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Monday, August 11, 2014

Looking to the East, to confirm the direction of the West (Church & State Relation's)



Something is going on that has happened before, it has happened multiple times throughout the centuries.  This is the question of secularism vs. religious belief in the West.  

Why do I say look East?  Look and see what is happening in Iraq, in the current day, but in many parts of the Middle East.  There are groups, whose main aim is fueled by their religious fundamentalism are attacking people, Muslims, Christians and other religious minorities whom they deem in the way of their "True" Religion.

For centuries we can look to the west in many of the conquests; crusades, 30 years war, conflict in Northen Ireland conquests which no doubt had a lot more than pure "religious" intentions when you dig  into them, but they were brought up, in context, a clear religious fervor to them.

Stedily in the West there has been an errosion of the influence of "Religion in the State", for someone who is religious, I would argue, against what many "Western Religious" leaders would argue that this is a positive thing for religious people for whom peace is at its core.  In fact in many cases I would say the separation of Church and State is exactly what is needed to allow various faith traditions to flourish.

I would argue that in the West, not without its issues, because the causes of time and the theological thought has never been a fluid thig, the  rise of the secular state allows for the most free flowing practice of religion.  

One example is that in my travels of the West, people have the greatest opportunity to practice their faith: "Freely, openly and if done peacefully without much interference".  This allows thought's to flow, many religious people don't like this, but secular states have allowd this.  If you look to France, there has bee a renaissance of Eastern Orthodox Christian thought, more so than in the lands of many of these confession's where they originated from.  In Germany, you have countless examples of Islamic Scholors who have been able to take a deeper view of their faith, where they could not do this in their own land.  In The Netherlands, one land where Calvinism has fourished it has been a heavily diverse nation with many beliefs but because of their separation, Calvinistic ideas have come to grow.

Going back to my point, if Western Society continues to march forward and Separate Church and State, with the aim that all should be free to practice their own religion, I think it has a humanizing effect, not the other way around.  I have no illusion's that many Christian and other faiths will vehemently argue otherwise, yet ask a Yazidi person in Norther Iraq or a Christian in Mosul how much they want to see the "State be more Religious", no one would answer that, they don't have freedom to practice anything similar to that while a "religious purist" imposes their faith in "society".



Friday, February 28, 2014

A speech for Our times: Western Dialogue on Reason and Faith







Speeches are given every day, every where and quite frankly most of them don't really amount to all that much, even given by great leaders and thinkers.








Once Speech that I do think bears a look back, that still in its basic question of the relationship of "Faith and Reason", is a relevant reminder for our day.  The speech was given in the Medieval town of Regensburg in Germany.  The setting in and of itself gives us pause, a town untouched by the scars of War, traditional in its outlook, yet like much of the Western World it looks and acts in the context of a Secular Western Culture.








The Speech was given 12 of September 2006 at the University of Regensburg.  It was a reflection giving by Pope Benedict the XVI at the university, who would have known the reaction would have included public protests, death threats, burning of epithets' of his.  The reaction struck a nerve and to me, even though the dust has settled it was one of those speeches that still should strike a cord in us today. 






First, what was it he said that sparked such controversy, such outrage, especially in areas of the world where Islam is the guiding principle of their culture?  The main area of the speech was directed at a dialogue in 1391 of Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam and the truth of both.  Benedict stated on the relationship of religion and violence in general.  These two were having a back and forth states this;


"Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul.  "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood and not acting reasonably to God's nature.  Faith is born of the soul not the body."  He goes on the decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature." (Pope Benedict XVI, Regensburg address. p. 2 of 8)
Benedict goes on to comment on Professor Theodore Khoury (Muenster), where he talks about at the time the emperor would have been shaped by Greek Philosophy and this statement would have made perfect sense, yet for a Muslim, believing that God is absolutely transcendent they might not be bound, in fact possibly shouldn't be bound by categories of any kind, that including rationality. 


The rub for many was that they felt the Pope was accusing those of Islam of spreading the faith by violence, and acting in unreasonable ways.  Ironically the way some chose to react was through action and chants of violence to be done in retaliation.  To be fair most didn't react in this way but it sparked a great question both in the western world, who has in many ways crowned Reason to be the champion and others, that Faith is the only lens to see the world in.






One of the questions we must all ask is; what relationship does faith have to reason and should it matter?  As the United States and others in the West are winding down two conflicts that have lasted over a decade, this question was one that probably should have been considered in the engagements of each culture.  From a Western context where one engages; "Reason and Faith", it is unfathomable that someone could fly a plane into a building and claim that this could be from God.  For some in the world of faith there has always been this healthy tension with Anselm of Canterbury coining the popular phrase "fides quarens intellectum" or "faith seeking understanding".  Even within the Muslim world there were times that they held a philosophical basis of their own faith, especially of Avaicenna and Averroes, whom without might not have had Aristotle's thoughts introduced into the West.





