Catholic and Enjoying It! |
|
 Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again! Tips are deeply appreciated! Yes! I do take Credit Cards! Atom RSS Feed         Franciscan Friars of the Assumption Province - Religious Vocations for Men   Little Way Web Store  Hard to find holy cards and photographs of St. Therese imported directly from her store in Lisieux. We specialize in carmelite spirituality and offer a wide selection of books and gifts about carmelite spirituality. This is the website you have been waiting for. Gethsemane Garden Stones  Stations of the Cross Garden Stepping Stones transform your garden into a Prayer Garden Check Out "Rock Solid"  Mark Shea's Podcast                   
ARCHIVES
My Site (Mark-Shea.com)04/01/2002 - 05/01/2002 05/01/2002 - 06/01/2002 06/01/2002 - 07/01/2002 07/01/2002 - 08/01/2002 08/01/2002 - 09/01/2002 09/01/2002 - 10/01/2002 10/01/2002 - 11/01/2002 11/01/2002 - 12/01/2002 12/01/2002 - 01/01/2003 01/01/2003 - 02/01/2003 02/01/2003 - 03/01/2003 03/01/2003 - 04/01/2003 04/01/2003 - 05/01/2003 05/01/2003 - 06/01/2003 06/01/2003 - 07/01/2003 07/01/2003 - 08/01/2003 08/01/2003 - 09/01/2003 09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003 10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003 11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004 01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007 12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008 Act One: Writing for Hollywood AirMaria American Chesterton Society Ave Maria Singles Catherine of Siena Institute Catholic Educator's Resource Center Catholic Exchange Crossroads Initiative Decent Films Drudge Report Exceptional Marriages Gilbert Magazine MercatorNet Peter Kreeft Mars Hill Review St. Austin Review St. Blog's Prayer Network Star of the Sea: Catholic Resources from Paul Thigpen David Alexander's Man with Black Hat: Zydeco Catholic Mike Aquilina's Fathers of the Church Rod Bennett: Tremendous Trifles Domenico Bettinelli: Very Sensible Guy Nancy Brown: Flying Stars Elliot Bougis: Fides, Cogitatio, Actio Chris Burgwald's Veritas Cacciaguida: Defending the 12th Century Since the 14th Catholic World News - Off the Record Cosmos Liturgy Sex: That About Covers it All Disputations: Dedicated to Arguing Ross Douthat: The Atlantic's Most Sensible Writer Michael Dubruiel's Annunciations: Sanity in Cyberspace Envoy's Blog: A Banana Republic for Catholic Apologists Dawn Eden: The Dawn Patrol Get Religion: The Smartest Blog on the Web about Religion and Media Dave Hartline: The Catholic Report Heart, Mind and Strength: The Weblog of Exceptional Marriages and Other Fun Stuff Intentional Disciples: The Group Blog of the St. Catherine of Siena Institute Fr. Rob Johansen: Thrownback Christopher Johnson: Midwest Conservative Journal Daniel Larison: Eunomia Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Standing on My Head White Around the Collar Mary's Aggies: Aggies for Mary Mere Comments: Touchstone's blog Mommentary: Elinor Dashwood's Sensible Blog Barbara Nicolosi's Church of the Masses On the Square: The First Things Blog James Preece: Catholic and Loving it! (Not to be confused with another site of a similar name) Dale Price: Dyspeptic Mutterings Scott P. Richert is All About Catholicism Scrappleface: As Funny as the Onion The Shrine of the Holy Whapping: Fun Lovin' Catholic Nerds from Notre Dame Southern Appeal: The Law with 11 Catholic Herbs and Spices Andrew Sullivan: The 800 Pound Gorilla of the Blogosphere Who is Hopelessly Fuddled about Catholicism and Sex Mark Sullivan: Irish Elk Amy Welborn's Charlotte Was Both What's Wrong with the World: Sane People in Insane Times Eve Tushnet: Wide Ranging Mind Daniel Vitz: Committed to an Institute Vox Nova Blog: An Interest Catholic Group Blog Zippy Catholic: Committed to Catholic Common Sense etc
|
Friday, November 29, 2002
What! Going out to shop on the busiest shopping day of the year?! When, by a simple click, you could order autographed copies of my books (as well as some terrific tapes) from the comfort, convenience and safety of your own computer? What better way to say "Merry Christmas" than with faboo copies of:  Making Senses Out of Scripture
(Also, Making Senses Out of Scripture is available as a three tape set with a fourth bonus tape thrown in featuring my conversion story "How I Got This Way")  By What Authority?
