L O G O S

Manipulators Love Adverbs

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:07:00 +0000

This column by Fox News Joe Scarborough on Newt Gingrich's demagogic manipulation of adverbs struck a memory chord. I recall one or two past associates who liked to use the adverb "absolutely" quite often. Eventually, I realized that when the adverb appeared it was a sign that some kind of fraud on the truth was being perpetrated. In retrospect, it seems that the adverb abuser used the adverb to convince herself that the statement must be true if she was willing to go out on a rhetorical adverbial limb. Of course, politicians have perfected this art of simultaneously deceiving themselves and their audience at any particular time. I recall one quote to the effect that so-and-so wasn't lying--he really believed in the truth of his statement at that instant in time, although what he believed in the next instant to be true was anyone's guess. That sort of modus operandi has a way of making the egotistical life and its manipulative agenda so easy to accomplish.

A New York Times columnist also dissects the methods of manipulators, political and otherwise, at this link. So when you hear Gingrich call Romney "totally dishonest," you have to take it with a grain of salt, cum grano salis. In sum, in constructing our profile of a deceiver, keep your ears open for the tell-tale adverb.

Nice Book Review at SPR

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:36:00 +0000

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Here is the link to a very nice review of my recent book on philosophy in Ortega y Gasset at the Self-Publishing Review (for the record, a self-published author, like me, pays a small fee to have the book reviewed and then decides whether to have the review made public; as the author of the book, I had no contact with the actual writer of the book review--my contact was only with the SPR editor). Notice the interesting bio of the book reviewer.

By the way, SPR looks like a great resource for authors in this new era for book publishing--an era in which traditional barriers to entry are coming down. I like that.

Kindle Philosophy Book Now Available as Paperback

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:35:00 +0000

You can obtain a print, paperback version of my 50-page book entitled Freedom and Circumstance: Philosophy in Ortega y Gasset at this CreateSpace store link (CreateSpace is affiliated with Amazon.com). The book includes a bibliography and extensive notes. The print is also easy to read.

She Did Not Keep Quiet

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:30:00 +0000

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A hero for our times has passed away in Ireland. She bucked a profoundly dysfunctional culture of denial and silence for the sake of many tortured innocents. Here is the obituary link from the New York Times.

The Iron Lady--Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:07:00 +0000

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Last night, I saw the film "The Iron Lady" on former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (hereafter referred to as "MT"). I highly recommend it. Here is my bullet review organized by theme:

1. Aging and Loss: The movie is not merely political (thank goodness!)--it is a profound meditation on aging, loss, and bereavement as it portrays how much MT missed her deceased husband and how she adjusts to advanced age. The lesson here: grief and bereavement for a deceased spouse is a singular privilege--it means that the relationship was a blessing. Not all can say that.

2. Ambition: Yes, we need ambition; and MT was inspired by her grocer father who was also a local mayor who preached self-reliance. The movie links several scenes in a clever fashion: MT's mother washing dishes when the young Margaret receives the letter informing her of her acceptance to Oxford University--the mother's hands are too damp to read the letter. Later, the youthful MT tells her future husband that she wants more in life than just washing teacups, that she must make a difference in life. At the end of the movie, the elderly MT is seen--washing a teacup.

Yes, we must make a difference; and healthy ambition to do so is a necessity. But we will also have to "wash teacups" in life, and there is value and meaning in that mundane aspect also. In the end, when all was said and done, MT was left with what she at first wanted to flee. There is a lesson here worth finding on your own.

3. Classism: The curse of Britain is its class snobbery--the movie portrays the absurd and irrational disdain of the elite toward MT's being the daughter of a grocer. I recall a young academic friend about two years ago who expressed resentment at the class system of her native England--it's still a reality. In the U.S., we have come a long way. What a shame that many are foolish enough to still practice elite snobbery even here in America.

4. Hubris: One definition of hubris is taking one of our good traits too far. The decisive and fearless rhetoric of MT was legendary and rightly so among so many political mediocrities. The movie depicts when it goes too far: when she browbeats her colleagues, especially one in particular, in a cabinet meeting. We need to hold in check even what makes us extraordinary. A good rule of thumb for self-control is this: never browbeat anyone. We are never "that right" about anything.

