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| Fordham Professor Tom Beaudoin |
Did it occur to
Professor Tom Beaudoin that the teachings of the Church are not designed to reflect what any society appears to want at any given time? Still, he imaginatively pits the
“overwhelming majority (all non-ordained persons)” against
“the small minority (the ordained).” I happen to be in the latter category, but I find the reality of being one of the ordained unlike the broad characterization offered by Professor Beaudoin does not pit me against those whom I am called by my particular vocation to serve. Having served on most weekends in local parishes for the last eighteen years since my ordination, I don’t find myself or the other clergy with whom I labor being pitted against the faithful. Rather, what I have found and continue to find in parishes across the country is that the People of God, the Body of Christ, whom I encounter, come together to pray, to celebrate and receive the sacraments, and ask God to help us reinforce our faith so that we may be worthy disciples of His Son. I do not see anyone from either segment of the Church as Professor Beaudoin describes it,
“Looking at the world and the church in this moment” and declaring
“that now may be some kind of privileged time for [OWS] action.” Beaudoin asks in oratorical fashion: “Will Catholics take it [i.e., OWS action] up?”
16 comments:
A Jesuit--who was a lawyer at Standard Oil--doesn't like messy protest! Surprise, surprise.
Boodoing is a fool. His books aren't read by anyone serious about theology today, and his comments reveal someone whose heart is far from Mother Church. Someone with as little to contribute as he could only find employment in a university. Someone with as much misunderstanding and hatred for the Church as he has could only find employment at a Jesuit university. Well, maybe not only Jesuit....
I "Googled" Prof. Beaudoin's name and the word "syllabus" and it turns out that his scholarship is assigned in plenty of courses across the country.
Still, maybe if you write enough times that no one reads him anymore you can convince yourself.
"Anonymous", I didn't state that nobody reads Boodoing. I stated that nobody serious about theology reads him.
Give it fifty years or so, probably less... then nobody will be reading him anymore.
But people will be reading John Paul II and Benedict XVI, as well as Augustine, Aquinas, and all the other weighty thinkers.
People who are serious about theology can recognize dilettantes pretty quickly. The fact that there are theology departments in universities that are assigning Boodoing's drivel is a sign that theology departments are not serious about teaching real theology.
One has to look no further than the Catholic Theological Society of America to realize that American Catholic theologians -- the ones who staff theology departments -- have collectively lost their marbles and their grounding in the Truth of Catholicism.
SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCS
"From his opening prologue St. John the Evangelist depicts the coming of Christ as the advent of light into a world steeped in darkness and the shadow of death. He says I quote, “The light has come into the world and men have loved the darkness better than the light because their works were evil.” John 3:19. Sinners by definition are opposed to the truth. Why? Because they dread it, they fear that their works will be made known. Quote John, “Whoever does evil hates the light.” How often over the years I have consoled myself, for example; it is almost ten years now that several television stations in Chicago have been trying to engage a debate, they call it dialogue, between yours truly and the notorious Hans Küng. Hans Küng hates the light. He has consistently refused, he knows he’s a charlatan pretending to be a Catholic.
What John is telling us is that sinners willfully blind refuse to recognize evil when they see it. So that Christ can say to them, “If you are blind”, hear these words, “ if you were blind you would be without sin, but because you say ‘we see’ your sin remains.” There is a pathetic logic in the sinners twisted thinking. They realize down deep in their hearts that what they are doing is wrong, but if they admit it, even to themselves, that their conduct is sinful, they would have to repent. Which means that they would have to surrender their will to God. Instead they persist in their wickedness and allow their wills to close their minds to the truth. Some of these statements took me twenty years to put together. I’ve seen it and it is a terrifying sight to behold: willful, unrepentant sin".
John Hardon SJ
"I stated that nobody serious about theology reads him."
Right--and all those theologians assigning his work aren't serious--just you and. . .?
What chutzpah.
"One more Johannine insight deserves to be shed. So intent is the devil on destruction, that if he could he would destroy God Himself. No other explanation of Christ’s crucifixion is ultimately coherent. Remember when Christ was to begin His public ministry? He was three times assailed by the devil in the desert. That was the beginning. And all through His public life Christ was, on the left and on the right, driving the devil out of possessed persons. Through these possessed persons the demon spoke with undisguised hatred of the divine exorcist. But the devil never gave up. At the last supper... Satan finally conquered. He possessed Judas, who under demonic control, Christ’s own apostle betrayed his Master.
God as God is the immortal One. No one can kill God. But God became man and allowed Himself to be killed at the instigation of the devil. Every murderer, before and after Christ, including the millions of unborn children every year, every murderer symbolizes more than most people realize. These homicides are all attempted Deicides. Where the real object of hatred is not the human victim but God. If the devil or his human agents were able, they would do away with God. How dare He tell us, sinners exclaim, how dare God tell us what to do or what not to do; we will not serve, away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him, Crucify Him. We might therefore justly rephrase Pilot’s cowardly question to the frenzied Jews. “ Shall I crucify your king?” He could well have asked, “Shall I crucify your God?” And they would answer, “WE HAVE NO GOD EXCEPT OURSELVES.” To read even a single page of a mad man like Nietzsche, whose demonic hatred of God has by now infected whole nations, is to recognize what Christ really meant when He told us that the devil is a murdererWe close with a prayer.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are the loving God Who came into the world to save sinners. But we believe You are also the almighty God,Who, if sinners do not repent, punish even for all eternity those who love themselves more than You. What we most want, Dear Jesus, is the grace to love You more than ourselves even if the price You demand is the sacrifice of what we most love on earth. Jesus, mighty God, have mercy on us sinners.
John Hardon SJ
Anonymous,
You wrote -
I "Googled" Prof. Beaudoin's name and the word "syllabus" and it turns out that his scholarship is assigned in plenty of courses across the country.
And again -
Right--and all those theologians assigning his work aren't serious--just you and. . .?
Give us the names of the theologians who use Tom Beaudoin's writings. Make sure you google Tom Beaudoin and not Mary, Pat or Michael Beaudoin. Until you can provide the names of these theologians and where they teach, your claims can't be taken seriously.
Give you the names?! Good Lord man,you have a brain--look them up on Google like I did! If you don't find him listed on the syllabi than report back to us.
I was responding to a crackpot claim that no serious people read his work so I don't have to do much more than indicate that his work is in wide circulation, i.e. it is assigned widely in courses across the country.
I found over 400 times his work has be cited on Google Scholar as well.
The person behind this blog needs a life.
Tom Beaudoin gets four hits on Google Scholar. Thomas Beaudoin gets three hits.
if "old school"theology is so relevant and interesting then how come the church is dying ? Where are the young adults ?
At least Prof. Beaudoin /Elizabeth Johnson breathe life into the study of theology .
and as for sinners Maria what about Archbishop Finn??
is Archbishop Finn someone who can lead us to the light ??
Just typed "Tom Beaudoin" on Google Scholar and got 9,330 hits.
Just typed "Tom Beaudoin," "theology," and "syllabus"and received 2,900 hits.
Dude, they are assigning him in religious studies and theology courses. Deal with it.
So, its how many "hits" a "theologian" gets that determines the legitimacy of said theologian's "theology"? Wow. Who knew?
The writer of this blog has a life, with God, the only only life that matters. Would that the so called "theologians" at America Mag might soon glom on to this little bit of theology.
theology is the study of things divine
america magazine explores these things
if you do not like it go back to the middle ages
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