Pope John XXIII taught us to "read the signs of the times." By that, he meant we are spiritually called and empowered to see and express our perennial faith in terms that fit the world and culture we live in.
With a new pope soon to be elected, the church has the opportunity to revisit Vatican II and put an end to its Imperial structure and the outmoded expression of our faith that is based in pomp, power, secrecy, and the absence of dialogue among the People of God. Unhappily, I do not expect such an outcome. But that need not hold us back.
We can move forward on our own. I strongly believe that a Vatican II inspired, contemporary expression of our faith is now attainable. It must take account of evolution, which is the basis for all our scientific and much of our philosophical understanding today. And evolution would be extremely helpful as the natural basis for our political, economic and social understanding. Our faith can and should be the leaven that gives evolution its fullness of life, meaning and purpose.
In turn, evolution can and should give our faith new life and vigor. Its terms can show us new, contemporary ways to express Christ's work in building his Kingdom on Earth in preparation for the eternal kingdom. In sum, evolutionary thinking is the natural basis for expressing our spiritual ideas and making them more understandable, meaningful, acceptable and effective in today's society and culture. Anything short of an evolutionary expression of our faith freezes our faith in the past, keeps it away from much of our youth, and can easily imprison us in literal fundamentalism. Nothing could be more harmful to any "New Evangelization" that we can hope to attain.
I have therefore expanded and updated the page, "An Evolution Story." I invite you to read and contemplate it.
Finally, you may have noticed that this blog is receiving its share of spam comments, which I delete a few times a day. I welcome your serious comments on this and any other topic.
With a new pope soon to be elected, the church has the opportunity to revisit Vatican II and put an end to its Imperial structure and the outmoded expression of our faith that is based in pomp, power, secrecy, and the absence of dialogue among the People of God. Unhappily, I do not expect such an outcome. But that need not hold us back.
We can move forward on our own. I strongly believe that a Vatican II inspired, contemporary expression of our faith is now attainable. It must take account of evolution, which is the basis for all our scientific and much of our philosophical understanding today. And evolution would be extremely helpful as the natural basis for our political, economic and social understanding. Our faith can and should be the leaven that gives evolution its fullness of life, meaning and purpose.
In turn, evolution can and should give our faith new life and vigor. Its terms can show us new, contemporary ways to express Christ's work in building his Kingdom on Earth in preparation for the eternal kingdom. In sum, evolutionary thinking is the natural basis for expressing our spiritual ideas and making them more understandable, meaningful, acceptable and effective in today's society and culture. Anything short of an evolutionary expression of our faith freezes our faith in the past, keeps it away from much of our youth, and can easily imprison us in literal fundamentalism. Nothing could be more harmful to any "New Evangelization" that we can hope to attain.
I have therefore expanded and updated the page, "An Evolution Story." I invite you to read and contemplate it.
Finally, you may have noticed that this blog is receiving its share of spam comments, which I delete a few times a day. I welcome your serious comments on this and any other topic.
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