Not Quite an Atheist

September 24, 2008 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

A friend and I drove up to Belmont College near Charlotte last night to hear Michael Novak deliver a lecture about his new book which counters atheism. It was a good chance to see the campus and learn more about the good things happening there. At these events it’s amazing how many people I meet who are readers of this blog.

Novak said that in his discussions and debates with atheist Christopher Hitchens, that Hitchens once said, “I don’t believe in God, but I do believe in the numinous. I believe in the Transcendent.” Duuh. That’s what theists actually think God is. (We think He is more than that, but he is certainly not less than that)

What amazes me about the new wave of aggressive atheists like Dawkins and Hitchens is how little they actually know about real religion, real theology. Do they deliberately mis-characterize religious people? Do they deliberately propose that all religious people are ignorant flat earther, conspiracy type wackos? Surely they are aware that there are many people who are otherwise sensible, intelligent, accomplished, sophisticated and articulate people who are also devout believers. How do they deal with these obvious facts?

I suppose they would say, “These people may be smart, educated, articulate and cultured, but they just have an unfortunate blind spot. In that particular area they’re just dumb.” But the problem with this argument (apart from blatant bigotry) is that it cuts both ways. The religious person may well say of Dawkins and Hitchens etc: “Well these guys are bright and articulate and witty and urbane and educated, but when it comes to spiritual matters they’ve got a blind spot. in that area of life they’re just dumb.”

When faced with the great beauties of religion, the unparalleled sublimity of a Mozart Mass, Chartres Cathedral or Kings’ College, Cambridge they are dolts. When faced with the complex masterpiece like the Ghent altarpiece, the humility of a hermit’s cell, or the humane comfort that a priest brings to the deathbed of a dying woman, the heroic sacrifices of countless priests and religious for the poor and downtrodden, when confronted with the profound antiquity and timeless beauty of the Mass, the simple beauty of the face of a young Missionary of Charity or the grandeur of the Roman Church these guys are like pinheads in an art gallery who simply yawn.

They’re like drug ridden rock and roll junkies at a concert of chamber music. Rather than being more sophisticated because of their atheism, they’re less. They’re like a junk food junkie who finds himself in a five star French restaurant. He would look at the exquisite menu in French and say, “This stuff is just dumb. I wanna hot dog and fries.” Like any boorish adolescent they then think themselves clever and smart for rejecting what more enlightened people have discovered to be transcendental and sublime.

In many ways the proper response to them is not to get angry or argue or debate. Instead perhaps we should simply treat them like we do the idiot cousin in the family: we are patient and good humored because we realize part of them is missing. We are also compassionate and kind because they too are part of the family.

The Centrality of Sacrifice

August 31, 2008 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

If you’ve seen Mel Gibson’s film Apocolypto you’ll remember the pretty graphic scenes of human sacrifice. Most primitive religions featured human sacrifice and ritualistic cannibalism in some form or other at some point. The logic was pretty simple: to appease the gods you gave them something valuable. What would they like? Life. How do you give them life? The life is in the blood, so you have to shed blood. What life is best? Pretty young virgins, lovely children, strong young warriors. You get the idea.

The Jews were given a get out. They could sacrifice animals instead of their children. This was the main lesson that came out of Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac: God said human sacrifice was un-necessary. So the Jews developed their sacrificial system, but even in the Old Testament God was indicating that this was insufficient. “Do you think I eat the flesh of goats and bullocks?” he asks.

Then he sends his Son as the one, full, final sacrifice. Suddenly all other sacrifices have meaning. They were pointers to this one human sacrifice to end all human sacrifices. The Mass is the proper re-presentation of that one, full, final sacrifice. It brings into the present moment that timeless moment and applies that benefit to one and all.

Now the problem with modern Catholicism is that modern people, thinking that human sacrifice is really rather horrific, and that the wanton, ritualistic slaughter of animals is also rather gruesome, have chucked out the religious concept of sacrifice altogether. The modernists saw it as superstitious, bloodthirsty, primitive and barbaric. The considered themselves to have moved on from such superstitious concepts as placating rather petulant and cruel gods, and wanted a different model for understanding the Mass.

The other model was there. In the Bible we have the Almighty making covenants with his people. The ancients sealed these covenants with a ritual meal. The Jews had lots of ritual meals. The Passover was just one. So this model of covenant, ritual, fellowship meal took precedence in the theology that preceded the Second Vatican Council.

