Deacon Dan Wright

How Easter Killed His Faith: On Lee Strobel Responding to Ricky Gervais' Easter Message

As we begin Holy Week and move toward the celebration of Easter, the news gets really interesting. This is especially true if you, like me, have your news feed set to let you see stories on religion. Maybe the religion news isn't that important to you. If not, I respect that, but for me it's part of where I live as a deacon. 

Any time of the year, not just Holy Week, the religion news setting will catch a plethora of negative articles. Particularly this is true in regard to those who are opposed to the faith or perhaps who are militant in arguing from the viewpoint of non-belief. Typically I like their articles because they challenge me to give a good answer.   

Recently I found the following piece from a former militant atheist, now an evangelical apologist, the journalist Lee Strobel. He is writing in response to an "Easter message" by atheist comedian Ricky Gervais. Strobel says it was Easter that killed his faith:

It was the worst news I could get as an atheist: my agnostic wife had decided to become a Christian. Two words shot through my mind. The first was an expletive; the second was “divorce.”

I thought she was going to turn into a self-righteous holy roller. But over the following months, I was intrigued by the positive changes in her character and values. Finally, I decided to take my journalism and legal training (I was legal editor of the Chicago Tribune) and systematically investigate whether there was any credibility to Christianity.

Maybe, I figured, I could extricate her from this cult.

I quickly determined that the alleged resurrection of Jesus was the key. Anyone can claim to be divine, but if Jesus backed up his claim by returning from the dead, then that was awfully good evidence he was telling the truth.

For nearly two years, I explored the minutia of the historical data on whether Easter was myth or reality. I didn’t merely accept the New Testament at face value; I was determined only to consider facts that were well-supported historically. As my investigation unfolded, my atheism began to buckle.

Continue reading

I don't know that I would necessarily take the same strategy or tactic as Strobel in replying to Gervais, or even to others who doubt or who are opposed to Christianity. While proofs, in the sense in which they are presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, are important to belief, and while faith and reason should not be opposed in any way, I don't really believe that traditional proofs are always effective tools for convincing nonbelievers, though certainly in the case of Strobel they amounted to something. However, if you read the comments that have been posted on Strobel's article, and can get past the haters, you can see that proofs mean very little to those who are convinced in their faith against God. 

Instead, I would look to my own experience of doubt and faith, and apply it accordingly.  Like Strobel, I too at one time was a nonbeliever.  Unlike Strobel, I went from being an evangelical Pentecostal as a teenager to being a questioning student of philosophy in my 20's who understood his Christianity best in terms of atheism.  That's right, at one time I defined myself as an atheist, albeit a Christian atheist. Bear in mind that this was many years before my journey to Catholicism.

Now this brings me to the point of Gervais, who in his Easter message says why he believes he is better at being a Christian as an atheist than believers are by being Christians. However, Gervais is making an attempt at humor rather than a true statement of belief. Gervais, in my opinion, is not a Christian atheist, rather he is relying on humorous irony to make his point.

Gervais says that he believes in the Ten Commandments and keeps all of them. To this I would point out, not so much in a judgmental way as much as an objective observation, that he sounds a little like the Pharisee in Jesus' time who went into the temple and prayed, "Thank you Lord, that I am not a sinner like that tax collector over there." Keep in mind that the tax collector, who wouldn't even come into the building all the way, stood back at a distance and prayed for mercy to God, of whose existence he surely had no rational proofs. Furthermore, out of the tax collector's situation of being aware of his sin, he was also probably acutely aware that he had no proofs. Rather, his viewpoint was from the sheer poverty of existence--the place I believe we are most likely to discover the sacred for ourselves. 

As Christians, should it matter all that much what we say about what we believe?  Are we really going to prove anything to anyone by way of talking?  Isn't what we do much more important, and isn't this the lesson of the story of the tax collector in the temple?  Did he not realize that in his life there had been an absence of justice?

The message to nonbelievers is that true religion isn't really about believing in things that are too big to grasp, things that can never be proven except perhaps subjectively. True religion isn't about fairy tales, nor is it about perfectly keeping the Ten Commandments. Rather, it's all about how you live and how you love others, even those who are most unlike you in what they do and believe.

