Peggy Noonan wrote a piece that succinctly sums up an adult perception of the death of John Paul II and the ascendance of Benedict XVI.
This a.m.'s Meet the Press was a round-table discussion on the new Pope and projections on his papacy. The general conclusion: don't judge Pope Benedict XVI on the actions of Cardinal Ratzinger. Benedict has a different job, and, subsequently, different role than Ratzinger played. All we have is the man's basic character--one of man humbled by his appointment, who is said to be a good listener, a thinker and good communicator; but who also understands the needs of the Church if it is to survive, esp. in Europe.
I am fascinated by this....will have more to say on the Meet the Press roundtable later....
Religion
This a.m.'s Meet the Press was a round-table discussion on the new Pope and projections on his papacy. The general conclusion: don't judge Pope Benedict XVI on the actions of Cardinal Ratzinger. Benedict has a different job, and, subsequently, different role than Ratzinger played. All we have is the man's basic character--one of man humbled by his appointment, who is said to be a good listener, a thinker and good communicator; but who also understands the needs of the Church if it is to survive, esp. in Europe.
I am fascinated by this....will have more to say on the Meet the Press roundtable later....
Religion
posted by Tish Grier at 3:00 PM
5 Comments:
Would you feel the same way if Noonan used the term Spiritual Father in reference to the Dali Lama?? (too many people use criticisms about those kinds of terms only with regard to Western religious traditions and believe it is okay to use them in ref. to Eastern religious traditions. IMO, this is a bit hypocritical and indicates people have little understanding of Eastern traditions)
Personally, I really don't have that much of a problem with the idea of a spiritual father. I understand that the concept of a spiritual father takes on a different meaning for many people across cultures and across faiths that rely on learned individuals to interpret not only the political aspects of a faith, but the spiritual as well.
The Roman Catholic Church is a religion with a central governing body, and as that, it must have a leader. Using the term "Spritual Father" is the traditional way of referring to that leader.
Noonan speaks to the sentiments of those who are belivers (note that I do not say True Believers--most who are True Believers do not believe in having a Spiritual Father of any sort and believe they can commune with God directly--zap! Divine Guidance. As Bush believes). She speaks to the needs of those who understand that they don't necessarily get direct Divine Guidance from God, but that a mediator, someone who understands what is believed by the faith to be God's Truth will interpret that truth in a manner in which it will be easily understood.
Most people do not have the time nor the inclination to study theology. They might not have the ability to understand theological concepts nor theological wisdom. Maimonides often spoke of giving people the information they need to live a good life and not over-burden them with complexitites they will not understand.
Along those lines, attending church as a child lays the foundation for many people to go beyond the "simple faith" of the child. Many people only want and only need simple faith. It is up to us who need more or who have the talent to "get" more of the deeper aspects of faith to continue to explore it. This is how one begins to attain mature faith.
Too many people get hung up on what a particular priest or minister or rabbi tells them in their own little groups, get pissed off, and never bother to continue with the quest for faith. And alot of leaders on the local level do not know how to counsel adult who are in need of a higher level of theological understanding. An adult understanding of one's faith requires a quest. It isn't just handed to you--like anytihng of value in life, you have to earn it.
As for Lenten sacrifice--I've done Lenten Sacrifices as an adult, and have found magical things happened in my life. Perhaps you missed my blogs on giving up porn and chocolate (and the peace of mind I got afterward). Things like Lenten Sacrifice, when coupled with an adult understanding of faith, take on a whole new color and meaning.
And there is nothing wrong with going to Catholic church for the ritual of it. Churches do not have bouncers who check your credentials, so you are free to come and go when you want. What would the Pope say? Well, each Pope is different, and while one from the 19th century might heartily admonish, another in the 20th might question why you do so, and might say something about the ritual being a need of your soul. I have no idea. I'm not a Pope and I can't project what one might say.
And, IMO, having a Spiritual Father as an adult is like the relationship with your biological father. As an adult, would you ask your father for a weekly allowance? of course not! But you might know that he has great advice on investments and you might talk to him about it. It could work the same way with a Spiritual Father. Think about it.
As for the linking of the idea of Spiritual Father with Bush...I think that some of the anxieties of those who do not have a Spiritual Father or a Spiritual Leader in their particular faith might lead people to project a spiritual need onto a ssecular political leader.
This, however, isn't necessarily a problem in faiths that have a clearly defined spiritual leader.
