Author: BrJames

26Aug

Monastic Life Appealing to young women

After decades of decline, interest in religion vocations among women is climbing, according to an article by Eve Fairbanks in “Highline”. In addition, those entering orders are younger (age 24, compared with 40 a decade ago):

These young women have one last surprise: They tend to be far more doctrinally conservative than their predecessors. If you go deeper into their social media feeds, past the wacky photos of habited nuns making the hang-loose sign, you’ll find a firm devotion to the most traditional of Catholic beliefs.

Fairbanks, Eve (2019) “Behold, the Millennial Nuns.” Huffington Post’s “Highline” magazine. Online at https://www.huffpost.com/highline/article/millennial-nuns/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app

20Jul

A House Divided: The Evergreen State College Meltdown

Jesus famously said, “A house divided against itself shall not stand”. For those who would seize or destroy an institution, this is not merely descriptive but prescriptive. In recent years the outside world has watched in amazement as a vocal minority of activists has effectively seized control at a liberal institution of higher education. Disturbingly this may be only be the beginning of a new and uglier phase of the culture battle, in which a newer and more virulent strain of leftism finishes off the remnant of conservatives and begins to feed on its own political allies.

At Evergreen State College in Washington, student protests ultimately drove out two well liked liberal professors, who, their heads still reeling, wrote a postmortem on the chaos that descended. After the new president stopped protestors from derailing a convocation, he then reversed course and apologized for doing so, and opened a door to more of the same:

Even so, assume for the moment that Evergreen did have racism running rampant. Even under those conditions, would apologizing to students for asking them to respect the college and its invited speakers be the right move? Of course not.
What happened next was predictable. Protests became more frequent and intrusive. Protesters showed up at the swearing-in ceremony of the new campus police chief, Stacy Brown, and shut it down…Soon thereafter, protesters showed up at another ceremony, the dedication of a campus building to the last president of Evergreen, Les Purce. Purce happens to be black. Protesters grabbed the microphone and read an epithet-rich announcement claiming that the school is “unsafe for marginalized students.”

Much of the blame is placed upon the new president of the college who allied himself with the social justice warriors, encouraging ever more vocal protests, and shaming any who would dare question the new order.

A meeting was held in 2016 to “discuss” a new “Strategic Equity Plan”; no “discussion” was offered other than an invitation for attendees to come up onstage and step into an invisible canoe. Most did, to the sounds of Native American drum rhythms and recordings of surf. Prof Bret Weinstein chose not to go into the invisible canoe, and he circulated an opinion questioning the tactics as being intimidating. In turn, he received hate-laced emails.

The environment on campus deteriorated. Weinstein was denounced as a racist. Later a mob of protesters disrupted his class and held him hostage for a while.

Two of his students, neither of them white, attempted to defend him to the angry crowd. They were shouted down. Not following the faux-equity party line meant that you would be informed that you were wrong, that you were a traitor

The climate on campus deteriorated rapidly. Protestors stormed the last faculty meeting of the year, shutting it down. Then they blockaded the library. Thugs began patrolling the campus looking for Professor Weinstein, who was forced to hold class off campus. The police chief later resigned. Finally Prof Weinstein and his wife were asked by the administration to leave.

The irony is that they were (are) themselves from the political left, and had been protestors in their youth. This was a blow to them, and they wrote:

Why are we being advised by the social justice crowd that we shall not focus on the content of our character, but instead must focus primarily on the color of our skin (and our gender identification, sexual orientation, and various other signifiers of intersectional oppression)? This would be MLK’s nightmare. Why is it being handed a megaphone?

We agree. This portends a possible intellectual dark age coming to academia.

Source:
Heying and Weinstein (2017) “Bonfire of the academies: Two professors on how leftist intolerance is killing higher education.” The Washington Examiner. Online at https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/bonfire-of-the-academies-two-professors-on-how-leftist-intolerance-is-killing-higher-education

01Jul

Saving the Rebel

Quite by chance today I heard an interesting juxtaposition of two beautiful pieces of music. One, the haunting “When David Heard” by Thomas Tompkins, recalls the moment when Israel’s King David learns of the death of his son Absalom, killed as he was leading a rebellion against his own father. David, though spared, nevertheless cries out in agony, “O Absalom, my son! Would God I had died for thee.”

