Oscar Wilde

I was aware that the above Wilde had some connection to the Catholic church, but had no particular idea of what. So this article was very informative.

"I am not a Catholic," said Oscar Wilde. "I am simply a violent Papist." This statement, like so many of Wilde's outrageous paradoxes, conceals a sober truth beneath its blithe wit. Another example would be his jest that, of all religions, Catholicism is the only one worth dying in. Looking back over his life more than a hundred years later, we can be forgiven for seeing the irony in such statements, for Wilde's fascination with Catholicism, its mysteries and rituals, did set the stage for his death-bed conversion. And we can certainly perceive justice in the fact that the man who cracked such jokes also believed that life imitated art: ultimately, then, the joke was on him.

It comes courtesy of Eve Tushnet, who is, I gather, a gay Catholic. I don't seem to be able to verify this simply - there's no About Me section on her blog that I can see.

Manichaeism

Some historical information on Mani and Manichaeism. This was a heresy that Augustine was involved with before becoming Catholic. It demonstrates (to anyone who didn't already know) that syncretism is nothing new.

Victor Lams Podcast

Hey, Victor Lams has a podcast! Now the musical products of his deranged mind can come directly to my iPod. Nice

Just for the record...

...Catholics don't all think alike. Q.E.D.. I can't remember the last time I respected an opinion less.

Hybrid Embryos

Dave did a blog about hybrid embryos. I assume my comment will show up at some point in the future; Dave moderates them.

Abortion

I was talking with, or rather I was listening to - I wasn't in a talkative mood at the time, someone who, though concerned in a general sense about the issue of abortion, was agnostic as to when abortion would be sinful, being sceptical about the Catholic teaching that life should be defended from conception. Naturally this was in reference to the HFE Bill, and those proposing a change to the time limits based on scientific data about the development of an embryo. They opined that conception seemed to be an arbitrary point at which to draw the line.

I don't recall having an opinion about abortion before I had any faith in the teaching authority of the church, but one of the things that I find most strange about the "debate" is the lack of concern about the potential evil. The Church considers abortion as the murder of an innocent human life. I don't see how uncertainty from other parties as to when life really begins makes it acceptable to proceed. This procedure may be murder; how, when it may be murder, could anyone not shrink from it? You really need a watertight case that an embryo is not human before you could contemplate it's termination with a clear conscience. If you were presented with a locked room, in which there may or may not be a man or a woman, and a lever which released poison gas into the room, would you think it was okay to pull the lever? After all, there's no way of knowing whether or not there's a human life in there.

I think it's quite natural to assume that life does begin at conception, though I don't claim to be able to prove it. At conception, you certainly have a genetically distinct individual with 46 chromosomes, neither the mother nor the father. Give them oxygen, give them nutrients, and they will grow to be an adult. Up to what point would it have been acceptable to abort those cells/that person who was to become Jesus of Nazareth? This is obviously a special case, but that does not make it illegitimate. God had a plan for that birth, he had a plan for Jeremiah (Jer 1:5) - are we sufficiently confident as to think that in any given abortion, we are not directly thwarting the will of God? I think the answer to that is obviously no, at least if you are a theist.

People sometimes assume that abortion is a modern phenomenom as well, and that the Church therefore condemns abortion as an innovation. This is simply not true, which is worth pointing out. There are documents contemporary with the New Testament canon which condemn it outright.

Update:
I was also thinking, and forgot to blog it, that viability is a more arbitrary marker than conception. Viability as I understand it, is the stage at which it would be possible to preserve a life outside the womb. I'm not really sure what viability has to do with anything. That would be the stage at which medical care could substitute for the protection of the womb. A child needs the care of their mother from conception, although the form of that protection is quite different from that which is required after birth. A baby abandoned at birth will most likely die, but that's no argument for not caring for them.

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Paradidomi - The Son of Man delivered into the hands of men

I'd been wondering about this for a while:

At the consecration of every Mass, the priest says: "Take this all of you and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you." "Given up" is perhaps a less than ideal translation of the Latin tradetur which means "will be handed over" and is the Latin equivalent of the Greek verb paradidomi. So, in the Eucharist, the Body of Christ is also "handed over" to us. And we, in turn, collectively as the Body of Christ in the Christian community are expected to continue that handing over of ourselves in the service of the Gospel and the promotion of the Kingdom.

I don't believe I've ever seen an English translation (from the Greek) in which it is rendered "given up" rather than "given", so I was wondering where it came from.

I also happen to know that paradidomi is related to paradosis, which is a biblical term for tradition, both in the sense of the proscribed "traditions of men" but also apostolic tradition, as in what St. Paul "delivered as of first importance". It's the same kind of delivery as the Son of Man, delivered into the hands of men, which is very apt of course.

Pentecost

Hi.

Today being Pentecost, it's the obvious time for celebration for our local group of cuddly Catholic charismatics, the Emmanuel Community. Our housegroup is with them, and yesterday we were all charismatic and prayed for one another, laying on hands and generally welcoming the Holy Spirit. When someone felt that they had a piece of scripture for someone, they made it known, so I thought I'd share what was passed on for me:

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. - Luke 12:27-32

He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." - Luke 13:18-19

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. - 1 Peter 3:3-4

'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island." - Acts 27:24b-26

And one from Monica's mate the nun:

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth. - Psalm 34:1

Mortal Sin

Image via Wikipedia

Following on from a discussion which started at Dave's blog:

I agree that we need to understand what God says in one part of the Bible in the context of what he says to us in the rest of the Bible when considering individual passages. However, a Scripture in isolation also has to make sense in its own right and in its immediate context, which is why I made the points that I did. If there's an apparent contradiction between passages then there must be a solution which makes sense of both. I think that your interpretation doesn't do justice to 1 Jn 5:16-17; I don't see any indication in the passage that he is referring to forgiven sin and, in its immediate context, 1:9 ("If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.") and 5:13 ("I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.") seem, taken together, to explicitly contradict it.

