I Agree with Obama

Well, surprise! Surprise! I've finally found something that B.O. and I can agree on. . .in tonight's speech to Congress, describing the "debate" on health care reform, The One said:

"Instead of honest debate, we have seen scare tactics."

I wonder if he meant something like this:

"Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true."

Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmm. . .?"

Just remember. . .our choices are not: ObamaCare or Doing Nothing. We philosophy-types call this the Fallacy of the False Dilemma. If I'm not mistaken, there are at least four GOP alternatives floating around Congress being dutifully ignored by the Dems.

Coffee Cup Browsing (Not So Cranky Edition)

Dr. A. sends along this site for Coffee Cup Browsing. . .I think she's trying to tell me something.

When I read, "It has long been agreed that Africa was the sole cradle of human evolution. Then these bones were found in Georgia..." I thought, "WooHoo! Cro-Magnon Redneck!" Of course, ahem, they mean Georgia-as-in-over-by-Russia-Georgia. Oh well.

This doesn't surprise me. . .though being ignored by the Old Media hardly seems to be hurting sales. Wonder if I can get the NYT to ignore my little book. . .oh, wait. . .

Docs in the UK using social workers to threaten "uppity" patients with losing their kids. That could never happen here. . .under nationalized health care. I understand that women in the UK and Germany are regularly threatened with losing their national health care benefits if they insist on giving birth to children with birth defects. That could never happen here. . .under nationalized health care!

Odd: the first Buddhist chaplain in the US military is from Tennessee. AND he used to be a Baptist preacher. Come to think of it. . .my Buddhist Old Testament prof in college was a Baptist preacher AND from Tennessee! Small world.

Guess who said on the floor of the Senate in 2006 : "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies." This same speaker just asked Congress to raise the US debt ceiling.

I love the internet! In an effort to justify my browsing time last night, I went to YouTube and typed in "philosophy of science." What did I find? A whole series of vids made by English philosopher, Bryan Magee, interviewing prominent philosophers! Please. . .don't everyone rush over there at the same time. . .you might crash the site. ;-)

I'll confess that I have wanted to do this. Also, if anyone knows where I can get a roof-mounted laser cannon for my car, let me know. (NB. I don't own a car, but if I can dream about a roof-mounted laser cannon, then I can dream about mounting it on "my car.")

How did I make my dad smile while I was at home recently? I told him I wanted a handgun and a concealed-carry permit! Of course, since I live in Italy most of the year that will never happen. But if I can dream of having a roof-mounted laser. . .etc.

When the truth of scripture, tradition, reason, and human experience fail to convince atheist scientists of God's existence, political expediency in advancing the agenda of the pseudo-religion of eco-tyranny works just fine. I wonder how this guy sleeps at night with that much cynicism eating away at his heart.

On B.O.'s school speech: After noting that The One used "I" 56 times in the speech, this commenter writes: "In other words, Barack Obama referenced himself more than school, education, responsibility, country/nation, parents, and teachers combined. And to think that people accused Obama of self-promotion!" Seriously, who can reasonable accuse any politician of being a self-promoter? Geez. The things that surprise people these days. . .

Getting tenure is the Be All and End All of academic achievement. However, not everyone is qualified to receive this highly sought after prize. For example, God Himself didn't make it. Guess it's back to the adjunct pool for Him!

Ahhhhhhh. . .a Mississippi bride ready for a life of martial bliss!

OK. . .back to work. . .

Preparing for Death

Sent to me under the title, "Preparing for Death" by long-time reader, Mr. Terry Carroll.

An very helpful outline for writing an autobiography, including many different ways of organizing materials; prompts for what to include, etc.

My guess is that you don't have to be preparing for death to get started on your autobiography!

Upcoming address change

Given that it can take up to three weeks to receive a book via the WISH LIST, I will be changing my shipping address back to Rome on Friday, Sept 11th.

If a book arrives in Houston after I have returned to Rome it will be forwarded to me.

Mille grazie, grazie mille!

Coffee Cup Browsing (Cranky Edition)

Definition of "ironic hypocrisy": Michael Moore, fat cat filmmaker, condemns capitalism as evil. Will he stop taking those royalty checks? Nawwwww. Will he invest those profits in his next socialist project? Of course!

