We are all philosophers searching for life's meaning.

Jesus in the Temple by Heinrich Hofmann

Watching an episode of the Papal Posse the other day, I listened to Fr. Gerald Murray discuss the reason so many young people are coming to the Church. He described the four fundamental questions that encourage a serious examination of life. These questions often lead people, especially the young and idealistic, to make life-transforming decisions. 

Monday Morning Musing about Philosophy

The human mind puzzles me, especially my own. I get up in the morning with no idea where my mind will take me -- down what rabbit holes. Will I end up in fairyland, a dystopian chaotic horrorscape, or just wander in the garden meditating on my tomato plants?

Last night I attacked one of my "hot spots" filled with back issues of magazines and newspapers. I threw out several old issues of Chronicles after looking at the table of contents and deciding I could go on living without reading any of the articles. In the slightly reduced stack were a half dozen copies of The Traditionalist, Roger McCaffrey's publication. I wanted to look at those more closely before relegating them to the recycle bin. 

Philosophy Gives Me a Headache!

Philosophy gives me a headache all right! All that talk about realism, rationalism, liberalism, modernism, Marxism, sophism, skepticism, and every other ism out there makes my head spin. I actually got an A in metaphysics in college, but don't ask me anything about it. Being and essence, mind and matter, substance and attribute.... good grief! We had to read Sartre's Nausea and it was definitely nauseating as was his entire philosophy in my opinion.

Garbage In, Garbage Out! What Are You Thinking? Philosophy Matters!

Ideas have consequences. Filling our heads with the true, the good and the beautiful leads us to God who is Truth Himself, as well as being all-good and all-beautiful. Conversely, filling our heads with the false, the evil, and the ugly... well... what do you think the result is?

My New Year's Resolution is to watch the Crisis of Faith Series (CFS) offered by the SSPX. The first few episodes are introducing some of the false philosophies that undergird the world's embrace of modernism, the "synthesis of all heresies."  Some of those introducing bad ideas were not malicious. Nevertheless, they contributed to screwing up the world bigtime. 

Peter Kreeft Defends Live Action's Planned Parenthood Sting!

One of my favorite authors is defending the actions of Lila Rose and Live Action I'm happy to say. I never thought they did anything wrong in the first place and now a heavyweight in Catholic academia is saying why. See my original defense here and Peter Kreeft's here. I'm glad to know I'm in good company even if I don't explain it as well as this hero of mine. And if you haven't read his Socratic dialogue books, treat yourself. My husband and I listened to his introduction to philosophy lecture series in a set (Great Books? Modern Library? - can't remember the source) we borrowed from the library. He makes hard subject matter not only understandable but entertaining.

Rainy Day Reflection on Reader's Digest

My husband was browsing Reader's Digest this morning over his coffee and directed my attention to an article called The Petrified Woman. Here's how it begins:

Stop! Are you about to eat a scoop of onion dip? It could cause meningitis. Showing some kids around work? For God's sake, keep them away from the stapler. Planning a walk? Bring plenty of water or you could end up in a coma! And let's not even talk about what could happen if you take the kids to the mall and find yourselves contemplating an escalator ride.

The author goes on to describe warnings about children in shopping carts, tripping over pets, the relationship between sun exposure and cancer and sunscreen and cancer, getting runover by parade floats, not jumping into the back seat to answer a ringing cell phone while driving, etc. etc. ad absurdum. All of these warnings are really out there guaranteeing we'll all be safe as long as we stand still (in the shade, of course) and don't move, particularly along parade routes. She concludes with the advice to "Pay attention to your health - and a little less to the health scare of the day - and you'll be fine."

When my husband finished sharing this humorous article I couldn't help thinking that it makes perfect sense in an insane culture to worry about everything except what really matters - sin and damnation. Instead of focusing on the state of the soul, stress out over germs on the mint wrapper at the cash register. Instead of reflecting on the evil that comes from within man, obsess over the bacteria without. Worry about stepping on an escalator and shrug over stepping into an occasion of sin. Quake at the thought of global warming and ridicule the thought of hell fire.

It all makes perfect sense. People who give up confession, confess their sins to Oprah or Dr. Phil and get the "absolution" (or condemnation) of the audience god. The only personal sins are pollution, failure to recycle, having too many children, and intolerance. Salvation is found in embracing green technology, recycling, and planting trees to reduce the carbon footprint. And thus the philosophy of moral relativism practiced in the secular city sinks into absurdity!

Who would have thought Reader's Digest would be the source of stimulating such rainy day reflection?