 This is My Body and
 Shaken by Scandals
or my three tape set "An Evangelical Discovers the Catholic Faith". They're all so good, I don't want to play favorites. Just buy everything--several times! Your friends and family will blubber all over themselves with weepy gratitude this Christmas. Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Not much blogging today, but I want to say... Glory be to God for dappled things -- For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings; Landscape plotted & pieced -- fold, fallow, & plough; And áll trades, their gear & tackle & trim. All things counter, original, spáre, strange; Whatever is fickle, frecklèd, (who knows how?) With swíft, slów; sweet, sóur; adázzle, dím; He fathers-forth whose beauty is pást change: Práise hím. Glory be to God also for my family and dear friends, for food laid in for the feast, for readers who intrigue, inform, challenge, delight and perplex me, for breath, for movement, for the brush of my son's fingers on my cheek, for the feel of showers in the morning and pillow at night, for the feeling of accomplishment when you hit the "SEND" button and an article goes to the publisher, for the ability to whistle, for the cough that did not develop into pneumonia but dwindled and vanished, for sunlight, and the sound of laughter in the yard in summer, for strength when my father died, for love of those who are with me, for the miracle of the Holy Eucharist, for all things, both pleasant and hard, I thank you O God my Father, through Jesus Christ. (Feel free to add your own thanks to God in the comments!) Happy Thanksgiving y'all! It's all Grace! An interesting interview with the lovely and gracious poet Luci Shaw A terrific poet and a wonderful Christian. Continuing with Today's Light Blogging and Thanksgiving Theme... Another piece I wrote some time ago: Pilgrim's Progress From the "People Who Live in Glass Houses" Dept. Um, when your name is dangerously close to sounding Like "Cretin" do you really want your people popping off like this? A Washington Thanksgiving I wrote it a few years ago, but I'm still grateful. Now I'm grateful as well for my wife and children. The universe is full of grace, if you look. The sensible Eve Tushnet on the Wrong-Headed Demand that Homosexuals Become Heterosexual Instead of Chaste Despicable yes But the full-throttle hagiographic "Martyrdom of St. Eddie" tone of this story only goes to highlight the incredible media void Rod describes when it comes to brutal crimes against Christian lebensunwertensleben such as the insignificant and disposable Mary Stachowicz. ABC, to put it bluntly, does not give a shit that she's dead. She was the Wrong Sort of Person and her murderer meant well. A reader sez: I share your sentiments re: Law and the visit to the mosque. Dumb Dumb Dumb Critics of the homosexual movement, however, said yesterday the case should be treated as a hate crime against Christians because Mr. Gutierrez killed Mrs. Stachowicz after she shared her religious beliefs. "Hate crime" legislation is a stupid idea. It's an invitation to the Thought Police. (The Adventures of Commander Cressida Dick of the Diversity Directorate! Stamping out unacceptable thoughts in the name of diversity!) It does not cease to be stupid merely because the hatred is directed toward Christians. I don't care if a creep like Gutierrez hates me. I care if he tries to harm me. Christians are sealing their own death warrants if they give Caesar the power to prosecute for Incorrect Thoughts. Backward Ignorant Violent Repressive Bronze Age Thugs Slap Murderous Fatwa on Nigerian Reporter Over Triviality Reporter Makes Use of 20th Century Western Technology That Never Could Have Arisen in Backward, Corrupt, Ignorant Radical Islam-Ridden Lands to Flee to Liberty Rod Dreher Hits One Out of the Ballpark! Anything I say is gilding the lily. By the way, to his credit, Jody noted this story on his blog when it happened and didn't make the disgusting whiny excuses Wagner did. He even (mildly) condemned Gutierrez' act. On the other hand, he does make pathetic excuses for the vastly more muted coverage of the story than the Martyrdom of St. Mathew Shepard received. ("Hey! It was mentioned in a few outlets, so there's total parity!" is his logic.) And he never even bothers to deal with the other examples of media bias in anti-Christian crimes. Most absurd of all, he somehow manages to suggest that Mass caused the murder (while, of course, insisting that he's not really suggesting it). I think he thought he was being oh-so-witty. Mostly he was coming off as a perfect manifestation of the media culture that makes it so possible to belittle the death of Mary Stachowicz, who possessed a life not entirely worthy of being lived and won't be missed all *that* much by Truly Cultured and Intelligent People like Jody. I give his performance a D-. Robertson, you see, is a maniac who wants to ignite a religious war That's what any Christian is who suggests that all is not well in the founding documents of the Religion of Peace. But Muslims who kill a hundred people over a beauty pageant are "reasonable people". Monday, November 25, 2002