All in all, it is a remarkable movie about a remarkable and courageous life with many profound themes about life in general, well beyond political themes, which are appropriately secondary in importance.

A Superman

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:45:00 +0000

Image by fengschwing via Flickr

Nietzsche had his version of the Superman. Here is mine at this NY Times link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/world/europe/jean-christophe-parisot-a-champion-of-frances-downtrodden.html .

If this story doesn't inspire you, then start worrying.

The Golden Key to the Priesthood

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:14:00 +0000

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"If you do not want to be the least, do not even think of being a priest."

It's my own quote. The priesthood is not fundamentally about fancy vestments or white collars, or about being called "Father," or about being the main liturgical actor, or about an ethnic tradition, or about mastering liturgical complexity. And it's certainly not about finding an escape from personality and other emotional issues.

It's about washing feet.

And, yes, you can replace "priest" in the quote with teacher, director of religious education, lay minister, seminar leader, etc.

Livy on America Today

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:30:00 +0000

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Curiously, the Roman historian Livy, who lived in the first century A.D., wrote about the USA today:

"The subjects to which I would ask each of my readers to devote his earnest attention are these - the life and morals of the community; the men and the qualities by which, through domestic policy and foreign war, dominion was won and extended. Then as the standard of morality gradually lowers, let him follow the decay of the national character, observing how at first it slowly sinks, then slips downward more and more rapidly, and finally begins to plunge into headlong ruin, until he reaches these days, in which we can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies.

There is this exceptionally beneficial and fruitful advantage to be derived from the study of the past, that you see, set in the clear light of historical truth, examples of every possible type. From these you may select for yourself and your country what to imitate, and also what, as being mischievous in its inception and disastrous in its issues, you are to avoid. Unless, however, I am misled by affection for my undertaking, there has never existed any commonwealth greater in power, with a purer morality, or more fertile in good examples; or any state in which avarice and luxury have been so late in making their inroads, or poverty and frugality so highly and continuously honoured, showing so clearly that the less wealth men possessed the less they coveted. In these latter years wealth has brought avarice in its train, and the unlimited command of pleasure has created in men a passion for ruining themselves and everything else through self-indulgence and licentiousness."

Livy, excerpt from Preface to Book I of his History of Rome, available at this link (emphasis added).

Today, in America, you can find the disease everywhere: from elite self-righteous liberal Democrats to highly conservative self-righteous Republicans--they are virtually all besotted with love of money and money and money and what money can buy. And, so it all comes tumbling down.

To the Latins

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:23:00 +0000

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PROGRAMME OF THE POPE'S APOSTOLIC TRIP TO MEXICO AND CUBA

VATICAN CITY, 3 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday the episcopal conferences of Mexico and Cuba published separate press communiques announcing details of Benedict XVI's forthcoming visit to those countries, due to take place from 23 to 28 March. The Holy Father had expressed his intention to make an apostolic trip to Mexico and Cuba during a Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica on 12 December, Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of Latin America.

The note issued by the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate explains that the Pope will arrive at the airport of Leon in the State of Guanajuato on the afternoon of Friday 23 March. He will be greeted there by Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, president of Mexico, by members of the episcopal conference and by Archbishop Jose Guadalupe Martin of Leon. During his stay, the Holy Father will lodge in the residence of the Miraflores College in Leon.

On Saturday 24 March, he will travel to the Casa del Conde Rul in the city of Guanajuato, the headquarters of the State Government, where he will hold an official meeting with President Calderon Hinojosa. After the meeting the Pope will greet and bless children and faithful gathered in the city's Plaza de la Paz.

On the morning of Sunday 25 March Benedict XVI will preside at Mass in the Parque Bicentenario in the municipality of Silao, at the foot of hill known as the Cerro del Cubilete at the top of which is a statue of Christ the King. Following the ceremony he is due to meet with representatives from the ninety-one dioceses of Mexico. That evening the Holy Father will preside at Vespers in the cathedral of Leon with Mexican bishops and representatives of other Latin American episcopates, to whom he will address a message.

On the morning of Monday 26 March, the Pope will take his official leave of the civil and religious authorities of Mexico at the airport of Leon, before flying to Cuba.