Many years ago, back when I was a Pentecostal teenager, I heard a gospel song that went "If heaven never had been promised to me, neither God's promise to live eternally, it's been worth just having the Lord in my life." Sure it matters that we believe, but what's most important is that we learn to follow Jesus really.

Intolerance, Broken Religion, Fear, and the Faith of Anne Rice

Ever since I added religion to my news feed I've been tempted to return to blogging my thoughts on stories more frequently. For a long time the majority of what I've posted has been Sunday sermons and occasional reflections--just mostly innocuous stuff with an interest limited perhaps to the parish. Seems that back during the presidential election year not all my opinions on the news were appreciated by everyone, and I was busy with other things, so I backed away from commenting on news--with the intention of it being temporary. With that being said, I'll go ahead and take the big risk of not keeping my thoughts and opinions to myself. 

I noticed recently that a friend remarked how the "Angry Bearded Catholic Bloggers Club" (ABCBC) were "going nuts" with Anne Rice's rejection of the faith that she returned to after having rejected it once upon a time long ago (I have to admit: I'm not a member of the ABCBC). I hope the title of my post today isn't too much, but I feel like it encapsulates what I've been seeing in the religion news.

Whatever the news brings us, or what others might comment in its regard, the response from people of faith shouldn't be driven by intolerance or fear. These are actually the antitheses, among innumerable others, of true faith. If we are secure in what we believe, we don't have anything to be afraid of. On the contrary, we ought to be willing to let others be who they are in their belief, and in their choice of how they practice it, or even the total lack thereof.

Having true faith, in my opinion, means striving toward what is positive and best in life, and it also means rolling up our sleeves and working to change what is negative or broken. True faith means taking a risk and reaching out to other people. For me, this doesn't include my having to get you to believe the same thing that I believe in terms of religion, and it certainly doesn't mean losing touch with sanity in order to recognize that life on earth is sacred.

Unfortunately, all too often people's experience of religion is that of something broken. Often they struggle within themselves and they feel that the bad relationship they have must be ended. It's like coming away from bad love relationship or a marriage that didn't work. You can give up on the relationship without giving up on love, and this is really where I think Anne Rice may be coming from. Her experience of religion is one that is broken. However, she still recognizes the validity of what was at the basis of it to start.

Where I want to end this, without it becoming too long, is by saying that Christians have an obligation to enter each others' struggles in a positive way. We have an obligation to apply the healing balm of friendship and acceptance, and always we have an obligation to meet people just where they are in life without any expectations of making them be like us in any way. In other words we have the duty to reach out with tolerance, to fix what is broken, to cast out fear, and to make the world a truly positive place by struggling to overcome its greatest challenges.

Pope on Priests and the Digital Media

I was delighted today to discover that the pope is asking priests to begin making wider use of digital media such as blogs in order to evangelize. For several years now I have strongly held that the Internet provides one of the best means ever to take the gospel to the entire world.  

Electronic evagelization is something that all of us can take part in--I note the numerous blogs by Catholic laypeople and certainly the good number already in existence by priests (many fewer by deacons such as myself)--but the priest has a special call to take the gospel to all the world. Therefore, it is very encouraging to see the pope's support for priests in this area.

A number of years ago I recall hearing someone with far-reaching insight say that with the Internet we have to avoid the mistake we made with Television in terms of not using it to it's fullest potential. Of course there are notable efforts, such as EWTN and televised Masses, in existence already in terms of television, but there's room for much more.  

The pope speaks of the Church exercising a "diaconia" of culture, and of course this is something that we can all be involved in bringing about. I pray that whatever efforts I put in here on this blog will be an inspiration to all people--lay, religious, and clergy--to take a greater role in bringing the gospel to all the world. However, even more we should all pray that the media may be used to spread Christian values and culture in a world where more often than not the media serves purposes that are opposed to the gospel.

Here is a direct link to the Pope's message. 

