Rejecting Jesus

I saw this thread over at InternetMonk.  

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/for-discussion-has-the-roman-catholic-church-changed-its-view-on-the-salvation-of-atheists-and-other-religions

It seems to have ended.

Here's my take on salvation outside the Church:

There's a Jew who knows the rules and loves Jewishness and 

is status as a rabbi, scribe, Pharisee, Sadducee, etc.  Whatever he is, 

he's smarter and more Jewish than members of those other groups, 

and God must love him more.  He hates Romans, Samaritans, and 

so-called Jews who aren't as observant as he is.  Along comes Jesus 

who says, "I am" and people are following him. Next thing you know, 

the mobs will be worshiping him. He even said something about 

destroying the Temple. Gotta get rid of this guy.

Then there's the God-loving Jew who prays and keeps the tenets

of the law, or at least tries.  He hears this preacher named Jesus,

and his teaching is fascinating.  But he says "I am".  How dare he! 

That is an offense against God. He deserves to be stoned, but he'll 

be gone in a day or so.  Too bad, he was so right about everything.

He had such concern for everybody, and he supposedly healed a 

blind man.  Well, at the very least he exposed a con-artist bum. 

He couldn't have known him because this guy was from Galilee

and that bum had been at that spot for months. That story about

the two sons and the father was good though, and I'm going to tell

it to my kids.  

The first Jew didn't want to believe; the second did but in good

conscience couldn't.  The first was proud, the second humble. 

Before or shortly after death, one, or even both are somehow 

afforded the opportunity to accept Jesus.  The first is less

likely to admit he was wrong, the second more likely

to admit he was wrong, accept Jesus,  and thank Him with 

deepest gratitude.

Salvation would still come from Jesus, not works.

"I'll let my kids make up their own mind"

We've all heard somebody say, "I'll raise them (Catholic, Baptist, 

Jewish, you name it) until they're old enough to make up their own

mind."

Well, how magnanimous of them to allow their kids freedom of 

thought and conscience! Nominate them for Parent of the Year!

Could you imagine them saying, "I'm going to tell them fire is 

dangerous, and let them make up their own minds." or "I'm going 

to raise them to live in a democratic society, but let them move to 

China or Cuba when they're old enough" ?

What the parent is really saying is, "I don't believe there is any 

truth to x religion, but I want my kids to be good and have some 

cultural experiences like first Communion or Bar Mitzvah. We 

can't know anything about God anyway, and who's to say what is 

right and wrong? I don't want my kid to judge anybody and be a 

closed-minded bigot."

Sounds like somebody is closed minded, and will raise minds closed 

to the truths that there is truth and it is knowable.

The truth is kids do make up their own minds anyway.  Parents should

encourage this, in a way.  That is, they should help kids conform their 

minds to reality, not to their feelings or how they want things to be. 

Ironically, our putative parent is right without knowing it.  Parents have 

no choice but "to let kids make up their minds." A parent who doesn't do

that treats kids as pets.  The task for parents is to present the truth to kids, 

encourage them to think critically (at the appropriate stage of development,

of course) and have faith that the truth will abide and error will fall away.

Going to Mass, not Church

While pondering the difference between Catholic and 

Protestant ecclesiology, I began to wonder if a huge gulf 

in understanding could be bridged or at least narrowed 

by simply saying, "go to Mass" and instead of "go to Church".

The Beverly Hillbillies used to say "You're wearin' Sunday 

go ta meetin' clothes." Mass is not simply a meeting.  Nor 

is it simply a meeting where we hear the Gospel and a sermon.  

It is a meeting centered on the Word made flesh, who sacrificed 

Himself for us, that re-presents that eternal (not repetitive) 

Sacrifice to us in time. Its goal is to bring us to Christ.  The 

music isn't there to evoke an emotion that dissolves once Mass 

is over. It's supposed to bring us closer to Christ.  The homily 

isn't supposed to do that either, or entertain.  It's supposed to 

bring us to Christ.  

