I came across an interesting book on www.amazon.com, in one my meanderings. Since I am currently in the process of (perhaps) joining the Catholic Church, the book's title was of particular interest to me; "Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage To Make Us Holy More Than To Make Us Happy?". Let me say from the start that I have not read the book and do not have any plans to do so. The title, by itself, was enough to set me thinking about the purpose of marriage.
It seems to me that one thing that often plagues the modern mind is the inability to ask the right questions. It could be that our political sense has hijacked our common sense. There are some who want to redefine marriage without a thorough investigation of the nature of the social institution of marriage and all of the ramifications of such a redefinition. By the way, concerning this discussion, I would suggest reading the following article from Time Magazine.
What is the point of marriage? If it is simply the "legal" sanction to a partnership? If that is it why limit it to two persons? For that matter, what does a government have to do with the commitment of two persons? The type of questions lead to a whole slew of others that are even more complicated, like what will be the affect of abandoning natural and traditional marriage on our children and the society.
I find it interesting that the author, Gary L. Thomas, does not appear to be Catholic. However, the title of the book immediately calls to mind the Catholic (and Orthodox) view of marriage as a Sacrament, i.e., "The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Para. 1131)
In short, God Almighty instituted marriage, like everything in the natural order to make us saints. It calls to mind a now famous quote. "There is but one sadness," said Leon Bloy, "that of not being a saint." According to the Catholic Church the whole point of our creation was everlasting communion with The Holy Trinity (Sainthood). It is interesting that Satan would tell Adam and Eve that if they eat of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" then they "shall be as God". For man to be like God was, indeed, God's idea from the beginning. Incidentally, notice that Satan did not lie blatantly, but, instead twisted the meaning. It is, then, not so surprising that people who support infanticide label themselves "pro-choice". Deification or Theosis are terms used in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The concept is the same in the western, Catholic Church.
God, through the Church, did institute the Sacramentos to make us Holy. If we understand that, it is much easier to answer the questions that I posed above. My hope is that by focusing the public debate on these type of questions, our dialog will be more fruitful. Conversely, if we continue to ignore natural realities and twist meanings, according the the Satanic method, the results will be dramatically less beneficial.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
New On-Line Bible Resource
Check out this wonderful On-Line Bible resource from NewAdvent. It is wonderful for language geeks like me.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
"Story of the Weeping Camel"
My family and I viewed "The Story of the Weeping Camel" last night and found it fascinating and profound. I must admit that I did not expect much. In fact, I was prepared for another "March of the Penguins", which was not unenjoyable, but was not (in my opinion) profound. Perhaps, the difference was the presence of men (and women too, for those who are unaware of my position on "gender-neutral language").
The movie was much more than a virtual travelogue. It was, I think, perhaps unbeknownst to the director, producer, and distributors, a profound, applied contemplation on what it means to be human and a member of the geosphere. However, it surpassed the simplistic and polemic diatribes of the likes of Al Gore.
The story is set among nomadic shepherds in the Gobi desert of South Mongolia, who have herds of sheep and Bactrian Camels. The plot and title were derived from a pregnant female and the subsequent delivery of the baby. She was in labor for 2 days and, finally, delivered a particularly large colt. Although I, not being learned in Camel psychology, can only speculate why, the mother rejects the colt. The shepherds attempt to reconcile the mother and son, but to no avail. Finally, they concede that a ritual will be necessary. For my family and I, this was the most poignant part of the movie.
For those of you who would prefer to see it for yourself (and I highly recommend this), I will not ruin the ending for you. By the way, you can purchase it here. Let me just say that the "ritual" was inspiring. I was particularly moved but the transcendence of the event. The striking nature of its transcendence was probably greater since I am a modern urbanite.
It is astounding to me that moderns do not seem to appreciate the connectedness of being. I do not mean a monistic connectedness in the sense of communism and other such dreadful and pessimistic socio-political theories that have ruined the world. I mean to say that it was a wondrous and mysterious connectedness. The sort that was more easily understood by the "uncivilized", ancient mind.
The ancients could appreciate it and believe it because they were not yet robbed of mystery. Moderns, largely due to the heresy of scientism, have had this mystery taken from them by well-meaning (I think) scientists. We have turned Saint George into a mythological figment of out primitive imaginations and the dragon into a theory of evolutionary biology.
I am not,for a second, suggesting that we should abandon modern science and its benefits. I am, however, suggesting that we learn to see it for what it truly is...subjective. The word Science is taken from the Latin word Scientia, which roughly means knowing. We have forgotten that it is our perception of reality and, given that fact that "scientific facts" continue to change, we do not have absolute and objective knowledge.
Albert Einstein once (in response to an atheist) said "Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious".
The ritual performed by the nomads, in the film, embodied this mysterious, inexplicable, and intangible transcendence that we have lost. The incantation of the ritual was a conduit for an eternal mysterious (some may say religious) truth that mother and child should be reconciled, as man and God. The knowledge or Word of what OUGHT TO BE was miraculously brought into time and space and saved the life of the colt. The word was, indeed, made flesh.