I've come to believe that charging your political opponents with being racists and/or Nazis is meaningless. Being an accused "terrorist" is a close third. Rational political discourse in this country is dead.

Why did the NYT, CNN, LAT, etc. ignore the Van Jones scandal? They ignored him because they agree with him. . .that's why.

Archbishop does his job. Gets slammed. Predictable.

They didn't bother disciplining him while he was alive. . .can they slap him on the wrist now that he's dead? Hardly.

To the ELCA: it's 500 years too late to be crying "heresy!" now. . .you shoulda thought of this before leaving the Church.

They should be publicly whipped and pilloried. Seriously.

That NYT bubble must be gettin' low on air: B.O. is "explicitly non-ideological"! This reminds me of my poli sci prof freshman year who predicted with both confidence and glee that Reagan would lose big to the Democratic nominee in 1984. Lesson: experts are "former squirts."

Americans are making a crucial distinction between Labor and Labor Unions. 'Bout time.

The text of Obama's speech to schoolchildren. . .now, let us see the draft before parents starting screaming bloody murder about using their children to create a cult of personality.

OK. Enough. Back to some serious reading. . .

Bible + Aristotle = Science?

Of historical and philosophical interest in the development of material science in the West is the question: why didn't other highly developed civilizations make the scientific and technological advances that we have made and continue to make?

My answer: they were not Christian civilizations, or rather, they were not Catholic civilizations. More specifically, they were not and are not civilizations based on a Biblical understanding of creation taught with and through a uniquely Catholic understanding of Aristotelian natural philosophy. You might say that they were and are insufficiently Dominican! :-)

If you are insufficiently curious about the natural world, or if you see curiosity about the natural world as evil, then you will not venture out to observe and attempt to explain what lies outside the mind. If you see the material universe as a deeply flawed reflection of the True Form of the Universe, then you will come to believe that studying the reflection will only lead to error about the Form. In the same way, if you hold that material reality is not real at all and that only the mind matters in constructing what others call "real," then your study will be limited to the mind alone. Also, if you think that language alone determines reality, then you will see no use in trying to connect how you think about reality with any sort of "reality" beyond the way you chose to talk about it.

However, if you hold that the material universe is a creation of a Divine Mind, reflecting this Mind's desire for order and intelligibility, then you will venture out to discover and explain what lies outside the human mind. If you think that you can come to know the Divine Mind better by exploring its creation, then your scientific explorations become not only a professional duty but a religious one as well. Believing that creation participates in its Creator serves the highly innovative purposes of discovery and invention. Believing that you will be improved, enriched, and ultimately redeemed only fuels your natural curiosity.

Some will say that capitalism and democracy contributed to the growth of scientific knowledge in the west. This is certainly true. However, capitalism is a late comer to the world scene of science and democracy in its ancient form was little more than mob rule. Let's not forget that the scientific advances made during the Enlightenment were made possible by a medieval theology of creation. The idea that the medieval Church punished scientific research is nonsense. Almost every scientific discovery and innovation of the Enlightenment can be traced back to a priest or religious living during the middle ages. Conflicts between scientists and Church authority occurred when scientists played at being theologians.

In the modern age, atheistic communism and religious fundamentalism have been the true enemies of science. Need we review Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward as an example? Or Stalin's collectivization of rural Russia? Or the sorry state of scientific research in Islamic countries? Christian fundamentalism has never held sway over a nation like fundamentalist Islam has and still does. The widely publicized battles over evolution in the US have not seriously damaged scientific research in this country. They have had no effect in predominately Catholic Europe. The danger to a truly advanced science in the west right now is fundamentalist secularism--science as technology without an objective morality. Combined with a "progressive" and materialist view of the human person, secularist science serves an elitist design for manipulating creation without its Creator, without reference to ultimate purpose or transcendent ideals. This means one thing: power. Potentially, unchecked power.

Thus the need for faithful Catholic scientists and theologians schooled in science. The Church has nothing to fear from a scientific method that works under the rubric that it is creation that's being studied. . .not just a physical universe without purpose or design.

