The self-defense sketch by Monty Python is so good, so funny, because of its apparent absurdity. Read the rest of this entry »
Which Will You Seek: The Peace of the World or the Peace of Christ?
September 2, 2010
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Eternal Memory, O Lord: Raimon Panikkar
August 31, 2010As announced on the National Catholic Reporter, Raimon Panikkar died on August 26:
Professor Raimon Panikkar, one of the greatest scholars of the 20th century in the areas of comparative religion, theology, and inter-religious dialogue, died at his home in Tavertet, near Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 26. He was 91.
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Wisdom: Platonic and Christian
August 30, 2010In a letter lamenting human folly, Marsilio Ficino presents many examples, such as when he said, “The magistrates forbid murder, and allow instruments for killing men to be made everywhere.”[1] Ficino points to an obvious fact: as long as we provide the means for sin, such as murder, we should not be surprised such sins occur. Moreover, if we do not properly prepare people to a life of virtue, which includes the practice of prudence, we should not be surprised that they will take what is offered them and use it to their detriment. “They desire an excellent crop of men, yet they do not take sufficient care of the seedling, that is the child.”[2] This is manifest, he points out, in how we pursue our own selfish gains, no matter who it hurts. We value money more than anything else:
How many people will you find who value a man as much as money; who cultivate themselves in the same way as they cultivate their fields and other affairs; who bring up the family with as much care as many rear their horses, dogs and birds; who consider how grave is the waste of time? In spending money we are very mean, in expending time we are extravagant beyond measure. How many can you name who recognise the poverty of their soul?[3]
Ficino’s words should remind us as to what is central to our lives. Read the rest of this entry »
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Beck’s Selective Use of Christian Theology Misconstrues Christianity
August 29, 2010Glenn Beck routinely equivocates when dealing with theological issues, and in doing so, misleads many of his adherents. He is a dangerous demagogue because of his misrepresentation of Christian theology and the way people who should know better end up following him and his ideology.
One of his criticisms of President Obama is that Obama holds to “liberation theology,” and tell us that Pope Benedict calls liberation theology “demonic.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Another Prayer Request For My Father
August 27, 2010On Monday, he will be going in to the hospital, and will be in there for several weeks, being given a very intensive form of chemotherapy where the doctors will continuously monitor him. Please pray this will work and put him into remission!
Thank you.
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The Authority of God Is Proven By Love
August 23, 2010In Scripture, Jesus is many times asked to prove himself to others. That is, they wanted to know whether or not he is the messiah whom Israel expected. Jesus, it would seem, gives different answers to different people, somewhat appearing to contradict himself. For example, when Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, they wanted him to prove himself by showing his power and might. Therefore, they asked Jesus to show them a sign. If he did so, that is, if he showed such power and authority that he could take on the legions of Rome, it is clear that they would be willing to follow him; he would have met their expectations. But his response indicates that he does not want to do this; he says he will give them a sign, and indeed, it will be a sign from heaven — it will be the sign of Jonah:
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, `It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, `It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed (RSV Matt 16:1-4).
When St John the Baptist was in prison, John, in his own trial of faith, began to have doubts about Jesus. He sent some of his disciples, asking Jesus to reveal whether or not he had been mistaken. Jesus’ reply is that he was indeed the one John expected, that John was not mistaken, and he had given signs to prove it:
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me’” (RSV Matt 11:2-6).
Reading these two accounts, it would seem that Jesus was contradicting himself. Read the rest of this entry »
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Comparative Theology, Truth, and Christianity
August 20, 2010Marsilio Ficino, like many before and after him, was interested in exploring the way philosophy unites people from different religious traditions, while acknowledging that in such unity, because people would come to it in a diversity of religious faiths, there would remain differences between them as well. In some ways, the differences were based upon the different interests each religious tradition brought with them — the religions of Abraham, for example, place a high regard on the body, and therefore will interpret universal truths in such a way that this recognition of the body remains, while the Platonists, with its ambivalence to the body, will engage the same truth to a different end. Thus, in his “Introduction” of his Platonic Theology, he writes: Read the rest of this entry »
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Somewhat Funny, Somewhat Confusing
August 18, 2010H/T to Mark Shea, The Western Confucian, and Michael Denton
There seems to be a new blog on the blogosphere which is receiving critical attention called The Catholic Fascist. Some think it is a spin-off from Vox Nova, claiming this proves that Vox Nova is run by heterodox dissenters, because they see The Catholic Fascist as mocking Catholic doctrine. The blog does not really seem to be doing that, but rather how such doctrine is presented on the blogosphere (which are two different things). I am thinking about how The Onion Dome was written by Orthodox, by people who loved orthodoxy, and yet understand how bad some Orthodox could be in presenting Orthodox teaching. Sadly, I do not think The Catholic Fascist is as good as The Onion Dome. Indeed, one of the things which made The Onion Dome so good is how immaculate it was written, while what we see on The Catholic Fascist appears to be poorly written and filled with all kinds of grammatical mistakes.
