Friday, November 30, 2012

Freedom, Fear, Mayan 'Doomsday,' and a Solar Super-Flare (Maybe)

Central Minnesota is a wonderful place to live, but it's not perfect.

During summer I pay attention to tornado watches. When the sirens go off, we spend part of an hour in the basement.

During winter I dress warmly and make sure the vehicle is in working order before we drive to another town.

These are just common-sense routines. If I broke out in a cold sweat each time I listened to weather reports, or refused to go outside from December to March: that would be something else.

There's a difference between taking reasonable precautions, and letting fear take over. I ranted about that a bit before getting to some of  this week's news:
Then I got around to my take on freedom, fear, and doing what's right:
  1. Reviewing 'Freedom of the Press'
  2. Mayan Apocalypse, December 21, 2012 (or not)
  3. Something Zapped Earth
  4. Conscience and American Courts: A Little Good News

Science, Religion, and Getting a Grip

I'm a Catholic. I take my faith seriously.

I'm also fascinated by science, and what we're learning about how this universe works.

That's not as contradictory as it may seem.
"...the things of the world
and the things of faith
derive from the same God...
"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159)

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft."
(Psalms 19:2)


As I've said before, I can almost understand secularists claiming that science opposes (and disproves) religion. From their point of view, it's at least an effective rhetorical tool.

Folks who appear to be Christian, and seem determined to remain ignorant of what we're learning about God's creation? That makes a great deal less sense to me.

Cherishing Fear

By cherry-picking facts and stories, I could claim that religion, or science, or both, are used mainly to scare people.

I've given my take on end-time prophecies, 'scientific' and 'religious,' before:

Faith, Freedom, and Fear

I don't see the point of believing something, and not acting as though it matters:
For some, perhaps many, Americans, this is what 'religious people' look like:


(ArizonaLincoln (talk), via Wikipedia, used w/o permission)

Denver News (1921), from The Library of Congress (American Memory Collection), http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/, via wikipedia.org, used w/o permissionIf that "God hates Jews" lot, and the more virulent iterations of the Klan, were all that I knew about Christianity, I might be very concerned about Christians wanting "rights."

On the other hand, horror stories I heard about the Catholic Church helped me become a Catholic, and that's another topic.

Before getting back to freedom and other disturbing ideas, here's another example of a religious person: putting Matthew 25:31-46 and Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447, into practice.


(From "The Pope and Children" (January 6, 2003), used w/o permission)

Freedom and Citizenship, Catholic Style

"Freedom" doesn't mean being told what to believe, any more than "citizenship" means unthinking obedience. My opinion.

More to the point, that's what the Catholic Church says. As a Catholic, I have to:
  • Support religious freedom
    (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2104-2109)
    • For everybody
      (Catechism, 2106)
  • Submit to legitimate authorities
    • Refuse obedience to civil authorities
      • When their demands are contrary to those of an upright conscience
      (Catechism, 2242)
    (Catechism, 2239-2243)

The Establishment, Ecclesiastes, and All That

Believing that "freedom" means "free to agree with me" isn't new. I remember the trailing edge of McCarthyism and the heyday of political correctness.

The establishment, folks with power and influence, look different today; and have different quirks. But in other ways, not much has changed:
Even thinking that there's 'nothing new under the sun' isn't new:
"What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. "
Ecclesiastes 1:9
I've felt that way sometimes, and that's yet another topic.

1. Reviewing 'Freedom of the Press'

"Watchdog needed to curb press 'havoc' "
(November 29, 2012)

"A tougher form of self-regulation backed by legislation should be introduced to uphold press standards, the Leveson report has recommended.

"Lord Justice Leveson said the press had 'wreaked havoc in the lives of innocent people' for many decades....

"...Prime Minister David Cameron set up the Leveson Inquiry in July 2011 after it emerged journalists working for the Sunday tabloid the News of the World had hacked the mobile phone of murdered Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The paper was subsequently shut down by its owners News International...."

"...'The evidence clearly demonstrates that over the last 30-35 years and probably much longer, the political parties of UK national government and of UK opposition have had or developed too close a relationship with the press in a way which has not been in the public interest,' he [Appeal Court judge Lord Justice Leveson] said...."
Although some newspaper hacking into a murdered girl's mobile phone was probably what triggered Prime Minister Cameron's action, I'm quite sure that this issue has been growing for decades.

Here in America, back in the 1970s, the 'investigative reporter' was a stock hero in fiction, along the lines of the earlier 'spunky girl reporter.' At the time, journalists had demonstrated competence, and had arguably served the public interest.

That was then, this is now.

A lot can happen in four decades, and has.

