Wichtiger Wortschwall:
8/06/03: That, of course, is Mother Church speaking. Mother Church has always informed a lot of my thinking, even though I broke
away and joined the Reformation 28 years ago—an event I still often refer to as
"the greatest day of my life." But, like (I suspect) most former Catholics, I
will never quite rid myself of the feelings of guilt, especially sexual guilt,
that are part and parcel of growing up Catholic. The general "Catholic hangover"
is one of perpetual doubt that God really does love you, coupled with the
knee-jerk impulse to try to make yourself worthy of God’s love, and of
never quite being able to believe that when the minister says "your sins are
forgiven," they are and that’s it. In short, it’s a never-ending nagging doubt about the reality of God’s
salvation. But now, consider this. In the light of the current state of affairs in the
Catholic church—by which I mean, of course, the priestly pedophilia scandal—this
high-minded talk of "grave offense against the natural law" begins to sound
dreadfully hollow. Especially when it has been handed down by cloistered men who
have never known and will never know the joy, pain, frustration, and compromise
of marriage; the thousands of ways even the most well-intentioned of couples can
take a chance on marriage and still find a way to screw it up. My former
Lutheran pastor, who counseled me during my own divorce, said it best: "Yes,
marriage is a divine institution. Unfortunately, it is inhabited by humans." We also have to consider this "grave offense against the natural law" against
not only the priestly pedophilia scandal, but also the Orthodox churches’ stance
(and remember that the Roman Catholics are now in full communion with the
Orthodox) on divorce. Taking a stance very similar to my former pastor’s, the
Orthodox allow that, as fallen humans in a fallen world, we may manage to
conduct ourselves less than perfectly within the confines of marriage—even to
the point where trying to carry on with the marriage is in reality damaging
two lives (and possibly more, if children are involved). Certainly this
is a more reasoned, and indeed more Christian, understanding of sacramental
marriage. Much of what human beings undertake with the very best of intentions
comes to naught, or even worse. It is in this sense that we are most often
reminded of the frailty of our human condition and our lack of divinity—indeed,
that "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." So much of Roman Catholic thought seems to hinge on an arrogant
insistence upon human perfectability, quite dangerous when seen in the
light of the opening statement of the Lutheran confession of sin: "If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." It is quite
possible to imagine a marriage that becomes a cause of sin—again, not
because marriage has failed as a divine institution, but because humans are not
only imperfect but are not perfectable. And it is here that Catholic doctrine
contains its most radical flaw. By continually holding an already fallen
humanity up to unreasonabile standards—marriages that must not fail,
children that must be conceived (and to keep the argument simple, I refer
here only to marital coitus), priests that must not be permitted to marry
and so are denied any possibility of (legitimate) sexual expression—the church
guarantees only widespread and catastrophic failure for its adherents (all the
more so since Catholics insist that works and not faith are the primary means of
justification before God). The priestly pedophilia scandal is only the latest manifestation of this
extremely unfortunate reading of God’s word. I recently came upon an article by a
priest, gamely attempting to insist that priestly pedophilia is a sin
roughly on a par with an unmarried adult couple’s consensual intercourse. This
is such a appalling notion that it is beneath comment, except to point out that
it shows the desperate measures that must be undertaken in order to prop up
Catholic doctrine when the flaws begin to out. Catholics are fond of pointing out that their faith is "ancient"—and it
certainly is. But "ancient" is not the same as "infallible." Blithely brushing
past the Reformation, Catholics point to the reforms of Vatican II (an
undeniably sincere attempt by the church to address some of its serious
problems). But we watch today as these reforms are rolled further and further
back, and the old Roman Church’s bleating about its own infallibility becomes
the answer to every question, every complaint, every demand lodged against
it—often by its own faithful. For all of the pain that it entails, the schisms and the widely variant
interpretations of the meaning of God’s word, Protestantism in the twenty-first
century continues to move forward. Meanwhile, Roman Catholicism slips ever
further backward toward a darkness and intolerance redolent of Islam.
..........
8/08/03: Slum through Europe – someday, perhaps.
..........
