Skeptical Faith

Google Image Have you ever lost your billfold or purse? I’ve lost billfolds over the years and looking back, I marvel at the panic that it causes. Your driver’s license, credit cards, insurance cards and cash (the least worrisome because I carry very little) are all at risk. Everything is, of course, replaceable, but you can’t help but be intimidated by the thought of the hours you’ll spend trying to replace them. Losing valuable things is traumatizing. If you’ve read my recent blogs, you will have noticed that I’ve been commenting on a book I’m reading called “Jesus: an Historical Approximation” by Jose Antonio Pagola, a Spanish theologian and Scripture scholar. I’ve found the book fascinating because Pagola uses modern sciences – archeology, history, anthropology – to uncover the world that Jesus lived in. It makes the narratives and parables much more understandable. Didn't Get It Pagola’s readers may find the gospels more understandable by reading the book, but the author...

Google Image I’ve written at least two previous blogs on this subject, knowing that many say they are spiritual but not religious. And up front, let me say that I believe no one, and no religion, has the market cornered on spirituality. What I’m not convinced of is that a do-it-yourself spirituality is the best way of finding God. I’d like to share a few ideas about how I believe spirituality and religion are not necessarily at odds. I say “not necessarily” because I believe there are some people - maybe many - who are religious but not spiritual as well as vice versa. But the two are by no means mutually exclusive. To me, it's a false dichotomy. Also, up front, I want to say that my views on this subject - spiritual but not religious – have changed a bit since staring to read, “Jesus, An Historical Approximation” by Jose Antonio Pagola, a Spanish theologian and Scripture scholar. Jesus' Parables Pagola is good at explaining and providing background on Jesus’ parables. ...

Google Image On March 4, 1933, at his first inauguration, President Franklin Roosevelt gave a much-anticipated speech that was broadcast by radio nationwide. Tens of millions of Americans heard it, according to Wikipedia. It was the peak of the Great Depression when unemployment reached more than 25 percent and bank and farm crises had a firm grip on the country. In Germany, Adolph Hitler had been named chancellor and just a few days before Roosevelt’s speech, Nazis began rounding up their political opponents. An ominous event. “So, first of all,” said the president, “let me assert my firm belief that  the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself .” It was a pivotal speech in which Roosevelt rallied the nation to address its problems, but I’m sure many Americans were skeptical because there appeared to be a lot to fear. Hate on the Rise That seems to be the case today. The political situation is a mess; war seems to again be a popular way of solving differences; hate app...

Google Image Edward Eismann founded an organization called “Unitas Therapeutic Community,” described in a recent article in America Magazine as “a program in the South Bronx that understands social connectedness as key to mental health.” Eismann, a psychologist, wasn’t satisfied by the lack of success in treating the youth that came to his clinic in the late 1960s, so he began walking the streets of the neighborhood to see how his patients were actually living day-to-day. The neighborhood was mainly Black and Puerto Rican, so the white Eismann stood out. Then, day after day, he began sitting on the clinic’s front stoop, and the word spread that Eismann was a guy who could “help young people with their worries.” Muggings and Gang Battles And they had plenty of worries. “Muggings and gang battles made the streets treacherous,” says the article, and a resident recalls that when he was 14, Eismann’s approach was “a unique idea for young people like me, when around us (people were) sa...

Google Image A few years ago, a friend bought me a six pack of a drink called, “Not Your Father’s Root Beer.” The brand had that name, presumably, because this root beer was spiked with alcohol and your father wouldn’t have dreamed of doctoring his root beer with alcohol. But, of course, many fathers would have added alcohol to their root beer had they thought of it. Another presumption of the product name is that people would prefer an alcohol-spiked version to “good, old-fashioned root beer,” like the one with the brand name, “Dad’s.” I have no aversion to moderate alcohol use or to root beer but I prefer to keep them separate. It’s a clever name and marketing ploy, however. That’s because when it comes to consumer products and much more, Americans are generally averse to what’s considered old-fashioned or out of style. Except when they’re not. The Status of Homosexuals And religion seems to be in the area where many are not. The United Methodist Church is experiencing a very p...

