The religion of man-made global warming climate change appears to be hitting a snag. Well, that only seems fair, to me. All the other religions had to have their growing pains and suppressions, after all.
Do Christians know what they believe? Charles M. Blow at the NY Times wonders about it, in an unsurprisingly snarky tone:
In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life.
This threw evangelicals into a tizzy. After all, the Bible makes it clear that heaven is a velvet-roped V.I.P. area reserved for Christians. Jesus said so: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” But the survey suggested that Americans just weren’t buying that.
]…]
So in August, Pew asked the question again…Sixty-five percent of respondents said — again — that other religions could lead to eternal life. But this time, to clear up any confusion, Pew asked them to specify which religions. The respondents essentially said all of them. And they didn’t stop there. Nearly half also thought that atheists could go to heaven — dragged there kicking and screaming, no doubt — and most thought that people with no religious faith also could go.What on earth does this mean?
I suspect Mr. Blow would like it to mean that Christians are inconsistent idiots who don’t believe “their own story.” Perhaps “what on earth” it all means is simply that people instinctively realize that God is bigger than our knowing – even with the help of scripture – that no one knows what happens in the infinitesimal moments that hang between life and death, and that we – with generous hearts – optimistically hope for the best possibility. From a Catholic perspective, the Catechism says:
1260 “Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.”63 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.
St. Jerome said “ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” What we know of Christ is so wonderful that we do, on some level, have to believe that if others only knew it too, there would be no question but that they would want it; baptism, salvation, the whole shebang. As any Christian can tell you, simply knowing scripture is not enough. Going to church is not enough. Being familiar with tenets of Christianity is not enough. Beyond all of that, a person must have a genuine experience of Christ – a “milk and honey moment”, as it were – before one may say they truly know. And even then, with all we know, we know we are capable, still, of great ignorance. No well is so deep, nor knowledge, that Christ is not deeper, still. Thus all are in need of mercy. All have fallen short.
Scripture says what it says, but there is always mystery. God’s ways are not our ways. Just as Christ was able to look beyond strictures against eating with sinners, or talking to Samaritan women – because after all, he is God – it is not completely out of the question to assume that Christ can also look beyond the ideal he put forth in John 14:6.
And I don’t see how it can possibly be objectionable for me to make that suggestion, especially not when the very people who may take exception to it and rant at me that “every word of the bible is to be taken literally” will suddenly find metaphors abounding in Chapter 6 of the same Gospel.
When my brother died earlier this month, I wrote about how separated he was from God, and many, many kind Christians assured me (beyond my own knowing) that he was now in heaven with the Lord. I suspect purgatory, myself, but who knows? Perhaps the mercy and grace of Christ – which is beyond our understanding – was bestowed upon him, despite everything, because our hearts, our minds and our souls are ultimately known only by God. When mercy and mystery meet, we cannot know – only hope. We hope because we know. And in that case, Mr. Blow really has nothing to wonder about, at all.
Another interesting poll on religion and one’s sense of purpose.
Speaking of purpose: the left is still furious about Obama inviting Rick Warren to pray at his inaugural. I think there is an opportunity here for some long-overdue national dialogue on what constitutes “hate” as opposed to a simple and honest difference of opinion. To some, Warren, who is hardly what one would call “obsessed” on gay issues, is not 100% in-line (he does not support gay marriage) therefore he must be a “hater” and a “homophobe. Frank Rich has an especially hysterical, dress-over-the-face bit of blather on this, today. The formula appears to be: “if you do not agree with everything I want, you are an intolerant hater who should be marginalized. But if I do not agree with what you think, I am simply correct. And you are stupid.”
On the political front: President-elect Bush worked out daily and was derided for it, Obama is praised for it. Bush made it clear he missed his privacy, Obama bristles about it. Bush ignored it and went about his business, during which time he liberated 60 million people and, as Jules remarks has accepted the role of punching bag at the same time. Bush has done more to keep people alive in Africa than any president previous, to almost no notice, little regard and less praise. Obama will likely do much less and get enormous credit.
I’m just sayin’. I mean, it’s just my opinion. I never claimed to be a journalist or anything!
Finally: Jamie Lee Curtis says the economic downturn will be a good thing for the peasant class. Or something. Hmmm…daughter of Hollywood B+ royalty, married to a Baron who also happens to be a wealthy filmmaker. She’d know all about it, then. I’m all for cutting back, walking, and “sharing” etc. I just don’t know how I feel about being cheered on by a limousine liberal-type who will very likely not be hanging her clothes on a line to save on the electric bill. Oh, wait…I already do that…
I don’t know if I agree so much on Jamie Lee Curtis. She’s right. A downturn makes people more resourceful. It makes them rethink choices. I didn’t read her whole post, and if she used “peasant,” that’s unfortunate. But I happen to agree that folks having to learn to make-do like in past generations will make us a stronger country. The current younger generations (and some older ones) have no idea what it is to scrimp and make do.