Now, I admit the blog has a sense of humor, but one can but wonder whether or not such a blog is actually needed. If it is supposed to be a parody of The American Catholic, there would be no need for such a blog, because The American Catholic brings out the laughs without such parody. If it is aimed beyond The American Catholic, it would be interesting to see who else it is mocking. Does anyone know?
One thing I think its critics are right about: The Catholic Fascist, unless it brings in new ideas, is a blog which will come and go and will soon be forgotten. Perhaps that will be for the best.
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The Insane Prophet
August 18, 2010“It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.” Philip K Dick
To be deemed insane, and therefore to have one’s ideas entirely rejected because of one’s failure to “grasp reality,” has become one of the great phobias of modernity. Positivistic rationalism with its absolute faith in human reason and its ability to comprehend the mysteries of the universe abhors the insane because they remind us of the frailty of humanity. The insane have always served to counter human exceptionalism. In other eras, though the insane were difficult to deal with, they were also appreciated because they were seen as those who touched upon sacred and holy mysteries and so deserved respect. They did not have to understand that which they communed with; the fact that they were in communion with the sacred gave them their position of respect. They disturbed humanity just as much as they were disturbed. They showed us that there was more to the real than the frail simulacra of the real preserved by human knowledge. They were to be treated with honor because those whom the holy invades must be respected; holy fools were prophets, and those who ignored them did so at their own peril.
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Resourcement Must Include The Renaissance
August 17, 2010The early renaissance contains many figures who, important in the history of ideas, have received scant attention save by specialists. Sadly, this means many of their insights have been lost, their wisdom ignored. While they were working upon a way to view the world in a more catholic, united fashion, the spirit of the Reformation is all about dividing and making conflicts in places where no such conflict is necessary. Difference of opinion and experience do not have to create division, nor do they have to be indicative of indifference. Pluralism can be, and should be, founded upon the truth — a truth which, however, transcends human reason and therefore is capable of being embraced and understood in apparently contradictory practices and beliefs. The more we grasp for truth, the more we find out we do not know, the more we appreciate we do not understand, and the more we see why the arrogance of those who think they know the fullness of truth is as sad as it is laughable.
Let us look at three major figures who I believe best represents the greatness of the renaissance, and whose ideas, if explored further, I think would be of great benefit to humanity. Read the rest of this entry »
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Will Anyone Thank Obama For This?
August 13, 2010This morning I read about another mistake done by President Obama: his approval of the newest border-security bill from Congress. While I can understand why he did so — he is trying to be bi-partisan, his critics will not acknowledge what he has done, while his supporters will feel betrayed. The bill helps support the growing xenophobia, and, instead of bringing in ideas which are needed for true immigration reform, it increases the difficulties to legally enter into the United States, making sure there will be more irregular immigrants in our future. After all, by funding the bill by increasing fees on those companies that bring in guest workers, such companies will bring in less documented workers leaving the space open for more undocumented workers instead.
