Monday, October 30, 2006
Prayers for Beth Reed
The Parousians would like to thank Joey Reed for taking the time to visit with us at our meeting this past Sunday. We would like to thank those of you who have remembered Beth Reed and her family in their prayers and we ask that you continue to do so.
Commenting on the Reveille's Abortion Discussion
The Parousians would like to thank everyone who has been able to post on Reveille's website in connection with the abortion debate. If you have not yet had a chance to post a response to Shanelle Matthews' rebuttal but would still like to, the link can be found here.
Shanelle Matthews: "Some Things Just Aren't Your Business"
Shanelle Matthews: "Some Things Just Aren't Your Business"
Dealing with Evolution
Thanks to everyone who made it to yesterday's meeting. Next Sunday, at 8 o'clock at Ryan Halford's residence Will Newman will be presenting on the the exegetical and theological problems associated with evolution. It will review Sacred Scripture, Patristic writings, and Conciliar Documents and will draw on the wisdom of Catholic luminaries from St. Augustine to our current Pope Benedict in order to understand these difficulties and sketch out some possible solutions. Again, if you need directions to Ryan's house feel free to contact(504) 952-0247.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Freeing Morality: A Brief Case for Moral Humanity
From founding Parousian and Alive and Young blogger Paul Catalanatto:
To those individuals who propose that morality is a made up invention of humanity. To those people who seek to free humanity from such oppressive codes of conduct as morality, and who view morality as if it is an old shoe with a hole in it, which has worn out its usefulness and should be discarded. Their proof for these claims: none.
They might point to a fossil and imagine that this person could not have possibly lived morally because they imagine that the person, who is of the fossil, did not live in a city or have technology and was closer to a rogue Rousseauian agent living in the woods resembling something closer to an animal then a human.
They discuss prehistoric humanity as if prehistoric humanity had left textbooks, diaries, and media to be studied. Their scientific qualifications for such claims rest upon their knowledge of prehistoric humanity, which can only be derived from: 1) Their knowledge of the prehistoric person. 2) Their knowledge of the critical study of prehistoric writings. 3) Their knowledge of prehistoric society, culture, religion, etc. None of which exist in the time of historic humanity so that they can be studied.
They find no evidence to base their claims upon, so they make it up as they go along. Their logic states that if there is no evidence for such a thing then that thing must not have existed. This reasoning is flawed. Just because there is no evidence for something does not mean that it does not or did not exist – or perhaps the evidence is in a different package science does not recognize. For example, there is no evidence for my prehistoric ancestors, yet I assure you that I do have prehistoric ancestors – if I didn’t I would not exist. Yet, because I exist only proves that I have prehistoric ancestors.
Therefore, it can equally be argued that humanity has been civilized and moral from its origin. Proof for this claim: humanity lives morally and civilized now and every evidence of history points to this conclusion. There is no evidence to state that humanity has lived otherwise. In fact, what humanity does know, and what every history and literature student learns, is that things exist in a state long before being recorded in writing. That is, the oral history, oral morality, and oral art existed long before written history, written morality, and written art. In other words, history provides evidence for prehistoric civility and morality being closer to our current civility morality than most want to believe. Even the most ancient of cultures that we have today (the Australian aborigines) exhibits some degree of civility towards one another.
I cannot seem to understand why and how the nomad is less civilized than the city dweller, nor why the ancient whom believed in gods less moral and less civilized than today’s modern who believes in economics? Why exactly is the caveman less of an artist because his paintings are found in a cave and not hung in a museum?
Lastly, to those who wish to free humanity of its morality, I offer this advice.
Freeing one's self of morality is much like freeing one's self of clothes at a cocktail party: it is not recommended.
To those individuals who propose that morality is a made up invention of humanity. To those people who seek to free humanity from such oppressive codes of conduct as morality, and who view morality as if it is an old shoe with a hole in it, which has worn out its usefulness and should be discarded. Their proof for these claims: none.
They might point to a fossil and imagine that this person could not have possibly lived morally because they imagine that the person, who is of the fossil, did not live in a city or have technology and was closer to a rogue Rousseauian agent living in the woods resembling something closer to an animal then a human.
They discuss prehistoric humanity as if prehistoric humanity had left textbooks, diaries, and media to be studied. Their scientific qualifications for such claims rest upon their knowledge of prehistoric humanity, which can only be derived from: 1) Their knowledge of the prehistoric person. 2) Their knowledge of the critical study of prehistoric writings. 3) Their knowledge of prehistoric society, culture, religion, etc. None of which exist in the time of historic humanity so that they can be studied.
They find no evidence to base their claims upon, so they make it up as they go along. Their logic states that if there is no evidence for such a thing then that thing must not have existed. This reasoning is flawed. Just because there is no evidence for something does not mean that it does not or did not exist – or perhaps the evidence is in a different package science does not recognize. For example, there is no evidence for my prehistoric ancestors, yet I assure you that I do have prehistoric ancestors – if I didn’t I would not exist. Yet, because I exist only proves that I have prehistoric ancestors.
Therefore, it can equally be argued that humanity has been civilized and moral from its origin. Proof for this claim: humanity lives morally and civilized now and every evidence of history points to this conclusion. There is no evidence to state that humanity has lived otherwise. In fact, what humanity does know, and what every history and literature student learns, is that things exist in a state long before being recorded in writing. That is, the oral history, oral morality, and oral art existed long before written history, written morality, and written art. In other words, history provides evidence for prehistoric civility and morality being closer to our current civility morality than most want to believe. Even the most ancient of cultures that we have today (the Australian aborigines) exhibits some degree of civility towards one another.
I cannot seem to understand why and how the nomad is less civilized than the city dweller, nor why the ancient whom believed in gods less moral and less civilized than today’s modern who believes in economics? Why exactly is the caveman less of an artist because his paintings are found in a cave and not hung in a museum?
Lastly, to those who wish to free humanity of its morality, I offer this advice.
Freeing one's self of morality is much like freeing one's self of clothes at a cocktail party: it is not recommended.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Archbishop Alfred Hughes Reiterates Calling God's Love "Unconditional" Is Misleading
Unconditional Love
"It is true that God’s love is faithful no matter what we do. Our actions, however, can separate us from God in this world and in the next. The love of God does not dwell within us when we have separated ourselves by mortal sin. His love continues in faithful pursuit of us, inviting us to conversion and the acceptance of his love."
"It is true that God’s love is faithful no matter what we do. Our actions, however, can separate us from God in this world and in the next. The love of God does not dwell within us when we have separated ourselves by mortal sin. His love continues in faithful pursuit of us, inviting us to conversion and the acceptance of his love."
Archbishop Alfred Hughes on the Perils of Wealth
Jesus begs us: “Do not go away sad!”
" . . .(A)ll too often, wealth leads to an attitude of self-sufficiency that soon replaces God with self. Wealth can delude us into a false sense of power over our lives. Moreover, the pursuit of financial autonomy easily becomes a pursuit of moral autonomy. Hurricane Katrina should have shaken us from any illusion about self-sufficiency. We who lost so much and even the control over so many aspects of our lives have had a lesson to learn: the good (and happiness) is related to much more intangible realities: God, life, faith, friendship, support, hope, love."
" . . .(A)ll too often, wealth leads to an attitude of self-sufficiency that soon replaces God with self. Wealth can delude us into a false sense of power over our lives. Moreover, the pursuit of financial autonomy easily becomes a pursuit of moral autonomy. Hurricane Katrina should have shaken us from any illusion about self-sufficiency. We who lost so much and even the control over so many aspects of our lives have had a lesson to learn: the good (and happiness) is related to much more intangible realities: God, life, faith, friendship, support, hope, love."
Archbishop Jose Gomez on Loving God
The challenge of loving God above all things
"Loving God above all things means, striving for holiness in daily life and in all regards. Because it is not only words that show that we love God, but good deeds performed during our entire life. The Servant of God John Paul II enjoyed repeating that “the ‘yes’ that Mary gives the Creator is a ‘yes’ to the human person;” that is, loving God above all things is not something that we do against our human nature, but, on the contrary, it enhances our human dignity and brings happiness to our life."
"Loving God above all things means, striving for holiness in daily life and in all regards. Because it is not only words that show that we love God, but good deeds performed during our entire life. The Servant of God John Paul II enjoyed repeating that “the ‘yes’ that Mary gives the Creator is a ‘yes’ to the human person;” that is, loving God above all things is not something that we do against our human nature, but, on the contrary, it enhances our human dignity and brings happiness to our life."
Daily Reveille's pro-abortion columns
The Daily Reveille has published the pro-abortion response in its edition today. Columnist Shanelle Matthews and a letter to the editor both accuse Parousian Emily Byers and the pro-life cause of butting into the personal affairs of women.
Shanelle Matthews: "Some Things Just Aren't Your Business"
Letters to the Editor: "Columnist 'Missed the Mark'"
Once again, if you have the oppurtunity to comment on either one of these boards or to write a letter into the Daily Reveille refuting either one of these responses then we encourage you to do so.
Shanelle Matthews: "Some Things Just Aren't Your Business"
Letters to the Editor: "Columnist 'Missed the Mark'"
Once again, if you have the oppurtunity to comment on either one of these boards or to write a letter into the Daily Reveille refuting either one of these responses then we encourage you to do so.
Meeting on Sunday
This Sunday we will cease drawing upon the generous hospitality of Mary Grace, Fay Thibodeaux, and Sarah Berard and return to Ryan Halford's residence. The presentation will be given by Michael Denton, and it will be given on themes of the Crucifixion, Persecution, and the Eucharist as presented in Bishop Fulton J. Sheen's famous work "Life of Christ." The meeting will begin at 8 o'clock. Ryan Halford's address is 4463 Tupello Street, and for directions call (504) 952-0247.
Reaction to Emily's Column
The reaction to Parousian Emily Byers' column on Wednesday has been enormous judging by the traffic on the Reveille's website. The reaction from the pro-choice had been at best misinformed and at worst nasty and mean, and the Parousians would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to defend Emily and the pro-life position. We would like to ask everyone for their continued support on this comments page so that the pro-life position can continue to be defended well.
Comments on Emily Byers' Article Against the Human Toll of Abortion
If you have not yet had the oppurtunity to read the Emily's column itself, we invite you to do so.
Abortion is 'America's holocaust'
Comments on Emily Byers' Article Against the Human Toll of Abortion
If you have not yet had the oppurtunity to read the Emily's column itself, we invite you to do so.
Abortion is 'America's holocaust'
Mark Shea Recognizes the Parousians and Emily Byers
Preemminent Catholic blogger Mark Shea has once again honored the Parousians and Parousian Emily Byers by calling attention to her recent article on abortion. The Parousians, contacting from their rainy and swampy secret base, would like to again thank Mark Shea for recognizing our humble alien civilization.
Mark Shea Recognizes the Advanced Alien Civilization Known as the Parousians
Mark Shea Recognizes the Advanced Alien Civilization Known as the Parousians
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Parousian Emily Byers on the American Holocaust
Abortion is 'America's holocaust'
Parousian Emily Byers continues her debate with Planned Parenthood.
Wednesday Audience
From Founding Parousian Member Caleb Bernacchio:
Today's Wednesday Audience focused on the Apostle Paul. Pope Benedict said that St Paul had been called the 13th Apostle, as he had been received the call after Christ's Ascension. Noting that Paul had been a staunch opponent to the Gospel, Benedict said that this all changed after he had a personal encounter with the Risen Lord. The Holy Father said that St Paul teaches us to keep focused on the center, to see and judge all things in the context of Christ, God's reconciling Love.
In St Paul's life this was demonstrated through his steadfast preaching of the Gospel, a task which brought him all over the Roman Empire and most of in his martyrdom in Rome, in which he testified to Christ with his life.
Today's Wednesday Audience focused on the Apostle Paul. Pope Benedict said that St Paul had been called the 13th Apostle, as he had been received the call after Christ's Ascension. Noting that Paul had been a staunch opponent to the Gospel, Benedict said that this all changed after he had a personal encounter with the Risen Lord. The Holy Father said that St Paul teaches us to keep focused on the center, to see and judge all things in the context of Christ, God's reconciling Love.
In St Paul's life this was demonstrated through his steadfast preaching of the Gospel, a task which brought him all over the Roman Empire and most of in his martyrdom in Rome, in which he testified to Christ with his life.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Silence and Contemplation
From Founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio:
On Monday, a Mass was said by Cardinal Zenon at St Peter's for students of the Pontifical Universities. Opening with the Veni Creator Spiritus, it was a solemn mass that emphasized that God was the interior teacher, as St Augustine liked to say.
In his homily Cardinal Zenon, in the light of the Gospel reading from Luke, asked everyone to consider the motivation behind their studies, and likewise, to remember that we should strive to be rich in front of God.
After Mass Pope Benedict processed into St Peter's. I was sitting in the very back row, next to the barrier where the Holy Father was walking in. The Pope, as Peter's successor, carries with himself a palpable sense of the unity of the entire Church. He is obviously a very a holy man, but this is in a sense overshadowed by the Office that he fulfills. I was able to shake the Holy Father's hand as he processed towards the altar.
In his address, Benedict said that students of theology cannot study God as if he was some object, something outside of ourselves, like we would study chemical engineering, or something of that sort. But rather, that God must not be separated from us when we seek to understand our Faith, that theology cannot be merely an academic enterprise, but instead it must one dimension of our efforts to be holy as God is holy.
He said that in today's world many things are said, but that sometimes silence and contemplation are best. In this way, when we are silent, we can contemplate the face of Christ and listen to what he has to say.
On Monday, a Mass was said by Cardinal Zenon at St Peter's for students of the Pontifical Universities. Opening with the Veni Creator Spiritus, it was a solemn mass that emphasized that God was the interior teacher, as St Augustine liked to say.
In his homily Cardinal Zenon, in the light of the Gospel reading from Luke, asked everyone to consider the motivation behind their studies, and likewise, to remember that we should strive to be rich in front of God.
After Mass Pope Benedict processed into St Peter's. I was sitting in the very back row, next to the barrier where the Holy Father was walking in. The Pope, as Peter's successor, carries with himself a palpable sense of the unity of the entire Church. He is obviously a very a holy man, but this is in a sense overshadowed by the Office that he fulfills. I was able to shake the Holy Father's hand as he processed towards the altar.
In his address, Benedict said that students of theology cannot study God as if he was some object, something outside of ourselves, like we would study chemical engineering, or something of that sort. But rather, that God must not be separated from us when we seek to understand our Faith, that theology cannot be merely an academic enterprise, but instead it must one dimension of our efforts to be holy as God is holy.
He said that in today's world many things are said, but that sometimes silence and contemplation are best. In this way, when we are silent, we can contemplate the face of Christ and listen to what he has to say.
Parousian Michael Denton Rebuts Vox
Parousian Michael Denton's response to the letter from Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood was published in the Daily Reveille.
Vox did little to combat Byers' arguments
Vox did little to combat Byers' arguments
New Student Speaker Format in Effect
Important Announcement: The Parousians are changing their student speaker format. In an effort to bring more time efficiency and order to the meetings we will be structuring the student presentations as follows: 30 minutes will be set for the presentation and 30 minutes will be set for a discussion. We are committed 100 percent to this new policy as it will consistently set an operating time to accommodate the busy schedules that many of us endure. Also, the focus on discussion is to encourage more dialogue and exchange of ideas which is one of the primary aims of the Parousians: to encourage dialogue in the academy. Everyone has insight to offer and this new structure hopes to allow for more opportunity for people to participate in discussion.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Crucifixion, Eucharist, and Sheen on the Life of Christ
This Sunday: Looking forward to next Sunday's presentation Michael Denton will present on the Crucifixion and Eucharist drawing on themes from the Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen. This presentation will return to our usual meeting place, 4463 Tupello Street residence of Ryan Hallford. For directions call (504) 952-0247. We would like to thank Mary Grace, Fay Thibodeaux, and Sarah Berard who kindly hosted the Parousians for the last few meetings in light of a malfunctioning A/C unit at our normal meeting place.
DEVELOPING STORY: Parousian Luke Ordogne Confirms Caleb-Pope Handshake
Parousian Luke Ordogne states:
"I just got an email from Caleb, and this is what it said:
'Luca,
Guess what I did today?
