Friday Quickies
.... Canada has opted out of the "defense shield", the U.S.'s proposed missile defense system. They say they want to stand on their own.
I live on Long Island. If Toronto gets nuked, will I still need a heater for my pool?
....Speaking of Canada, the Anglican Church has asked the United States Episcopal Church & the Canadian Anglican Church to leave a key council, effectively a suspension. The dispute arises over the U.S. & Canada's acceptance of gay bishops and same-sex unions. It could, in theory, result in a permanent separation of the Churches.
I think that's right. And I think that Catholics in the U.S. should declare themselves independent of the Roman Catholic Church.
Why? Because most Americans have become "Chinese menu" Catholics, picking and choosing from the dictates of the Church, as they think fit. Americans chafe at many of the monolithic Church's ways. Whether it's on women's role in the Church, marriage by priests, gay rights, divorce, pre- and extra-marital sex, abortion, contraception, reconciliation (confession), the role of the laity in Church finances, etc. there are wide rifts between Americans and Rome.
Many American Catholics say things like: I believe in God, and that's just a Church rule, so I don't follow it. Which is OK, I guess, but it offends my conservative nature, and it certainly offends the prelates in Rome. Their attitude is more "Ocean's 11"-ish-- are you in or are you out?
The key contention revolves around the watchword for this new century: democracy. Americans' true religion is democracy. We treasure freedom. We believe in "one person, one vote". The right to stand up and say, "That's wrong!" and to expect to be listened to, and to expect change-- it's in our blood.
Which is why many Americans have difficulty with Old World religious institutions, whether Anglican or Catholic. Americans refuse to understand that the Catholic Church is not a democracy. You have no vote. You obey the rules or you go to hell. It's pretty simple, and this Pope has not backed off an inch-- if anything, he toughened up the rules.
At least here in the U.S., nobody is forcing anyone to belong to a particular church. And nobody has the right to tell established churches that their centuries' old belief structure must change.
So, the answer is simple-- there's the door. Don't like the rules as set down by the Pope and the Cardinals? Unhappy with non-responsive bishops? Pull a Martin Luther, and head down the block.
So I think such a parting would be OK, for both sides. It would be an honest appraisal that one group has different core beliefs than the other, and while there may be many paths to heaven, each group thinks their's is right. It seems like such a waste of time to argue the point down here; a divorce is perhaps the best answer.
....Finally saw "The Aviator". Well worth the price of admission-- acting was wonderful (even my fellow Massapequan Alec Baldwin) and the story lived up to my expectations, which were high, given the complexitites of this strange man's life.
....NASA's Mars rovers are still at work, almost a year beyond the end of their expected tour. NASA takes the heat when things go wrong, as they should. But we shouldn't forget their successes, either. One of their latest discoveries is a rock with a high content of minerals and salts which gives rise to even greater speculation that Mars once had water.
Of course, the water is not there now-- which means, unlike the American West, there must have been nobody there, like the American East, to pay for water projects. (That's an inside reference to yesterday's post and comments).
NASA should take a bow on these rovers.
....And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:
I live on Long Island. If Toronto gets nuked, will I still need a heater for my pool?
....Speaking of Canada, the Anglican Church has asked the United States Episcopal Church & the Canadian Anglican Church to leave a key council, effectively a suspension. The dispute arises over the U.S. & Canada's acceptance of gay bishops and same-sex unions. It could, in theory, result in a permanent separation of the Churches.
I think that's right. And I think that Catholics in the U.S. should declare themselves independent of the Roman Catholic Church.
Why? Because most Americans have become "Chinese menu" Catholics, picking and choosing from the dictates of the Church, as they think fit. Americans chafe at many of the monolithic Church's ways. Whether it's on women's role in the Church, marriage by priests, gay rights, divorce, pre- and extra-marital sex, abortion, contraception, reconciliation (confession), the role of the laity in Church finances, etc. there are wide rifts between Americans and Rome.
Many American Catholics say things like: I believe in God, and that's just a Church rule, so I don't follow it. Which is OK, I guess, but it offends my conservative nature, and it certainly offends the prelates in Rome. Their attitude is more "Ocean's 11"-ish-- are you in or are you out?
The key contention revolves around the watchword for this new century: democracy. Americans' true religion is democracy. We treasure freedom. We believe in "one person, one vote". The right to stand up and say, "That's wrong!" and to expect to be listened to, and to expect change-- it's in our blood.
Which is why many Americans have difficulty with Old World religious institutions, whether Anglican or Catholic. Americans refuse to understand that the Catholic Church is not a democracy. You have no vote. You obey the rules or you go to hell. It's pretty simple, and this Pope has not backed off an inch-- if anything, he toughened up the rules.
At least here in the U.S., nobody is forcing anyone to belong to a particular church. And nobody has the right to tell established churches that their centuries' old belief structure must change.
So, the answer is simple-- there's the door. Don't like the rules as set down by the Pope and the Cardinals? Unhappy with non-responsive bishops? Pull a Martin Luther, and head down the block.
So I think such a parting would be OK, for both sides. It would be an honest appraisal that one group has different core beliefs than the other, and while there may be many paths to heaven, each group thinks their's is right. It seems like such a waste of time to argue the point down here; a divorce is perhaps the best answer.
....Finally saw "The Aviator". Well worth the price of admission-- acting was wonderful (even my fellow Massapequan Alec Baldwin) and the story lived up to my expectations, which were high, given the complexitites of this strange man's life.
....NASA's Mars rovers are still at work, almost a year beyond the end of their expected tour. NASA takes the heat when things go wrong, as they should. But we shouldn't forget their successes, either. One of their latest discoveries is a rock with a high content of minerals and salts which gives rise to even greater speculation that Mars once had water.
Of course, the water is not there now-- which means, unlike the American West, there must have been nobody there, like the American East, to pay for water projects. (That's an inside reference to yesterday's post and comments).
NASA should take a bow on these rovers.
....And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:
"I believe that this Republic will endure for many centuries. If so there will doubtless be among its Presidents Protestants and Catholics, and very probably at some time, Jews. I have consistently tried while President to act in relation to my fellow Americans of Catholic faith as I hope that any future President who happens to be Catholic will act towards his fellow Americans of Protestant faith. Had I followed any other course I should have felt that I was unfit to represent the American people."
-- letter to J. C. Martin, 9 November 1908
posted by A Red Mind in a Blue State at 4:35 AM
<< Home