What! Everywhere isn't here? This will come as a shock both to watery liberals who can't stand a forthright orthodox Christian faith and to Lidless Eyes who strain at gnats (eek! the Pope received a traditional Indian greeting!) while overlooking the camel of a great deal of gung ho orthodoxy because it isn't dressed in the trappings of Tridentine piety (which is, of course, the only form of true Catholic piety the world has ever known). No, the southward movement of the gospel is not the Panacea for All Ills. Nothing in this world is. But it's a hopeful sign, on the whole. I, for one, have never met a bad African priest. I hope we get an African Pope. Disputations Makes a Good Point... that I mostly agree with and partly disagree with. Speaking as a Catholic, I agree completely (and have stated elsewhere) that insofar as a bishop is delivering the Tradition or acting in his office as teacher, his "moral authority" is utterly irrelevant to whether we should listen to him. Even Jesus makes this point. Insofar as they speak from office, even the Pharisees who demanded Jesus' death were to be heeded--but not imitated. It is simply not that case that Law (whose sins are considerably less than that of direct responsibility for the murder of God Incarnate) is "impossible" to take seriously. I take him seriously, by virtue of his office. That said, prudence also dictates that yer average citizen of this here Republic *is* going to find him much more easy to ignore now that he has shown himself to be a dunderhead. Not, of course, that people were hanging on the bishop's words before the Scandal. But the reality is that gross immorality and corruption *does* compromise the Church's witness to the world. As Paul sez: "you then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:21-24). This is simply a basic psychological fact and the Church will have to live with this compromised witness for a long time. In that sense, I agree with Rod and believe that it will therefore be all the more urgent that authentic *lay* witnesses to the teaching of the Church live out their baptism with fidelity, so that the Church's teaching may be compelling and not sneered at as Instapundit did the other day. But I disagree that that the lack of moral authority on the part of many bishops has anything whatever to do with whether a lay Catholic should listen to them when they speak from office and not from their person. Harry Potter as a closet Catholic A reader writes: I was driving around today listening to the John Williams soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (excellent stuff, BTW) and realized something pretty...well, strange. Hmmm... I know Rowling has a ton of background in this sort of arcana, but I'm still rather skeptical that she's really making an appeal for the return of England to the bosom of Holy Church. Still, a fun and imaginative bit of exegesis. I know this will tick a lot of my readers off (so what else is new?) But I don't see that this is particularly wrong.The council calls us to affirm what can be affirmed in common with Islam. He's not doing or saying anything that John Paul (and Peter Kreeft, for that matter) haven't said or done. A few years ago, when the Clinton administration was trying to impose abortion on the world at Cairo, the Pope said (and conservatives affirmed) pretty much was Law says here: that we do have much in common with Islam vs. the secular culture of death. Apart from the messenger (and Amy's made some salient points here) what's wrong with the message? Let no good deed go unpunished! Here's how press bias works. All over the world, a human race that ignores, in various ways, what God says about sexual morality and drug use is currently suffering from the horrible scourge of AIDS. No institution on the planet has done more to bring comfort and succor to victims of this scourge than the Church in its many manifestations all over the globe. But--mark this--it has failed to do it with absolute flawless perfection! Dear heaven! It turns out members of the Church are human beings who recoil from deadly diseases and their ghastly effects! Some of these people, feeling bad about this, put together a little statement which focused on the need to continue helping victims of AIDS, and included something many American bishops seem to be unable to muster: a frank confession of their occasional failures: We acknowledge with deep regret: What are we to conclude from this? "Catholics admit persecution of AIDS victims" That's right. Persecution. Human failure to perfectly and instantly embrace victims of a disease that often has revolting physical consequences and is often acquired in revolting ways is tantamount to persecution. Only bigotry and hate can account for it. And, of course, building on the rock solid foundation of such a headline, we then move to op ed pieces like this or even more sensible remarks like Kimberly Mills of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer who regurgitates the normal chatter about the Vatican being "officially silent during the Holocaust," and then blames the Church for AIDS in Africa. "Now a viral version of Hitler is rampaging through another part of the world," she says, "and the Vatican risks similar ignominy if it cannot find a way to relax the ban on condoms, particularly in Africa where more than 25 million people have been infected with HIV." What strange power the Church has. It cannot keep the world from committing promiscuity and fornication and homosexual acts on a daily basis, but by some weird magic, all the people doing these things are petrified of using a condom because of the Church. Meanwhile, the only serious way to avoid infection is (surprise!) the way the Church urges: by heeding its teaching on sexual morality and drug use. Sin makes you stupid. I wonder how many of these righteous reporters have worked in an AIDS hospice. A reader offers an antidote to Left Behind I've referenced this in a couple of comment boxes, but in light of the wide (and highly unfortunate) popularity of the Left Behind stuff, I think it deserves a larger audience. I should also mention that Benson had the temerity to steal the title of my second book--By What Authority?