Philosophy Theology and Gender

Forms of theological thinking and religious practice that have featured the unimaginability and incomprehensibility of God are key to prayer and the mystical life.

Inclusive approach

 

Daniel Walden urges authentic engagement of Christians with the stories of transgender people as a path to greater inclusion to Church life.

I do not posit here a duty to receive the life stories that people tell us, including about their gender, without any critical engagement. But the reflexive denial with which transgender people’s stories are met is only “critical engagement” with an intellectual culture that routinely mistakes contrarian punditry for discussion, paid advertisements for book reviews, and publicity-seeking pronouncements for moral theology. Authentic engagement—the sort of radical encounter with other persons that Pope Francis regularly lays out as an obligation for all baptized Christians—demands that we suspend such instincts for immediate reaction. To be properly critical, we must first understand what we criticize. We must understand what a person is saying: what their terms are, how they map onto experience, and how the arrangement of those terms draws sense and meaning out of the sequential events of experience. Such understanding comes not from a momentary reaction to a single statement, but from sustained engagement with a person’s full understanding of their own life.1 

Father Herbert McCabe is frequently cited in the article by Daniel Walden in Commonweal Magazine. The Irish Times describes the approach of Father Herbert that respected Catholic Orthodoxy and presented God as weakness rather than power.

At the centre of his faith was the image of a failed, reviled, first-century political criminal whose execution was a grim sign of how far the powers of this world will go when their interests are threatened. For him, God was a matter of weakness rather than power. When we spoke of him (or "she", as he sometimes casually referred to the Almighty in his sermons), we literally could not know what we were talking about. His thought thus joined a long Irish tradition of negative theology whose source was the great medieval philosopher John Scottus Eriugena.2 

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy outlines the Christian Neoplatonism of John Scottus Eriugena, the medieval philosopher who influenced Father Herbert McCabe.

Eriugena’s thought is best understood as a sustained attempt to create a consistent, systematic, Christian Neoplatonism from diverse but primarily Christian sources. Eriugena had a unique gift for identifying the underlying intellectual framework, broadly Neoplatonic but also deeply Christian, assumed by the writers of the Christian East. Drawing especially on Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus Confessor, as well as on the more familiar authorities (auctores) of the Latin West (e.g., Cicero, Augustine, Macrobius, Martianus Capella, Boethius), he developed a highly original cosmology, where the highest principle, “the immovable self-identical one” (unum et idipsum immobile, Periphyseon, Patrologia Latina 122: 476b), engenders all things and retrieves them back into itself. Contrary to what some earlier commentators supposed, it is most unlikely that Eriugena had direct knowledge of the original texts of Plotinus, Porphyry, Proclus, or other pagan Neoplatonists, but he did have some direct knowledge of Plato (a portion of Timaeus in the translation of Calcidius) as well as familiarity with the pseudo-Augustinian Categoriae decem.3 

Philosophy and theology that dates to medieval times may provide a foundation for sincerely listening to the voices and spiritual journey of transgender children of God.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Gender, Sex, and Other Nonsense | Commonweal Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2021, from https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/gender-sex-and-other-nonsense
2	(n.d.). Father Herbert McCabe - The Irish Times. Retrieved December 30, 2021, from https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/father-herbert-mccabe-1.325533
3	(2003, August 28). John Scottus Eriugena. Retrieved December 30, 2021, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scottus-eriugena/

 

Catholic Social Teaching in the 21st Century

In the turmoil of the end of the 19th Century Catholic Social Teaching (CST) was expressed in an encyclical of Pope Leo XIII.  John W. Miller reports on the America Magazine website that he learned 10 things in a year of writing about the economy through the prism of Catholic social teaching.

Catholic Social Teaching Review

 

In a remarkable book scheduled to appear in January, Cathonomics (Georgetown University Press), Tony Annett, a former speechwriter for the International Monetary Fund and an Irish Catholic, traces the roots of Catholic social teaching from ancient Greek philosophy through Thomas Aquinas to Pope Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum” (1891). 