I shook Pope Benedict's hand.'"
Ordogne did not forward the e-mail. Direct confirmation from founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio has not yet been received at the Parousians' home office, and he remains unavailable for comment. Stay tuned to this blog for more details.
"I just got an email from Caleb, and this is what it said:
'Luca,
Guess what I did today?
I shook Pope Benedict's hand.'"
Ordogne did not forward the e-mail. Direct confirmation from founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio has not yet been received at the Parousians' home office, and he remains unavailable for comment. Stay tuned to this blog for more details.
BREAKING NEWS: Caleb Bernacchio Shakes Pope Benedict's Hand
Reliable sources report to the Parousian Post that founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio has shook Pope Benedict's hand. Stay tuned to this blog for more details as we receive them.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Father John Carville on Rome During Vatican II This Sunday Night
Father John Carville will be the Parousians' special guest this Sunday at 8pm when he shares his memories of being a student in Rome during Vatican II and elaborates on the continuity between the popes of the Council (John XXIII and Paul VI) and the popes of our lifetime (John Paul II and Benedict XVI.) Call Ryan Hallford for directions to Mary Grace Westphal, Fay Thibodeaux, and Sarah Berard's apartment (601 East Campus Apartments)at (504) 952-0247. Please come and bring a friend.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Of Course They Don't Go There: Planned Parenthood's Vox Responds to Emily Byers
"Sex is no longer sacred. Tragically, many of us are stunned to hear anyone claim it ever was.
Thankfully an alternate view exists, one which holds that our sexual nature speaks staggering truths about who we are, about the human capacity for relationship, intimacy and participation in the creation of new life.
That's heavy stuff. No wonder Planned Parenthood and its pro-choice confederates are afraid to go there."
And Parousian Emily Byers was right, but the Vox officers felt compelled to speak out anyway.
Columnist was wrong about PPFA
Thankfully an alternate view exists, one which holds that our sexual nature speaks staggering truths about who we are, about the human capacity for relationship, intimacy and participation in the creation of new life.
That's heavy stuff. No wonder Planned Parenthood and its pro-choice confederates are afraid to go there."
And Parousian Emily Byers was right, but the Vox officers felt compelled to speak out anyway.
Columnist was wrong about PPFA
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Wednesday Audience
From Founding Parousian Member Caleb Bernacchio:
At the today's Wednesday Audience the Holy Father spoke about a text from the Gospel of St Matthew, which spoke of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, his subsequent guilt and suicide.
Pope Benedict, summarizing his speech, given in Italian, to the English speaking pilgrims, said that different theologies have tried to explain the motivation that lead to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas but, the Pope said, the gospels tell us that Judas gave in to the temptation of the Evil One. He said it is surprising to many that someone who lived so closely with Jesus could betray him. But, he emphasised, Christ respects our freedom, and does not force our will. He leaves us free to seek complete happiness in a life of complete obedience to the Father, a life of following Christ.
Incidentally, the Bishop who announced the Pilgrims from English speaking countries, mentioned a group from Assumption Parish in Franklin, LA. Assumption Parish is the home parish of the renowned Luke Ordogne's mother.
At the today's Wednesday Audience the Holy Father spoke about a text from the Gospel of St Matthew, which spoke of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, his subsequent guilt and suicide.
Pope Benedict, summarizing his speech, given in Italian, to the English speaking pilgrims, said that different theologies have tried to explain the motivation that lead to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas but, the Pope said, the gospels tell us that Judas gave in to the temptation of the Evil One. He said it is surprising to many that someone who lived so closely with Jesus could betray him. But, he emphasised, Christ respects our freedom, and does not force our will. He leaves us free to seek complete happiness in a life of complete obedience to the Father, a life of following Christ.
Incidentally, the Bishop who announced the Pilgrims from English speaking countries, mentioned a group from Assumption Parish in Franklin, LA. Assumption Parish is the home parish of the renowned Luke Ordogne's mother.
Curt Jester Cites Emily Byers and the Parousians
Unhappy Anniversary
The clown prince of Catholic commentary critiques one of Emily's critics:
"You just got to enjoy those bumper sticker platitudes like "Don't like abortion - don't have one." Don't like slavery, don't own one. Don't like murder, don't kill anyone. Though what immediately comes to mind is in this commenter's case "Don't like reason, don't use it."
Thanks for the comeback.
Mark Shea Cites Emily Byers and the Parousians Again
Parousian Emily Byers takes on Planned Parenthood
Thanks to preeminent Catholic blogger Mark Shea for recognizing Emily and the Parousians first.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Dawn Eden Cites Emily Byers
Dawn Eden, the beloved Catholic convert, columnist, rock journalist, take-no-prisoners blogger, and author of The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On cites our own Emily Byers as her quote of the day.
She has also added a link to the Parousians blog. Many thanks and tremendous fan support from the Parousians to Dawn Eden.
She has also added a link to the Parousians blog. Many thanks and tremendous fan support from the Parousians to Dawn Eden.
Maclin Horton Cites the Parousians
Rod Dreher describes Maclin Horton as "a Catholic convert who went from 1960s counterculturalist to faithful orthodox Catholic without ever losing his sense that something was seriously wrong with mainstream American society." Horton has two blogs, and they both recognize the Parousians today. Light on Dark Water deals with faith, literature, and music, while Caelum et Terra (a project with Daniel Nichols, the founder of the magazine of the same name) deals with social concerns. Both are priority stops for anyone surfing the net.
Horton's post from Light on Dark Water:
"What's more depressing than the drunks and joyless libertines who seem to comprise a good percentage of today's college students? What's more heartening than a bright, lively bunch of Catholic students challenging the conventional morbid hedonism? The Parousians are such a group at LSU, doing good things. Here's one of them taking on Margaret Sanger in the LSU student paper. That's nerve. And they have an interesting blog: a look at their links indicates a healthy disregard for some of the unhealthy divisions in the Church: First Things alongside the Catholic Worker. Good for them.
And, all together now: Wouldn't That Be A Good Name For A Band? Or an interesting one, anyway."
Again, many thanks to another role model for his support.
Horton's post from Light on Dark Water:
"What's more depressing than the drunks and joyless libertines who seem to comprise a good percentage of today's college students? What's more heartening than a bright, lively bunch of Catholic students challenging the conventional morbid hedonism? The Parousians are such a group at LSU, doing good things. Here's one of them taking on Margaret Sanger in the LSU student paper. That's nerve. And they have an interesting blog: a look at their links indicates a healthy disregard for some of the unhealthy divisions in the Church: First Things alongside the Catholic Worker. Good for them.
And, all together now: Wouldn't That Be A Good Name For A Band? Or an interesting one, anyway."
Again, many thanks to another role model for his support.
Bishop Robert Finn on the Rosary
October is month of the Rosary: Mary of Victories pray for us!
"In his 2002 letter, the Holy Father recommended the rosary as a contemplative prayer deeply rooted in the Sacred Scriptures. He suggested that we turn to the Bible in the course of our recitation, reading a short or longer portion of God's Word that corresponds to the mystery we reflect on while saying the beautiful prayers, the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary," which themselves are echoes of Gospel. In this way we unite ourselves more completely not only with the power of the revealed Word, the Scriptures. It also becomes more likely that we will find in this prayer a meaningful coincidence between the mysteries of Christ's life and the dynamics of our own daily spiritual mysteries."
"In his 2002 letter, the Holy Father recommended the rosary as a contemplative prayer deeply rooted in the Sacred Scriptures. He suggested that we turn to the Bible in the course of our recitation, reading a short or longer portion of God's Word that corresponds to the mystery we reflect on while saying the beautiful prayers, the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary," which themselves are echoes of Gospel. In this way we unite ourselves more completely not only with the power of the revealed Word, the Scriptures. It also becomes more likely that we will find in this prayer a meaningful coincidence between the mysteries of Christ's life and the dynamics of our own daily spiritual mysteries."
Archbishop Alfred Hughes on the Gospel of Life
The great source of hope for New Orleans' recovery is a passionate rebuilder of the culture of life.
Respect Life Sunday
"Why are the rich so miserable? They are miserable, if they have been unjust; if their ill-gotten gains came from defrauding their employees and ignoring the cries of those who were deprived. Even if their ears have been closed to the cry of their victims, these cries "have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts." Their crying is clear: "You have murdered the righteous one."
The application of this text to those who would contribute to the killing of a child in her mother's womb is frightening. But so, too, is it application to those who refuse to work for the Gospel of Life. There are those who would choose political expediency over the life of the unborn child. There are those who would attend to their own comforts when defenseless children need their support. There are those who consider the Gospel of Life an abstraction, not a personal responsibility. There are those who never visit their parents or listen to their children. There are those who would never work for a just penal system and the elimination of the unnecessary execution of those condemned to capital punishment. There are those who would never grapple with the moral dimensions of war or embryonic stem cell research. So God asks us today: Do you; do we work for the Gospel of Life?
Some would ask: What is the worst sin? Murder; apostasy? Christ has indicated that the greatest sin is to lead a "little one" into sin. The "little ones" are Christ's disciples. It is clear from Christ's words that nothing in life is worth more than virtue. Not even my hand, my foot, my eye is worth more than doing what God asks of me. That is why embracing the Gospel of Life is so essential. We cannot lead others into sin by disregarding or rejecting the Gospel of Life."
Respect Life Sunday
"Why are the rich so miserable? They are miserable, if they have been unjust; if their ill-gotten gains came from defrauding their employees and ignoring the cries of those who were deprived. Even if their ears have been closed to the cry of their victims, these cries "have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts." Their crying is clear: "You have murdered the righteous one."
The application of this text to those who would contribute to the killing of a child in her mother's womb is frightening. But so, too, is it application to those who refuse to work for the Gospel of Life. There are those who would choose political expediency over the life of the unborn child. There are those who would attend to their own comforts when defenseless children need their support. There are those who consider the Gospel of Life an abstraction, not a personal responsibility. There are those who never visit their parents or listen to their children. There are those who would never work for a just penal system and the elimination of the unnecessary execution of those condemned to capital punishment. There are those who would never grapple with the moral dimensions of war or embryonic stem cell research. So God asks us today: Do you; do we work for the Gospel of Life?
Some would ask: What is the worst sin? Murder; apostasy? Christ has indicated that the greatest sin is to lead a "little one" into sin. The "little ones" are Christ's disciples. It is clear from Christ's words that nothing in life is worth more than virtue. Not even my hand, my foot, my eye is worth more than doing what God asks of me. That is why embracing the Gospel of Life is so essential. We cannot lead others into sin by disregarding or rejecting the Gospel of Life."
Archbishop Alfred Hughes on the Gospel of Prosperity
God’s will and human possessions
"In the human effort to respond to this teaching, there is always going to be a tension between greed and generosity. Greed is one of the fundamental ways in which our fallen human nature disorients us. It leads to a desire to amass earthly goods. This can take the form of personal avarice for riches or power. It can also take the social expression of injustice by harming others in order to amass wealth.
On the other hand, generosity leads us to largeness of heart. The widow in Serephta in the time of Elijah who was willing to share her limited flour for food and ended up being able to live more than a year with her son is an example of generosity of heart. The Lord Jesus also drew the attention of his disciples to the widow who placed a small mite in the Temple basket but, in doing so, gave all that she had to live on. In my own experience growing up in a post-Depression period, I marvel now at the sacrificial and generous way in which my parents provided despite the extraordinarily limited income on which we were living.
The experience of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath has presented us with an opportunity to re-look at the way in which we have amassed possessions. We have lost homes, possessions, jobs and a way of life. The Gospel calls us to place God first and to allow everything else to fall into its proper perspective. We have a responsibility to evaluate our approach to possessions and finances in light of the Gospel."
"In the human effort to respond to this teaching, there is always going to be a tension between greed and generosity. Greed is one of the fundamental ways in which our fallen human nature disorients us. It leads to a desire to amass earthly goods. This can take the form of personal avarice for riches or power. It can also take the social expression of injustice by harming others in order to amass wealth.
On the other hand, generosity leads us to largeness of heart. The widow in Serephta in the time of Elijah who was willing to share her limited flour for food and ended up being able to live more than a year with her son is an example of generosity of heart. The Lord Jesus also drew the attention of his disciples to the widow who placed a small mite in the Temple basket but, in doing so, gave all that she had to live on. In my own experience growing up in a post-Depression period, I marvel now at the sacrificial and generous way in which my parents provided despite the extraordinarily limited income on which we were living.
The experience of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath has presented us with an opportunity to re-look at the way in which we have amassed possessions. We have lost homes, possessions, jobs and a way of life. The Gospel calls us to place God first and to allow everything else to fall into its proper perspective. We have a responsibility to evaluate our approach to possessions and finances in light of the Gospel."
Monday, October 16, 2006
Emily Byers Critiques Planned Parenthood
Emily takes a hard look at the PPFA on the 90 year anniversary of their founding.
Planned Parenthood Denies its Roots
Planned Parenthood Denies its Roots
Friday, October 13, 2006
Caleb in Rome, Part 2
From Founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio:
As promised, to conclude the story. Later on that same day, I went to the address of Haley's friend from New Orleans, who I met 3 days before I left, and waited for him to come out of the gated apartment. He had already offered me a place to stay.
Of notable occurence:
I'm sitting on a computer in an internet shop in Rome and on the TV behind is the world famous Benny Hinn!
But I am happy to report that I found a book edited by Dr. Henderson, and another one that had an essay written by him, in the Leonine Bookstore just outside of St Peter's.
As promised, to conclude the story. Later on that same day, I went to the address of Haley's friend from New Orleans, who I met 3 days before I left, and waited for him to come out of the gated apartment. He had already offered me a place to stay.
Of notable occurence:
I'm sitting on a computer in an internet shop in Rome and on the TV behind is the world famous Benny Hinn!
But I am happy to report that I found a book edited by Dr. Henderson, and another one that had an essay written by him, in the Leonine Bookstore just outside of St Peter's.
Next Parousian Meeting: Commemoration and Celebration
This Sunday night at 8 pm we will celebrate the 28th anniversary of John Paul II becoming Pope. Tobias Danna will share some very brief comments about John Paul's continuing relevance in our lives, and your testimonials of what John Paul meant to you are encouraged. Afterwards, the party begins, with special attention given to our own Mary Grace Westphal's 20th birthday. Refreshments will be served, and I hear rumors there will be dancing.
The party will be at the apartment complex of Sarah Berard, Mary Grace Westphal, and Fay Thibodeaux. The location is apartment 601 in the East Campus Apartments. The East Campus Apartments are located on the LSU campus near the REC Center and across from East Laville. Appartment 601 is on the first floor in building Six which is in the middle of the ECA Complex. If any further directions are needed call Ryan Hallford, at (504) 952-0247.
The party will be at the apartment complex of Sarah Berard, Mary Grace Westphal, and Fay Thibodeaux. The location is apartment 601 in the East Campus Apartments. The East Campus Apartments are located on the LSU campus near the REC Center and across from East Laville. Appartment 601 is on the first floor in building Six which is in the middle of the ECA Complex. If any further directions are needed call Ryan Hallford, at (504) 952-0247.
Divine Mercy at LSU
Beginning this Friday (10/13) at 3pm, founding Parousian Katie Culotta will be leading a Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Parade grounds. Meet her on the front steps of the Union. Katie is also organizing a nightly Rosary around campus. Contact her for more info at (504) 621-5283.
Announcement: Change in the Parousian Guard at LSU
From founding Parousian Tobias Danna:
I will return to work with FEMA this Monday, taking complaints from disabled applicants who feel they did not receive the help they needed, conducting interviews to determine the legitimacy of the claims, and routing requests to proper channels. The job is high stress, and the hours are long, but the work is noble, and the pay is good and will help us fund some of our bigger vision. Part of this bigger vision is helping start the Parousians of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where initially Ryan Hallford and I will be playing an active role in the coming weeks. Philip de Mahy will be primarily coordinating the LSU meetings from here on, as well as doing much of the posting on the blog. Please give him your full support.
I will not be a complete stranger, but I know in many ways I will be a ghost. I trust this is as it should be, that God is working something out for all our good.