REPLY from Haleh in Iran:
Pete, good to see your going to pickup on Insomnomaniac's lead - we will
of course link to your site right now and then also monitor your site for points
your make about Iran - we add these to the Blog-Iran chronicles
Iranian Activist
Chat
Also - it would be excellent if you could post the image that
insomnomaniac also did and link to the Free Iran Activist HQ at activistchat.com
- the banner image is
http://www.activistchat.com/images/banners/freeirannow.gif
Any support or data you need, please stay in touch -
Keep up the good work - this is GrassRoots for sure, and it can spread
like wildfire - lets see how powerful the BLOG can be!
In Unity,
Haleh
posted by Alois 08/11/03
..........
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Der Schmaltz und Grieben Archiven >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< >< E-Mail Us. Ja, Do That.
Schnell!
July
2003
June
(late) 2003
June
(early) 2003
The Rant auf Klaus, Parts I II III
Why
Unions Suck
Ménage-à-Trois
"Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to
break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each
other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which
sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is
recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried
spouse is then in situation of public and permanent adultery... Divorce is
immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society.
This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children
traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them,
and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on
society."
8/07/03:
RAPTORS WILL BE
RAPTORS: Sorry, folks, but only in New York. (Via Kurt Meyer)
posted by Alois 08/07/03
E-Mail Us, Schnell, Und Ve Vill Post Your
Reply. Hier!
CAPTION OF THE
DAY: "Vote for me if you want to live."
--New York Daily News
posted by Alois 08/07/03
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Reply. Hier!
HEADS UP TO
PRESIDENT BUSH: Say, Mr. President, did you know that Mark Morford has sex--and you don't?
Geeeeeez. Just when you think the left can't sink any lower, or get any
loonier... (Via Michele)
posted by Alois 08/07/03
E-Mail Us, Schnell, Und Ve Vill Post Your
Reply. Hier!
...WE'VE ALL MET
HER. At least, Klaus und I have.
Numerous times.
posted by Alois 08/07/03
E-Mail Us, Schnell, Und Ve Vill Post Your
Reply. Hier!
..........
Skydive solo without a
static line – yeah, right. I’m afraid of heights.
Drink your age in
Jell-O shots -- a surefire recipe for death, at my age.
Own a classic
convertible -- uh, okay.
Total said convertible, walk away, and laugh
– why? I like my classic convertible.
Buy a bottle of the real
Absinthe – how about bottled-in-bond bourbon instead?
Pilot an
airplane – see #2
Change careers – you’re kidding, right? Who
hasn’t?
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge – as long as there’s no smelly
hippies on it
Have sex in public without getting caught – finally,
bingo.
Get caught – Nah.
Do something regrettable in Vegas –
like going there?
Fail completely at something big –
bingo.
Succeed at something even bigger – bingo.
Make a pass
at a clergyman or woman – if I ever see a cute one.
Have kids and love
them to death – bingo; well, some of the time.
Change a stranger's
flat tire – does jumping their car count?
Join an improv comedy troupe
– Nah.
Build a fort – bingo.
Ride in a hot air balloon –
See #2 above. Plus, only yuppies do that.
Spend a day at a spa –
What’s a "spa"?
Sneak into a movie – bingo. It was
"Thunderball"—does that date me?
Have a drink thrown in your face –
bingo.
Jump in a river/lake/ocean fully dressed – bingo.
Win
over a hostile crowd – I stay away from hostile crowds.
Spend a summer
as a Renaissance Fair geek – Nah.
Drive from coast to coast –
bingo, bingo, bingo.
Laugh because it hurts – Now why would I want
to do that?
Eat at a diner called "Mom's" – Does eating at my mom’s
house count?
Look for buried treasure – bingo.
Learn how to
paint – uh, okay.
Comfort someone who is dying –
bingo.
Commit all seven deadly sins in one afternoon – since one of
them is sloth, that would be impossible!
Take ballroom dance lessons –
Nah.
Smack Carson Daly with a brick – Who’s Carson Daly?
Buy
a $500 bottle of wine – You’re talking to a guy whose favorite wine is Wild
Irish Rose.
Drink a $500 bottle of wine – If someone wants to provide
me with one? Sure.
Roll down a hill of freshly-cut grass – Egads.
Why?
As an adult – After you, pal!
Pilfer office supplies –
I don’t "pilfer."
Get a pedicure – Why? I never go
barefoot.
