now, is prohibited under the Hyde Amendment[...]the bill also requires each exchange to offer one plan that provides abortion coverage and one that doesn’t – a major sticking point for critics of the original House language. California Rep. Lois Capps, who tried to hatch a compromise on the Energy and Commerce Committee, commended Reid’s language, saying, “I am pleased that the Senate has adopted a reasonable, common ground approach on this difficult question. It appears that their approach closely mirrors my language which was originally included in the House bill.”
Various sources have indicated that the only two pro-life Democrats in the Senate, Ben Nelson and Bob Casey, are willing to accept this compromise.
35 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, Health Care, Mickey, Stupak Amendment | Permalink
Posted by standmickey
Joseph Cao, Ignatian Spirituality, and Health Care
November 18, 2009From an incredible interview with National Jesuit News:
“I still use the Ignatian methods almost every day, from examination of conscience back to the methods of the 30 day retreat. I do that very often. Using the whole process of discernment to see where the Sprit is moving me has been extremely important, especially in my recent decision to support the health care reform plan. The Jesuit emphasis on social justice, the fact that we have to advocate for the poor, for the widow, for those who cannot help themselves, plays a very significant part. But at the end of the day, I believe that it’s up to, at least from my perspective, understanding what does my conscience say, how is the Spirit moving me. I use that almost every day in my decision making process. The issues that we contend with in Congress affect every single person here in the United States, so I want to make sure that my decisions are based on good principals and good morals.
For example, right before the [health care] vote, I actually went to Mass and I prayed. And the theme of the day was one of the readings from Isaiah. The priest gave the homily about be not afraid, so I really felt a personal touch during this homily, that this homily was meant for me. I was going through a lot of turmoil, debating on what was the right decision, knowing the fact that if I were to vote ‘yes’, I would be the most hated Republican in the country. [laughs]. So, it was a tough discernment process but I felt during the Mass that it was speaking directly to me. It gave me the strength to say ‘yes, you have to make the right decision’ and ‘be not afraid’ to do it because ‘I will go before you’ so that is why I supported the bill knowing the fact that I would be the only one.”
Hat tip: Fr. James Martin.
18 Comments | Health Care, Healthcare, Morning's Minion, Politics | Permalink
Posted by Morning's Minion
Henryk Gorecki: Totus Tuus
November 17, 2009
Composed (1983) for John Paul II’s third visit to his homeland, Totus Tuus is a good example Of Henryk Gorecki’s music, with its unabashed simplicity and undisguised roots in Polish Catholic chant.
Totus Tuus sum Maria,/Mater nostri Redemptoris,/Virgo Dei, Virgo pia,/ Mater mundi Salvatoris
I dedicate myself to you, O Mary,/Mother of our Redeemer,/Virgin of God, virgin holy,/Mother of the Saviour of the world.
2 Comments | Art, Faith, Mark DeFrancisis, Mary | Permalink
Posted by markdefrancisis
For discussion: single-payer without abortion funding
November 17, 2009MM’s most recent post led me to come up with an interesting thought experiment (some iterations of which I believe have been proposed before by some of our commentators). Let’s say the Democrats proposed a single-payer system that completely ended private insurance. Let’s say that Bart Stupak and Ben Nelson attached an amendment to this proposal that would ban the single payer from covering any form of abortion (including the morning-after pill) for any reason. This would, of course, put an end to both private and public coverage of abortion. Would pro-life Republican Senators and representatives be obligated to vote for the bill regardless of other qualms they might have about the merits of the single payer system? If not (i.e. if it would be legitimate for them to vote against the bill in order to avoid “socialism” despite the objective good that it would do in ending any public and corporate funding of abortion), then how do groups like Priests for Life and ALL justify the claim that a pro-life voter may not vote against a pro-life candidate for any reason? It gets more interesting if we point out that the average voter’s proximity to the evil of abortion (regardless of who they end up voting for) is far more remote than the average politician’s.
20 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Abortion, Health Care, Mickey | Permalink
Posted by standmickey
More on Abortion in Health Insurance
November 17, 2009This debate is moving into a rather fascinating area. Until this debate, I knew nothing about the extent to which private insurance companies paid for abortion. I admit it. If you told me it was never covered, I would have believed it. And the vehemence of the opposition to abortion coverage in plans in the exchange suggested that it was rare, if not non-existent, in the private sector.
