Should Tolkien's faith be discussed?

Being an avid reader of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien and various commentaries upon his writings, I have been a member of The Tolkien Society for a few years now. I enjoy both its print publications and its page on Facebook, where a great many things are shared, from a wide variety of questions to news articles to artworks inspired by his legendarium to Tolkien-related events.

 

As a sort of security measure, the Facebook page of The Tolkien Society is a "closed" page with moderation, meaning that requests to join the page and posts to the page must all be approved by an administrator.

 

Yesterday, I submitted Mike Aquilina's "Chord of the Rings," which someone passed on to me the other day. It is an older reflection on Tolkien's creation myth in relation to the hymning of creation spoken of by Fathers of the Church. I received a disappointing response from one of the admins:

Thanks for wanting to share that post from the Eighth Day institute. It is an interesting article, but reading it carefully reveals that it has a rather strong religious message. Unfortunately, we've often found that religious posts often lead to unnecessary and unpleasant arguments, so we won't be putting it through to the group.

Being, as I said, rather disappointed with this response, I asked if it wouldn't be better instead to call for civility and respect for those who oppose Tolkien's faith, which was undeniably central both to his life and to his writings. I also asked the administrators of the group page to reconsider this decision. The response was again disappointing but understandable: "[T]he current rules have grown up from years of experience of moderating a FB group with thousands of members."

Have we in the West really fallen so low that we cannot allow devotees of an author to discuss every aspect of an author's life? Tolkien himself said his The Lord of the Rings "is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work" (Letter to Robert Murray, 2 December 1953); how much of an integral conversation can actually be had, then, if this foundation is not allowed to be discussed?

I understand the difficulty the administrators have in keeping on an eye on the page. They are all volunteers and have their families to attend to, and rightly so. But what does it say about us if we cannot allow a discussion of the role of faith in the lives of various people? I, as a man of faith, do not go around causing a ruckus on the Internet whenever I see a post by an atheist; why do they feel the need to stir up trouble when they see a post about Tolkien's faith? If the read his letters, they'd know how central it was to him and to his works.

It seems we need a new lesson in decency, respect, and civility.

A news round up - 12 December 2014

Some news you may have missed:

• A Lego man standing more than 8 feet in height has washed ashore in Japan.

• Atheists in seven states are seeking to overturn legislation that requires civic office holders - including notaries public - to have a religious faith.

• Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, Alaska was vandalized on December 2nd. Thankfully, the tabernacle, ambry, and relics were unharmed.

• A 5-foot crucifix was somehow stolen from St. Anthony of Padua church in New York City Saturday, during the celebration of the Holy Mass.

• If you've ever wanted to throw a Christmas tree, there's a contest for you in the United Kingdom, though I'm afraid you've missed it this year.

• The government of New South Wales has declared Australian foxes to be pests, and not pets.

• 350 ancient statues have been found in the gardens of the British ambassador in Rome after a bit of work was done in tending the garden. How one simply forgets about such statues is a marvel, but welcome to life in Rome. 

• An 85-year-old man has been fined in the Italian town of Pinerolo for crossing the street too slowly. To his credit, the mayor of Pinerolo will refund the man the fine from his funds.

A News Round Up - 28 September 2014

• As part of his Illinois Jobs Now! campaign, Governor Pat Quinn (D-Chicago) announced a gift of $1.5 million to Quincy University, my alma mater. I'm sure the university will put this money to good use, but the Governor will still not receive my vote in the November election.

• New records were made in Hawaii last week for the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the island chain, with the hottest temperature at 93ºF at Kahului Aiport. It wasn't that long ago that a new record was set for the coldest temperature in the island chain when the temperature in Honolulu fell to 64ºF on November 14, 2013.

• The German Ethics Council recently declared incest to be a "fundamental right." Just a few weeks, a judge in Australia suggested incest may no longer be taboo (as if the logic of taboos is the best logic with which to establish laws); perhaps he was right. And they told us this wouldn't happen.

• Rush Limbaugh tipped a waitress $1,000 on two separate occasions. You'd think the waitress would be extremely grateful for such a generous tip, but she saw the money as "blood money." Knowing she couldn't keep blood money, she donated a 'sizable chunk' of it to an abortion clinic. Apparently she doesn't know what an abortion actually is.

• From the "You Can't Make This Up" file comes this bizarre story of an atheist giving the invocation at a city council meeting in Huntsville, Alabama. This simply shows the utter anti-logic of many atheists. The word "invocation" means to call upon a deity and the atheist concluding what he claims was not a prayer with "let it be so," which is the meaning of the word "Amen." For what wasn't a prayer, it certainly resembles one.

• A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that public support in the United States of America has now fallen to 49%, down from 54% found by the PRC in February.

