EXCERPT: The rising tide always evokes for me the vast complexity of creation—and reminds me of something about how creation reflects its Creator.
The Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) share a common belief that God is the power behind all creation. Among Christians, this includes the long-standing belief in "Providence" -- the idea that everything that happens is part of a Divine Plan. For me, this is a rich but risky belief, and reflecting on the tides helps me appreciate the richness while avoiding the risks.
You see, “Divine Plan” can be quite misleading.
It's tempting to think this means God has a kind of "blueprint" for all that happens. In this view, God is the cosmic "architect." But blueprints are static, and an architect’s work is literally set in stone, steel, glass, brick, or wood.
One look at the rising tide tells us that creation is way too fluid, interactive, and dynamic for that. How could any blueprint chart the incredible complexity of my fifty-foot stretch of coastline for even one tide, let alone all the coasts for all the tides of history and pre-history? Clearly, "blueprint" cannot fill the “Divine Plan” bill that the concept Providence calls for.
But what if we think of the tides reflecting a computer program? What if we think of God as cosmic programmer?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
#261: Is the Pope Catholic?
EXCERPT: Why does the Pope get away with behavior that gets Notre Dame labeled a traitor to the faith? Whence this double standard?
For most protesters, the issue is religious. But while it appears to be about abortion, it must really be about something else. I say this because, if people really believed Obama must never be honored by Catholics due to his abortion views, they would criticize the pope the same way they criticized Notre Dame. Yet they accept the Pope's action. They may not like it, may wish he had not done it, but they do not protest, let alone question his Catholic fidelity or loyalty.
If abortion is not the real problem, then what is?
I believe it is this: to some, Notre Dame symbolizes a “liberal” threat to American Catholicism, and they use the Obama/abortion issue as a battering ram to besiege this perceived enemy. This offers such Catholics a "quick fix" for the current polarization of American Catholicism: “If we use abortion as a wedge to drive all our adversaries out of the Church,” they think, “then the polarization will end.” For some, this temptation is clearly irresistible.
In other words, they have applied a double standard, splitting Notre Dame and the Pope, because their real agenda is not fewer abortions at all—it is fewer Catholics!
For most protesters, the issue is religious. But while it appears to be about abortion, it must really be about something else. I say this because, if people really believed Obama must never be honored by Catholics due to his abortion views, they would criticize the pope the same way they criticized Notre Dame. Yet they accept the Pope's action. They may not like it, may wish he had not done it, but they do not protest, let alone question his Catholic fidelity or loyalty.
If abortion is not the real problem, then what is?
I believe it is this: to some, Notre Dame symbolizes a “liberal” threat to American Catholicism, and they use the Obama/abortion issue as a battering ram to besiege this perceived enemy. This offers such Catholics a "quick fix" for the current polarization of American Catholicism: “If we use abortion as a wedge to drive all our adversaries out of the Church,” they think, “then the polarization will end.” For some, this temptation is clearly irresistible.
In other words, they have applied a double standard, splitting Notre Dame and the Pope, because their real agenda is not fewer abortions at all—it is fewer Catholics!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
#260: Angels and Demons
Compared to The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's Angels and Demons plays a different, less sexy theme: the conflict between science and religion (specifically, between cosmology and Catholicism). But it uses the same instruments: a withering but well-whisked blend of fact, history, twisted tales, misinformation, anachronisms, and downright fabrications.
The sheer weight of details creates a sense of documented history, so readers/viewers might mistake the far-fetched fable for a true description of Catholicism, much as many mistook The Godfather for a mafia portrait or saw Citizen Kane for a Hearst biopic. In his power to persuade the gullible, Brown is heir to the Orson Welles who broadcast War of the Worlds.
The sheer weight of details creates a sense of documented history, so readers/viewers might mistake the far-fetched fable for a true description of Catholicism, much as many mistook The Godfather for a mafia portrait or saw Citizen Kane for a Hearst biopic. In his power to persuade the gullible, Brown is heir to the Orson Welles who broadcast War of the Worlds.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
#259 The Elephant in Our Church
Excerpt: The “elephant in the room” has been obstructing my work with parishes for more than two years now.
Actually, it has been in the way for much longer, but we did our best to work around it until, by now, it is so big we can't ignore it anymore.
That elephant is parish growth. Ironically, the elephant has gotten bigger because our parishes have gotten smaller…
Priests find themselves working alone, overburdened, understaffed, under-funded, and sometimes saddled with responsibility for serving the territories of neighboring parishes that have closed. This is a recipe for disaster.
In my view, it is high time we acknowledge the elephant in our Church before it destroys too many good ideas that our future parishes need. It's time to tackle growth...
The era of effortless growth is behind us. We either establish a new strategy for growth, or we wither on the vine, branch by branch, as the elephant munches away.
Actually, it has been in the way for much longer, but we did our best to work around it until, by now, it is so big we can't ignore it anymore.
That elephant is parish growth. Ironically, the elephant has gotten bigger because our parishes have gotten smaller…
Priests find themselves working alone, overburdened, understaffed, under-funded, and sometimes saddled with responsibility for serving the territories of neighboring parishes that have closed. This is a recipe for disaster.
In my view, it is high time we acknowledge the elephant in our Church before it destroys too many good ideas that our future parishes need. It's time to tackle growth...
The era of effortless growth is behind us. We either establish a new strategy for growth, or we wither on the vine, branch by branch, as the elephant munches away.
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