Blair Converson Sparks Hostility

Interesting... this bit from the Tribune speaks for itself: "Robin Shepherd, a senior fellow at Chatham House, a London think tank, said British anti-Catholicism is fading with each passing generation and the negative reaction to Blair's conversion is more indicative of British attitudes toward religion in general."

Catholic Primary Issues: Huckabee and the Catholic League, Catholics for McCain

A couple of Web-bits from the 2008 primary (January 8, here in New Hampshire):

- The Fighting Irish Thomas blog takes a swing at Catholic League President Bill Donohue for criticizing Mike Huckabee for Huckabee's Christmas television spot. Thomas writes, addressing Donohue, "it disturbs me that someone so dedicated to debunking that pseudo philosophy of separation of church and state (which, of course, is never stated as such in the Constitution) now rejects someone in the public arena that in this case (not to be confused with 'bookcase') is really one of our own." I can see both points here: to Donohue's point, it does seem a bit like Huckabee is claiming Jesus' endorsement here; on the other hand, how could anybody in position of selling himself to voters not seem to be doing that to some degree no matter how cautiously he mentioned his religious faith? It's one of the necessary complications that accompanies religion in the public square -- though certainly not an argument against it.

- Republican candidate John McCain has announced a "National Catholics for McCain Leadership Team" chaired by U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and former Governor Frank Keating (R-OK). According to McCain, "I am very pleased to have the support of this distinguished coalition of Catholic leaders. I am proud to stand side-by-side with Catholics on many of the most critical issues of our day: defending the sanctity of human life, upholding traditional marriage, expanding educational choice, and defending America from the threats that we face around the globe. I have fought my entire life to protect religious freedom and human rights around the world. I look forward to working with these Catholic leaders in the weeks and months ahead as we take our shared values to the White House." You can read the whole press release here.

A Mere Christian View of Romney

This seems like as good a time as any to see just how far we are willing to go with the detente of ecuminism.

Here's a simple question: Is the fact that Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints a reason not to vote for him as president?

My take is not politically correct. I've often heard it cited, and even repeated it myself that Martin Luther once said he'd rather be ruled by a wise Turk than by a foolish Christian. I've since learned that the quotation is probably apocryphal. Either way, fundamentally I disagree. In my mind, the wisdom or foolishness of the ruler isn't the question. At a certain point in the hierarchy of humanity, we recognize that the chain of authority disappears into the heavenly clouds. What gives a priest a right to interpret scripture? Why is a husband apparently given some kind of rank over a wife? Why is a judge seated above those in the court? Why does the policeman or soldier have the right to kill someone? All these powers, theoretically, are granted by an invisible ruler who commands the order of the world, but sees fit to also work within it. Great damage is done by those who hold these seats of power without proper relationship to the source of all authority. The president is the head of our nation, and in matters of state, he or she must bridge between the people and the heavenly ruler who presides over the natural order.

Every Christian is a mess of contradictions and failings. It's almost axiomatic. But they cleave unto a forgiving God and a savior who has made allowance for them and therefore they have an accurate view of the world (completely fallen) and of God (completely perfect). Wise Christians don't claim to understand the whole scenario, but they recognize the fundamental importance of perspective applied to life. All science, hubristic as its advocates may be, is a holy reminder that the universe is most likely, as Sir Arthur Eddington once said, not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we can imagine. Our attempts to make sense of it all is a fine exercise, as long as we don't ever fool ourselves into believing we've actually come close to accomplishing such a feat.

Mormonism and, in fact, most cults, are guilty of just that. They play on the inherent (and God-given) desire to understand the world by fabricating answers that seem to make sense. Christian dogma does have a poetry and beauty to it, Christian scripture is rooted in the complementary realms of fact and literature, but its rules are pretty unabashedly based in faith. There's no need to explain how the aboriginals of the American continent received Christ, because God did not set out to create such a sense of fairness in his dispensations. He has other ways, invisible to us, of exercising his justice upon the world. But Joseph Smith wanted a clearer role for his homeland, and either by deception, self deception, or satanic deception, relayed a message that was filled with falsehoods. The fact that millions of people believe it does not make it true. Obviously, at any moment, millions of people are wrong about any number of things. But when the truth in question is not a piece of trivia or current events, but the living underscore of the soul, it's pretty important.

Electing a Mormon as president is rather like buying a piece of critical software that has a bug in its kernel. It may have a slick interface and powerful tools for computing, but on the most fundamental level it is unreliable. It may operate as though it's in touch with all the software updates, but it's actually operating on it's own and when a virus enters the network or a critical fix is written by the programmer, it may not be able to process the information. Even a foolish Christian in authority has a heart attuned to God and prepared to turn on his command (Proverbs 21:1). Certainly God's will shall ultimately be done regardless of who is in office. I think the problem with electing a Turk or a Mormon is that without the proper relationship between king and Lord of All, one based in both faith and truth, God will have to take another route to achieve his will. When he cannot turn the heart of a ruler, he must turn the world.

