Showing posts with label good judgment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good judgment. Show all posts

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Newtown, Connecticut: Mass Murder, Assumptions, and Judgment


(Andrew O'Reilly, via Fox News Latino, used w/o permission.)
"The grave of Ana Grace Márquez-Greene at the Newtown Village Cemetery. Ana Grace's parents began the Ana Grace Project shortly after he[r] death to help communities identify children with mental problems and works to prevent similar tragedies to the Sandy Hook shooting. (Photo: Andrew O'Reilly)"

Sandy Hood Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, is in the news again.

Someone killed about two dozen people there last December, most of them children. He then killed himself.

Authorities have released documents which give a bit more information about the killer than we had last year. He was a young man, and apparently not a particularly happy one.

I am sorry that he is dead, for several reasons: and very sorry indeed that so many innocent people stopped living that day.

Assumptions

I don't think more than a few crackpots will assume that elementary schools should be closed because they cause mass murders, or that automobiles should be banned because they make people kill children.

Given some of today's largely-unconsidered assumptions, though, other goofy ideas may get seriously discussed.

It's possible that the young man had Asperger's syndrome. It's not associated with violent behavior, but it's a "syndrome," and many folks are nervous about 'crazy people.'

The killer was home schooled: for reasons that are obvious, given what we're learning about his behavior.

I don't think folks with Asperger's syndrome should be locked up, or that home schooling leads to mass murder: but my kids have been home schooled, and I've been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome — and you know what those people are like. ☺

Judgment, Good and Otherwise

Adam Lanza was 20 when he killed his mother, 20 first-graders, another six adults, and finally himself. As I said before, I'm sorry that all those folks are dead: including Adam Lanza.

Families and friends of the victims have suffered a great personal loss, and we have all lost whatever those 28 people might have contributed to our world. That's not the only reason for sorrow over their deaths, though.

Human life is sacred, and murder is wrong: even when the victim is oneself. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258, 2259-2262, 2268-2270, 2280-2283)

I think what Adam Lanza did was very wrong. There is no reasonable excuse for murder or suicide. Don't expect a rant about 'that sinner over there' going to Hell, though. I've read about the fellow who prayed to himself, and the one who had some sense. (Luke 18, 10-14)

I'm a Catholic, and although I'm expected to notice whether behavior is good or evil — judging the spiritual state of others is strictly against the rules. It's also a profoundly bad idea.

I've got this one life, followed by a performance review. (Matthew 7:5, Romans 2:1-11, Hebrews 9:27, Catechism, 1021-1022, 1749-1756, 1777-1782, 1861, 2283)

After that there's creation's closing ceremony, and that's another topic. (May 21, 2011)


(From Hieronymus Bosch, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)

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Friday, December 14, 2012

Connecticut School: Mass Murder and Prayer

You've probably heard or read about another mass murder at a school. This time it was at an elementary school in Connecticut.1

Over two dozen folks are dead: roughly two thirds of them children; some teachers; and the murderer.

I'm angry about what happened, but don't expect a rant. That wouldn't, I think, do any good.

Prayer

No pressure, but prayer couldn't hurt.2 Many folks in Connecticut need help: and prayer works. I don't know how, and don't need to. My wife and I prayed for the eternal repose of the victims.

Including the murderer. I'm disgusted about what he did, but he's dead. I take advice like Romans 2:1-11; Matthew 7:1-5; and Luke 6:37-38, seriously.

Good Judgment isn't Crazy

There's a huge difference between pretending that rules shouldn't exist, and hating 'that sinner over there,' and that's another topic or two:

Why?!

The killer is a man in his mid-20s,3 whose parents are divorced, and whose mother worked at the school. Maybe he was upset about the divorce, or maybe something else encouraged him to act.

It's likely that someone will pounce on the choice of weapon, and blame guns. It's less likely that we'll hear an 'expert' say that public schools cause mass murder.

It's possible that we won't learn the exact motives for this mass murder.

The root of this particular crime goes back to the start of humanity, and the original sin we inherited.

Coming from a Catholic, that doesn't mean that I think the human race is a botched job, an inherently evil race that God should destroy. We're wounded, but not basically bad:
"ORIGINAL SIN: The sin by which the first human beings disobeyed the commandment of God, choosing to follow their own will rather than God's will. As a consequence they lost the grace of original holiness, and became subject to the law of death; sin became universally present in the world. Besides the personal sin of Adam and Eve, original sin describes the fallen state of human nature which affects every person born into the world, and from which Christ, the 'new Adam,' came to redeem us (396-412)."
(Catechism, Glossary)
The good news is that Jesus opened Heaven, and that's another topic.

Getting a grip about:
1 Excerpts from the news:
"Children and adults gunned down in Connecticut school massacre"
CNN (December 14, 2012)
  • "There's been a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut
  • "We're told there are 18-20 children who have been killed, with a death toll close to 30
  • "Law enforcement tells CNN suspect is named Ryan Lanza
  • "Below are the latest updates as they come to us or you can read our story of the Connecticut school shooting...."
" 'Close to 20' dead in Connecticut school shooting, source says"
Susan Candiotti and Michael Pearson, CNN (December 14, 2012)

"Nearly 20 people died Friday in an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

"At least 10 of the dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School were children, the source said....