The note published by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba explains that the Pope is due to arrive in Santiago de Cuba in the early afternoon of 26 March. He will be welcomed by Raul Castro, president of Cuba, by members of the episcopal conference and by Archbishop Dionisio Garcia Ibanez of Santiago. The Holy Father will then travel by open-top car to the Plaza de la Revolucion where he will celebrate Mass for the Solemnity of the Annunciation. After the ceremony, the Pope will move on to the nearby mining town of El Cobre where he will lodge in a residence for priests.

On the morning of Tuesday 27 March the Holy Father will make a private visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity where he will pray before the image of the patron of Cuba. He will then go to the airport of Santiago to fly to the capital city Havana, where he is due to arrive at midday. He will be welcomed there by Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana and by other religious and civil authorities. That afternoon the Pope will hold an official meeting with President Castro, then meet with Cuban bishops in the apostolic nunciature.

On the morning of Wednesday 28 March, the Pope will preside at Mass in the Plaza de la Revolucion "Jose Marti". In the early afternoon he will be taken by open-top car to the airport of Havana were, following the departure ceremony, he will board his return flight for Rome.

Ending the Last Day of the Year with a Bang

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:12:00 +0000

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I was discussing with a friend my inability to manufacture affection or enthusiasm for arrogant institutions, including prestigious or elite universities that like to preen on themselves.

So I found this blockbuster article from 2008 entitled "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education" by a former Yale professor whose book on Jane Austen I highly recommend. Here is the link. The article raises many issues about education, about intelligence, about social class structure, about consumerism, about ambition, and about social justice. Let's start the New Year with a lot to think about that needs to be thought about, again, in our time.

Philosophy=How to Live

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:38:00 +0000

Available at Amazon.com

Update: Courtesy of Amazon.com, my latest book is now available for free through January 1, 2012, as part of a 5-day Kindle ebook promotion. You can get it for yourself and/or send it to someone else as a gift.

That is the old and perennial idea that will not die, in spite of the best efforts of ivory tower academic philosophers. Here is a link to an excellent book review in the Dec. 27, 2011, Wall St. Journal on A Brief History of Thought by Luc Ferry.

I found the book review of Ferry's points quite fetching since they match the insights I got from writing my recent short book on philosopher José Ortega y Gasset (by the way, if readers leave me their email in the comment box, I will send them a free Kindle edition of my book on Ortega via email).

What points does the French philosopher Ferry raise that match what I and others find in Ortega? Here are some of those points quoted from and/or summarized by me from the WSJ book review, which in turn quotes Luc Ferry:

1. Philosophy "gives us the intellectual resources for living 'in a better and freer way.' "

2. Philosophy must face the problem of "salvation" in the face of death. In other words, life presents a problem to be solved.

3. Christianity makes an enormous contribution to philosophy--namely, "that 'the moral worth of a person does not lie in his inherited gifts or natural talents, but in the free use he makes of them.' " So much for our culture's overemphasis on I.Q. and other alleged and exaggerated measures of innate ability. This assertion is right out of Ortega, who emphasizes, as those who read my new book will see, that all of us appear in life with particular circumstances, parameters, and constraints but also with a margin of freedom to decide what we are going to do in those straightened circumstances. Ortega, like Ferry, will give a big and generous nod to the value of Christianity to Western philosophy.

4. Ferry speaks about the need "to reassert the possibility of human freedom--human choice," in the face of a pseudo-scientific determinism that is in vogue (it seems now more than ever). Ortega eloquently emphasizes that such freedom is metaphysically constitutive of human living--we live by deciding what we are going to be, we live with a freedom of decision-making intrinsically ordered to the future.

Yes, it is very providential, in my view, to have this book and book review emphasize the Orteguian themes that I also find crucial for our times.

Queen's Christmas Message 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Christmas Message from the King of Spain

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:18:00 +0000

It's in Spanish, but non-Spanish speakers may enjoy the initial view of the palace and the sound of the dignified Spanish national anthem. Also, notice the creche.
For English-speakers, I will also add soon the Christmas message of Queen Elizabeth II. You get two monarchs, one Catholic, the other Protestant, both Christian, representing a long history of continuity for both nations and cultures, nations whose cultures have enriched the globe--many of us in the U.S. are happy to share in both cultures. Juan Carlos has reigned in Spain for 36 years, since 1975; Elizabeth II for about 59 years, since 1952.