I need your friendship and your prayers, your occasional phone calls and e-mails. I have no reason to doubt you will come through for my sake. Never doubt my trust in you, that the Parousians of LSU will be faithful in doing the work of John Paul's New Evangelization by proclaiming the ever-relevant Truth and Love who is Christ Jesus in the academy.
There are four things I keep needing to say to all of you, and I will never have said them enough. I love you, but not nearly as well as you deserve. Forgive me for the times when I am a royal jerk. Thank you for walking this stretch with me. And may all your fears be cast down as you learn the perfect love of God in your days.
Be God's,
Toby Danna
I will return to work with FEMA this Monday, taking complaints from disabled applicants who feel they did not receive the help they needed, conducting interviews to determine the legitimacy of the claims, and routing requests to proper channels. The job is high stress, and the hours are long, but the work is noble, and the pay is good and will help us fund some of our bigger vision. Part of this bigger vision is helping start the Parousians of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where initially Ryan Hallford and I will be playing an active role in the coming weeks. Philip de Mahy will be primarily coordinating the LSU meetings from here on, as well as doing much of the posting on the blog. Please give him your full support.
I will not be a complete stranger, but I know in many ways I will be a ghost. I trust this is as it should be, that God is working something out for all our good.
I need your friendship and your prayers, your occasional phone calls and e-mails. I have no reason to doubt you will come through for my sake. Never doubt my trust in you, that the Parousians of LSU will be faithful in doing the work of John Paul's New Evangelization by proclaiming the ever-relevant Truth and Love who is Christ Jesus in the academy.
There are four things I keep needing to say to all of you, and I will never have said them enough. I love you, but not nearly as well as you deserve. Forgive me for the times when I am a royal jerk. Thank you for walking this stretch with me. And may all your fears be cast down as you learn the perfect love of God in your days.
Be God's,
Toby Danna
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Archbishop Alfred Hughes on Defending Life
The New Orleans Archbishop says not all areas where Catholics are called to defend the dignity of human life are morally equivalent.
The Gospel of Life revisited
"Whether we address abortion or stem-cell research or human cloning or euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide or violence or racial injustice or war or capital punishment or poverty, the underlying issue is respect for human life. We cannot treat all of these issues as morally equivalent. Each is subject to a different moral analysis. Yet they all impact the sacredness of human life.
For instance, we cannot tolerate the impoverishment of people or the denial of basic health care for them. But there is no one policy or plan that is the only legitimate moral response. Discrimination based on race is intrinsically wrong, but we can legitimately differ on the most effective moral plan to address it. It is wrong to take the life of a criminal for motives of vengeance or in circumstances where the state has other viable alternatives to protect its citizens, but the Church teaches that state-sanctioned executions may, in rare circumstances, still be justified. However, abortion, euthanasia, genocide and pre-meditated murder are always gravely wrong."
The Gospel of Life revisited
"Whether we address abortion or stem-cell research or human cloning or euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide or violence or racial injustice or war or capital punishment or poverty, the underlying issue is respect for human life. We cannot treat all of these issues as morally equivalent. Each is subject to a different moral analysis. Yet they all impact the sacredness of human life.
For instance, we cannot tolerate the impoverishment of people or the denial of basic health care for them. But there is no one policy or plan that is the only legitimate moral response. Discrimination based on race is intrinsically wrong, but we can legitimately differ on the most effective moral plan to address it. It is wrong to take the life of a criminal for motives of vengeance or in circumstances where the state has other viable alternatives to protect its citizens, but the Church teaches that state-sanctioned executions may, in rare circumstances, still be justified. However, abortion, euthanasia, genocide and pre-meditated murder are always gravely wrong."
Archbishop Donald Wuerl on Faith and American Democracy
The assertion by some that the secular voice alone should speak to the ordering of society and its public policy, that it alone can speak to the needs of the human condition, is being increasingly challenged. Looking around, I see many young men and women who, in such increasing numbers, are looking for spiritual values, a sense of rootedness and hope for the future. In spite of all the options and challenges from the secular world competing for the allegiance of human hearts, the quiet, soft and gentle voice of the Spirit has not been stilled.
"Morality and ethical considerations cannot be divorced from their religious antecedents. What we do and how we act, our morals and ethics, follow on what we believe. The religious convictions of a people sustain their moral decisions.
What is religion’s place in public life? As our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, tells us in his first encyclical letter, “Deus Caritas Est” (God Is Love): “[f]or her part, the Church, as the social expression of Christian faith, has a proper independence and is structured on the basis of her faith as a community which the State must recognize. The two spheres are distinct, yet always interrelated” (DCE 28). Politics, law and faith are mingled because believers are also citizens. Church and state are home to the very same people.
The place of religion and religious conviction in public life is precisely to sustain those values that make possible a common good that is more than just temporary political expediency. Without a value system rooted in morality and ethical integrity, there is the very real danger that human choices will be motivated solely by personal convenience and gain.
To speak out against racial discrimination, social injustice or threats to the dignity of life is not to force values upon society, but rather to call our society to its own, long-accepted, moral principles and commitment to defend basic human rights, which is the function of law."
Archbishop Charles Chaput on Catholics and Public Actions
In mass media and courts, some religions less equal than others. Catholics have the right and the duty to form their public actions guided by their faith
"What’s the lesson here for Catholics? Week in and week out, but especially every two and four years, we hear a pious lecture from critics of religion. The message is always tired, and it’s always the same: Faith is allegedly a private matter, and Catholics shouldn’t “impose their religion” on society at large.
In fact, what we claim to believe, we need to act on both in our private lives and our public choices — and if we don’t act, we make ourselves into liars. Religion has no business endorsing political candidates or parties. But religious believers have every right and the serious obligation to form their social, political and economic decisions guided by their religious faith."
Lunch with Lewis this Wednesday at St. Alban's Chapel
From Drew Rollins of St. Alban's Chapel
"Lunch With C. S. Lewis"
Tomorrow at 11:30 (St. Alban's Chapel)
I hope you're all having a good week. I look forward to seeing you
here for lunch tomorrow (chocolate chip cookies this week!).
I'd like to begin by discussing the reading from October 8, "At the
Back of the Moral Law -- a person", and this idea that "When you know
you are sick, you will listen to the doctor." (Someone said that
before Lewis. Can you guess who?) And I'll want to hear your thoughts
on these readings, of course.
You may also remember that St. James Episcopal Church (downtown Baton
Rouge) is holding a conference on C. S. Lewis this weekend. Several
major Lewis scholars will speak. There are talks on Thursday evening
(7:00), Friday evening (7:00), and Saturday morning (9:00). There is
NO CHARGE for students! Jeanie and I are planning to go on Thursday
evening, the session on "The Screwtape Letters", just in case anyone
would like to sit with us! It promises to be an excellent conference.
"Lunch With C. S. Lewis"
Tomorrow at 11:30 (St. Alban's Chapel)
I hope you're all having a good week. I look forward to seeing you
here for lunch tomorrow (chocolate chip cookies this week!).
I'd like to begin by discussing the reading from October 8, "At the
Back of the Moral Law -- a person", and this idea that "When you know
you are sick, you will listen to the doctor." (Someone said that
before Lewis. Can you guess who?) And I'll want to hear your thoughts
on these readings, of course.
You may also remember that St. James Episcopal Church (downtown Baton
Rouge) is holding a conference on C. S. Lewis this weekend. Several
major Lewis scholars will speak. There are talks on Thursday evening
(7:00), Friday evening (7:00), and Saturday morning (9:00). There is
NO CHARGE for students! Jeanie and I are planning to go on Thursday
evening, the session on "The Screwtape Letters", just in case anyone
would like to sit with us! It promises to be an excellent conference.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Stephen Dufrene on Plato, Aristotle, and Pro Wrestling
From Parousian alumnus and Houma-Thibodaux seminarian Stephen Dufrene:
The following is a dialogue between a mature, or enlightened, pro-wrestling fan and a “rasslin” fan. The purpose of the dialogue is to demonstrate Plato’s belief in the necessity to postulate forms and their existence in what we perceive to be reality, as well as what they (forms) must be according to the conclusions of the dialogue. In the second part of the dialogue, a third character is introduced to articulate Aristotle’s critique as well as offer his own solution to the question of what is and what is known in reality.
SCENE I: The scene takes place during the intermission of a live pro-wrestling show. Eddie, the “rasslin’” fan, never misses pro-wrestling on TV and perceives what is shown as reality. Eddie has a seat next to a mature fan named Joe, who is also a fan of Plato. The dialogue begins as Eddie is visibly upset after hearing an announcement concerning his favorite wrestler, Rubberman, being attacked and injured backstage. Joe knows better than to burst the blistering excitement of Eddie’s ignorance; however, Joe has taken advantage of the drink specials, gets emotional when he drinks, and is having trouble watching Eddie’s tears.
J: C’mon man, you know he’s not really hurt back there!
E: Didn’t you just hear the emergency announcement?
J: (laughing) Sure I did, but that doesn’t mean Rubberman is actually hurt.
E: You’re right; he does have special powers, and maybe he has already healed himself. I saw him flying on TV last week, you know.
J: You have got to be kidding me!
E: Nope, saw it with my own two eyes, and they don’t lie.
J: I think you’re missing the point; all of what happens to the wrestlers is staged. (Eddie is becoming visibly angry at this point despite the sorrow still felt for Rubberman.)
J: Let’s make a deal: listen to what I’ve got to say, and you will feel better about your friend Rubberman.
E: Anything to take away this anguish!
J: Then let us begin. Do you recall the first match tonight when we could hear the wrestlers communicating what moves they were about to perform? The opponents openly communicated with one another before every major slam and flip.
E: You mean that’s what they were doing? I thought they were threatening one another. I’m not sure if I want to believe you.
J: You see, the camera men are trained so that what is caught on tape does not show any communication between the wrestlers. The result is that what we see on television is perceived differently from what actually is physically taking place in the ring.
E: Are you telling me that there is more than what I see on TV?
J: Your eyes don’t lie, right? What we see on TV is simply what the cameras want to show us, vague images of the changing physical matter taking place in the ring.
E: So everything that I have believed from pro-wrestling on TV is nothing more than weak ideas of what is reality; and the characters only image what the reality actually is?
J: You’re exactly right; these were only weak ideas based on incomplete information from TV. Sense experience cannot explain everything. Feeling better about Rubberman now?
E: A little. I’m starting to believe that there is more going on than what I can see, but how can I know for sure?
J: You have to recognize that there is a difference between your sense experience and intellect. Can you think of anything that you know to be different from someone else’s perceptions?
E: Today my supervisor, Al, and I drank some beer at lunch. Shortly after we returned to work his boss passed by, and Al loudly reminded me never to drink during the workday. His boss just turned and commented on how proud he was with Al’s positive influence. Al’s boss has no idea of what the reality actually is. Are you saying…
J: Exactly, this type of definition that is outside of the material changing world can serve as a sort of “common denominator” between your knowledge of what actually goes on at work and what actually happens in pro-wrestling. You see, just as your supervisor only acts the way he should when his boss is around, we can say that he only imitates what the ideal employee would be.
E: I see! Do you mean that the wrestlers only participate and imitate the ideal wrestlers they represent? What is this ideal? I think you’ve had too many beers; you and Al should hang out!
J: Now you’re on the right track, you’re beginning to see through the realm of opinion and into the realm of knowledge. We can now move into the knowledge of stability outside the changing material world, or for our sake, what goes on inside the ring. The following might be painful to hear, but give me a chance; we must try to separate the intellect from the senses. There is a promoter who devises the story lines and outcomes for all of the matches. The promoter’s imagination is the reality behind the appearances and is outside of the material changing world of what you once perceived to be the reality inside of the ring. The wrestlers only participate in and imitate what goes on in the promoters imagination, or, in philosophical terms, what would be the form.
E: So the wise fan recognizes the unchanging reality behind what the senses perceive to be reality inside the ring. The promoter is the reason that all things in the ring exist!
J: Yes, We can now describe him as the Good, or what it is that gives proper order to what is perceived as reality.
E: Ahhh….so everything starts with the promoter, or the Good. What goes on in his imagination explains my questions of what is, what is known, and what is the cause of what happens in the material changing world of the ring. You called the promoter’s imagination the “form”; does everything else in the world have a form they only imitate or participate in?
J: I believe so. Let’s investigate by summarizing what we have learned. We know in order for forms to exist they must be similar to the promoter’s imagination, immaterial and outside of the changing world.
E: Right, they must also be completely independent of my beliefs, since I believe there is no way the midget in the last match could really beat the 500lb. man!
J: Let’s also recall the masked wrestler from earlier. On TV last week he was 40 pounds heavier and had a tattoo; I don’t believe he lost all that weight and rubbed off a tattoo!
E: That’s right, there must be an unchanging reality outside of what is perceived through the senses. What can we learn from the instances when there is an accident and the referee stops the match? This is definitely not what is in the mind of the promoter.
J: Then we would have to agree that there is an ideal essence that the wrestlers only participate in.
[At this point Eddie leaves his seat to buy a Rubberman foam finger. On his way he sees Rubberman who is obviously not injured. Eddie runs to tell Joe the news.]
E: Joe, I just saw Rubberman, and he is OK! Now I understand that he was only injured backstage in the promoters mind. Rubberman is not imitating the form very well!
SCENE II: Doug, a former wrestler, is sitting behind Joe and Eddie. Doug couldn’t help but hear the philosophical discussion transpiring before him. He had originally chosen to remain silent so as not to offend Joe and Eddie. This sentiment soon vanished when he realized he was going home empty handed- Eddie had bought the last Rubberman foam finger. Emotions are high.
D: Excuse me, but I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion. I’ve got to say that you guys have done nothing but complicate my life! What you speak of is a useless doubling of reality with no basis for explaining how the wrestlers themselves change over time!
E: Why don’t you explain yourself?
D: Lets start with the idea of the wrestlers only participating or imitating the promoter’s imagination. This may be a challenge to see from the fan’s perspective, but it is an absurd assumption. This can be proven wrong by the simple evidence of the promoter’s temper rising when wrestlers don’t perform the way his (the promoter’s) imagination had planned. Yes, you could say they were poorly imitating; however, I have seen several occurrences where wrestlers actually opposed what the promoter had imagined.
E: So the participation of wrestlers in the promoter’s imagination is what you mean as a useless doubling of reality! I knew Rubberman was more than an imitation!
D: Absolutely, Rubberman is the substance! He contains both matter in his body, and form in his understanding of how to behave, as well as what he is to accomplish during the match. If there were no man to give matter to the Rubberman character, then the character would cease to exist have form. Matter and form cannot be separated!
E: I think I now know why Joe’s explanation cannot explain change. Let me give it a shot. In the promoter’s mind the wrestler would always remain the ideal, but in reality the champion always ages and eventually becomes less than a crowd favorite. I agree, Doug; to say that material only imitates the form is not good enough.
J: I see where my example is weak, but how do you explain change?
D: Since form and matter exist in each wrestler, or what we can call the substance, it is the matter itself that changes, and the forms come and go.
E: Do you mean, for example, that as the wrestler portraying Hulk Hogan ages, his character changes into a wrestler who talks a lot more than wrestles?
D: Right. As the age (matter*) changes, different uses for the characters have to be imagined. In other words, as material changes, the form that once made up its substance leaves and another form enters. I think you would agree that as far as characters go, Hulk Hogan of old and Hollywood Hogan of today are based off completely different ideas, or as we have previously called them, forms.
E: Without a doubt, it’s only the same person portraying two different characters. Am I correct now in saying that, as the wrestler ages and his character is changed, the form making up his substance changes?
D: Correct, and therefore his substance also changes. Hence the progression of an individual wrestler and the different characters that he portrays. When the wrestler is young and healthy, most of his time is spent in the ring. As he ages and becomes injured his character is changed into a manager. Once he is unable to perform the duties of a manager, he is put out to pasture as an announcer. In each of these different phases the health and age (physical matter*) change, and the ideas that inspire the characters (forms) come and go accordingly with the health and age (matter*) of the wrestler.
E: If this is the explanation of how things change, I believe I can give an example of why things change along the lines of our wrestling discussion.
D&J: I’d like to hear this!
E: Let’s call the individual who wants to become a wrestler the material cause, or the “stuff”. The promoter and the wrestler himself develop an idea of what the ideal character would be, resulting in a formal cause.
D: Would the formal cause be the character’s personality, fighting style, muscular build, etc.?
E: Good job, Doug. Once the wrestler has an idea of the formal cause, he can begin to train and practice in order to become what has been envisioned. This training and practicing stage can be called the efficient cause. Items such as weights and acting classes may be considered agents.
D: What will we call the stage once the wrestler reaches his goal and does his best to fulfill what we called the formal cause?
E: Let’s call the attainment of the goal or purpose the final cause.
The scene ends as the announcer calls an end to the intermission. Joe, Eddie, and Doug laugh as they read the announcer’s shirt: “Everything that I know about reality, I’ve learned from Pro-Wrestling!”
* It is understood that Aristotle would categorize age and ability as accidents of the individuals that wrestle; however, here they pertain to the substance of the character. I.e., if you take away the flexibility of the wrestler portraying Rubberman, the character of Rubberman would cease to exist.
The following is a dialogue between a mature, or enlightened, pro-wrestling fan and a “rasslin” fan. The purpose of the dialogue is to demonstrate Plato’s belief in the necessity to postulate forms and their existence in what we perceive to be reality, as well as what they (forms) must be according to the conclusions of the dialogue. In the second part of the dialogue, a third character is introduced to articulate Aristotle’s critique as well as offer his own solution to the question of what is and what is known in reality.
SCENE I: The scene takes place during the intermission of a live pro-wrestling show. Eddie, the “rasslin’” fan, never misses pro-wrestling on TV and perceives what is shown as reality. Eddie has a seat next to a mature fan named Joe, who is also a fan of Plato. The dialogue begins as Eddie is visibly upset after hearing an announcement concerning his favorite wrestler, Rubberman, being attacked and injured backstage. Joe knows better than to burst the blistering excitement of Eddie’s ignorance; however, Joe has taken advantage of the drink specials, gets emotional when he drinks, and is having trouble watching Eddie’s tears.
J: C’mon man, you know he’s not really hurt back there!
E: Didn’t you just hear the emergency announcement?
J: (laughing) Sure I did, but that doesn’t mean Rubberman is actually hurt.
E: You’re right; he does have special powers, and maybe he has already healed himself. I saw him flying on TV last week, you know.
J: You have got to be kidding me!
E: Nope, saw it with my own two eyes, and they don’t lie.
J: I think you’re missing the point; all of what happens to the wrestlers is staged. (Eddie is becoming visibly angry at this point despite the sorrow still felt for Rubberman.)
J: Let’s make a deal: listen to what I’ve got to say, and you will feel better about your friend Rubberman.
E: Anything to take away this anguish!
J: Then let us begin. Do you recall the first match tonight when we could hear the wrestlers communicating what moves they were about to perform? The opponents openly communicated with one another before every major slam and flip.
E: You mean that’s what they were doing? I thought they were threatening one another. I’m not sure if I want to believe you.
J: You see, the camera men are trained so that what is caught on tape does not show any communication between the wrestlers. The result is that what we see on television is perceived differently from what actually is physically taking place in the ring.
E: Are you telling me that there is more than what I see on TV?
J: Your eyes don’t lie, right? What we see on TV is simply what the cameras want to show us, vague images of the changing physical matter taking place in the ring.
E: So everything that I have believed from pro-wrestling on TV is nothing more than weak ideas of what is reality; and the characters only image what the reality actually is?
J: You’re exactly right; these were only weak ideas based on incomplete information from TV. Sense experience cannot explain everything. Feeling better about Rubberman now?
E: A little. I’m starting to believe that there is more going on than what I can see, but how can I know for sure?
J: You have to recognize that there is a difference between your sense experience and intellect. Can you think of anything that you know to be different from someone else’s perceptions?
E: Today my supervisor, Al, and I drank some beer at lunch. Shortly after we returned to work his boss passed by, and Al loudly reminded me never to drink during the workday. His boss just turned and commented on how proud he was with Al’s positive influence. Al’s boss has no idea of what the reality actually is. Are you saying…
J: Exactly, this type of definition that is outside of the material changing world can serve as a sort of “common denominator” between your knowledge of what actually goes on at work and what actually happens in pro-wrestling. You see, just as your supervisor only acts the way he should when his boss is around, we can say that he only imitates what the ideal employee would be.
E: I see! Do you mean that the wrestlers only participate and imitate the ideal wrestlers they represent? What is this ideal? I think you’ve had too many beers; you and Al should hang out!
J: Now you’re on the right track, you’re beginning to see through the realm of opinion and into the realm of knowledge. We can now move into the knowledge of stability outside the changing material world, or for our sake, what goes on inside the ring. The following might be painful to hear, but give me a chance; we must try to separate the intellect from the senses. There is a promoter who devises the story lines and outcomes for all of the matches. The promoter’s imagination is the reality behind the appearances and is outside of the material changing world of what you once perceived to be the reality inside of the ring. The wrestlers only participate in and imitate what goes on in the promoters imagination, or, in philosophical terms, what would be the form.
E: So the wise fan recognizes the unchanging reality behind what the senses perceive to be reality inside the ring. The promoter is the reason that all things in the ring exist!
J: Yes, We can now describe him as the Good, or what it is that gives proper order to what is perceived as reality.
E: Ahhh….so everything starts with the promoter, or the Good. What goes on in his imagination explains my questions of what is, what is known, and what is the cause of what happens in the material changing world of the ring. You called the promoter’s imagination the “form”; does everything else in the world have a form they only imitate or participate in?
J: I believe so. Let’s investigate by summarizing what we have learned. We know in order for forms to exist they must be similar to the promoter’s imagination, immaterial and outside of the changing world.
E: Right, they must also be completely independent of my beliefs, since I believe there is no way the midget in the last match could really beat the 500lb. man!
J: Let’s also recall the masked wrestler from earlier. On TV last week he was 40 pounds heavier and had a tattoo; I don’t believe he lost all that weight and rubbed off a tattoo!
E: That’s right, there must be an unchanging reality outside of what is perceived through the senses. What can we learn from the instances when there is an accident and the referee stops the match? This is definitely not what is in the mind of the promoter.
J: Then we would have to agree that there is an ideal essence that the wrestlers only participate in.
[At this point Eddie leaves his seat to buy a Rubberman foam finger. On his way he sees Rubberman who is obviously not injured. Eddie runs to tell Joe the news.]
E: Joe, I just saw Rubberman, and he is OK! Now I understand that he was only injured backstage in the promoters mind. Rubberman is not imitating the form very well!
SCENE II: Doug, a former wrestler, is sitting behind Joe and Eddie. Doug couldn’t help but hear the philosophical discussion transpiring before him. He had originally chosen to remain silent so as not to offend Joe and Eddie. This sentiment soon vanished when he realized he was going home empty handed- Eddie had bought the last Rubberman foam finger. Emotions are high.
D: Excuse me, but I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion. I’ve got to say that you guys have done nothing but complicate my life! What you speak of is a useless doubling of reality with no basis for explaining how the wrestlers themselves change over time!
E: Why don’t you explain yourself?
D: Lets start with the idea of the wrestlers only participating or imitating the promoter’s imagination. This may be a challenge to see from the fan’s perspective, but it is an absurd assumption. This can be proven wrong by the simple evidence of the promoter’s temper rising when wrestlers don’t perform the way his (the promoter’s) imagination had planned. Yes, you could say they were poorly imitating; however, I have seen several occurrences where wrestlers actually opposed what the promoter had imagined.
E: So the participation of wrestlers in the promoter’s imagination is what you mean as a useless doubling of reality! I knew Rubberman was more than an imitation!
D: Absolutely, Rubberman is the substance! He contains both matter in his body, and form in his understanding of how to behave, as well as what he is to accomplish during the match. If there were no man to give matter to the Rubberman character, then the character would cease to exist have form. Matter and form cannot be separated!
E: I think I now know why Joe’s explanation cannot explain change. Let me give it a shot. In the promoter’s mind the wrestler would always remain the ideal, but in reality the champion always ages and eventually becomes less than a crowd favorite. I agree, Doug; to say that material only imitates the form is not good enough.
J: I see where my example is weak, but how do you explain change?
D: Since form and matter exist in each wrestler, or what we can call the substance, it is the matter itself that changes, and the forms come and go.
E: Do you mean, for example, that as the wrestler portraying Hulk Hogan ages, his character changes into a wrestler who talks a lot more than wrestles?
D: Right. As the age (matter*) changes, different uses for the characters have to be imagined. In other words, as material changes, the form that once made up its substance leaves and another form enters. I think you would agree that as far as characters go, Hulk Hogan of old and Hollywood Hogan of today are based off completely different ideas, or as we have previously called them, forms.
E: Without a doubt, it’s only the same person portraying two different characters. Am I correct now in saying that, as the wrestler ages and his character is changed, the form making up his substance changes?
D: Correct, and therefore his substance also changes. Hence the progression of an individual wrestler and the different characters that he portrays. When the wrestler is young and healthy, most of his time is spent in the ring. As he ages and becomes injured his character is changed into a manager. Once he is unable to perform the duties of a manager, he is put out to pasture as an announcer. In each of these different phases the health and age (physical matter*) change, and the ideas that inspire the characters (forms) come and go accordingly with the health and age (matter*) of the wrestler.
E: If this is the explanation of how things change, I believe I can give an example of why things change along the lines of our wrestling discussion.
D&J: I’d like to hear this!
E: Let’s call the individual who wants to become a wrestler the material cause, or the “stuff”. The promoter and the wrestler himself develop an idea of what the ideal character would be, resulting in a formal cause.
D: Would the formal cause be the character’s personality, fighting style, muscular build, etc.?
E: Good job, Doug. Once the wrestler has an idea of the formal cause, he can begin to train and practice in order to become what has been envisioned. This training and practicing stage can be called the efficient cause. Items such as weights and acting classes may be considered agents.
D: What will we call the stage once the wrestler reaches his goal and does his best to fulfill what we called the formal cause?
E: Let’s call the attainment of the goal or purpose the final cause.
The scene ends as the announcer calls an end to the intermission. Joe, Eddie, and Doug laugh as they read the announcer’s shirt: “Everything that I know about reality, I’ve learned from Pro-Wrestling!”
* It is understood that Aristotle would categorize age and ability as accidents of the individuals that wrestle; however, here they pertain to the substance of the character. I.e., if you take away the flexibility of the wrestler portraying Rubberman, the character of Rubberman would cease to exist.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Caleb in Rome
From founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio:
Greetings from the Eternal City. I just wanted to thank everyone that participated in the roast. I especially thank everyone who did not mention everything which could have been said.
I arrived at about 8:30 in the morning on Wednesday, the Feast of St Francis. My arrangements to be picked up at the airport did not pan out. So I spent about fifty dollars to get to the Phillipino College where I thought I was going to be staying. Upon arrival I waited for a long time before they knew what they should do with a disoriented white man who claimed that he was staying at thier college. Other than the pair of workers I was the only laymen at the college and I was the only white man from America. They asked me to sit in the chair and wait for the rector. I sat down and fell asleep reading the Summa Theologica (thanks to Katie Culotta's offer to buy Gelato from Capital City Creamery, after the 7:00 AM Communion service, I only got about 3 and a half hours of sleep in the two nights before I found myself in Rome).
The Rector woke me up and informed that it was against the law for me to stay at the Phillipino College but he insisted that I eat lunch. Luckily two holy Phillipino priests, resisting the temptation to think that I was deranged, spent all day helping find a place to sleep. I was finally taken in by a convent in the room nearest the chapel. At about 1:00 PM the following day the Mother Superior sent one of the sisters to my room to make sure that I was still alive.
Part 2 later.
Greetings from the Eternal City. I just wanted to thank everyone that participated in the roast. I especially thank everyone who did not mention everything which could have been said.
I arrived at about 8:30 in the morning on Wednesday, the Feast of St Francis. My arrangements to be picked up at the airport did not pan out. So I spent about fifty dollars to get to the Phillipino College where I thought I was going to be staying. Upon arrival I waited for a long time before they knew what they should do with a disoriented white man who claimed that he was staying at thier college. Other than the pair of workers I was the only laymen at the college and I was the only white man from America. They asked me to sit in the chair and wait for the rector. I sat down and fell asleep reading the Summa Theologica (thanks to Katie Culotta's offer to buy Gelato from Capital City Creamery, after the 7:00 AM Communion service, I only got about 3 and a half hours of sleep in the two nights before I found myself in Rome).
The Rector woke me up and informed that it was against the law for me to stay at the Phillipino College but he insisted that I eat lunch. Luckily two holy Phillipino priests, resisting the temptation to think that I was deranged, spent all day helping find a place to sleep. I was finally taken in by a convent in the room nearest the chapel. At about 1:00 PM the following day the Mother Superior sent one of the sisters to my room to make sure that I was still alive.
Part 2 later.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Duggan, Hallford, and Danna on Lepanto this Sunday at 8pm
Because Ryan's AC is currently out of commission and for a change of atmosphere, the next meeting will be held at the apartment of Sarah Berard, Mary-Grace Westphal, and Fay Thibodeaux. The location is apartment 601 in the East Campus Apartments. The East Campus Apartments are located on the LSU campus near the REC Center and across from East Laville. Apartment 601 is on the first floor in building Six which is in the middle of the ECA Complex. If any further directions needed call Ryan Hallford, at (504) 952-0247.
The discussion will recognize the anniversary (actually on Saturday) of the battle of Lepanto, one of the most eventful clashes between Islam and Christendom. Mark Duggan will discuss the historical aspects of the battle while Ryan and Tobias Danna introduce G. K. Chesterton's poem Lepanto as well as some thoughts from Chesterton on the Middle East.
The discussion will recognize the anniversary (actually on Saturday) of the battle of Lepanto, one of the most eventful clashes between Islam and Christendom. Mark Duggan will discuss the historical aspects of the battle while Ryan and Tobias Danna introduce G. K. Chesterton's poem Lepanto as well as some thoughts from Chesterton on the Middle East.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Archbishop Charles Chaput on St. Francis' Example to Society's Leaders
Archbishop says public leaders, who claim to be Catholic but do not act on Gospel, are deceiving themselves
"If you and I want to be what God calls us to be in the years that lie ahead, we need to be like St. Francis."
"If you and I want to be what God calls us to be in the years that lie ahead, we need to be like St. Francis."
LSU Alumnus and 'Bad Catholic' John Zmirak on Bridging the Political Divide
Trading Places: How to rekindle conversation between Left and Right
The author of The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living ridicules the hypocrisy of contemporary progressives and conservatives.
The author of The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living ridicules the hypocrisy of contemporary progressives and conservatives.
Emily Byers Challenges the Materialistic Mindset
Too often our goals are materialistic
Parousian and Reveille columnist confronts the materialist consumer culture on the feast of Saint Francis.
Parousian and Reveille columnist confronts the materialist consumer culture on the feast of Saint Francis.
Remembering Rich Mullins
On what would have been the ninth anniversary of his entry into the Catholic Church, the Parousians remember this Quaker-turned-Evangelical-turning-Catholic disciple of St. Francis, Flannery O'Connor, and G. K. Chesterton.
Rich Mullins -- Enigmatic, Restless, Catholic
A Ragamuffin Music Man: Rich Mullins
Rich Mullins -- Enigmatic, Restless, Catholic
A Ragamuffin Music Man: Rich Mullins
Update on Beth Reed
Beth is no longer using a ventilator to breathe, but she has returned to ICU due to breathing difficulties. The doctors hope to remove another brain tumor next week, but they are waiting for some stability in her recovery from the last surgery. Please continue to pray for her healing through the intercession of Pope John Paul II.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Special Thanks
A great deal of appreciation goes out to everyone who made Caleb Bernacchio's farewell roast such a success. Special thanks goes out to Father John Carville, Father Bryce Sibley, seminarians and Parousian alumni Matthew McCaughey and Stephen Dufrene, and the Parousians of ULL for helping send off Caleb with good natured jabbing.
Archbishop Alfred Hughes on Pope Benedict's lecture at Regensburg
The real message of Pope Benedict XVI
"In his perceptive analysis, Pope Benedict raises a question for authentic religious dialogue. If we detach a morality rooted in human nature and accessible to human reason from our faith in God, does not that allow us to convert vice into virtue and virtue into sin? Authentic world religions have tried to ground spirituality in moral virtue. But if we believe that God wants our faith to win at all costs, then the end justifies the means. Terrorism becomes an act of virtue. If, however, the Jihad is interpreted as a spiritual war against the demonic powers of evil, it is much easier to find a common ground. This is a challenge that we need to address humbly, sincerely and directly."