I think freedom of expression is vital; that a 'free press' is in the public interest; and that journalists can mess up as thoroughly as any other group.
(Part of this section is from my Google+ post of (November 28, 2012)

2. Mayan Apocalypse, December 21, 2012 (or not)

"2012 Mayan Apocalypse Rumors Have Dark Side, NASA Warns"
Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer, via Space.com (November 28, 2012)

"NASA scientists took time on Wednesday (Nov. 28) to soothe 2012 doomsday fears, warning against the dark side of Mayan apocalypse rumors - frightened children and suicidal teens who truly fear the world may come to an end Dec. 21.

"These fears are based on misinterpretations of the Mayan calendar. On the 21st, the date of the winter solstice, a calendar cycle called the 13th b'ak'tun comes to an end. Although Maya scholars agree that the ancient Maya would not have seen this day as apocalyptic, rumors have spread that a cosmic event may end life on Earth on that day...."
I've written about the Mayan 'apocalypse,' calendars, base-10 numbering systems, and goofy ideas, before:
Actually, the Y2K bug was quite real: a legacy of the early days of computer technology. We had a few problems: some folks got very strange notices from financial institutions, when an accounting computer misinterpreted "01" as "1901" instead of "2001," for example. And that's yet again another topic.

Where was I? A Mayan calendar, NASA, and cosmic consternation. Right.

December 21, 2012, NASA, and Near-Earth Objects

"...Thus NASA's involvement. The space agency maintains a 2012 information page debunking popular Mayan apocalypse rumors, such as the idea that a rogue planet will hit Earth on Dec. 21, killing everyone. (In fact, astronomers are quite good at detecting near-Earth objects, and any wandering planet scheduled to collide with Earth in three weeks would be the brightest object in the sky behind the sun and moon by now.)...
(Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience")
Maybe NASA shouldn't 'waste' resources by trying to sort out fact, fantasy, and fear. Ideally, folks would be sensible and well-informed enough to spot goofy assertions. But, like the fellow said, "common sense is not so common:"
"Le sens commun n'est pas si commun."
(Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire, via quotationreference.com)

Doomsday Declarations: What's the Harm?

"... Unfortunately, Morrison said, the fantasy has real-life consequences. As one of NASA's prominent speakers on 2012 doomsday myths, Morrison said, he receives many emails and letters from worried citizens, particularly young people. Some say they can't eat, or are too worried to sleep, Morrison said. Others say they're suicidal.

" 'While this is a joke to some people and a mystery to others, there is a core of people who are truly concerned,' he said.

"Not every 2012 apocalypse believer thinks the world will end on Dec. 21. Some, inspired by New Age philosophies, expect a day of universal peace and spiritual transformation. But it's impressionable kids who have NASA officials worried.

" 'I think it's evil for people to propagate rumors on the Internet to frighten children,' Morrison said...."
(Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience")
'Everybody knows it's a joke' can be true, when friends get together and swap stories. I've told some whoppers in situations like that: with full confidence that nobody who heard me would mistake what I said for facts.

Published, online or in ink-on-paper format? Or broadcast? That's another matter.

I like Information Age technology, and the social structures we're developing around it. But I also realize that anybody who understands English might read this.

That knowledge won't turn me into a dead-serious, humorless, nothing-but-the-facts literalist. It's not likely, anyway: given how much I enjoy playing with ideas and language. More topics.

End-of-the-World -- Tourism?

I can see why folks in places like Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, advertise 'cosmic bike tours.' It will be another 5,109 years before the Mayan calendar runs through another long cycle.
Bottom line, the Mayan calendar coming to the end of a cycle means about as much as the calendar we use coming to the end of a decade, a century, or a millennium.

I don't see a problem with using those occasions to have a party; write something philosophical or nostalgic; or simply put up next year's calendar.

Expecting the end of the world to come because I'm putting up a new wall calendar, though? That's silly.

3. Something Zapped Earth

A little over a dozen centuries ago, something poured a whole lot of energy into Earth's atmosphere. If it had happened this year, we'd probably still be reading about the resulting blackouts and communication system failures.

Sooner or later, something like the 774 event will almost certainly happen again. That's not being scared: just realistic. The good news is that we're getting more experience with smaller disturbances each year. And that's still another topic.
"Solar Super-Flare Likely Sparked Ancient Tree Mystery"
Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com (November 28, 2012)

"Something big happened in the year A.D. 774.

"Scientists studying tree rings found a sharp increase in the amount of radioactive carbon-14 recorded in the rings of ancient Japanese cedar trees between 774 and 775. Carbon-14 can be created by cosmic ray particles arriving from space, but what causes such cosmic ray increases?