Bible's Deep Influence on Literature

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Image by lokarta via Flickr

Here is the permanent link to an excellent essay by Marilynne Robinson on the Bible's profound effect on our literature:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/books/review/the-book-of-books-what-literature-owes-the-bible.html

Notice the role of the Exodus theme as you read closely.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:01:00 +0000

My sincere Christmas greetings to all my readers, friends, and students. May this season and the New Year grant you all of your good and fruitful desires.

John 1 (King James/Authorized Version)

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²The same was in the beginning with God.

³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

⁷The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

⁹That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

¹¹He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

¹²But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

¹³Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Juan 1 (La Biblia de las Américas)

Prólogo

¹En el principio existía el Verbo, y el Verbo estaba con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios.    ²El estaba en el principio con Dios.
    ³Todas las cosas fueron hechas por medio de El, y sin El nada de lo que ha sido hecho, fue hecho.
    ⁴En El estaba la vida, y la vida era la luz de los hombres.
    ⁵Y la luz brilla en las tinieblas, y las tinieblas no la comprendieron.
    ⁶Vino al mundo un hombre enviado por Dios, cuyo nombre era Juan.
    ⁷Este vino como testigo, para testificar de la luz, a fin de que todos creyeran por medio de él.
    ⁸No era él la luz, sino que vino para dar testimonio de la luz.
    ⁹Existía la luz verdadera que, al venir al mundo, alumbra a todo hombre.
    ¹⁰En el mundo estaba, y el mundo fue hecho por medio de El, y el mundo no le conoció.
    ¹¹A lo suyo vino, y los suyos no le recibieron.
    ¹²Pero a todos los que le recibieron, les dio el derecho de llegar a ser hijos de Dios, es decir, a los que creen en su nombre,
    ¹³que no nacieron de sangre, ni de la voluntad de la carne, ni de la voluntad del hombre, sino de Dios.

El Verbo se hace carne

¹⁴Y el Verbo se hizo carne, y habitó entre nosotros, y vimos su gloria, gloria como del unigénito del Padre, lleno de gracia y de verdad.

Ioannes 1 (Vulgate)

¹in principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat Verbum
²hoc erat in principio apud Deum
³omnia per ipsum facta sunt et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est
⁴in ipso vita erat et vita erat lux hominum
⁵et lux in tenebris lucet et tenebrae eam non conprehenderunt
⁶fuit homo missus a Deo cui nomen erat Iohannes
⁷hic venit in testimonium ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine ut omnes crederent per illum
⁸non erat ille lux sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine
⁹erat lux vera quae inluminat omnem hominem venientem in mundum
¹⁰in mundo erat et mundus per ipsum factus est et mundus eum non cognovit
¹¹in propria venit et sui eum non receperunt
¹²quotquot autem receperunt eum dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri his qui credunt in nomine eius
¹³qui non ex sanguinibus neque ex voluntate carnis neque ex voluntate viri sed ex Deo nati sunt
¹⁴et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis et vidimus gloriam eius gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre plenum gratiae et veritatis

A Philosophy of Dramatic Freedom and Responsibility

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:39:00 +0000

That is why I am attracted to the writings of the twentieth-century philosopher José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955). It also helps that he expresses his ideas with wonderful metaphors and verve.

So, now, to show my appreciation for his writings, I have just published a Kindle book on his views of philosophy.

See the link above! By the way, if you happen to be an Amazon Prime member (students can join for half-price, or $39 per year), you get to read the book for free.

If you are serious about submitting a customer review to Amazon, submit a comment to this post telling me so and giving me your email address; and I will send you a free copy of the book via email.

Hispanics, Parish Policy, and the Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:11:00 +0000

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Our Rhode Island friend sends this link to a report entitled "The Coming Latino Catholic Majority." The article reports again what people have been noting for several years: there is a major demographic change among U.S. Catholics. In that sense, there is nothing new in the article.

But, something does stand out, at least for me. The article points out that one obstacle to Hispanic participation in the sacraments, especially if they are migrants, are rigid parish policies that are not flexible enough to accommodate particular personal situations, such as moving from one community to another. Wow. What a way to drop the ball: policy, policy, policy.