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Vox Nova At The Library: The Ancient Allan
August 12, 2010One of the major writers at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century was Sir H. Rider Haggard. His adventure-romances attracted a large readership, with his Allan Quatermain series being his most famous and popular (followed closely by his books about She). The most famous of this tales, King Solomon’s Mines, has been made into several movies. Yet, his other Quatermain stories merit attention. They represent the ethos of the time, and Quatermain, it is said, often has similar theosophical beliefs as Haggard himself. Perhaps no novel represents this better than The Ancient Allan. Read the rest of this entry »
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Birthright and the 14th Amendment
August 11, 2010In the debate over immigration, we have recently seen various Republicans calling for a change (or is it repeal) of the 14th Amendment. The reason they give is that the birthright privileges it gives to the children of immigrants (legal or not) is wrong. They argue that the Amendment did not intend to give citizenship to the children of “illegal aliens,” but now that it has been shown to do so, it needs to be changed so this will no longer happen. Read the rest of this entry »
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65 Years Ago Today
August 6, 2010Today marks the 65th anniversary of one of the greatest war crimes in history: the bombing of Hiroshima. Let us take time out of the day to think and ponder the mass destruction wrought by American aggression, and plead to God for forgiveness. If we have no difficulty in destroying whole cities just to demonstrate our power and might, is it any surprise what we, as a society, end up doing to ourselves? Indeed, all we have to do is note how this one event changed not only the world, but America’s place in the world. Through mass human sacrifice, we put ourselves on top. We demonstrated we would do anything to satisfy our desires. The lesson was well learned. Is it any surprise, after our barbaric act of aggression, the people of the United States would imitate it and embrace the path of death, in all of its manifestations, in order to assure power and position in society?
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Big Politics Not Big Government Is The Distraction
August 2, 2010Every culture and political tradition has their problems. In modernity, the biggest problem is not big government, but big politics. Everyone is told they must be political. To fulfill that obligation, people feel they must be kept up to date on current events; their focus is on the secular state and all of its mechanizations. They must develop informed opinions which then leads them to make political decisions – decisions which are realized (and then left behind) first in the political rhetoric they expound upon, and then in the votes they make. Then the process starts over; new opinions and decisions need to be made. Of course, the one who sees the system for what it is, sees it is empty, that no one really has the power proclaimed by the system. It is a diversion which keeps people inactive and in their place. As long as they think they have power, they can be easily manipulated (nothing manipulates more than flattery). In the cycle of big politics, the average person can do nothing which will have any real, lasting impact. But the illusion of such power allows them to sin as if they had it, and so the temptations of power, even if no real power is there, remains and is increased because of the delusion which confronts us on a daily basis. And, with the sense of obligation one has to the system, with the sense of needing to be constantly informed about what is going on in the system to keep a sense of power and control over it intact, one is being led quickly away from where their real power and authority lies: in their own spiritual quest. Read the rest of this entry »
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“Thank you, Protestants”
July 22, 2010Vox Nova has for years pointed out the negative influence Evangelical Protestantism have had on American Catholics, where such Catholics have engaged Protestant sensibilities, turning their back on authentic Catholic teaching. It is easy to see how many American political ideologies have become a part of the religious faith of Catholics, so that when discussing religion, they end up echoing American political screeds.
Now, I give you Hugh Hewitt, “There and Back Again: The Roman Catholic Church in America’s Next Decade.” In it we read:
The Roman Catholic Church in America owes a profound thank you to American evangelicals who, thoughout the last thirty years, stood in the gap created by a retreating Roman Catholic Church. In many ways they inspired and led the renewal in American Christianity while defending the teachings of the Gospel against the culture even as an enfeebled and wounded Church fell back in disarray.
This is rather absurd. Read the rest of this entry »
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President Obama Has Pro-Choice Groups Upset
July 20, 2010One of the things which certain partisans ignore is that President Obama certainly desires to keep his promises about health care reform to pro-life Democrats who supported his work. The meme that he is “the most pro-abortion president” of all time ignores what happened under and by President Nixon (who was interested in abortion for population control). Moreover, the meme is used time and again, despite no valid evidence in favor of his being a “big abortion supporter,” as a means to scare people away from something Obama wants to do. Every time the meme is used to force an uncharitable reading into his actions, and used to make everything about abortion — no matter how remote the connection between abortion and one of Obama’s policies. Every time the claim that “he is promoting abortion” is brought out and shown to be false, the people who cry wolf seem to think they can con us by making us believe they scared the wolf away. No, it doesn’t go that way. (And the time the wolf did get into the fold, many, not all, not only didn’t seem to care, they praised him despite all the evil he did).