"At first, experts were at a loss to explain the event, and the team that unearthed the tree ring data earlier this year dismissed the sun as a possible explanation. ..."
The rest of the article is a little technical. Basically, scientists had found a whole lot more carbon-14 in tree rings grown between 774 and 775. Whatever pumped the extra carbon-14 into the trees happened in less than a year.

Folks had assumed that the sun couldn't have been the cause, but their math was off. They hadn't taken into account that a coronal mass ejection, a lump of really hot gas and magnetic fields, doesn't spread out all that much on its way outward.

Radiation?

By the way, if you've heard that carbon-14 is radioactive: it is. And that's okay.

Despite what we see in timeless classics like "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues" (1955) and "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), things can be radioactive without trampling Tokyo or terrorizing starlets in swimsuits.

Background radiation is - what else? - in the background, all the time. It's when there's too much radiation that we get problems:
And I'm off-topic yet again.

A Coronal Mass Ejection, or Something Else

It's possible that a coronal mass ejection hit Earth about 13 centuries back. It would have had to be a really big one, though.

The extra carbon-14 could have been generated if a supernova went off nearby: but there's no record of a new and very bright star around that time. A gamma ray burst aimed in our direction might have had the same effect. Or maybe the cause is something else.

If it was a coronal mass ejection, I'm not surprised that nobody recorded the event. From what I've read, folks would probably have seen unusually pretty auroral displays: and that's about it. Carbon-14 is, as far as our senses are concerned, just plain carbon.

We didn't notice coronal mass ejections until folks started stringing telegraph wires. The Carrington Event of 1859 shocked some telegraph operators, literally, and involved the biggest recorded solar flare.

So far. But that's only about 153 years back: a tiny fraction of the time Earth has been around.

My guess is that we can still look forward to being surprised by this world: at least, I hope so.

4. Conscience and American Courts: A Little Good News

"Court ordered to hear Christian college's health care challenge"
Michelle Bauman, CNA/EWTN News (November 26, 2012)

"The Supreme Court has ordered a federal court of appeals to consider a Christian college's claim that its religious freedom is threatened by forced funding of abortion under the health care reform law.

" 'I am very pleased with the High Court's ruling,' said Mat Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law and founder of the nonprofit litigation group Liberty Counsel, which is representing the university.

"The ruling 'breathes new life into our challenge' to the Affordable Care Act, Staver said, asserting that mandated abortion funding under the law 'collides with religious freedom and the rights of conscience.'..."
Religion isn't just going into a building for an hour each Sunday and doing 'religious stuff.' Or, rather, it shouldn't be. Like I said, I don't see a point in faith, if it doesn't matter in day-to-day life.

Liberty University School of Law's efforts to do what's right, even if that means resisting unjust government actions, aren't an isolated event.

What's even more surprising, some efforts to work inside the system have been at least slightly successful:
Does this mean that I'm blithely confident that an all-knowing, all-merciful, judiciary will make everything better? Of course not:
What I find refreshing is that the American court system seems to be getting over state-sponsored social engineering. And that's - you guessed it - another topic.

Related posts:

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

"...Wanting to Make Us Sharers in His Divinity..."

I was trekking through part of the Catechism that explains why the Word became flesh. I'd gotten up to Catechism of the Catholic Church, 459, about a month ago. (October 24, 2012)

... To Really Mess Things Up, You Need a Computer

I had written the framework for this post late Monday afternoon. Then, somehow, I deleted the whole thing. Irrevocably. Every trick I know for recovering 'deleted' data - didn't work.

I took a break, then started reconstructing the post. I knew where I'd found most of the information, and still remembered most of the structure. That kept me occupied until after midnight. My after-midnight work tends to be a trifle unstructured; or strangely-structured; or both.

The rest of this post is an effort to break that mass of text and lists into something that might pass as an orderly set of ideas.

Should you choose to continue reading, good luck. I should be much more coherent by Friday: emphasis on "should." :)

Issues and an Election

Issues at stake in America's national election encouraged me to go 'off schedule' for late October and most of November. I even put one of these 'Wednesday' posts on a Monday. (November 5, 2012)

The election didn't turn out entirely as I'd hoped. By the way, this isn't a political blog: but having standards sometimes means discussing my native land's leadership.