The other piece of music was an organ work by Johann Sebastian Bach, his Passacaglia and Fugue In C minor. The passacaglia was a Spanish dance form elevated to major effect by the Baroque master. This particular piece consists of a theme and 20 variations (or 21 variations comprising 7 sets of three, per French organist Marie-Claire Alain; this is a point of debate). The theme and variations—the Passacaglia— are then followed by a fugue upon the opening theme.

Though wordless, it is thought that Bach was using musical symbolism to express his deep Christian faith. Disagreement exists on how exactly one should interpret the piece, but the cross of Jesus is generally seen in the pattens tumbling forth from the notes. For example, Australian organist David Rumsey noted the following regarding the dramatic “Neapolitan Sixth” that marks a major pause in the middle of the piece:

“By extension we may therefore deduce that the Neapolitan Sixth at the end of section four of the Passacaglia strongly suggests “crucifixion”. Applied specifically to the Passacaglia we see the relationship to the climax of the New Covenant: the sacrifice of the Messiah.” (David Rumsey, 1992. “THE SYMBOLS OF THE BACH PASSACAGLIA”. Accessed online at http://www.davidrumsey.ch/Passacaglia.pdf)

The meaning of the crucifixion for Christians is summarized by St. Paul: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10)

The connection between these two stories that grabbed me was this. In the one instance the rebel died that the king may live. In the second instance, the King died that the rebel may live.

15Jun

D-Day and America at Prayer

Seventy-five years ago, terrified Allied soldiers crawled up the beaches of Normandy against a murderous hail of bullets and bombs. One can get a taste of what this was like from newsreels, photos, and movies like “Saving Private Ryan” or “The Big Red One.” I have spoken with veterans who were there, though few remain alive at this time. Their valor is legendary, and deserving of remembrance.

What may be less well remembered is the spiritual battle, one of prayer, waged on that same day by a large segment of the U.S. population. An essay by Metaxis and Morse recalls the occasion:

as word of the assault trickled out, Americans began to pray. Stores closed, and prayer services were swiftly organized in small towns and big cities.
Photographs taken on June 6 show just how widespread these prayers were. One picture shows a sign in the window of a novelty button shop reading, “Sorry, no covered buttons today. We are praying for the success of the invasion.” A sign in front of a church reads, “Come in and pray for Allied victory: Hourly intercessions on the hour.” Another photo shows Americans in a synagogue, bowing their heads in prayer. At a noon Mass, we see men and women on their knees, fervently praying.
New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia took to the airwaves, urging citizens to “send forth [their] prayers to Almighty God . . . to bring total victory . . . in [this] great and valiant struggle . . .”
In Washington, President Roosevelt, who had sons in uniform, urged Americans to join him in prayer for all the nation’s sons: “With Thy blessing,” he prayed, “We shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.”

As we remember the legacy of our heroic grandparents and great-grandparents, whose blood liberated a captive Europe, we might also remember the faith that drove large swaths of our country to its knees before God. Fortunately for humanity, their prayers were answered.

Reference:
Metaxis and Morse (2018) “BreakPoint: The Spiritual Battle on D-Day: ‘This Great and Valiant Struggle’.” Breakpoint. Online at http://www.breakpoint.org/2018/06/breakpoint-the-spiritual-battle-on-d-day/.

11Jun

In Honor of Pentecost: Veni Sancte Spiritus

sung by the choir of Notre Dame de Paris. Organ – Pierre Cochereau


Come, Holy Spirit,
send forth the heavenly
radiance of your light.

Come, father of the poor,
come, giver of gifts,
come, light of the heart.

Greatest comforter,
sweet guest of the soul,
sweet consolation.

In labour, rest,
in heat, temperance,
in tears, solace.

O most blessed light,
fill the inmost heart
of your faithful.

Without your spirit,
there is nothing in man,
nothing that is not harmful.

Cleanse that which is unclean,
water that which is dry,
heal that which is wounded.

Bend that which is inflexible,
fire that which is chilled,
correct what goes astray.

Give to your faithful,
those who trust in you,
the sevenfold gifts.