Media Reports Avatar Opposed by Church, Political Right

It's only been a couple days since I did my post on "Peace and Ecology."  In it I added my take on the film "Avatar."   Since then I’ve found ample stories on the Vatican and the political right being critical of the film.  I suppose my comments were timely.  It bothers me a little though that the media seems to be trying to portray the Vatican as being narrow-minded.  If anything the pope’s New Year’s address on peacemaking through protecting the environment should prove otherwise.   

Concerning “Avatar” I mentioned briefly in a paragraph what stood out to me in relation to my overall post, and really I'm no film critic but several things appeared clear to me. In my view of the film I mentioned that it seemed to convey a message of opposition to exploitation, though it’s not developed well.  The film also clearly has an underlying philosophy of pantheism and neo-paganism, which are not compatible with Christianity. Add to that the portrayal of the worst militaristic and capitalistic stereotypes imaginable, which are abundant and not easy to find likeable, and you end up with an overall poor view of humanity.  I'll repeat what I actually said, though if you scroll down the page to the January 11 post you can read it in context:

…as a society we tend to listen closely to what film and other media presents.  Undoubtedly "Avatar" expresses a strong theme of respect for nature, but it also has a strong underlying theme of pantheism and neo-paganism based on nature worship.  While I believe the film presents a good message on the importance of being opposed to environmental exploitation, it unfortunately plays too heavily on militaristic stereotypes, demonizes humanity, and is rather pessimistic concerning the future of the human race overall.  In the end it comes off as little more than an epic sci-fi tale of cowboys and Indians.

Now, I must add that I actually enjoyed the movie quite a bit.  In terms of exciting action it had me hanging on the edge of my seat for better than two thirds of the film.  However, I agree with much of what I've read about a lack of depth, though depth is not what gets movie goers out.  We live in a world where depth more often confuses people and they would rather get the simple version.  Frankly, film provides an excellent escape.  It has value often just in its ability to entertain and offer a momentary step back from the events of the week.

So “Avatar” doesn’t disappoint.  It has entertainment value.  It also expresses a simplistic view, one that has roused strong sentiment on both the political left and the right.  I find it interesting that those who can have their political feathers ruffled on either side don't actually need a lot of depth to get them going.  Rather, they seem to thrive on the more shallow expressions of real issues and the accompanying implications.  

I would have personally preferred that the film went into greater depth in making an anti-war message clear.  It could have done better to explore the real need for true environmental activism. It could have better explored the detrimental effects of unchecked capitalism.  It might have even gotten into a deeper exploration of the existential dilemmas of the characters.  However, it only had three hours for all of this and in some ways it did a good job of at least touching on these subjects. 

I found it interesting that the folks at beliefnet.com seem to be not too concerned with the heterodox challenges of pantheism or neo-paganism, rather they seem to feel that the obvious fictions of the science fiction presents a bigger challenge:

But while it's a given that the media outlets of the Catholic Church will, and should, take a particular theological stance on any bit of pop culture that may get reviewed in their pages or on their airwaves, I can't help but think, "Really? Neo-pagan nature worship is a real sticking point here?" What about the fact that human bodies no longer hold special significance, that human consciousness can be transferred into genetically-crafted empty vessels, Na'vi avatars, manufactured through a means of asexual, gene-manipulated reproduction, "matured" on a spacecraft and then decanted? And that's just one example. To worry about pantheism, and that a 3-D movie might inspire a little too much tree-hugging, just seems so antiquated, so very early Church, especially in a world full of poverty, war, and challenging scientific questions.

Actually, when it comes to a world of poverty, war, and challenging scientific questions, I don’t believe the Catholic Church has been silent. Clearly the Church has great concern with such issues and does so in a way that transcends the polemics of political ideology.

Epiphany Homily: The Essential Gospel

In Epiphany we joyously celebrate the sudden appearance and perception of God entering our world. In it we recall what is most essential about our faith, and about our humanity in relation to God and each other. In Epiphany we celebrate the light that is Jesus, and we consider what is most pertinent and most essential to us in our lives today. This is the meaning of epiphany: to see what is what is most essential in a thing—to see what is most essential in our faith.