Except that it isn’t. We have entered a phase in the debate whereby people are arguing over private coverage of abortion. The source of the data is the Guttmacher Institute. They claim that 87 percent of employer-based insurance plans cover some form of abortion, and they say specifically that plans that restrict their coverage to the hard cases (rape, incest, life of mother) are rare. On the other hand, Guttmacher says that only 13 percent of abortions are directly billed by abortion providers to private insurance companies. There could be many reasons for the difference, including restrictions in the plan, the private nature of abortion, and seeking reimbursement directlty.
16 Comments | Abortion, Health, Health Care, Morning's Minion | Permalink
Posted by Morning's Minion
A Greater Triumph
November 17, 2009Those certain that there’s no hope for committed jihadists to renounce their murderous ideology and no hope for the West but to destroy the jihadists would do well to read this fascinating piece by Johann Hari in which he interviews three ex-jihadists and one jihadist who remains unrepentant but is clearly burned by the “fire of certainty.” There’s much to digest in Hari’s writing, from the circumstances that led these people to embrace jihad to the affects of our foreign policy on their propaganda, but I was most intrigued and given hope by the small, seemingly insignificant moments that moved them to ultimately renounce Islamism. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Kyle R. Cupp, Terrorism | Permalink
Posted by Kyle R. Cupp
Terrorism and the Language of War
November 16, 2009Matthew Yglesias’ argument against responding to international terrorism in the manners and metaphors of war makes sense to me. He writes that in approaching terrorism within the framework of war, “you partake of way too much of the terrorists’ narrative about themselves.” He continues:
It’s their conceit, after all, that blowing up a bomb in a train station and killing a few hundred random commuters is an act of war. And war is a socially sanctioned form of activity, generally held to be a legally and morally acceptable framework in which to kill people. What we want to say, however, is that this sporadic commuter-killing isn’t a kind of war, it’s an act of murder. To be sure, not an ordinary murder—a mass murder—but nonetheless murder. It’s true that if al-Qaeda were something like the “blowing up train stations” arm of a major country with which we were otherwise at war, it might make the most sense to think of al-Qaeda as fitting in with spies and saboteurs; criminal adjuncts to a warrior enterprise.
I suppose if we didn’t think of ourselves as at war with terrorists, then we might be less likely to go to war against countries under the banner of that war on terror. That would be a good thing. I suppose as well that this debate about language would be less of an issue if we didn’t generally hold war to be a legally and morally acceptable framework in which to kill people. That would be a good thing too.
5 Comments | Kyle R. Cupp, Language, Violence, War and Peace | Permalink
Posted by Kyle R. Cupp
(Un)Ethical Hunting
November 16, 2009So on opening day of rifle season, Gov. Pawlenty of Minnesota wounded a deer, failed to track it down, and then went off to a fundraiser while his staff attempted to find the animal he shot.
As a hunter, this is one of those things that gets me steamed. To wound an animal and then neglect to track it down is one of the more egregious violations of hunting ethics, and is grossly irresponsible, especially if you are an authority figure. Once you put a bullet in a deer, you have a moral obligation to immediately track that animal down and finish it off – both to end its suffering, and to ensure that the meat isn’t wasted. Pawlenty apparently found blood but no buck at the place he last saw the animal, but rather than immediately begin tracking the wounded animal he returned to camp to “ponder his next move?” No, Governor: you know (or should know) that your “next move” is to, right then, track down that animal and end its suffering. Sending your staff out to beat the brush after breakfast isn’t nearly good enough. He’s not only neglecting his own responsibilities; he’s also setting a bad example for young hunters. If one of my hunting buddies did that, he would never be invited back.
5 Comments | Hunting, Matt Talbot | Permalink
Posted by Matt Talbot
From the Pulpit in DC
November 16, 2009In all likelihood, you know by now about the rift between the archdiocese of Washington and the DC city council over what the latter thinks is an issue of gay rights, but really relates to religious freedom. First off, the Church really needs some better communications people. The archdiocese got killed in the media over this. Why? The Washington Post spun it as the Church punishing the homeless because they hate gay people. Cue, the big bad Catholic church, the inquisition, and the nazi pope. Of course, if a Post reporter ventured into one of the many black baptist churches in southeast DC, I’m pretty sure he or she would hear far more aggressive rhetoric against homosexuality, but the Post will never go there, will it?