• A new study published by Harvard University suggests that, "from a climatological point of view, in many ways the climate then [the first millennium] may have been more closely comparable to the twentieth century than the intervening period." The study suggests that the warmest temperatures in the western hemisphere over the past 2,000 years occurred between the years 800 and 900 (with the sole exception of the last few recent decades, which are now cooling).

• Another story from the "You Can't Make This Up" file concerns a man who was found crossing the the Canadian border from Detroit with 51 turtles in his pants.

News round up - 21 August 2014

Some recent news you may have missed:

• Catholic farmers in New York have been ordered by the New York Division of Human Rights to host a same-sex "wedding" on their farm or pay a fine of $13,000.

• Atheists in Arkansas have accused Bailey's Pizza of discrimination for offering a 10% discount to customers who bring in a church bulletin. Because, you know, the only to get a church bulletin is to go to a worship service or be a Christian. Any high school student can give you a number of ways to get a church bulletin without going to a service.

• Because the ALS Association funds embryonic stem cell research (which can be only done through the destruction of innocent human life), the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has directed its Catholic schools not to participate in the "ice bucket challenge." If you're looking for a way to morally contribute to research toward healing ALS, give to the John Paul II Medical Research Association. Keep in mind that only 27% of the ALS monies raised actually go research; at least 65% of monies raised by the JPIIMRA go towards research. The Archdiocese of Saint Louis has also suggested not donating to the ALS Association. Consider these 6 things you need to know about ALS research.

• As Satanists plan to host a Black Mass in the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall on September 21st, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City yesterday filed a lawsuit to stop the Black Mass and to retrieve the consecrated host the group obtained for the purpose of desecration. UPDATE: The consecrated host has been returned to the Church.

• A student in Tennessee has been suspended after saying "bless you" to a fellow student who sneezed.

An atheistic unblessing?

There are many people today - mostly loud atheists - who tell us that atheists are more intelligent than people of faith.

I will not deny that there are some atheists who are more intellent than some theists, but the atheists associated with this bizarre event in Lakeland, Florida are not among them:

Armed with brooms, mops and "unholy water," the atheists gathered Saturday to symbolically clean up holy oil that Polk Under Prayer put down on Highway 98 near the Pasco-Polk county line last year, Bay News 9 reported. 

"We come in peace," Humanists of Florida director Mark Palmer announced before he and members of other atheist organizations launched their cleanup. "Now that's normally what aliens say when they visit a new planet, but we're not aliens, we're atheists" [more]!

Be sure to read the entire article and you are bound to feel more intelligent than before, simply from the illogical of these atheists words and actions.

Update:

Father Longenecker, commenting on the above story, rightly said: "If they really wanted to counter a Christian blessing they should have got some shaman or witch in to curse the place, and it is only a matter of time before they do so."  Be sure to read his post.

Pope: Nonbelieves challenge believers to live in a way consistent with their faith

A new dialogue has recently opened up in Paris between believers and non-believers called The Courtyard of the Gentiles. At the beginning of the meetings, Pope Benedict XVI sent the following message by video to the participants (with my emphases):

Dear young people, dear friends!

I know that at the invitation of Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, and of Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, you are gathered in great numbers in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. I greet all of you, together with our brothers and friends from the Taizé Community. I am grateful to the Pontifical Council for having taken up and extended my invitation to open a number of "Courts of the Gentiles" within the Church. This image refers to the vast open space near the Temple of Jerusalem where all those who did not share the faith of Israel could approach the Temple and ask questions about religion. There they could meet the scribes, speak of faith and even pray to the unknown God. The Court was then an area of separation, since Gentiles did not have the right to enter the consecrated area, yet Jesus Christ came to "break down the dividing wall" between Jews and Gentiles, and to "reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility in himself". In the words of Saint Paul, "He came and proclaimed peace..." (cf. Eph 2:14-17).

At the heart of the "City of Light", in front of the magnificent masterwork of French religious culture which is Notre Dame, a great court has been created in order to give fresh impetus to respectful and friendly encounter between people of differing convictions. You young people, believers and nonbelievers alike, have chosen to come together this evening, as you do in your daily lives, in order to meet one another and to discuss the great questions of human existence.

Nowadays many people acknowledge that they are not part of any religion, yet they long for a new world, a world that is freer, more just and united, more peaceful and happy. In speaking to you tonight, I think of all the things you have to say to each other. Those of you who are nonbelievers challenge believers in a particular way to live in a way consistent with the faith they profess and by your rejection of any distortion of religion which would make it unworthy of man.

Those of you who are believers long to tell your friends that the treasure dwelling within you is meant to be shared, it raises questions, it calls for reflection. The question of God is not a menace to society, it does not threaten a truly human life! The question of God must not be absent from the other great questions of our time.