This last Friday, New Year's Day, my wife pointed out an article to me in the faith section of the Austin American Statesman. The title was, "Lubbock pastor seeks to strip away 'added' rules from Gospel". Perhaps you read it too. The purpose of the article was to highlight a book entitled The Naked Gospel in which the author, a non-denominational Evangelical pastor, advocates a "Jesus plus nothing" approach. In the Statesman article the author says that his book is about "God's grace without the poison of 'religion.'" He says that his intention is to strip away the rules that people have added to Christianity, rules like the 10 Commandments and having to ask God to forgive our sins, which he claims are unnecessary and even harmful.

In the article he recounts his own experience. He says "I found myself lying on the floor of my apartment, begging God for answers: 'God, I'm doing everything they say to do. I'm reading my Bible four or five hours a day. I'm sharing my faith with everybody I meet. I'm at church every time the doors are open. But I still don't feel like I'm growing spiritually. I'm stalled, and I can't explain why. You say the truth will set me free. I'm anything but free!'"

Now certainly this was on my mind as I was driving to confession yesterday. However, I took more than a little comfort in recognizing that what the pastor was presenting was a version of the "faith only" approach, which is nothing new. Actually it's been around for better than 500 years, from the time of Martin Luther, and furthermore it's anything but free from the so-called taint of religion.

So, while it didn't take me long to respond to the article with a clear "no" based on my Catholic formation, I do think that it presents something important to reflect on here at Epiphany. Especially this seems true in light of our reading today from Ephesians in which St. Paul talks about his stewardship of God's grace. People today are hungry for what is essential in a relationship with God. We desire grace because we recognize that grace is essential. What happens is that we as Catholic Christians who are decided and committed in our faith have the responsibility of pointing the way to God's grace in all that we say and do.

Really, in the sense of our longing for communion with God, things haven't changed all that much over the vast centuries from the time of the prophet Isaiah, whom we heard from in the first reading, up to now. We desire that which has the power to bring peace to our lives. However, we should be mindful that discovering the essence of something doesn't involve stripping away and ignoring the details or rules, rather it requires that we take the time to explore the depths of the many facets of our faith. We can do this by reading the bible or by reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or perhaps by attending an adult education class. If you're the type to make New Year's resolutions, there would be few better resolutions than to do something in order to learn more about the Catholic faith.

Giving the newspaper pastor his due recognition, it's probably true that there is something unhealthy about becoming overly concerned with our personal sinfulness or perhaps always feeling like no matter what we do we can't please God. It doesn't take a book to teach us that. Actually, if we are concerned with sin or failure the solution is simple. Scripture teaches us to confess our sins. I'm thankful that we have ample opportunities to do this.

While being at inner peace is important, having true religion isn't necessarily so much about looking within oneself as it is about reaching out to others. Again, this is something that scripture teaches clearly. Probably the more we reach out, the more concern we show for others, the less we will have to confess in terms of failure. The outward reach of peacemaking is where the true light lies. Where do we find the essential Jesus? We find him when we work with one another to bring truth, justice, and healing to our world.

On January 1 this year the Catholic Church celebrated the 43^rd World Day of Peace. On the Catholic Bishop's website, usccb.org, there are ample suggestions on how you can help bring peace to the world in 2010. A great resolution this year would be that you will do something to bring about peace in the world.

As the light of Epiphany shines on us we should consider that God really wants us to be happy. God really wants salvation to be easily accessible. In this we thank him for the great gift that the Church is, and for everything that our faith—our religion—is in its fullness. We also recognize that God has invited us into a partnership in which we work to bring the peace and presence of Christ to the entire world.

31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids

Here's something my wife sent me written by Bob Hostetler, an Evangelical writer.  I recently asked Joanne to be a guest writer here but I haven't convinced her yet, though a lot of the material I've included over the past couple years shows her influence and suggestions. 