Grant the reward of virtue,
grant the deliverance of salvation,
grant eternal joy.

14May

A Scam, With Terrible Consequences for a Serviceman

The army veteran Jared Johns was inspired by the tragic events of 9/11 to join the military as soon as he graduated high school. Following a tour of duty in Afghanistan, he struggled with depression and PTSD. Exactly 17 years after the World Trade Center tragedy, at age 24, he killed himself on another 9/11. He left a suicide note to his two young sons, who will grow up fatherless, saying, “It’s better this way, I promise.”

As it turns out, he had been the victim of a blackmail scam, perpetrated by inmates at a South Carolina prison, who have been targeting military personnel. Posing as young women, the men would flirt on dating sites, and eventually send nude photos. After reaching the nude photo stage in the “relationship” the scammers would then send threatening messages in which they pretended to be an enraged father of an underaged girl, who threatens to go to the police, and demands money in exchange for silence.

The Washington Post reports:
Between 2015 and 2018, 442 service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps were conned out of more than $560,000 through the scam, the investigators found. Five inmates were indicted in November, with officials warning that more than 250 people were under investigation and additional arrests could be forthcoming. (Washington Post, online at https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/05/14/veterans-suicide-was-blamed-depression-then-police-found-threatening-texts-sent-prison/%3foutputType=amp

What a tragedy this is for this man and his family.

Filed under “Reflections of the Fall”

05May

An Easter Quote from Fleming Rutlege

The power of God to make right what has been wrong is what we see, by faith, in the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day. Unless God is the one who raises the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist, there cannot be serious talk of forgiveness for the worst of the worst—the mass murderers, torturers, and serial killings—or even the least of the worst—the quotidian offenses against our common humanity that cause marriages to fail, friendships to end, enterprises to collapse, and silent misery to be the common lot of millions. “All for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.” This is what is happening on Golgotha.
(Fleming Rutlege, THE CRUCIFIXION: UNDERSTANDING THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015)

03May

An Old Easter Message is Resurrected, to the Chagrin of Anglican Centre Director

On the heels of the previous article, another case of “resurrection denial” has come to my attention. In January of this year, the former Dean of Perth in Australia, the Very Reverend Dr. John Shepherd, was appointed interim director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, only to face a sudden firestorm of criticism stemming from an Easter message he posted online in 2008. One cheekily worded headline (Eternity News) observed, “Church Leader Finds Internet Never Forgets”.

In the message that was “resurrected” (pardon the pun), Dr Shepherd states:

The Resurrection of Jesus ought not to be seen in physical terms, but as a new spiritual reality. It is important for Christians to be set free from the idea that the Resurrection was an extraordinary physical event which restored to life Jesus’ original earthly body.
…
Jesus’ early followers felt His presence after His death as strongly as if it were a physical presence and incorporated this sense of a resurrection experience into their gospel accounts. But they’re not historical records as we understand them. They are symbolic images of the breaking through of the resurrection spirit into human lives.
…
Jesus lived … as a transformed spiritual reality.

Apparently, this was old news to other Anglicans in his region. A group identifying itself as “Sydney Anglicans” noted way back in 2003:

Dr Shepherd wrote that it was not necessary to believe the Gospel accounts of Jesus appearing to his disciples, that Jesus was physically and literally raised to heaven, or that he will come again ‘in the form in which he has already been present on earth’.
He also said that there is no need to believe “there will be a final judgment where the righteous will be accepted into a so-called heaven, and sinners condemned to everlasting damnation.”

Perhaps the senior cleric has changed his mind. To his critics, Dr. Shepherd says, “I have never denied the reality of the empty tomb”. His efforts to distance himself from his earlier comments appear to have been successful. Calls for him to be removed from his position have gone unheeded, and the controversy seems to have evaporated.

For further reading:

David Ould, Jan 10, 2029. “NEW HEAD OF ANGLICAN CENTRE IN ROME IS DENIER OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION.” Online at https://davidould.net/new-head-of-anglican-centre-in-rome-is-denier-of-jesus-resurrection/

“Dean of Perth commits heresy in broad daylight”, April 28, 2003. Sydney Anglicans. Online at https://sydneyanglicans.net/news/730a

“Interim Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome rebuffs “resurrection” criticism”. Jan 15, 2019. Anglican Communion News Service, online at https://www.anglicannews.org/news/2019/01/interim-director-of-the-anglican-centre-in-rome-rebuffs-resurrection-criticism.aspx

03May

Deniers!

