Perhaps it will be of help to develop a theme set forth in the Gospel this past Sunday. The Lord Jesus at one point rebukes the devil and says, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” (Lk 4:8)
Jesus is tapping into the Old Testament vision of the “Fear of the Lord” as Deuteronomy says,
Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. (Deut 10:20)
or again
Fear the LORD your God, serve him only (Deut 6:13).
I have written extensively on the “Fear of the Lord”HERE and HERE. But for our purposes here let us reflect on the magnificent gift that it is to fear the Lord. And, if you don’t mind, I’d like to begin with the personal.
I want to say that I am awestruck, utterly astonished, at how good God has been to me. His gifts to me have amazed me. I do NOT deserve them and can only conclude that I received them for the benefit of others AND that God is utterly gratuitous, giving gifts simply because He is good, rather then because we are deserving.
I want to add that even the setbacks in my life have been “gifts in a strange package.” I have come to discover that even the dark passages, wherein I grew lost and angry, have now turned to bless me. My crosses have become the tree of life for me by His grace.
Let me repeat, I am utter astonished, dumfounded, amazed, astounded, bewildered, blown away, boggled, bowled over, overwhelmed, startled, stunned, stupefied, and taken aback by God’s love, grace and mercy.
Why do I say all of this (other this in profound gratitude)? Because, this is most fundamentally what it means to “Fear the Lord.” To fear the Lord is not a cringing fear, which waits for a punishing blow. It is a holy reverence, born in love and deep appreciation, indeed awe at Who God is, and how good and holy He is.
To fear the Lord is to hold Him in awe, It is to be amazed at what he has done for me.
In every Mass Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” What does it mean to remember? To remember is to have so present in my mind and heart what the Lord has done for me, that I’m grateful, and I’m different. It is to go to the foot of the cross and finally have it dawn on me that He died for me.
And as that happens, as I begin to realize what He has done, my heart is broken open, and love, appreciation and gratitude begin to flood in. A deep love and holy reverence, an awe begins to fill my heart.
This is the Holy Fear of the Lord.
And out of this Holy Fear, born in love and appreciation, I dread, that is I fear, the thought of ever offending God who has been so good to me.
This is the Holy Fear of the Lord. I invite you to visit the links above to see how this is born out in scripture.
In this fear, this appreciative love, we want to obey God, we are eager to serve and reverence Him, because He is good, not merely because he can punish.
I am mindful of an old rabbinic tale which meditates on why God, over and over again says, when giving the Law in Deuteronomy ends every command with the expression “I am the Lord.” (e.g. Lev. 22) An Old Rabbi, unnamed, says,
Let me tell you what God means when he says this! He is saying, ‘Look! I am the One who fished you out of the mud, Now come over here and Listen to me!
Indeed, yes Lord, You have been good to me! You have done more than fish me out of the mud, you have saved me from Hell, you snatched me from the raging waters and set me on firm rock. Yes Lord, I love you, and whatever you want, I want. Whatever you don’t want, I don’t want it.
This is the Fear of the Lord. Ask for this holy gift. It is the solution to many temptations.
There is wide interest today in the topic of exorcism. The publication a couple of years of the The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio, and the subsequent movie and interviews with Fr. Gary Thomas have sparked some of this interest. Prior to this other books such as An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabriel Amorth and other such books had paved the way for the renewed interest.
But frankly, another reason is that, as our world becomes more secular, families disintegrate and the outright celebration of sinful practices spreads, bondage to sinful drives, psychological trauma, and openness to demonic influence is also on the increase.
Sadly a whole generation of priests were often taught to distrust traditional understandings of trauma and dysfunction that gave significant weight to spiritual causes. These priests were often trained to see most such things as merely psychological in nature and, thus the only recommended course was psychotherapy. Parishioners were sent, often without even a prayer being said.
Gratefully the tide is turning back to a more balanced approach and Catholics are right asking for spiritual help, along with other helpful approaches such as psychotherapy and the use of psychtropic medicines.
