Punditry

What is truth?

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Pontius Pilate famously asked Jesus the question “What is truth?” Though it was more of a statement than a question.  During the political season the question “What is truth” can be answered as something there is little concern for.

This poisonous political period can feel like an oppressive fog that permeates everything.  There is little or no concern for truth so we get everything from exaggerations to outright lies and we shrug it off as “just politics.” We have come to expect that politicians are not intimate friends with the truth and just as long as we support part of their agenda we are willing to put up with it.  The ends don’t justify the means except when they do. We want zingers more than truth.

Now as an admitted political partisan myself I certainly would say that one side of the political divide is abusing truth more than the other.  That does not mean that I will pass by departures from truth for partisan reasons.   Something we almost never get is a politician accurately  speaking  about a policy of their opponent. Showing concern that first they understand it before critiquing it.  I guess when things are compressed down to a soundbite  the compression algorithm used removes truth for compactness.  I think of  the care that St. Thomas Aquinas took in the Summa Theologica to accurately state objections before answering them.  St. Thomas Aquinas said “All that I have written seems like straw”, but what he had written contained no straw men.

What makes me reflect on this is the reaction to a statement from Senate candidate Richard Mourdock.

“I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”

This was seized on immediately to make him a supporter or rape. Any honest person not wanting to pin everything with an agenda would see that this was a badly worded answer that conflated rape as being the will of God. I have a hard time of seeing how somebody can so misread this other then bad will. At worse you could see him as confusing God’s ordained will vs. His permissive will not a support of rape.

When I wanted to find the actual quote of Richard Mourdock I had to wade through dozens of articles regarding it to find one that actually printed the quote in whole. If his statement was so indicting of him you would think they would print it for all to see.

On the other hand considering Todd Akins previous remark I think we need to send Republican Senate candidates to some kind of school as to how to articulate themselves regarding abortion and the rape exception. It is almost always painful to hear a politician articulate themselves on this. I must applaud Richard Moyrdock for his pro-life conviction that didn’t take the normal pragmatic route. Really though if he had stated it better, there would have probably still been some news concerning it.

The President of course took little time to mischaracterize Mourdock’s remarks for political gain. Unfortunately this is to be expected since I do not see our President as much of a lover of truth. I wish I could think of Gov. Romney as a lover of truth, but I do no delude myself this way.

It seems odd to me in this Presidential election where there is so much that divides the candidates policy wise that so much is wasted on something other than valid critiques of policy. As a political junkie it is easy to forget that many are not so engaged in what is going on and politicians would rather sway them with zingers and soundbites hoping it will get into their narrow window of political engagement. The first victim of war is truth, and the same goes for political campaigns that increase the victim count.

All I know is that I need to be much more of a prayer junkie than a political one.

9 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Punditry

Rise of the Unaffiliated

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

A recent study by the Pew Research Center reported that one-in-five adults have no religious affiliation. They call this group “Nones” which adds no clarity. Especially since this group includes atheists, agnostics and “nothing in particular.” All three groups are on the rise with the “nothing in particular” garnering the largest increase. Of that 20% they report on six percent are made of of atheist and agnostics with agnosticism being the larger group. By the news reporting I heard it was made to sound as if the 20% was pretty much made up of atheists.

Now obviously we have to NIP (sorry some acronym humor here) in the bud.

I find the question interesting since it is so indicative of society. “Are you looking for a religion that would be right for you.” Crouched in terms of relativism instead of in the terms of looking for the truth. I am though rather surprised that of this group of those who choose “nothing in particular” that such a low amount are seeking.

Also interesting that Protestant’s of all stripes for the first time are less than 50% of the population. Catholics have held steady, but I would guess that immigration plays a larger part in that than some other factors.

I would be interested in a comparison between this study and what is going on in Europe and what factors are different. Certainly the religiously affiliated is higher in the United States than in most countries of Europe.