Joanne says the following piece was interesting to her because it offers something more than repetitive petitions.  As a cradle Catholic my wife defines her spirituality in terms of the formation imparted to her in Catholic school.  I was a little surprised to get this article from her because she usually sends me stuff related to Catholicism.

As a former Evangelical I am mostly familiar with spontaneous prayer as the typical way to pray, but never the kind of stuff this guy suggests.  With the prayers based on scripture, it reminds me of lectio divina.  Anyhow, here's the article--it's a little long, but worth reading:

For years, like any responsible Christian parent, I prayed daily for my two children, Aubrey and Aaron. I prayed for God's blessing and protection throughout their days. I prayed for them to be happy. I asked God to help them through difficult times and to help them make wise choices. My prayers were regular, heartfelt, and--for the most part--pedestrian and repetitive.

I wanted more than that, however. I wanted so much for my children, but when I knelt in prayer, I invariably found the same tired words rolling from my lips, like an adult whose table grace never progressed beyond "God is great, God is good, now we thank him for this food..."

Then one day, Nancy, our pastor's wife, shared a testimony during a morning worship service that changed this parent's prayer life. She told how her concern that her children develop strong Christian morals and the fruits of the Spirit had prompted her to develop a unique prayer list, that included reminders to pray for her children's salvation and growth in grace, as well as other concerns (such as that they would "be leaders, not followers").

That day I decided to follow Nancy's example, and develop a "parent's prayer program" of my own, a simple practice that has revolutionized the way I pray for my children. Each day of the month, in addition to my prayers for their safety and for the concerns of that day, I also pray for a specific character trait, virtue, or fruit of the Spirit to be planted and nurtured in my children, through my efforts (and my wife's), through the influence of others, and through Aubrey and Aaron's own actions and decisions. At the end of each month, I begin praying through the list again, combining traits when the month is shorter than thirty-one days.

Following is the list I have developed, complete with brief suggestions for prayer from Scripture. Feel free to duplicate it--or improve upon it--to help you pray specifically and purposefully for your children to experience and evidence:

1 salvation "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10).

2 growth in grace "I pray that they may 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'" (2 Peter 3:18).

3 love "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to 'live a life of love,' through the Spirit who dwells in them" (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22).

4 honesty and integrity " May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Psalm 25:21, NLT).

5 self-control " Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be 'alert and self-controlled' in all they do" (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

6 a love for God's Word " May my children grow to find your Word 'more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb'" (Psalm 19:10).

7 justice " God, help my children to love justice as you do and to 'act justly' in all they do" (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).

8 mercy " May my children always 'be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful'" (Luke 6:36).

9 respect (for self, others, authority) " Father, grant that my children may 'show proper respect to everyone,' as your Word commands" (1 Peter 2:17a).

10 strong, Biblical self-esteem " Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are 'God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus'" (Ephesians 2:10).

11 faithfulness "' Let love and faithfulness never leave [my children],' but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Proverbs 3:3).

12 courage "May my children always 'Be strong and courageous' in their character and in their actions" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

13 purity "'Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,' and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions" (Psalm 51:10).

14 kindness "Lord, may my children 'always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else'" (1 Thessalonians 5:15).

15 generosity "Grant that my children may 'be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age'" (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

16 peace, peaceability "Father, let my children 'make every effort to do what leads to peace'" (Romans 14:19).

17 joy " May my children be filled 'with the joy given by the Holy Spirit'" (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

18 perseverance " Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to 'run with perseverance the race marked out for [them]'" (Hebrews 12:1).

19 humility " God, please cultivate in my children the ability to 'show true humility toward all'" (Titus 3:2).

20 compassion " Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion" (Colossians 3:12).

21 responsibility " Grant that my children may learn responsibility, 'for each one should carry his own load'" (Galatians 6:5).

22 contentment " Father, teach my children 'the secret of being content in any and every situation. . . . through him who gives [them] strength'" (Philippians 4:12-13).

23 faith " I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them" (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40).

24 a servant heart " God, please help my children develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, 'as to the Lord, and not to men'" (Ephesians 6:7, KJV).