"...'Why? Why?' one woman wailed as she walked up a wooded roadway leading from the school....

"...The shooter is dead, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN's Susan Candiotti. The suspect's body is in a classroom at the school, the source said....

"...Police and teachers rushed students from the building as police swarmed the area shortly after the first calls came in, around 9:40 a.m. ET. Officials moved students to a nearby firehouse, where parents frantically sought information about their children...."
"At least 26 dead in shooting at Connecticut elementary school"
FoxNews.com (December 14, 2012)

"DEVELOPING: Authorities say at least 26 people, including 18 children, were killed Friday when a gunman clad in black military gear opened fire inside a Connecticut elementary school.

"A law enforcement official said the shooter, who is dead, was from New Jersey and had ties to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. Authorities recovered a Glock and Sig Sauer 9mm handgun, but it was unclear who killed the shooter, who wore black combat garb and a military vest.

"Local news outlets report that the shooting occurred inside a kindergarten classroom, and that all the pupils in that classroom are unaccounted for.

"An official with knowledge of the situation said the 20-year-old gunman, whose name has not been released, also had a .223-caliber rifle. The motive is not yet known....

"...Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said during an afternoon news conference that police arrived at the scene "within minutes" of a 911 call placed shortly after 9:30 a.m.

" 'Every door, every crack, every crevice of that school' was checked, Vance said. 'The entire school was searched.'

"Vance did not give details about the number of victims other than to say they included students and staff, pending notification of the families. He said more information would be released, possibly later Friday.

"The massacre began inside the school's main office as the principal was making morning announcements...."
2 About prayer::
  • Prayer
    • Isn't just an impulsive outburst
    • Is
      • A learned skill
      • Taught by the Holy Spirit
      (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2650-2651)
    • A communion with the Holy Trinity
      (Catechism, 2655)
    • Internalizes and assimilates the liturgy
      • During its celebration
      • After its celebration
    • And the sacramental liturgy of the Church
      • The mission of Christ and of the Holy Spirit
        • Proclaims the mystery of salvation
        • Makes present the mystery of salvation
        • Communicates the mystery of salvation
      (Catechism, 2655)
    • Continues the sacramental liturgy in the heart that prays
      (Catechism, 2655)
  • Should accompany reading of Holy Scripture
    (Catechism, 2653-2654)
  • Involves
  • When to pray
    • At certain times while hearing the Word of God
    • Any other time
    • (Catechism, 2659)
(July 21, 2012)
3 Update, 7:50 p.m. December 14, 2012. Excerpt from the news:
"...Twenty-seven people, including 20 children, were killed Friday when a gunman clad in black military gear opened fire inside his mother's kindergarten class at a Connecticut elementary school.

"The shooter, who sources identified as Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, in the face at their home in Newtown, Conn., then went to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School where she taught and gunned down her entire class, according to sources. Lanza was found dead inside the school, according to officials. Eighteen of the children and six more adults were dead at the school and two more children died later, according to Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance.

"Vance would not confirm the shooter's name, and earlier in the day there were conflicting reports over the gunman's identity. Law enforcement sources told FoxNews.com the shooter was Adam Lanza. His brother, Ryan Lanza, 24, who was widely and erroneously reported to be the suspect, was questioned in Hoboken, N.J., but authorities said he was not involved.

" 'It is not a simplistic scene,' Vance told reporters...."
(FoxNews.com)
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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Hope, Joy, and 'More Despondent Than Thou?'

There's something in the human psyche that seems to resonate with despondency. Or the feeling that there's some terrible crisis right around the corner.

Apocalypse Whenever

I think that explains some of the appeal for the perennial 'End Times prophecies:' like Mr. Camping's doomsday prediction last year. Christians with this quirk may be sincere. But I think they're doing themselves no favors.

Oh Woe, All Ye Faithful?

I also think a 'more despondent than thou' attitude projects a warped image of my Lord.

We're All Gonna Freeze Starve Get Blown Up Drown Uh, Change?

On the secular side, there's the environmental crisis du jure, with its 'and we're all gonna die' refrain. I've watched several coming apocalypses move from headlines to dim memories, like the:
  • Coming ice age
  • Population bomb
  • Impending nuclear holocaust
  • Horrific effects of global warming
    • New York City Floods!
    • Los Angeles Drowns!!
    • Pandas perish!!!
These days the fashion seems to be acting distraught over 'climate change,' and that's almost another topic.

After I saw a few 'doomsday' dates swish by, I wasn't all that impressed by 'and we're all gonna die' predictions: but there are those who seem to relish the idea that all is lost.