Now the main model for the Mass was the ritual fellowship meal of the people of God. The focus shifted from a memorial of Christ’s death on the cross to a memorial of the Last Supper. The Mass was not so much a re-presentation and application of Christ’s death, but a re-living of the Last Supper, with us as Jesus disciples and the priest as an alter-Christus presiding at the Last Supper.

If this was to be the model, then of course it made sense for the priest to go around to the other side of the altar (now called the Communion Table) and face the people. He was no longer the priest offering the sacrifice with and for the people, but he was the Father presiding at the family meal rather like Daddy standing up to ceremonially carve the roast beef for family dinner.

This change of position was nowhere legislated by the Fathers of the Council. In fact, the rubrics of the Novus Ordo Mass assume that the priest is still facing East with his back to the people, praying with them and for them. That’s why at the “Pray brethren that our sacrifice…” and the “Behold the Lamb of God” the rubrics instruct the priest to ‘turn and face the people’.

In the wake of this theological change everything else changed. Churches became big round meeting halls in which the people met for the fellowship meal. The introit became the ‘gathering song.’ The hymns changed content from worship of God and meditation on the Divine Sacrifice to songs about us and our community and how we felt about God and how we were going to change the world.

What happened when sacrifice went out the stained glass window? We lost an understanding of God himself, for sacrifice is woven into the very warp and woof of creation. Sacrifice is the character of God himself, for just as the blood flows out of the sacrifice, so God’s Divine Love flows from him at all times. This Divine Love is the energy of all creation, it is the force that ‘moves the sun and the other stars’. It is the energy that binds together the three members of the Holy Trinity. Sacrifice is the outpouring of one’s life and one’s love, and without sacrifice Christianity is reduced to a club of people who sing songs together, and talk about how they are going to make the world a better place.

When we start to understand the proper place of sacrifice in the whole cosmos, we will start again to understand the sacrifice of the Mass, and when that happens everything else in our liturgy architecture, music, prayer and spirituality should fall back into place.

Checklist for Anglican Tiber Swimming

July 9, 2008 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

In 1994 I was an Anglican priest on the Isle of Wight. I had a wife and two young children. We lived in a beautiful Victorian vicarage in the country. I had two beautiful Norman churches to look after. (Brading Church pictured above)

My church was growing. My congregation were loving and kind. I wanted to stay there forever. Then the Church of England pulled the rug out from under me, and I began to plan a big adventure: swimming the Tiber.

Here’s some advice for Anglican priests who are now in the situation I was in then. If you’re an Anglican reading this, forward the post, put it on your blog, add a link, spread the news.

1. If you’re thinking of coming home to Rome make sure you know why you’re doing it. Dislike of women clergy isn’t enough.

The women bishops crisis should be causing you to examine the real status of the Anglican Church and the real claims of the Catholic Church.

2. Read Eamon Duffy, Christopher Haigh and Jack Scarisbrick to really understand what happened in the sixteenth century.

3. Practice your wave walking. You’re going to have to step out of your little family fishing boat and walk on the waves for a bit. The weather is stormy. You’ll probably both sink and swim, but you’ll feel great because you’re going with Peter, and once you’ve been hauled aboard the barque of Peter you’ll be home.

4. Network with others who are thinking of leaving. Encourage each other. Don’t feed your illusions about the Anglican Church. Think clearly. Speak clearly and do not be afraid. Network with those who took the step last time around. Make contacts in the Catholic Church.

5. Get in touch with the St Barnabas Society. They’ve been helping clergy converts for over a hundred years. I used to work for them. They have the resources to help you. They have former Anglican priests on their staff who work as pastoral advisors. They will never pressure you. They offer advice in total confidence.

6. You’re going to be one of God’s great gifts to the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, not all Catholics (including a good number of the English bishops) believe this. Be prepared for the fact that some Catholics will not welcome you with open arms.

7. Don’t come to the Catholic Church with conditions. Don’t expect instant ordination. Don’t expect anything except to be humbly received and begin life as a Catholic layman. A friend of mine who was a former Protestant pastor was a Catholic for two years, and after sitting in the pew patiently his pastor said, ‘I’ve got a job I’d like you to do…” “Yes father?” “Would you run the Bingo on the second Tuesday of the month?…”

8. If you’re applying to be ordained, to see a bishop, for a dispensation from the vow of celibacy, for a job… be patient. They don’t call Rome ‘the eternal city’ for nothing.