But with the renewed emphasis on exorcism in the news and other sources, it must be said that some of the increased requests for the formal Rite of Exorcism, often manifests and misunderstanding of that rite, and also a lack of information on other avenues for healing.
For the truth is, outright demonic possession is rare, and that is what the formal Rite of Exorcism is meant to address. Most people who present themselves, or someone they love, to the Church are not possessed by the devil or demons. There may be lesser forms of trouble such as obsession, oppression or torment at work, along with psychological trauma, and other more natural sources of struggle.
For such people, who are not possessed, what is needed is deliverance, not exorcism.
What is deliverance? Deliverance is prayer and on-going ministry that uses numerous approaches to bring healing and wholeness to those who, in some way after baptism, have come to struggle significantly with bondage to sin, the influence of demons, sinful drives, or the effects of significant psychological and/or spiritual trauma.
Deliverance involves taking hold of the full freedom that God is given us, of helping the faithful who struggle to lay hold of the glorious freedom of the children of God (cf Rom 8:21). St. Paul says, that the Father has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins (Colossians 1:13 – 14).
There is also a magnificent passage in the Acts of the Apostles where St. Paul is told of his mission to the Gentiles by the Lord: I am sending you to [the Gentiles] to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Acts 26:17–18.
This fundamentally is a description of the ongoing work of deliverance that the whole Church must accomplish for God’s chosen people. Deliverance seeks to take people out from under Satan’s power and place them under the Authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is to bring people to, or restore them to, their true identity as sons and daughters of God.
For, even after baptism, it is possible that we open doors to Satan, and he is able to gain some degree of access to our hearts and minds. When this is the case, a Christian, working with others, clergy and fellow believers alike, must take a stand against the schemes of the devil by repenting of sin, and renouncing any form of agreement with the deceptions of the enemy.
Deliverance involves coming to an understandingof the tactics of the evil one and also the flawed thinking which often infects our minds. It involves coming to know and name these tactics of the evil one, and these deep drives of sin within us. It involves repenting of them, and steadily renouncing their influence so that we come to greater serenity, peace, and healing; in other words, to deliverance.
This deliverance is effected in many ways: by the Word of God proclaimed and devoutly read, through the frequent reception of sacraments of Holy Communion and confession, through spiritual direction, through the experience of the Sacred Liturgy, praise and worship, through authentic and close fellowship with other believers, through personal prayer, through psychotherapy where necessary, and through what might be called a deliverance ministry that often involves both clergy and lay people praying together with those who struggle, and offering support, and encouragement.
Here is therefore, the description of a wider ministry of deliverance that looks past exorcism, alone, (and which only applies rather rare circumstances of possession). Deliverance ministry seeks to broaden healing to the large number of people, (to some extent all of us a certain times) who need healing and deliverance.
Who needs deliverance? While everyone can benefit from such a ministry in a general sort of a way, there are more particularly those among us who go through intense crises and need special and focused ministry. This ministry may occasionally involve formal exorcism, but it usually involves a more general need that we would call a need for deliverance. And this deliverance should be a multidisciplinary approach as described just above.
My own experience with the need for deliverance ministry, is quite personal. For I myself, at a critical point in my life, needed deliverance. The specific area where I needed deliverance concerned grave, and increasingly debilitating bouts with severe anxiety.
This significant torment had begun for me, at an early age. As early as age 10, I began to experience long periods of sleeplessness due to extreme worry. At the time in my family there were many crises underway, related to my sister’s severe mental illness and my parents’ struggle with alcohol. These bouts of extreme anxiety I began to endure, usually lasting for months at a time, were sporadic at first, coming in going somewhat mysteriously.
Through my teenage years these episodes of extreme anxiety became more frequent, and troublesome enough that my parents placed me in outpatient psychotherapeutic counseling and I was prescribed psychotropic medicines. Some benefits were attained hereby, and my college and seminary years were largely serene.
But for me a major crisis ensued in my 33rd year, when, as a young priest, I was asked to take a very challenging assignment. While I initially agreed to the assignment, I was soon assailed by extreme anxiety, sleeplessness, frequent panic attacks, almost non-stop rumination and depression. I was certain that I was losing my mind. This led to brief hospitalization, and the need to step back from the assignment.