--decades before I was born and without telling me, so that when my book was published, I only found out Benson had used it after the fact. Boston's Hierarchy Continues to Distinguish Itself With its Courage and Justice Same cowardice, only now the people being abandoned in the rush to neglect responsibility are priests instead of victims. I'm impressed with this guy: "Foster says it is the victims of priests, and not him, who deserve the church's undivided attention. Would that the Boston hierarchy had an ounce of his selflessness. Take a second, maybe save a life I know, I know. It's Oprah "Islam means peace" Winfrey's site. But she's doing the right thing. Send an email to the Nigerian ambassador and make noise about the backward cretinous Bronze Age barbarism of stoning Amina Lawal to death. Maybe they'll listen to a million or so protests and spare her. The weird part of this is that there are many multi-culti apologists who will say, "She had it coming. She was evangelical about her faith." The post-Christian West has a sort of death wish, I think. The stupidity of all this is... you don't have to cast the dragnet this wide. And you can start by, oh, focusing on every Saudi or Yemeni who comes here. But no. We have to pry into the bank account of Carl Krebsbach in Lake Wobegon. He *might* be a terrorist. Memo to the US Gov't (and I know you can hear me, or will be able to soon): We are at war with Radical Islamicists, not the blue-haired lady from my parish and not a legion of Britney Spears fans. The Homeland Security logo says it all. And remember: once this become law, it's going to be law forever. The Feds, once they seize sweeping powers, are extremely loath to give them back. A Christian interview with Phillip Pullman is here and a First Things review of his extremely well-written and destructive books is here. FT also has a nice review of Harry Potter, who so many Christians are foolishly in a lather about. Future generation are going to look back on this one and wonder why we spent so much time wetting ourselves over Harry and didn't notice Pullman. Friday, November 22, 2002
I'm outta here for the weekend Before I go, the enterprising Dave Armstrong took a thread I participated in last year concerning the Gathering for Peace at Assisi and boiled it into a single web page article (amazing editor, that Dave). Here it is. I was writing in response to a protracted sneer about Assisi published by Chris Ferrara, who seems to be in some danger of becoming a protracted sneer. It includes responses from other folks and some back and forth between us (though not Ferrara, who was not on the board). I've never, for the life of me, been able to see what the problem was with Assisi, though I have friends who disliked it a great deal. Anyway, if you are looking for something to make your juices flow over the weekend, this should do it. Oh, and for Thanksgiving, I plan to give thanks, among other things, for youse guys--your intelligence, interest, love, thoughfulness, generosity and general rambunctiousness. So... thanks! There but for the grace of God go I I hear stuff like this a lot about guys like Law: "Law and others apparently have the attitude that priests are demigods who can do no wrong". I hear them described as men of calculated malice, etc. I don't think that's accurate. Here's my take on how somebody like Law gets himself where he is: I think I'm looking at a man who spent his life basically thinking (as we all do) "I'm a decent guy, and I'm doing good work for the world. Just look at my civil rights work! I didn't become a priest to be a functionary, but to serve God and people. I remember when I felt the call of God and said yes. Sure age has taken the edge off my youthful zeal and I've made a few compromises, but I'm still basically OK. I'm not a saint, but I'm a decent chap! Sure I sin, but I'm not evil." Put such a man (who, like most bishops, wants to avoid conflict as much as possible) in situations where people scream about a grave injustice, and he will do what Law did: avoid conflict, promise resolution, take parental quietude in response to such promises as the resolution itself (whew! conflict avoided!) and then, to avoid conflict with the priest, reassign him. It's not that he thinks the priest a demi-god. It's that he's too much of a coward to confront somebody he doesn't want to look at closely for fear of having to face conflict. "The psychs said it was okay, and a decent guy like me can hardly be expected to do much more." The illusion of "I'm a decent chap" thus goes on undisturbed for years, the parents are content (they think something's being done and so something *has* been done, by the canons of conflict-avoidance) or, if not, they are muffled by bureaucracy, and the priest is not giving you trouble. And so it piles up for years, all while you seriously believe that you are "basically doing a good job--not perfect, but good" because there are no major conflicts--till the colossal roar from the wings of thousands of chickens coming home to roost deafens you and you have to face some huge and terrifying facts about yourself that nothing in your conflict-avoiding life has prepared you to face. It doesn't take titanic evil to achieve this. It just takes little acts of conflict-avoidance so small you might never notice them if you've trained yourself to think in a certain way--a way that is rather common among more of us than I care to think. Look no further than an Internet BBS, an email list, or the comments boxes of the blogosphere when some rampaging ranter comes storming through hurling insults at everybody. How many people just quietly fold up and look the other way? How many actually spring to the defense of the abusive personality in the desperate hope that they can get the conflict to go away via appeasement? It's not a rare psychological trait. It's a temptation I struggle with myself. In short, there but for the grace of God go I. And so, when I look at Law's testimony (and at his slowly-arrived-at admission, only seriously articulated long after this testimony, that he has indeed done great evil) I see a snapshot of a man grappling with facing that fact and doing it badly last summer. But given his more recent statements which seem to me to really be attempts at taking responsibility for the evil he has done, I also see a man who is struggling with agonizing slowness toward serious acknowledgement that he has committed grave evil. I wonder how I would do if I had to face something like this about myself. This is not