The the unaffiliated is growing and at higher rates among younger people seems to be a cultural indicator that will surprise nobody. I wonder how much of this segment considers themselves “spiritual but not religious?” There has always been quite an independent stripe among American believers and I believe Protestantism has some effect in that. When everybody becomes their own interpreter than pretty soon you can cut out the Church as the middle man. Protestant ecclesiology also kinds of lends to this with the fracturing from first national churches, to regional churches, to neighborhood “non-denominational” churches. A soft deism can develop where you might recognize the existence of God, but you live a life where this has no practical effect. Though that schism between belief and action is certainly well known among believers. The fracturing of Christendom into so many fragments also provides a barrier to belief. Jesus’ High Priestly prayer to the Father “that they may all be one” is one we must continue to constantly pray.

After having read Ross Douthat’s excellent Bad Religion it is also well worth noting that it is not like from the beginning the US was totally religiously affiliated with a slow drain off towards secularism. While church attendance rates have certainly dropped in the last century there have been a certain ebb and flow.

Instead of a call to holiness there seems to have been a dropped-call. A call I know I should answer, but when I see the Caller ID of Holiness, I would rather not pick up since talking about holiness is much easier than living it.

5 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
HumorTheology

Denny’s to introduce Middle-Earth-inspired menu

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

You may never be able to try lembas — a fictional bread that Frodo subsisted on through part of his journey to Mordor in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy — but Denny’s thinks it might have the next best thing. The company is about to roll out a Middle-Earth-inspired menu as part of a tie-in with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

…Menu items include 11 breakfast, lunch and dinner items such as “Hobbit Hole Breakfast,” “Frodo’s Pot Roast Skillet,” “Gandalf’s Gobble Melt” and the “Build Your Own Hobbit Slam,” which includes limited-time items such as “Shire Sausage.”[Source]

A menu that will increase your “Middle Girth.” Now as someone who has read Tolkien’s books multiple time, this menu will not entice me out of my Hobbit hole. Could they have come up with worst names? Where’s the Coney stew, the Ent-Draught, the Cram – Denny’s should at least have the Grand Cram? Now I can certainly understand the Hobbit tie-in with their propensity for multiple breakfasts but I won’t be eating there for first or second breakfast.

Now as to not being able to ever try lemmas.

The lembas has a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam’s mind was filled with the memories of food, and the longing for simple bread and meats. And yet this way bread of the Elves had a potency that increased as travellers relied on it alone and did not mingle it with other foods. It fed the will, and it gave strength to endure, and to master sinew and limb beyond the measure of mortal kind. — “Return of the King” J.R.R. Tolkien.

Many will certainly see an echo of the Eucharist here and Tolkien’s love of the Eucharist is well known.

Tolkien rejected attempts to find Catholic symbolism in his work because he detested “allegory in all its manifestations.” Indeed he frequently chided Lewis for trying to dress Christ up in the lion-suit of Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. For Tolkien, to look for such correspondences is to miss the point of Middle-earth, which is meant to be a real place and not just some amalgam of historical and religious debris.

Still, Tolkien acknowledged that his Catholic sensibilities unconsciously inspired characters and objects in his imaginative world. In a 1952 letter to Rev. Robert Murray (grandson of the founder of the Oxford English Dictionary and a family friend), he readily admitted that the Virgin Mary forms the basis for all of his “small perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity.” It is not surprising, he admits, that the character of Galadriel — a created being endowed with radiant beauty, impeccable virtue, and powers of healing — resonates with the character of our Blessed Mother.

Nor could Tolkien deny that the Holy Eucharist appears in The Lord of the Rings as the waybread (lembas), given by the elves to the hobbits to eat on their journey. The lembas reinforces the hobbits’ wills and provides them with physical sustenance in the dark and barren lands on the way to Mount Doom. As the Church teaches, while the Eucharist still tastes and looks like bread and wine, our sensations shroud a deeper mystery: The Eucharist is truly Christ’s body and blood. So in The Lord of the Rings the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist appear shrouded in the mysterious elements of Middle-earth. The best way to understand this is to see such examples of Catholic symbolism as literary “accidents.” To leave them out would have diminished the story; they are parts of Tolkien’s effort to make his world complete, true for all times and places.

