Category: Theology

Theology being the study of God, do Muslims have any sort of theology given that they believe God is unknowable and inscrutable? Do they then, have only exegesis of the Koran and not actual theology?

Ken Shepherd is one of our frequent commenters, and I have appreciated his comments on these pages (especially on the Clowning for Christ discussion thread.) In response to RC’s entry about the pope retiring, Ken says, “I’m just a Protestant with a strong penchant for sola scriptura.”
Before I continue, I’ll say that some of my best friends are Protestants, as are practically all of my relatives by blood and marriage. I don’t mean to single you out, Ken, and I’ll delete this post if this is embarrassing. But since I suspect you won’t mind, I’ll ask you this: where in the Bible do you find sola scriptura?
I tried to find it, and was unsuccessful; that’s one reason I left Protestantism for Catholicism. You say, “Traditions are fine and good if they are based solidly on Scripture and are in accordance with the move of the Spirit in the Church.” That leads to a few more questions, like…
1. How do you know what is scripture, and what isn’t?
2. How does one determine an authentic “move of the Spirit,” as opposed to a move of the devil masquerading as the Spirit?
3. Who can authoritatively answer questions #1 and #2?
Again, this isn’t to attack you or anything. It’s one of those perennial questions, and it’s well worth discussing.

After spending a lot of time reading through the Navarre Gospels, I’ve decided to step back in time to the Old Testament. Specifically, I want to learn more about the prophets and the psalms. One thing that’s always struck me about the latter is that they are impossible to reconcile with the squishy, saccharine God of the Suburbs. (Who is a false image, an idol deserving to be smashed.)
The smug bumper sticker that says, “God is too big to fit into one religion” is true if they’re talking about the anorexic, consumerist version of religion that passes for Christianity in far too many American churches. The God of the psalms is shown in his plenary nature, and is too big for an emaciated religion. The psalmist regards each aspect of the deity with love one moment, fear the next; he cries out for mercy because of his sinfulness in one psalm, then begs God for his enemies’ destruction in another. The hearts of the lion and the lamb truly dwell within this eclectic collection of songs.

CL co-founder Steve Schultz and I had a good time today attending a symposium at his seminary in Philadelphia. The moral teaching of Pope John Paul was the theme, and it’s fair to say the highlight…

Everyone has a besetting sin, or at least everybody I know. For you non-Catholics and under-catechized Catholics out there, a besetting sin is the one that keeps cropping up in your spiritual life, no matter how hard you try to eradicate it. It can also keep you from growing in virtue, and quite often, it drives other forms of sins that might not even be related. For instance, if you gamble excessively, you might begin to steal to support your habit.
My besetting sin is sloth. Considering that I’m usually quite busy, what with work and three kids and a wife and the house and all, it surprised me to realize that. I often allow myself to be distracted by other things when I need to do something difficult, and the time I take away from my duties is spent on trivial things (as evidenced by the fact that I am typing this at my place of employment. Hey, consider it a coffee break.)
The small things I do might be harmless in themselves, but the results of my self-indulgence tend to snowball. If I stay up late because I’ve been piddling around, I can be more anger-prone the next day, or I might not be as productive at work. Sloth steals precious time that would be better spent praying or talking to my wife.
What’s your besetting sin? Did someone else tell you about it, like a confessor or spiritual advisor? Or did you, like me, read something that made you realize what it is?
(How’s that for something Catholic, John Francis?)