Skeptical Faith

Ouray, CO Google Image There’s a strange story in the Gospel of Luke about Jesus sending out a large group of disciples, two by two, as a kind of advance contingent “into every town and place where he himself was about to come.” Some Bible versions say there were 70, others 72, disciples. But among the strange aspects of this story is Jesus’ instructions that they were to “carry no purse, no bag, no sandals….” And they were to stay in houses along the way, “eating and drinking what they provide.” It appears he wanted them to travel lightly and engage their hosts. When I worked as a priest in Bolivia, Father Mike Walker, a priest who had worked at the parish when I arrived, decided to take a two-week “vacation.” Our parish was a relatively isolated place on the shores of Lake Titicaca, about two and a half hours from the capital, La Paz. And priests from our American diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph worked at another Bolivian parish in a semi-tropical place called Coripata, which b

Google Image “Say what?" some may ask. "Who do you think you are telling your readers how to pray?”  Well, remember that this blog is principally for people who have given up on God and/or the Church, even though few of those people may read it. I always hope that people who do read it pass it on to their family and friends, and I know some do. Anyway, I'm guessing that many people searching for God have a problem with prayer. (I recall an old joke about soldiers in a fox hole a under fierce artillery attack. Paralyzed with fear, one of them asked, “Does anyone know how to pray?” One of the soldiers said he grew up near a Catholic church and maybe he could say a few words. So, he began, “B-22, I-8, N-14.” For those of you who don’t get it, Catholic parishes were known for their frequent fund-raising Bingo games.) Hopefully, most readers know something about praying. I would even bet that most already pray, but even though I’m certainly not a prayer expert, I do quit

Google Image I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a bit of election anxiety. I’m not crazy about either presidential candidate, to be honest, but using the standards of my faith, I greatly prefer one over the other. Other people will undoubtedly have a different preference. But if my preferred candidate is not elected, I fear a further corruption of democratic processes, further deterioration of the value of honesty and integrity, tolerance and benevolence. And greater authoritarianism. Some will say that these negative traits apply equally to both candidates; that both candidates lie, are intolerant, etc. But as I said, though I don’t fully endorse either, I think there is a great difference in their moral characters, and I believe morality and ethics are basic qualities to seek in a presidential candidate. Thought Better of Myself I’m not pleased to feel that anxiety. I thought better of myself, but there’s so much at stake, I suppose it’s to be expected. I keep coming bac

Google Image I vividly recall when, as a kid, I learned that a priest who was popular nationally for his ultra-traditionalist, anti-Semitic radio broadcasts, was excommunicated by the Catholic Church for insisting that non-Catholics could not be “saved.” At the time, this news confused me because I thought that’s what we learned in the Catholic school I attended. Later in life, I better understood the church teaching on the subject but still believe the teaching is ambivalent and misunderstood by many Catholics, let alone non-Catholics. On the one hand, Fr. Feeney’s view confirms the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John that “No one can come to the Father except through me.” On the other, the church attempts to explain how non-Catholics can enter God’s kingdom with the esoteric doctrine of the “baptism of desire.” "Seeks the Truth" "Every man who is ignorant of the gospel of Christ  and of his Church,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “but seeks the truth

Google Image Listening to a radio broadcast recently, I heard an interview of a woman who was advocating for more freedom for women. Basically, she said that women should be free from traditional constraints to be able to do what they want. “What about men?” I thought. Lots of women would answer by saying we men already do what we want. There’s truth in that, but people searching for God - at least in the Christian tradition - need to go deeper. Jesus was “a man for others,” and all of his teaching urged his listeners to be the same, man or woman. I thought about the newscast, and the advocate for women’s liberation, as I read a recent article in America magazine arguing against the concept of the “chosen family.” The idea of a chosen family, as I understand it, is the adoption of people other than one's biological family as one's “real family.” According to the article, the chosen family is becoming more common, especially among young adults. Those We Choose to Keep Cl

Google Image One of my favorite all-time Saturday Night Live  characters was Debbie Downer, a fictional person created and portrayed by the show’s regular, Rachel Dratch. Debbie could always be counted on to pour cold water on ideas, trends, and life in general. The term, Debbie Downer,  according to Wikipedia, “eventually became an established slang  phrase referring to a pessimistic  person who frequently adds bad news and negative feelings to a gathering, thus bringing down the mood of everyone around them.” In life, and in this blog, I try not to be a Debbie Downer, but it strikes me that trying to address the issues important to people who have given up on God and religion is harder today than at any time in my lifetime, and part of the reason is the cultural climate. Fewer People Read? For one thing, fewer people read – the newspaper, books, instructions, the Bible, and blogs like mine (except that a substantial increase in reading occurred during the pandemic). That’s true