As an author, Tolkien believed that his stories did in a limited and literary way what a priest does at the consecration: They present us with Christ and the entire story of creation and redemption through common elements of the world — in this case Middle-earth — which is shot through with the Truth of all Truths. [Source]

Now as to Lord of the Rings related food humor, here is something I did some years ago.

2 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Book Review

Terrapin

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Terrapin: A Mystery is a new novel by T.M. Doran put out by Ignatius Press.  I previously reviewed his first novel Toward the Gleam which I certainly enjoyed.  A year later the plot and ideas of that novel are still with me.  I thought the idea of the novel was a great idea that was executed fairly well, though the author was a bit coy with all the historical characters introduced.

Terrapin is not as vast an idea as Toward the Gleam was, but in some ways I enjoyed it more.  For example the novel seems much more polished and with a more concentrated theme.  In this novel a group of childhood friends are having one of their reunions to spend time over a weekend. Something terrible happens and the whole thing escalates as we advance through the novel.  In some ways it is a closed room mystery with a bit of a twist.  As a mystery novel it proceeds along lines that you would expect leading up towards the final confrontation.  Just as a mystery novel it succeeds quite well. You are mostly kept guessing throughout as to whether the murder is part of a black bag operation from the government or something quite different.

The story is told in alternating chapters between following their reunion and going back to events in their childhood.  The events of their childhood that lead up to the occurrences involved in the murder mystery slowly unfold and we get character studies of these childhood friends.

Now since this is a book put out by Ignatius Press you expect some spiritual element to it. It certainly doesn’t disappoint there, but it is with quite a light touch and rather subtle.  The protagonist Dennis Cole is a mystery writer with whose father “TA” is a bit of a philosopher.  The interactions with TA and the people of the neighborhood provides some of the depths for the novel.  TA who is widowed as a result of a car accident provides one of the themes in the novel regarding Dennis and his desire to find the hit and run driver.  In some ways some of the conversations in the book between TA and his son remind me of Gandalf’s and Frodo’s conversation regarding Gollum.  Maybe that is not so surprising considering the subject of the authors first book.

I was engaged throughout both with the mystery and the semi-coming-of-age story. My only actual complaint is that the event in the past that lead to the conclusion was rather late in the book.  Maybe this was necessary and it did build up to this in a way that it made everything else make sense. So if you are looking for a good mystery novel with some depth to it I would certainly recommend it.

Ignatius Press

3 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
News

Phoenix Medical Center Not Stripped Of Catholic Status

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Earlier there was some information on Bishop removing the Catholic status from another hospital.

PHOENIX, ARIZ., October 22 (CNA) .- The Diocese of Phoenix clarified over the weekend that a hospital working on certifying its Catholic identity has not been stripped of its Catholic status.

“Contrary to reports in the media, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center has not been stripped of its Catholic status,” the diocese said in an Oct. 20 statement.

“The hospital is in the process of renewing its status and ensuring its compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. This renewal process was necessary following the corporate reorganization of its parent company in January.”

The renewal is needed because Mercy Gilbert’s parent company, Catholic Healthcare West, was reorganized as a secular company under the name Dignity Health on Jan. 23.

As a result, Mercy Gilbert needs to renew their recognition as a Catholic institution with the Phoenix diocese.

Because this is an ongoing process, “Bishop Olmsted has a duty to the Catholic faithful to inform them that he cannot state with moral certitude that Mercy Gilbert Hospital provides Catholic health care which is in full conformity with the teaching of the Church,” the diocese said in an Oct. 18 press release.

Once the process is completed by the hospital, Bishop Olmsted will be able to recognize their Catholic identity.