I recall the term “denier” originally being applied pejoratively to those who minimize or outright disbelieve the horrors of the Holocaust—the genocide of Jews in Europe under the Nazi regime during World War II. Holocaust denial is associated with racist ideologies, and expressing such denial generally pushes one to the fringes of society. Deniers face (and rightly so) anger, public shame, and ostracism, and depending on the locale, may also find themselves in violation of law. French historian Robert Faurisson was prosecuted, and fined under the Gayssot Act in 1991, and subsequently was removed from his academic post. (He is not totally devoid of public support—In 2012 he was awarded for his “courage” by Iranian president Ahmedinejad, himself a “denier”).

The “denier” label, with emotional power borrowed from Holocaust denial, has been used more recently against skeptics of the current scientific consensus on “global warming” (or “climate change”). The top few “hits” from a search engine will pull such titles as “The Depravity of Climate-change Denial” (The New York Times), “What Deniers of Climate Change and Racism Share” (The Atlantic). As this is a political issue of much controversy, I’ll merely note this as a phenomenon and move on.

(As an aside, I think that there exists a lot of denial about the atrocities of global Communism, and that would be a worthy target of activism. Unfortunately, those controlling the organs of culture right now are more often ideologically aligned with Communism than opposed to it).

Every Easter, another kind of denial rears its ugly head among those who claim to be followers of Christ. A recent New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof has me thinking about this issue again with respect to the bodily resurrection of Jesus, celebrated by Christians around the globe during Easter. No less a personage than the president of New York’s famed Union Theological Seminary, Dr. Serene Jones, was pressed about her views on the subject. She made it clear that she is in fact on the correct side of climate change, but about the physical resurrection of Jesus, she is a “denier”:

When you look in the Gospels, the stories are all over the place. There’s no resurrection story in Mark, just an empty tomb. Those who claim to know whether or not it happened are kidding themselves. But that empty tomb symbolizes that the ultimate love in our lives cannot be crucified and killed.

She expressed doubt regarding other miracles, called the virgin birth “bizarre”, and questioned whether there is an afterlife (“I don’t know! There may be something; there may be nothing.”). Regarding the God of the Bible, she opines,

God is beyond our knowing, not a being or an essence or an object. But I don’t worship an all-powerful, all-controlling omnipotent, omniscient being. That is a fabrication of Roman juridical theory and Greek mythology. That’s not the God of Easter. The God of Easter is vulnerable and is connected to the world in profound ways that don’t involve manipulating the world but constantly inviting us into love, justice, mercy.

In a critique, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of another famous Protestant seminary, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, takes Dr. Jones to task. “Let’s be clear. She is teaching a religion here – but that religion is not Christianity.”

Many of our leaders and academics are quite squeamish about the idea of an actual resurrection. They are somehow able to affirm the words of the old creeds in their churches on Sunday, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead,” with two fingers crossed behind their backs.

Perhaps Christianity could borrow the secular world’s approach, and address its own problem with progressives and skeptics, who have ravaged churches and seminaries from within. One significant fracture point would be the resurrection of Jesus. We could name names, and create lists of “Resurrection deniers.”

Applying the term “denial” would even be biblical. The apostle Paul warned Timothy in his second letter that the “last days” will bring to ascendance all manner of wicked and unsavory people, “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:5)

I don’t foresee an organized effort by traditionalists to recapture the faith from tepid nonbelieving leaders. They may not even need to bother. As vibrant orthodox Christianity grows ever stronger, this other milquetoast and eviscerated version of religion is simply evaporating. Once glorious Protestant churches are in a demographic death spiral, as they somehow fail to be energized by the progressive theologians’ message that “love in our lives can’t be crucified” (but of course death is the end of you).

Still, I think many in the pews would welcome the return of orthodox Christianity back into the historic houses of worship. I would.