Moreover, one of the things you really need to do is acknowledge the good faith President Obama has had in keeping his promises, and making sure those promises are kept, even if his pro-choice supporters are upset. Read the rest of this entry »
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Why We Should Stop Street Repair Now!
July 15, 2010Our streets are a national disaster. The potholes in them are leading to great catastrophes. They need to be repaired, and people are taking this seriously. We can see that 2.8 billion is being used in the 2011 Budget of the United States Department of Transportation for “state of good repair” for our “transit infrastructure.”
But with our present administration, this can’t be good. If you look behind the scenes, it should be obvious that such “state of good repair” was put in to help the abortion lobby. What, you don’t believe it? Well, read on! Read the rest of this entry »
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Blessed Are The Pure At Heart, For They Shall See Jesus In The Poor
July 14, 2010To me, one of the most interesting stories in the history of Buddhism is found in the hagiography surrounding Asanga. As a convert to Buddhism, he sought long and hard to follow the path as he first learned it. But he never felt it gave him all that he was looking for, that there should be more. He decided he wanted to learn from Maitreya, the Bodhisattva who it has been said will be the next Buddha in our world. He set out a path of isolation and asceticism to do so, meditating for over a decade. Several times he almost gave up, but he kept at it. During this time he was changing, being made for the better, even if he did not know he was. His struggle was purifying him and making him ready so that one day he could, and would, have his desire fulfilled. It was when he thought he was a failure, that he was never going to find himself in the presence of Maitreya, that he wandered away from his hermitage, thinking it was time for him to do something else. In that journey, he saw a wounded dog, howling from its pain, with maggots crawling out of its side. Filled with compassion for both the dog and the maggots, he pondered how he could help the dog be relieved from suffering without hurting the maggots. In the end, he cut into his thigh, making a place for the maggots, and he decided he would slowly transfer them there by use of his tongue. Nonetheless, he was sickened by the site of the maggots, so he closed his eyes and set about his task. When he found out his tongue was not moving properly, he opened up his eyes to see Maitreya was there before him. Asanga asked him why Maitreya had finally come and heeded his request. Maitreya said he had come and had always been there, but first Asanga had to have his heart purified through meditation so that Asanga would have the heart of compassion needed to see him. Maitreya also said that only Asanga could see him, for everyone else, they would see the dog, not Maitreya. Asanga was not convinced, so Maitreya asked to be put on his shoulders and to be taken into town. When there, Maitreya’s point was proven to be true: most of the people there only saw the dog. Now ready to listen to Maitreya, Asanga was trained by him and given several key texts which Asanga would use for his own Buddhist writings, allowing him to help form the tradition which would develop into the Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism.
Despite its Buddhist source, there is something very Christian to this tale. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Filioque: “Liturgical Abuse” And Authentic Liturgical Innovation
July 13, 2010“Liturgical abuse” can be, and sometimes become, normalized. The history of the development of liturgical tradition is filled with such abuse, and many of them have become so normalized in the West, people do not understand how controversial such practices were when they were first enacted (in a part, and not the whole, of the Western Church). Perhaps one of the most important examples is that of the filioque. Read the rest of this entry »
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Legalism Is Too Quick To Find Liturgical Abuse, Making Its Own Liturgical Abuse
July 12, 2010One of the more interesting traditions, which had been abandoned but seems to have had a revival of sorts in some regions of the world, is the concept of the boy-bishop. It was, in its way, a subversive tradition, because it elevated a boy and made him like a bishop (in as much as was possible), while it made those who were in authority his underlings (in theory, teaching them humility). The Old Catholic Encyclopedia had this to say about them: Read the rest of this entry »
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Paul McAuley and Peru
July 8, 2010In Peru, the indigenous people still suffer greatly from governmental (and business) intrusion into their lands. Brother Paul McAuley, one of the De La Salle Brothers, has been working to protect the rights of the indigenous people for years, but now, because of such work, the Peruvian government wants to expel him and send him back to the UK, from whence he came. As the BBC reports:
For the last decade he has worked with indigenous groups in Peru’s vast Amazon region, where the current government has eased access for oil and gas companies.
Brother Paul says he teaches native Peruvians their environmental and human rights, the government in Lima accuses him of political agitation against the Peruvian state.