25 hope " May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

26 the willingness and ability to work hard " Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, 'as working for the Lord, not for men'" (Colossians 3:23).

27 a passion for God " Lord, please instill in my children a soul that "followeth hard after thee," a heart that clings passionately to you (Psalm 63:8, KJV).

28 self-discipline " Father, I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may acquire 'a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair'" (Proverbs 1:3).

29 prayerfulness " Grant, Lord, that my children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to 'pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Ephesians 6:18).

30 gratitude " Help my children to live lives that are always 'overflowing with thankfulness,' 'always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ'" (Colossians 2:7, Ephesians 5:20).

31 a heart for missions " Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples" (Psalm 96:3).

After several weeks of praying through the above list for my children, I discovered an additional benefit to my prayer program; as I prayed with my children each night, the Lord brought to mind the subject I'd prayed for that morning, and I would repeat my request in Aubrey and Aaron's hearing. Before long, they began to echo my praying, and pour out their own hearts in prayer for the very virtues and qualities I desired to see in them. Thus, my simple prayer program not only changed how I prayed, but also how my children pray. . . and, by God's grace, how they live as well.

Source

The Memorial of Mary Magdalene

As I was reflecting on the meaning of the Memorial of St. Mary Magdalene, I couldn't really help but consider the popular notions and the twists that modernity has placed on her life and person. What many, if not most, people commonly know about Mary Magdalene comes from the false ideas made popular by Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code.

In terms of our faith, that is, in terms of our real-life relationship with God and the Church, and with one another and with the whole world, what does the life of Mary Magdalene stand to teach us? What do we stand to learn aside from the fantasy and unreality that the non-believing world has chosen to accept as truth? Certainly fantasy—in the sense of creative imagination—about Mary Magdalene is nothing new, as the Gnostic literature of Nag Hammadi reveals.

Even from a more orthodox historical point of view there has never been great agreement about Mary Magdalene, but there has certainly been plenty said—especially in consideration of the tradition that identifies her with Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. So what are we to think or believe? What is the lesson to be had?

I don't know that it matters all that much that we identify with certainty whether or not Mary Magdalene was the sister of Martha or whether she was the sinner who anointed the Lord's feet, as the painting above depicts. Putting the three together—Magdalene, the sister of Martha, and the sinner—has helped somewhat to fill in the unknowns. However, what is clear from Luke 8:2-3 is that Mary Magdalene experienced a great healing and exorcism in her life.

I suppose that the popular media would never accept the fact that Mary had been freed from seven demons, which is at least symbolic of a great depth of sin and despair, as one of the most important things we can know about her. However, I deeply believe that this is where we should put our attention.

The first reading today from Micah reveals God's great clemency:

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea
all our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and grace to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our fathers
from days of old.

It does us some good to consider the ideal of grace as made concrete in an individual person. Sure, throughout history there have been great conversions, but in many ways Mary Magdalene serves almost as a prototypical example of God's grace made concrete in a human being who had a great need to be forgiven. It also does us good to consider that such grace is made available by faith in, and love for, Jesus.

The gospel narrative today tells us the story of Mary Magdalene's being privileged to be the first person to witness the Resurrection of the Lord. It is penance come full circle. As I considered the Easter witness of Mary Magdalene, the thought crossed my mind that many people might prefer that the first witness of the Resurrection had been someone else—perhaps Peter or the disciple "whom Jesus loved" or even Mary his mother—yet the one who had this privilege above all these is the one out of whom went seven demons.

The idea of someone who had been trapped in the depths—perhaps unimaginably despairing—of sin having the grace to be the first to witness the resurrected Lord speaks deeply of the faith that we need more and more in our times. Indeed, I have long held that Mary Magdalene is the kind of individual that stands to say the most to us.

Years ago a wise priest told me in counseling after confession that I had a saint who had been praying for me long before I was born. He told me that someday I would know who this saint is. Perhaps, he told me, I would even come to have a special devotion to this particular saint. In some ways I think that Mary Magdalene might be that saint.