Quirks and Kooks

A few quirks seem to pop up in any largish group of people. Like the notion that despondency is a virtue, or a sign of 'intelligence.' Folks with this trait seem:
  • Determined to see the dark lining in every silver cloud
  • Dedicated to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
I think the silly side of chronic pessimism is easy to spot, when 'those people over there' exhibit it. When 'serious thinkers' are part of one's own group? Maybe not so much. The kook who agrees with me can be more annoying than the crackpot who doesn't, once the kookiness becomes apparent, and that's another topic.

Hope isn't Irresponsibility

Willingness to see hope isn't the same as irresponsibility. There's a difference between seeing frostbite in every snowflake, and dressing warmly in winter.

By the way, there's nothing wrong with 'environmentally aware,' recycling, and not throwing out a pound of food for every pound you eat. As a practicing Catholic, I have to be concerned about God's creation:
That's far from a complete index of what the Church has to say about taking care of creation, and I've been over this before:

'Gloominess is Next to Godliness?'

So: Why do so many folks seem to assume that:
  • 'Thou shalt not smile' is an 11th Commandment?
  • The world's gonna end in 2012?
  • Or that we'd have mass starvation in the '70s?
I don't know.

Leibniz and Ehrlich

Another quirk, not quite so common these days, is the 'best of all possible worlds' attitude. That hasn't been fashionable for quite a while, although it enjoyed a sort of renaissance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

That was when science and technology was supposed to solve all our problems. These days, it's more in vogue to say that science and technology will kill us all. Paul Ehrlich still has a remarkable number of disciples, despite our getting disco instead of mass starvation, and that's yet another topic.

Finally, here's what got me started:

"Faith Fatigue?"

"Faith Fatigue Isn't Everywhere, Assures Pope"
ZENIT (December 22, 2011)
"Addresses Curia With Traditional 'Year in Review' Message

"Benedict XVI says that the solution to the problems of the world and the Church is a return to faith. And zeal for the faith is present in some places, he assured, notably in Africa and among the youth....
The Pope was talking to the Roman Curia.1

Part of what Benedict XVI said was familiar enough:
  • Regular churchgoers are growing older all the time
    • Their number is constantly diminishing
  • Recruitment of priests is stagnating
  • Skepticism and unbelief are growing
Oh, woe is us? No, not really.

The Pope had some pretty good reasons for optimism:
"...A further remedy against faith fatigue was the wonderful experience of World Youth Day in Madrid. This was new evangelization put into practice. Again and again at World Youth Days, a new, more youthful form of Christianity can be seen, something I would describe under five headings...."
(Pope Benedict XVI (December 22, 2011))
I'll do a summary of those five headings (look for "Hope and the Pope"), after getting some reminiscing out of the way. I think this relates to what the Pope said:

Kids These Days!

My teen years were in the '60s. The older generation of the day, some of them, were upset that 'those kids' weren't obsessed with wealth and status. 'Get a real job' was a familiar refrain.

Some of my contemporaries probably were 'lazy bums' who simply didn't like to work. But many were no more favorably impressed by lockstep conformity and obsessing over material gain than I was.

Not all older Americans were success-crazed worshipers of the almighty buck. But enough 'bought things they didn't need, with money they didn't have, to impress someone they didn't like' to make 'the American dream' less than appealing.

No, I was never a hippie. The conventional non-conformity of my youth was no more appealing to me than a gray flannel suit. And that's yet another topic, again.

Harmony, Understanding, and Commie Plots

Decades later, it's easy to look back at "Age of Aquarius" dreams and laugh: derisively or otherwise. Quite a few of my contemporaries took it seriously, though. I can see why.

Compared to marching to and from a cubicle each weekday, hating commies, and clawing your way up the corporate ladder, this sort of thing had real appeal:
"Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation...."
("Age of Aquarius," 5th Dimension)
I never did see why harmony, understanding, sympathy, and trust were hideous threats to the star spangled banner, mom, and apple pie. Still more topics.

Seeking Something Better

Jimi Hendryx and others demonstrated that "the mind's true liberation" was often either lethal: or left folks with damaged brains. The 'liberation' of people from rules that keep us from killing ourselves and each other didn't work out quite as-advertised either.

But - and I think this is important - the kids weren't, many of them, trying to tear something down. That wasn't the goal, anyway.

They - and I - wanted a world that was better than the 'lie, cheat, and steal your way to success' model of success. I might have felt differently, if my heart had ever been set on membership in a by-invitation-only country club. Yet again more topics.

Hope and the Pope

A transcript of the Pope's address to the Roman Curia, the one quoted by ZENIT, is online at the Vatican's website:
These are the five headings that Benedict XVI gave, describing the "new, more youthful form of Christianity" he saw at World Youth Days:
  1. A new experience of catholicity
    • Of the Church's universality
  2. A new way of living our humanity, our Christianity
    • Example: about 20,000 World Youth Day volunteers
      • Who devoted devoted weeks or months of their lives
      • Not
        • Because it was asked of them
        • In order to
          • Attain Heaven
          • Escape the danger of Hell
        • In order to find fulfillment
      • They worked "simply because it is a wonderful thing to do good, to be there for others"
  3. Adoration of Christ the incarnate God, present in the Eucharist
    • Example:
      • "Young people in Hyde Park responded in eloquent silence to the Lord’s sacramental presence"
  4. The sacrament of Confession
    • We need forgiveness
    • Forgiveness brings responsibility
  5. Joy
    • Certainty
      • Based on faith
      • That I
        • Am
          • Wanted
          • Accepted
          • Loved
        • Have a task in history
On my way to becoming a Catholic, I ran into some very odd ideas about the Church.