Google Image Several weeks ago, I saw a bumper sticker that announced, “I 💗 hate.” Was this a joke? Does someone think this is funny? Or, worse, does someone want to announce to all who see it that he or she loves hate? You never know with bumper stickers. There’s always a good chance that what you see is not what you think it means. But if it means what I think it means, it’s sick. I recently read an article in the New York Times with the headline, “Antisemitic and Anti-Muslim Hate Speech Surges across the Internet.” And that’s so disappointing and worrisome. Is Hate Anything New? I should say upfront that it’s hard to tell whether the Internet – I’m assuming the headline is referring to social media – itself is part of the problem by providing a forum that didn’t previously exist. If so, that could mean that the hate that is demonstrated on social media isn’t anything new, that people may have been just as hateful 10 or 20 years ago as they are now but didn’t have a “saf...

Google Image Let’s say someone wanted you to read a book about truth. “Geez, you might say. That’s a broad, nebulous subject. Could you give me a little more information?” But even with more information, you may not be interested in reading such a book. First, you may not like to read. Second, you may think that “truth” is not a subject you’re interested in. In other words, the book and its subject are not relevant. A dictionary defines relevant as “ bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; pertinent.” But when I think of relevant, I always think “relevant to me .” In other words, relevance is subjective, denoting what interests me. What’s relevant to you may not be relevant to me, or vice versa. Basis of Relationships Truth, of course, is relevant to everyone, even though it may not be acknowledged. Among other things, it’s the basis of meaningful human relationships. If someone intentionally doesn’t tell us the truth, we would have trouble having a relationship with...

Google Image It has been 50 years since the movie, The Exorcist, made a big splash, bringing exorcism, and spirituality, back to the public’s consciousness. According to Wikipedia, “T he story follows the demonic possession  of a young girl and her mother's attempt to rescue her through an exorcism  by two Catholic priests. “The Exorcist  had a significant influence on pop culture,” the Wikipedia article says, “and several publications regard it as one of the greatest horror films ever made . In 2010, the Library of Congress  selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry  as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Surprised by the Reaction I was in graduate school, studying Journalism/Mass Communications, when the movie came out. I remember being surprised by the reaction of my classmates - some of whom I believed to be thoroughly secular, even atheist - on seeing the movie. Knowing I had been a pri...

Google Image In the unlikely event that you are looking for them, you’ll have no problem online finding reasons people give for not going to church. I quickly found an article from 2022 entitled, “ 7 Interesting Reasons Why People Don’t Go to Church.” The first reason given: “ They feel God is missing in church.” I’ve seen this reason listed in other articles, and I acknowledge that if that is the perception, it doesn’t make sense to go to church. But is this perception the fault of the church or of the people who don’t go? I suspect both. I intend to cover this and other stated reasons in this and upcoming blogs. (A caveat for my non-Catholic readers: This blog is mostly about the Catholic Mass and its meaning. You may not find it directly relevant, but I’m sure there are parallels in any church or synagogue service.) Welcoming First, my wife, Amparo, and I have found a wonderful Catholic parish near our house in our adopted state of Colorado. The parish is welcoming, very act...

Google Image I recently read this Chinese saying: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” There’s a lot written these days about happiness. It’s a subject that didn’t seem to come up so often years ago. I don’t know whether people were actually happier then. It just wasn’t often talked about or written about. You were either happy or you weren’t, and you didn't really focus on the subject of your own happiness. Today, it seems to be a favorite topic of some university departments, who study about every aspect of happiness, and unhappiness. Harvard University is often cited in popular articles on the subject. Decreasing Happiness? A Harvard Gazette article last month by staff writer Alvin Powell, for instance, reported on a study by the university’s Human Flourishing Program . It quotes Tyler VanderWeele, the program’s ...

Google Image Do you ever wonder if you’ve made, or will make, your mark in this world? Whether anyone will notice your passing? Whether you will be completely forgotten in one or two generations? I think it’s natural for human beings, the majority of whom are acutely aware of their mortality and concerned that their lives matter, to ask such questions. Turns out, there’s an academic discipline devoted to that subject, though according to a recent article in the New York Times entitled, “ Want to Believe in Yourself? ‘Mattering’ Is Key,” the discipline may be less philosophical than what is implied in my questions. I had never heard of the concept of “mattering” before reading the article. Overlooked Concept Written by Gail Cornwall, the article is sub-titled, “This overlooked concept has been linked to better relationships — with oneself and others.” It's mostly about Gordon Flett, a professor at York University and the author of “The Psychology of Mattering,” and his resea...