23 Comments | Morning's Minion | Permalink
Posted by Morning's Minion
Why not consecrate beer and pizza?
November 16, 2009“John Macquarrie indicates something of the wealth of meaning in the Eucharist as a symbol:
The Eucharist sums up in itself Christian worship, experience and theology in an amazing richness. It seems to include everything. . . . It combines Word and Sacrament; its appeal is to spirit and to sense; it brings together the sacrifice of Calvary and the presence of the risen Christ; it is communion with God and communion with man; it covers the whole gamut of religious moods and emotions. Again, it teaches the doctrine of creation, as the bread, the wine, and ourselves are brought to God; the doctrine of atonement, for these gifts have to be broken in order that they may be perfected; the doctrine of salvation, for the Eucharist has to do with incorporation into Christ and the sanctification of human life; above all, the doctrine of incarnation, for it is no distant God whom Christians worship but one who has made himself accessible in the world. The Eucharist also gathers up in itself the meaning of the Church; its whole action implies and sets forth our mutual interdependence in the body of Christ; it unites us with the Church of the past and even, through its paschal overtones, with the first people of God, Israel; and it points to the eschatological consummation of the kingdom of God, as an anticipation of the heavenly banquet. Comprehensive though this description is, it is likely that I have missed something out, for the Eucharist seem to be inexhaustible.”
Quoted in, Avery Dulles, Models of Revelation, Orbis Books, 1983, p. 140.
In other words, though Flannery O’Connor captures very poignantly a central Catholic Catholic conviction when she protests against someone treating the Eucharist as if it were only a symbol, we must not take from that affirmation that the Eucharist is not a symbol at all. If it were not a symbol, it could not be a sacrament. If transubstantiation were just a divine magic trick, beer and pizza would work just fine.
22 Comments | Brett Salkeld, Eucharist, Sacraments | Permalink
Posted by brettsalkeld
Flannery O’Connor on the Eucharist
November 15, 2009Well, toward morning the conversation turned on the Eucharist, which I, being the Catholic, was obviously supposed to defend. [Mary McCarthy] said when she was a child and received the Host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the ‘most portable’ person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, ‘Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.’ That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.
–From the author’s letter to her anonymous friend “A.”
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Eucharist, Flannery O'Connor, Mickey | Permalink
Posted by standmickey
The Salvadoran Martyrs – November 16, 1989 – Twenty Years
November 15, 2009
Celina Ramos
Elba Julia Ramos
Ignacio Ellacuria, SJ
Amando Lopez, SJ
Joaquin Lopez y Lopez, SJ
Ignacio Martin-Baro, SJ
Segundo Montes, SJ
Juan Ramon Moreno, SJ
+
Martyred November 16, 1989
El Salvador
The developed world is not at all the desired utopia, even as a way to overcome poverty, much less to overcome injustice. Indeed, it is a sign of what should not be and of what should not be done.
We must turn this sinful history upside down, and out of poverty we must build a civilization in which all can have life and dignity.
- Ignacio Ellacuria, SJ
10 Comments | El Salvador, Latin America, Liberation Theology, Martyrdom, Michael Iafrate, Saints, Society of Jesus, Spirituality, Terrorism, The State, Utopia | Permalink
Posted by Michael J. Iafrate
Arvo Part: Magnificat
November 14, 2009
I stumbled upon today this interesting video accompaniment to Arvo Part’s Magnificat. I have already posted on Vox-Nova the Estonian composer’s wonderful Te Deum and Spiegel im Spiegel, both of which were well received. Again, Part is often placed with Tavener and Gorecki as proponents of a mystical or religious minimalism. See if this work, along with the video, moves you.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by markdefrancisis
Marx Criticizes Capitalism
November 13, 2009OK, the Marx in question is not Karl (or Groucho for that matter), but the archbishop of Munich and Freising, Reinhard Marx. According to John Allen, he had some choice words for the American right. Asked about the peculiar inclination of American neo-conservatives to reflexively oppose government involvement in the marekt, he noted that while the Church supported “freedom, democracy, and pluralism,” that position “has nothing to do with reducing Christianity to religious ideology propping up the market economy.” Somebody tell Michael Novak.
