A Sound of Sheer Silence

Five hundred years ago yesterday, the Protestant Reformation is generally considered to begin, with the famous nailing of the 95 Theses on the cathedral of Wittenburg by Martin Luther.  Many people have or soon will be writing their takes on this significant anniversary ( here's an example of a very bad take ; here's an example of a good one from our old friend Morgan Guyton), so I figured I would try my hand at the take machine as well. The Protestant Reformation, at least in its mature form, can be distilled down to two basic commitments--(1) that the Roman Catholic Church was corrupt in a structural or existential  way, as opposed to an incidental way, and thus in need of structural reform; and (2) the solution to the structural or existential corruption, and a guidepost for the needed reforms, could be found in a purported return to a singular focus on the Biblical text.  In this way, it differed from the Catholic Counter-Reformation (itself just as much of a rev...

All theology is contextual. Don't let anyone tell you that yours is contextual just because you're a minority. — Broderick L Greer (@BroderickGreer) April 2, 2017 Rev. Greer, in a short and pithy tweet, sums up the substance of the second big idea in progressive theology—all theology is contextual theology.  Upon further reflection, I have come to believe that this principle represents the biggest departure from the theology that has come before, and the biggest challenge to our more conservative brothers and sisters.  The fighting that we see between “conservative” or “liberal” has its origin and draws its strength from this divide. To begin, we have to talk about what contextual theology is.  In general use, and this is the thing Greer is challenging, contextual theology is used as a catch-all category for theological projects that come out of, and are explicitly done in reference to, some particular group of people who are coming out of some particular experienc...

So, it has come, the long anticipated Papal document summarizing the Synod on the Family ,  Amoris Laetitia .  I should state up front that, because of its enormous length (250+ pages), I've skimmed the more theoretical sections (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, and 9) to focus on the parts on marriage (4-6, and 8).  I hope to come back and give those theoretical sections some time and reflection later.  I should also say that, despite its length, this is probably the most accessible Vatican document I have read.  The writing is smooth and unforced, and mostly avoids technical theological or philosophical jargon.   Laudato Si' had some of that quality, but this is far more pronounced.  It is, for lack of a better term, an easy read. With that out of the way, how is it?  Well, it's very, very Pope Francis.  Like Laudato Si' , it aspires to a comprehensive account of the topic.   So, for example, if you were curious to get Pope Francis's thoughts o...

I moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2011 to take a one-year position as a law clerk for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals.  The Court of Appeals is the level below the Supreme Court, and so we would hear appeals from every sort of case that makes its way through the federal trial courts.  We would also review what are called petitions for habeas corpus--supplementary appeals of criminal convictions (usually either life sentences or capital sentences) that occurred in state court.  When I tell people about the cases we saw during my time associated with the court, many people assume that these criminal cases were the most interesting and engaging.  But they were not, at least I didn't think so.  More than anything else, those habeas cases were frustrating. The source of this frustration came in large part from a law called, and I am not making this up, "The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996," commonly called "AEDPA."  AEDPA was pa...

Over the weekend, it occurred to me that there is an additional level to the discussion of the need for a theology of relationships in connection with divorce , and that is a recognition that relationships can and do actually end, notwithstanding philosophical commitments to the contrary. Here's what I mean.  Look again closely at Matthew 19:3-9: Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning “made them male and female”, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. ’ They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?’ He said to them, ‘It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you...

Last week, Pope Francis has brought up something that seems completely irrelevant but actually kind of a big deal--finding a common date to celebrate Easter. Eastern Vigil, 2012, Makeni-Lusaka, Zambia Let me try to summarize this issue in as simple a way as possible.  In 325, at the Council of Nicaea, the church fixed a date for the celebration of Easter--the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal (Spring) equinox (the so called "Roman practice," as distinct from the "Jewish practice"--i.e. using the Jewish calendar to calculate Passover and then placing Easter on the Sunday after that).  Except, not exactly--in practice, the date of Easter is determined using a mathematical algorithm that is designed to predict when the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox will fall.  This algorithm was actually developed after the Council, and is not directly referenced in the Council documents.  The important point for purposes of...

