Finding the voice of the Church by George Dennis O’Brien [book review]

This is an original and very well thought out book. O’Brien is not a theologian, but a philosopher, though he has made his career as a college administrator. Because of this, he takes a different approach to the subject of ‘church” and religion than most authors. He is not terribly concerned about prescribing results or defining appropriate theology. He even wants to move beyond mere morality to deeper matters.

He looks at three questions: What is the proper voice of the church? Is there a voice of Christian faith? Can what is said about Christianity be fundamentally distorted by how it is said? In all of this, he is more concerned about the proper process than forcing a result (how Obama-like).

He is quite capable of standing some traditional formulas on their head. He is willing to agree that outside the church there is no salvation. That many who are not part of this sect or who don’t believe a particular set of tenets are nevertheless saved is not a problem for him. If they are saved, then they are part of the church by definition. Salvation and forgiveness are important because they were important to Jesus. Other matters, not so much.

So, is there a proper voice (the medium being the message) for Christians? In this he focuses on Jesus, identifying him not as a messenger, but the Message – the Word. Any voice used by  Christians should be based on that of Jesus. Not his specific teachings or sayings as passed down to us, but his life, which is God’s Message. Text proofing and developing elaborate theologies may be the work of churches, but Christians have not just a model of how to behave, but a Savior. One who did not come to identify enemies, but to forgive those who identified Him as an enemy.

Concerning the voice of Christian faith, he put Christian morality to one side. Yes, the Golden Rule is fine, yes we should all be good, but what does that have to do with Christian faith? What is the content of our faith and how should we speak it. Do we claim forgiveness for ourselves and expect God to refuse it to others?  Are we satisfied with promoting morality, instead of living a truly Christian life?

Finally, he looks at how Christianity speaks affects to reception of what it says.  As unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons documents, the voice used by most Christians just about obliterates the message/Message. The book concludes with a series of proposals for reforming the Catholic Church, which is a very large order, but which can also be the basis of a personal renewal. A greater awareness of just how much my “voice” affects how my message is received would be a great gift.

Along the way, O’Brien uses new and inventive frames. Throughout the book, he considers how to view our world. He uses the image of an author who creates characters, but they soon escape His control. He doesn’t want control, but knows that they will be best off if they live the kind of life He has scripted for them. O’Brien views a self-scripted life as the prototypical and original sin. Jesus comes to show (not tell, since a good author know it is better to show rather than tell) what a life that accepts God’s script is like.

Though some of the book is specifically Catholic, this work will reward the careful reader of any faith, especially Christians. It is quite a change of pace for readers of religious books. Note that this is far from pop theology, but well worth the effort.

Shakespeare: the world as stage by Bill Bryson [review]

I am a fan of Bryson, who is witty, breezy and informative. He is on his usual pace here, running through what is know about Shakespeare (not much) and the various things that people have thought about him (too much).  He debunks a lot of what appears in the more speculative books. A quick and useful corrective to the more expansive works that read so much into a mainly unknown life from his surviving works.

That we have so much text ( a very unusual amount, given the times) and so little actual biographical info, makes Shakespeare a target for all kinds of speculation, most of which tells you more about the author than about Shakespeare.

Got a bone to pick though. Like most English, Bryson parrots the story the Elizabeth didn’t really oppress Catholics, just those who happened the oppose her. Catholics could not attend Mass, were required to attend state approved services, could be fired or financially ruined at any time, could be executed or jailed (pretty much the same thing) for any public display and even powerful nobles had to tread lightly. Yes, loyal citizens were jailed and killed for the crime of being Catholic and nothing else.  Apply those same restrictions to gay, Muslims, blacks and we would be sure that they were being oppressed.

Speaking at WISCNET conference

That was fun.

Wiscnet are the people who run the non-commercial side of the Internet in Wisconsin, that is the Un iversities, K-12, libraries.  The main focus of the conference was broadband and more broadband. I’m in favor of that myself. We have a double T-1 now and know that that will not be enough in the future. The Northern Tier (Internet in Wis, MN, IA, ND, SD) is near completion  (at least the Wisconsin Minnesota part) and that will have a big unseen impact. Extra large fiber from Chicago to Madison, Eau Claire and Twin Cities. Madison is what matters to us, since our feeder lines run from there. This is so fast and secure that something in Chicago will be much like something on our LAN.

Star of the show – Chris Lehman, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. Dynamic and sensible. Old school (yeh Dewey) and pushing the edge. Loves tech, but no techno-lust. Tech is a means, not an end. Anyone who focuses on first priciples, mission  and what works is a neo-traditionalist.