This story from the Catholic News Service is a bit confusing. I don’t think the process being completed is what would enable the Bishop to give approval, but instead that it is found in conformity to Church teaching and the ERD. Though I would be skeptical that a company called “Dignity Health” will comply. Dignity seems to be the buzzword used whenever you want to approve some evil.

1 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
LiturgyPunditry

Almost every knee will bend

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Here is another reason I so prefer choir lofts.  I have long said that unlike children “choirs should be heard and not seen.”  If the choir I heard on Sunday had been in a choir loft I just might not have been annoyed by them and actually concentrated on the Mass instead.  Though I would probably have found another distraction.

This specific pet-peeve which seems to affect the majority of parish choirs is that they don’t kneel when they should. The  posture of kneeling is required for  the entire Eucharistic Prayer and yet choir members act like they are just hired labor outside the bounds of the Mass. Every knee shall bend before Jesus unless I guess you are a member of the choir.

The fact that most areas for the choir do not have kneelers is not a just reason for not kneeling.  Yes even if you are one of the leagues of folk guitarists that are so common at Mass you can still kneel and play chords to whatever crappy Marty Haugen song they are accompanying. If Jimi Hendrix could play his guitar with his teeth and behind his back, kneeling while playing guitar is just dead simple.  This especially goes for vocalists who don’t even have the instrument excuse.

Now I don’t want to be just ranting at choir members who after all are volunteering to help provide sacred music (giving the benefit of the doubt here) for the Mass.  Part of the problem is the example of how these choir areas have come to be constructed.  When no kneelers are provided this teaches them that they are exempt from kneeling. It just has become common and  is seen as accepted behavior.  I seriously doubt they are purposely violating the norm.

Now even a rant deserves caveats and certainly those that are unable to kneel due to physical condition are exempt.  Maybe just maybe all the choirs I have seen in my diocese that do this are made up totally of people with bad knees.

This reminds me of a related rant.  The faux-kneel where some just kind of lean forward instead of actually kneeling.  This also is very common, but again maybe I am attending Masses made up of people with bad knees.  If so I should start contributing to the “Aid to the Church in Knees.”

A bigger rant I aim for myself.  Here we have the absolute wonder of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the joy of receiving Our Lord in his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity and yet here I am noticing that the choir is just standing there.  If only my blog posts could perfect the liturgical aspects of the world so that I might become less distracted (if possible).

9 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
The Weekly Benedict

The Weekly Benedict eBook – Volume 35

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Weekly Benedict

This is the 35th volume of The Weekly Benedict ebook which is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Benedict. This volume covers material released during the last week for 8 October, 2012 – 21 October 2012.

The ebook contains a table of contents and the material is arranged in sections such as Angelus, Speeches, etc in date order. The full index is listed on Jimmy’s site.

The Weekly Benedict – Volume 35 – ePub (supports most readers)

The Weekly Benedict – Volume 35 – Kindle

There is an archive for all of The Weekly Benedict eBook volumes.  This page is available via the header of this blog or from here.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
PoliticsPro-lifePunditry

Consistency

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

You really can’t expect much from an article titled Why isn’t Paul Ryan on Catholic bishops’ ‘wafer watch’?

Mitt Romney and his Catholic running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, while pro-life, allow for exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

That might sound more conservative than Obama and Biden, but it is not in keeping with Catholic orthodoxy, argued Fordham University theologian Michael Peppard in the New York Times last week. Peppard says the sanctity of life is a prophetic teaching — not a political position.

In his op-ed, headlined “Paul Ryan, Catholic Dissident,” Peppard writes that there are no allowable exceptions when it comes to abortion.

None. Nada. Zero.

Therefore Ryan, who was in lockstep with Catholic orthodoxy before becoming Romney’s running mate, no longer is.

Have the bishops put Ryan, as they have Biden, on what’s called “wafer watch,” warning that he better not be taking communion if he continues to support a woman’s right to choose?