Cabinet chief Javier Velasquez said that Brother Paul was being expelled because the government could not “accept that foreigners can continue furtively to stir up people to shatter democratic values.”
I am sure some of the indigenous people feel the same about the current government in Peru.
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Brief Note
July 6, 2010For the next few weeks, I will be less active on Vox Nova. I do plan to do a couple posts during this time, but I will not be able to engage comments as much and I will not post as much as usual. There are three reasons for this:
- I am trying to get a project done
- I am preparing for a move
- I am doing a lot of spiritual work and prayer in relation to my father’s health. He has been diagnosed with pre-leukemia, and of a kind which is difficult to deal treat (there is chromosome damage involved with his problem). The medicine he has been prescribed is experimental in nature. Chemotherapy was ruled out because of his age and the nature of the problem. His insurance company has been causing problems getting the medicine — it has been over two weeks since he was prescribed it, and it looks like he should finally get it this week (he had to change his medicare supplemental insurance, and pay for it out of hand this month to get it, and even then, it looks like it will be a push to get them to pay for it as they should). He has also been put on a bone marrow transplant list, in the off chance a donor match can be found. If not, the prognosis is anywhere from .5 to 5 years of life expectancy. If the medicine helps slow down the problem, it will be longer. If a bone marrow donor can be found, that would of course give him a better chance of survival. Otherwise, it is in the hands of God. Please pray for him and my family during this time, that all that can be done, will be done, both physically and spiritually.
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Divorce and Remarriage: A Speculative Pastoral Solution
July 1, 2010It doesn’t take much to see that marriage, as a social institution, is undergoing great changes. While this should not be a surprise, since everything changes, adapting to those changes without losing our beliefs about the sacred nature of sacramental marriage is an important concern for modern Catholics. To deal with these changes, one of the most important things to do is to look at how Catholics have dealt with the situation in other times and places, because in doing so, we might find a way to help people who need the help, guidance, and acceptance of the Church. What I offer here are just some thoughts I have on the matter, with the focus being divorce and remarriage, and a way we might want to examine the issue. It is speculative. While I believe what I offer might be fruitful, I could be wrong. If I am, and if you have some other ideas, please let me know. Read the rest of this entry »
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Big Business is Big Government
June 28, 2010Carl Schmitt noted that, “the sovereign is the one who decides on the exception.” That is, when the system of laws established in a given state fail to meet an unexpected crisis in that state, the one who has the authority to act in that crisis is the sovereign. Or, if the exception is what proves the rule, the one who has the authority in that exception transcends the rule and so cannot be judged by it. The question is for us to determine who or what that sovereign is. Read the rest of this entry »
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A Prolegomena to Prayer. IX.
June 25, 2010Prayer is difficult for us in the modern world because its dictates run contrary to the way we have been socialized. We try to control the world around ourselves, while prayer reminds us that ultimate control is not in our hands. Presently, we have been encouraged to be self-sufficient individuals whose happiness lay in ourselves. Prayer requires us to get out of ourselves, to realize that we need others, especially God. It shows us that humanity, by itself, is not going to achieve its desires; it must open up, both personally and communally, to God, so as to accept the providential grace of God. Only through such grace can our hearts’ desires be truly achieved. Even in slower paced times, where technique was not so entrenched as a way of life, egotism and self-love, the giving over to the passions, had been a detriment to a life of prayer. The difficulty we have with prayer is not new, though it has been enhanced by modernity. But as C.S. Lewis understood well, even if we find it difficult to pray, we must pray, we must struggle against ourselves and those inclinations which would lead us away from prayer, just as a student must struggle to keep themselves diligent in their studies. Prayer is, in a way, a part of our spiritual education. “I must say my prayers to-day whether I feel devout or not; but that is only as I must learn my grammar if I am ever to read the poets.”[1]
The freedom we need for true happiness requires us first to deny ourselves; being rooted in what we are now leads only to a dead end. Read the rest of this entry »
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Is This Success?