It seems interesting that many scientists are now theorizing that information (or a Word) seems to have proceeded matter in the universe. This theory opens us again to the idea that man is not simply a product of evolutionary accidents. In short, metaphysics comes into play again. The reality is that it never left. We are, this much is sure, but how OUGHT we to live.
Let us then dialogue (through the Word) concerning life and all being, not merely through test tubes and spectrometers. Let us connect with mystery and transcendence again, by putting Saint George back on his Horse, giving him his spear and staring wonderingly, as he slays the terrible and awesome dragon.
Indeed Saint George is more true than facts; just as is Harry Potter. Myths, fables, and faith allow hope to enter our world again. We can transcend our programming and biology. In this sense stories (whether historical or not) are religious and hopeful. The hopelessness and futility that modern pessimism (that is so much a result of scientism) is proposing is soundly refuted in "The Story of the Weeping Camel". Perhaps if we, as G.K. Chesterton said (in reference to Charles Dickens work) "abandon hopelessness, all ye who enter here", we may truly understand the ultimate mystery and hope embodied in the phrases HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM....HIC EST ENIM CALIX SÁNGUINIS MEI, NOVI ET ÆTÉRNI TESTAMÉNTI: MYSTÉRIUM FIDEI: QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDÉTUR IN REMISSIÓNEM PECCATÓRUM.
The movie was much more than a virtual travelogue. It was, I think, perhaps unbeknownst to the director, producer, and distributors, a profound, applied contemplation on what it means to be human and a member of the geosphere. However, it surpassed the simplistic and polemic diatribes of the likes of Al Gore.
The story is set among nomadic shepherds in the Gobi desert of South Mongolia, who have herds of sheep and Bactrian Camels. The plot and title were derived from a pregnant female and the subsequent delivery of the baby. She was in labor for 2 days and, finally, delivered a particularly large colt. Although I, not being learned in Camel psychology, can only speculate why, the mother rejects the colt. The shepherds attempt to reconcile the mother and son, but to no avail. Finally, they concede that a ritual will be necessary. For my family and I, this was the most poignant part of the movie.
For those of you who would prefer to see it for yourself (and I highly recommend this), I will not ruin the ending for you. By the way, you can purchase it here. Let me just say that the "ritual" was inspiring. I was particularly moved but the transcendence of the event. The striking nature of its transcendence was probably greater since I am a modern urbanite.
It is astounding to me that moderns do not seem to appreciate the connectedness of being. I do not mean a monistic connectedness in the sense of communism and other such dreadful and pessimistic socio-political theories that have ruined the world. I mean to say that it was a wondrous and mysterious connectedness. The sort that was more easily understood by the "uncivilized", ancient mind.
The ancients could appreciate it and believe it because they were not yet robbed of mystery. Moderns, largely due to the heresy of scientism, have had this mystery taken from them by well-meaning (I think) scientists. We have turned Saint George into a mythological figment of out primitive imaginations and the dragon into a theory of evolutionary biology.
I am not,for a second, suggesting that we should abandon modern science and its benefits. I am, however, suggesting that we learn to see it for what it truly is...subjective. The word Science is taken from the Latin word Scientia, which roughly means knowing. We have forgotten that it is our perception of reality and, given that fact that "scientific facts" continue to change, we do not have absolute and objective knowledge.
Albert Einstein once (in response to an atheist) said "Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious".
The ritual performed by the nomads, in the film, embodied this mysterious, inexplicable, and intangible transcendence that we have lost. The incantation of the ritual was a conduit for an eternal mysterious (some may say religious) truth that mother and child should be reconciled, as man and God. The knowledge or Word of what OUGHT TO BE was miraculously brought into time and space and saved the life of the colt. The word was, indeed, made flesh.
It seems interesting that many scientists are now theorizing that information (or a Word) seems to have proceeded matter in the universe. This theory opens us again to the idea that man is not simply a product of evolutionary accidents. In short, metaphysics comes into play again. The reality is that it never left. We are, this much is sure, but how OUGHT we to live.
Let us then dialogue (through the Word) concerning life and all being, not merely through test tubes and spectrometers. Let us connect with mystery and transcendence again, by putting Saint George back on his Horse, giving him his spear and staring wonderingly, as he slays the terrible and awesome dragon.
Indeed Saint George is more true than facts; just as is Harry Potter. Myths, fables, and faith allow hope to enter our world again. We can transcend our programming and biology. In this sense stories (whether historical or not) are religious and hopeful. The hopelessness and futility that modern pessimism (that is so much a result of scientism) is proposing is soundly refuted in "The Story of the Weeping Camel". Perhaps if we, as G.K. Chesterton said (in reference to Charles Dickens work) "abandon hopelessness, all ye who enter here", we may truly understand the ultimate mystery and hope embodied in the phrases HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM....HIC EST ENIM CALIX SÁNGUINIS MEI, NOVI ET ÆTÉRNI TESTAMÉNTI: MYSTÉRIUM FIDEI: QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDÉTUR IN REMISSIÓNEM PECCATÓRUM.
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