9. Be prepared for a huge outpouring of grace in your life. Anglo Catholicism is wonderful, but the the reality, the truth, the fullness and the glory of the Catholic Church will almost be tangible as you take this step of faith.

10. Be prepared for the English Catholic Church. We have liberals in the Catholic Church too. Be prepared to be suspected of being a misogynistic crank. Be prepared to be misunderstood and marginalized.

11. You may have to give up beautiful vestments, beautiful music, beautiful buildings, beautiful liturgy. The Catholic Church in England is, in many ways, still an underground church of immigrants, the poor, the dispossessed, the scorned and the marginalized. Cheer up! You’re moving from a boring established church to being part of the greatest subversive, underground revolutionary movement the world has ever seen.

12. Trust in God. I wish I could tell you my whole story, but I promise you, if you step out in faith God will not let you down. In the end no sacrifice for him and for his kingdom goes unrewarded. Your courage, your step of faith will inspire others. It will unlock graces in the world that you cannot now see. Are you concerned for your faithful people? That is beautiful, but when they see you step out in faith and give all for Christ they will be so amazed and enraged and disturbed and inspired that they will never forget it.

SPECIAL OFFER: For any bona fide Anglican priest who writes and asks, I will arrange a free copy of my book The Path to Rome–Modern Journeys to the Catholic Faith. Just drop me an email.

Anglicans in Agony

June 27, 2008 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

The Lambeth Conference is approaching. This is the once-a-decade meeting of all the Bishops of the Anglican communion. At least it is supposed to be all the bishops. Instead many bishops are boycotting the conference because of the continuing fisticuffs over homosexuality.

The conservatives from the developing world are having an alternative conference in Jerusalem. There is geographical symbolism here. Lambeth is the Archbishop of Canterbury’s London residence. The conference actually takes place in Canterbury. The developing world bishops seem to be saying, “You can keep the English-ness you love so much. We’re going back to the roots. We’re meeting in Jerusalem.” The photograph above shows the Anglican bishops in their regalia at the Mount of Olives this week.

The conference is called Gafcon (Global Anglican Future Conference) You can check it out here. There is much there about the need for Scriptural authority. The problem with this is that the homosexualists also claim that Scripture is on their side. Here is how their argument goes: The problem with Sodom was not sodomy, but inhospitality. The men of Sodom were nasty to visitors. That was the problem–not that they raped them. The prohibitions in the Old Testament? You can’t take those seriously–otherwise your women would not be able to wear pantsuits, you couldn’t have pork barbecue sandwiches or lobster and you’d have to have those curly bits on your head like Orthodox Jews wear. New Testament prohibitions? That was not against ‘loving homosexual relationships’ but against depravity, decadence and fornication so common in the ancient world. Besides St Paul was probably homophobic and we know more about human sexuality now than they did.

I’m not defending this position of course–just pointing out that the homosexualists also read Scripture and have their Bible scholars lined up, their psychologists, their theologians, their linguistic experts etc. etc. etc. Therefore when the admirable Gafcon bishops admirably maintain the need for Scriptural authority they are sadly beating a dead horse. Scriptural authority on its own isn’t good enough for who is to say who interprets the Scriptures? Who is to say that Gafcon’s interpretation is the right one and the homosexualists’ is the wrong one?

In the meantime, other Anglicans are jumping off the leaky boat and swimming for the lifeboats. Some are heading for the more than 100 Anglican schism groups, some dioceses and parishes are forming new alliances with African bishops they consider orthodox (problem there is what happens when that bishop retires and they don’t like his successor?) Still others are turning again to the Roman option. Among them are Anglo-Catholics who are holding out for some sort of Anglican Use option within Catholicism

My own word on this is to ask Anglicans who want some sort of Anglican Church within the Catholic Church is to re-count a conversation between then Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster with Anglican bishop of London Graham Leonard. Cardinal Hume asked Bishop Leonard what it was that he wished to retain from Anglicanism that he could not already have within Catholicism.

Was it the 39 Articles of Religion? As an Anglo Catholic Leonard had no love for that Protestant document anyway. Was it the 1662 prayer book? As an AC Leonard already used the Roman Missal. Was it the beautiful music? While not common in the Catholic Church, it was not banned. Was it beautiful liturgy? That is possible within Catholicism. Was it choral evensong? Catholics have choral solemn Vespers.