Your concerns about "spiritual father" thinking as applied to Bush, I believe, reveals your concern with the prblems of American protestant fundamentalism that eschews centralized bodies and often grafts its needs on to people who are supposed to be secular leaders.
Most Roman Catholics wouldn't necessarily apply that logic to secular leaders. They're not as stupid as many might think.
Acknowleding a spiritual father as the leader of an organizaed religion is not necessarily allowing oneself to be to be passively lead. Good spiritual leaders invite questioning and while some of the underlings might get peeved over the questioning, a true spiritual leader won't.
Having spent seven years of my life surrounded by church leaders and spiritual fathers (and some mothers) of different sects and scholarly disciplines, I know this first-hand.
Yet "simple faith" is the desire to be passively lead by someone who is wiser. And, as I said, some people are in need of simple faith. It is not fair to foist upon those who do not have time nor the inclination towards a deep theological quest to go out and get one. And many of those people are the backbones of churches and communities all over.
As for the idea of "no rules, just right"...well, that's kind of what leads to fundamentalism. There is a huge body of teaching and understandings that undergird Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and to say that people who want to consult with learned people don't need to and should just rely on their instincts is alot like Microsoft no longer printing out user guides...eventually someone will come along and create a user guide and that user guide might be full of "revelations" that are nothing more than an individual or group of individuals personal superstitions and pet peeves.
Those "revelations" might also be stuff that was said years ago but everybody just plain forgot. Ignorance may be bliss, but it doesn't lead to mature faith.
What you further address in self-governing groups is what ends up oftentimes in hard-line fundamentalism or cults. Neither of which, in the long run, adequately serve people in need of spiritual guidance-- but do indeed serve the ego-needs of whomever is the loudest or most outspoken of the group. Two words: Benny Hinn.
Having an understanding of the teachings that undergird one's faith is also like having an understanding of your country's history. If people here do not understand the Civil Rights movement, and voting rights legislation of the 1960's, how can they appreciate the injustice of someone having to stand in line for 4 hours to cast a vote.
The theological teachings of any group are what undergirds alot of what we call civilization as well as culture (although culture in the Western world has been considered a dirty word since the days of Hitler--who was big on "kultur.") To say that people who have no understanding of the theological underpinnings of their faith or belief system are better off is...well...
As for the student-teacher relationship--yes, the line may blur, but there are few who can reach the point to where this happens. It is not fair nor right to expect every person to reach this level, and those who can must be tolerant of those who can't.
This is a personal responsibility issue that shouldn't be projected on to the needs of congregations nor on organized religion as a whole. Organized religion on the grass-roots level is not necessarily there to cater to the needs of those of us who happen to be theologically precocious. There may indeed be people at this level that may encourage our precociousness, but, after that, the ball is in our court and it is up to us to go out and test the limits as to how far we want to go in our quest for truth.
What you hint of, to some degree, is a poisoning of the father archetype. This has been a slow, steady evolution to the point where the father archetype has been so denigrated that to speak of it means one is inviting a public stoning. I do not believe that every reference to a "father" as a leader is an invitation to re-visit a poisoned archetype. Rather, we have the power to re-imagine the father archetype. Somtimes this can come with making peace with one's own father or reaching a level of understanding of the father archetype beyond the one that is most touted by particular groups. My interactions with men on many levels has taught me a great deal about men and fathers and the poisioned archetype doesn't figure into my thinking all that much.
I agree with you that UUism is one of the few (possibly only) spiritual system that likes its adherents to be questioning and exploring a variety of spiritual traditions.
Some faiths will do that, but only as a means for the "unconfirmed" to understand that there are other faiths beyond their own (and that they're not burning babies or worshipping satan).
I think, though, that for some people, life itself becomes very demanding and trying to develop their personal understanding of faith is too time consuming and complicated. Alot of people also hit that wall when something bad happens to them, and they do not have the psychological wearwithall to deal with the psychological and the spiritual--so they more often than not will work on the psychological and either eschew the spiritual or keep it very, very simple. Some, however, choose to not work on either.
I, too, never see myself hitting a point where I will stop questioning authority and actively growing my faith. And if I come across people who might require me to do so, I'll have to start quoting Thomas Merton....and they won't like me when I start quoting Thomas Merton....(or worse, Thomas Aquinas).
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Post a Comment
<< Home