1. Wages need to go up.

The biggest issue that bedeviled people in our economy was insufficient pay. .. a high-profile effort by some chief executive officers and companies to team up with the Vatican to promote changes to their business practices. Thus far, the Council for Inclusive Capitalism says it has “487 commitments from 200 organizations.” But only two private employers, Bank of America and the energy company BP, have promised the concrete thing that will really make a difference, wage increases. 1

2. Unions are back. 

Some two-thirds of Americans “approve” of labor unions... “Unions lift up workers, both union and non-union, and especially Black and brown workers,” said President Biden, who is the most pro-union president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Leo XIII “correctly saw unions as necessary for protecting the dignity and rights of workers and their families, given that capitalists, who hold an imbalance of power over workers, often do not give workers their just due,” 1

3. Forgiveness creates prosperity.

 What really changed the life of Ray Miles, an ex-prisoner and activist in Pittsburgh, was getting a full-time job that guaranteed income for the next 12 months. Many companies and governments refuse to hire ex-prisoners, keeping them stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty and crime. Coming out of jail is “like being in critical condition,” said Mr. Miles. “You need life support.”1

4. We need to save local news.

 In a chaotic world, communities need local journalism. As Pope Francis said in a 2019 speech, local news helps citizens address “the same reality” and it spotlights “poverty, challenges [and] sometimes urgent issues” in families, neighborhoods and workplaces.1

5. Learning history can lead to justice.

 Telling the story of our past can lead to justice. A moving example of this is the private reparations movement, which has led institutions and people to offer reparations to the descendants of victims of slavery, even as the national reparations movement has stalled. This is the result of decades of work by activists, scholars and writers to highlight the wealth gap created by slavery.1

6. Urban planning is loving. 

learn of the easy convergence of urban planning and Catholic social teaching’s emphasis on building tighter communities. Robert Beauregard, for example, in his influential 2006 book, When America Became Suburban, takes the moral point of view that modern suburban life lacks “a moral center that would enable people to reach outside their communities and embrace diverse peoples” and also lacks “a widely shared sense of purpose.” When he looks at urban planning, Jamie Kralovec, an instructor in the urban and regional planning department at Georgetown University, said, he sees “this potential to build just and equitable use of the neighborhood, and bring about all these things Pope Francis talks about, like social friendship and solidarity.”1

7. Animals are important, too. 

Pope Francis, along with many theologians, seems to be calling for an increased appreciation for animal rights. “Clearly, the Bible has no place for a tyrannical anthropocentrism unconcerned for other creatures,” he wrote in “Laudato Si’,” … Advocates for animals say, is to make meat a delicacy that comes from small farms, instead of a factory-farmed staple of every meal.1

8. What and where we buy changes the world. 

It is easy to forget that we did not always live in a world with one-click shopping… Americans and Europeans went for the cheap stuff, and gobbled up television sets, shoes, washing machines and a million other products from companies like Walmart, Target and the French retailer Carrefour. These companies helped create hyperglobalization, which is why American highways and neighborhoods have almost all the same big-box chain stores and fulfillment centers for shipping out online orders… The fair trade movement has created alternative supply chains that help small businesses around the world.1

9. Women still aren’t paid enough. 

For modern interpreters of Catholic social teaching, there is little question that women deserve equal pay and a chance to build successful careers that align with their desires for family and home life. The Catholic solution to the gender pay gap requires affirming women’s right to equal pay while pushing back against a purely capitalist impulse. “We’re affirming women should be treated equally in work,” said Kate Ward, a professor of theology at Marquette University. “We’re not just saying that women should become better capitalists and have fewer families” and children.1

10. There are no utopias. 

In Cathonomics, Mr. Annett emphasizes that Catholic social teaching resists utopian thinking, which is why the church rejects both communism and libertarian capitalism.1

Cindy Wooden writing for the Catholic News Service notes that Pope Francis issued his social encyclical, "Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship," in October 2020, then proceeded to explain and apply it in 2021 in meetings with migrants and refugees, in hosting religious leaders making a plea to governments to act on climate change and in setting out his vision for a synod process that listens to and relies on the prayers of all.

