Skeptical Faith

Google Image Fr. Dominic Assim, the pastor of the Catholic parish I attend, recently urged his parishioners to read the Bible, from start to finish. I agree wholeheartedly. The apostle Paul was said to have been a prisoner in Rome when he wrote this in his second letter to his trainee, Timothy: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” But I recognize that reading the Bible from cover to cover takes you through some really difficult terrain. It’s like asking people to read Shakespeare or Dante's 14th-century, 1,555-page poem, Divine Comedy - not that people would benefit nearly as much from reading Shakespeare or Dante as from reading the Bible. For believers, the Bible is the word of God in the words of humans. For non-believers, in my opinion, it is at least the definitive religious work of all time that should be read with an open mind and with all the aids available.   A Major Challeng...

Google Image When I was working (I’ve been happily retired for 17 years.), I often got into a funk on Sunday evenings. I generally enjoyed my work but had this vague aversion to returning to the workweek, when my time no longer belonged to me and my family. One of my solutions was to make Sunday evening “movie night.” My wife, Amparo, agreed with the idea so it became a kind of date night for us. It was something to look forward to during the week and blunted Sunday’s funkiness.    My Sunday feelings were not unique, I have learned. In his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” famous Holocaust survivor and psychologist Victor Frankl refers to what he calls “Sunday neurosis.” He describes it as “that kind of depression which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest.” Emptiness But the “neurosis” about which he writes wasn’t about returning to work but about t...

Google Image  Besides the shock of the brutality of the invasion of Ukraine is the shocking revelation of what life in Russia has become. Truth is whatever the dictator says it is. According to news reports, using the term “invasion” or “war” in respect to Ukraine can get Russians 15 years in prison. Protesters are brutally arrested and imprisoned. Atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine simply didn’t happen, says the Russian government. I wrote at the beginning that all this is a revelation. Maybe those who know more about Russia aren’t surprised. I am. I thought the era of Stalin was over. It’s no surprise, however, that in such an environment, truth is the first victim. And that leads me to the subject of the deep division in our society, and from what I have learned, in many societies around the world. Sadly, the culture wars are similar to the “real thing.” Truth becomes irrelevant as people stubbornly push and defend their positions. In my opinion, people ...

Google Image Despite its age, many of us can relate to the lyrics of “Calling All Angels” by the American Rock Band, Train, released in 2003. "I need a sign to let me know you’re here. All of those lines are being crossed over the atmosphere. I need to know that things are gonna look up ‘cause I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup. When there is no place safe and no safe place to put my head.  When you feel the world shake from the words that are said.   And I’m calling all angels, and I’m calling all you angels I need a sign to let me know you’re here ‘cause my TV set just keeps it all from being clear. I want a reason for the way things have to be. I need a hand to help build up some kind of hope inside of me." This is a pretty good expression of the angst that people in the contemporary world appear to be feeling. As if the effects of the pandemic weren’t enough, many of us now feel saddened and anxious because of an unprovoked, brutal war against Ukraine and ...

Google Image “Yes,” goes the joke, “but none of them involves you.” Is there anything more difficult for humans than accepting the reality of death? That difficulty, say many people who don’t believe in life after death, is why so many of us cling to belief in an afterlife. According to a 2017 survey by the polling firm, Rasmussen Reports, 62 percent of Americans believe in life after death and another 20 percent say they’re “not sure.” So, many writers of newspaper obituaries, even many who aren’t apparently religious, compose (or borrow from funeral homes) obits like the following. “God looked around his garden and found an empty space. He then looked down upon the earth and saw your tired face. He put his arms around you and lifted you to rest. …It broke our hearts to lose you, but you didn’t go alone, for part of us went with you the day God called you home…. Y our parents and son were there to welcome you and those you left behind will always keep you in their hearts.” U...