But my crisis only deepened into post traumatic stress syndrome and into deeper and darker depression. I also began to experience a demonic presence. Even on sunny days my peripheral vision was shrouded in a palpable darkness and I experienced demonic presence in my bedroom, a brooding dark presence, which tormented me throughout the night. I found it necessary to sleep in my outer room with the door open for fear of this presence.
Knowing and seeing my declining condition, a brother priest prayed with me and insisted that I seek help. It was clear that I was in need of deliverance that I was not living the normal and promised Christian life. I was tormented by fear and locked in depression, and self-loathing. My accuser, the evil one, had shown his face and largely robbed me of the glorious freedom of the children of God. Deliverance was needed, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
Eighteen years later, I want to tell you I have been delivered, Thank you Jesus! I rarely worry about anything now.
But I also want to say that deliverance takes time, and involves a multidisciplinary approach. Unfortunately most people just seek relief, but God is in the healing business, and healing takes time, courage, lots of prayer, patience and waiting on the Lord.
The elements of my deliverance and healing included daily Mass, daily prayer and the reading of Scripture, spiritual direction, psychotherapy, group therapy, weekly Alanon meetings, weekly confession, deliverance prayers, and walking in fellowship with the people of God. Slowly, through all these means, the dark moments grew briefer the light grew brighter. My priestly ministry also grew richer and I became more compassionate and more able to help others in their struggles
One of the things I had to discover was that my deliverance was linked to uncovering and naming sinful drives, and distorted thinking, which provided doorways for the devil to rob me of my freedom.
The primary sinful drive with which I struggled was that of control, which is a form of pride. Growing up in an often troubled home, one of my strategies had been to carve out small areas in my life that I could strictly control. For example I kept my room very clean, and often kept it locked when I was away from the house. There were many other such things that I did, and the little areas of life I could control gave me some sense of safety.
But as I grew older and my responsibilities increased, I took this attitude of control into those areas and often insisted unreasonably in being in control of things that cannot reasonably be controlled. Finally, I was given a challenging assignment, and realizing I could never possibly keep everything under control, I went into great crisis.
Ultimately I needed to repent of my strong drive to control and see it for the pride that it was. I needed to learn to rely on God more. But striving to rely on someone other than myself, even God, was frankly terrifying. It took lots of repentance, growing self-knowledge, and learning the moves of pride and control, as well as developing better and more reasonable strrategies that accepted the fact that there are many things I cannot control.
And through it all, there were great battles with Satan who did not want to easily relax his grip. Thanks be to God I had many helpers, many counselors and people who were praying for me. Deliverance did come. It came slowly at first, but with increasing speed.
This is deliverance ministry. And yes it takes time, and many helpers from many disciplines. Sacraments are essential and fundamental, as is prayer, and the Word of God. But deliverance, in most cases also requires psycho-therapeutic and medical interventions as well. This was my journey to deliverance.
In my years as a priest I have had also had to walk with others, slowly helping them to find serenity and to appreciate that there is a big difference between relief and healing. Little by little, building trust and striving to increase the “healing team” I have seen many make progress similar to my own. But, frankly, it takes time. It is a journey and God proceeds very delicately in these matters, often waiting till we are ready. For, healing takes courage, and God often waits till we are ready.
So, while recent interest in exorcism is encouraging, it is also necessary to have care that we not focus too much on what is rare, even exotic, and thereby overlook what is often more necessary and applicable to most cases: deliverance prayer and ministry.
A few resources to recommend to you.
Two excellent books on deliverance have been written by Neal Lozano:
Here are some deliverance prayers and I others in this work often prayer with the faithful and encourage them to pray with others: Deliverance prayers
Here is a minor exorcism prayer that Pope Leo XIII made available for priests to say. Please note, this is not from the prayers of formal exorcism that only an exorcist authorized by the Bishop may pray. This is a minor exorcism prayer that assists priests in vigorously denouncing the presence and incursions of demons in a general sort of way and it should not be confused with a solemn exorcism performed on an individual whom the Church has deemed likely to be possessed :
Yesterday’s (Sunday of the 4th Week) reading from St. Paul (1 Cor 13) is too magnificent to overlook. I chose to preach out of the Jeremiah text on Sunday, but in the mode of “Sunday and one day” there must be offered, this second reflection on the Pauline treatise on Love.