Recently, I fired my kids' medical providers because their policies (and ineptitude in scheduling routine appointments) made the simple, banal process of getting an updated immunization an unnecessarily bureaucratic, frustrating, and time-wasting process. My answer to the obtuse office staff was this: I understand your policy, and I am finding another doctor (which I did that same day).

Guess what Hispanics or others will do if parish policies block their participation in the sacraments? They will go to the competition, as I did in the medical marketplace. But this time it won't be to another doctor--it will likely be to another Christian tradition. If pride comes before a fall, so does rigidity. In fact, rigidity may really reflect a disguised pride and arrogance that imagines itself immune to competition.

Cuba Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:19:00 +0000

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Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity
Santiago de Cuba

CUBA WILL GREET THE POPE WITH AFFECTION AND RESPECT

[Bold & link added by blogger]

VATICAN CITY, 20 DEC 2011 (VIS) - Cuba is preparing to greet Benedict XVI "with affection and respect", and President Raul Castro has welcomed "with satisfaction" the official announcement of the Pope's visit to the country, according to an official note released on Cuban media today. The visit is due to take place at the end of March 2012.

On Sunday 18 December, the Cuban president met with a Holy See delegation to discuss preparations for the forthcoming visit, which the Holy Father himself announced during a Mass on 12 December for the Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of Latin America, and for the two hundredth anniversary of the independence of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. During the meeting "the excellent relations between Cuba and the Holy See were highlighted, and certain details of the Pope's visit were examined".

Benedict XVI's visit, his second to Latin America following his trip to Brazil in 2007, will coincide initiatives organised by the local episcopate to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the image of "Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre", patron of the island. One of these initiatives is a Marian Jubilee Year, which will begin on 7 January 2012 and end on 5 January 2013.

Rembrandt Depicts Jesus the Jew

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:34:00 +0000

Rembrandt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In a recent art exhibition, the point was made that Rembrandt appears to have pioneered the depiction of Jesus as a Jew. Rembrandt had his studio in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam and may have used a young Sephardic Jew as one of his models for depicting the face of Jesus. You can find more information at this link. The illustration is similar to what I saw at the exhibit.

The Hero

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:24:00 +0000

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You will see from my translation of this passage from the writings of Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, why I like reading him. You may, too:

I am I and my circumstance, and, if I do not save it, I do not save myself. Benefac loco illi quo natus es ["Do good in that place where you have been born"], we read in the Bible. And in the Platonic School this is given as the project of all culture: "save the appearances," the phenomena. That is to say, search for the meaning of what surrounds us. . . .

There is nothing on the globe through which there does not pass some divine nerve: the difficulty lies in getting to it and in our allowing it to penetrate us. . . .

Nothing impedes heroism--which is the activity of the spirit--as much as to consider it limited to certain specific spheres of life. It is certain that there exists, everywhere-- underground--the possibility of heroism and that every man, if he strikes with vigor the earth on which he strides, should expect a fountain to erupt. For Moses the Hero, every rock is a spring.

José Ortega y Gasset, Meditations on Quixote (1914), pp. 43-45 passim (Spanish edition 1957; published Madrid, Revista de Occidente).

Note: I am not sure what Bible verse Ortega is referring to in the excerpt. My guess is that it may be Genesis 32:9: "dixitque Iacob Deus patris mei Abraham et Deus patris mei Isaac Domine qui dixisti mihi revertere in terram tuam et in locum nativitatis tuae et benefaciam tibi."

So, maybe, the sense of what Ortega quotes should possibly be more like this: "I will do good for you in the place of your birth," a sense that is also consistent with Ortega's point.

Pope to Visit Cuba and Mexico Next Year

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:40:00 +0000

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Havana, Cuba

Here is the link to the Miami Herald news story. The visit is set to take place before Easter. What is the significance of this trip?

Well, since this Pope does not travel as widely as the previous Pope, his choices are arguably more strategically considered. Mexico is the Spanish-speaking behemoth in the Western Hemisphere (Portuguese-speaking Brazil is the overall behemoth and commonly noted as the the country with the largest population of Catholics in the world). Latin America as a whole contains almost half of all Catholics worldwide.

