Skeptical Faith

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 “safe” w

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 priest, they

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