"In his perceptive analysis, Pope Benedict raises a question for authentic religious dialogue. If we detach a morality rooted in human nature and accessible to human reason from our faith in God, does not that allow us to convert vice into virtue and virtue into sin? Authentic world religions have tried to ground spirituality in moral virtue. But if we believe that God wants our faith to win at all costs, then the end justifies the means. Terrorism becomes an act of virtue. If, however, the Jihad is interpreted as a spiritual war against the demonic powers of evil, it is much easier to find a common ground. This is a challenge that we need to address humbly, sincerely and directly."
Archbishop Jose Gomez on Moral Law
Don't mess with your faith
" At first sight, the Ten Commandments look like a long list of “no’s.” However, Jesus Christ has revealed to us the fullness and completion of this law: the “no’s” are, truly, the ancient expression of a totally new law; a law that is summed up in the commandment to love God and neighbor, and to love one another as Christ loved us. This law has also been inscribed in the human heart: it is the law of freedom that we received through our baptism and that must affect every aspect of our life. God’s law, then, makes us free, and brings us happiness and salvation."
" At first sight, the Ten Commandments look like a long list of “no’s.” However, Jesus Christ has revealed to us the fullness and completion of this law: the “no’s” are, truly, the ancient expression of a totally new law; a law that is summed up in the commandment to love God and neighbor, and to love one another as Christ loved us. This law has also been inscribed in the human heart: it is the law of freedom that we received through our baptism and that must affect every aspect of our life. God’s law, then, makes us free, and brings us happiness and salvation."
Ryan Hallford on Gossip, Truth, and Community
From founding Parousian Ryan Hallford:
"Where do I start? Why do I write? What can be accomplished? Attempting to say something of importance has typically forced my mind to go blank. Perhaps, I should start by saying something very non-important. And why not? Often society devours very non-important things. This trend radiates throughout the media. When I listen or read the news, I anticipate many unimportant things that writers publish. The numbers of magazines devoted to such topics baffles my mind. When shopping in stores how often do you see academic or religious journals at checkout lines? While the wide spread use of internet may serve to advance the type of global consciousness theorized by the likes of Teilhard de Chardin, I can not help believing that the social obsession with trivial news sets back progress.
Gossip in any community can easily become a frequent past time; however; does the present rate of gossip serve to benefit mankind? One of my favorite churches, St. Joseph Abbey, has the seven vices or capital sins depicted in the apse. These vices are embodied in the form of demons that are held prisoner under the angels of God who simultaneously uphold and serve God’s creation. In the spirit of good humor, and because the space between windows merits another portrait, the painter, Dom Gregory De Wit, includes an eighth vice for the Benedictine community to be vigilant against. This eighth demon whispers towards the choir stalls where the monks daily gather to pray. This depiction serves to warn them against the destructive nature of gossip. Apparently, not only secular society suffers from the infestation of unimportant things. Frankly, it distracts us from the more important issues of life.
The problem gossip creates makes important things disappear in the horizon of infinite amounts of tedious rumors and possibilities that serve to distract the mind rather than form it. Instead of focusing on issues that concern the nature of man and his end, we become bogged down in a quagmire of filth. The truth takes back seat to the entertainment that soap operas afford. Why waste energy talking about gossip? Because there is a growing need to reexamine our culture in hopes to discover those precious gems of life; to embrace culture from within and find those important things that truly enhances the life of the individual. Such a realization sets out to evangelize culture through two methods: from within and without.
Through the instruments of faith and reason the mind can discern the moments of grace manifested within culture. These spectacles of truth can often go unnoticed in the midst of unimportant things unless given proper recognition. This method intends to evangelize the culture from within thereby adhering to the call of a New Evangelization that reads the signs of the time. However, an equally important counterpart to this New Evangelization not only deciphers the important things from within but speaks about those truths found outside any individual culture. By transcending a particular culture and calling upon the eternal truths expressed by means of the Church and the light of reason, the responsibility of spreading the Gospel and redeeming the culture rest in the hearts of a people awaiting the Parousia.
Often, the vast sea of non-important things drowns the advocates of Truth. Much ciphering takes place before exposing the truth ingrained at the heart of the community. Within the community, every person has a valid insight into reality by the nature of their own experiences. Reality is greater than the any individual mind can know. Each person is a part of reality and therefore a part of the whole. Each person does have a capability of contemplating the whole (animals do not) and thereby offer a subjective perspective on reality without objectively comprehending the whole of reality. This does not mean that the community can invent or create Truth. However, we are called to collectively work together in seeking the Truth and participating in its reality. Life is full of beauty and meaning, and I encourage people to share their insight so that I may too learn what they have to offer. By journeying and journaling together, hopefully this blog may inspire greater knowledge and love of God than any of us could have obtained individually. Truth is a communal affair and calls us to greater unity and brotherhood. In arguing for the important things in life, I believe there are three types of people that argue: those who argue for the sake or arguing, those who argue because they like to hear themselves argue, and those who argue to seek the Truth. I consider myself in the last category. And by "argue" you can easily substitute it with the word "dialogue". I believe Truth is of the utmost importance. We should search for the Truth and rejoice in the day we find it."
"Where do I start? Why do I write? What can be accomplished? Attempting to say something of importance has typically forced my mind to go blank. Perhaps, I should start by saying something very non-important. And why not? Often society devours very non-important things. This trend radiates throughout the media. When I listen or read the news, I anticipate many unimportant things that writers publish. The numbers of magazines devoted to such topics baffles my mind. When shopping in stores how often do you see academic or religious journals at checkout lines? While the wide spread use of internet may serve to advance the type of global consciousness theorized by the likes of Teilhard de Chardin, I can not help believing that the social obsession with trivial news sets back progress.
Gossip in any community can easily become a frequent past time; however; does the present rate of gossip serve to benefit mankind? One of my favorite churches, St. Joseph Abbey, has the seven vices or capital sins depicted in the apse. These vices are embodied in the form of demons that are held prisoner under the angels of God who simultaneously uphold and serve God’s creation. In the spirit of good humor, and because the space between windows merits another portrait, the painter, Dom Gregory De Wit, includes an eighth vice for the Benedictine community to be vigilant against. This eighth demon whispers towards the choir stalls where the monks daily gather to pray. This depiction serves to warn them against the destructive nature of gossip. Apparently, not only secular society suffers from the infestation of unimportant things. Frankly, it distracts us from the more important issues of life.
The problem gossip creates makes important things disappear in the horizon of infinite amounts of tedious rumors and possibilities that serve to distract the mind rather than form it. Instead of focusing on issues that concern the nature of man and his end, we become bogged down in a quagmire of filth. The truth takes back seat to the entertainment that soap operas afford. Why waste energy talking about gossip? Because there is a growing need to reexamine our culture in hopes to discover those precious gems of life; to embrace culture from within and find those important things that truly enhances the life of the individual. Such a realization sets out to evangelize culture through two methods: from within and without.
Through the instruments of faith and reason the mind can discern the moments of grace manifested within culture. These spectacles of truth can often go unnoticed in the midst of unimportant things unless given proper recognition. This method intends to evangelize the culture from within thereby adhering to the call of a New Evangelization that reads the signs of the time. However, an equally important counterpart to this New Evangelization not only deciphers the important things from within but speaks about those truths found outside any individual culture. By transcending a particular culture and calling upon the eternal truths expressed by means of the Church and the light of reason, the responsibility of spreading the Gospel and redeeming the culture rest in the hearts of a people awaiting the Parousia.
Often, the vast sea of non-important things drowns the advocates of Truth. Much ciphering takes place before exposing the truth ingrained at the heart of the community. Within the community, every person has a valid insight into reality by the nature of their own experiences. Reality is greater than the any individual mind can know. Each person is a part of reality and therefore a part of the whole. Each person does have a capability of contemplating the whole (animals do not) and thereby offer a subjective perspective on reality without objectively comprehending the whole of reality. This does not mean that the community can invent or create Truth. However, we are called to collectively work together in seeking the Truth and participating in its reality. Life is full of beauty and meaning, and I encourage people to share their insight so that I may too learn what they have to offer. By journeying and journaling together, hopefully this blog may inspire greater knowledge and love of God than any of us could have obtained individually. Truth is a communal affair and calls us to greater unity and brotherhood. In arguing for the important things in life, I believe there are three types of people that argue: those who argue for the sake or arguing, those who argue because they like to hear themselves argue, and those who argue to seek the Truth. I consider myself in the last category. And by "argue" you can easily substitute it with the word "dialogue". I believe Truth is of the utmost importance. We should search for the Truth and rejoice in the day we find it."
Friday, September 29, 2006
Caleb's Farewell Fête
Just a reminder that Caleb Bernacchio's farewell celebration will be this Sunday, October 1. We will leave the LSU Law School parking lot promptly at 9:30 am to participate in the 11 am mass at St. Joseph Church in Parks, LA where Father Bryce Sibley will be celebrating. At 1 pm, we will gather at Le Grand Fromage & Tubby’s Pub in Henderson, LA. If you cannot make it to mass, please try to come to Le Grand Fromage for some delicious pizza and the roast!
We will carpool from the Law School, but if you are not joining us for mass you will have to drive on your own to Henderson to meet us.
Le Grand Fromage & Tubby’s Pub
2924 Grand Point Hwy
Henderson, LA 70517
337.667.7990
We will carpool from the Law School, but if you are not joining us for mass you will have to drive on your own to Henderson to meet us.
Le Grand Fromage & Tubby’s Pub
2924 Grand Point Hwy
Henderson, LA 70517
337.667.7990
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Emily Byers' Critique of the Consuming Fire Fellowship
Consuming Fire's methods not effective
Emily Byers' Witnessing Hope column addresses the evangelization techniques of a fundamentalist sect from Mississippi that regularly shows up at Free Speech Alley.
More Reveille coverage of the group is linked below. Father Than Vu from Christ the King is quoted in the second story.
Fire and Brimstone : Christian group preaches 'the truth'
Campus Christian groups react to preaching method
Emily Byers' Witnessing Hope column addresses the evangelization techniques of a fundamentalist sect from Mississippi that regularly shows up at Free Speech Alley.
More Reveille coverage of the group is linked below. Father Than Vu from Christ the King is quoted in the second story.
Fire and Brimstone : Christian group preaches 'the truth'
Campus Christian groups react to preaching method
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Emily Byers Column Will Run Tomorrow
Emily Byers' Witnessing Hope column was delayed until tomorrow. The Daily Reveille editors want her column to run simultaneously with a larger profile of the Consuming Fire Fellowship of Mississippi, a fundamentalist sect that shows up at LSU passing out Chick tracts and wearing sandwich boards condemning Mormons, sodomites, Catholics, and pottymouths to hell among others. Their dividing line on who is heaven bound and who is hellbound seems to be whoever came down from Mississippi with them on one side, and the entire university on the other. Stay tuned for another stellar column from Emily Byers.
Caleb Bernacchio Memory #2
From Philip de Mahy of the Parousian Guard:
"Over the summer, Caleb tutored several students through Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue. About halfway through the book, Juliette Lapeyrouse and I were discussing Aristotle's approach to epic poetry with Caleb at Highland Coffees, mainly us listening and Caleb pontificating. When Caleb was reaching his climatic main point, the music of Enya swelled in the background, a perfect soundtrack for the dramatic moment, like there should have been a montage of Caleb's best moments coming to a head. We've forgotten what that point was, but we couldn't stop laughing because of the music. I know it's not a funny story."
Indeed Philip. Indeed.
"Over the summer, Caleb tutored several students through Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue. About halfway through the book, Juliette Lapeyrouse and I were discussing Aristotle's approach to epic poetry with Caleb at Highland Coffees, mainly us listening and Caleb pontificating. When Caleb was reaching his climatic main point, the music of Enya swelled in the background, a perfect soundtrack for the dramatic moment, like there should have been a montage of Caleb's best moments coming to a head. We've forgotten what that point was, but we couldn't stop laughing because of the music. I know it's not a funny story."
Indeed Philip. Indeed.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Update on Beth Reed
Beth had 90 percent of one tumor removed in a remarkably swift four hour surgery. The doctor does not believe any nerve damage happened during the surgery, and she is initially responding well in ICU. Please continue to pray for her healing through the intercession of Pope John Paul II.
Caleb Bernacchio on Faith, Reason, and Jihad
The prepared text of founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio's final presentation to the Parousians before he leaves for the Angelicum:
“THE REDEEMER OF MAN, Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history” (Redemptor Hominis I.1.). John Paul's words express the essence of Christianity. In Jesus Christ God did a new thing; nothing has point or purpose except in relation to the life, death and resurection of Jesus Christ, through which He revealed the Holy Trinity including the Father's great love for us. Now consider Benedict's quote from Paleologus, 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached' (Lecture at Regensburg). Since John the Baptist proclaimed, “"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (NAB John 1.29) Christians have been committed to denying the possiblity that any other relgion or any other prophet could ever bring anything of signifigance to man's understanding of God and His relationship to the world. Why do Muslims and the media find it odd that Pope Benedict does not think that Mohammed had any new and fantastic knowledge about God and man? The pope did not intend to make these words his own nor did he deny that there are positive elements in Islam but toleration cannot be indifference.
Now back to Regensburg; the pope begins by expressing his excitement “to stand and give a lecture as this university podium, once again” (LR). 'Once again,' he says; this is not an encyclical or a homily but rather a university lecture. Further on he points out that in his days as a professor, “That... it is still necessary to raise the question of God through the use of reason, and to do so in the context of the Christian faith: this, within the university as a whole, was accepted without question” (LR). This is not the case today. That the university would raise the question of the rationality of the Islamic conception of God is hard to imagine, nor can one question the rationality of todays's dominant secularism. Asking metaphysical questions is considered a sign of madness according to some psychological manuals. One characteristic of the university, conceived as forum in which all claims must demonstrate their rationality, is its opposition to violence. Wisdom, St Thomas says, sets things in order. Reason has the abilty to understand the order of things and, through this knowledge, it can allow everything to have its proper place. Violence disregards the current order of things and instead imposes its own order. This search for wisdom as a search for the order of things is what Benedict takes to be the universities raison d'etre.
Benedict says he was reminded of this, by reading the dialouge, which included the above mentioned quote. This wide ranging dialouge between a Muslim and Christian points to the necessity, in our times especially, for rational investigation; we live in strange times and we need to figure just what it is that we are doing. The emperor's interlocuter was very learned in “Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both” (LR). We hear much today about dialogue. Dialogue promotes ' mutual understanding' and 'sharing of feelings' but the idea that truth is the telos towards which dialogue is ordered is all but absurd. This goal of dialogue can only be achieved through sharp objections and quick responses. This is what Benedict attempts regarding the issue of violence and the nature of God.
“Is the conviction that acting unreasonably contradicts God's naturemerely a Greek idea, or is it always and instrinsicly true?” is Benedict's question. Embodied in this are two distinct understandings of God and his relationships to man, including two conceptions of man's freedom. The mature Catholic understanding of God, shaped by the interplay between Greek and Hebrew thought, with beginnings in Old Testament times, epitomized by St Thomas Aquinas, is the God of Wisdom. “Indeed, she [Wisdom] reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well” (Wisdom 8.1). It is beyond the scope of this paper to present and defend the the topic of Book 1, Chapter 86 of the Summa Contra Gentiles, 'That a Reason Can Be Assigned to the Divine Will'. This pressuposes Thomas's notion that God is all good, that he necessarily wills His own Goodness, and that all created goods are only good insofar as they are ordered to the Divine Goodness but I will ask the questions, Which God should we obey? And how can we avoid the manipulative claims of false gods?
These are questions relevant to not only all theists but also to many atheists, who have merely rejected a fictional god. One such god is William Blake's Nobodaddy.
