Legacy
Radbam January 26th, 2012
Totali-tolerance
Radbam December 29th, 2011
Does the Catholic church have the right to impose its ideology through its parochial institutions? Of course. Is it unusual that traditionalist religious values clash with evolving social sensibilities in the modern era. Nope. But should said institutions guided by said ideologies expect the broader, more inclusive society to bankroll such anachronisms? Uh-uh. And isn’t it the cheight of chutzpah (or its Latin equivalent), if not Orwellian semantics, to claim that constraining prejudice is an infringement on religious freedom? Youbetcha, Sarah.
And in the ultimate act of childish pique, the diocese in Illinois is picking up its pieces and storming home if the nation doesn’t play by its rules. It would be ridiculous to the point of chortling if the needs of the poor were not so sublime in their extremity. And to draw this line in the sand regarding same sex couples despite, or perhaps because of, the church’s recent troubles surrounding same sex molestation, is an unfolding neurotic narrative that seems scripted by the church’s most ardent critics. Your thoughts?
Twice Tebowed
Radbam December 13th, 2011
It's all you, JC!
Perhaps I’m proving the point of many with my obsession, but the focus on what Tebow reflects about our culture is both fascinating and troubling. Chuck Klosterman, as always, provides some incisive and encompassing thoughts. However, I take great issue with the Manichean notion that faith is by definition blind, and secularism/skepticism essentially rational. The militant neo-Atheism of the Four Horsemen of a few years ago (Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins and Dennett) became a not-so-subtle anti-religion orthodoxy. And faith, while by definition not provable, can be informed, inclusive and deliberative. Thoughts?
‘Tis the Reason
Radbam December 12th, 2011
Nothing says Christmas like bad 60's claymation
If it’s Christmas, it must be time to ruminate on religion, the lack of it, the irrational enthusiasm for it and the bizarre iterations of it. The Times had two interesting pieces on Sunday, one on the Passion of Tebow (and the new pop-genuflection inspired by his endzone hosannas) and the other by another Weiner (no relation, but seemingly proliferating) on the not-so-new theistic-yet-agnostic-spirituality.
The Tebow piece overgeneralizes the faith of this purveyor of biblical-verse-as-mascara to encompass a lesson regarding a kind of secular power of positive thinking. It conveniently ignores the more pernicious aspects of Tebow’s evangelicalism, celebrating power of form over the substance of theology. Homophobia, anti-intellectualism, the denial of scientific empiricism and a delusional approach to human need and appetite may help snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the red zone, but there are more consistent, thoughtful and constructive ways to harness Dale Carnegie’s legacy.
As far as the Weiner piece, I’ve shot my socio-theological wad a few years ago. Would love for you to read the book. See above
The Shtark Side of Too Soon
Radbam December 9th, 2011
Many thanks to Mark Zobel for sharing Christopher Hitchens’ recent piece in Vanity Fair. How uniquely valuable to glean insight from what seems to be the swan song of a great, contentious mind garnering its diminishing yet still formidable mental and physical resources to ruminate on the philosophical, practical and visceral experience of dying. Still able to wield sharpened wit against colloquialism and convention, Hitchens infuses his bilious brand with uncharacteristic, and thus particularly inspiring sentiment. A must read for anyone (and that’s everyone) who has been touched by debilitating illness.
Winning the War on Christmas
Radbam December 7th, 2011
Jon Stewart and the Daily Show end Fox’s War on Christmas with Shlock and G’faw….
Joe Paterno-listic
Radbam November 10th, 2011
Not sure what’s more disturbing, Joe Pa’s decades long acceptance, apathy and cover-up of a valued colleague’s crimes against children, or the myriads of Penn State fans who insist a lifetime of NCAA success trumps acquiescence to evil. Some of the excuses/exonerations have been mind-blowing: If he reported it once, he discharged his responsibility; he’s an old man who was too daft or naive in his generational blinders.
As Mike Pappantonio admonished on the Ed Schultz radio show this morning, have we gotten so jaded or morally lazy that we accept reticence, ignorance and cowardice as valid excuses for not confronting dangers amongst us? Dr. King often remarked that the pervasiveness of evil required the assent of the quietly decent rather than the dramatic acts of the demonic. We don’t need to race to the extreme example of Eichmann’s “I was just an unaccountable cog in a machine” defense to provoke outrage, judge behavior and inspire action.
Common decency, let alone sacred scripture, command us (and yes, that is not a request) to “not stand idly by the blood of our neighbor.” (Lev 19) It is not enough to secure our well being and that of our intimates. We must extend ourselves on other’s behalf, up to and including risks to our lives, if not our reputations. We are not free from the compulsion to become Good Samaritans. And Joe Pa should have risked being thrown to the Nittany Lions.