Another strategic angle for us in the U.S. is that Hispanic Catholics, especially those of Mexican origin, are transforming the Church in the U.S. In contrast to, say France, where a diminishing number of French Catholics exists with a large influx of Muslims, in the U.S., the situation is one in which the immigrant influx actually bolsters the Catholic presence. Thus, a visit to Mexico is also an indirect visit to the Church in the U.S. because of the large role Mexican Catholics now play in the demographics of the Church in the U.S.

As to Cuba, we see the priority of re-evangelization in the wake of a looming and inevitable post-Communist reality. Sooner or later, there will no longer be a Communist dictatorship in Cuba. The transition is not only political but also cultural and religious. For decades now, Cuba has exported Communist ideology to the Caribbean, to Latin America, and even to Africa. The new Cuba may in the future be known for exporting Christian evangelists, both Catholic and Protestant, as its dynamic, entrepreneurial, and energetic population enjoys a newly found freedom in religious matters. Cuba's prime natural resource is its people and their dynamism--a resource that has now been muzzled for decades; but that is set to break out of its current bondage.

What is Success?

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:42:00 +0000

As one thinks, inevitably, of the legacy he or she will leave behind, the question looms: what is success in life?

Of course, my evaluation will be quite subjective; and yet, I think, it also has some objectively valid elements for all to consider.

1. Is Making A Lot of Money Success?

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Here, I have no hesitation at all in giving a resounding "No." Since my teenage years, I had a strong disdain for those who made money and the social status or rank it grants central to their identity. I saw "up close" people during those years who judged the world through the world of status and prestige related to money. I intuitively disdained that point of view. Nothing in the intervening decades has changed my opinion. If you have made a lot of money, then use it for productive purposes; but the fact itself of having made large amounts of money and being able to buy high-ticket assets, such as a large house or houses in an exclusive neighborhood, just does not equal success in my book. I had that view long before I knew what my future level of income would be. Is there much to argue about here? Not for me. This criterion for success is an easy one to jettison, in spite of so many others living as if it were the central, if not only, criterion for success.

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2. Is Gaining a Public Position of Power Success?

Now, I admit that, as a young person, I did view successful politicians and leaders, such as Presidents and prime ministers and justices of the Supreme Court, to be the epitome of success. Well, I have changed my mind. Maybe, it's due to the fact that such achievements are now out of my reach (in fact, I turned my back on any future in politics quite early on, in spite of my strong early interest in political history, because I could see that my personality was not "fake" enough and self-prostituting enough for success in that task). For me, confirmation of a "No" answer to this criterion comes from a real-life example: Bill Clinton, who, in my opinion, has managed to be one of the most obvious successful failures in American culture.

As to power in the private realm, I am not even remotely tempted to equate corporate power with success.

3. What Is Success Then?

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I invite interested readers to answer that question with their own comments to this blog post. My own proposed answer is this: improving the lives of others, especially by giving them the tools to create positive change for themselves. Transmitting wisdom captures it for me. Have we transmitted wisdom to others, whether in the private realm or the public realm or in both realms? Of course, such transmission of wisdom means that we have first discovered it for ourselves. That transmission of wisdom defines success for me, although I do not dare to pretend that this one definition of success rules out any other definitions of success. Yet, I think that other definitions of success will contain elements of or be variations, in some form, of this particular definition.

In other words, for me, success is learning more truth and living more in truth so that your character reflects truth. Anything else is really a distraction. Hence, Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, was not a success because he was the most powerful individual, both politically and economically, both publicly and privately, of his time--but because of the evidence of his private Meditations, which, apparently, were not even intended for public circulation.

A Teacher's End of Semester Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:45:00 +0000

16th Century Classroom, University of Salamanca, Spain
via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons

With my having finished yesterday a challenging and bracing semester of teaching an Introduction to Scripture course, it is time to take stock.

1.) First, students should never underestimate the impact that their earnest efforts and dedication can have on a teacher. It's just plain inspiring. Also, everyone likes gratitude; and I am sincerely energized by the gratitude expressed by students who were obviously sincerely moved by the course.

2.) It was amazing to me how our assigned biblical readings and themes tracked the Sunday liturgical readings, with no coordination, at least by me.

3.) I continue to be thankful for my discovery (from reading the work of others) of the New Exodus theme which gives a textually-based hermeneutic for the entire canon of the Bible. In our zeal for accumulating information, we sometimes miss the forest for the trees, as the saying goes. It's nice to see the forest since we will never master all the information available to us. For more on the New Exodus theme, see this link.