Second star – the Monona Terrace. Beautiful facility. Great view. Love visiting Madcity, just wouldn’t like to work/live there.  Excellent food. Nice meeting rooms. Was there previously to hear my bro Tom (www.thomaspmbarnett.com) speak. Much better when you don’t have to perform.

My piece was small. Only public librarian to talk, almost the only one there. Spent an hour nattering about using Google Maps, Flickr and Print on Demand to re-purpose some of our historical content to a respectable crowd of 26. Program available though I will add narration when I have time. Love the sound of my own voice?

For me the best part is POD, which changes a lot of things. Short runs of items are financially possible. In fact, I could publish as few as two copies of a 100 page book, color cover, perfect bound for about $15 total (counting shipping).  It takes vanity publishing to a whole new level. It makes it possible to publish something for your family or friends, to get extra copies of your thesis, you name it. Lotsa classroom applications. Let your kids write, take photos, draw and then publish it for under $5.00 per copy? Color costs more of course,  but still!

So, happy to have been invited. Now I have a staff development day to work on, a system wide planning session to participate in, a healthly living program (got a free pedometer!!) to walk through and , oh yes, I rolled double nickles this week. Sing it Sammy—I – can’t – be —–55!!!!!!!!

Practicing Catholic by James Carroll [book review]

Practicing Catholic by James Carroll [book review]

Carroll is a very interesting writer. At times he can be too deep, so deep that his reflections seem lost in obscurity. At other times, he often uses his  personal involvement and reactions to frame important issues. This is a very unusual way to craft a narrative, yet Carroll succeeds. He uses his personal and faith history to cover the changes in the Catholic Church over the last fifty (can it be that long?) years.

Drawing on both history and his life, Carroll starts by looking at “Americanism” which the Church first defined in terms of heresy and disloyalty. An American church that valued pluralism, freedom of religion and conscience and democracy was a huge threat to a Vatican that had just lost their temporal power over the Papal States. With secular values on the rise throughout Europe, Darwin seemingly replacing God with chance and the walls coming down on the Old Order, the Papacy responded with a claim of infallibility, a re-statement that there was no salvation outside the Church and a denunciation of the American heresy.

Carroll finds a hero to stand up for America and modernism – John Cardinal Cushing. Cushing had a Jewish brother-in-law. Church dogma said that there is simply no salvation outside the church, defined as the Church. Jews (as Carroll documented in Constantine’s Sword) have suffered greatly under Christianity of all stripes. At that time, a priest in Cushing diocese was boldly reaching this No Salvation doctrine. Cushing found this dogma in contrast with his experience and therefore ethics. For him, dogma had to flow from experience rather than the reverse. Cushing sought to have him silenced and the Vatican agreed with him on the basis that Cushing was a Cardinal.

Vatican II is another event covered in some detail. Despite John XXIII’s wishes, the Council almost came to naught, since the Old Guard tried to sabotage it from the start. Carroll rightly identifies language as a key, as well as dogma that flows from experience, rather than dogma that comes from literal interpretation of language about God, which can NOT be literal, since God is greater than language. Carroll ties this to a war between modernism and a more feudal, authority based religion.

Carroll’s take on contraception may be typical, but his focus on America’s role in the Church is enlightening. He ties in the Berrigans, the anti-war movement, Howl, women’s liberation, Liberation Theology into a bundle that brought him to adulthood and found the Church opposing them all. Unsurprisingly, the priest-pedophile scandal get a chapter, since the need of the hierarchy to protect their own enraged many of the flock that was being used, not protected.

Carroll has a poor opinion of the current pope. When John-Paul prayed with those of other faiths, then Cardinal Ratzinger issued a correction that Catholics can only pray “next to” not with others. Slowly, Benedict is seeking to restore No Salvation Outside the Church and the rule of dogma over experience / ethics. At the end he makes the case for staying Catholic (his choice, though former Catholics are more numerous than many denominations). To the extent that papal infallibility and other current pillars of the Church are modern in origin, he is calling for a Church that maintains continuity while responding to  modernity rather than uncritically fighting it.

Catholics who believe that the Pope (and therefore bishops) are owed unstinting loyalty will hate this book. Catholics who voted for Obama (about half of us) will find a lot here that resonates. Other Christians, people of faith and no faith might well appreciate the history and a view of a Church that is badly split, despite the univocal hierarchy.

08 : a graphic diary of the campaign trail

08 : a graphic diary of the campaign trail by Michael Crowley and Dan Goldman.

A well written narrative of the campaign, with Crowley and Goldman serving as a Greek chorus as reporters covering the events. A great example of a niche that works well for graphic treatment. I am not up for a 300 page treatment of the campaign. I’m not that much of a political junkie and like Obama, I want to look forward.

Other non-fiction in graphic form I have been through lately:

Pyongyang : a journey in North Korea /by Guy Delisle and his Shenzhen : a travelogue from China.

