Mo' Dernity, Mo' Problems
Saturday, September 28, 2002
The Great Mysteries: an Essential Catechism by Andrew M. Greeley
Although I think some of this book may be infected with liberal garbage, a lot of it is very cool.
Take this, for example:
Religion is grounded in human experience. In the midst of the frustrations, the ambiguities, the sorrows, the pleasures, the joys, the uncertanties of our lives, we occasionally sense that there may be something else going on. For some people, this "something else" is encountered in a dramatic, overpowering, ecstatic way. But for most of us it is perceived briefly and dimly: in the smile on a child's face, the glory of a sunset, or a day of pleasure and joy with good friends. At such times we feel at one with ourselves, nature, humanity. We know, of course, that the smile will vanish from the child's face, the sun will set and darkness will cover the earth, and our friends will go home, leaving us alone. We know that our perceptions of good things will end with our own death; but in that fleeting glimpse of the possiblity of "something else" being at work in the world, we get a hint - sometimes very strong - that there is something else in the universe besides our own brief and fragile life. It is out of those elements that humankind fashions religion. (Introduction, xi)
This passage illustrates the method of the book. Greeley observes an aspect of human experience, and then uses this to shed light on an aspect of religious truth. The religious truth, in turn, illuminates our experience.
This passage also illustrates Greeley's liberal tendancies - "humankind" rather than "mankind."
Although I think some of this book may be infected with liberal garbage, a lot of it is very cool.
Take this, for example:
Religion is grounded in human experience. In the midst of the frustrations, the ambiguities, the sorrows, the pleasures, the joys, the uncertanties of our lives, we occasionally sense that there may be something else going on. For some people, this "something else" is encountered in a dramatic, overpowering, ecstatic way. But for most of us it is perceived briefly and dimly: in the smile on a child's face, the glory of a sunset, or a day of pleasure and joy with good friends. At such times we feel at one with ourselves, nature, humanity. We know, of course, that the smile will vanish from the child's face, the sun will set and darkness will cover the earth, and our friends will go home, leaving us alone. We know that our perceptions of good things will end with our own death; but in that fleeting glimpse of the possiblity of "something else" being at work in the world, we get a hint - sometimes very strong - that there is something else in the universe besides our own brief and fragile life. It is out of those elements that humankind fashions religion. (Introduction, xi)
This passage illustrates the method of the book. Greeley observes an aspect of human experience, and then uses this to shed light on an aspect of religious truth. The religious truth, in turn, illuminates our experience.
This passage also illustrates Greeley's liberal tendancies - "humankind" rather than "mankind."
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