To Nobodaddy
Why art thou silent & invisible
Father of jealousy
Why dost thou hide thyself in clouds
From every searching Eye
Why darkness & obscurity
In all thy words & laws
That none dare eat the fruit but from
The wily serpents jaws
Or is it because Secresy
gains females loud applause
Nobodaddy is a far and away transcendedent god, whose words and laws are couched in 'darkness and obscurity'. His ways cannot be known and so all of his laws and precepts appear abitrary and pointless. In Benedict's words, this god seems 'capricious'. Because of his abitrary commands and supreme power the only proper response is unconditional submission. But how could we know if this god is the correct one? Can the choice of this god be a rational choice? By what criteria could we make this judgement? IS it merely a flip of a coin?
The proponents of Nobodaddy and god's like him, are in somewhat of a dilemma, for on the one had they cannot be sure Nobodaddy is the right god – perhaps Zeus should be worshipped (the god who is a member of this universe) – because so many other gods are demanding worship, but on the other, because they have forsworn any standards by which to evaluate the claims of the many gods, because this would bring god down to our level and judge him by our standards (so they claim) they have no way sorting out these claims. Bear in mind that Nobodaddy shares a lot of characteristics with Allah.
Benedict remarks that dehellenization – this is virtually synonomous with attempts to tear asunder faith and reason - has progresses in three stages, beginning with the Reformers , who, in some cases legitamately, rejected the decadent and stagnent metaphysics of the late scholastics. This stage was followed, by the liberalism of 19th and 20th centuries. In this period, “The fundamental goal was to bring Christianity back into harmony with modern reason” (LR). This is complemented by the third stage, which, in the name of pluralism, seeks to return to a fictional pre-Greek Christianity that can be freshly imported into any cultural milleau.
The proponents of dehellinization are the mirror image of the proponents of Nobodaddy; they define reason in such a way that faith is unreasonable – just as faith in Nobodaddy is unreasonable – but instead of submission they reject any and all faith. Two underlying presuppostions of this viewpoint, Benedict remarks, are a strange combination of Catesian rationalism and a positivistic empericism. This position – basically Kantian – is characterized by a self-limitation of reason; reason is limited to mundane enterprises because it is impossible to reach absolutely certainity in metaphysics. The rationalist element seeks a mathematical cetaintity that is simply unattainable in any subject matter except mathematics. By setting the epistomological bar so high – using a fictional standard of certainty – the proponents of this version of modern rationality affirm a positivistic emerpicism; i.e., they claim the only valid knowledge we have is derived from the natural sciences. But because we have good reasons for rejecting any form of Cartesianism, reasons Aristotle formulated in one way and Wittgenstein in another, we are not stuck with this materialist postivism.
In the the Catholic tradition, faith and reason are in perfect haromony; reason is not destroyed to make room for faith nor is faith restricted to stay within the bounds of pure reason alone. As St Thomas said, Gratia non tollit sed perficit naturam. We can see this within the Bible. In the book of Genesis, God's action in creating the world is expressed symbolically, and as St Thomas noted, the author did not intend to write a piece of natural science. In the psalms this symbolism, while still present, tends to fade into the background behind the enduring message that God is the cause of all that is. In the Book of Wisdom,, it is said of Wisdom that, “Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well” (Wisdom 8.1). And in one of St Augustine's favorite passages, “But you have disposed all things by measure, number and weight” (Wisdom 11.20 b). This pregression culminates, as Pope Benedict noted, in the Prologue of John's gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be” (John 1.1-3a). We see a progression in the Jewish and Christian understanding of God, which culminates in the mature understanding that God is essentially Wisdom, and that all created knowledge is a faint participation in this Divine Wisdom.
Indeed, St Paul, forshadowing the First the Vatican Council, affirms that God can be known from creation through reason; “Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible atribute of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and percieved in what he has made” (Romans 1.20).
Christians, taking up the best of Greek philosophy, and paying heed to St Paul's statement, have sought to explain why the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is eminently reasonable and how this can be known from the world. In the beginning of the Summa Theologica, in the famed Five Ways, St Thomas points to five elements of the created world – motion, causality, contingency, perfections of things, and order – that can not be adequately explained without resort to a Cause that is transcendent, that is not a part of the universe. These arguments are rooted in practical and theoretical investigations of a wider scope. Because of who and what we are, we humans beings naturally seek to understand the causes of the events of nature and the world in general, and likewise twe seek to find happiness, we seek the Good. These natural orientations of human nature lead to a historically and analogically ordered set of partial answers to these questions. Greeks philosphers were able to discover that a transcendent cause was the possible explanation of things: they also realized that the cultivation of virtue, in a search for the good, was the only way to aproximate happiness but this endeavors based on reason were only partially successful. Very few were able to attain an adequate understanding of these philosophical arguments and this not without a remaining in very many and great errors. But in the practical side the problems were even worse. The good life, one characterized by virtue, is fleeting at best; accidents and illnesses along with the jealousy and envy of others, make it likely that this form of life will end in some form of tradgedy. But this is not the half of it; St Augustine, and St Paul before him, recognized a radical weakness in his will. He found that his will was disordered, that “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate” (Romans 7.15).
Reason, without explicit revelation, was able to come to understanding of a Transcendent Cause, a Cause responsible for the existence of the universe, all of the individual perfections – justice ,goodness, beauty – present within the universe, the order of the universe, and that the knowledge and contemplation of this Cause, is the closest aproximation of happiness that humans can achieve. Reason was also able to come to some understanding that human beings habitually fail to do those things that enable them to understand the truth and to find happiness, the good. When this partial understanding – along with the knowledge of the sinfullness of fallen humanity (which was a result of the Holy Spirit's convicting the world of sin) – is presented with the Gospel, it percieves its fullfillment and its medicine. Not to act reasonably (according to the natural law) is contrary to the nature of God because we truly learn – albeit in an obscure fashion – about the nature of God through our rational reflections on the world. And if some purported god commands that we act with violence, against the natural law, then that god is not real. Because our knowledge of the natural law, derived from reason, is truly knowledge of Divine Wisdom, who 'orders all things sweetly' (Wisdom).
Pope Benedict calls western scientific rationalism to reflect on the presumptions that make the scientific enterprise possible. As he says:
Modern scientific reason quite simply has to accept the rational structure of matter and the correspondence between our spirit and the prevailing rational structures of nature as a given, on which its methodology has to be based. Yet the question why this has to be so is a real question, and one which has to be remanded by the natural sciences to other modes and planes of thought: to philosophy and theology. (LR)
The pope calls us to reflect on all of our experience – data from the natural world, but also from history, religious experience and communal relationships – and to reject the artficial limitations that have been put on reason by those who do not want to face the consequences of the existence of God of Justice. The fact that the world is intelligible, that science has achiveived magnificent success, entails that God exists. Because it is only if every event has a cause or is explanatory of itself (and only God's essence is His existence) can the rational order of nature be maintained.
“The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality,” say's Pope Benedict, “and can only suffer great harm thereby” (LR). If the West does not reject these artificial limitations placed on Reason it will not be able to stand up against a violent branch of Islam that seeks its destruction, but even worse it will lose its great moral tradition, and give in to corporate and govermental power and greed, and may not know if it has anything to live for.
In closing let's reflect on this understanding of Faith and Reason which is captured well by the closing prayer for today, the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Father,
guide us, as you guide creation
according to the law of love.
May we love one another and come to perfection in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this thorugh our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
-Amen"
“THE REDEEMER OF MAN, Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history” (Redemptor Hominis I.1.). John Paul's words express the essence of Christianity. In Jesus Christ God did a new thing; nothing has point or purpose except in relation to the life, death and resurection of Jesus Christ, through which He revealed the Holy Trinity including the Father's great love for us. Now consider Benedict's quote from Paleologus, 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached' (Lecture at Regensburg). Since John the Baptist proclaimed, “"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (NAB John 1.29) Christians have been committed to denying the possiblity that any other relgion or any other prophet could ever bring anything of signifigance to man's understanding of God and His relationship to the world. Why do Muslims and the media find it odd that Pope Benedict does not think that Mohammed had any new and fantastic knowledge about God and man? The pope did not intend to make these words his own nor did he deny that there are positive elements in Islam but toleration cannot be indifference.
Now back to Regensburg; the pope begins by expressing his excitement “to stand and give a lecture as this university podium, once again” (LR). 'Once again,' he says; this is not an encyclical or a homily but rather a university lecture. Further on he points out that in his days as a professor, “That... it is still necessary to raise the question of God through the use of reason, and to do so in the context of the Christian faith: this, within the university as a whole, was accepted without question” (LR). This is not the case today. That the university would raise the question of the rationality of the Islamic conception of God is hard to imagine, nor can one question the rationality of todays's dominant secularism. Asking metaphysical questions is considered a sign of madness according to some psychological manuals. One characteristic of the university, conceived as forum in which all claims must demonstrate their rationality, is its opposition to violence. Wisdom, St Thomas says, sets things in order. Reason has the abilty to understand the order of things and, through this knowledge, it can allow everything to have its proper place. Violence disregards the current order of things and instead imposes its own order. This search for wisdom as a search for the order of things is what Benedict takes to be the universities raison d'etre.
Benedict says he was reminded of this, by reading the dialouge, which included the above mentioned quote. This wide ranging dialouge between a Muslim and Christian points to the necessity, in our times especially, for rational investigation; we live in strange times and we need to figure just what it is that we are doing. The emperor's interlocuter was very learned in “Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both” (LR). We hear much today about dialogue. Dialogue promotes ' mutual understanding' and 'sharing of feelings' but the idea that truth is the telos towards which dialogue is ordered is all but absurd. This goal of dialogue can only be achieved through sharp objections and quick responses. This is what Benedict attempts regarding the issue of violence and the nature of God.
“Is the conviction that acting unreasonably contradicts God's naturemerely a Greek idea, or is it always and instrinsicly true?” is Benedict's question. Embodied in this are two distinct understandings of God and his relationships to man, including two conceptions of man's freedom. The mature Catholic understanding of God, shaped by the interplay between Greek and Hebrew thought, with beginnings in Old Testament times, epitomized by St Thomas Aquinas, is the God of Wisdom. “Indeed, she [Wisdom] reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well” (Wisdom 8.1). It is beyond the scope of this paper to present and defend the the topic of Book 1, Chapter 86 of the Summa Contra Gentiles, 'That a Reason Can Be Assigned to the Divine Will'. This pressuposes Thomas's notion that God is all good, that he necessarily wills His own Goodness, and that all created goods are only good insofar as they are ordered to the Divine Goodness but I will ask the questions, Which God should we obey? And how can we avoid the manipulative claims of false gods?
These are questions relevant to not only all theists but also to many atheists, who have merely rejected a fictional god. One such god is William Blake's Nobodaddy.
To Nobodaddy
Why art thou silent & invisible
Father of jealousy
Why dost thou hide thyself in clouds
From every searching Eye
Why darkness & obscurity
In all thy words & laws
That none dare eat the fruit but from
The wily serpents jaws
Or is it because Secresy
gains females loud applause
Nobodaddy is a far and away transcendedent god, whose words and laws are couched in 'darkness and obscurity'. His ways cannot be known and so all of his laws and precepts appear abitrary and pointless. In Benedict's words, this god seems 'capricious'. Because of his abitrary commands and supreme power the only proper response is unconditional submission. But how could we know if this god is the correct one? Can the choice of this god be a rational choice? By what criteria could we make this judgement? IS it merely a flip of a coin?
The proponents of Nobodaddy and god's like him, are in somewhat of a dilemma, for on the one had they cannot be sure Nobodaddy is the right god – perhaps Zeus should be worshipped (the god who is a member of this universe) – because so many other gods are demanding worship, but on the other, because they have forsworn any standards by which to evaluate the claims of the many gods, because this would bring god down to our level and judge him by our standards (so they claim) they have no way sorting out these claims. Bear in mind that Nobodaddy shares a lot of characteristics with Allah.
Benedict remarks that dehellenization – this is virtually synonomous with attempts to tear asunder faith and reason - has progresses in three stages, beginning with the Reformers , who, in some cases legitamately, rejected the decadent and stagnent metaphysics of the late scholastics. This stage was followed, by the liberalism of 19th and 20th centuries. In this period, “The fundamental goal was to bring Christianity back into harmony with modern reason” (LR). This is complemented by the third stage, which, in the name of pluralism, seeks to return to a fictional pre-Greek Christianity that can be freshly imported into any cultural milleau.
The proponents of dehellinization are the mirror image of the proponents of Nobodaddy; they define reason in such a way that faith is unreasonable – just as faith in Nobodaddy is unreasonable – but instead of submission they reject any and all faith. Two underlying presuppostions of this viewpoint, Benedict remarks, are a strange combination of Catesian rationalism and a positivistic empericism. This position – basically Kantian – is characterized by a self-limitation of reason; reason is limited to mundane enterprises because it is impossible to reach absolutely certainity in metaphysics. The rationalist element seeks a mathematical cetaintity that is simply unattainable in any subject matter except mathematics. By setting the epistomological bar so high – using a fictional standard of certainty – the proponents of this version of modern rationality affirm a positivistic emerpicism; i.e., they claim the only valid knowledge we have is derived from the natural sciences. But because we have good reasons for rejecting any form of Cartesianism, reasons Aristotle formulated in one way and Wittgenstein in another, we are not stuck with this materialist postivism.
In the the Catholic tradition, faith and reason are in perfect haromony; reason is not destroyed to make room for faith nor is faith restricted to stay within the bounds of pure reason alone. As St Thomas said, Gratia non tollit sed perficit naturam. We can see this within the Bible. In the book of Genesis, God's action in creating the world is expressed symbolically, and as St Thomas noted, the author did not intend to write a piece of natural science. In the psalms this symbolism, while still present, tends to fade into the background behind the enduring message that God is the cause of all that is. In the Book of Wisdom,, it is said of Wisdom that, “Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well” (Wisdom 8.1). And in one of St Augustine's favorite passages, “But you have disposed all things by measure, number and weight” (Wisdom 11.20 b). This pregression culminates, as Pope Benedict noted, in the Prologue of John's gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be” (John 1.1-3a). We see a progression in the Jewish and Christian understanding of God, which culminates in the mature understanding that God is essentially Wisdom, and that all created knowledge is a faint participation in this Divine Wisdom.
Indeed, St Paul, forshadowing the First the Vatican Council, affirms that God can be known from creation through reason; “Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible atribute of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and percieved in what he has made” (Romans 1.20).
Christians, taking up the best of Greek philosophy, and paying heed to St Paul's statement, have sought to explain why the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is eminently reasonable and how this can be known from the world. In the beginning of the Summa Theologica, in the famed Five Ways, St Thomas points to five elements of the created world – motion, causality, contingency, perfections of things, and order – that can not be adequately explained without resort to a Cause that is transcendent, that is not a part of the universe. These arguments are rooted in practical and theoretical investigations of a wider scope. Because of who and what we are, we humans beings naturally seek to understand the causes of the events of nature and the world in general, and likewise twe seek to find happiness, we seek the Good. These natural orientations of human nature lead to a historically and analogically ordered set of partial answers to these questions. Greeks philosphers were able to discover that a transcendent cause was the possible explanation of things: they also realized that the cultivation of virtue, in a search for the good, was the only way to aproximate happiness but this endeavors based on reason were only partially successful. Very few were able to attain an adequate understanding of these philosophical arguments and this not without a remaining in very many and great errors. But in the practical side the problems were even worse. The good life, one characterized by virtue, is fleeting at best; accidents and illnesses along with the jealousy and envy of others, make it likely that this form of life will end in some form of tradgedy. But this is not the half of it; St Augustine, and St Paul before him, recognized a radical weakness in his will. He found that his will was disordered, that “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate” (Romans 7.15).
Reason, without explicit revelation, was able to come to understanding of a Transcendent Cause, a Cause responsible for the existence of the universe, all of the individual perfections – justice ,goodness, beauty – present within the universe, the order of the universe, and that the knowledge and contemplation of this Cause, is the closest aproximation of happiness that humans can achieve. Reason was also able to come to some understanding that human beings habitually fail to do those things that enable them to understand the truth and to find happiness, the good. When this partial understanding – along with the knowledge of the sinfullness of fallen humanity (which was a result of the Holy Spirit's convicting the world of sin) – is presented with the Gospel, it percieves its fullfillment and its medicine. Not to act reasonably (according to the natural law) is contrary to the nature of God because we truly learn – albeit in an obscure fashion – about the nature of God through our rational reflections on the world. And if some purported god commands that we act with violence, against the natural law, then that god is not real. Because our knowledge of the natural law, derived from reason, is truly knowledge of Divine Wisdom, who 'orders all things sweetly' (Wisdom).