Long time no post

Well, this bog is focused on  two things, my work in libraries and what I am reading and can recommend. As I have noted before  my political writing takes place at Kos and religious comments over at Street Prophets.

So have I been slacking off? Nope. Here’s what I’ve been writing on libraries, all posted at McMillan Memorial Library:

Connecting with Friends and Family
A presentation covering email. instant messaging, VOIP, video email and video calls, including Tokbox and Skype.  Though general in nature, this program can be easily adapted for use with military families. Put this together when we added webcams. We needed to have a training session and this is the outline for it.

Creating Google Map mashups.

A brief look at how McMillan created four different Google Map mashups. I put together four different projects using Google Maps and the Library’s existing digital content. Here’s the how-to.

Wood County cemetery map

McMillan’s Google Maps mashup of the cemeteries of Wood County. Here’s one of the products, a map of the location of the sixty plus cemeteries in Wood County, Wisconsin.

Webcams @ McMillan
In March 2009, the Library added public webcams. We use both Skype and Tokbox to provide video messaging and email. This covers the how-to, including what equipment we used, what it cost and what our policies are.

I have been a slacker about posting book reviews, so I try and catch up.

God’s Continent by Philip Jenkins

God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe’s religious crisis

Jenkins has two solid books on world Christianity and completes the Future of Christianity trilogy here. (The others: The Next Christianity: the coming of global Christianity and The New Faces of Christianity: believing the Bible in the global south).

This one has several things to say about Europe. The dilemma of a secular elite that is facing both Christian and Muslim minorities. Their secular values demand protection for minorities, but also assume that religion will fade so that rationality can rule. What to do? Ban all religious expression? Try to follow the US model? Let Christianity maintain a privileged position?

This is complicated by the fact that the religious minorities that are not of native stock. The fastest growing group religious groups are made up of immigrants and their children. This is true of Christian sects, not just Muslim groups.

A conflation of immigrant identity and religious identity. Faced with minority status in a new country with new rules, immigrants often regain religious fervor that they didn’t need in their homeland, where their religion was taken for granted.

The threat of Eurabia, a Europe over run by a fast breeding, which Jenkins (and most others) find over hyped, since immigrant populations usually end up with birth rates matching that of their adopted country.

But how does Europe deal with even a 15% minority population? In the US we are used to a situation where 10-15% of our population is foreign born. Despite persistent nativist pressure, we keep absorbing new populations and keep on ticking. But can Europe hope to replicate this? American may be a nationality, but it isn’t an ethnic group (speaking as an eight generation American).  The Germans, Dutch and Danes have a pretty good idea what traditionally constitutes a citizen. They are also relatively small groups. Denmark has about the population of Wisconsin (5.5 million). Currently, 9% of the population of Denmark is foreign born, though many of those are from other parts of Scandinavia. How would Wisconsin handle a sudden influx of 100,000 Muslims?

The best thing about this book is the very well informed and even handed nature of Jenkins’ discourse. He knows his stuff and is ready to share the numbers behind what he is saying. He doesn’t have the answers, but he is asking all the right questions. Like his previous titles in the series, well worth reading, both for the religious aspects and the security angle.

Catholics and Obama, part the first

On dog-whistles and weasel words.

The Sunday before the election, our bishop had a letter read at every parish at every Mass. No problem with that, though I had already voted. Of course, waiting until the last moment to speak your piece might be considered an authoritarian trick, meant to end discussion instead of promote it.

The letter (since removed/unlinked for the diocese’s website) said some straightforward thing. The bishop and the diocese do not endorese candidates or political parties. We should look at the candidates’ records. We should learn, explore, consider.  No problem with that. It is totally in line with the Church’s documents on Faithful Citizenship.

Then there were the dog whistles, the nudge-nudge, wink-wink and the weasel words.

To begin with, there was the contention that abortion is the only issue that matters in this election. Some concern there. That is contradicted by Faithful Citizenship and 2000 years of tradition. As Chesterton said, a truth too closely held becomes heresy.

Next, the subtext that the bishop would certainly have endorsed the Republicans if it wouldn’t have cost the Church it’s non-profit status and that we should all understand this. Nope. If it is a matter of the murder of millions and the fate of the eternal souls of the members of his diocese, am I to understand that he isn’t speaking out because it might cost the institution some cash? If so, he belongs in one of the lower circle of Dante’s Hell. That would be a degree of moral cowardice that I can not consider him capable of. So…I find him innocent. He said what he meant and he meant what he said, just like Horton. No endorsement, covert or otherwise.