There, at the birthplace of the patriarch Abraham, the first person to believe in the one God and father of all, the pope called all believers to demonstrate their faith by treating one another as the brothers and sisters they are. "From this place, where faith was born, from the land of our father Abraham, let us affirm that God is merciful and that the greatest blasphemy is to profane his name by hating our brothers and sisters," the pope said. "God loves us as his children; he wants us to be brothers and sisters," the pope said Dec. 5 in the camp on the shore of the Mediterranean on the Greek island of Lesbos. "He is offended when we despise the men and women created in his image, leaving them at the mercy of the waves, in the wash of indifference." In a public service announcement in August, Pope Francis had said, "Being vaccinated with vaccines authorized by the competent authorities is an act of love. And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love — love for oneself, love for one's family and friends, love for all people."2

 

Catholic Social Teaching as applied by the Church since Pope Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum” (1891), an encyclical that declared the church’s support of trade unions and collective bargaining, and established concepts like a living wage, worker safety and regular time off from work, has depended on example rather than exhortation for action among Catholics and people who share these concerns about the welfare of people.

 

References

1	(2021, December 28). Ten things Pope Francis and Catholic social teaching taught me .... Retrieved December 28, 2021, from https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/12/28/pope-francis-economy-catholic-social-teaching-242106
2	(2021, December 28). example than exhortation: Pope's 2021 illustrated teaching on kinship. Retrieved December 28, 2021, from https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/more-example-exhortation-popes-2021-illustrated-teaching-kinship

 

Climate Priorities for Capitalist and Socialist

Climate mitigation and adaptation strategies will need to be adopted by both capitalist, centrist, and socialist governments in the next decades.

Taking action in our community

 

Iman Ghosh reports on the Visual Capitalist website that greenhouse gases (GHGs)—chiefly in the form of CO₂ emissions—have risen at unprecedented rates as a result of global growth and resource consumption.

Billions of people rely on petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to get around. As a result, they contribute to almost 12% of global emissions. But this challenge is also an opportunity: the consumer adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could significantly help shift the world away from fossil fuel use, both for passenger travel and for freight—although there are still speedbumps to overcome. Meanwhile, buildings contribute 17.5% of energy-related emissions overall—which makes sense when you realize the stunning fact that cities use 60-80% of the world’s annual energy needs. With megacities (home to 10+ million people) ballooning every day to house the growing urban population, these shares may rise even further. Agriculture, Forestry & Land Use

 

Sub-sector	GHG Emissions Share	Further breakdown
Transport	16.2%	• Road 11.9% • Aviation 1.9% • Rail 0.4% • Pipeline 0.3% • Ship 1.7%
Buildings	17.5%	• Residential 10.9% • Commercial 6.6%
Industry energy	24.2%	• Iron & Steel 7.2% • Non-ferrous metals 0.7% • Machinery 0.5% • Food and tobacco 1.0% • Paper, pulp & printing 0.6% • Chemical & petrochemical (energy) 3.6% • Other industry 10.6%
Agriculture & Fishing energy	1.7%	-
Unallocated fuel combustion	7.8%	-
Fugitive emissions from energy production	5.8%	• Coal 1.9% • Oil & Natural Gas 3.9%
Total	73.2%

The second biggest category of emissions is the sector that we rely on daily for the food we eat. Perhaps unsurprisingly, methane from cows and other livestock contribute the most to emissions, at 5.8% total. These foods also have some of the highest carbon footprints, from farm to table.1

 

Seth Klein, writing for the National Observer, states from the outset that, without question, a truly successful climate plan requires collective action at the political/policy level . Any plan that relies on individual households voluntarily doing what he spells out here will see us fry.

Reducing our carbon footprint

 

He owns his home, which provides him with privileges, opportunities and obligations to act that do not exist for most renters.