to say "To understand all is to excuse all." As I wrote below, there is no excuse for Law's gravely sinful inaction. Rather, it is to try to accurately diagnose just what went wrong. I don't see calculated malice in Law. I don't see "creative evil" (look to Shanley, or Kurt Cobain for that). Rather, I see passive cowardice. Likewise for somebody like McCormack. Do you think for one second that he *really* "didn't notice" that Shanley was advocating sex with minors. Of course, he noticed. But, miserable coward, he trained himself not to notice because he could stave off conflict that way. With Law, given his more recent statements that seem (at last!) to be taking some real responsibility for the evil he has done, I *hope* I'm seeing somebody with a long habit of passive cowardice slowly struggling to throw off the habit and take some responsibility, post-deposition. But at the end of the day, there's no excuse for his inaction. Indeed, his torpor in taking responsibility *adds to* and does not excuse his guilt here. So the only recourse for us who have been wounded by his sin is forgiveness, not excusing, since forgiveness is precisely ordered toward sin, not toward well-meaning faux pas. Until he retires, that's pretty much what we have to do--as we prosecute, where Caesar deems it appropriate. And pray to God that he does not make trial of our cowardice in such a fiery furnace. They must recruit bishops from the bottom 25% of the class or something Yeah! Great idea! Let's kick off our Abortion Education Program with this trial! George W. Bush Complains Maureen Dowd is Inciting a Climate of Hate Against Him and His Family Rather far-fetched headline, right? That's because Bush is not a desperate demagogue with nothing to offer. Kudos to Greg Krehbiel for this observation. Amy's right It's a culture of protectiveness that puts the good of the chum above the good of the victim. It forms no legitimate part of the Tradition but is, like anti-semitism was for so long, an aspect of the Shadow Tradition, the sin the haunts the Church from its inception. Traditionalists very often confuse the Tradition with the Shadow Tradition because they assume "If it's old, it's automatically part of the Tradition." And so, among the Lidless Eye crowd on the right, we see frequent indulgences of anti-semitism (see "Sungenis, Bob") and apologies for Jew-bashing. In the same way, we are seeing a long standing aspect of the Shadow Tradition with episcopal cover-ups and stonewalling of sin against the flock. There is no necessary reason for this garbage. It forms no part of what Jesus or the apostles established. Rather, it lives in the Shadow of the gospel. One might just as well say that sin itself is part of the Tradition since it too has always been with the Church. My hope is that this is the age the Holy Spirit has chosen to finally root out this shadow that has hovered about the Church for far too long. There is a gap between "bare minimal compliance with human decency" and "sanctity". Caesar's job is to make sure that clergy who sink below the "bare minimum" line are punished. But he cannot compel sanctity. The only one who can bring that about is the Holy Spirit and the contrite sinner. I want to see criminal punished. But more than that, I want to see our episcopacy look beyond bare minimum compliance (something many are only now figuring out) and become saints. It can happen. But some serious repentance has to happen first. Meanwhile, let Caesar do his job! Clergy are not above the law! Kevin Miller Agrees with Me, More or Less, About PBA I think the Abortion Party is still galvanisable about this. Nothing gets people fired up like attacks on their fundamental religious beliefs and the Dems view abortion as a sacrament (suggesting that Moloch is tanned, rested, and ready for worship). Indeed, some of the more outre abortion proponents out in the wilderlands of neo-paganism have in fact offer apologies (mixed up with mumbo jumbo about "rituals of self-empowerment") to suggest that abortion is a positive good whereby the Goddess asserts her power over creation, etc. blah blah. I think it was Cicero who said "There is no idea so foolish that some philosopher has not said it." Oh, and speaking of which... It's also the Feast Days of C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley. In honor of all three, here is my piece, "Paranoia is the Serious Business of Heaven". This being the Feast Day for John Fitzgerald Kennedy... I thought I'd offer my JFK Assassination Conspiracy Theory. My theory is that Lee Harvey Oswald was this nut with a gun who got up in the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository and shot the president. I know it sounds crazy and improbable, but there it is. Thursday, November 21, 2002
Scrappleface on Homeland Security Me: I've thought of a perfect Christmas Carol to spruce up this advertising-impaired organization's image for the holidays "They know when you've been sleeping They know when you're awake They know if you've been bad or good, so be good, for goodness sake!" The Awesome Power of the Cross Such mercy will one day triumph over all. Surely this man is a son of Abraham. May his wife rest in peace. I just knew I'd get some Kopp apologists coming out of the woodwork And offering the normal unbelievably far-fetched moral conundrums to try to justify a grade A a******'s cold blooded act of vigilante murder ("Well what if you were a Polish Jew with a gun to your head, with an SS officer threatening your mom, and Vanna White offering you three guesses about which of three Dodge Caravans contained your quivering grandmother, and they both gave you exactly ten seconds to shoot one of your children, before they...") Guys: These incredibly far-flung moral conundrums are all well and good, but now let's return to earth, shall we? Kopp's act was evil. Period. Murder is evil. You can't even give the lame excuse that he was saving a life. He saved nobody's life. He