On more than one occasion I have had people write in and tell me that religion as presented in blogs and on the Internet fails to address the true struggle that most Christians experience in their lives. I don't have to think back too far to find places in my own life that cause me to say to myself, "Yes, I do know the struggles. I too have struggled and frequently continue to do so."

What Mary Magdalene shows us is that freedom from struggle is not something that is outside our reach. She shows us that faith stands to be perfected in sinners. It could be that we get things wrong when we associate faith only with the pious and godly saints who never doubted or felt trapped by addictions or alcoholism or who experienced the darkness of depression or never had acted in such a way to feel genuine regret.

Mary Magdalene speaks to us of grace. Her face is reflected in the convicted killer on his way to the death chamber; it shows in the eyes of the woman leaving the abortion clinic. Her struggling heart is one with every drunk and drug addict, with every man and woman exploited by pornography, and with every adulterous husband or wife—and even those who have abandoned, neglected, and harmed their own children are not beneath Mary Magdalene. Yet hers is the witness of grace. It is the witness that our Lord Jesus heals us, removes our demons, and invites us to partake in his Resurrection.

For Mary Magdalene's dignity and meaning to shine through we don't have to imagine her in some fantastic role of hidden power. We don't have to fantasize that she possessed the gnosis of salvation. She lived a common human life; she needed healing and forgiveness and she turned to the God who promised that such graceful love as to forgive the fullness of guilt would always be available.  In her real life experience, there is an abundance to which we people of the 21st century can and perhaps must relate.

How Shall We Defeat Evil?

On many occasions I have intimated, if not outright said, that the we live in a world where the forces of evil are prevalent and evident everywhere.  The evil that exists ranges from the things people do to cause injury to themselves and others, on both small and large scales, all the way to the things they merely say--either verbally or in writing. 

Often, and it really is unfortunate when it happens, evil is done in the name of good.  Interestingly, evil prefers frequently to step outside the bounds of straightforward acts of malice and to masquerade as something good.  It is such insidious evil that is truly the enemy of us all, for we are easily duped into somehow both seeing and believing that bad actions, words, intentions, ideas, etc., can result in what is best for someone else.

Clearly, every action has an effect.  Even the smallest of secret acts causes an effect, if only it exists in the depth of our souls and no place else.  However, every action, regardless of its secrecy, is like a seed planted--we can be sure that we will reap what we sow. 

The analogy that I have always liked best is that of the perfectly calm pond: we drop in a stone and it's sure to send out ripples in every direction.  Our goal, rather than to create for ourselves a state of being without effect, is to send out ripples of goodness. 

It even seems to be clearly evident that there will always be some kind of ripples on the pond because our lives are filled with actions of some kind each day.  Even if--hypothetically--there could be nothing more than a purely calm mental state consisting of nothing other than calmness and quiet, some kind of activity would still exist.  To deny that action always occurs is to deny something essential about being human.

The scripture readings from the lectionary for today tell us:

Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts,
be with you as you claim!
Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the gate...

The challenge for us is that we learn to discern good from evil.  Perhaps one would think that the ability to tell what is good from what is bad comes naturally, but evidence indicates otherwise.  Developing a life of prayer and scripture study is essential to discernment; however, to recognize the good--to apprehend it and make it be part of our being--we must engage the whole of creation, that is, we must engage and apprehend life as it is lived.  God created the world as good, and that goodness still exists--it is the goodness that flows forth from the new creation brought about by the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Learning to do the good is also about learning to see the good in others, but it is also about making good for others by doing nothing that would bring about a negative effect.

I believe that we live in a world where there is entirely too much hatred.  At times even common civility seems to be lacking.  Good, in this sense, includes good manners.  Unfortunately, for the past ten years or so that I have been following religion on the Internet, I have encountered the extremes of bad manners, rudeness, crass comments, and thoughtless speech presented in the name of faith. 

I only bring this up because we have to start somewhere if we are going to do the good and fill the earth with it, and furthermore we have to fill it every day because goodness in our world is a little like a gas tank on big car: it tends to run out quickly.  No problem though because the source of goodness is like a river of living water springing up.  It won't run out.

