A Literal Adam

I guess even the best can be wrong (Forward to 5:52-6:04):

It bummed me out to hear Fr. Barron get it wrong on Adam not being a literal figure. Maybe it was a slip up? Perhaps, but it's hard to interpret otherwise and I hope Fr. Robert Barron comes out publicly to correct himself or clarify what he meant; if he meant something other then what many seem to be interpreting out of it (even another priest in his own webiste corrected him).

Dave Armstrong references to a good article on this topic:

Adam and Eve: Defense of Their Literal Existence as the Primal Human Couple, by Catholic Philosopher, Dr. Dennis Bonnette

Veiling and Head Converings

I wish I would have paid closer attention eight years ago when a Church of Christ pastor tried to dupe me by asking why catholic women no longer veil themselves. I guess I took his questions as a clear attempt to be trollish and go on his usual anti-catholic rant. However, he wasn't completely wrong. I came across a blog that did a great job at explaining head covering for both men and women:

Veiling or Head Covering Explained

Intolerance from the tolerant

I can’t recount the number of times I’ve been called intolerant for believing and holding as beautiful certain truths of the Holy Catholic Church. Perhaps on par or even worse then say the Aryan Nation or some extremist Islamic group. In fact, I’m almost inclined to say that I’d be better off being from the Aryan Nation or some Islamic group. For in their eyes, I’m much more of a threat to their everyday lives then some Norse community of skin heads living in the mountains. Apparently any belief or opinion differing from their own is viewed as intolerant; hostility need not be a part of it anymore. It’s quite ironic that such intolerance of opposing views comes from those whom title themselves “the tolerant ones”. Gooooooo tolerance!

Children are the problem

We got a close to midnight knock at the door. It was my boys little friend and he wanted to play with them. The very sound of his knock was just odd to us. I told him they had spent the night at their grandma and grandpa’s house. It was as if he didn’t hear me because he continued by saying “I just want to play with them in front of the door where you can see us”. I asked him “do you know what time it is?”……he put his head down and said “ just for a little while” ………….”But they aren’t here”….I repeated. “Does your mom know you are out here?”….I asked……”Well, she’s the one that told me to leave.” Shocking or surprising didn’t automatically come to mind; more like deeply saddened. I didn't get a chance to invite him in.

In that instant I was inundated with images and voices of all those people who would look upon me and my wife as if we had committed blasphemy to dare have five children. Perhaps out of concern for the well being of our children? In the same way that I felt for this boy? I was overwhelmed with disgust on the reality that people actually believe that if that boy simply didn’t exist (had his mom simply not have reproduced), somehow it would fix all the problems pertaining to broken homes. It would be akin to saying that if we only didn’t have women, rape wouldn’t exist (well not completely but I won’t go there). Feminist groups would be tempted to stone me and all other women would raise a brow; justly so. No rational animal would even think of such a solution. Yet we do it with children all the time. Selfishness, immaturity, abuse, etc. they are simply symptoms of the problem. If we could only limit the amount of children or not have any children at all, that is sure to fix things.
I’m not saying we should reproduce like bunnies either ; each according to their situation and what God wills. It’s just this resonating anti-child attitude that irks me to no end. Even worse to hear it from Catholics. God be with us.

Religious Climate by me

Jennifer made me ponder over the religious climate of where I live; particularly in my county. So I dug up some links of religious centers/churches that I have either visited or have driven by or visited. I’d visit all of them if it didn’t drive my wife bonkers that as soon as I see a religious center/church, I want to pull over and poke my head in. So here they are (I will be adding more in time):

Pao Fa Buddhist Temple
http://www.paofatemple.org/

-The surronding area of this temple (along with the Temple) is amazing.

Gayatri Consciousness Center
http://www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=11810

-The word "Consciousness" literally made me pull over and check out the facility. It is a real beautiful building. Fairly small in size compared to other religious centers but it's nice to see the pyramid looking structure in the front. It drives my wife crazy everytime I stop and do this...

Roman Catholic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Orange

-Fairly obvious. I've been to atleast 15 or so different parishes. The diocese is up in the hills and I've been there as well.

Saddleback Church (Baptist) – Rick Warren
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddleback_Church

Calvary Chapel (Evangelical) – Chuck Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary_Chapel

-I love Chuck! Used to listen to him on the radio and even attended Calvary Chapel for some time. Orange County is the Mecca for this denomination.

Crystal Cathedral (Reformed Church) - Robert H. Schuller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Cathedral

-It's in downtown and it's a building that is hard to miss. Beautiful building...

Association of Vineyard Churches (Charismatic Protestant) – John Wimber
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vineyard_Christian_Fellowship

-For some reason I tend to see these churches close to the mall.

Family International (Apocalyptic Christians, Hippie movement) – David Berg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_International

-Either close to the beaches or in the woods. I don't know if that has anything to do with it being hippy or not?