He also makes a point close to my heart: “[Capitalism] doesn’t conserve social and cultural situations as it found them, it changes them and often distorts them by introducing new paradigms and clichés.” Indeed, what the neo-cons claim as conservative dogma is really a reflection of radical individualism, a bastard child of the enlightenment, and condemned by the Church alongside radical collectivism as the “twin rocks of shipwreck“. As many will no doubt note, the Church does not condemn the free market per se. That is true. But the market must be underpinned by caritas, by solidarity, by respect for each and every person. A reflexive stance against “big government” in favor of “individual freedom” strays from these values. What is really a means to an end becomes a rigid ideology. And I believe it is this rigid ideology that turns archbishop Marx against the American neo-conservative position.
Marx also praises the social market. He claimed that ”it’s part of the solution to the problem” and that what saved Germany during the recent global economic crisis is “a welfare state that works: insurance for the unemployed, benefits for those laid off, support for those with odd jobs, public health care.” This is the foundation of social democracy and indeed, christian democracy. This kind of statement would not be news to Catholics in any country outside the United States, but as American Catholics have drifted ever further from their roots toward the dominant individualist ethic, toward the dominant Protestant culture, this divergence is bound to happen.
3 Comments | Capitalism, Economics, Economy, Morning's Minion | Permalink
Posted by Morning's Minion
The Machinery of Night
November 13, 2009Sometimes the pessimist in me fears that our country may be too asleep from mindless, pornographic entertainment and the failure of the decadent, cozy-with-the-powerful, corrupted remains of the Fourth Estate to care much about the potential utter ruination of America as a democratic republic.
Maybe the Powerful in America have figured out that you don’t need to be a formal autocracy to rule the world and your citizens as an empire; you just need to keep the plebes busy with porn and “When Planes Crash” -style “reality” television and gladiatorial contests and bread and circuses. Just keep their reptilian brains busy and stimulated enough so they don’t notice their increasing powerlessness and slavery – they just feel free because they vote every few years for candidates, none of whom pose any real threat to the lever-pullers controlling the Machinery of Night (to borrow a phrase from Allen Ginsberg) that binds their souls and enacts their slavery.
Or, maybe Americans will begin to talk to one another about the danger posed to their freedom by ceaseless propaganda-in-service-of-empire, and turn off their televisions and porn and stop eating themselves into gaseous stupors, so they can look hard enough to actually see what’s really going on all around them.
6 Comments | Matt Talbot | Permalink
Posted by Matt Talbot
New London Still Manages to Lose In Kelo
November 13, 2009“Look what they did,” Mr. Cristofaro said on Thursday. “They stole our home for economic development. It was all for Pfizer, and now they get up and walk away.”
That sentiment has been echoing around New London since Monday, when Pfizer, the giant drug company, announced it would leave the city just eight years after its arrival led to a debate about urban redevelopment that rumbled through the United States Supreme Court, and reset the boundaries for governments to seize private land for commercial use.
Pfizer said it would pull 1,400 jobs out of New London within two years and move most of them a few miles away to a campus it owns in Groton, Conn., as a cost-cutting measure.
- New York Times
I didn’t share much of the outrage others had at the time of the Kelo decision. I support eminent domain in principle. I have grown fickle over the years of the promise of corporate saviors. This corporate savior is skipping town.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by M.Z.
Jane Kenyon: Notes from the Other Side
November 13, 2009I divested myself of despair
and fear when I came here.
Now there is no more catching
one’s own eye in the mirror,
there are no bad books, no plastic,
no insurance premiums, and of course
no illness. Contrition
does not exist, nor gnashing
of teeth. No one howls as the first
clod of earth hits the casket.
The poor we no longer have with us.
Our calm hearts strike only the hour,
and God, as promised, proves
to be mercy clothed in light.
2 Comments | Faith, Mark DeFrancisis, Poetry | Permalink
Posted by markdefrancisis
Žižek on Job
November 13, 2009This is the last of my videos of Žižek from the AAR.
What do you think of his interpretation of Job? Is he following Chesterton properly?
5 Comments | Academics, Henry Karlson | Permalink
Posted by Henry Karlson
