The Man Behind the Curtain

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Francis

What do people generally mean when they use the word evolution? Today that debate rages with heated intensity among academics, especially since the advent of a modified theory of evolution in the natural world called Intelligent Design, or simply ID. On the face of it ID seems to be a rather innocuous, common sense sort of approach to physical science, the development of life, and even the cosmos. After all, everything around us seems to exhibit certain intelligent patterns that are difficult to explain by theories of randomness, just as a visitor from outer space to our planet might observe automobiles, computers, and skyscrapers and realize that they are very different in structure and form from ordinary rocks, hills, and trees. Even assuming that humanity had gone extinct, our interplanetary alien would rightly assume that some intelligent agent played a part in developing these artifacts just as anthropologists infer that the presence of cave paintings and sharpened tools are sure indicators of ancient cultures. And our alien would be correct in his assumptions because we already know that intelligent human life is the only reason that cars, computers, and skyscrapers happened to come into existence. Continue reading →

The Lord of History

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Francis

History, when it is not being distorted to fit some progressive political narrative, is otherwise dying of slow neglect among the people. For Americans more interested in futuristic technologies than understanding their own culture, history is in grave danger of becoming the forgotten subject in both our educational system and our national consciousness. And since historians, unlike their “techie” colleagues don’t make the six figure salaries, there seems to be little economic incentive for pursuing history as a profession.

That’s too bad, because the value of history lies in its ability to provide a verifiable framework upon which to understand and hopefully direct not only social policies but one’s own personal life with true wisdom. Absent history we are attempting to fly our star-ship without a navigator ~ or even a decent map. Continue reading →

Facts Are Not Enough

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Francis

Can you remember the famous refrain from the old television program called Dragnet? When questioning some witness to a crime Sergeant Joe Friday invariably intoned his signature deadpan line, “just the facts, sir, just the facts,” ─ implying that facts speak for themselves. Or do they? Television programs need to wrap up everything in a neat, tidy bundle at the end of a 30 or 60 minute segment and so factual evidence is often presented as unimpeachable. But if that were the case in real life there would really be no need for courts, judges, or juries would there?

The reality is that simple facts rarely tell the whole story. In order to ascertain the truth facts need to be weighed in some larger context. We need to know all the circumstances. There are hidden truths underlying even the most banal Continue reading →

How Real is Your Reality?

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Francis

What do we mean by the term “reality?” Looking around the room things seem real enough: chairs, a table and sofa, windows opening to the outside world which is filled with countless other “real” things. But the question really being posed is this. “How does my human experience of reality differ from that vase of flowers sitting on the mantle?” Quite simply, I know that I exist whereas all those other things exist without any specific knowledge or awareness of their own existence. This basic exercise illustrates the dual nature of reality itself, a point which is central to understanding our human nature. As human beings we are constantly juggling these two modes of reality, the reality associated with being and a deeper reality which is a function of knowing. So which is the more essential reality?

For a vase of flowers, an atom, or even a planet hurtling through space reality is limited to the fact of being. Furthermore all those objects are subject to certain physical laws and behave accordingly. But the very existence of universal laws of physics leads one to ponder Continue reading →

“Laudate Si’s” Disturbing Echoes

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Francis

The great 19th century thinker and apologist John Henry Newman observed that the Church exhibits three characteristics: first she is pastoral thereby sanctifying her members, next she is pedagogical (a fancy word for her teaching mission), and finally she is political because the Church is made up of humans. It was this third characteristic that caused Newman the greatest concern and, in fact, any cursory glimpse of Church history quickly reveals her many political struggles from the beginning, when Paul took Peter to task over his attitude towards the gentiles as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.

. The problem is that the lines are not clearly demarcated and sometimes political considerations become entangled with the Church’s pastoral and pedagogical mission Continue reading →

Tolerance, a Force for Good or Evil?

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Francis

My father was a great dad in almost every respect. Notwithstanding his cheery, loving disposition he was affected by a bit of residual puritanism which sometimes surfaced in amusing ways. I remember one such instance when I was about 12 years old. Our family received some free tickets to a newly released film, Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man. While the movie itself was quite entertaining I was more bemused by dad’s reaction to the story line which he earnestly viewed as immoral because Professor Harold Hill, the charming confidence man who wins the heart of the local librarian (Marian), is actually rescued from his well deserved fate of being exposed, horsewhipped, and thrown in a jail cell. Anything less than severe punishment represented a serious breech of justice in dad’s somewhat legalistic mind. I saw the thing a little differently. The real moral of this zany story revolves around the redemptive love of a good woman, Marian, and how that love has the power to transform a jaded, fast talking slicker into a genuine human being who learns to care more about others than himself.

Continue reading →

God and Evil

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Francis

All sin is evil ─ But not all evil is sin.

The most vexing question for believers and nonbelievers alike to reconcile with a presumably good God is how he can allow so much evil to infect our world. The question of evil cuts to the very heart of all human existence because, at some point in time, it impacts every human being in a profoundly personal way. Even someone who appears to live a charmed life; positive, happy, successful, and possessing good looks and personality must eventually confront evil in the form of death. But for most of us, life entails a substantial amount of suffering, anguish, and disappointment even before death calls our name. So, are the cynics right in assuming that we are little more than puppets being manipulated by some sadistic deity Continue reading →