Islam Centers/Mosques
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Society_of_Orange_County

-The newest built 5 years ago and it makes an effort to invite the outside world.

Jewish Centers/Synagogues

http://www.jewishorangecounty.org/page.aspx?id=98774

http://www.ocjewish.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/63599/jewish/Who-We-Are.htm

-I've only seen one synogogue. The others are in places that I would normally never visit.

Coptic Christians in Egypt

I pass a Coptic Catholic Church a couple miles from my house from time to time and it made me think of the recent protests in Egypt. I know very little about Copts other then they came from a very ancient Christian culture that probably predates Roman Christians. Since coming back into full communion with Rome in the early 1800’s they have lived a persecuted and fairly isolated life in Egypt. Many of them choosing to leave and immigrate to other countries or simply flee the large cities.



And then I get knee jerk reactions in forums when I dare call the protestors “Muslim”. As if I had said the protestors were “Black” or something. However, me calling the crowd Muslim was nothing more then a calculated guess. It’s not like I wasn’t aware that Egypt wasn't predominantly Muslim and that Coptic Christians, Episcopalian, and other denominational Christians are a minority in Egypt (5-10 percent). Just this Sunday in Tahrir Square Christians held a special Mass in support of the protest. Considering all that Copts have gone through in Egypt:

Kosheh Massacre

Nag Hammadi Massacre

Alexandria Bombing

……to name a few……I naturally thought most Christians were going to stay in doors. It was a nice surprise to see that Mass in the center of it all. But one shouldn’t mistake what they see with how badly Christians are normally treated. Prayers for our fellow Coptic brothers and sisters.

Laura Ingraham and Pimp Parenthood

Pimps going to Planned Parenthood for assistance:

Those PP workers looked real concerned for the children working as sex slaves for the pimp eh? I'm sure these are isolated incidents? (wink wink) Maybe she is right; this was all put together by a right wing pro-life group to stop the healthcare bill. Somehow that is supposed to make her argument less nauseating and ridiculous. Are you freakin kidding me! The guy is trafficking little girls as sex slaves and all she can say is that some right wing group put all this together? Words fail me.

Thoughts on Mormons

What do you think about Mormons?

Love em. They were probably the stepping stone to me being religious in the first place. I was young, so I mostly remember how kind they were to me. I didn't really go too deep into their doctrines, but I had a basic grasp of it. Looking back at it, it's a simplified form of Chrisitianity; taking most of the "mystery" out of it. Have a problem with the Trinity? Not a problem. Have a problem with Hell? Not a problem. If you read real close into men like Josepth Smith, Martin Luther, etc. you will find a profound struggle within them that lead to their shift from Orthodoxy. It's much easier to come up with your own conclusion then to call it a mystery or work to understand it over time. But as far as my personal experiences with them, I have nothing but good things to say. I'd even go so far as to say that they treated me better then Catholics do......=] If it were only about how I was treated, I probably would have remained Mormon.

Peaceful Coexistance - Theology and Science

I do hope for it and do think it is possible but people need to understand that the discussion has taken shape into something else. It’s not being fought in the scientific or religious realm, but rather, somewhere in the middle.

This particular topic is of great interest to me. Over the last two decades there has been a great push to unite the epistemological world with that of the scientific one. Men like Sam Harris are on the forefront of this push and its gaining ground. You’ll find particle physicist Victor Stenger making such bold claims as:

-The God worshipped by the billion of followers of the monotheistic religions either exists or he does not. And his existence is a legitimate scientific issue.

-The universe and life look exactly as they can be expected to look if there is no God.

Colorado.edu - Philosophy Division

Follow the scientific method to disprove something doesn't exist?

A legitimate scientific issue?

I will however say that some atheist scientists such as David Sloan Wilson are critical of his colleagues who promote such thinking.

I think it's crude and naive when people expect God to show up through physical evidence. I think by now we can all pretty much say that whatever it is we do have, isn’t cutting it.

Evidence for God that would probably convince some skeptics (of the Spinoza brand perhaps) isn't going to be in the form of a footprint……nope……It’s going to come in the form of metaphysical evidence -- ontological, epistemic, teleological, or whatever evidence that demonstrates the necessity or even probable existence of such a being.

Other than that kind of stuff deities aren't in the empirical arena. Science is limited to that, so it's never going to say squat about the supernatural -- that is, unless of course said supernatural events are tied to empirical events such as…causing a worldwide flood…and even those events are subject to interpretation in the Holy Scriptures. At best, it would cast doubt into a minority of protestant Christians.

So yeah, I do hold some hope…but it’s fairly small as I feel like a conspiracy theorist with foil on my head at times. Often hearing “well the religious folks are pushing just as hard”. True, but they aren’t remotely in the same place as those scientists who push from within it's walls.