Love

 clipped from www.goodreads.com

"When the two people who thus discover that they are on the same secret road are of different sexes, the friendship which arises between them will very easily pass – may pass in the first half hour – into erotic love. Indeed, unless they are physically repulsive to each other or unless one or both already loves elsewhere, it is almost certain to do so sooner or later. And conversely, erotic love may lead to Friendship between the lovers. But this, so far from obliterating the distinction between the two loves, puts it in a clearer light. If one who was first, in the deep and full sense, your Friend, is then gradually or suddenly revealed as also your lover you will certainly not want to share the Beloved's erotic love with any third. But you will have no jealousy at all about sharing the Friendship. Nothing so enriches an erotic love as the discovery that the Beloved can deeply, truly and spontaneously enter into Friendship with the Friends you already had; to feel that not only are we two united by erotic love but we three or four or five are all travelers on the same quest, have all a common vision."
— C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves)

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Dogs are not humans.

 clipped from www.informz.net

Dogs and Dung Beetles

Why Do I Have to Explain This?

August 13, 2010

How do I respond to something that happened inside a church that was so blasphemous, so obviously—I can't believe I'm using this word—idiotic?

Especially since the people involved seem so nice, and their attitude towards "God's creatures" is so warm and cuddly! Well, I will have to run the risk of upsetting nice people by simply telling the truth.

Here's what happened. At St. Peter's Anglican Church in Toronto, Donald Keith came forward for communion with his dog, Trapper, in tow. The priest, Marguerite Ray, gave communion to Keith. And then, in what she called a welcoming gesture, offered a communion wafer to Trapper. Trapper gladly accepted. The Toronto Star newspaper reports that the dog only sniffed at the communion wine, however.

Some of the parishioners were rightly outraged. Others don't know what the fuss is about.

Neither, it seems, does the priest. Although she apologized for upsetting people, she defends what she did as an "act of reaching out" to Mr. Keith, who was a newcomer. After all, she said, "Jesus is a positive person. And Christianity is a positive religion."

The dog's owner was touched. Everywhere he goes, Trapper goes with him. Why? The dog, the paper reports, suffers from "separation anxiety." Keith affirms that the dog took communion reverently—that the dog even bowed its head and prayed before receiving communion.

One congregant, Suzette Mafuna, said, "We're all God's creatures. . . If a dog goes into a church, he's entitled to every service that's offered, including spiritual nourishment."

Well, Suzette, you are wrong. And I can't believe that I have to explain why.

Folks, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He made all the creatures that live on earth, including mosquitoes, dogs, and dung beetles. He also made man, but he made man—alone among all creatures—in His image.

And the Son, the second person of the Trinity, in order to save those made in God's image, took on human flesh, became one of us, went to the cross in our place for our sins, making us children of God.

So while all things that live and breathe are indeed God's creatures, the dung beetle is not your brother.

Nor is Trapper. Dogs are wonderful creatures. They deserve our care. They bring joy and companionship to many people. But, as even Cesar Millan, the famous Dog Whisperer, reminds his viewers, dogs are not humans.

And while Christians disagree on communion—whether it is the actual body and blood of Christ, a bearer of Christ's real presence, or a symbol of his ultimate sacrifice—we all agree that it is holy. And we ought not take what is holy and give it to the dogs.

That I even have to say this tells me that some Christians no longer understand the concept of the holy, the basic precept of our faith, nor do they understand man's unique position in the cosmos as the bearer of God's image and the object of His sacrificial love.

In other words, we no longer understand—or even believe—that humans are special. That's scary.

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Made for Marriage

 clipped from www.informz.net

Dating and Marriage in America

Time for a Revolution

August 10, 2010

"Until what seems like yesterday," writes University of Chicago professor Leon Kass at Boundless.org, "young people were groomed for marriage, and the paths leading to it were culturally set out, at least in rough outline."

I can certainly attest to the truth of that statement. When I went to college it was normal to date, go steady, get engaged, and then marry soon after graduation.

As Kass points out, "Opportunity was knocking, the world and adulthood were beckoning, and most of us stepped forward into married life, readily, eagerly . . . We were simply doing... what our parents had done, indeed, what all our forebears had done."

But today, he observes, few students expect to find a spouse in college. They all—male and female—expect to launch themselves into careers. And while careers may leave time for casual friendship and all too often casual sex, there's no time for relationships at the deep level of marriage or even, for that matter, serious dating.

Kass contends that these cultural trends have damaged the relationship between men and women and have lowered their prospects for sustained, happy marriages and families.

As a result, he writes, young men appear to be "nervous predators" who "act as if any woman is equally good." And "most young women," he says "strike me as sad, lonely, and confused."

This is compounded by what Kass calls "deep uncertainty about what marriage is and means, and what purpose it serves." Is marriage a serious covenant between a man and a woman, designed to provide for the next generation--or is it all about the personal fulfillment of two autonomous individuals?

Of course, this is the fundamental question behind the same-sex marriage debate—a debate that is reaching a critical point now that a federal judge has struck down California's Proposition 8.

Marriage as a covenant providing for future generations is for serious adults. Marriage as self-fulfillment encourages a protracted adolescence in a culture already biased toward remaining youthful.

Kass notes correctly, "for their narcissistic absorption in themselves and in immediate pleasures ... the young are not condemned but are even envied by many of their elders."

People won't grow up these days, and the understanding of marriage as a means of self-fulfillment in which children are optional matches their desire. And as the divorce rate shows, many who do marry do so with minimal commitment.

What do we need? Kass prescribes: "a desire in America's youth for mature adulthood (which means marriage and parenthood), an appreciation of the unique character of the marital bond . . . and a restoration of sexual self-restraint generally and of female modesty in particular." Well, that's a tall order, Dr. Kass.

As a friend of mine commented, Kass's article is a reminder that the funk many older Christian singles find themselves in runs deep, into the very fabric of our culture. Lack of a dating life is not necessarily their own fault; it's part of a bigger picture. And the Church needs to step in and actively seek to be a radical counter-cultural voice in an increasingly difficult cultural setting, preparing young men and women for marriage—Christian marriage, a lifelong covenant for raising children.

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