See a movie at a drive-in – bingo X 100. Again, does this
date me?
Get a tattoo in the Philippines – The tattoo idea is
intriguing; a visit to the Philippines isn’t.
50 over the posted limit –
You wanna pay my ticket, I’ll give it a try.
Do something gentlemanly
for a hooker – I don’t believe in paying for it, so I don’t know
any.
Eat all the green M&Ms – Gee, what fun. I can’t
wait.
Abuse your authority – First I would need to have
authority. Or want it.
Be subpoenaed by Congress – They’re not likely
to be needing any tornado experts soon.
Try for four in one night after
age 30 – You said try. I’m still more than happy with
three.
Sleep in until at least Tuesday – On the lawn? Sure. Otherwise
it’s too much like death.
JA. UND ZO NOW,
DER WEEKEND KOMMT! See you all on Monday and... do good.
posted by Alois 08/08/03
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Reply. Hier!
8/11/03:
YEAH, SURE.
THAT'LL HELP. "Phone calls to the Rev. Christopher Coyne, spokesman for
the Boston archdiocese, were not answered Sunday." This, as you may have
guessed, refers to a potential legal settlement of the Archdiocese of Boston's priestly
sexual abuse case.
posted by Alois 08/11/03
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Reply. Hier!
AH, THOSE WACKY
FRENCH. Glad to see they've got their minds on, er, other things now.
Ouch.
posted by Alois 08/11/03
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Reply. Hier!
TODAY'S
MUST-READ: Ralph Peters on the Untimely Demise of the Brothers Hussein.
posted by Alois 08/11/03
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Reply. Hier!
ANOTHER
MUST-READ: Mitch Berg on religious searching; and what's wrong today
with mainstream American Protestantism (see, we try to cover all sides of an
issue here at Schmaltz und Grieben...)
posted by Alois 08/11/03
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Reply. Hier!
8/13/03:
GAY MARRIAGE.
I've been meaning to weigh in for awhile on this topic, but wanted to keep my
arguments short and to the point. As an unmarried straight, I don't have any
real vested interest here. Anyway, here's my take on gay marriage:
Religious and/or civic considerations aside, society doesn't seem to have
considered the message it is sending to its romantically-committed gay citizens
by denying them the right to marry. Of course, conservative and religious
organizations have long decried "promiscuous" homosexual behavior, and before
the AIDS epidemic effectively shut down gay entertainments like the
bathhouse/glory-hole scene, even heteros inclined to be sympathetic toward gays
(like myself) found it hard not to be horrified by what seemed to be the
complete collapse of homosexual morality.
Yet we straights don't seem to have ever closely examined our own role in
these extremes (and I say extremes because there are many gays and lesbians who
were never part of the sex-party scene). Basically, by denying gays the right to
marry, we marginalize them. We tell them that they needn't be bound by the moral
considerations of straight society.
Now I can hear many of you snicker, and rightly so, at a turn of phrase
like "moral considerations of straight society"--and believe me, I am not naive
enough to think for a minute that there is something inherently moral about
heterosexual behavior. The "considerations" I refer to are the generally
accepted notions among straights that, for instance, the "swinger's lifestyle"
is an unacceptable lifestyle choice; that adultery, although certainly
widespread, is still wrong (the majority of us do believe that, way down in our
black hearts); that a wife owes fidelity to her husband and a husband owes
fidelity to his wife (most straight men and women hate to hear someone brag
about how they cheat on their spouse). It is not that these social mores are
universally adhered to among straights, and it is certainly not that they are
never broken. But they exist, all the same, and to deny that they do is both
dangerous and pointless.
It is this framework of social mores that we deny gay people by
forbidding them to engage in the societally-sanctioned pledge of commitment that
is marriage. We might as well tell gays that their sexuality is a frivolous
thing and so they don't have to pay any attention to what they do with it. As
things stand now, we are informing gay couples that the degree of their
commitment to each other doesn't matter because there is no way that our
"straight" society is going to allow them to formalize it.
"You're gay--just go be promiscuous, that's what you gays do best
anyway." That's the message we're sending right now. Can't we do any better than
that?
posted by Alois 08/13/03
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Reply. Hier!
8/15/03:
8/29/03: