You stay classy, the Left - round 2

September 12, 2008

I would have thought by now that the media/Hollywood/the Left (but I do repeat myself, and then twice) would have reached a saturation point with regard to hatred directed at …but it would appear that I am very much incorrect in that assumption.

They just can’t help themselves.

First up, there’s (yes, the actor) questioning whether Palin believes dinosaurs existed 4,000 years ago. The reason he’s asking this? Apparently, Mr. Damon cannot sort out fact from parody when reading things on the Internet — the only actual attribution of such a statement to Palin is found in an article that plainly states that it is comprised of FAKE quotes.

But in the pursuit of the election of , any lie is pre-emptively forgiven, it seems. Who cares if it’s fake…is it accurate?

Well, no, it’s not even accurate. From what I’ve read, Palin supports discussion of alternative views about the issue, but doesn’t think that creationism — of any flavour — needs to be a part of the curriculum. In other words, she’s suggesting that a school should be allowed to be a school, and a place where ideas can be fostered and discussed, rather than simply taught and memorized by rote.

Anyhow, let’s move on.

Next, we have professor , who in a moment of fitful anger decided that Palin’s being a woman is just “pretense” (e.g. she’s not a “real” woman):

Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman. The Republican party’s cynical calculation that because she has a womb and makes lots and lots of babies (and drives them to school! wow!) she speaks for the women of America, and will capture their hearts and their votes, has driven thousands of real women to take to their computers in outrage. She does not speak for women; she has no sympathy for the problems of other women, particularly working class women.

I think, for me, it’s the last line that is truly laughable. Sarah Palin — governor Sarah Palin, the woman who took on the corrupt good ol’ boys club in the Republican party in her state and left it bleeding on the floor, the former mayor of who was elected to the governor’s seat over two popular opponents and the opposition of many elements of her own party and who now enjoys an 80% approval rating from her state’s population — has no sympathy for the problems of working class women?

Despite the fact that Palin is a five-time working mother? Despite the fact that her office in Alaska evidently includes a crib for , her youngest? Despite the fact that Palin is all but an archetypical example of the feminist ideal of a working mother who has achieved a position of real power and influence in the world?

Yes…clearly one such as this has no ability to a) speak for women, or b) sympathize with the problems of women, especially women who work.

It really is amazing how feminists will turn on someone who has committed the unspeakable crime of expressing — and living — a ideal. If Palin had aborted Trig, she’d probably be enjoying the same 80% approval rate among feminists that she is currently enjoying from the people of her state.

Of course, some in the media have tired of attacking Palin directly. , columnist for the (a newspaper), has decided that her home town of Wasilla is worthy of his scorn. He describes it as a town still anrgy at the fact that back in 1976, it wasn’t selected to be the new location of the state Capitol…and that this ‘geography’ of Wasilla has infused Sarah Palin’s character with bitterness and resentment, and caused her to seek succor in “Bible-banging” .

Because we all know how those small-town folk are, don’t we? The amazing levels of bigotry being directed against the “heart and soul” of — the down home, small-town folk — by Obama’s supporters leaves one incredulous at the fact that Obama’s poll numbers are even statistically determinable.

Elsewhere, ’s hit-piece against Palin is evidently too profane to be excerpted at length. Good to know.

As a final note, there is ’s interview with Palin which evidently took place yesterday. I gather that it could have gone better, although it certainly doesn’t sound like a disaster either. But that’s not the part which I find irksome. What I find irksome is that Gibson flat-out lied and mis-quoted Palin, morphing an otherwise perfectly sensible statement she had made into something that made her sound hot for a new Crusade.

The original quote:

Palin asked the congregation to “pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”

Gibson’s “re-working” of the statement:

“Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.” Are we fighting a holy war?

As Ace points out, Palin was referencing with her choice of words, which were a prayer not that God is on the side of America, but that America is on the side of God. Look again at the text: “pray…that our leaders…are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God.”

That’s not an incitement to a holy war; it’s the earnest question of someone who, faced with the prospect of something ugly — like war — pauses to ask whether the course of action being taken is in line with God’s will. By dropping the first part of the statement, Gibson twisted its meaning into a smear.

Fortunately, Palin managed to deflect his idiocy, for the most part. That probably won’t prevent the Left, in general, from screeching out “OMG! CRUSADES!!!!!!!1111!!one!” at every opportunity, however.

’s sense of humour about the whole affair appeals to me, however:

By the swordstick of ! I wish she had said that had appeared to her in a dream along side , , of , and and demanded the reconquest of the , , , the cities of the Seven Churches in the , and any other spot of ground where Christian saints are buried, or Roman eagles once flew. That would have shut him up.

Kudos to Palin for conducting herself remarkably well through all of this. She never seems to have anything but a smile on her face, in spite of the truly horrible things that have been said about her and her family.

