A not very well liked ability....

I'm blogging!!! WOO HOO!! I know its a miracle. There seems to be times when blogging comes so easily to me, and then there are other times where it is probably one of the hardest things to do. I wish I could give an excuse as to why, but after a pretty laid back summer, which included a serious lack of blogging, I find that I have none. I wonder if part of the determining factor for the amount that one blogs, has to do with the people they hang out with? Being that it is the middle of football season, I find myself in the company of jocks. The conversation really is not worth while or even half way intellectually stimulating to make one want to blog. Unless of course it were some sort of ranting and raving (but nobody really cares to read such things). So I now am at a point, a very brief point of my life, where I must take the initiative to keep my mind thinking by reading books and attempting meaningful dialogue where ever I get the chance. However, during this very brief point, I think I am beginning to see what the life of the mind is truly about. It is not an easy lifestyle and it is not one where the goodness of it alone is motivation enough. Because ultimately I have a very tainted idea of what truly is good for me. It becomes far to easy to stray from what is Good, True, and Beautiful. Now as I continue to embark on this very short journey, I will practice thinking when it is not fun anymore, and hopefully come out of this stage in my life more educated and prepared to tackle an even greater examined life!

Now on to the topic at hand!! :~)

Over the past month or so, I have come to appreciate the natural ability that some people have at pissing other people off. It shows somewhat strength in character, or having the courage enough to state what they believe is true without feeling embarrassed. This seems to be a very rare attribute these days, one that is not looked to highly upon because it is intolerant. For if one states what they believe to be true, then inevitably they are saying that it must be true for everyone else. It is not something to be sorry for, in fact, what one finds to be true obligates them to defend it. Otherwise it is not truth at all and merely a make believe world suited for oneself, putting it in an entirely different category than truth. If subjective truth reigned, it would be impossible for cultures to survive because the people could not communicate.

Pope Benedict XVI has recently done this in his speech at the University of Regensburg. He talks about the need for reason in the Christian faith. Often faith is viewed as some kind of blind trust which explains the mysteries of Christianity (i.e. the trinity, and God becoming incarnate). We often categorize reason as some sort of worldly wisdom, devoid of any divine adherence. I love what the Pope said about this in his speech. He states, "A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures." But how can the divine be reasonable if it is above and beyond our human intellect? I have come to the conclusion again, that maybe my definition of reason was a little messed up.
Through wisdom God created the world. God did not create the world superfluously making it impossible to have any contact with Him. It could very well be that reason and wisdom and knowledge are the very keys to understanding the divine. Because it is through those that God created the world.

The beginning of his speech however, is what really got the Islam world all fired up. He was reading from a historical text of a dialogue between "Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian" regarding the difference between Christianity and Islam. I am not going to go into detail of what was said, but here is the link if you are interested in reading it. http://romancatholicblog.typepad.com/roman_catholic_blog/2006/09/faith_reason_th.html#more

When it comes to pissing people off there is a middle ground that must not be compromised. Because if taken to the extreme it often denotes an air of arrogance. An arrogance that does not allow learning or the ability to follow the dialect where it leads. On the other end of the pendulum, however, there are the passive, "tolerant" people who believe there is no truth. And despite their best efforts, try not to offend people. Both extremes will get one no where. The middle ground always seems to be the hardest place to find and the easiest to compromise. And yet of the two, it appears to be the most extreme!