In fact there was nothing specific within Anglicanism that was not already available within Catholicism. If, however Rome allows more leeway in the Anglican Use, and this provides a bridge for more Anglicans to come over, praise be. Meanwhile Damian Thompson reports that at least one, if not more Church of England bishops are preparing to announce their plans to be received into the Catholic Church and rumors are circulating that Rome has prepared a way for the Traditional Anglican Communion to be received, and that they are just waiting for the Lambeth Conference to conclude before going public. This may just be speculation.

But either way, this summer is going to be ecclesiologically exciting.

UPDATE: Charles Moore–convert former editor of the Daily Telegraph writes eloquently about the problems of the Anglican Church here.

UPDATE: Read more here about developments within Anglicanism. Gafcon have not started a separate church, but plan to remain within as an alternative hierarchy.

The Sacred Filter Down Effect

May 27, 2008 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Fr. Z says, “Save the Liturgy, Save the World.” An overstatement by a zealous liturgy lover? Perhaps, but on the other hand, ask yourself why there is so little sense of the sacred in our lives.

Why do young people not respect their elders? Why the disintegrating social manners? Why the foul language, the commonplace crudeness? Why the lack of courtesy? Why do we not take time for nice family meals? Why the crassness and vulgarity of modern society when we have enough money to make things nice? Why the lack of self respect? Why the casual, cheap and horrible clothing we wear? Why the sloppy attitudes, sloppy language, sloppy everything?

I reckon it comes down to a lack of the sacred. If you do not believe anything is sacred, then nothing is sacred. If you do not believe there is anything to bow down to, then you never bow down. If there is nothing to worship, then there is nothing much at all. When nothing is sacred all things are equal in value. The lack of the sacred is a great and monstrous leveler.

One of the things we notice at St Mary’s Greenville, (where we have made the attempt to bring back the sacred) is that the people dress up more to come to church. They also behave better in church. I reckon it filters down to the rest of life as well. Perhaps by re-sacralizing the sacred we also re-sacralize the rest of life.

Maybe, just maybe, when we bring back the sacred to our worship, all things sacred become more sacred. If we truly worship in church, should we not then value our family meals more? If we take the trouble and care over the liturgy should we not take more trouble and care over our manners, our dress, our relationships and our language?

Worship should transform our perspective on life, so all things beautiful, precious and eternal are valued in a way that is beautiful, precious and eternal.

Bring on the incense. Bring on the beautiful vestments, Sing choirs of angels, roll in the trumpets and drums. Train the noble young men to serve at the altar as if they were servants in the halls of the Great King. Help the noble young women to sing the praises of the king with fine music. Preach the word with passion and beauty. Value the liturgy and take time to worship and see if your world is not renewed.

Country Preacher

May 12, 2008 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

I have a confession: while driving around Greenville, South Carolina, I enjoy listening to our local gospel station. Now this is not your up to date, synthesized, plastic gospel music. I’m talking about the good ole fashioned gospel quartets, with a bass who growls like an old dog and a screaming high tenor. I’m talking about the sweet a capella gospel singers who wail and whine and have a passion for Jeezus.

And the preachers! They all have a voice gone gravelly from years of yellin’ and preachin’ the gospel and hootin’ and hollerin’ and callin’ poor sinners to turn to the Lord while there is still time. There’s a tenderness and simplicity and heart felt authenticity in the best of them that tickles me and touches me and fills me with admiration.

Of course I don’t agree with them theologically, and I’m sometimes amazed and aghast at both their ignorance and the things they say which contradict the Bible they claim to love and revere so much. One preacher was saying the other day, “Ya’ll need to confess your sin when you offend the Lord. Now you can come and talk to the preacher about it if you want to, but he can’t forgive your sins. Only Jesus can. No sense going to talk to some priest either. He can’t forgive your sins. Only Jesus can.” Whoops. that’s not what the gospel says. Jesus’ commission to his apostles to forgive sins in his name is one of the clearest and most Biblical aspects of the apostolic ministry in the Catholic Church.

But enough of that. One of the preachers made me laugh out loud. He was getting down on the big mega churches and said, “Now I know ya’ll are tempted to go running off to the big community church. ‘Oooh pastor!’ you say, ‘It’s a growin’ church. It’s movin’!’ Well, I’ll tell you something. A dead dog on the side of the road is growing and moving too. It’s swelling up in the sun and its crawling and moving with maggots, but it’s still daid as can be. Same with that community church.”