Next, the unspoken thought that only the Republicans are dedicated to reducing abortions. If that were true, abortion would indeed be rare. Since Roe vs. Wade, we have had Nixon, Ford (Carter) Reagan twice, Bush, (Clinton twice) and Bush twice. It is not those who say Lord Lord, but those who do something who enter the Kingdom. Given all those votes and all those years, the Republicans have put five Catholics on the Supreme Court, but not taken any substantial actions to reduce abortions. One might almost think that Republicans require this issue to keep their party together and would be fools to seek a resolution. It is not necessary to condemn Republicans as hypocrites, it is enough to point out that they are not accomplishing what they say they will do.

Next, the letter is based on an analysis of the Freedom of Choice Act, which makes it clear that it will maximize abortions, practically demanding that doctors kidnap women off the street. On further investigation, this analysis was prepared by the Family Research Council, the political arm of Dr. Dobson’s Focus on the Family and seconded by hard right Catholics. Sorry. I don’t take political advice from Focus on the Family. The track  record of their analysis is right up there with Fox News – wrong just about all the time and badly askew. I also don’t take religious advice from Dr. Dobson and neither should Catholic bishops. Shame on them for finding data to wrap around their policies. Very unorthodox.

Next, the notion that the solution that America needs on abortion is criminalizing it. Just arrest enough women and the problem will go away. Just vote to criminalize it and your hands are clean, even if nothing ever happens. Very unBiblical. Very unChristian. If Christians and Catholics oppose abortion, they should be working every day to make certain that no woman ever feels the need to have one, that circumstances never make abortion seem the best alternative. Their money and their time should be dedicated to that end, not the election of one political faction. Then our hands would be clean.

Finally, opposition to FOCA will be fierce. It is a half loaf that will satisfy hunger. It will leave the way clear to set strict limits on late term abortions (centered on viability, not trimesters). It will hit the political and moral sweet spot that will sufficiently satisfy people that action has been taken, that abortions can and will be reduced. This is a middle ground that sets aside criminalization. I think that it will find support within the bell curve of our country and the criminalization crowd will go fa-nuts.

To my mind, until we abandon the entire concept of criminalization, we will make no progress on abortion. If we as Christians do, we can start acting the way Jesus would and show the world that we care about life, not just elections and power.

I’m baaaaaack

OK, so no one noticed I was gone.

Well, I’m back. Been very busy lately with non-blogging activities. Spent a day or three canvassing for Obama, which I felt compelled to do. If my sons can spend 2 years in Iraq, I can walk around town for a couple days to participate in the election of their commander-in-chief.

Plus, I have been working on a publishing project. It involves reprinting an out of copyright book with additional content (lots more photos and an appendix). Since this was always going to be self-published, it involved a learning curve on a number of issues and in some ways was more work than actually writing a book.  Preview it here – Grit, grief and gold

So now, back to business. Expect some reviews soon. I have some comments about the election (how can I not), though I don’t intend to make this site political. I’ll be covering the process of self-publishing, but don’t want to be too informative until I have more information. The proof copy is being printed now and the proof is in the proof.

What the Gospels Meant by Garry Wills

What the Gospels Meant by Garry Wills

This is the third in Wills’ series, which started with What Jesus Meant and What Paul Meant.

Wills is on very strong ground here, since he stands on the shoulders of giants, specifically Raymond Brown. He cited Brown literally dozens of time and dedicates the book to that “devout scholar.” Much of what is here will be familiar to many readers and is entirely within mainstream religious scholarship.

Not that Wills is shy about his opinions. He provides his own translations from the Greek and is more than an interested amateur here. Despite that the main selling point here is that he synthesizes and compresses and, yes, popularizes Brown. To his credit, he also does it in just 209 pages.

For those who haven’t dipped into current scholarship and its popularizers, this is what to expect: the Gospels were written at different times, by different communities, for different reasons. No reason to try and synchronize them, since that does violence to their intent. Knowing that original intent should guide our reading. Being aware of the meaning and context of the original words enriches our understanding and should over-ride the all too familiar English translation we use. Wills helps make the Gospels unfamiliar and dermanding.

This is, of course, threatening to some. If the Gospels can’t be synchronized, which of them is inaccurate (lies)? Aren’t our great translations (King James) divinely inspired? What do you mean we should re-write the Our Father to reflect its end-time context? No “daily bread” or “delivery us from evil”?

Overall, I learned a little less and was less challenged by this than by his book on Paul. Paul pre-dates the Gospels and even then is already quoting songs and poems, while the Gospels, even the newest understanding of the Gospels, was something I had read more about. If noting else, Wills has given me a task for my (not soon) retirement. I would like to learn Greek. Wills attended the same high school I did. When he was there they taught Greek, but they dropped it the year before I arrived. I’ll have to remedy that sometime.