The Ultimate Role Model

One of the reasons the Word became flesh was "to be our model of holiness." (Catechism, 459) There's more to Jesus than that, but like God the Father said:
"...'This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.' "
(Mark 9:7)
I went over that last month:

Eternal Life: Good News, Bad News

Listening to Jesus seems prudent, since each of us will live forever. That's good news, or bad news: depending on what each of us decided to do with our lives. (Catechism, 1021-1022)

Some of my take on eternity:
When Jesus died on Golgotha, and then stopped being dead, my Lord made eternal life available. (Catechism, 1026)

"Partakers of the Divine Nature"

Jesus is more than just a good role model. My Lord became one of us so that we could become "partakers of the divine nature." This doesn't mean that I'm God; or we'll all God; or will become God. As I've said before, "God's God, I'm not."

On the other hand, St. Thomas Aquinas said Jesus came to "make men gods." Lower case "g:"
"The Word became flesh to make us 'partakers of the divine nature':78 '... 'The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.'81"
(Catechism, 460)

Fully Understand - - - GOD?!

I talked over "...might make men gods" with someone who's been Catholic longer than I've been alive. He said that a better translation of St. Thomas' words might be "...might make men like gods."

That cleared things up a bit, but I still don't completely understand: which is about par for the course. St. Augustine said:
"If you understood him, it would not be God"
(St. Augustine of Hippo, quoted in Catechism, 230)
Then there are the last chapters of Job, and I'm getting a little off-topic. Which is also about par for the course.

Learning About God

I'm a finite creature. I don't expect to fully understand the infinite Almighty; but we're all expected to:
  • Know God
    (Catechism, 31-35)
  • Know about God
    (Catechism, 36-38)
    • As much as a finite creature can understand the infinite Creator
      (Catechism, 39-43)

Describing God

"There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written."
(John 21:25)
I think what John wrote applies to efforts to catalog the characteristics of God. That didn't keep me from assembling this list:
  • A "mystery without words"
    • Even after revealing Himself
      • "If you understood him, it would not be God"
        (St. Augustine)
    (Catechism, 230)
  • All-powerful
    • Created everything
      (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 268)
      • Out of nothing
        (Catechism, 296)
    • Didn't have to create anything
      (Catechism, 295)
    • Upholds and sustains what He created
      (Catechism, 301)
  • The source of
    • Every good
    • All love
    • All truth
    (Catechism, 1723, 2465)
  • The great HE WHO IS
    • From everlasting to everlasting
    • Without origin and without end
    (Catechism, 212-213)
  • Infinitely good
    (Catechism, 385)
  • Loving
    (Catechism, 268)
  • Merciful
    (Catechism, 270)
  • Holy
    (Catechism, 208)
I've posted most of that list before:
More:
Related posts:

Monday, November 26, 2012

Due to Lack of Interest, Monday has been Cancelled

I had a good Thanksgiving weekend, spent time with family, and may be coming down with a cold.

Instead of trying to write about "Caritas in Veritate," 49, I've decided to take the day off. I plan to be back on schedule Wednesday.

Posts that don't have much to do with this one:

Sunday, November 25, 2012

'If Necessary, Use Words'

Readings for October 28, 2012, 30th Sunday in Ordinary time 2012:

The Solemnity of Christ the King 2012

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
November 25, 2012

Once again the question is posed, "who do you say that I am?" This exchange between Pilot and Jesus is one that goes on in our world every day of our lives. "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Jesus also said in the second reading, "I am the Alpha and the Omega the one who is who was and who is to come, the Almighty." My question is, if you and I know that this Jesus is the way the truth and the life, why do we not listen to him?

What I want us to do today, is to recall fathers homily from last week concerning the four last things, death, judgment, heaven or hell. Not so much to follow-up on what father said but bring to us a realization that it is the life we lead here on earth that finally brings us, to the four last things. Because at that point, in talking of death, it is too late to make changes.

With what is been going on in our world and in our church I want to turn your attention to the family. Father told me in the sacristy this past week that it is the family, good Catholic holy families that will rebuild the church and our world.

So now I am going to tell you a story about what has been going on here in the parish for the last many months. It so happened that one Sunday father gave a homily on being good and he did a good job.

Next week was my week to preach and I titled my homily out loud, 'good isn't good enough you have to be holy.' That began a wonderful experience between the young people and some older people and myself as I would greet him after mass and say, be good, and they will respond you be holy.

No doubt some of you were wondering what was going on because Deacon has a way of forgetting to turn my mike off, but this has become an even greater experience for all of us because finally now in the last weeks I have added something to that little exchange. After greeting them to be good and their response to be holy I would ask them if they're preaching the gospel?

That brought a great deal of consternation to some of the of the children, but then I would explain to them the story of St. Francis, who going out one day with one of his young man to preach the gospel and returning back to the monastery, the young man said we didn't do any preaching.