All that hatred will backfire, methinks. Palin has one major advantage: she appeals to the normal, everyday citizen, who works for a living and strives for salvation in . That’s a huge segment of the American population, mind you. And when the Left directs its vitriol and classism against Palin, the average, everyday citizen see that hatred and, being sensible, understands it to mean that the Left’s hatred is not against Palin specifically, but against what she represents and all those who find common ground with her.

That’s not going to work to Obama’s advantage come November.

Posted by Kenneth Filed in Politics, Religion, World News
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Looking briefly at the history of science

September 5, 2008

Over on the Edmonton Atheists forum, someone else isn’t happy with me:

I get a kick out of his assertion that didn’t flourish in non-Christian areas. Does he know nothing of history?
, , and really got hings going, and Muslim countries in the middle ages were far ahead of the Christian .
When missionaries got to , they found that the Chinese already had their own science doing well (think gunpowder).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science #Science_in_Medieval_Europe

I’m not unaware of the fact that earlier in history, other societies — China, Egypt and various Arabic (it is especially important, regarding this issue, to distinguish between Arabs and Muslims) nations are excellent examples — had made considerable scientific advancement. I’m aware that, for a time, scientific development in non-Christian areas of the world outpaced scientific development in Christian areas of the world.

But that’s much earlier in history, isn’t it? Looking at those same nations a little later on, what do we see? It was the West, starting in the 12th or 13th century, that began to rise to scientific prominence, while in other parts of the world the early promise of science proved to be stillborn: it’s no accident that when one views, for examples, lists of Arabic scientific innovation, such lists tend to stop abruptly after about the 12th century.

That was my point. I don’t deny that other cultures gave scientific study a good start; I simply note that it also floundered in those places later on, and that it was out of Christendom that modern science emerged.

is not the most reliable of sources, but since it was cited in the argument against me, let’s note what the ol’ wiki has to say about scientific development in Christian Europe, shall we?

An intellectual revitalization of Europe started with the birth of medieval universities in the 12th century. The contact with the Islamic world in Spain and Sicily, and during the Reconquista and the Crusades, allowed Europeans access to scientific Greek and Arabic texts, including the works of , , Geber, al-Khwarizmi, Alhazen, Avicenna, and Averroes. European scholars like would learn Arabic in order to study these texts. The European universities aided materially in the translation and propagation of these texts and started a new infrastructure which was needed for scientific communities. As well as this, Europeans began to venture further and further east (most notably, perhaps, ) as a result of the Pax Mongolica. This led to the increased influence of Indian and even Chinese science on the European tradition. Technological advances were also made, such as the early flight of Eilmer of Malmesbury (who had studied Mathematics in 11th century England), and the metallurgical achievements of the Cistercian blast furnace at Laskill.

I should pause here and note one important detail: was heavily involved in the development and growth of universities in Europe during the .

But let’s continue:

At the beginning of the 13th century there were reasonably accurate Latin translations of the main works of almost all the intellectually crucial ancient authors, allowing a sound transfer of scientific ideas via both the universities and the monasteries. By then, the contained in these texts began to be extended by notable scholastics such as , , and . Precursors of the modern scientific method, influenced by earlier contributions of the ic world, can be seen already in Grosseteste’s emphasis on mathematics as a way to understand nature, and in the empirical approach admired by Bacon, particularly in his . According to , the led to the birth of modern science, because it forced thinkers to break from relying so much on Aristotle, and to think about the world in new ways.

The Condemnation of 1277 was issued by in , and was a comprehensive response to teachings deemed heretical by the Bishop after due investigation. Its effects were far-reaching, but basically signaled a rejection of Aristotelean Peripatetic physics.

This paved the way for new ways of looking at the natural world. As Duhem went on to note, “if we must assign a date for the birth of modern science, we would, without doubt, choose the year 1277 when the bishop of Paris solemnly proclaimed that several worlds could exist, and that the whole of heavens could, without contradiction, be moved with a rectilinear motion.” And indeed, several principles of reasoning which are still applied today — being, perhaps, the most familiar one — can trace their origins to the philosophical ramifications of the 1277 condemnation.

The Church, then, allied herself with even at this early stage. And while at later times, the Church certainly made its share of mistakes with regard to science (the case of being the most famous example thereof), she also laid the foundations for science to transform itself into its modern form, and to progress with the breakneck pace that has characterized it ever since.

My atheistic detractor is here hoist, somewhat, on his (?) own petard; he notes, among his list of “counter”-examples to my point, that the ancient Greeks made an early start at science. He is correct in this observation…but modern science emerged in part from a rejection of the scientific tenets one of the major philosophical schools of the ancient Greeks.