Wounded Healer, Bearer of Mystery, Prophet

Bishop Greg O'Kelly, SJ of the Diocese of Port Pirie, Australia has written an excellent article on the nature and future of the Catholic priesthood. An excerpt:

Robert Barron [in an article titled, "Priest as Bearer of the Mystery’, Church, Summer 1994, pp. 10-13] states that ‘what could kill us as a Church is losing the sense of Mystery. What could contribute mightily to that loss is the weakening and dissipation of the priesthood. The time has come not for dismantling the priesthood but for building it up.’ He says that one of the greatest post-conciliar mistakes was to turn the priest into a psychologist, sociologist, social worker, counsellor – anything but a uniquely religious leader. He argues that we should look again at the notion of ontological change that occurs at ordination: priests are made different, while at the same time eschewing applications that make it elitist and exclusive. Situating the priesthood within the context of baptismal ministry helps lessen that danger.

Bishop O'Kelly goes on to condemn clericalism and then outlines three models of priesthood: Wounded Healer, Bearer of Mystery, and Prophet. These are not new models. In fact, they are Biblical in so far as they recall and duplicate the life of Christ, our High Priest. Each has its positives and negatives.

The one model that we need to be very, very careful with is priest as Wounded Healer. Why? In my experience with priests and religious, this model is often taken as a way to explain away rectifiable personal deficiencies. It is certainly true that priests are as "wounded" as anyone else. Ordination does not miraculously dissipate character flaws, bad habits, personality disorders, or psychological problems. In fact, ordination, or rather, being a priest in active ministry can lead a man to cultivate these deficiencies and come to see them as advantages. For example, a man who suffers from a narcissistic personality can be affirmed in his grandiose delusion by an adoring congregation. His grandiosity can be taken as a sign of charismatic leadership and lead him and his congregation into schism.

The Wounded Healer model of priesthood also tends to allow priests a great deal of leeway in dealing effectively with their character flaws. Instead of confronting common human frailties like simple laziness, etc., the Wounded Healer elevates his unwillingness to give 100% to the level of a "wound" and treats it as a symptom of some deeper conflict or trauma. This is not to say that there are no priests out there who have experienced legitimate conflicts and traumas that impede their living out the call of the priesthood. It is to say that not every scar, blemish, or stain is a wound worthy of constant treatment.

The image of the priest as Wounded Healer should be a personal one, a private image that reminds the priest of his deficiencies rather than an excuse to play victim. The same can be said of the other two images as well. The priest as Bearer of Mystery should not become an excuse for an esoteric lifestyle or muddled teaching. The priest as Prophet should not be an excuse to become a self-appointed haranguer for or against a personal agenda. All three models should serve the Church in imitation of Christ as servant-leader--a man, a priest who leads the Church as a servant of the Church.

Bishop O'Kelly rightly condemns clericalism. Priests who use their office to elevate themselves above the lay faithful and rule the roost as local potentates are deeply contrary to servant-leadership. However, clericalism takes two forms: priest as Boss and priest as Regular Guy. We are painfully familiar with the first sort of clericalism. The second is a recent development. In an effort to avoid the clericalism of priest as Boss, some priests have set aside their role as spiritual father and taken up a role akin to older brother or regular guy "Fr. Call Me Bob," in an effort to blend in and take himself off the pedestal, ends up using his priestly power covertly. How often have you met a "Fr. Call Me Bob" who regularly pushes illegitimate liturgical innovations as a way of being prophetic about a gender inclusive agenda for worship? How often have you met this priest in council meetings and found that his casual democratic attitude about parochial governance reaches it tolerance when confronted with traditional Catholics? How often does his personal politics inform his homilies and parish activities? Clericalism is alive and well in both forms and neither serves the Church. However, the priest as Boss has the advantage of being obvious and assertive. The priest as Regular Guy is passive and highly manipulative.

Give the whole article a read.

Way to go, sisters!

Great news from the center of religious life in the U.S.: Nashville, TN!

Most of the new sisters are in their 20s and want to be traditional nuns, wearing full habits and living in a convent. They say that life as a nun offers more than the secular world could ever give them.