Sources:

Kristof, Nicholas, April 20, 2019. “Opinion: Reverend, You Say the Virgin Birth Is ‘a Bizarre Claim’?”, New York Times, available online at https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/opinion/sunday/christian-easter-serene-jones.amp.html

Albert Mohler, April 22, 2019, “A Tale of Two Religions: Liberal Theology Without Illusions”. Online at https://albertmohler.com/2019/04/22/a-tale-of-two-religions-liberal-theology-without-illusions

01May

The Light Triad

Researchers have recently announced a corollary to the “dark triad” that marks extreme psychopathy and criminal behavior. The “dark triad”, as you may have encountered in school or from outside reading, represents the worst of humanity: Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. These are the Hannibal Lectors and Jeff Dahmers and mobsters of our world. They are self absorbed people, with low empathy, who are antisocial and manipulative. Not all of them are criminals, but they still damage those around them. As Wikipedia summarizes well: “People scoring high on these traits are more likely to commit crimes, cause social distress and create severe problems for an organization, especially if they are in leadership positions.”

What then is the “light triad”? Authors Kaufman and colleagues have developed a “light triad scale”:

The LTS is a first draft measure of a loving and beneficent orientation toward others (“everyday saints”) that consists of three facets: Kantianism (treating people as ends unto themselves), Humanism (valuing the dignity and worth of each individual), and Faith in Humanity (believing in the fundamental goodness of humans).

The three major categories noted above were mapped against other paradigms such as the Big 5 personality traits, and compared with the dark triad. On the religiosity tests they found that “religious and spiritual people are more likely to also be high scorers on the Light Triad scale.”

I found the following data to be interesting:

The Light Triad was positively correlated with Oneness Experiences and God Experiences, and these correlations remained significant even after controlling for the facets of Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility. The Dark Triad was also positively correlated with Oneness Experiences, and this correlation remained significant even after controlling for the facets of Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility. The Dark Triad was uncorrelated with God Experiences.

As an exercise, I decided to pair each positive trait with a biblical passage that represents the trait in question.

1. Kantianism (treating people as ends unto themselves)

”You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)

2. Humanism (valuing the dignity and worth of each individual)

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:27-28)

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Romans 12:15-18)

3. Faith in Humanity (believing in the fundamental goodness of humans).

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)

But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

I would offer a point of objection that these labels smuggle in a worldview of humanism that isn’t perfectly aligned with Christianity. Christians can be and have been humanists, but certainly “fundamental goodness of humanity” would have to be phrased in a more nuanced way. We could as equally affirm the fundamental evil of humanity. Christianity teaches neither—We generally embrace the idea of an original goodness that has been tarnished or lost, but can be restored again. God has a love that is always seeking reconciliation, and is intended for all manner of people, transcending the puny boundaries of culture, gender, and race.

As Christians we are also to radiate this love. We are to love one another as God has loved us. “Walk in love as Christ loved us…” says the old Book of Common Prayer, echoing Ephesians 5:2. Nevertheless, we are called to love not blindly (by pretending that something is what it isn’t), but rather to love as God does, despite the flaws of that love’s object. And we are to realize the sacrificial nature of love. The rest of the phrase goes like this: “…and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.” By the way, the very definition of Christian love, “agape” in the original Greek, means not merely to be self effacing, but primarily to be other-enhancing.

Furthermore, a word to parents. From a Christian perspective, the goal of parenting is not shepherding your children into the right colleges, teaching them to survive in business, or making sure they want for nothing. “Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” says Paul (in Ephesians, 6:4). A good portion of that task is character development.

For further reading

Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad

Kessler, SR; Bandeiii, AC; Spector, PE; Borman, WC; Nelson, CE; and Penney, LM 2010. Reexamining Machiavelli: A three dimensional model of Machiavellianism in the workplace. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40, 1868–1896

Schley, Lacey, April 5, 2019, “The Light Triad: Psychologists Outline the Personality Traits of Everyday Saints”, Discover Magazine.
Online at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2019/04/05/light-triad-traits/#.XMM8ShYpCEf

Kaufman, SB, et al, “The Light vs. Dark Triad of Personality: Contrasting Two Very Different Profiles of Human Nature”,
Front. Psychol., 12 March 2019. Online at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00467/full

Bible references are from the New Revised Standard Version.