Not that I have heard.

First correction is that it is certainly true there is no allowable exceptions for direct abortion, this does not include cases involving double effect such as in ectopic pregnancies which are indirect abortion. Just to make a minor clarification.

Now first off it seems rather odd that a theologian who has written for the Huffington post and Commonweal is really the person who is going to schools people on Church teaching regarding abortion. Kind of the Church says this, but I am willing to write for the extreme pro-abortion organizations and write an article for the NYT proclaiming Rep. Ryan as dissident. Considering he has no track record proclaiming extreme pro-abortion Democrats as such. Besides the theologian who would even use the term “wafer watch” is more concerned with using an offensive neologism than being a truly Catholic theologian.

Michael Peppard had written.

The Catholic stance on abortion is not political but prophetic — a holistic and unyielding defense of the sacredness of life. The church’s staunch position on fetal personhood was on display two years ago in Phoenix, when Margaret McBride, a nun on the ethics board of St. Joseph’s Hospital, authorized an emergency abortion to save the life of a dying woman. Sister McBride was automatically excommunicated by her bishop (though later reinstated quietly). Mr. Ryan’s new position unites him with Sister McBride in defending the threatened life of a pregnant woman.

A theologian who says abortion “not political but prophetic” seems to me not to be a very good theologian. The teaching on abortion is a truth grounded in the natural law. Regarding the truth of Church teaching is not a “staunch position” and he couldn’t even bring himself to capitalize “Church.” Plus the phrase “automatically excommunicated by her Bishop” is so stupid it even makes armchair Canon layer like me chuckle. The Sister  was automatically excommunicated by her action and the bishop recognized the fact. As for Sister McBride being later reinstated quietly. The Hospital had emailed the Catholic News Service that she was no longer excommunicated. If this is true (never confirmed by the Diocese as far as I know) then she had repented of her action which is a very good thing. Mr. Peppard is trying to have it both ways here.

But it is always a good idea to look at your dismissiveness of what somebody said for reasons outside of what they said. This article really proclaims a “What is good for the goose is good for the gander” appeal. The so-called Communion wars that broke out with Sen. John Kerry’s Presidential run and that rears its head from time to time now has lead to Democrats wanting to put the shoe on the other foot. Though with Sen. John Kerry this was hard since his foot is often in his mouth.

There has been some outcry against Peppard’s original article, for example by the Catholic League. Though I think some of the critics have missed the point. It does not come down to a question of whether a Catholic may vote for a politician who is much more restrictive of abortion. The real question is would Rep. Paul Ryan meet the criteria under the infamous Canon 915? Here is a bit of trivia for you Canon 915 is the only Canon with its own Wikipedia page.

Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.

Previously Rep. Ryan had not supported such exceptions and is now going along with them. He basically has promised that the Romney/Ryan team will not act in regards to legislation and these exceptions. Leave off the fact that they will have no way to legislate on this in the first place at the Federal level, I don’t excuse such an attitude as simply being politically pragmatic and we know that he is “personally opposed.” The law is a teacher and what a politician publicly supports is also a teacher to a some extent. A political compromise concerning the moral law is a compromise of the moral law. Does this rise to the level outlined in Canon 915? It doesn’t seem to me to be such a solid case as in Catholic politicians who have voted for the evil of abortion and supported abortion in almost all cases. That being said I would also think it would be a good thing for Rep. Ryan’s Bishop to talk to him about this.

Michael Peppard  called for consistency and I would ask it from him as well. He is using this as a gotcha with no real concern with Mr. Ryan’s moral compromise. If what Ryan has said really does rise to the level explained in Canon 915 than it should be applied to him as a medicinal remedy to get him to repent of his support of the exceptions. I would certainly like to see a wider application of this Canon as a way to help Catholic politicians to receive the truth and to fully repent and when the case is just. I don’t care a whit about what political party the person belongs to but first off for their soul and then for the common good.

