7-25-06
Greetings!
A great benefit of Christianity is its utter reasonableness. You've likely noticed that I include a lot of hard statistical evidence in The Areopagus. I love using these numbers, frequently from non-religious groups, that inevitably end up backing up what the Church teaches.
To a world that is often skeptical of the claims of Christianity this can be an opening for dialog.
If I start out a talk by saying contraception and co-habitation are sinful actions, I am likely to get a blank or dismissive response. But if I start by saying, "if you use NFP, and practice the Faith, you have a less than 3% rate of divorce," I have likely gotten a surprised and interested response.
It is striking how often Jesus used a similar approach. He would meet people where they were at, "hook them" or get them interested, and then go deeper. See John 3:1-21 and especially John 4:1-30 for examples.
One other note—there will be no "Areopagus" next week.
Phil's Tidbits:
-Further evidence that when you violate the natural law there are consequences.
Cohabitation Ends in Separation 90% of the Time
By Hilary White
NEW YORK, July 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A study published by the journal, Demography, has shown that cohabitation is not the road to happy marriage, or even to a happy relationship, but rather ends in separation 90 percent of the time.
The study's lead researcher, Daniel Lichter a professor of policy analysis at Cornell University said, "The common view of cohabitation as a steppingstone to marriage needs to be seriously questioned."
"Instead, serial cohabitation may be an emerging norm as cohabiting unions form and break up. If marriage promotion programs hope to target poor cohabiting women, our results seemingly suggest that the likelihood of success is not assured."
The study showed that one-half of all cohabiting unions end within a year and 90 percent within five years. The study showed that the common failure of cohabitation affects poor women more severely since they tend to rely financially on their live-in partners.
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So much for "the death of God" as prophesied by Nietchze and the Age of Reason and Rationalism. Indeed, I suppose that could be described as one of the greatest surprises of the modern age…that religion continues to hold relevance and (with the notable exception of Europe) continues to gain members.
From Zenit.org 7-23-06
Citing data from the World Christian Encyclopedia, the Foreign Policy article points out that the two largest Christian faiths -- Catholicism and Protestantism -- and the two largest non-Christian religions -- Islam and Hinduism -- have increased their share of the world's population in the year 2000 compared to a century earlier.
The four religions together accounted for 50% of the global population at the start of the 20th century. This had risen to nearly 64% by the beginning of the 21st century, and it could rise to nearly 70% by 2025.
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Of course, there are those who profess "religion" but fall under the spell of relativism….
Karen Armstrong, a former sister who left the convent in 1969 and now author and "spiritual nomad" had this to say about her beliefs:
"I usually describe myself, perhaps flippantly, as a freelance monotheist. I draw sustenance from all three of the faiths of Abraham. I can't see any one of them as having the monopoly of truth, any one of them as superior to any of the others. Each has it's own particular genius and each its own particular pitfalls and Achilles' heels. But recently, I've just written a short life of the Buddha, and I've been enthralled by what he has to say about spirituality, about the ultimate, about compassion, and about the necessary loss of ego before you can encounter the divine. And all the great traditions are, in my view, saying the same thing in much the same way, despite their surface differences." As Fr. Neuhaus comments, "I am religiously everything, and therefore I am religiously nothing." –First Things, June/July 2006
-Now there are a number of problems with this view. One big one is that they make contradictory truth claims. Either Jesus was God or he wasn't. He can't be both God and just a prophet (as Muslims claim) because prophets do not lie. And God cannot be One (as Christians, Jews & Muslims claim) and many deities as most Eastern religions like Buddhism claim.
The other issue concerns not having to abide by the moral codes of any one religion. Admittedly it is much easier to just pick and choose what is most appealing from each of the various religions, but that's not the road to sanctity, of conforming ourselves to God, not god to ourselves.
Survey Says Budding Vocations Need Support
One in 10 Youths Feel Call; Forget it Within Months
ROME, JULY 20, 2006 (
Zenit.org).- Lack of support seems to be one of the main reasons why young people do not answer the call to consecrated life.
On Tuesday, the Italian newspaper Avvenire published an article entitled "Young People and Vocations," based on a survey, conducted by the Italian institute Eurisko, of one thousand young people between 16 to 29 years of age.
The study showed that 10 youths out of 100 feel at some point a call to the priesthood or religious life (male and female), but the majority abandon the idea after a few months.
Among the reasons for so many failed vocations is that 71% of young people said they had no friends who had the desire to consecrate themselves to the Lord.
Twenty-nine percent felt called after a personal experience, such as a visit to a monastery, a pilgrimage or a spiritual retreat.
-With so many of our young people attending Steubenville Youth Conferences or other faith camps over the summer
this is very timely. How often I and others have seen a young person have a profound experience of the Faith at a retreat and then a few weeks later be right back where they were before.
In fact, some group leaders have taken to gathering the parents to explain to them the pivotal role they have in supporting their children's faith growth after the camps have ended.
In a world that as Dr. Ray Guarendi frequently states, "is toxic" to the development of healthy and holy children, we all need to do our part to nurture these holy vocations.
House Intervenes to Save Mount Soledad Cross
By Gudrun Schultz
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – San Diego's Mount Soledad cross may continue to stand in its place over the city, after the House passed a bill Wednesday to protect the war memorial by transferring the land beneath the cross into federal hands.
House members voted 349-74 to take possession of the cross by giving the land on which it stands to the Defense Department, Copley News Service reported. This would protect the memorial from a court-ordered removal.
Residents and officials of San Diego fought the ruling, trying to convince the city to voluntarily donate the land to the federal government. When the city refused, local residents rallied to protect the historic monument, gathering more than 100,000 signatures on petitions in support of transferring the cross to federal possession.
After years of legal wrangling, Judge Thompson finally issued an order in May 2006, forcing the city to remove the cross by August 1 or pay fines of $5,000 per day.
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked that order on July 3, after the
Thomas More Law Center filed an emergency application for stay on behalf of San Diegans. The Thomas More Law Center is a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Now, with the House vote in place to protect the cross, supporters have new hope for the survival of the monument. A similar bill to protect the cross has been introduced in the Senate, and President George Bush has indicated he will sign it if the Senate passes the measure.
The 43-foot cross has stood at the center of a national veterans memorial on the top of Mt. Soledad since 1954, when it was built to replace a previous cross dating back to 1913.
--This saga was begun by a single atheist, who in 1989 decided to file suit over having a "religious symbol on government property. 100,000 people sign a petition asking that it remain, and it takes tremendous legislative creativity and effort to find a way out of a legal trap. One wonders how long even this maneuver will work?
Announcements:
-Theology on Tap---Theology in a casual atmosphere for those 21-39 years old, at Pete's Pub & Grill, 200 Division St, Stevens Point. Continues Wednesday, July 26th with "Deal or No Deal: Knocking on Heaven's Doors", presented by Deacon Mark Arnold. @ 7PM. The final session takes place Aug. 2nd.
St. Peter's Keys Softball:
Mother Nature did what Graffiti's was unable to do last night, slowing us down. We were leading 6-1 against 1st Place Graffiti's when the lightning started again, forcing the temporary postponement until next Monday.
Our next game is Monday, July 31st at 8:30PM against Fill's Bar, Field 1 at Zenoff Park . This will be immediately followed by the conclusion of this past week's game against Graffiti's.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!