Understood in this light, the priest facing east, veils for women, 

and chant all make sense, even if it doens't appeal to the sensibilities 

(or rather, insensibilities) of our modern times.    

Jennifer Graham reviews a book on First Things here.

A piece that jumps out (emphasis mine):

Cultural norms are fluid and malleable, but in a capitalist society they tend to flow away from traditional family life and toward the accumulation of ever more stuff. “The triumph of materialism in modern times feeds the market and leaves childrearing and family life undernourished,” Gilbert writes. “The capitalist ethos underrates the economic value and social utility of domestic labor in family life, particularly during the early years of childhood.”

The “psychic income” that a woman might derive from caring for young children at home is not as tangible as a biweekly direct deposit at her bank. And, according to “prospect theory,” human beings tend to choose a path with a guaranteed outcome over one with potentially greater rewards but a certain amount of risk. Furthermore, while the birth of a child was once considered economic progress for a family, particularly one with a few acres of tobacco to harvest, children now fare poorly on a cost-benefit spreadsheet where psychic income does not count. Modern parenting demands “voluntary sacrifice and altruistic behavior,” not to mention the $153,600 it is estimated to cost to bring up a child today.

18 things a grown man should never have

An article from Men's Health.
I'm ambivalent about #12. Maybe it's the movies or maybe it's that so many
guys do it, but the overarching point is well taken.

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=life.lessons&conitem=2c3f60783e998110VgnVCM20000012281eac____

Frank and The Bucket List

I saw The Bucket List and thought it was really good. It's a little hard to give a spoiler, because, you guessed it, they die in the end.

On the surface, it looked like an Odd Couple like buddy movie, but it's not really. The movie really is spiritual.

Morgan Freeman's character Carter Chambers is a smart man, who kind of likes to show it. He was just starting on his way to getting a degree in History, with the goal of becoming a professor, when his wife became pregnant. He dropped out and became a mechanic, never to return. Years later his three children and grandchildren are successful professionals, and his granddaugher, I believe, is an accomplished violinist. He's felt a gap in his life, more acute when he faces terminal illness.

Jack Nicholson is an obnoxious, thrice married and divorced rich man Edward Cole, who can get whatever he wants, except a good diagnosis. So the movie's all about him learning from Carter, right? Family, not money is what's really important, right? Don't be materialist, because you can't take all your money and posessions when you go, right? Edward just needs to appreciate what he has, right? Not quite. The movie goes beyond all of this to the deeper truth.

In modern times there is a temptation to think of yourself as "spiritual", but it's in the Hallmark store knicknack, rose-smelling kind of way. ( I remember a chain email supposedly started by the Dalai Lama that included recommendations like, "Pursue cooking with reckless abandon!" ) That is, it's the error of not being materialistic, and establishing a false dichotomy between the spiritual and materialistic. It's the error of replacing materialism with "experience-ism" for lack of a better word. You know - accumulate as many experiences as possible before you die, get the T-shirts, and sing Frank Sinatra's "My Way" on your deathbed.

It's really not like that. No, the Frank in the title of this post is Frank Capra, the director of "It's a Wonderful Life". I'm not well acquainted with his work but here's a great essay about his spirituality. In The Bucket List, Carter is a modern day George Bailey, and his encounter with Edward affirms his life, as George Bailey's encounter with the angel affirms George's life. In fact, Edward is a more demon than angel - he tempts Carter a few times, and through weathering the temptation Carter comes out stronger and sees things more clearly. Carter realizes that in emptying himself through humble self-sacrifice, he has lived a full life. Thanks to his encounter with Carter, Edward achieves some clarity, and dies with peace.

At the end of our lives, we'll have no satisfaction if we "did it My Way". The way to live is His Way - through humble self sacrifice that is fruitful in ways we can't predict or maybe will never even know, but ways God plans.

By the way the Assistant Director is Frank Capra III.

Thanks to Rod Bennet, because I wouldn't have gotten as much out of the movie if I hadn't read his essay some time ago.

Godspy's Back!

Godspy is back and better, I think. Check it out!
http://www.godspy.com/