Wikipedia continues:

The first half of the 14th century saw much important scientific work being done, largely within the framework of scholastic commentaries on Aristotle’s scientific writings. introduced the principle of : natural philosophers should not postulate unnecessary entities, so that motion is not a distinct thing but is only the moving object and an intermediary “sensible species” is not needed to transmit an image of an object to the eye. Scholars such as and started to reinterpret elements of Aristotle’s mechanics. In particular, Buridan developed the theory that impetus was the cause of the motion of projectiles, which was a first step towards the modern concept of inertia. The Oxford Calculators began to mathematically analyze the kinematics of motion, making this analysis without considering the causes of motion.

In 1348, the and other disasters sealed a sudden end to the previous period of massive philosophic and scientific development. Yet, the rediscovery of ancient texts was improved after the Fall of in 1453, when many Byzantine scholars had to seek refuge in the West. Meanwhile, the introduction of printing was to have great effect on European society. The facilitated dissemination of the printed word democratized learning and allowed a faster propagation of new ideas. New ideas also helped to influence the development of European science at this point: not least the introduction of . These developments paved the way for the Scientific Revolution, which may also be understood as a resumption of the process of scientific change, halted at the start of the Black Death.

And the foundation for that revolution? It is a comprehensive thing, which many different scholars contributed to, to be sure. But the Church was certainly one such element, and then a rather pivotal one. And at the core of the modern scientific method, there remains a rather Christian sensibility in the belief that the Universe itself is, to a certain extent, rationally ordered, such that scientific inquiry will in due season be rewarded with evidence or information of some kind. The scientific method, it seems, is built on the expectation that we will find when we seek.

Just as promised.

Posted by Kenneth Filed in Catholicism, History, Islam, Philosophy, Religion, Sci-Tech, Those silly atheists
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“Mary’s Assumption assists our paschal journey.”

August 29, 2008

delivered this sermon on August 15th, which is the feast day of ’s Assumption into Heaven.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Mary, the oldest Marian Feast, returns every year in the heart of summer. It is an opportunity to rise with Mary to the heights of the spirit where one breathes the pure air of supernatural life and contemplates the most authentic beauty, the beauty of holiness. The atmosphere of today’s celebration is steeped in paschal joy.

“Today”, the antiphon of the says, “the Virgin Mary was taken up to . Rejoice, for she reigns with for ever. Alleluia”.

This proclamation speaks to us of an event that is utterly unique and extraordinary, yet destined to fill the heart of every human being with hope and happiness. Mary is indeed the first fruit of the new humanity, the creature in whom the mystery of Christ — his , death, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven — has already fully taken effect, redeeming her from death and conveying her, body and soul, to the Kingdom of immortal life.

For this reason, as the recalls, the Virgin Mary is a sign of certain hope and comfort to us (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 68).

Today’s feast impels us to lift our gaze to Heaven; not to a heaven consisting of abstract ideas or even an imaginary heaven created by art, but the Heaven of true reality which is himself. God is Heaven. He is our destination, the destination and the eternal dwelling place from which we come and for which we are striving.

, Bishop of in the eighth century, in a homily given on the , addressing the heavenly Mother of God said: “You are the One who through your immaculate flesh reunited the Christian people with Christ…Just as all who thirst hasten to the fountain, so every soul hastens to you, the Fountain of love, and as every man aspires to live, to see the light that never fades, so every Christian longs to enter the light of the Most Blessed Trinity where you already are”.

Mary follows Jesus to God’s glory

It is these same sentiments that inspire us today as we contemplate Mary in God’s glory. In fact, when she fell asleep in this world to reawaken in Heaven, she simply followed her Son for the last time, on his longest and most crucial journey, his passage “from this world to the Father” (cf. Jn 13:1).

Like him, together with him, she departed this world to return “to the Father’s House” (cf. Jn 14:2). And all this is not remote from us as it might seem at first sight, because we are all children of the Father, God; we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus and we are all also children of Mary, our Mother.

And we all aspire to happiness. And the happiness to which we all aspire is God, so we are all journeying on toward this happiness we call Heaven which in reality is God. And Mary helps us, she encourages us to ensure that every moment of our life is a step forward on this exodus, on this journey toward God.

May she help us in this way to make the reality of heaven, God’s greatness, also present in the life of our world. Is this not basically the paschal dynamism of the human being, of every person who wants to become heavenly, perfectly happy, by virtue of Christ’s ?

And might this not be the beginning and anticipation of a movement that involves every human being and the entire cosmos? She, from whom God took his flesh and whose soul was pierced by a sword on Calvary, was associated first and uniquely in the mystery of this transformation for which we, also often pierced by the sword of suffering in this world, are all striving.