June 24, 2010Individualism is to Catholicism as Satan is to God. Individualism promotes the Satanic “you can be just like God.” It reinforces the fallen ego, promotes ungodly pride. It bases its credibility based upon greed. We are told that the great achievements of the modern world prove the value of individualism. Those nations which have promoted a rugged individualism have proven successes, those which have promoted Catholic morality have proven to be failures. Of course, if someone forgoes all sense of community and the common good, one can easily trample on others and, taking from them all one wants, one will indeed become a “success.” If we want to promote American culture because of its “worldly success,” we must also remember how it achieved such success: slavery, genocide, theft, and war. We must also keep in mind that the fruit of our labor lies all before us: we have used the resources of the world, we have taken from others, and now there is nothing left to be taken but our own. Abortion is just one example of where we are doing just that; it is the fruit of individualistic success to be free to kill one’s own. But as we do so, we will destroy ourselves. The American Tower of Babel is falling. Many have yet not understood this. The economic crisis which has brought about a high level of unemployment and underemployment should have been a warning. The system is toppling. The oil spill in the gulf is but another symptom of our fall. To continue as we were, we no longer will be taking from others, we will be taking from ourselves. Is this what we want? Is this how we measure success?
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A Prolegomena to Prayer. Part VIII.
June 23, 2010With all that has been said, there is, nonetheless, another aspect of prayer, briefly mentioned throughout, which must be acknowledged a bit further. This is the concept of communal prayer, for it connects us to the sacraments, such as in the celebration of the eucharist (which will be our main example here of communal prayer). What we have described about prayer is especially true about the sacraments. They are a means of grace given to us; if and when we open ourselves up to them, they are actively transforming us beyond our own abilities, as Dumitru Staniloae suggests:
The sacraments themselves do not give us graces of a static kind, virtues or benefits which are limited and kept carefully enclosed within their present borders so that we can show them to God on the day of judgment neatly preserved, like the unproductive talent in the Gospel parable. The sacraments have a prophetic character, a ‘sacramental prophetisim’ as the Reformed theologian von Allmen puts it, perhaps in a too exclusively eschatological sense. They give us powers which have to be developed and which are meant to lead us towards final perfection by ever more advanced spiritual stages.[1]
What we find in the celebration of the eucharist (and the other sacraments) is that prayer does not have to be, and is not meant to be, limited to mere individualistic practices, where prayer is done by an individual without connection to anyone else. Read the rest of this entry »
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Cardinal George Misquoted
June 22, 2010This is interesting. I wish the USCCB would give us the transcript, because it would indicate where the misquotes come from, and I see no reason why an anonymous version of the transcript could not be released to help us know what really happened. Nonetheless, according to Helen Osman at the USCCB website:
It appears that Catholic News Agency would benefit from a similar strategy. To put it plain and simple, the quotes they attribute to Cardinal Francis George in their story (also posted on EWTN) are just wrong. I was in the room, as a member of the USCCB staff, for the presentation. And the official audio file that recorded the session for USCCB archives confirms my memory.
While the cardinal did present a sequence of events to the bishops, he never used the phrase “so-called Catholic,” accused the Catholic Health Association of creating a “parallel magisterium” or said the meeting of the three bishops with Sr. Keehan had “frustrating results.” And that’s just three examples. Not to mention that the reporting of the events is just plain wrong: for an example, the Stupak Amendment was not defeated in the Senate in December 2009, as the article states.
While this is good, I do hope the bishops, and Cardinal George, reflect on the way the USCCB’s positions have been misunderstood, and abused, by many for the sake of political gain.
13 Comments | Healthcare, Henry Karlson, News, USCCB | Permalink
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Four Concerns I Have With the Newest Supreme Court Decision
June 22, 2010What I have read about the newest Supreme Court decision has me concerned. According to the Christian Science Monitor:
The US Supreme Court has put international humanitarian workers on notice that any assistance to a US-designated terrorist group could land them in an American prison.
On Monday, the high court upheld a federal law that outlaws providing “material support” to any group on a State Department list of terrorist organizations.
The prohibition extends beyond knowingly facilitating illegal operations. The law – part of the USA Patriot Act – makes it a federal crime to provide any help or support to a terror group – even support designed to teach a violent group how to use legal and peaceful means to achieve political change.
Now, I have not gone through the written decisions, and so I hope that some elements of my complaint have been worked out, though the little commentary I have seen suggest they have not.
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Posted by Henry Karlson
A Prolegomena to Prayer. Part VII.
June 20, 2010One of the difficulties we have with prayer is that we might understand some theory about it, but we do not seem to get the results we are looking for in our prayer life when we try it out for ourselves. Once again, this shows that we expect prayer to be some sort of technique which brings magical results. While there are, to be sure, good reasons for these expectations — God is good, after all — there is more to our experience with God than meets the eye. Yes, prayer can be a time when people have a great, personal experience of God, but often, for one reason or another, it is difficult for one to sense God’s presence while in prayer. Why, therefore, can there be no results, if one is opening oneself up to God?
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A Prolegomena to Prayer. Part VI-3.
June 18, 2010Because of the vast, incomprehensible nature of God, as well as the diversity of personal capabilities found amongst us, there are various ways our union with God can be experienced. Sometimes we will find authors expressing one aspect over another, because it is what they have come to experience. At other times, we will find authors which appear to differ from each other, but ultimately end up offering explanations of the same type of experience. We must understand, however, that there will be times when the experiences of different people are quite different, and this does not mean there is anything wrong with one experience or another, because when we find a diversity of experiences, there will still be elements which unite them together. They will be complementary, sometimes paradoxically so, but nonetheless authentic. This explains why there are a variety of valid spiritual traditions which deal with and explain mystical experiences. They hold God and God’s grace in common, but they come to experience God in different ways. If we follow the spiritual guidance of one tradition, we will likely be led, through grace, to receive its experience of God’s glory; if we follow the spiritual tradition of another, we will be likely led to experience the glory of God according to its example. We must not believe anyone is limited to the experience of the tradition they follow, for God’s grace transcends technique and one’s subjective nature will be different, but these traditions help form the person so as to become similar to their master and so likely to experience the glorification similar to the one leading them on the path to God. Two such examples we can mention are the teachings associated with St Gregory Palamas, on the one hand, and Meister Eckhart, on the other.[1]
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Posted by Henry Karlson
A Prolegomena to Prayer. Part VI-2.
June 17, 2010We have seen how our prayer begins as simple petitions to God. In such prayers, we express our hope in God. But such prayers are one sided, where we go to God only when we feel the need for some help from him. But, if we keep at it, and keep opening ourselves to him, love develops. While this love is probably found in all kinds of prayer, even in the most rudimentary stages of prayer, early on it is an indistinguishable love, where we might not even notice it in ourselves. As we become aware of it, we begin to present to God not just our desires, but also our yearning for him. We find ourselves desiring him and his presence above everything else. God’s beauty attracts us, bringing us to declare his grandeur in our prayers. We are drawn further and further out of ourselves.
Our prayer eventually opens us up to a new way of communicating. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Henry Karlson
The Positive Challenge of Gnosticism: Ancient and Modern
June 16, 2010I’ve always had an extreme dislike of the way modern religious scholars have treated Gnostic sources as being on equal footing to patristic sources as a means of gauging early Christian faith. Many Gnostic writings are pure, outright fakes, and it’s not as if they tried to hide that fact from the populace. However, this is not to say there is nothing we can learn from the Gnostics, especially some of the earlier Gnostics who seemed to be interested in bridging philosophical trends with early Christian traditions.[1] We must be careful, obviously, and not take their speculations as necessary truths, and we must purify their teachings, just as Christians had to purify the teachings of other non-Christian sages, but if we are diligent, like Vladimir Solovyov, we can find valuable material contained in Gnostic sources.[2] Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Henry Karlson
A Prolegomena to Prayer. Part VI-1.
June 15, 2010Many writers call contemplative prayer true, or pure, prayer. We must not think that once one has attained such heights, one has achieved all that prayer can achieve. As one becomes a contemplative, one finds that there are many degrees of contemplative prayer. What we begin with tends to be less than where we end up (though, of course, God’s providence can lead someone directly to the highest forms of contemplative prayer, if he so wishes). St John of the Cross, for example, discusses the dark night of the senses which leads to the early stages of contemplative prayer, and then the dark night of the soul which leads to the highest, greatest form of prayer. St Maximus the Confessor suggests similarly Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Henry Karlson
On The Need for Legal Reform
June 14, 2010One of the common things we find debated by Catholics is the law. St. Isidore of Seville in his Etymologies provides what should be a good foundation for our discussion. Although we must understand his own exposition is, in part, an expression of the rule of law in his time, he does provide a foundation for general discussions of law.
First, he rightfully differentiates between divine and human law, with the first established in “natural law,” and the second being the secondary legal requirements needed for the effective government of a group of people — based upon the customs and traditions which developed among them: “1. All laws are either divine or human. Divine laws are based on nature, human law on customs. For this reason human laws may differ, because different laws suit different peoples. 2. Fas is divine la; jurisprudence (ius) is human law.”[1] Read the rest of this entry »
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A Prolegomena to Prayer. Part V.
June 13, 2010Petition, though the foundation of our spiritual journey and usually the first way we communicate with God, does not present the full reality of prayer. It helps us learn to communicate with God. As we move beyond ourselves, and develop a greater love for God, expressions of that love will emerge, and they will be the source from which our prayer emanates. We will begin and end our prayers with adoration — our petitions will fall within the contours of adoration, allowing our love to create the form in which our prayers are said, instead of allowing our desires dictate that form. As we grow in love, we will give him our love, not because of what he has done for us, but because of the infinite goodness and beauty we see in God. He attracts us. As lovers praise their beloved, so we will praise God, according to the level of love we have developed for him. Indeed, this is so important in our prayer to God, that, although we might begin our conversation with God with petitions, petition without some sort of adoration, without some sort of expression of love, our has yet to achieve what is expected of Christians. Only when adoration is given in our prayers can we be said to have truly prayed. [1]
“Every kind of prayer that exists is set in motion through the stirrings of the soul.”[2] We are prompted out of our love to speak to God, to express to him our love. Read the rest of this entry »
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A Prolegomena to Prayer. Part IV-2.
June 11, 2010What we have said about the relationship we formed with our parents as we grew up is similar to our relationship with God, who comes to us as a loving Father. He is capable of guiding us and providing us for our needs in a way far greater than our parents; indeed, he is capable, if he wished, to make us like puppets, and to do everything for us, and to make us do as he thinks is best without any respect to our will. It is out of love that he grants us not only existence, but the world stage in which we find our existence, as a home in which we are free to develop ourselves as we wish, even to the point of rejecting him if we should wish. It is also with such love that he gives to us the ability to talk to him, to ask him for our desires. As infants cry when they have a desire they want met (be it the need for attention, the need for food, the need to be cleaned up, the need for sleep, et. al.), so do we cry up to God. Infants learn quite quickly how to manipulate their parents and to demand more than they need; it takes awhile for parents to learn how they are being manipulated and to put a stop to it – but when they do, they have to let their children cry, to scream if need be, and not give in to their demands. In a similar way, we must understand God’s reaction to our petitions. He will gives us some flexibility, just as our parents did, but he will not respond to all of our cries, just as a good and loving parent will not spoil their children and respond every time their children demands something of them. We must understand this is the foundation not only for how he responds to us, but also, for why he does not always respond to us as we would like. Read the rest of this entry »
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One Shot: Two Kills
June 10, 2010Apparently, Israeli soldiers celebrate when they kill a pregnant woman, which of course ends with an abortion, as Sky News reports:
The revelations centre on t-shirt designs made for soldiers that make light of shooting pregnant Palestinian mothers and children and include images of dead babies and destroyed mosques.
The t-shirts were printed for Israeli soldiers at the end of periods of deployment or training courses and were discovered by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
One, printed for a platoon of Israeli snipers depicts an armed Palestinian pregnant women caught in the crosshairs of a rifle, with the disturbing caption in English: “1 shot 2 kills”.
This is the attitude and mentality of Israeli soldiers to the Palestinians. This is what it really means to be pro-abortion. Read the article from SkyNews, it is very revealing.
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Posted by Henry Karlson
The Subjective Aspect of Blasphemy
June 10, 2010After Vatican Council II, one of the criticisms launched against the council by “traditionalists”[1] is its approach toward non-Christian religions. Nostra Aetate proclaimed the need for Christians to look to other religious traditions, and to promote the good within them:
The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men. (Nostra Aetate 2).
God has been at work in and through the world, and people have responded to him. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Henry Karlson
