Doubt (2008)

Doubt is an academy award-nominated film set in a Catholic elementary school in the Bronx in which Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) begins to have doubts about one of the priests, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who seems to have become inappropriately involved with a young African American student.

But this film is much more than a nun-takes-on-suspicious-priest drama. Beyond this surface framework, it is the story of a strict, old-style courageous nun who is outwardly fearsome and inwardly compassionate. She mercilessly chases down a priest she thinks has done wrong, yet her inner compassion is subtly revealed in her efforts to care for an ailing sister to avert the sister's removal from the convent.

The work is of value because, like so many public figures today, the charismatic priest hides his selfishness, laxity, and self-indulgence behind a veil of false compassion, dropping magic words like "kindness," "humanity," and "light in your heart" and of course "intolerance."

He attacks virtue by pitting it against kindness, yet his self-indulgence and that of the boys' club that backs him is set in sharp contrast to her modest lifestyle and dogged sense of obligation to "the working-class people of this parish."

The courageous, compassionate, furious nun follows the fire in her belly, kindled by God ("you don't step away from God when you pursue wrong-doing," she explains), to chase him from the parish, but is ultimately crushed to learn his next assignment is essentially a promotion.

To the present reviewer, whose own ecclesiastical jurisdiction is in some ways plagued by the nauseating idolatry and rock-stardom surrounding some, this film like a welcome bottle of Extra-Strength Tums.

Inspired by this one nun - whose subtle and powerful holiness left me entranced - working humbly in her parish, I was encouraged to simply serve God in a small way in my small place.

Finally, this film is a sobering reminder that spiritual authority, priestly or otherwise, is a powerful and dangerous thing and that placing it in the wrong hands at the wrong time can be devestating to its recipient as well as to those around him.

'Why Believe in a God?' Ad Campaign Launches on D.C. Buses

The American Humanist Association is spending nearly $40,000 to place ads on busses which read: "Why Believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake."

Amazing. I'm going to start a campaign and spend about $40,000 to ask "Why believe in lucky charms?" On second thought, since I don't feel threatened by a belief in lucky charms, I think I'll save my money for something more worthwhile like, say, a lucky rabbit's foot.

I'm watching O'Reilly right now and Fred Edwords, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, is speaking of people who don't believe in God but "who believe in goodness and have good values."

If there is no God, no eternal, ultimate source of goodness in the universe, to what is he referring? How can he decide what is goodness and what is badness and what are good values and what are bad ones? If there is no God, what is his reference point?

All the talk of goodness in the same breath as atheism reminds me of a few observations by C.S. Lewis in The Abolition of Man: First, "a great many of those who 'debunk' traditional...values have in the background values of their own which they believe to be immune from the debunking process." He also noted,"If we are to have values at all we must accept the ultimate platitudes of Practical Reason as having absolute validity..." Again, "If nothing is self-evident, nothing can be proved. Similarly if nothing is obligatory for its own sake, nothing is obligatory at all."

Embarassing "Christians"

The Gospel According to Hot 97

I got in my wife's car yesterday to take it to the mechanic and had the unfortunate experience of having Hot 97 (97.1 FM, NY) leap out at me in all its (in)glory. I did not switch because the subject of discussion was Heath Ledger's untimely death and, being an admirer of some (certainly not all) of his work, I was interested. I wish I had just shut off the radio and prayed silently.

The DJ (I had no idea what her name was), unleashed an obnoxious diatribe that evidenced her total ignorance of Ledger, the facts surrounding his death, human psychology, and the rules of English syntax and diction. I was pretty annoyed, until she mentioned God. Then, I was furious.

Why is it that most of the thoughtful and insightful Christians are so outside the mainstream media (Kallistos Ware, Ravi Zacharias, Peter Kreeft, NT Wright) while the loud, thoughtless ones end up behind the strongest microphones? Probably because the ones who have the most superficial understanding seek to be the loudest and most visible in religion (and politics and science).

Thankfully, her co-host tried to correct her, offering a more thoughtful Christian analysis. Unfortunately, it was her show, which she turned into a circus.

Westboro Baptist Church

These people need no introduction. They are at it again, picketing funerals and taking Saint Paul out of context. Funny, do you think he would picket a funeral?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,324966,00.html

Jamie Lynn Spears on Being "Judgmental"

CNN reports that Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's sister, is pregnant. I promise you that is not the point of this post.

The point is her implied view on judgmentalism. From the article:

What message does she want to send to other teens about premarital sex? "I definitely don't think it's something you should do; it's better to wait," she told the magazine. "But I can't be judgmental because it's a position I put myself in."

If you really deconstruct that statement, she is saying she needs to avoid making a statement about sexual morality/responsibility because such a statement is, by definition, "judgmental." In essence: "How can I be 'judgmental' (i.e. make a statement about morality), when I have put myself in this situation?"

I know it's just Jamie Lynn Spears, but her comments really are a reflection of a common, simplistic assumption: A statement about sexual morality is inherently "judgmental".

We commonly attack others when when what they say makes us uncomfortable about our own life choices. We don't stop to think whether he/she is being judgmental or just rational and maybe even loving.

Here's a link to the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/19/spears.sister.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest

Halo Players Are Sophisticated

Oh man. This made me smile.

A bunch of the guys in our college fellowship at my church are insanely into Halo. I came across a statement in legal opinion today that will make you dudes proud.

The Court noted that the "'[t]estimony of experienced wargamers and proprietors of stores selling wargame items established that wargamers are sophisticated purchasers who generally know what they want before they enter the stores'”. New Colt Holding Corp. v. RJG Holdings of Florida, Inc. 2003 WL 23508131, *4 (D. Conn. 2003)