Francis responded, 'what you think we been doing all day.' and then explains to him that you preach the gospel more clearly by who you are and what you do and how you respond to people. Then finally he says, If necessary, use words.

What a wonderful way to look at life! But the reality is clearly that even as father and I preach to you from this pulpit it is your vocation to preach the gospel at home and in the public square. I asked one of the girls where I have lunch, if she has been preaching the gospel she responded, "I've been very good".

My primary concern today is the family. To be very blunt, if the family is to save the church and nation then each family must become holy. That means that, in that family there is order and there is truth. That means that father can't be mother and mother can't be father and the children cannot be both, mother and father.

Another story: quite a number of years ago, I took in a catechetical workshop at Steubenville and for the most part it was a it was a good workshop and one of the rooms was concerned about the relationship between the teacher and the students and finally the man started talking about self-esteem which he carried to the point where finally, I just had no choice, I raise my hand and said, "I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this, but all you're doing is raising self-centered selfish spoiled brats.” That ended that.

On the way out of the room a lady grabbed my arm and she said to me, ”you don't know how true your words are," she said to me. And I responded oh yes I do I have seven children and have been teaching for over 20 years and then she tells me her story. Her little daughter in grade school would come home and order mother around the house and if mother didn't respond to her demands she was hurting her self-esteem, OK. Remember: children cannot be parents; and parents cannot be children.

More then once I have said, "not in my house you don't"!

Any time this role of father, mother and children are kicked out of order you will have chaos in the house. Sometimes even make that house almost unlivable: but on the other hand if father and mother and the children know their place in the family there will be truth, there will be joy, there will be happiness and extreme hope. Given the human condition problems will arise but with great love and God's grace problems can become a simple pothole on the road.

Here's another story: and I'm telling you this story not to make you believe that I'm the greatest dad in the world because that is far from the truth, but the story is important to put in perspective the relationship between mother and son.

One day my oldest son calls me in the phone, he's been to college working at a place on Lake Street and apparently was acting like a absent-minded professor. How bad this was as a problem I really don't know. But they sent him to a psychiatrist and as he is telling me the story I'm saying under my breath "oh my God what did mom and dad do wrong now."

He goes on to tell me that as the psychiatrist reviews the now many pages of questions and answers in this investigation he comes to the section on the family. The question was asked "when did your dad get most angry with you?" His response was " when I mean-mouthed my mother." My son told me, then, that he skipped the entire section on the family saying there's no problems here, what a sigh of relief!

The point in telling you this story is to emphasize the proper relationship between parents and children. How often do I tell little children, obey your mother. So what about dad? So don't you know, that when you obey mother you are also obeying dad?

Yes I know I'm carrying on a little bit today but there's one other area that I would like to have us consider. We teach in Catholic CCD the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. As I would teach this I would hold up their mothers as the perfect example of one who lives out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. At random: who welcomed you when you were naked and homeless, who fed you when you were hungry, who gave you to drink when you are thirsty, who visited when you are sick, who comforted you when you were in sorrow, who corrected your faults, and who gave you encouragement, and on and on it could go.

We can then momentarily look back at the questions we started with, "who you say that I am?" Are we seeking to be good and holy with the intention of preaching the gospel always?

Maybe this last question is the most important of all, "dad and mom, is it your intention to raise a family of Saints? For this is the reality that brings us to the four last things death, judgment, heaven or hell.

'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.

More reflections:
Related posts:

Thanksgiving: Cartoons and Gratitude

Thanksgiving Day weekend is an American holiday. It's our version of the harvest celebration that I suspect most or all cultures developed: probably not long after shifting to agriculture as a source of food.

The American holiday, according to a Wikipedia article, "...has its historical roots in religious traditions, but today is celebrated in a more secular manner...."

I wouldn't mind if the religious aspects of Thanksgiving got a little more attention, but I also don't mind the secular angle: particularly since I can have fun with it.


(From Apathetic Lemming of the North (2012))


(From Apathetic Lemming of the North (2010))

Something I didn't see in the Wikipedia article was the American habit of visiting family during the four-day weekend. My wife and I are at the point where the kids come to see us, and that's another topic.

Theological Implications of a Spaghetti Hat

The poster featured a profoundly unhappy baby wearing a bowl of spaghetti. The slogan was something like 'thank God anyway.' Or maybe it was 'praise God anyway.'

It was cute, and made a sensible point.

Being thankful for good health, or an above-average income, is fairly easy.

Being thankful after coming down with the flu, or being fired? That takes effort.