Some (perhaps poorly organized) thoughts on polarization in Catholicism, and Christianity in general, and what that might mean for the future. 1.  Whenever conservatives talk about the polarized debates in Christianity, they almost always frame them as a debate between Team Christianity (i.e. them) and Team Secularism.  There is no question that there is a significant segment of folks in the West who were raised on Team Christianity who at some point have moved to become card-carrying members of Team Secularism.  And it is equally true that the members of Team Secularism often (not always, but often) have progressive positions on the big culture war issues that are similar to those of progressive Christian denominations and progressive Christians.  But it is simply incorrect to group together progressive Christians and Team Secularism. Progressive Christians believe that their positions on things like LGBT rights or women's rights are mandated by their commitment...

I spent the weekend visiting my high school friend Fr. Justin, who is an Orthodox priest in the Russian tradition.  I went to services with him on Saturday evening, and then Mass at a local Catholic Church on Sunday.  Each one struck me in a very particular way. Saturday Evening There is a sense in which the Orthodox are far, far more conservative than anything we see in Western Christianity.  The Liturgy I attended Saturday evening is basically unchanged for at least 1,000 years, and parts even longer.  I remember attending a service where Fr. Justin was preaching on "the New Martyrs," only to realize half-way through that they lived in the 8th Century--the Orthodox definition of "new" being somewhat out of line with most other uses of the word "new." Having said that, I think there is a significant difference between the conservatism of the Orthodox and the conservatism of Catholics and Protestants.  With the Orthodox, one gets the sense that the r...

Celibacy has a very long and prestigious pedigree in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.  The vast majority of saints in both traditions were celibates.  All priests and bishops in the Western Church are required to be celibate; all bishops in the Eastern tradition must be celibate.  As a result, by definition, everyone who has ultimate leadership in both traditions is a celibate. In the face of this tradition, I have come to what, for some, is a controversial position--I think celibacy is a bad idea.  I believe, based on my experience, that adopting celibacy is more often harmful to the spiritual development of men and women than supportive of that development.  I believe celibacy is more likely to poison one's view of God than to illuminate it.  Celibates are more likely to do damage to the People of God than to lift them up.  I believe that it would be better, not simply to allow  non-celibates to be priests and bishops (though, that would be ...

Over the weekend, Pope Francis announced that he would no longer be granting the title of "Monsignor" to priests under the age of 65.  Basically, it appears that the title will now be some kind of lifetime achievement award, as opposed to a feather in the cap of parish priests.  As the sun rises in the East, some of the more conservative elements have taken to criticizing this move , arguing that the Littles in the pews like it when their priest gets a fancy title, or accusing the Pope of iconoclasm. In and of itself, this move means more or less nothing.  I have never met anyone who actually thought that the title means anything, except perhaps the careerist priests that seem to be the target of this change.  The careerist will always be with us, no matter how many baubles you get rid of for them to chase. There are, however, psychological and symbolic reasons why I think this announcement is very good news for the Catholic Church.  Let's take a moment and...

Remember how I said that Jesuits like to lob intellectual grenades into the mix to see what happens?  Pope Francis just pulled the pin .  I will probably have a couple of posts about this amazing interview, but I have a couple of immediate reactions.  First, particularly if one reads the entire interview, you see the Jesuit-ness of Pope Francis come right to the forefront.  He has a long discussion of how Ignatian spirituality (the ideas of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits) influences his way of leading and thinking.  So, the take away for me is that he is more or less like all of the Jesuits I've met.  Second, I will be fascinated to see the reaction from the right-wing Catholic blogosphere and conservative Catholic media (EWTN et al. ).  The meme that "Francis is speaking off the cuff and is not serious," seems to be unsupportable by even those in the deepest of denial (Update: or perhaps not ).  It...

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox Church bodies in North America.  It comes out the Russian Church, and has a complex and rather interesting history.  But, as with Orthodox Christianity in general on this side of the Atlantic, the OCA mostly kept a low profile in the religious landscape. In 2006, a blog representing a group called "Orthodox Christians for Accountability" appeared on the internet.  This blog, which was later revealed to be run by an Orthodox Christian lay person named Mark Stokoe, made allegations that senior officials of the OCA had been involved in financial improprieties.  Later, the allegations expanded to include claims that those financial issues were tied in with sexual behavior by high ranking clergy.  The blog did not simply make allegations, however; it included documents that supported the claims.  These allegations ultimately led to the resignation of the head bishop of the OCA and a ...

"If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." But the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among all the peoples through whom we passed. At our approach the LORD drove out (all the peoples, including) the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God." Joshua 24:15-18 (NAB translation) Prior to beginning to write this blog, I was going through a bit of spiritual crisis with regard to Catholicism, which seems to happen with me periodically.  I was depressed ...