Pope Benedict calls western scientific rationalism to reflect on the presumptions that make the scientific enterprise possible. As he says:
Modern scientific reason quite simply has to accept the rational structure of matter and the correspondence between our spirit and the prevailing rational structures of nature as a given, on which its methodology has to be based. Yet the question why this has to be so is a real question, and one which has to be remanded by the natural sciences to other modes and planes of thought: to philosophy and theology. (LR)
The pope calls us to reflect on all of our experience – data from the natural world, but also from history, religious experience and communal relationships – and to reject the artficial limitations that have been put on reason by those who do not want to face the consequences of the existence of God of Justice. The fact that the world is intelligible, that science has achiveived magnificent success, entails that God exists. Because it is only if every event has a cause or is explanatory of itself (and only God's essence is His existence) can the rational order of nature be maintained.
“The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality,” say's Pope Benedict, “and can only suffer great harm thereby” (LR). If the West does not reject these artificial limitations placed on Reason it will not be able to stand up against a violent branch of Islam that seeks its destruction, but even worse it will lose its great moral tradition, and give in to corporate and govermental power and greed, and may not know if it has anything to live for.
In closing let's reflect on this understanding of Faith and Reason which is captured well by the closing prayer for today, the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Father,
guide us, as you guide creation
according to the law of love.
May we love one another and come to perfection in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this thorugh our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
-Amen"
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Update on Beth Reed: PRAYERS URGENTLY NEEDED
Beth will have one of her brain tumors removed on Monday. It will be a twelve hour surgery. Her doctor reminded Beth and her husband Joey that she may not survive the surgery, and that she may not survive the swelling of her brain stem as she recovers from the surgery. Beth and Joey continue to remain steadfast in their faith. Please remember them in your prayers offered up through the intercession of John Paul II.
Pope Benedict XVI on Sister Leonella Sgorbati
Pope Lauds Italian Nun Slain in Somalia.
From the AP:
Speaking Sunday about the need to overcome selfishness, Benedict cited Sgorbati's slaying.
"Some are asked to give the supreme testimony of blood, as it happened a few days ago to the Italian nun, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, who fell victim to violence," the pontiff said.
"This nun, who for many years served the poor and the children in Somalia, died pronouncing the word 'pardon,'" the pope told pilgrims during his traditional Sunday noon appearance. "This is the most authentic Christian testimony, a peaceful sign of contradiction which shows the victory of love over hate and evil."
From the AP:
Speaking Sunday about the need to overcome selfishness, Benedict cited Sgorbati's slaying.
"Some are asked to give the supreme testimony of blood, as it happened a few days ago to the Italian nun, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, who fell victim to violence," the pontiff said.
"This nun, who for many years served the poor and the children in Somalia, died pronouncing the word 'pardon,'" the pope told pilgrims during his traditional Sunday noon appearance. "This is the most authentic Christian testimony, a peaceful sign of contradiction which shows the victory of love over hate and evil."
George Cardinal Pell on Theology of the Body
Sexuality has to be linked to love and life and orthodox Christians over 2,000 years have always taught that sexual activity is good and holy within marriage.
"The validity of Christian teaching on sexuality and marriage is demonstrated in the wounds of those who do not practice it. Infidelity and irresponsibility do not bring freedom, but slavery, imprisonment to bad habits and even addiction. Pagan life today is like driving a car with flat tyres.
Men and women are gifts to one another, because sexual activity is an offering of love to the other, rather than a search for self satisfaction.
Christ himself was compassionate towards sexual sin, which is usually a misdirected search for love, but sexual fidelity is a struggle. And we know that cut price Christianity does not work, does not attract joiners, although it can stir up some nostalgia and distant sympathy. There is of course no such thing as cost free Christianity, which is a poisonous myth."
"The validity of Christian teaching on sexuality and marriage is demonstrated in the wounds of those who do not practice it. Infidelity and irresponsibility do not bring freedom, but slavery, imprisonment to bad habits and even addiction. Pagan life today is like driving a car with flat tyres.
Men and women are gifts to one another, because sexual activity is an offering of love to the other, rather than a search for self satisfaction.
Christ himself was compassionate towards sexual sin, which is usually a misdirected search for love, but sexual fidelity is a struggle. And we know that cut price Christianity does not work, does not attract joiners, although it can stir up some nostalgia and distant sympathy. There is of course no such thing as cost free Christianity, which is a poisonous myth."
Bishop Robert Finn on Angelic Aid
God Sends His Angels To Watch Over And Guide Us.
Bishop Finn gives an explanation of the Church's view on angels as we prepare for the feast day of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael on September 29, as well as the memorial of the Guardian Angels on October 2. He includes this inspiring example of the beloved Good Pope, Blessed John XXIII.
"Blessed Pope John XXIII had a deep devotion to the guardian angels, grasping how they could be called upon to help us in our work for God in the church. When the future pope served in the Vatican's diplomatic service, he was often assisted by the angels. Whenever he was approaching what he thought would be a contentious meeting or negotiation, he would pray not only to his guardian angel, but also to the angel of the person he was meeting. Together, Blessed John and the two angelic helpers would constitute a three-to-one majority, capable of winning over the heart of his would-be adversary."
Bishop Finn gives an explanation of the Church's view on angels as we prepare for the feast day of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael on September 29, as well as the memorial of the Guardian Angels on October 2. He includes this inspiring example of the beloved Good Pope, Blessed John XXIII.
"Blessed Pope John XXIII had a deep devotion to the guardian angels, grasping how they could be called upon to help us in our work for God in the church. When the future pope served in the Vatican's diplomatic service, he was often assisted by the angels. Whenever he was approaching what he thought would be a contentious meeting or negotiation, he would pray not only to his guardian angel, but also to the angel of the person he was meeting. Together, Blessed John and the two angelic helpers would constitute a three-to-one majority, capable of winning over the heart of his would-be adversary."
Archbishop Jose Gomez on the Sacramental Vision of Christian Life
Choices we make in our faith
"By receiving the Eucharist, we enter into that personal relationship with Jesus. And in the Eucharist, Jesus asks us to have faith in Him. Faith that should bring a conversion from mediocrity to full commitment to His life and teachings. This is of even more importance today in the life of the Church and in our country. This is not the time to be content with a superficial understanding of the mysteries of our faith."
"By receiving the Eucharist, we enter into that personal relationship with Jesus. And in the Eucharist, Jesus asks us to have faith in Him. Faith that should bring a conversion from mediocrity to full commitment to His life and teachings. This is of even more importance today in the life of the Church and in our country. This is not the time to be content with a superficial understanding of the mysteries of our faith."
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Caleb Bernacchio Memories # 1
Founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio will be leaving our little Harvard on the Mississippi to finish his undergraduate career at the Angelicum in Rome. In preparation for the farewell roast, we will be posting some of our favorite Caleb stories.
This first entry comes from founding Parousian Tobias Danna:
"On the night before Caleb flew out for his Pentecost pilgrimage to Rome, Caleb, Philip de Mahy and I got into a long philosophical discussion around 1 in the morning. Out of nowhere, Caleb tells us he doesn't really want to go on the trip. It cost too much money, and he could be at home reading the Summa Theologica all the way through . . . again. I reminded him that he already knew how it ended, and that even he could not possibly have a bad time in Rome. In a reply soaked in the enthusiasm typified by Ben Stein's comedic delivery, he assured us he really was excited about the trip. Sure enough, Caleb came back with good stories from Rome, all told with a smile - not a hint of deadpan. Still, he will never escape the rep that comes when you say you'd rather read Aquinas than go to Rome."
This first entry comes from founding Parousian Tobias Danna:
"On the night before Caleb flew out for his Pentecost pilgrimage to Rome, Caleb, Philip de Mahy and I got into a long philosophical discussion around 1 in the morning. Out of nowhere, Caleb tells us he doesn't really want to go on the trip. It cost too much money, and he could be at home reading the Summa Theologica all the way through . . . again. I reminded him that he already knew how it ended, and that even he could not possibly have a bad time in Rome. In a reply soaked in the enthusiasm typified by Ben Stein's comedic delivery, he assured us he really was excited about the trip. Sure enough, Caleb came back with good stories from Rome, all told with a smile - not a hint of deadpan. Still, he will never escape the rep that comes when you say you'd rather read Aquinas than go to Rome."
Update on Beth Reed
Our friend Beth Reed will have a brain tumor removed this Monday. Her husband Joey says she is strongly keeping the faith, often praying at length clutching a crucifix or a picture of JPII. Please remember her in your prayers, offering them up through the intercession of John Paul II.
Invitation to Theology of the Body Talk
From Angela Miceli: This Sunday the 24th -- St. Agnes is hosting Deacon Peter Walsh who is coming to give a talk from 2-5 on JPII's Theology of the Body (there will be 2 hour and a half sessions). I know the Parousians have something going on this Sunday, but I thought some people might like to know about it. It will be held in the cafeteria.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Archbishop Alfred Hughes: "Misleading to Call God's Love Unconditional"
"Fundamentals in moral education"
The Archbishop of New Orleans calls for straightforward moral teaching.
The Archbishop of New Orleans calls for straightforward moral teaching.
Archbishop Charles Chaput on the Meaning of Education
"Catholic faith should be the spine of every other field of study"
What Archbishop Chaput speaks about Catholic schools is the perspective each Parousian attempts to bring into the university, be it Catholic, public, or private. The Archbishop certainly wins us over by quoting Alasdair MacIntyre in the first sentence.
What Archbishop Chaput speaks about Catholic schools is the perspective each Parousian attempts to bring into the university, be it Catholic, public, or private. The Archbishop certainly wins us over by quoting Alasdair MacIntyre in the first sentence.
Father Jason Labbe's Special Presentation to the Parousians
Father Jason Labbe will come up from Paincourtville to offer the Parousians a presentation on "A Vision of Man Seen Through the Sacraments." The meeting will be on Tuesday, 9/26, 6 pm at Ryan Hallford's house (4463 Tupello St). All Parousians are asked to bring a guest for this special event.
Emily Byers on the Pope, Islam, and Secularism
"Christians, Muslims must open dialogue."
Parousian Emily Byers analyzes the controversy over the Pope's lecture and the problem of secularists attempting to understand jihadists.
Parousian Emily Byers analyzes the controversy over the Pope's lecture and the problem of secularists attempting to understand jihadists.
Founding Parousian Caleb Bernacchio's Farewell Celebration
Another one of the originals is leaving. Founding Parousian and resident straitjacket Thomist Caleb Bernacchio passed on his senior year in LSU's philosophy department, opting to finish his degree at the Angelicum in Rome. On Sunday, October 1st, the Parousians will leave the LSU Law School parking lot promptly at 9:30 am to participate in the 11 am mass at St. Joseph Church in Parks, LA where Father Bryce Sibley will be celebrating. At 1 pm, we will gather at Le Grand Fromage & Tubby’s Pub in Henderson, LA for the best pizza known to civilized humanity. At Le Grand Fromage, Caleb will be roasted by founding Parousians Tobias Danna and Ryan Hallford, among others.
Magister: Less Diplomacy, More Gospel from Benedict XVI
"Islam’s Unreasonable War Against Benedict XVI."
Much akin to the Parousian insistence that the God who is Love is also the God who is Truth.
Much akin to the Parousian insistence that the God who is Love is also the God who is Truth.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Papal Address at University of Regensburg
"Three Stages in the Program of De-Hellenization"
While nobody will be turned away from Sunday night's meeting if they have not read the Pope's lecture, it will give greater context to Sunday night's presentation from Caleb Bernacchio. Thanks to Paul Cat for providing the link.
While nobody will be turned away from Sunday night's meeting if they have not read the Pope's lecture, it will give greater context to Sunday night's presentation from Caleb Bernacchio. Thanks to Paul Cat for providing the link.
Presentation Tonight on Stem Cell Research, Human Cloning and Theology of the Body
From Julie Orr:
Hi Philip,
Thank you for keeping me informed about The Parousians. You are doing great work at educating and encouraging young adults in the Catholic faith.
Would you please let everyone know that tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Walk-On's near LSU, Dr. Rob Chasuk will be giving a presentation on Stem Cell Research, Human Cloning and Theology of the Body - it should be excellent! Please encourage everyone to come.
Thank you!
God bless,
Julie M. Orr
Respect Life Coordinator
Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
Christian Formation Secretariat
Marriage and Family Life Dept.
Hi Philip,
Thank you for keeping me informed about The Parousians. You are doing great work at educating and encouraging young adults in the Catholic faith.
Would you please let everyone know that tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Walk-On's near LSU, Dr. Rob Chasuk will be giving a presentation on Stem Cell Research, Human Cloning and Theology of the Body - it should be excellent! Please encourage everyone to come.
Thank you!
God bless,
Julie M. Orr
Respect Life Coordinator
Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
Christian Formation Secretariat
Marriage and Family Life Dept.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Caleb Bernacchio Presents on Faith, Reason, and Jihad
This Sunday Caleb Bernacchio will give his last presentation before he leaves for the Angelicum in Rome. He will be discussing the themes of Pope Benedict's recent lecture in Regensburg concerning Islam and the role of faith and reason in religion. We will be meeting at Ryan Hallford's house at 8:00, all are welcome.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Paul Cat's New Blog
Alive and Young
Founding Parousian Paul Cat has graduated, and is now serving as Director of Religious Education Apprentice at The Parish of the Resurrection in Wilmington, Delaware. His new blog promises to be a favorite stop for Parousians everywhere.
"Alive and Young is a site dedicated to discussing the topics of sex, religion, and politics. My chief qualificaion for starting such a blog is that I have no qualifications to discuss such topics as sex, religion, and politics."
Founding Parousian Paul Cat has graduated, and is now serving as Director of Religious Education Apprentice at The Parish of the Resurrection in Wilmington, Delaware. His new blog promises to be a favorite stop for Parousians everywhere.
"Alive and Young is a site dedicated to discussing the topics of sex, religion, and politics. My chief qualificaion for starting such a blog is that I have no qualifications to discuss such topics as sex, religion, and politics."
F-Bomb Nietzsche: Blah Blah Blah
Founding Parousian Paul Catalanotto offers this original piece to the Parousians blog:
In Joyful Wisdom, Friedrich Nietzsche has a mad man running about town asking and proclaiming “Where is God? … I will tell you, we have killed Him, you and I! We are all His murderers! … God is dead! God will remain dead! And we have killed Him!” and says in more statement than question “Must not ourselves become Gods” (Nietzsche, JW 167-8). It is appropriate because not only does he kill God in his own life, but he is also driven mad by syphilis and signs his last letter “the Crucified One,” making his madman seem more prophetic of himself than of the society about which he wrote (Kreeft, Unbelief).
Although he does not become clinically mad till the later stage of his life, it is clear from a number of his writings that madness ran deep in his veins for many years (Hollingdale 25). Some might call it genius, while others just plain madness. The difference from madness and genius might only be a small step apart but still they are separate from one another and should not be confused. A genius is a person who is a master of a particular field and knows the spirit of the rules and the exceptions to the rules, while a mad person thinks the rules are the exceptions and he or she confuses fantasy with a reality.
There is a danger in living in a fantasy such as Nietzsche did. When I speak of fantasy, I do not mean imagination. Imagination by nature is something necessary for a healthy mind: it helps to produce something outside of a person’s self – like a poem or prayer. Where as fantasy turns the individual inward to the ego: it is a delusion and foolery to the self. Dorothy Sayers writes in Mind of the Maker that the “imagination works outward steadily increasing the gap between the visioned and the actual … Few writers of crime-stories become murders – if any do, it is not a result of identifying themselves with their murderous heroes” (Sayers 144), while fantasy to Sayers is the “blurring [of] the boundary between the visioned and the actual … so that the child who has fantasized himself a murderer ends by becoming a Loeb or a Leopole” (Sayers 143-4). Sayers argues that an individual cannot live in the imagination; however, the individual may spend a life time living a fantasy and not know it because their fantasy has become real and has to be played out to the last possible end: insanity. So, imagination is the product of the sane mind and to live always in a fantasy, as did Nietzsche, is the product of the insane mind.