Readings for November 22, 2012, Thanksgiving Day in America, included this:
"2 And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters men's growth from their mother's womb, and fashions them according to his will!"
(Sirach 50:22)
Being alive could be near the top of a list of 'reasons for being thankful:' particularly when one considers the alternative.

- - - Aside from That, Pretty Good

I was used as a lab rat as an infant, without my parent's knowledge. (February 3, 2009)

I slogged through decades of undiagnosed major depression and ADHD-inattentive, or maybe Asperger's; lost a dear friend to suicide; and nearly lost my wife when one of our children died during childbirth. (June 3, 2012)

But aside from that, I've had a pretty good life:
"...I've been blessed with good parents, and a mind that's thirsty for knowledge. My wife stood by me through some very rough times. Four of our six children survived birth, and are as wonderfully varied a new generation as I could have hoped for...."
(June 3, 2012)

Emotions, Reason, and All That

I'm not one of those permanently-cheerful folks.

Even with pharmaceuticals that make thinking easier than it's been since my preteens, I'm all too capable of seeing life's serious side. Which doesn't make me a 'sour faced saint,' and that's yet another topic. (September 13, 2011)

I don't have anything against emotions: they're part of being human. But I try to avoid making decisions based on feelings.

If it sounds odd for a 'religious' person to say that: bear in mind that I'm a Catholic. We're told that:
  • Reason
    • Isn't opposed to faith
      (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 35)
    • Is a critical part of
      • Conscience
        (Catechism, 1778)
      • Human law
        (Catechism, 1902)
      • Natural law
        (Catechism, 1954-1960)
    • As intellect, an attribute of God
      (Catechism, 271)
    • An ability which makes human beings like God
      (Catechism, 1730)
  • Emotions
    • Are "natural components of the human psyche"(Catechism, 1764)
      • Aren't "good" or "bad" by themselves
        (Catechism, 1762-1770)
    • Should be governed by reason
      (Catechism, 1767)
    (December 18, 2011)
I've felt grateful: an emotion. I've also decided that I was grateful: a reasoned decision. There are times when I have to think a lot before deciding to be grateful.

Somewhat-related posts:

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Recovering from a Hurricane; Defending Freedom; Studying the Cosmos

The Archdiocese of Miami, Florida; and Santiago, Cuba, say that this outfit is helping folks rebuild after Hurricane Sandy roared through:
Our Lady of Charity Cobre Foundation
P.O. Box 40368
Glen Oaks, New York 11004-0386
That's from the first set of news items I picked this week:
  1. Hurricane Sandy, a Shrine, and Rebuilding Neighborhoods
  2. Religious Liberty, the Constitution, and a Step in the Right Direction
  3. 'Super-Jupiter' Photographed: Kappa Andromedae b
  4. Of Points and People

Science? In a 'Religious' Blog?!

The last two articles are 'science news.' They're no more 'religious' than news about recovering from a hurricane, or bringing a case to court: but no less.

Since about the middle of the 19th century, some folks have expected Christians to have conniptions at the mention of anything 'scientific.'

I don't see a point in cultivating ignorance of God's creation, much less deciding what God can and can't do:
We live in a world filled with wonders: many of which were unknown until very recently. I'm okay with living in a world that's vast in both space and time. (March 21, 2012)
"...The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man's intellect and will."
(Catechism, 341)
I agree with Benedict XVI:
"Nature is a book whose history, whose evolution, whose 'writing' and meaning we 'read' according to the different approaches of the sciences, while all the time presupposing the foundational presence of the author who has wished to reveal himself within."
(October 31-November 4, 2008, plenary session on "Scientific Insights Into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life" at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences)


1. Hurricane Sandy, a Shrine, and Rebuilding Neighborhoods

"Cuban Church urges continued aid for Hurricane Sandy victims"
CNA/EWTN News (November 20)

"The Archdiocese of Santiago in Cuba is calling on the international community to continue helping the thousands of victims of Hurricane Sandy, and has set up two bank accounts to receive donations.

" 'The city is recovering, but the spiritual and material reconstruction will take a long time,' Archbishop Dionosio Garcia said in a Nov. 11 message.

" 'God speaks to us even in suffering, and we are capable of hearing his words in the most bitter of times. But we must be attentive and strive for interior silence in order to hear them.'

"On its Facebook page, the archdiocese requested that donations be sent to its accounts at the Vatican's Institute for Religious Works and the U.S.-based Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre Foundation. Donations should be specified as to assist the victims of Hurricane Sandy...."
The Archdiocese of Miami posted a similar request for help:
"'A peso from each Cuban'"
Archdiocese of Miami (November 10, 2010)

"Brooklyn's Cuban-born auxiliary bishop announces drive to restore El Cobre shrine...

