Friday, March 06, 2009

A note from me

Like Pearljam says, I'm still alive. But yeah, very hectic last few days. Back in Scotland for a very short amount of time to get many, many things done. But the point is that things are going well. The leg also is improving--thanks for your prayers! Will get back to normal blogging next week some time, in sha' allah.

Meanwhile, Joey Shaw has a question about Muslims and the Catholic Catechism, share your thoughts THERE.

And Don has a nice summary of Augustine's City of God, which you can read HERE. A selection:

But it’s a given for Augustine that the state will be involved in religion, one way or another, and that the Church and its people must deal with it
effectively one way or another. It’s tempting to think that we’re past such involvement with our modern secular states, but both the rise of militant secularism and Islamicism should caution us not to be so smug about our age. Augustine lived in an age where the Roman state reached into every corner of life, and given the broad (and broadening) role of the state in our own lives, his view of the state deserves another hearing, at least.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

We're glad you're doing better as a result of our prayers. God could use quantum fluctuations to perform miracles without violating the laws of science.

It's always good when you have some interesting readings to do while you heal. That's one of the reasons I manage to enjoy my sicknesses because they give me a break from the usual and give me a chance to read with long term concentration.

Those who responded to Shaw's question, including yourself, gave an apt answer. (The passage he quoted from the CCC did not say that Muslims are saved, but only that Muslims have the bare basic prerequisites for salvation, but not that they meet them all, including belief in Christ as Lord and Savior.)

I have not read Augustine's City of God, so I don't know his vision of it. But if the Roman Catholic Church of today is seen as a model if it, then I'm not on board. If the City of God is the one that needed and accepted corrections from science, and has recently suffered a number of morality fiascos, then it was not really a City of God to begin with, but a City of Man disguised in divine clothing. Nevertheless, in spite of this, and in light of the current dangers of Islamism, the Catholic Church is a major ally in that war front.

(I have to say that for years I often identified with Augustine's spirit from what I read in his Confessions---and also with Pascal's in the Pensees.)

GW said...

Glad to hear you are doing better. Really enjoy your blog