A second point steaming from this speech is that it in our political culture how do we integrate these two themes into society.  Especially as in the west pluralism is a reality and at what point does faith and reason come in harmony and at what point to do we say there must be some separation.  Such as the idea of "Separation of Church and State", not only as that relates to official "State Religions", but as to where items of faith  as relates to public policy.  We can point to countless examples as the debate came about for health care reform, currently what does an individuals belief have to with engaging with people they might deem "sinful" or at least some of their actions.  In other countries of the West the context has come with barely a mention of God in the European Constitution, though I would argue to those of faith, that the constitution itself, though few words are there about the evident past of faith bringing the Europe to where it is today, the structures and statements are an outward sign of the play of faith and reason.  (That would be a topic for another day).  The context of fighting for or denying certain civil rights.  This speech by Benedict has real meaning in many of the debates of today. 






The other philosopher that Benedict mentions that might have had more influence in our current zeitgeist of the West, especially thinking in an enlightenment context is Immanuel Kant who anchored faith into pure or maybe practical reason and thus for many became one of the foundations for people to separate reason from faith, again another source of context of how this interesting mind has shaped our Western world in ways most of us don't even realize.




As a person who does not believe that faith and reason have to be in conflict, I realize the tension that is always and will always be there.  This is the same as it then relates to the most practical area that of faith and science.  Too often these realms are in conflict, though they shouldn't be and at times in Western Culture haven't been.  I would say that both faith and science need to shed aspects of themselves that tend toward mythology rather than reality.  Faith is too afraid of advances in science and therefore holds on to too much mythology.





This was hammered home to me at a speech I was at with Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna and Dominican thinker.  He challenged an audience of faith on this very subject and it was amazing to me how many of the people there either thought he, a cardinal in the catholic church, was off base.   A few participants thought these ideas were an attack on faith itself.  Until people have this conversation, faith's growth will continue to be stunted.  The same goes for those in the science community, some zealots, like those on the opposite end of the spectrum, don't give any consideration to the possibility of faith.  Thus I believe some on that end too need to shed some of their own "mythology".  Science is great at the "how" of life, not always at the "why" of life.


I would also make the arguments that in a pluralistic society it can be dangerous, not only to the society but to the faith's that are defending their values to enforce these on the whole of the population, it is better to win with the words of the 14th century Emperor:


"Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats...To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death..." (Controversy VIII, 3b-c: Khoury pp.144-145, Foerstel vol. I, VII Dialog 1.6, pp. 240-243.)
It doesn't need to be physical violence to separate faith from reason it often shows itself in self righteous actions that cloak themselves in religiosity, but are no way rooted into the core of the faith some people proclaim to be defending.   Others would say they are defending "Religious Freedom".  For too many who are decrying in the western world that their "Religious Freedom" is under attack, I would first argue that it is a slap in the face to the many who do and are and have truly felt attacks on their religious freedom.  Do not cheapen a real right, for which I and many in Western Culture deeply believe in, for the argument of a political policy.


How will we engage "Faith and Reason"?















Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Trip to Paris...More like Inspiration in Paris


Paris!

When you step off the plane at Charles de Gaul,  you know you are somewhere else.  People from all over the world suddenly seem to converge all in one place, you know you are tired, a little disoriented, yet excited and exhilarated all at the same time.  What is it about this city of lights, what brings people to this place, what are they seeking?  

Those who live here, French to the core, even if they are from Cote d'ivoire, Senegal, Morocco or other places in the French Colonial past.  All coming together, in some ways as a big mess, in other ways it is much like the psyché of this city, a canvas of art that knows its past very well, yet is constantly seeking its next resistance or revolution.  

Paris, it seems, is about opening up doors.  When you enter into one of its many, especially Gothic Churches, the first thing you do is enter in, into a Portal, as if to open up a piece of your self.  Our lives are often lived in isolation, yet that is not how we are meant to be.  The expression of entering into that new realm, or as the religious people would like you to do, look up towards the heavens and find your light, find your meaning, find and live your "Esprit"!  This term is not one, those of us in the English speaking world, quite get.  There are areas of our being we don't get, maybe we don't want to get, because that would mean we need to look at our spirit, our lives and ask, what are we doing.  We have to be able to look at ourselves naked, I don't necessarily mean this literally, yet we need to contemplate our strengths, our weakness, our brokenness our deep sense of confidence we all seek.  This struck me, especially at Musée Rodin, in so many of his sculptures their nakedness exposed them and it was just down to their personhood, their humanity, their emotions, their moment of truth.  Just to mention two, First, "The Thinker", this famous sculpture that probably all would recognize, this man straining every muscle, down to his toes being curled in thought.  It takes our whole being to realize who we are and what we are about.  The other Ugolino,  he climbing over the dying bodies of his children, having lost everything, no longer even desperate, he has had his humanity his dignity shattered and he depicts this so well.  His bringing modern/contemporary art to a new level, for many his work was obscene, but something in this man struck a cord for his supporters and his detractors.  As someone
who at some stages of my life would have thought his work was not art at all, it doesn't have a sense of realism, I appreciate tis now, because in many ways his work is truly real, we see in our lives, especially in our thoughts our dreams a sense of mystery and distortion, this can pull us to a clearer sense of what makes us tick and what drives our passions.