"...Contributions to the reconstruction of the basilica in El Cobre should be sent to: Our Lady of Charity of Cobre Foundation, P.O. Box 40368, Glen Oaks, N.Y. 11004-0368."

"...In the Civil Order...."

Back to Archbishop Dionosio Garcia, of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Cuba:
"...'In the civil order the effects have been devastating, the data indicates 150,000 homes were damaged and thousands were totally destroyed,' the archbishop said...."
(CNA/EWTN News)
No pressure, but helping rebuild the El Cobre shrine sounds like a good idea. So does helping folks rebuild their homes and communities.

The Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre Foundation doesn't seem to have a website. Their mailing address, as shown on the Archdiocese of Miami website, is:
Our Lady of Charity Cobre Foundation
P.O. Box 40368
Glen Oaks, New York 11004-0386
Again, if you're interested in helping with home and neighborhood reconstruction, the Archbishop of Santiago says that contributions should be marked "to assist the victims of Hurricane Sandy." But like I said: no pressure.

I've posted about Sandy before:

2. Religious Liberty, the Constitution, and a Step in the Right Direction

"Judge grants HHS mandate injunction to Bible publisher"
CNA/EWTN News (November 20)

"A federal court has granted an injunction protecting Protestant Christian Bible publisher Tyndale House Publishers from the Department of Health and Human Services mandate that requires it to provide insurance coverage for abortion-causing contraceptives.

"U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said Nov. 16 that the mandate 'affirmatively compels the plaintiffs to violate their religious beliefs in order to comply with the law and avoid the sanctions that would be imposed for their noncompliance.'

"The judge, an appointee of George W. Bush for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said the government has not proven that mandating Tyndale provide the coverage furthers the government’s compelling interests in promoting public health.

" 'First Amendment rights are among the most precious rights guaranteed under the Constitution,' his decision said...."
I would have preferred that America's executive branch stop trying to tell the rest of us what is, and what is not, practicing our beliefs.

Bad News, Good News, and the Rest of the News

We're stuck with at least another four years of the status quo.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that efforts to force folks who prefer to avoid killing innocent people aren't going smoothly.

A remarkable number of judges have apparently heard of the First Amendment to the Constitution: and understand what the words mean. Many businesses and other organizations are not cooperating with America's secular leader, sometimes successfully:
Religious leaders, Catholic and otherwise, are still actively opposing the national government's efforts:
Maybe you haven't seen headlines like that in America's old-school news outlets. I've posted about news, assumptions, and information gatekeepers, before:

Getting a Grip About Government

I checked: government really is necessary. (March 12, 2011)

But "I was only following orders" isn't a good excuse. (July 2, 2012)
  • We need some sort of government
    (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1898-1899)
  • We're supposed to follow the government's rules
    (Catechism, 2239)
    • Usually
      (Catechism, 2242)
  • The government isn't always right
    (Catechism, 1902)
  • Religious freedom is vital
    (Catechism, 2104-2109)
    • That's religious liberty for everybody
      (Catechism, 2106)
We're supposed to not follow the government's rules, when "when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order." (Catechism, 2242)

I'll put links to my take on government, ethics, freedom, and other bothersome ideas, near the end of this post.

3. 'Super-Jupiter' Photographed: Kappa Andromedae b

" 'Super-Jupiter' Discovery Dwarfs Solar System's Largest Planet"
Space.com (November 19, 2012)

"In a rare direct photo of a world beyond Earth, astronomers have spotted a planet 13 times more massive than Jupiter, the largest planet in our own solar system.

"The planet orbits a star called Kappa Andromedae that is 2.5 times the mass of the sun and is located 170 light-years away from Earth. As a gas giant larger than Jupiter, it's classified as a 'super-Jupiter.'

"Astronomers say the object's immense size places it right on the edge of the classifications for giant planets and a type of failed star known as a brown dwarf. Its official name is Kappa Andromedae b, or Kappa And b for short, and it likely has a reddish glow, researchers said......."

(NAOJ / Subaru / J. Carson (College of Charleston) / T. Currie (University Toronto))
"False color, near infrared image of the Kappa Andromedae star system as seen by the Subaru Telescope in Hawai'i. Almost all of the light of the host star, on which the image is centered, has been removed through image processing. A Super-Jupiter planet is clearly visible to the upper left."
(Space.com)
What scientists learn about Kappa Andromedae b almost certainly won't make your teeth whiter and brighter, reduce your credit card debt, or make Captain Planet and the Planeteers a prime-time show.