The new sisters are a diverse group, including those right out of high school and from across the globe. One, a nurse of Vietnamese descent, came from Sydney, Australia. Another sister is from the Ivory Coast. Three were engineers before coming to the convent [so much for the prog meme that younger religious clamoring for tradition are a bunch of middle-class whites fleeing economic uncertainty!]

Now the question is: will the LCWR learn anything from this example?

Doh! Forget to link the article: CathNews.

Intrinscially unknowable facts?

"So far as I know there are no secular facts that do not challenge the intelligence and ask to be understood, and no forces, natural or moral, which are not better understood than unknown or misunderstood. And I am not convinced that it is otherwise with the facts of the religious life. We are told, of course, that there are facts which in their nature are unintelligible; not merely unknown up to the present time, but intrinsically unknowable, and religious facts hold high rank amongst these unintelligibles. But I doubt whether there can be anything unintelligible except that which is irrational, and I doubt if anything real is irrational except as misunderstood."

[. . .]

"So far from doubting the value of the plain and honest and earnest pursuit of truth in matters of religious faith, I believe that, like the pursuit of moral good, it never utterly fails. The process of enquiry, the very attempt to know, like the process of doing or trying to do what is right, is itself achievement, altogether apart from what comes afterwards. I know nothing better than to be engaged and immersed in the process of trying to know spiritual truths and of acting upon them. Mankind, when it comes of age, will be engaged in this spiritual business even when it is handling the so-called secular concerns of life. And it will handle these all the more securely. Religion will be the permanent background of life—as the love of his wife and bairns is for a good man. The very meaning and purpose of our “circumstances,” as we call the claims of the things and persons that stand around and press upon us, may be to induce and to sustain this double process of knowing the true and doing the right. It is the method—the only natural and successful method—by which men make themselves: and I understand that the final business of man is this of making himself. We must learn yet to estimate men by the fortune they take with them, not by the fortune they leave behind; that is, if religion is true, and if morality and its laws are not fictions of man's vanity."

Henry Jones, "A Faith That Enquires," The Gifford Lectures, 1919–1921

Questions

I asked for questions. . .and I got them:

1). Who are those fun Dominicans that are in your header picture?

Hanging my head in shame: I don't know. The pic is just a small piece of a much larger painting that hangs in the National Gallery in London. Each saint or blessed has an emblem that identifies him or her. I don't recognize any of these. Anyone know?

2). Pray tell us more about the ruckus you caused among our separate brethren because of your habit.

I meant "ruckus" in a good way, meaning that everyone was intrigued by the habit and asked lots of questions. I doubt many of them have ever seen a religious of any sort. . .except for maybe on TV and they usually just put their characters in some version of a Franciscan habit even when they mean for the character to be something other than a Franciscan! Wearing the habit in public always draws attention. I've yet to run into any negativity. . .except for the three Dominican sisters at my CPE site one summer. They harassed me--along with the other LibProts for 12 weeks.

3). TV masses: is appropriate to use as background noise while going about household tasks?

Well, I'm not sure it's OK to think of the Mass as "background noise," but I take your meaning well enough. I see no problem with this. Better the Mass than some silly game show or CNN.

4). So if I buy a copy of your book and send it to you with return postage will you sign it and send it back?

Of course! No problem at all.

5). What really happened with Bishop Martino?

I wish I knew. Apparently, his rather caustic governing style won him few friends and lots of enemies. He got the attention of the Vatican and now he's out. I really don't think he was asked to resign b/c of his pro-life stance or b/c of his other orthodox views. It really does seem to be the case that he was something of a "bull in the china shop." My experience with pastors and bishops is that they have enough to worry about w/o going out of their way to find controversy. Most avoid anything that's going to provoke letters and calls. Unfortunately, letters and calls are inevitable. Bishop Martino had no problem stepping out on a limb. I think he generated one too many complaints to the Vatican. I have to say here: this is just my read on the published reports. I have no inside info.

6). Can you conduct retreats in England?

I can. And I hope I will. Right now, I am planning on spending Sept 2010 at Blackfriars, Oxford. They have a great library and lots of exceedingly clever friars and lay profs there. My hope is to get a portion of my doctoral dissertation outlined and researched in that month. Maybe there will be time to conduct a retreat or two?

7). I know you are reading and writing a lot on the relationship between faith and science. What is the basic relationship?

The theologians who both take their faith seriously (i.e. remain orthodox) and practice good science argue that the essential relationship is located in the common pursuit of discovering and explaining "how the world really is and how it works." This is usually shorthanded by saying that both scientists and people of faith are seeking the Truth. There are a number of ways of pairing science and faith: as complements to one another; as ideological opponents; as utterly incommensurable methods studying irreconcilable objects, and a few others. I argue that they are complementary based on the common pursuit of knowing more about the truth of creation--both its physical structure and divine purpose. Ultimately, what we have is an intelligible universe. Science can help us know how the universe works. Faith can help us know why we are here in the first place.

Both in theology and philosophy of science the major debates have to do with the role of language in constructing theories about unobservable objects. In theology, the issue is how we can talk about an infinitely unknowable God. In science, the issue is the ontological status of theoretical objects (quarks, etc.). Both disciplines have their respective realists and instrumentalists (or anti-realists). Fortunately, in both disciplines, the instrumentalists are in the minority. I have to say though that the instrumentalists are far more interesting to read.

8). How's your book selling (despite the typos)?

At last count, we had sold about 1,000. They printed 2,500, so we have a few more to sell! I haven't seen any reviews yet. . .if there are any.

9). Would you ever celebrate Mass ad orientum ("toward the east," or the priest facing in the same direction as the people)?

Yes. Absolutely. It can be a delicate matter though since all liturgical gestures these days are packed with ideological meaning. Everyone is watching for some indication of abuse, traditionalism, innovation, etc. To just show up one morning and celebrate Mass ad orientum would be a no-no. I would have to take the time to prepare the parish first. That's just good pastoral practice. Of course, the sacramentaty (the big red book the priest reads from) assumes that the celebrant is praying ad orientum. A number of rubrics say things like, "Facing the people, the priest says. . ."

10). What's your recipe for fried chicken?

Easy, cheesy. Marinate parts (with the skin!) in a bowl of buttermilk with a raw scrambled egg. Dredge the parts in a combination of seasoned (salt, pepper, garlic salt) self-rising flour and corn meal (about 2 tbsps of meal to one cup of flour). Dip the floured parts back in the milk and repeat the flour/meal dredge. Get your oil hot but not smoking. If the oil is not hot enough, the breading with absorb the oil. Too hot and the outside will burn before the inside is cooked. Fry until golden brown. Yum. For gravy: pour off all but about three tbsps of the frying oil, leaving the brown bits. Add three tbsps of flour and cook the flour until it is brown. Turn off the heat and add hot water or milk while stirring. Continue adding liquid until the gravy is the right consistency. You might have to give it a little heat to get the right consistency. Season it with salt and pepper to taste.

The Return of Coffee Cup Browsing!

Having completed the Rite of Decaffeinated Exorcism, we now return to the holy pursuit of Coffee Cup Browsing!

Changes in the Roman Missal. . .most look fine to me. (thanks br. George!)

Nauseating: "I pledge to be a servant to our President!"

Fortunately, folks are waking up to what most of us have known all along: B.O. is just another politician.

Playing for keeps among the U.S. bishops; Bishop Martino "resigns"(?)

Gaia worship in a Catholic elementary school

Just after the "reform of the reform," this is our Holy Father's most important initiative

"Reform of the reform" thwarts liturgical protests at Mass

Catholics, community organizing, and playing with the Devil

Pro-wrestling + wildlife conservation = Pandemonium!

I'm going to show Mama Becky these pics next time she tells me I'm messy

A huge list of common misconceptions about just about everything

Scriptural evidence for the Catholic faith

Your one-stop spot for all things about St Catherine of Siena

Hilarious accident reports

What does your name mean in "Monster-ese"?

Books have arrived

Just got back from checking the mail at the New Priory. . .

Four books have arrived:

The Nature of Mind (Rosenthal): no invoice

The Scientific Image (van Fraassen): no invoice

The Many Faces of Realism (Putman): from one of my American Angels!

Scientific Representation (van Fraassen): from my English Angel!

These three books were ordered a long while ago, but I've not rec'd them yet:

The Two Wings of Catholic Thought: Essays on Fides Et Ratio (Foster)

Modern Physics and Ancient Faith (Barr)

Elementary Christian Metaphysics (Owens)

Could be they were sent to Rome. . .

Of squirrels, bees, and coffee

Had a great time with my family in Mississippi. . .

The Reading Squirrels made sure I kept my nose in a book the whole time. . .well, I sneaked out a couple of times for a movie and one visit to a really good Chinese buffet. . .

I cooked a few times--fried chicken, real mashed potatoes, purple-hull peas, cornbread. The ice cream industry in north MS will never be the same after my visit. . .

The nieces are growing up. Sigh. I remember when they were just big enough to play with but not big enough to think they know everything. Ha!

Several of my mom's Protestant co-workers bought copies of my prayer book. We had a signing at the bank. Needless to say, my Dominican habit caused quite a stir among the Baptists and Pentecostals!

Dad's bees thriving. I went with him to a bigger honey-producing operation in TN. I was amazed to learn that it takes eight bees a lifetime to produce one teaspoon of honey. The beekeeper we visited has about 500 hives. I realized right quick that I was not destined to be a beekeeper. . .you have to keep the honey-collection house very warm so the honey doesn't become too thick to strain. As I reminded my dad a few times, "These hands were made for chalices not calluses." Believe me: that got an eye-roll.

Now, I am in Houston for the next month. What to do? Well, there are a number of books sitting around waiting for my attention. The second volume of Treasures needs to be edited and bulked up a bit. There's the third book to start. I might have a preaching gig or two. Mostly, I will be pecking away on the thesis and biding my time until time to return to Rome.

Oh! When I have finished the de-caffeinated exorcism of the Old Priory I will start up Coffee Cup Browsing again. . .no browsing unless I am vibrating at the proper frequency.

Thanks again for the books, the prayers, the good wishes. Keep Mama Becky in your prayers. We're waiting for her colonoscopy results. All will be well, no doubt.

God bless, Fr. Philip, OP

P.S. I will have time to answer questions. . .send them on!

P.P.S. I've updated the WISH LIST. I haven't checked recent arrivals just yet. Thank You notes will go out ASAP!

Made it to Houston!

Made it to Houston about an hour ago. . .

I will post in the morning on my Mississippi adventure.

Thanks for all the prayers for fun and safety.

Thanks for the Browsing and Buying on the Wish List!

There are about 50 comments waiting in my in-box to be moderated. I'll post them in the morning.

I'm spending the next month in the Old Priory at Holy Rosary. The place is more or less abandoned since the New Priory went up in 2005. It felt kinda creepy when I walked in. I soon discovered why. . .the Prior told me that there is no coffee in this building!!!

I shall perform a formal Rite of Decaffeinated Coffee Exorcism first thing, including the Rite of the Sprinkling of Holy Coffee Beans around the property line.

Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.

Ciao! (for now...)

Dear HancAquam Readers,

I am off for another adventure. . .the squirrels of Mississippi await my arrival.

Then off to Houston before returning to Rome for another exciting year of gelato, the Italian postal service, Catholic tourism, and heavy reading/writing.

Blogging will resume around Sept 4th.

While in Houston (Sept 3-Oct 3) I will be available for talks/retreats. . .frankly, any sort of work I can do to raise some $$$ for my thin student budget!

I've given talks/retreats on:

Faith and Science
Dominican Spirituality
Charity and Truth
Documents of Vatican Two
Pope Benedict's Encyclicals
Basic Catholic Moral Theology
Suffering and Death for Christians
Vocation Discernment
The Mass: Line by Line
Basics of Confession
Theology of Campus Ministry. . .

If you have a special interest, just let me know and maybe we can work something out!

God bless, Fr. Philip

Oh! Don't forget to get a copy of my prayer book, Treasures Old & New: Traditional Prayers for Today's Catholics, vol 1. The publisher wrote to me yesterday and reported that they have already have 680 pre-publications orders! It's not even in the bookstores yet.

Oh, oh! And visit the WISH LIST. . .of course!