is, indeed, the accessory to many more murders now. Suzie Q, who was going to have her abortion at Slepian's clinic just went someplace else. And, of course, pro-choicers were provided with a fresh Horst Wessel for the Martyrology. Let's turn the tables, shall we? You are Jesus of Nazareth, living in the time when Pontius Pilate slaughtered innocent Galileans and mingled their blood with their sacrifices. You have this friend named Simon the Zealot who has worked through all the vigilante theory carefully and can justify slitting the throat of any Roman centurion he finds alone and unprepared. So, do you begin your reign as the Son of David by murdering a number of Romans in their beds (think of the evil they *would* have done). Or are there other ways the Kingdom is to come? Don't defend this creep. He is a murderer, liar, thief and traitor. He needs forgiveness, not excuses. When he's not trying to prop up the creaky and preposterous edifice of atheism... Andy's rather sensible. (see his blog on "The Black Men of America". Me: I'm suffering from post-Cromwell Stress Syndrome. I haven't been the same since the Brits took over Ireland. You people owe me! Big time! All of you!!!! My other website is www.mark-shea.com Now and then I look at the stats on the site to see where traffic is coming from. You know what pulls in a huge number of Google hits? "Stick bugs" You people are mysterious to me. So... Did Bush Issue an Order for Gov't Art saying... "Give me something that will really make folks flesh creep!" Apparently so, given that *this* is yet another example of a "Homeland Security" logo: 
Talk about the "Lidless Eye". Brrrrr. Update for unbelievers: It's not a gag. See? Thanks to JB the Kairos Guyfor this. And for being my Comment of the Day Winner: "Bring me the eye of Osama bin Laden!" The NY Times grasps at straws For months they insisted Bush could not prosecute war with Iraq because this would be "unilateral" and the UN had to sign off. So they did. Now that's not good enough either. Reactions, Outrage, a few Stupid Excuses for James C. Iscariot from Prolife Voices Just say he is a murderer, liar, thief, and traitor. Full stop. Don't come to me with any of this "Well, if you push people far enough..." BS. David Mills at Touchstone Follows up on the Watery Judaism piece in the NY Times yesterday Scroll down. Others Have Noted this is Creepy... 
But Huw has made it clear why. The eye used to be God's. Now it's Caesar's. Sleep well. Hey! All you "Shooting Abortionists is an Act of Just War" Advocates Out There! Just save time and slap the words "I Am a Babykiller" on all your T-shirts and hats right now. Thanks to morons like you, murderer and latter day Judas Iscariot James Kopp is now the Face of the Prolife Movement, and an invaluable aid to Planned Parenthood and the acolytes of the Cult of Abortion. A reader writes:
Don't even try to defend this a******. He is an accomplice to the death of several million more babies, as well as a murderer, thief, traitor and liar. Meanwhile, in Iran, the Radical Islamic House of Cards Teeters on the Brink I wonder if the gospel will find hearers there now that Islam has made itself such a stench in the nostrils of its victims? Un-freakin'-believable No comment necessary: From Cardinal Law's deposition of August 13, 2002 There are no excuses left. Excusing is for people who have excuses. Forgiveness is for people who have sinned. It remains for us only to forgive. And for Caesar to prosecute, if he finds grounds to do so. Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Why it will take the grace of God to fight the war on terror Natural virtues will not be enough. Supernatural hope is required. Jesus Christ is a known supplier of this. Nobody else is. Why Reform Judaism is sort of like liberal Protestantism for Jews He makes a couple of good points, but winds up being a living demonstration of why liberal Judaism is becoming so hard to distinguish from Unitarianism or some other form of religious methadone treatment: As Judaism focuses on its imminent demise, it grows less attractive to those looking for a living connection to something greater than the self. Many people turn to religion as a way of shifting their inward focus, not amplifying it. It is for this reason, perhaps, that so many people born Jewish have ended up gravitating toward the outward-reaching cause of civil rights, the quest for social justice or even the ego-shattering practice of Buddhism. To me it seems a cruel joke that many of the Jews who follow these pursuits are then, because they lack any synagogue affiliation, counted in studies as "lapsed" and mourned as the religion's failures. er, yeah, sure. Why should it be thought a failure just because Jews abandon the God of Israel for Buddhism or "social justice" or some other trendiness? On the other hand, I agree with him that Judaism should be about something besides its own demographics. It's just that he doesn't really seem to have an idea of what that is. I do: the worship of the God of Israel. Orthodox Jews know this too, which is why they are doing much better than Reformed Jews. C.S. Lewis and Peter Kreeft both argue that people who are seeking the true heart of their own tradition are much closer to Catholics than those who are seeking to water it down and explain it away. I think there's a really sound insight there. Of course, the trick is knowing what the true heart of a tradition is. Many would argue that bin Laden is an expression of the "true heart" of Islam. I disagree. The true heart of any tradition is the one that leads the worshipper closer to self-donating love. There are two ways to pervert love: to make it cold (which is the characteristic sin of the watering down types) or to make it hot but pervert its end (which is the sin of zealots like bin Laden). But it's also possible to pursue true love in other traditions. And when that is done, it is Christ who is being pursued, whether we humans know it or not. Stop Genetic Diseases with your Screen Saver! A reader sez: I've come across a distributed-computing project very much like SETI@Home, save that this project deals with the "folding" of proteins. Since it's thought that some diseases may be caused by proteins that have gotten misfolded I'd think that this rates as a worthy cause. The folding site is http://folding.stanford.edu And, if you're willing to pitch this to your admiring public, I've even set up a St Blogs On The Web team; the team number is 12489, and the team statistics can be found at http://folding.