On the other hand, it's giving us more pieces for the puzzle of how planets form:
"...The object is an interesting test case for theories of planet formation ... Based on observations of this system, the super Jupiter appears to have formed in the same way ordinary, lower-mass exoplanets do, by coalescing from a 'protoplanetary disk' of material orbiting a nascent star....

"...Previously, some scientists had doubted that such large stars could give birth to planets in protoplanetary disks. The new finding indicates that this star probably did just that...."
(Space.com)
I'm fascinated by this sort of thing.

In 'practical' terms, I'd be astonished if what's learned about the Kappa Andromedae planetary system changes the way most of us live. Not in the short term, anyway.

On the other hand, I think there is value in looking beyond what will provide our next meal, or shelter for the night:
"The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: 'It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements. . . for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.'121"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 283)
That "...the structure of the world..." quote is from Wisdom:7:17-22.

I see no problem with learning about God's creation: even if in the process we discover that folks who lived about 22 centuries ago hadn't learned quite as much as we have.

Moving along.

4. Of Points and People


(J. Wilkins, via ScienceNews.org, used w/o permission)
"Half-million-year-old spear tips recovered from the Kathu Pan 1 site in South Africa, including the one shown from different angles, suggest that an ancestor of humans and Neandertals used weapons for hunting...."
"Oldest examples of hunting weapon uncovered in South Africa"
Bruce Bower, ScienceNews (November 15, 2012)
"Common ancestor of people and Neandertals may have flung stone-tipped shafts at animal prey

"Scientists working in South Africa have unearthed the oldest-known spear tips, apparently made by a common ancestor of people and Neandertals around 500,000 years ago.

"More than 200 stone points found at a site called Kathu Pan 1 display modifications and damage consistent with having been attached to spear handles and hurled at animal prey such as springbok, say Jayne Wilkins, an anthropologist at the University of Toronto, and her colleagues....

"...Human ancestors were regularly killing game by 780,000 years ago in the Middle East, as evidenced by remains of butchered deer carcasses. Until now, the earliest stone spear tips came from a Neandertal site in France dating to between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago. Wooden spears from 400,000 years ago have been found among the remains of butchered horses in Germany (SN: 3/1/97, p. 134)...."
"Common ancestor of people and Neandertals...." I'm not entirely comfortable with that phrase, although I think the author intended to distinguish between folks who look like us, and the folks whose burial sites, tools, and - maybe - paintings, were first found near Neandertal.


(Pedro Saura, via Science/AAAS, via National Geographic, used w/o permission)
"In El Castillo cave, hand stencils join a red disk (not pictured) that may be Earth's oldest cave art."
(National Geographic News)

People, Propriety, and Paleontology

Facial forensic reconstruction by artist Cícero MoraesI'll grant that Homo sapiens neanderthalensis/Homo neanderthalensis obviously aren't the pointy-chinned Homo sapiens sapiens we're used to seeing.

But paleontologists eventually realized that Neanderthal skeletons didn't 'just happen' to show up near tools, cooking fires, and what was left of homes.

As far as I'm concerned, folks who acted as Neanderthals did were people: even if they don't look like the better sort in today's northwestern Europe. I'll admit to a bias, since my ancestry isn't entirely 'proper' by some standards:
...One of my ancestors, asked about the family of a young man who had been nosing around her daughter, explained: 'he doesn't have family: he's Irish.' The two got married, anyway....
(November 13, 2008)
There's even good reason to suppose that there's a little Neanderthal in most folks who came from the far end of Europe. That didn't shock or surprise me, since I don't look quite like my Campbell ancestors, either. (May 15, 2012) That's almost another topic:

"How Vast the Sum of Them!"

As I've said before, I'm willing to take God's creation 'as is,' including aspects we didn't know about until recently:
"...I'm Catholic, so I believe Genesis 3:1-6. But that doesn't mean that I believe Earth is flat, or that the universe is about 6,000 years old.

What we're learning about how "deep is the well of the past" (Thomas Mann) doesn't bother me. I might as well let my faith be shaken by the knowledge that "noon" in Minneapolis doesn't happen at the same time as "noon" in London or Bangkok.

The awesome scale of God's creation, as discovered in the last century or so, can be breathtaking. It also seems quite consistent with believing that God is all-powerful...."
(June 13, 2012)
"How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!"
(Psalms 139:17)
I could be a Catholic, and remain ignorant of everything people have discovered about the universe. But that seems like an odd way of showing respect for the Creator. The Church is okay with us studying the visible world, because:
"...the things of the world

and the things of faith

derive from the same God...
"

(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159)
Finally, those half-million-year-old spear tips are far from the oldest example of folks acting like people:
And that's - what else? - another topic.

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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.