Random Reflections 13

The most effective political campaign message used to be, “Vote for me and I’ll solve every problem our country has.” This explains how every problem became a political problem — which in turn explains why our problems never get solved.

Times have changed! Now the most effective political campaign message is, “Vote for me and I’ll legislate your hatred.”

It is amazing that all throughout history, humans willingly exchange obedience to a loving God for obedience to a cruel tyrant. Throw off the shackles of religious superstition and all will be well, the tyrant says. Rid ourselves of this evil group of people and all will be well, the tyrant says.

In Pensées, Blaise Pascal observes that many people fight tooth and nail when they hear the Good News, though it would seem logical for them to bend over backwards to believe in and find proof of a God willing to share his divine nature, forgive all sins, and make possible eternal life in Heaven.  Summarily rejecting the Good News was a strange response in Pascal’s time, since Christianity was the cultural norm. Today it is not as hard to understand because we have wrapped ourselves up in a blanket of rationalism and scientism. How can any light get in?

Fr. Robert Spitzer describes God as a the one who knows everything about everything. What a cool definition. I wonder what percentage of everything humans know. Twenty-five percent?  Five percent? One one-millionth of one percent? It’s odd that we know so little we don’t even know how little we know, and yet make all sorts of assumptions about what is knowable.