Maybe you've been a little rude in someone's combox (that's real life too), or perhaps you have taken it to speech with someone else.  Perhaps you said something to a spouse or child that you regret.  Not a problem--we have all done it.  Reconciliation is as close as a prayer.  If you feel that you need, you can receive the Sacrament of Penance as well. However, begin by going to your room and shutting the door and then get down on your knees and ask the Lord Jesus to fill you with goodness.

Goodness has the power to permeate the world around us, and evil tends to run from goodness.  Therefore, goodness is the true power that we must learn to apprehend if we are serious about transforming the world.  Every action of ours--every word we say and write and everything we do--should aspire to create goodness in others, to edify, to build up.  Clearly, such is the sign and evidence of goodness.  It does the opposite of evil, which, rather than building ties, bonds, and relationships, has only the power to tear apart.

Goodness has the power to cast out evil, as the gospel story today of the demons being driven into the swine herd indicates.  Goodness has great power, but often it will encounter opposition as the story also indicates--in the case of our Lord being asked to leave the district, he encountered fear and misunderstanding.

I want to sum up today's reflection by emphasizing that it is entirely possible for us to defeat evil.  In fact we are called to do so.  However, we have to start somewhere and the right place to start is with our own lives.  It's not that we have to become perfectly good saints before we can do and share goodness, but that we have to ask for goodness to be given to us, just as we are now.  We must bring all that we are to the Lord and allow him to begin healing us and transforming us.

It's true that when we bring ourselves to the Lord we do it in prayer, yet we should also see that we encounter him every aspect of life and being human.  Thus, in our living we have a lifetime of opportunity to make ourselves one with all that is good.  With the right amount of prayer and discernment we will always be able to recognize and distinguish the good and the evil, and ultimately we will stand victorious with our victorious God who is all good. 

More on Beckwith

(National Catholic Register) Catholics should celebrate when anyone enters the Church. After all, we have it on good authority that the angels in heaven do. But when a prominent Protestant converts, we might not just feel like celebrating; we might feel like doing a victory dance in the end zone.

We should fight the urge.

Francis Beckwith was president of the Evangelical Theological Society until he quit the post to return to the faith of his childhood. The story of Beckwith’s conversion to Catholicism has much to teach us.

The first lesson is this: The human attempt to build a version of Christianity without the sacraments was tragically flawed. Christ didn’t come merely to teach us all a lesson; he came to give us real channels of grace that incorporate us into his life. To pretend otherwise, as modern evangelical Protestantism does, is to strip his mission of its power and life. The more Christians of all stripes we can bring back to the sacraments, the better.

But the second lesson is this: Despite the tragic decision of Christian denominations to split from the Church, there is still much good in Protestant Christianity, and the biggest conversions come when we treat Protestant believers with respect.

Continue reading

Newsworthy Conversion

While browsing news headlines this afternoon, I was surprised to see that Francis Beckwith's conversion was still being reported freshly.  Earlier last month I had intended to post on this newsworthy conversion; however, end of school year work responsibilities prevented me from getting into it.  Here's an excerpt from what I found today:

Until a few weeks ago, Francis Beckwith served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society, an association of 4,300 Protestant theologians.

That was until he made the announcement on the Right Reason blog of his return to the Catholic faith of his youth. Beckwith returned to the Church after 32 years as an evangelical. The online “storm” that followed led Beckwith to resign as president of the prestigious society.

He serves as associate professor of church-state studies at Baylor University. He spoke recently to Register senior writer Tim Drake from his home in Waco, Texas.

Click here to read Dr. Beckwith's conversation with the National Catholic Register, and here for Dr. Beckwith's original post announcing his conversion.

Of the many things I found interesting in the story was the tone of many commenters on the original blog entry.  It goes to show us that when it comes to being on the receiving end of religious bigotry Catholicism is deemed to be fair game.  Indeed it appears that the Catholic faith is yet an acceptable prejudice in our society. 

I'm glad to see that Francis Beckwith's conversion is still making news, and still challenging the prevailing notions of it being somehow alright to bash Catholicism.