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/teampage?q=12489 A friend observes regarding the current hoohah about the inclination of the Church's bishops toward peace... I think some of this reflects a certain anger at the clerical estate which you’ve eluded to in your blog, and perhaps even a residual clericalism that isn’t willing to shoulder personal responsibility. It would be nifty neeto if we could wash our hands of all moral responsibility by getting the go-ahead for a real honest to Allah jihad (like our enemies believe they have), rather than realizing that we are doing something imperfect but, given what we know, probably necessary. I think to, to be fair, there is a certain innocence bordering on the naïve in some of the Holy See’s pronouncements concerning Islam, peace in the Middle East, etc. which reflects the desperate juggling of pastors who are looking out for the interests of the not-inconsiderable number of Christians in the Middle East (a number of whom live in Iraq) and so are constrained in their comments and assessment by their sense of the complexity of the situation and of all the possible very messy outcomes. What separates us as Americans from the fascists who glory in war in and of itself is that we are making the case that this really is a desperate measure to cope with a too dangerous situation-and that involves making prudential judgments with which it is possible in good faith to disagree. I think that's about right. At the end of the day, Just War theory is just that: theory. It's a conceptual tool for trying to evaluate enormously complex situations in the midst of a gospel that is, so to speak, biased toward blessing peacemakers. As much as my tribe of conservative Catholics would like it to be otherwise, it's gonna be a very long wait before bishops shout "God wills it!" to a prudential judgment that potentially involves the death of millions of people, should the fog of war descend and the best laid plans of mice and men go awry. The bishops have done pretty much what I would expect a pastor to do: cited their concerns and stated why they are skeptical that this war meets just war criteria. They have bound nobody's conscience and said we're free to disagree while leaving it up to Caesar to do his job as he sees fit, within conscience. This is, paradoxically, one of the things that makes the West so great. We are extremely skeptical that our wars are Holy Wars. We think them humanly necessary, but are not easily persuaded that whatever we want is, of course, What God Wills. So I continue to not begrudge the bishops their opinion, while holding my own. Why is Bush downplaying the trumpet calls for a partial birth abortion ban? Because the surest way to ignite the spirit of jihad in the dying embers of the Abortion Party is to launch a full frontal assault on the sacrament of abortion. All you Eeyores. Try to bridle your despair at least till the Republican's have been inaugurated, okay? Me: I'm very confident partial birth abortion will be banned. It just won't happen with fanfare. Playwright Jim Sherman wrote this today after Hu Jintao was named chief of the Communist Party in China. HU'S ON FIRST By James Sherman (We take you now to the Oval Office.) George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening? Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China. George: Great. Lay it on me. Condi: Hu is the new leader of China. George: That's what I want to know. Condi: That's what I'm telling you. George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China? Condi: Yes. George: I mean the fellow's name. Condi: Hu. George: The guy in China. Condi: Hu. George: The new leader of China. Condi: Hu. George: The Chinaman! Condi: Hu is leading China. George: Now whaddya' asking me for? Condi: I'm telling you Hu is leading China. George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China? Condi: That's the man's name. George: That's who's name? Condi: Yes. George: Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of China? Condi: Yes, sir. George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle East. Condi: That's correct. George: Then who is in China? Condi: Yes, sir. George: Yassir is in China? Condi: No, sir. George: Then who is? Condi: Yes, sir. George: Yassir? Condi: No, sir. George: Look, Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone. Condi: Kofi? George: No, thanks. Condi: You want Kofi? George: No. Condi: You don't want Kofi. George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N. Condi: Yes, sir. George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N. Condi: Kofi? George: Milk! Will you please make the call? Condi: And call who? George: Who is the guy at the U.N? Condi: Hu is the guy in China. George: Will you stay out of China?! Condi: Yes, sir. George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N. Condi: Kofi. George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone. (Condi picks up the phone.) Condi: Rice, here. George: Rice? Good idea. And a couple of egg rolls, too. Maybe we should send some to the guy in China. And the Middle East. Can you get Chinese food in the Middle East? Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Pavel Chichikov is making a very good point In response to some of the more zealous pro-war types who are disgusted because the Pope and the bishops urge against war with Iraq, he writes in a comment below, "I don't *ever* want to hear my bishops advocating or justifying war. I want them to urge peace up until the last moment." And, come to think of it, when *was* the last time you heard of a Pope or bishop *urging* war? Not just this Pope, but I mean, like, any Pope in our lifetime or in the lifetime of our great great grandparents? Did *any* Pope of the 20th Century *advocate* war? The popes on the eve of both world wars struggled mightily against it and urged that war not be fought. Were they also spineless wimps who loved dictators? Or were they acting as counter-cultural witnesses for peace? They did not (as our bishops do not) label the wars against aggression immoral. But they still urged against war while leaving it up to Caesar to make the final call. The more I think about it, the more I would hardly expect (or want) them to do anything else. There's something appalling about the thought of a bishop or Pope *advocating* war. It's like the thought of a Pope standing outside a prison waving a frying pan during an execution and cheering. Or throwing a party to celebrate the termination of a tubal pregnancy. The Church's theology suffers the awful reality of just war and does not call it immoral. But to expect the Church to celebrate and root for war is somehow deeply tone deaf to the message of the gospel: "Blessed are the peacemakers." I think, more and more, that the witness for peace of the bishops is something like the witness of celibacy. It's not binding on the rest of us, but it still challenges us to think of things higher than realpolitik and to try to strive heroically for peace rather than just settle for war with a sort of tired sense of inevitability. As a layman, I still think the war with Iraq needs to be fought. But I do not share the contempt so many conservatives seem to have for bishops because they urge peace. I wonder more and more what the hell else we should expect them to do? Tin Ear Award Goes to Planned Parenthood For offering this sentiment... in honor of a holiday which, for most Americans, is all about a Birth. Brings new meaning to our Lord's saying: "Inasmuch as you did it to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me." What's next? The NRA taking out an ad on the glories of gun ownership on Martin Luther King Day? How about a special NASCAR event in honor of the anniversary of Princess Diana's death? A fireworks display on September 11? Such promotional ideas would only be slightly less tasteless than PP's latest contribution to our civilization. Thanks (I think) to Minute Particulars for alerting me to this. And thanks to Veritas, which gave it to Minute Particulars. Okay, apart from the bizarre story itself which of these passages from the sycophantic press apologies for Michael Jackson's bizarreness is more loony? "There are also speculations the singer may pick up a Bambi lifetime achievement award on Thursday from the German Burda Publishing house." "Bambi Lifetime Achievement Award"? or "Michael is a very responsible father and it's just hard for me to believe that he dangled his son over the railing of his balcony" - Jackson's friend Uri Geller (!!!) (Well, if spoon bender and psychic quack Uri Geller vouches for him...) or (my favorite) the ABC News headline "Michael Jackson Apparently Holds Baby out Window" It's accompanied with images like this: 
"Apparently" he's holding a baby out the window. Five stories up. Apparently. But we shouldn't be in so much of a rush to judge. Cameras can play tricks on the eye, you know. And here's another example of hard-hitting journalism going toe-to-toe with the Cult of Celebrity to defend the children: The BBC's Glenda Cooper: "It was an eccentric way to greet fans" Boy, with supercharged moral indignation like that, the rich and powerful will be lying awake tonight, knowing that the Vigilant Guardians of Children in our Press Corps are On the Job! How could our bishops come to live in such an insular world when the free press is so aggressive against any and all abusers of children? Memo to the Stupid Party Lead, dammit! It's finally in your power to save the lives of babies. Do it. So does this mean the war starts anytime? I mean, what's the point of inspections if Saddam is already cheating (which was not a huge surprise)? 'nother question: How do they know he's cheating if they haven't started the inspections? Sad and bleak There's a pagan sadness to these little "Remnant" groups, so clearly destined to wither like little flowers. Very often you find a few truly beautiful souls in them (often born into them), and a great deal of stoic pride that is trying soldier on to the Millennium through sheer dint of will. Such pride typically results in the sort of control freak behavior seen in the article. It's a pride that has no patience or room for the weak slobs which most of us are, and tends to go to its grave sounding like Hitler's Last Will and Testament, blaming the followers for not being worthy of the Greatness of their founder. Like I say, Caesar is the guarantor of episcopal compliance with basic justice If you will not obey the higher law of love willingly, you will obey the lower law of justice whether you will or no, Cardinal Egan. I'm amazed to find myself agreeing with Richard McBrien. The thrill of agony! The victory of defeat! It's the WORLD ROCK PAPER SCISSORS SOCIETY! Now, you're probably wondering how I'm going to tie this to Catholic faith, aren't you? You probably think I can't do it! Doncha? Huh? Doncha? AHEM! Human beings differ from the rest of the animal kingdom in that, in the absence of biological opportunity, animals go to sleep. We get bored and invent stuff like Rock Paper Scissors. A tiny sign of our being made in the image of a Creator God. We are like animals in all the things that don't matter. We are unlike them in all the things that do. But, of course, the real reason I blogged it is just cuz I thought it was weird and cool. Monday, November 18, 2002
|