This brings me to another point. Earlier this week Matthew Warner wrote an excellent article I’m always confused by the “incest” exception for abortion. He brought up a point that had eluded me before. The large majority of cases involving incest are also cases of rape (statutory and otherwise).  He certainly makes some good points.

4 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Pro-lifePunditry

Contraceptive consequentialism

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Candidate and President Obama has done this multiple times and most recently in the second presidential debate.  Most famously he said that he didn’t want his daughters, “punished with a baby.” Equal opportunity has come to mean that women must become like men and not being able to get pregnant. Instead of the “sacred feminine” feminist will talk about it is more like the “scared feminine” where fecundity is a disease to be treated.  A pregnancy is only good if it was fully intended with conditions such as  right time, economic circumstance, and perhaps a Sun/Moon/Uranus conjunction.

Hearing statements from the President, Vice President, and their allies in the last couple of weeks show that part of the responsibility of a Democratic Party candidate is to proclaim the exceptionalism of Planned Parenthood. The President had previously said “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”, but his pride and support of Planned Parenthood is super patriotic in the sense of devotion and support. To be a modern day Democrat is to be a Planned Parenthood apologist.

It does seem that an organization that is so loved by Democrats is the one they seem to know so little about.  The President repeated the lie that Planned Parenthood did mammograms – something that has been debunked multiple times.  The Vice President even said  “And now these guys pledge that they are going to defund Planned Parenthood, which under law cannot perform any abortion.”  Well actually it is under law that they can’t perform mammograms since none of their clinics have a license to do so.  The President and some ads from Democrats have also lied that a President Romney would reduce access to cancer screenings.  Well Planned Parenthood can’t do cancer screenings, but they can prescribe you a class 1 carcinogenic in the form of hormonal contraceptions so that your chance of cancer is higher.  Really the President seems to be an extension of Margaret Sanger’s “Negro Project”.

“The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. And we do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.” (Margaret Sanger letter – 1939)

Rather odd that the one thing Planned Parenthood does the most of and makes the most money from is abortion and the non-coincidence  that this is never brought up when it comes to taxpayer funding.

As I have mentioned before it is interesting that with all this focus on female contraception that “safe sex” is almost never even mentioned anymore. I guess all those sexually transmitted diseases, which are still increasing, are no longer a concern. Maybe if you want to create the narrative that birth control is prohibitively expensive you just don’t want to promote cheap condoms as policy. Though the Obama Administration was quite willing to flood Peru with cheap condoms. The whole safe sex meme was always a bad response and once again birth control was favored over self control as Chesterton reminded us.

The artificial neutering of women as a form of equality reminds me of the Gnostic “Gospel of Thomas” where the Gnostic Jesus says “Look, I will lead her that I may make her male, in order that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male will enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The same goes for the liberal kingdom of heaven.

Recently a study showing that contraception reduces abortion rates has been much touted. The same people who say there is nothing morally wrong with abortion are saying this is a good thing. In the study they pushed implant forms of contraception along with IUDs. The reason abortion supporters have redefined conception to after implantation is so that abortion inducing products which prevent implantation by physical or chemical means can be ignored as causing abortions. Well I will wonder off the implantation and call this a lie. What the study is really saying is that they can reduce surgical abortions by means that sometimes induce early abortion. Regardless the argument that one intrinsic evil helps reduce another intrinsic evil is just not appealing to me. Just a form of contraceptive consequentialism.

Lydia McGrew at “What’s Wrong with the World” has a good article on the many other problems with this study.

Included in her post is something rather amazing about the timing of the study.

The results were so dramatic, in fact, that Peipert asked the journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology to publish the study before the Nov. 6 presidential election, knowing that the Affordable Care Act, and its reproductive health provisions, are major issues in the campaign.

“It just has so many implications for our society,” he told NBC News.

4 comments
0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Newer Posts
Older Posts