I had not thought the trend of kids living with parents till they’re 30 was good and have felt that they need to move out and get a whiff of the real world. But now I’m seeing it as a prelude to the situation we’re in at this time. I think it’s good that families live together longer and especially when there are elderly, for everyone’s sake.
I should go read her whole post/comment, but that’s my two cents.
[As I said, I'm all for some of that stuff, myself. My problem was with the "this is going to be great! Roll up your sleeves and get resourceful" tone coming from her when you just know she's not going to have to change her own life a bit. She did not use the word 'peasant.' It was just a tone. - admin]
“Jesus said so: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.””
We Baptists and probably many other denominations of the
Christian Church have a saying: “God said it. I believe it.
That’s good enough for me.”
If Jesus, Who was God incarnate said it then it’s true.
No man (or woman) comes to the Father but by Jesus. That
means through His shed blood.
We can believe anything we want about other faiths, but if
we are Christians we know there is only One Way to Heaven, and that is through Jesus.
God bless you, A, and your family and may you all have a
very happy and prosperous, healthy New Year, My Sister in
Christ!
Interesting bit from the NY Times. Let me see if I’ve gotten this right: If a Christian believes that a non-Christian can enter heaven it means that he is confused and inconsistent – When a Christian believes that only Christians may enter heaven then he is bigoted and hateful.
Then again, we have no idea who was surveyed and what level of truthfulness they were prepared to share with a stranger of unknown denomination over the phone.
Sadly, we had a lifelong Washington Insider well past his prime running as the GOP Nominee, who peddled Global Warming alarmist rhetoric to gain liberal votes during the last primary and Presidential election.
I will never forget John McCain getting off of a helicopter, after riding with Hillary Clinton on a tour flying over Alaska, saying he could “SEE” the effects of Global Warming.
It is this nonsense, the vapid offering of the either unethical, or the incredibly lackluster, which causes such horrid government representation. Hillary Clinton as a Senator is evidence we have finally hit rock bottom in the Capital.
That is why the Senate continues to sink in reputation, as most of those involved with say anything to get ahead.
Another sign of why President GW Bush is truly impressive and will be missed as a fine President.
Anyhow, Ms. Jamie Lee Curtis is another mindless celebrity. Rather embarrassing.
Yeah, I went and read it and rolled my eyes at the dark-days-of-Bush thing.
I don’t mind that a wealthy person has stuff to say about this but there were flip parts of her comment so I can see what you’re saying about tone.
ON THE SUBJECT OF HANGING CLOTHES, let me mix it in with the worship theme. I’ve never been a greenie but always hang sheets on the line. My linen closet smells wonderful. The scent is one of my favorites, that of clothes hung on the line. I remember very fondly the task of hanging baby diapers to dry on the line. They came in sanitized by the sun, often already folded for use because I lingered to stay out with them and their beautiful, outdoor fragrance so folded as I put them in the basket. I pity the poor baby bottoms who have to wear the disposable ones now.
ON THE JAMIE LEIGH CURTIS flap; perhaps she should take a look around the neighborhoods where her gardeners and maids live. Many of the poor families in my town, and other cities I’ve seen, have multi-generational home and living arrangements. Maybe she hasn’t noticed the statistics of how many grandparents, both poor, middle class and rich are raising their grandchildren and sometimes even great grandchildren. It has always been a staple of the poor to have multi-generation homes. I live in a region with historically high Hispanic, non-black population now, but lived in Louisiana with a high black population for 30 years.
I wish I could hang out my clothes, but there is the issue of birds. Anything that can be perched on and pooed on, has been. In the winter, I hang clothes on a valet or in the
After responding to Ms. Curtis’ article, I thought about it some more and realize that her intended audience is probably more like her than people in my neck of the woods. If that’s the case, stepping back from their current lifestyles might be a revolutionary idea.
Indeed, Ms. Curtis was not encouraging people in her own circumstances — who are very few indeed — to cut back. She was delighting in the fact that we peons will be forced to cut back.
To glory in the prospect of others’ losing their homes, to think with glee of shortages of food and transportation on the grounds that it will somehow be “good for them” would be a pretty crummy set of ideas from any source.
From someone who grew up rich and who, because she happened have some, shall we say, qualities that people wanted to see at the movies will never face any of these things, it’s not much short of despicable.
There seems to be something about being in the movies that sooner or later turns nearly everyone involved into a more or less malevolent nitwit. Kind of a shame, really.