For example, the sacrament of Confession, point #4, is not the sort of 'you're damned, you foul sinner' thing I've run into now and then in the darker corners of American faith. I've posted about the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation before. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1422-1484, summarized 1485-1498)

The certainty in point #5 isn't the sort of 'I am the hammer of God' thing that makes the news occasionally. ("Crowbar for Christ in Colorado?" (October 7, 2010)) Although you may have run into a Catholic who think he or she is 'holier than the Pope.'

Major Depression, 'Being Spiritual,' and Taking My Meds

I take medication to control major depression, among other things. 'Trusting God' and taking reasonable steps to maintain my health aren't incompatible. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 301, and Catechism, 2288, for starters) And I've been over that before. (March 4, 2010)

So, do I believe that wringing my hands in agony over this woeful world is 'being spiritual?' No. If anything, I think trying to ignore emotional fallout from an imbalanced brain chemistry helped me decide that emotions weren't a good basis for decisions.

Particularly decisions about anything important, like whether or not to believe that:
  • Life is worth living
  • God gives a rip about His creation
    • And really exists
  • There's any point in trying to improve things
Emotional infarcts notwithstanding, I've decided that the answer is 'yes' to all of the above. Moving on.

Justice, Mercy, and Getting a Grip

I have no business, second-guessing the justice and mercy of God: I take the "stop judging" thing seriously. (Matthew 7:1-5) But there's a difference between thinking about someone's actions, and judging the person. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1861) I've posted about judgment and 'being judgmental' before.

Hoping, and Working, For a Better World

I don't think humanity can, on our own, make a perfect world. And I am not going to go off on a tangent about Last Things.

I also think there's a huge difference between thinking we can't make a perfect world: and feeling like there's no point in making what we've got, better. Which brings up topics like responsibility and social justice - and this post is already on the long side.

Related posts:
Background:
1 Roman Curia: I suppose you could call it 'headquarters' for the Church:
"In exercising supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church, the Roman pontiff makes use of the departments of the Roman Curia which, therefore, perform their duties in his name and with his authority for the good of the churches and in the service of the sacred pastors." (Christus Dominus, 9) (Quoted on Roman Curia, vatican.va)
The Roman Curia's home page includes an impressive list of departments:
  • Secretariat of State
  • Congregations
  • Tribunals
  • Pontifical Councils
  • Synod of Bishops
  • Offices
  • Pontifical Commissions
  • Swiss Guard
  • Institutions Connected with the Holy See
  • Labour Office of the Apostolic See
  • Pontifical Academies
  • Pontifical Committees
Starting with that list of a dozen departments, I could imagine the Vatican as being a vast labyrinth of corridors, cubicles, offices, and conference rooms.

Vatican City is a largish place, compared to most companies I've worked for. It's roughly a half-mile across, and covers 0.44 square kilometers. That's about 7/10 the size of The National Mall in Washington, DC.

On the other hand, Vatican City is entirely surrounded by Rome, and includes quite a bit of open land. Like the Vatican Gardens.

What folks generally see when the Vatican gets on television is Saint Peter's Basilica. There's more to the place than that, like the Marconi Broadcast Centre: and I'm getting seriously off-topic.

Those vast crowds you see in photos and video are visitors. Vatican City's population in July, 2011, was about 832. ("Holy See (Vatican City)," CIA World Factbook (page last updated November 7, 2011)

The number of folks actually on the staff of any one department isn't all that large. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for example, has 45 folks - handling information from something like 1,100,000,000 Catholics. They're spread a bit thin, and I've been over that before.
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Monday, October 31, 2011

Angels, Demons, Theological Hooey, and Redemption

Last week's post about Christopher Marlowe's "...Faustus" featured the bit where Doctor Faustus asks for a wife, and gets "a DEVIL drest like a WOMAN, with fire-works."

Today, I'm picking up where Faustus almost changes his mind.

Return of the Bipolar Duo

Mephistopheles has just said that man must be niftier than Heaven, because Heaven was made for man. "Fairer" is the word Marlowe used, actually. Back to the play:
"...FAUSTUS. If it were made for man, 'twas made for me:
I will renounce this magic and repent.

"Enter GOOD ANGEL and EVIL ANGEL.

"GOOD ANGEL. Faustus, repent; yet God will pity thee.

"EVIL ANGEL. Thou art a spirit; God cannot pity thee.