Dear friends, you are challenged to build bridges between one another. Take advantage of this opportunity to discover, deep within your hearts and with serious arguments, the ways which lead to profound dialogue. You have so much to say to one another! Do not turn away from the challenges and issues before you!

I believe deeply that the encounter of faith and reason enables us to find ourselves. But all too often reason falters in the face of self-interest and the lure of profit, and is forced to regard the latter as the ultimate criterion. Striving for truth is not easy. But each of us is called to make a courageous decision to seek the truth, precisely because there can be no shortcut to the happiness and beauty of a life of genuine fulfillment. Jesus says as much in the Gospel: "The truth will make you free".

Dear young people, it is up to you, in your own countries and in Europe as a whole, to help believers and nonbelievers to rediscover the path of dialogue. Religions have nothing to hear from a just secularity, one that is open and allows individuals to live in accordance with what they believe in their own consciences.

If we are to build a world of liberty, equality and fraternity, then believers and nonbelievers must feel free to be just that, equal in their right to live as individuals and in community in accord with their convictions; and fraternal in their relations with one another. One of the reasons for this Court of the Gentiles is to encourage such feelings of fraternity, over and above our individual convictions yet not denying our differences. And on an even deeper level, to recognize that God alone, in Christ, grants us inner freedom and the possibility of truly encountering one another as brothers and sisters.

Our first step, the first thing we can do together, is to respect, help and love each and every human being, because he or she is a creature of God and in some way the road that leads to God. As you carry on the experience of this evening, work to break down the barriers of fear of others, of strangers, of those who are different; this fear is often born of mutual ignorance, skepticism or indifference. Work to create bonds with other young people, without distinction and keeping in mind those who are poor or lonely, unemployed, ill or on the margins of society.

Dear young people, what you can share is not only your experience of life, but also your approach to prayer. Believers and nonbelievers, as you stand in this court of the Unknown, you are also invited to approach the sacred space, to pass through the magnificent portal of Notre Dame and to enter the cathedral for a moment of prayer. For some of you this will be a prayer to a God you already know by faith, but for others it may be a prayer to the Unknown God. Dear young friends who are nonbelievers, as you join those who pray in Notre Dame on this day of the Annunciation of the Lord, open your hearts to the sacred texts, let yourselves be challenged by the beauty of the music and, if you truly desire it, let your deepest feelings rise towards the Unknown God.

I am happy to have been able to speak to you this evening for the inauguration of the Court of the Gentiles. I hope you will be able to join me for the other events to which I have invited you, especially the World Youth Day to be held in Madrid this coming summer. The God whom believers learn to know invites you to discover him and to find ever greater life in him. Do not be afraid! As you walk together towards a new world, seek the Absolute, seek God, even if for you he is the Unknown God. And may this God, who loves each and every one of you, bless you and keep you. He is counting on you to be concerned for others and for the future, and you can always count on him!

Translation via Zenit.

A few good links

Every couple of weeks the Catholic Educator’s Resource Center sends out an e-mail containing links to some of the best articles and editorials recently written. It’s especially nice when it comes on a holy day when the office is quiet.

Three of this week’s links on the following topics caught my attention:

The Twilight of Atheism

Over the past couple of months you might have seen Dinesh D’Souza with Raymond Arroyo on EWTN’s The World Over. I’ve listened to their conversations with great interest and find D’Souza possesses a very sharp mind.

I’ve had the opportunity to read the first chapter of his recent book, The Twilight of Atheism: The Global Triumph of Christianity. D’Souza contends:

We live among people who are practically atheist. Of course my neighbors do not think of themselves as atheist. Very few of them belong to atheist organizations or subscribe to atheist literature. Some of them who are highly educated like to think of themselves as agnostic: they haven’t made up their minds because the evidence simply isn’t in yet. Others even consider themselves Christian, either because they were born that way or because they attend church occasionally. The distinguishing characteristic of these people is that they live as if God did not exist. God makes no difference in their lives. This is “practical atheism.” We all know people like this. Some of us hardly know anyone not like this. And sometimes we live this way ourselves.

Our problem, he says, is that “we live in the wrong neighborhood.” We should take a look at Africa and Asia where Christianity is booming. He also points that religion in general is increasing across the globe.

This first chapter is excellent and well worth a read. I look forward to reading the rest of the book when I pick it up.

Of ecclesial structures

Thomas J. Craughwell has a good article discussing the differences between cathedrals, basilicas and shrines.

On religious pluralism

Peter Kreeft has an article on “The Uniqueness of Christianity.”

Throughout the article he debunks many of the most common arguments that suggest all religions are equally good.

My favorite line runs as follows:

Christianity is not a system of man’s search for God but a story of God’s search for man. True religion is not like a cloud of incense wafting up from special spirits into the nostrils of a waiting God, but like a Father’s hand thrust downward to rescue the fallen.