4.) I finished the semester by having each student give an oral presentation or oratio on a parable from the Gospels. This format is particularly fitting for biblical studies since the Good News was first proclaimed and handed down precisely as oral proclamation and teaching (Catholics and some others like to call it "oral tradition"). Of course, the Master never wrote down his own sermons or teachings--he taught by word of mouth.

In addition, we believe that Paul dictated many, if not all, of his letters; and scholars detect, in at least some of Paul's letters, features that were standard in Greco-Roman orations. Thus, to present the Bible in oral speech, is very much to engage in--what verb can I devise here?--"Bible-ing." Speaking the Bible is in the very character of a Bible that was intended, especially when it comes to the letters of the New Testament, to be read aloud and which arose from oral speech in the first place.

5.) I am also thankful for the amazing scholars who dare to write introductions to the entire Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and introductions to the entire New Testament. It is an amazing feat to cover it all in one volume. While, as is no surprise and as is inevitable, I do not always agree with the wording or articulation of various points by textbook writers, their work is invaluable as a starting-point in a survey course. In addition, critically engaging with the work of reputable scholars models for students what they are called to do in their own research in various scholarly commentaries and other sources: to read and listen with an open and humble mind, but also to not be afraid to criticize and note one's own divergent view of what a scholar writes. We have no choice but to use the admittedly imperfect because no human scholar has ever produced or ever will produce the perfect, although we sometimes pretend otherwise.

All in all, teaching (especially when teaching the greatest work of literature ever written in any culture anywhere) is one of the pinnacles of the human experience. This semester again confirmed that truth for me.

Guadalupe's Children--Here, Now, Unignorable

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:03:00 +0000

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I can do no better than the blog "Whispers in the Loggia" which gives us photos from around the country labelled as "Scenes from a Revolution" in the Catholic Church in the U.S., as it transitions from a Eurocentric particular church to a profoundly Hispanic particular church. See the link.

What is the deeper meaning of such an immense change? We shall find out in future decades what God is planning to do. A Spanish proverb famously tells us that God writes straight with crooked lines. So we have to wait and see.

This change reminds me of one surprising conversation a few years ago with a member of the Catholic clergy who could not initially think of a reason for a Catholic theologian to learn Spanish--in spite of its being the original language of Sts. Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Jesus, and John of the Cross, not to mention the modern writings of St. Josemaría Escrivá. It's time to renew our minds.

"Aliens," Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Lincoln

noreply@blogger.com (Oswald Sobrino) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 02:41:00 +0000

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The upcoming feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness and empress of all the Americas (North, Central, and South, let it be noted) is a time to reflect on how we think of our Mexican neighbors within our borders. I find it amazing that political conservatives who like to pat themselves on the back as being so "logical" and so "smart" fail to see the profound irony of terming as "aliens" people who in the 19th century had sovereign rights over most of the American West and arguably lost those rights in a war of conquest opposed by no less than the young Abraham Lincoln himself, a man many of us consider, by far, the greatest American leader ever. (Listen to conservative talk radio to get a taste of that high, ever-flowing intellectual self-esteem.)

In addition, the culturally Hispanic nature of the West is so obvious that you would have to be obtuse not to see it. Just name the states with Spanish names like California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana; just name at least a small sample of the cities with historic Spanish names: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, San Antonio, San Diego, Santa Clara, San Bernardino, etc.

How can those people be aliens in the very land they first settled and named? The answer is that they can be "aliens" only in an artificial, legal sense of the term. For the record, I am not in favor of lawlessness or chaos or spill-over crime on the border. But, maybe, we need a new term for those who do not enter legally. In keeping with the history of the American West, I propose the name "illegal pioneers." For the people we usually associate with being aliens are products of the very same culture that first opened and settled the American West and founded so many of its great cities.

Maybe, the new name will lead some to pause before they rhetorically shoot from the hip and sabotage any effort at regularizing the status of the "illegal pioneers." The problem for many in America is similar to that of some European countries dealing with refugees from former colonial possessions--if your priority was a homogeneous country, then you should have refrained from inserting yourself into very different parts of the world or of your own continent. Thus, Abraham Lincoln's opposition to the Mexican-American War was, in a way, prophetic for our times.

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