How is it known that Nietzsche in fact was living in fantasy and not merely playing with his imagination? Simply put, when people are playing with their imagination, they know they are using it, and if they are not readily conscience of their using it then it becomes apparent after they have stopped imagining (day dreaming). With fantasy, it is the opposite. The person living in a fantasy does not know he or she is living a fantasy and usually does something drastic to prove that his or her fantasy is the state of the world. David Koresh did not merely imagine himself to be Christ come again; he really believed himself to be Christ in his fantasy. Tolkien did not think himself to be Frodo. As stated earlier, those who are mad think the rules are the exception, and Nietzsche thought himself to be the exception to reality.
Yet, Nietzsche did not have any choice but to play out his fantasy to its absolute end, so his end – regardless of health – would have resulted in the same: insanity. He removed God from his life then followed by the removal of friends and family, the only thing he had left was his mind, which he eventually lost also (Lichtenberger Chapter 1.). His call for radical individualism left him with nothingness and madness, which left him stuck at the crossroads, unable to go down any road for each road had already been traveled, and being, by default, unable to choose left his mind and will useless and frozen. “Madness may be defined as using mental activity so as to reach mental helplessness; and [Nietzsche had] nearly reached it” on his own: it was only his health that finished it for him (Chesterton 43).
Strengths, Weaknesses, and Dangers
Any person who casually reads Nietzsche might find him or herself being both repelled and drawn to his writings simultaneously. On the first level, the reader would be repelled because they know better and can see what Nietzsche is trying to say and may even experience a physiological repulsion at what Nietzsche is saying. On the other hand, the casual reader is drawn to Nietzsche for several reasons. First, he writes with a passion found in few writers since Augustine of Hippo and Pascal. All three writers display a bold honesty in their writings, which speaks not only to the reader’s mind but also to the reader’s heart. Each writer is able to capture the restlessness and wretchedness of the human person; however, Augustine and Pascal find rest and greatness for humanity in God, while Nietzsche is only able to capture the restlessness and wretchedness of the human soul and is unable to find it rest.
A second strength in Nietzsche’s writings is found in not what he says, but how he says it. In this area he is reminiscent of the sirens in Greek mythology from Homer’s Odyssey. The sirens sought to lore boats to crash upon the rocks using their song; like wise, Nietzsche lures his readers into his fantasy by a writing style consisting of strong lyrical prose bordering poetry. The best example of his writing style is found in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, where his character Zarathustra delivers powerful speeches in a poetical form to the public.
Nietzsche’s use of metaphors and images further strengthen his arguments. With the use of images and metaphors it allows, according to Dr. Peter Kreeft, the contemplative imagination to be used. The contemplative imagination is what Kreeft describes an “intuitive understanding;” it allows ideas and thoughts to enter into the mind and heart without being censored; this is one explanation of the power of music, art, and poetry (Kreeft Imagination). That is, the imagination gives meaning before reason.
Moreover, Alasdair MacIntyre argues that the Weberian, Marxist, and Nietzschen “vision of the world cannot be rationally sustained; it disguises and conceals rather than illuminates and it depends for its power on its success at disguise and concealment” (MacIntyre 109). Nietzsche’s writing style can be very dangerous because he hides his arguments well. When each of his strengths are combined it hides his arguments in a way that is not at first noticeable to the casual reader, and tied together with his other natural tendencies of deliberate contradiction and not adhering to any logical form, it can easily leave the reader confused and unsure about much of what Nietzsche says.
One example of many contradictions found in Twilight of the Idols is how Nietzsche addresses reason; he says, “’Reason’ is the cause of our falsification of the evidence of the sense” (Nietzsche TWI 46). Then in the following section he says that scientific-knowledge is to be trusted; however, scientific-knowledge is only trustable because it has been deduced and found reasonable and trustworthy by means of reason. If Nietzsche’s logic is to be followed, science itself is nothing more than the “falsification of the evidence of the sense[s]” and should not be trusted (Nietzsche TWI 46). Still his confusion speaks to the heart and mind and might produce a confused heart and confused mind in the reader, which would leave life nothing more than “sound and fury symbolizing nothing” (Shakespeare 92).
Nietzsche’s biggest weakness lies in his arguments, if what he writes can be called arguments. Leila Haaparanta writes, “Few arguments can be found in Fredrich Nietzsche’s philosophical work” (Haaparanta pg 490). He argues less and makes bold accusations and claims averaging what seems nearly every page. Sadly, it is not certain if Nietzsche’s claims are true or not from his texts, because he fails to support most of his claims with proof. For example, in The Anti-Christ he says, “Wherever the influence of the theologian extends value judgment is stood on its head, the concepts ‘true’ and ‘false’ are necessarily reversed” (Nietzsche AC. 132), while in Twilight of the Idols he claims that the present morality of humanity is not what it has always been. He claims that man was at a time amoral and better for being without morality. However, Nietzsche cannot support either of these claims. He cannot say that truth has been otherwise and that man has been anything other than moral. It is erroneous to speak of the morality of prehistoric society when there is no evidence of prehistoric morality. Sadly, Nietzsche’s arguments are based solely on assumptions, and any elementary logic student knows that an argument based solely on assumption and claims can hardly be called an argument, and the conclusion can only be called an assumption derived from assumptions.
In the end, Nietzsche is more rightly called a composer of claims and not an ethicist. The claims he makes are addressed at the society in which he lived and can reveal a good deal about protestant Germany, and his writings can easily be used more as social commentary than as ethics books and are more of a wakeup call for those who call themselves Christian.
Bibliography
Chesterton, Gilbert K. Orthodoxy. Garden City: Image Books, 1959.
Haaparanta, Leila. “A Note on Nietzsche’s Argument.” The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 153. (Oct., 1988), pp. 490-495.
Hollingdale, R.J. Twilight of the Idols and The Anti Christ. By Friedrich Nietzsche. Trans. R.J. Hollingdale. London: the Penguin Group, 1990.
Kreeft, Peter. “The Imagination.” Keble College, Oxford. 1991.
Kreeft, Peter. “Pillars of Unbelief – Nietzsche.” National Catholic Register. (Jan-Feb., 1988).
Lichtenberger, Henri. The Gospel of Superman: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Trans. J.M Kennedy. Edinburgh: Morrison & Gibb Limited, 1910.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. After Virtue. 2nd ed. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Joyful Wisdom. Trans. Thomas Common. New York: Fredrick Ungar Publishing Co. 1960.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Twilight of the Idols and The Anti Christ. Trans. R.J. Hollingdale. London: the Penguin Group, 1990
Sayers, Dorthy L. The Mind of the Maker. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1941.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Pelican Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Orgel. New York: the Penguin Group, 2000.
In Joyful Wisdom, Friedrich Nietzsche has a mad man running about town asking and proclaiming “Where is God? … I will tell you, we have killed Him, you and I! We are all His murderers! … God is dead! God will remain dead! And we have killed Him!” and says in more statement than question “Must not ourselves become Gods” (Nietzsche, JW 167-8). It is appropriate because not only does he kill God in his own life, but he is also driven mad by syphilis and signs his last letter “the Crucified One,” making his madman seem more prophetic of himself than of the society about which he wrote (Kreeft, Unbelief).
Although he does not become clinically mad till the later stage of his life, it is clear from a number of his writings that madness ran deep in his veins for many years (Hollingdale 25). Some might call it genius, while others just plain madness. The difference from madness and genius might only be a small step apart but still they are separate from one another and should not be confused. A genius is a person who is a master of a particular field and knows the spirit of the rules and the exceptions to the rules, while a mad person thinks the rules are the exceptions and he or she confuses fantasy with a reality.
There is a danger in living in a fantasy such as Nietzsche did. When I speak of fantasy, I do not mean imagination. Imagination by nature is something necessary for a healthy mind: it helps to produce something outside of a person’s self – like a poem or prayer. Where as fantasy turns the individual inward to the ego: it is a delusion and foolery to the self. Dorothy Sayers writes in Mind of the Maker that the “imagination works outward steadily increasing the gap between the visioned and the actual … Few writers of crime-stories become murders – if any do, it is not a result of identifying themselves with their murderous heroes” (Sayers 144), while fantasy to Sayers is the “blurring [of] the boundary between the visioned and the actual … so that the child who has fantasized himself a murderer ends by becoming a Loeb or a Leopole” (Sayers 143-4). Sayers argues that an individual cannot live in the imagination; however, the individual may spend a life time living a fantasy and not know it because their fantasy has become real and has to be played out to the last possible end: insanity. So, imagination is the product of the sane mind and to live always in a fantasy, as did Nietzsche, is the product of the insane mind.
How is it known that Nietzsche in fact was living in fantasy and not merely playing with his imagination? Simply put, when people are playing with their imagination, they know they are using it, and if they are not readily conscience of their using it then it becomes apparent after they have stopped imagining (day dreaming). With fantasy, it is the opposite. The person living in a fantasy does not know he or she is living a fantasy and usually does something drastic to prove that his or her fantasy is the state of the world. David Koresh did not merely imagine himself to be Christ come again; he really believed himself to be Christ in his fantasy. Tolkien did not think himself to be Frodo. As stated earlier, those who are mad think the rules are the exception, and Nietzsche thought himself to be the exception to reality.
Yet, Nietzsche did not have any choice but to play out his fantasy to its absolute end, so his end – regardless of health – would have resulted in the same: insanity. He removed God from his life then followed by the removal of friends and family, the only thing he had left was his mind, which he eventually lost also (Lichtenberger Chapter 1.). His call for radical individualism left him with nothingness and madness, which left him stuck at the crossroads, unable to go down any road for each road had already been traveled, and being, by default, unable to choose left his mind and will useless and frozen. “Madness may be defined as using mental activity so as to reach mental helplessness; and [Nietzsche had] nearly reached it” on his own: it was only his health that finished it for him (Chesterton 43).
Strengths, Weaknesses, and Dangers
Any person who casually reads Nietzsche might find him or herself being both repelled and drawn to his writings simultaneously. On the first level, the reader would be repelled because they know better and can see what Nietzsche is trying to say and may even experience a physiological repulsion at what Nietzsche is saying. On the other hand, the casual reader is drawn to Nietzsche for several reasons. First, he writes with a passion found in few writers since Augustine of Hippo and Pascal. All three writers display a bold honesty in their writings, which speaks not only to the reader’s mind but also to the reader’s heart. Each writer is able to capture the restlessness and wretchedness of the human person; however, Augustine and Pascal find rest and greatness for humanity in God, while Nietzsche is only able to capture the restlessness and wretchedness of the human soul and is unable to find it rest.
A second strength in Nietzsche’s writings is found in not what he says, but how he says it. In this area he is reminiscent of the sirens in Greek mythology from Homer’s Odyssey. The sirens sought to lore boats to crash upon the rocks using their song; like wise, Nietzsche lures his readers into his fantasy by a writing style consisting of strong lyrical prose bordering poetry. The best example of his writing style is found in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, where his character Zarathustra delivers powerful speeches in a poetical form to the public.
Nietzsche’s use of metaphors and images further strengthen his arguments. With the use of images and metaphors it allows, according to Dr. Peter Kreeft, the contemplative imagination to be used. The contemplative imagination is what Kreeft describes an “intuitive understanding;” it allows ideas and thoughts to enter into the mind and heart without being censored; this is one explanation of the power of music, art, and poetry (Kreeft Imagination). That is, the imagination gives meaning before reason.
Moreover, Alasdair MacIntyre argues that the Weberian, Marxist, and Nietzschen “vision of the world cannot be rationally sustained; it disguises and conceals rather than illuminates and it depends for its power on its success at disguise and concealment” (MacIntyre 109). Nietzsche’s writing style can be very dangerous because he hides his arguments well. When each of his strengths are combined it hides his arguments in a way that is not at first noticeable to the casual reader, and tied together with his other natural tendencies of deliberate contradiction and not adhering to any logical form, it can easily leave the reader confused and unsure about much of what Nietzsche says.
One example of many contradictions found in Twilight of the Idols is how Nietzsche addresses reason; he says, “’Reason’ is the cause of our falsification of the evidence of the sense” (Nietzsche TWI 46). Then in the following section he says that scientific-knowledge is to be trusted; however, scientific-knowledge is only trustable because it has been deduced and found reasonable and trustworthy by means of reason. If Nietzsche’s logic is to be followed, science itself is nothing more than the “falsification of the evidence of the sense[s]” and should not be trusted (Nietzsche TWI 46). Still his confusion speaks to the heart and mind and might produce a confused heart and confused mind in the reader, which would leave life nothing more than “sound and fury symbolizing nothing” (Shakespeare 92).
Nietzsche’s biggest weakness lies in his arguments, if what he writes can be called arguments. Leila Haaparanta writes, “Few arguments can be found in Fredrich Nietzsche’s philosophical work” (Haaparanta pg 490). He argues less and makes bold accusations and claims averaging what seems nearly every page. Sadly, it is not certain if Nietzsche’s claims are true or not from his texts, because he fails to support most of his claims with proof. For example, in The Anti-Christ he says, “Wherever the influence of the theologian extends value judgment is stood on its head, the concepts ‘true’ and ‘false’ are necessarily reversed” (Nietzsche AC. 132), while in Twilight of the Idols he claims that the present morality of humanity is not what it has always been. He claims that man was at a time amoral and better for being without morality. However, Nietzsche cannot support either of these claims. He cannot say that truth has been otherwise and that man has been anything other than moral. It is erroneous to speak of the morality of prehistoric society when there is no evidence of prehistoric morality. Sadly, Nietzsche’s arguments are based solely on assumptions, and any elementary logic student knows that an argument based solely on assumption and claims can hardly be called an argument, and the conclusion can only be called an assumption derived from assumptions.
In the end, Nietzsche is more rightly called a composer of claims and not an ethicist. The claims he makes are addressed at the society in which he lived and can reveal a good deal about protestant Germany, and his writings can easily be used more as social commentary than as ethics books and are more of a wakeup call for those who call themselves Christian.
Bibliography
Chesterton, Gilbert K. Orthodoxy. Garden City: Image Books, 1959.
Haaparanta, Leila. “A Note on Nietzsche’s Argument.” The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 153. (Oct., 1988), pp. 490-495
Hollingdale, R.J. Twilight of the Idols and The Anti Christ. By Friedrich Nietzsche. Trans. R.J. Hollingdale. London: the Penguin Group, 1990.
Kreeft, Peter. “The Imagination.” Keble College, Oxford. 1991
Kreeft, Peter. “Pillars of Unbelief – Nietzsche.” National Catholic Register. (Jan-Feb., 1988)
Lichtenberger, Henri. The Gospel of Superman: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Trans. J.M Kennedy. Edinburgh: Morrison & Gibb Limited, 1910.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. After Virtue. 2nd ed. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Joyful Wisdom. Trans. Thomas Common. New York: Fredrick Ungar Publishing Co. 1960.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Twilight of the Idols and The Anti Christ. Trans. R.J. Hollingdale. London: the Penguin Group, 1990
Sayers, Dorthy L. The Mind of the Maker. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1941.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Pelican Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Orgel. New York: the Penguin Group, 2000.
Parousians Recognized on Bill Cork's Built on a Rock
Bill Cork's Built on a Rock plugs Parousians
Bill Cork, the Director of Young Adult & Campus Ministry for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, welcomed the Parousians to the blogosphere last Wednesday. We apologize for the late notice, and encourage everyone to check out this incredibly thorough Catholic blog.
He writes:
"The Parousia has arrived ... er, no, the Parousians.
The Parousian Post--LSU students, including at least one who heard me give an impromptu talk about Cajun history at a Compass gathering in Lafayette. Welcome to the blogosphere, Toby and Co.!"
Bill Cork, the Director of Young Adult & Campus Ministry for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, welcomed the Parousians to the blogosphere last Wednesday. We apologize for the late notice, and encourage everyone to check out this incredibly thorough Catholic blog.
He writes:
"The Parousia has arrived ... er, no, the Parousians.
The Parousian Post--LSU students, including at least one who heard me give an impromptu talk about Cajun history at a Compass gathering in Lafayette. Welcome to the blogosphere, Toby and Co.!"
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