Paris makes you think of passion or its original Greek word, (Eros) all the time, at every corner you get a sense of the sacred and the secular all at the same time.  When you look at the history of this place, you have the history of the kings, to paths that led to revolution, the scars and the healing, that maybe have never and will never heal.  Looking at the back of Notre Dame, those buttresses keeping up those walls, as well as lifting many a person, closer, closer to God and thus for many, closer to their own humanity.  Once in or outside those walls you notice the deep fashion sense, the care of seemingly every hair being groomed on many a people, it is both a competition as well  as a respect of who and whom we are.  Buildings that were once used as Royalties Playground, now in many cases is used for people to live, to sustain, to move us forward, without forgetting our past.  

This is something that many in the US, simply can't relate to, we have no memory of A couple of hundred years ago, ok we weren't even around as a nation, but my point is we didn't have monarchs or our leaders having open decadent parties while people are starving in the streets, we haven't had two wars that wiped out significant portions of our own population wiped out, many times with bombs dropping in your own neighborhood.  Now mind you, I also write this as a Catholic yet one who has not always been one or who at times even wrestles with faith.

One thing I notice about Parisians, they aren't going to be all that impressed with much, hell they don't even take pictures of the amazing food they have, and with their great and terrible past, why would they?  I can appreciate this mentality in so many ways  we are seeing in our own country the effects of institutions we used to think were cornerstones, they disappoint us.  In the realm of government we always knew it could and would be at times corrupt, part of our foundation.  For many, our churches, were a bastions that were a fortress, a protector, a shelter, a light, a prophet, a cultural cornerstone.  Now for many we have found a lot of disappointment, we find that at times all of those adjectives were at times false, it either leads us to sticking our heads in the sand and bunker down on our vision of what ever institution we love or it can crumble and we have a lot of disdain for it even if though we will always carry visions of nostalgia with us.  

I say tis because this is the interplay that has happened in Paris for centuries, it has been built, destroyed, decayed and rebuilt itself many times. I say this as one example of many, why it would be tough to impress a Parisian.  

The one exception that seems to impress a Parisian, is the art of dialogue.  Every where you go the whole city is set for what I will call dialogue.  Cafés, Gardens, Bistrot's public space, outdoor space, Churches and the list goes on and on.  In a day and age where papers are a sinking business at every stand you find at least five local, many more than once daily papers as well as the readily available papers even from many different countries, the way people start their day with a coffee, then take seemingly hours for lunch, to then spend hours of the evening well into the night centered around dialogue.     After just a few days when Lori, my wife, were, if you will, immersed into the daily life a couple of hours for dinner was not unheard of.  My observation of those around me, especially of those who are locals, this is common place, this is natural, this is life.  

I think when we go through our lives, during the change of the seasons, when we experience changes in our lives, when we move to new phases, when we experience great joy, upheaval, when people or institutions disappoint us, it is then that we must turn within, and also turn outside of ourself and commence in dialogue, a dialogue wit ourselves, with the whole of our being.  Much like Rodin's "The Thinker", if you look at this masterpiece you can see his whole body clinching in thought,  it takes the whole of our being to be in real dialogue.   This dialogue happens with ourselves, with others, with our god, verbally, non-verbally, yet we must partake in this dialogue or it seems such a waste, this is something that is a very Western ideal, much in eastern thought would ask us in some ways to clear our mind, totally, which can be good, yet I feel that it can destroy who we are and we need our thoughts, and our intellect and will find who we are and that happens through our dialogue of life.  Now we must clear our thoughts  to center ourselves some can  be focused, to find out who we are and what makes us tick.  

This is just a little of the joy of Paris, not just Paris but travel in general, Paris has for years been a place of poets, philosophers, politics, lovers, a meeting place of the best the worst.  Paris is a place that brings countless souls in search of something, something about the place, yes; yet I would venture to say most are searching for something about themselves or as palace to send them and the ones they love off to begin a wondrous journey of dialogue and self discovery in a world shaded in so many ways.  It is a place you can let your senses run wild, it is a place where the best tourist attraction is taking a stroll with one you love, less is more in Paris, a place to be you, to find you to rediscover you.  Revolution is this cities mantra, but this isn't always done with guns and canons, it is done through a smell, a song, a sight, a touch, a love, Paris is a place to discover! 



Monday, February 10, 2014

Welcome to this new blog

Welcome to those who want to check out this new blog on Western Culture.  The "West" is often acclaimed,  vilified,  misunderstood,  but in my opinion worth living in.   In a globalized world I think it is important to remember and celebrate the contributions many great cultures provide to enrich this thing we call life.   Enjoy,  criticize,  whatever,  hopefully it makes us all think... hopefully over a good cup of coffee.