People of Various Faiths Coming To The Defense of Christmas

Tim Jones, of Old World Swine, informs us that in Britain an group of people from a variety of non-Christian faith traditions is standing up for Britain's right to celebrate Christmas. He writes, "See, the careful planning of the social engineers will always be undermined by such common sense from common people."

The Golden Compass

We had a post about Pullman here before we quit this blog a while back, and now that the movie's come out, there's a good deal of digital ink getting spilled on it (the movie, not the post) -- especially as to whether Christians, and perhaps in particular Catholics should be wary of it or hostile toward it or embrace it as a great book for kids (Pullman is an atheist, and the general buzz is that his books are for atheism what C.S. Lewis' Narnia books are for Christianity -- highly readable but instructive allegory designed to promote a specific worldview -- in Pullman's case, that religion is bad and organized religion is worse and the Catholic Church is the worst of all). I haven't read the books -- only interviews with the author -- but Rick mentioned catching the movie and discussing here which one of us (if either of us) takes it as an attack on his faith or wants to defend it.

(Of course, whether or not adults with some formation in their faith should see the movie isn't really the issue -- the issue is whether it's propaganda against a belief system parents may be trying to instill in their children. And then whether parents should have input into and make judicious, values-based decisions about what sorts of media their children are exposed to. The answer to the latter of course, whether you are liberal, conservative, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, atheist or anything else is, yes. Duh.)

I'm thinking of picking up the book as well -- as a fan of science fiction and fantasy literature and books over movies, it seems I ought to before forming a final opinion on this...

And just in case our plan to catch this movie and review it here goes the way of many of our othere schemes that are designed to be accomplished in our "free time" ... First Things has an interesting review here. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops had a review posted as well that seemed to endorse the film ... but now it seems they've annulled it.

It's Advent and ... Weeeeee're Baaaaack

At least for a while. Rick and I talked it over and we've decided we're not quite done with this.
To get us started -- and Advent post with some comments from Rick that I wrote for my personal blog the Sunday before last:

Advent begins today – and this weekend signaled the end of Ordinary Time in the liturgical seasons. At Mass this morning, the vestments had changed, the first candle of the Advent wreath was lighted, and at home the decorations are being set up. Today I crank up the Christmas music – with some of the same intent as someone might crank up a hard rock soundtrack before entering the boxing ring. Seasons in the church –metaphysical seasons as regular and full of impact in our lives as the physical seasons. Just as autumn prompts a series of necessary changes and duties – from unpacking winter clothes to hauling in wood to putting up the storm windows – so a changing liturgical season prompts changes, visible and invisible. For me all of these changes serve one overriding function – they are a prompt, a reminder, an admonishment to realign priorities, to get focused. To reengage in the struggle on the highest level possible. The notion of getting focused feels particularly apt – it means seeing clearly. Taking off your glasses and giving them a good polishing. Jesus said in the Beatitudes, blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. So that polishing that allows one to see clearly is a lava-rock-scrubbing-up of the soul; it stings some. All these wonderful Advent trappings ease the struggle that accompanies the end of Ordinary Time – the struggle that accompanies the effort to prioritize, to see clearly, to rise from a languorous stretch of sleepwalking and face the terrifying and wonderful notion that God is real, and because He is, that the world is real and that everything matters, and action, both internal and external, physical and metaphysical is required of us. Wish me luck. I’ll do the same for you, and wish you also a merry, merry Advent and Christmas season.

Comments

Good thoughts for the season. I haven't even begun to think about decorating for the holidays and, being steeped in the evangelical, born again, Jesus freak traditions of the Protestant fringe, my Christmas experience is far less disciplined. Each season is sort of like a mystery play in which my salvation experience is reenacted. I wander about, dead or else slightly antagonistic to the sentiments of the holiday, then, suddenly redemption falls upon me. I may just be driving to Shaws for a bag of stuffing, but like Paul on the road to Damascus, I hear a voice and see the light. I sometimes don't get the Christmas "spirit" until the night of the 24th, but it always comes. I don't participate in the lava soap soul scrubbing you describe. For me it's more like catharsis than cleansing, but I thank God for it. Also, one point of order: Maybe you took your verse from a different translation, but is it the "clean" of heart who will see God or the "pure" of heart? These seem like fundamentally different states to me. Clean regards externals, purity regards essence.

Posted by Rick Broussard 02 Dec 2007, 22:57

Interesting -- sounds to me like underneath the differences in experience lie similar results: a lot of "something" and then finally the redemptive payoff of the season. And worthwhile point for discussion on the translation -- I was going from memory (I just checked and it was correct) -- the last version I was reading was the "New American" translation, which isn't necessarily my favorite translation, but is a commonly accepted one. I'm not enough of an expert to argue for or against its validity based on earlier Latin, Greek or Aramaic words ... but (or maybe because of this) I'll take it either way. "Clean" has a variety of meanings internal and external. "Clean" or "pure", taken in the context of the passage they can be read equally validly. I'd say either is "sufficient."

Posted by Ernesto 03 Dec 2007, 08:00