The new followed the new in suffering, in the Passion, and so too in definitive joy. Christ is the first fruits but his risen flesh is inseparable from that of his earthly Mother, Mary. In Mary all humanity is involved in the Assumption to God, and together with her all creation, whose groans and sufferings, tells us, are the birth-pangs of the new humanity.

Thus are born the new Heaven and the new earth in which death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more (cf. Rv 21:1-4).

Christ conquered death with love

What a great mystery of love is presented to us once again today for our contemplation! Christ triumphed over death with the omnipotence of his love. Love alone is omnipotent. This love impelled Christ to die for us and thus to overcome death. Yes, love alone gives access to the Kingdom of life! And Mary entered after her Son, associated with his Glory, after being associated with his Passion.

She entered it with an uncontainable force, keeping the way behind her open to us all. And for this reason we invoke her today as “Gate of Heaven”, “Queen of Angels” and “Refuge of sinners”. It is certainly not reasoning that will make us understand this reality which is so sublime, but rather simple, forthright faith and the silence of prayer that puts us in touch with the Mystery that infinitely exceeds us. Prayer helps us speak with God and hear how the Lord speaks to our heart.

Let us ask Mary today to make us the gift of her faith, that faith which enables us already to live in the dimension between finite and infinite, that faith which also transforms the sentiment of time and the passing of our existence, that faith in which we are profoundly aware that our life is not retracted by the past but attracted towards the future, towards God, where Christ, and behind him Mary, has preceded us.

By looking at Mary’s Assumption into Heaven we understand better that even though our daily life may be marked by trials and difficulties, it flows like a river to the divine ocean, to the fullness of joy and peace. We understand that our death is not the end but rather the entrance into life that knows no death. Our setting on the horizon of this world is our rising at the dawn of the new world, the dawn of the eternal day.

“Mary, while you accompany us in the toil of our daily living and dying, keep us constantly oriented to the true homeland of bliss. Help us to do as you did”.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends who are taking part in this celebration this morning, let us pray this prayer to Mary together. In the face of the sad spectacle of all the false joy and at the same time of all the anguished suffering which is spreading through the world, we must learn from her to become ourselves signs of hope and comfort; we must proclaim with our own lives Christ’s Resurrection.

“Help us, Mother, bright Gate of Heaven, Mother of Mercy, source through whom came Jesus Christ, our life and our joy. Amen”.

The Pope also noted the following, after leading the Angelus:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, in the heart of what Latin-speakers called the “feriae Augusti”, the August holidays, from which the Italian term “ferragosto” derives — celebrates the Assumption into Heaven of the Virgin Mary, body and soul.

The last reference to her earthly life in is found at the beginning in the book of the , which presents Mary gathered in prayer with the disciples in the Upper Room, waiting for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).

Subsequently a double tradition — in and in — attests to her “Dormition”, as Eastern-rite believers say, that is, her “falling asleep” in God. This was the event that preceded her passing from this earth to Heaven, professed by the uninterrupted faith of the Church.

In the eighth century,by establishing a direct relationship between the “Dormition” of Mary and Jesus’ death, for example, , renowned doctor of the Eastern Church, explicitly affirms thetruthof her bodily assumption.

In a famous homily he wrote: “She who nursed her Creator as an infant at her breast, had a right to be in the divine tabernacles” (Sermon II: On the Assumption, 14, PG 96, 741B).

As is well known, this strong conviction of the Church culminated in the dogmatic definition of the Assumption affirmed by my venerable Predecessor [] in the year 1950.

As the Second Vatican Council teaches, Mary Most Holy should always be seen in the mystery of Christ and of the Church. In this perspective: “the Mother of Jesus in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Pt 3:10)” (Lumen Gentium, n. 68).

From Paradise, especially in difficult times of tribulation, Our Lady always continues to watch over her children whom Jesus himself entrusted to her from the Cross before dying. How many are the testimonies of this motherly concern found in visiting shrines dedicated to her!

At this moment I think especially of the unique citadel of life and hope that is . I shall be going there in a month’s time, please God, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions that took place there.

Mary assumed into Heaven points out to us the final destination of our earthly pilgrimage. She reminds us that our whole being - spirit, soul and body - is destined for fullness of life; that those who live and die in love of God and of their neighbour will be transfigured in the image of the glorious Body of the Risen Christ; that the Lord will cast down the proud and exalt the humble (cf. Lk 1:51-52).

With the mystery of her Assumption Our Lady proclaims this eternally. May you be praised for ever, O Virgin Mary! Pray the Lord for us.

Reposted here given its relevance to other topics under discussion. Are not the fruits of the promises of the Lord made so wonderfully manifest when we contemplate the Blessed Virgin?

Posted by Kenneth Filed in Catholicism, History, Theology
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