"FAUSTUS. Who buzzeth in mine ears I am a spirit?
Be I a devil, yet God may pity me;
Ay, God will pity me, if I repent.

"EVIL ANGEL. Ay, but Faustus never shall repent.
[Exeunt ANGELS.]..."
("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")

Heaven, Hell, and Retirement Plans

First of all, just what is Heaven? And is it really better than Hell?

If Heaven is what's shown in some cartoons - all puffy clouds, pastel colors, and people holding radically under-stringed harps - it'd be awfully bland for my taste.

Then there's the disturbing notion that Heaven is infested with the sort of self-righteous pests most of us would cross the street to avoid:


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

If Heaven really is a sort of pastel wasteland inhabited by disciples of malignant virtue, the old quip might be true: "Heaven for climate, and hell for company."

Happily, that's not the case.

"Supreme and Definitive Happiness?" Sounds Good

The Catholic Church's discussions of Heaven and Hell lack the sort of vivid descriptions I've run into elsewhere: golden towers, flaming gorges, that sort of thing. What we do get is, I think, much more useful for planning purposes:
"HEAVEN: Eternal life with God; communion of life and love with the Trinity and all the blessed. Heaven is the state of supreme and definitive happiness, the goal of the deepest longings of humanity (1023).

"HELL: The state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed, reserved for those who refuse by their own free choice to believe and be converted from sin, even to the end of their lives (1033). "
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary) (links added by me)
So: I've got a choice:
  • "Supreme and definitive happiness" with God
  • "Definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed"
In one way, it's a 'no-brainer.' Obviously I'd prefer an eternity of "supreme and definitive happiness" to any alternative. In a way, that's what the drug culture was about, a half-century back: desperate folks trying to find happiness in a world that made no sense to them.1 And I'm getting off-topic.

Prayer of the Tax Collector

Or, maybe not so much. Some of the folks I've known don't seem to be good candidates for Heaven. Like the one who killed herself.2

For that matter, when I look in a mirror, I see someone who had better pray like the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. At the end of all things, I may find that "I have friends in both places."3

Do I have any right to say who is going to Heaven, or Hell? No. We're told to "stop judging" others. (Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37-38, 41-42; and see footnote 10 in Luke:6) On the other hand, we're expected to exercise 'good judgment.' I've been over that before:

Spirits, Faustus, and Theological Hooey

Last week I wrote that "EVIL ANGEL fed Faustus the sort of theological hooey that seems to resonate in that learned head." Here's what I was talking about:
"...EVIL ANGEL. [to Faustus] Thou art a spirit; God cannot pity thee.

"FAUSTUS. Who buzzeth in mine ears I am a spirit?
Be I a devil, yet God may pity me;
Ay, God will pity me, if I repent.

"EVIL ANGEL. Ay, but Faustus never shall repent.
[Exeunt ANGELS.]..."
("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
I'm no expert on Elizabethan English, but in this passage "spirit" probably means "any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings." (Princeton's WordNet) GOOD ANGEL and EVIL ANGEL are "spirits" in this sense. So is Mephistopheles.

Doctor John Faustus isn't.

Angels aren't Human

He can't be. He's a human being: albeit a fictional one. At this point in the play, Faustus has been making decisions that are bad: but he's no devil.

Despite what we've seen in some recent television series, human beings don't become angels when we die. We don't become demons, either. We're human beings.

Angels aren't human. They're "spiritual, non-corporeal beings." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 328-330) "Corporeal" means "having material or physical form or substance." (Princeton's WordNet) Angels are non-corporeal: they don't have bodies.

Demons or devils are angels who decided to rebel against God. (Catechism, 391-395.)

Humans aren't Angels

Human beings are animals. But not just animals.

I've been over this before.4 Humans are:
  • Animals
    • A special sort of animal
      • Endowed with reason
      • Capable of
        • Understanding
        • Discernment
      (Catechism, 1951)
  • People
    • Rational and therefore like God
      • Made in the image and likeness of God
      (Catechism, 1700-1706)
    • Created with free will
    • Master over our actions
      (Catechism, 1730)
    (Adapted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church)
    (first posted August 31, 2011)

Confusing the Already-Confused

Offhand, I'd say that EVIL ANGEL is trying to confuse Doctor Faustus: which doesn't seem like such a difficult job. Remember, John Faustus recently explained that their contract was null and void: because Hell didn't really exist.

Not believing that Hell exists isn't all that remarkable, by itself. For most of my life, one of the easy ways to appear sophisticated was to deny the existence of Hell, Heaven, or God. Or to claim that everything is god, and that's another topic.

Dealing with fallen angels isn't all that remarkable, either, sadly.5

Calling up a demon, negotiating a contract with the creature: and then telling the demon that Hell doesn't exist?! Now that's remarkable.

Sin, Redemption, and Doctor Faustus

The Catholic Church has a few things to say about sin, including this:
"Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as 'an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law.'121"
(Catechism, 1869)
I am a sinner. There's nothing unusual about that. We live in a fallen world: and that's almost another topic.

My soul needs redemption. The alternative - is simply not acceptable.

Redemption is:
  • The act of delivering from sin or saving from evil
  • Repayment of the principal amount of a debt or security at or before maturity (as when a corporation repurchases its own stock
  • The act of purchasing back something previously sold
    (Princeton's WordNet)
Since I'm a practicing Catholic, I have to accept Jesus of Nazareth as my Redeemer. Actually, I don't have to: but again, the alternative simply isn't acceptable.

Here's a little of what the Church has to say about Jesus the Christ:
"Christ's death is the unique and definitive sacrifice

"Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through 'the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,'439 and the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to God through the 'blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'440

"This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices.441 First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience.442

"Jesus substitutes his obedience for our disobedience

" 'For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.'443 By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who 'makes himself an offering for sin,' when 'he bore the sin of many,' and who 'shall make many to be accounted righteous,' for 'he shall bear their iniquities.'444 Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father.445"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 613-615)
There's more, of course. There always seems to be more.

Let's see what Faustus says after EVIL ANGEL says: "Ay, but Faustus never shall repent."
"FAUSTUS. My heart's so harden'd, I cannot repent:
Scarce can I name salvation, faith, or heaven,
But fearful echoes thunder in mine ears,
'Faustus, thou art damn'd!' then swords, and knives,
Poison, guns, halters, and envenom'd steel
Are laid before me to despatch myself;
And long ere this I should have slain myself,
Had not sweet pleasure conquer'd deep despair.
Have not I made blind Homer sing to me
Of Alexander's love and Oenon's death?
And hath not he, that built the walls of Thebes
With ravishing sound of his melodious harp,
Made music with my Mephistophilis?
Why should I die, then, or basely despair?
I am resolv'd; Faustus shall ne'er repent.—
Come, Mephistophilis, let us dispute again,
And argue of divine astrology.100
Tell me, are there many heavens above the moon
Are all celestial bodies but one globe,
As is the substance of this centric earth?"
("The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
That footnote is a bit interesting: to me, anyway:
"[ And argue of divine astrology, &c.— In THE HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS, there are several tedious pages on the subject; but our dramatist, in the dialogue which follows, has no particular obligations to them.]"
(Footnote 100, "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus")
Looks like Christopher Marlowe showed compassion for his audience - or didn't want them to walk out - and edited his source material. Even so, what follows seems a trifle long-winded. More about that, next week.

Other posts in this series:
Vaguely-related posts:
Background, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
  • Angels
  • Devils/demons
  • Heaven
  • Hell
  • Redemption
    • Christ's death as the sacrifice of,
      613, 616
    • The Church as the instrument for the redemption of all,
      776
    • At the center of the Good News,
      571, 601
    • And the Eucharist,
      1372
    • Extension of redemptive work,
      634
    • Life of Christ as a mystery of,
      517, 635, 1067
    • For many,
      605
    • Mary serving in the mystery of,
      494, 508
    • Meaning of the redemption can be understood by faith alone,
      573
    • Proclaiming and promising of,
      55, 64, 601
  • Repentence
    • 393 (repentance is possible before death, not after)
  • Sin
    1846-1869
    (Not an exhaustive index)
"...Faustus" excerpts in these posts taken from:
1 I don't think what happened to Jimi Hendrix and others was a good thing. At all. But I was one of 'those crazy kids:' and understand that Timothy "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" Leary didn't sound so crazy at the time. Particularly compared to parents and others who demanded lockstep conformity to their dreary preferences. I've mentioned "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956) before.

Post-WWII America really was, I think, "Happy Days:" for someone like Howard Cunningham in that long-running television series. Between economic boom times, veteran benefits, and cultural leftovers from an earlier age, America was a great place for someone who was an adult, male, and white. I think being a tad unobservant helped, too.

I remember the 'good old days,' when "she's as smart as a man" was supposed to be a compliment, and a clergyman named King was still alive. What happened after the '60s could have been better: but America was desperately overdue for cultural and legal upgrades. I've posted about conformity and getting a grip before:
By the way, about "veteran benefits:" I think they make sense, to an extent. And that's a topic for another blog:
2 Suicide is a difficult topic. I've discussed it a few time, including this post:
3 I found the anonymous "Heaven for climate, and hell for company" quotation on page 378 of Evan Esar's "20,000 quips & quotes" (1968). Back on page 377, near the start of the section of quotes on Heaven and Hell, I found ones that were attributed to specific individuals, like Ed Howe, Ben Johnson, Lincoln Steffens: and Mark Twain. Including these:
"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, I have friends in both places."

"When I think of the number of disagreeable people that I know who have gone to a better world, I am sure hell won't be so bad at all." (Mark Twain, 377, Evan Esar's "20,000 quips & quotes" (1968))
No rant, by the way: Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain was no theologian, and lived in a place and time that was at least as spiritually confused as today's America. Not in the same way, of course.

4 I've posted about angels - both kinds - and human beings before:
5 I've posted a few times about the reality of demons, and the screwball notions folks have:
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Having Good Judgment isn't Being Judgmental

One of today's readings is Romans 2:1-11. Here's an excerpt:
"1 Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. 2 For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things. ... There is no partiality with God. "
(Romans 2:1-11)
The whole reading is at the end of this post.1 Again, the usual disclaimer. I've got the teaching authority of "some guy with a blog." I don't speak for the Church. I do, however, try to understand what we've been told: which is what this post is about.

Splinters, Wooden Beams, and Hypocrites

If that "...by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself..." sounds familiar, it should. It's an idea my Lord discussed in the Sermon on the Plain and the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke, it comes after the Beatitudes. (Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37-38, 41-42; and see footnote 10 in Luke:6)

I think that chapter of Luke has a gentler tone than Matthew 7, and that's another topic.

Matthew's Gospel is fairly clear about the wisdom of someone's being concerned with bad behavior in others, when the 'concerned' person is doing the same thing:
"You hypocrite, 3 remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye."
(Matthew 7:5)
Maybe that "hypocrite" is a bit harsh. Or maybe not so much, considering the sort of damage we've seen lately.

When folks who should know better talk one way and act another, they hurt their public image: and that's the least of their concerns. They also damage the credibility of everything they've said: including what's true.

Yes, I Know About the Pedophile Priests

The 'pedophile priests' scandal wasn't entirely media hype. Besides the obvious victims of those rogue priests, many others were hurt emotionally.

Pharisees, Christians, and Hypocrisy

Back to Matthew, and "hypocrite;:"
"3 Hypocrite: the designation previously given to the scribes and Pharisees is here given to the Christian disciple who is concerned with the faults of another and ignores his own more serious offenses."
(Mark 7, footnote 3)
Looks like self-righteousness isn't a viable option.

Behavior, Arrogance, and Getting a Grip

I suppose that "stop judging" instruction could be taken to mean that we were supposed to be 'affirming' and 'supportive,' and 'non-judgmental.'

That sort of 'friends let friends drive drunk' thing looked good on paper, a few decades back, but didn't work too well in practice. 2 And I'm getting off-topic.

Footnotes in Matthew 7 point out that we're not supposed to be arrogant or self-righteous.

But we're not supposed to be stupid, either:
"1 [1-12] In ⇒ Matthew 7:1 Matthew returns to the basic traditional material of the sermon (⇒ Luke 6:37-38, ⇒ 41-42). The governing thought is the correspondence between conduct toward one's fellows and God's conduct toward the one so acting.

"2 [1] This is not a prohibition against recognizing the faults of others, which would be hardly compatible with ⇒ Matthew 7:5, 6 but against passing judgment in a spirit of arrogance, forgetful of one's own faults."
(Matthew 7, footnote 1, footnote 2)
That seem clear enough.

Once again, it comes back to "love God, love your neighbor." (Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31)

Related posts:
Background:
(Not an exhaustive list)
1 First reading, October 12, 2011, Wednesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time:
"1 Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. 2 For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things. We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true. Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance? By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: 3 eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. Yes, affliction and distress will come upon every human being who does evil, Jew first and then Greek. But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, Jew first and then Greek. 4 There is no partiality with God. "
(Romans 2:1-11)
2 There's a little good sense buried in the 'you do your thing, I'll do mine' approach to living. I think American culture has started sorting out the difference between actions that are objectively harmful, and behavior that isn't to the liking of the establishment:
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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Hating People? Not an Option

Back on Tuesday, I started writing about more weirdness in the government schools, which brought me to the topic of home schooling. As I was re-reading that post, before publishing it, I noticed that I had most of another post — sort of embedded in the thing. So, I extracted the other post, and published the 'extra' stuff as a post on tolerance: real and imagined. Which gave me two posts for that day:
I still had material left over — and that was the start of this post.

Malignant Virtue

"There are times, Charles, when even the unimaginative decency of my brother and the malignant virtue of his wife appear to me admirable."
(Lord Peter Wimsey, in Murder Must Advertise, Dorothy L. Sayers (1933))
(Quoted in "Jessica Logan, Sexting, Suicide, What Guys Want, and Malignant Virtue" (December 8, 2009))

I ran into that phrase, "malignant virtue," decades back — and saw it as an excellent oxymoron, describing an all-too-common attitude. One which encouraged me to become a Catholic.

I've written about my conversion to Catholicism before. Briefly, I grew up in a nice, fairly sensible mainstream Protestant household. I didn't abandon the faith I learned from my parents: My conversion was a matter of moving to the source of that faith. And that's another topic.

My search beyond Protestantism was encouraged, in part, not by my parents' actions — but by the weird, spiteful version of Christianity I ran into elsewhere in the area. I've discussed that before, too. ("Halloween, Emperor Palpatine, Electric Eyeballs, and Getting a Grip" (October 29, 2010), for starters)

These folks, who seemed to think they knew more than Jesus about when He was coming back, had a fairly well-defined faith: apparently composed of about equal parts Bible trivia, numerology, end-times 'prophecy,' wacky patriotism, and hatred toward communism and the Catholic Church.

It was their attitude toward the Catholic Church that really got me curious. I saw a disconnect between the vile conspiracy that the Bible-thumpers described, and the low-profile Catholic presence I observed.

Now that I've converted to Catholicism, do I hate those people? Or anyone else who doesn't agree with me?

I'm Catholic, so that's not an option.

Emotions: It's Simple, and Not-So-Simple

I've written about emotions before. (March 17, 2009) Like so many other things that have to do with human beings: The Catholic teaching on emotions is simple (Matthew 22:36-40) and it's not simple. The 'not simple' part comes, in my opinion, when the simple 'love God, love your neighbor' thing gets applied to the day-to-day specifics we deal with.

Here's some of what the Catechism says:
"There are many passions. The most fundamental passion is love, aroused by the attraction of the good. Love causes a desire for the absent good and the hope of obtaining it; this movement finds completion in the pleasure and joy of the good possessed. The apprehension of evil causes hatred, aversion, and fear of the impending evil; this movement ends in sadness at some present evil, or in the anger that resists it."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1765)
Looks like hatred is okay. Note, though: that's in connection with an "apprehension of evil" — which isn't the same as hearing someone playing music you don't like.

Capital Sins

A person might expect to find 'hatred' among the capital sins. 'Expecting' and 'getting' are two different things.
"Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called 'capital' because they engender other sins, other vices.138 They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia."
(Catechism, 1866)
Wait a minute: isn't "anger" one of the capital sins? 'Everybody knows that.' I've heard "anger" in the list, myself.

In the Catechism, it's "wrath."

Well, in that quote it's "wrath."

The Sermon on the Mount

Later, I found this:
"In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment, 'You shall not kill,'62 and adds to it the proscription of anger, hatred, and vengeance. Going further, Christ asks his disciples to turn the other cheek, to love their enemies.63 He did not defend himself and told Peter to leave his sword in its sheath.64"
(Catechism, 2262)
Oh-kay. "Anger" is back, and so's "hatred."

By the way, I'm not one of the folks who can say, "I thought Jesus was a pacifist." For one thing, Jesus is — present tense. For another — there's that incident with money changers and dove merchants. (Mark 11:15-17, Matthew 21:12-17)

On the other hand, I am very leery of anything with a 'kill a commie for Christ' feel to it.

And let's remember: I don't speak for the Church. I'm a Catholic layman. (with opinions).

What About Anger and Hatred?

Back to the Catechism. The Glossary clarifies how to think about anger:
"ANGER: An emotion which is not in itself wrong, but which, when it is not controlled by reason or hardens into resentment and hate, becomes one of the seven capital sins. Christ taught that anger is an offense against the fifth commandment (1765, 1866, 2262).
(A, Glossary, Catechism)
As near as I can make out, the Catholic Church's position on hating people is: don't. It sounds corny, but it's the old 'hate the sin, but love the sinner' thing. (March 13, 2009)
"We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: 'He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.'612 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren.613 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called 'hell.'"
(Catechism, 1033)
Maybe you've run into a Catholic who hated someone. I'm not surprised. There's over a billion of us alive today: and some of us are jerks. Sometimes I've been a jerk — but I don't want to make a habit of it.

So, after looking for an answer to 'is anger and hate okay' in the Catechism, I've got one clarification, and two new questions. That's about par for the course. The new questions are: what about Hell; and what's this 'needs of the poor?' Isn't the Catholic Church incredibly conservative?

As near as I can tell, nobody's dragged, kicking and screaming, into Heaven. And the Catholic Church is — Catholic:
By the way: not fitting neatly into some contemporary philosophical pigeonhole isn't the same as lacking standards. And that's yet another topic.

So- we're not supposed to hate people, we're supposed to love people. Sounds okay, if somewhat counter-cultural. But what does this "love" thing mean?

"Loving," Like "Tolerant," Means Different Things

'If you really loved me, you'd say yes.'

That line was old when I first heard about it, about a half-century ago. The implication, that to love a person means to let that person do any fool thing he or she wants to, isn't limited to young men seducing young women.

In my opinion, anyway.

Back in the sixties, ditching the Gray Flannel Suit conformity of 'happy days,' and doing things because we felt like it, didn't seem as obviously crazy as it may now. (January 12, 2010)

The idea of completely ditching objective standards, and defining 'loving' as letting another person do — anything? At the time, it seemed a bit daft to me. It still does. Not because I want everybody to be exactly like me. I've discussed unity and diversity from a Catholic point of view before. (August 26, 2010)

A huge problem with defining 'love' as helping another person do whatever he or she wants to do is that — sometimes the other person wants to do something destructive. I've discussed that before, too. (November 8, 2010)

More to the point, there's quite a bit about love, Catholic style, in the Catechism. (1, 257, 1603, 2418, and a whole lot more)

Somewhat-related posts:
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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.