As stated up front, the path to victory on the climate emergency will not be won by encouraging and incentivizing households to voluntarily do what we did. While individual households all have their part to play, confronting the climate crisis requires collective and state-led action. As my family’s conversion journey makes clear, the process can be complicated and it is costly, and if we are hoping everyone will do this on their own, we’re going to lose the climate fight… Under any future scenario, as we confront the climate crisis, energy costs are going up, and thus, issues of energy poverty and cost stress for lower and middle-income households is an issue that needs to be mitigated. And that’s something we can only do together… while all this encouragement and financial assistance is needed (policy carrots), fuel swapping can’t be left to voluntary goodwill. We also need the state to set clear near-term dates by which fuel-swapping will be mandatory (the policy sticks). Tackling the climate crisis and eliminating GHGs from our homes isn’t optional. We need to get this done.2 

Ultimately, however, a comprehensive climate program does require that all our homes cease using fossil fuels.

• Induction electric stove: $2,000 plus tax
• Electric hot water heater and tank, including installation: $3,400 plus tax
• Heat pump system, including installation: $17,000 plus tax (minus $9,000 in rebates)

 

This article walks us through how that can be done. On twitter, the Earth carer called Angie, user (@lifelearner47) shares some statistics from the Climate Action Tracker on emission reduction goals and projected achievements of the leading industrial countries. The numbers in these reports identify the priority we need to place on transition from fossil fuels as our major source of energy for industry, transportation, and energy in our built environment.

 

Which countries think it's perfectly OK to aim for >4°C extra climate heating ?#Fossilfuel countries! What a surprise. pic.twitter.com/y2YTW1eOmj

— Earth carer called Angie (@lifelearner47) December 19, 2021

References

 

1	(2021, December 15). A Global Breakdown of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/a-global-breakdown-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-sector/
2	(2021, December 10). Getting off gas: A how-to guide to get fossil fuels out of your home. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/12/10/opinion/getting-gas-how-guide-get-fossil-fuels-out-your-home
3	Earth carer called Angie. [@lifelearner47]. 18 Dec 2021. Which countries think it's perfectly OK to aim for >4°C extra climate heating ? #Fossilfuel countries! What a surprise.Tweet.[tweetdeck].https://twitter.com/lifelearner47/status/1472504740051361794

Science and Care of our Grandchildren

Scientists continue to study and report on the environmental and health risks that we must confront with serious action now.

Our grandchildren need us to act

 

A report in the Guardian in 2019 noted that Pope Francis believed that numerous studies tell us it is still possible to limit global warming. He added that to do this we need a clear, far-sighted and strong political will, set on pursuing a new course that aims at refocusing financial and economic investments toward those areas that truly safeguard the conditions of a life worthy of humanity on a healthy planet for today and tomorrow.

He put particular emphasis on the role of young people, who “show a heightened sensitivity to the complex problems that arise from this emergency. We must not place the burden on the next generations to take on the problems caused by the previous ones.”1 

The David Suzuki Foundation in an article by David Suzuki observes that we have become the impatient species, too busy to let nature replenish itself and too puffed up with our own sense of importance to acknowledge our utter dependence on its generosity. Instead, we steal from our children and future generations by extinguishing so many species that could have been here for them too.

We have many reasons to change our destructive ways, to show greater respect to nature. Above all, we have to think of the world we’re leaving to our children and grandchildren and those yet to be born. We must do it for love.2

 

The “boomer” generation took us from the social consciousness of the sixties to the indifference, “throw away culture”, and greed of our current time. We need to prevent our grandchildren from suffering the consequences of our poor decisions and inertia to face the facts we increasingly witness in the world around us.

 

References

 

1	(2019, December 5). Climate crisis is 'challenge of civilisation', says pope .... Retrieved December 5, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/05/climate-crisis-is-challenge-of-civilisation-says-pope
2	(2021, December 7). We have to stop squandering our brief time on Earth - David Suzuki .... Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://davidsuzuki.org/story/we-have-to-stop-squandering-our-brief-time-on-earth/