One of the reasons that I became a Catholic was because I was impressed at the coherence of the Church's teaching - even on controversial topics like faith and works - passages that seemed to contradict each other seemed endlessly to be explained, rather than being explained away or ignored, as you might suspect. The Church certainly makes a big deal about the importance of rigorous study of Scripture.

I don't see that the rest of the bible does contradict distinction between sins that do and don't lead to death and therefore think that John's teaching should be taken at face value. Scripture does indicate distinctions between the seriousness of various sins:

Luke 12:47-48
47"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

John 19:11
11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

Acts 17:30
30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

1 Timothy 1:13
13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

Hebrews 10:26
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left

and that there are sins that will cost a believer their salvation:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 cf. 5:1 & 1:2
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Matthew 5:21-22
21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Ephesians 5:3-5 c.f. 1:1
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person - such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

James 1:13-15 c.f. 1:2
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

For a Catholic, there's no need to tie oneself in knots over the interpretation of Scripture, as both the interpretation of Scripture and forgiveness belong to the whole Church (1 Tim 3:15, Mt 10:40,16:17-19,18:17-18, Jn 20:21-23) rather to any individual in the one body of Christ.

For Catholics, mortal sin is defined by the Church as involving grave matter (along the lines of the ten commandments, but defined explicitly by the Church in some cases - Mt 19:16-19 c.f. 5:17-20), sufficient knowledge and reflection (Lk 12:47-48, Acts 17:30, 1 Tm 1:13) and full consent of the will e.g. not at gunpoint (Hb 10:26). This kind of sin, we teach, kills the life of grace. Other (venial) sin is no laughing matter though; it's like the difference between having a fever and being a corpse. This, to me, makes sense of both "the wages of sin is death" (Rm 6:23) and "there is sin which does not lead to death" (1 Jn 5:17), especially as Jm 1:15 speaks of death as the consequence of sin "when it is full-grown". Venial sin might be said to lead to death in a different sense to mortal sin, as a man might die through a series of injuries rather than one fatal blow.

In practical/spiritual terms, I don't think it's as problematic as you suggest that it might be. I remember having more agonising doubts and fears over my sin before I became a Catholic, especially worrying about the sincerity of my repentance. In any case, the best thing to do with all sin is to confess it; you might think a sin is more or less serious, but you need any kind of sin like a hole in your head, and we know where to go for forgiveness, so, in practical terms, it's not something to agonise over unless you happen to like agony.

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Mark no unemployed no more!

Hey,

Had an "informal chat" yesterday for working as a call logger for the IT department, based at the RD&E hospital. Got the gig. Very nice - should last for a month at least, which is just what the doctor ordered, work-wise.

(H)Allelui(j)a.

Just Because

And I'll use the Nick one for his posts.

Starling Invasion

Good morning,

Today has already been fairly eventful; while I was watching BBC News 24, it came to pass that a significant amount of fluttering was heard from the direction of the chimney, and little bits of debris were falling down. I popped upstairs to ask Ed if he was doing anything with the chimney. He was not. Apprehensively I returned to further flapping and debris, followed by the emergence of a unnecessarily pointy-looking beak attached to a brown and black mottled head, which also bore two beady little eyes. I'm not really good with animals; they all have the capacity to make me pretty nervous, so I enlisted Ed to poke his head near the sharply-beak'ed thing and he said that it looked like there was a board up there, which was inhibiting his egress.

Not wishing to put together any half-baked plans for shifting the blighter without consulting some kind of authority, I gave the RSPCA a call, after finding the line for the RSPB engaged. Needless to say, there wasn't a relevant option on the automated service, but the lady I spoke to didn't seem to mind that I wasn't phoning about a bird of prey. To cut a long story short, I was told that I'd have to try and remove the board to let him out, also that they'd phone back in about half an hour to see how I was getting on. Damn - I was hoping that there would be people to do these things, rather than muggins.

I gathered a hammer, screwdriver, oven gloves and various long pointy-things, screwed my courage to the sticking-place and tried to get one of the pointy things to make contact with the aforesaid board. There followed a period of cautiously advanced kitchen utensils followed by hastily retreating kitchen utensils at the merest suggestion of a flap. Mercifully I found that the top of the fireplace pulled out, so I did that, and subsequently ran away like a big chicken, only he seemed to have buggered off as there was no movement.

Luke and the girls were standing outside in their best bird-crap resistant garb, ostensibly to act as a kind of body of avian doormen, to intimidate said bird into exiting stage-right through the main door. When our recent acquaintance did decide to try the bottom of the chimney again, he naturally got stuck behind the curtains, and flapped dumbly at the invisible windows behind. Once again, my decisive come-on-you-big-girls-blouse-get-a-grip approach was called for as I persuaded our dumb chum towards one of the two conveniently open windows, from which he exited, leaving only a single piece of crap as a parting gesture.

I think I earned my cup of tea.