St. Paul speaks in essentially three movements on the theological Virtue of of Love: Its primacy and prerequisite, in Movement One, and its portrait and power in Movement Two. Lets look at both, Movement One today, and Movement Two, tomorrow.
In this first movement, St. Paul and the Holy Spirit teach us, indeed, I would say warn us, that without love, even good deeds run afoul and can become not only less effective, but even dangerous. Unless the theological virtue of Love instill humanly good acts, they too easily devolve into grandiosity, pride, and a dangerous paternalism that crushes rather than elevates. Lets see what St. Paul and the Holy Spirit have to teach us in this regard.
Movement I – The PRIMACY and PREREQUISITE of Love – St. Paul says, Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
And thus the Holy Spirit through St. Paul says, Love is the greatest gift and the gift by which all other gifts are properly governed and moderated. Let us reiterate, Love is the gift by which all other gifts are assessed, understood, moderated and properly set forth.
Read the following litany first then look at each. If love does not infuse each of these gifts they are NOTHING. Not just something, not just imperfect, but NOTHING, nothing at all. Thus the text teaches that preaching, prophesying, powerful faith, passion for the poor, and even martyrdom are NOTHING without love. In fact, as we have reflected, they may even be dangerous. Let’s look at each and try to understand why this is so.
1. PREACHING – The text says, If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
It is possible that some preach well, but without love. Some preachers are eloquent and powerful, but are not really interested in the conversion of their hearers. They wish more to win an argument or to appear eloquent and feed their own egos. They want to impress them and be impressive rather than save. Some are arrogant and look down upon their hearers.
All of this is worse than no preaching at all. The word of God is brought into contempt, and because it is proclaimed without love, has no effect, or an “anti-effect” by alienating the listeners who detect arrogance and feel humiliated rather than encouraged.
Truth expressed without love can seem impossible and condemning. Only with love is the door open to explore the actual wealth of the truth.
Avoid being a noisy gong or irritating and clashing cymbal. Ask for the gift to love the people you address. Comboxes and blogs need more love and less venom, more light and less heat. Love must precede preaching and correction.
2. PROPHESY – The text also warns of prophesy without love: And if I have the gift of prophecy
A danger to avoid is to pursue Scripture and its application without love. Some folks are interested in grasping all the details of scripture but they miss the main point, which is to give us the loving and merciful mind of God, in all truth. And thus, there are endless debates over details of hermeneutics, but a forgetfulness of the focus on grace, mercy and love.
Yes, some can tell you all about the third toe on the right paw of the second beast in the Book of Revelation, and what it means, and the evil person in our times to whom it refers, but they miss the larger point of praying for conversion, loving our enemies and manifesting a confident joy in the midst of grave affliction.
To illustrate this lack of priority imagine with me two people in a train station. First there is the Station master whose focus is time schedules, trains, destinations, tracks etc. Second there is a young woman awaiting the return of her new husband form the war. Which person really grasps the significance of the arrival?
Honestly, arrival times, track numbers and the like are good to know, but the deeper meaning of the moment is the love of reunion, the happiness of return and safety. The track number and arrival time are good, but they are in service of the beautiful and grateful young woman being reunited with her husband. The urgent points to the important and supports it.
In the same way, it is love that helps us helps us grasp the full significance of God’s word.
The biblical image at work here is that of St. John, the mystic, and the one who knew he was loved by Jesus, he got to the tomb first, he saw and believed, before St. Peter. He defers to Peter, for the Magisterium must ultimately reckon the insights of love and mysticism with the Holy Tradition, but Love grants insights and proposes what the Church must reckon.
Pure reason untempered by love can be dangerous. Love without reason is also dangerous. But here, note this, love must infuse reason and draw it beyond simple logic and human limits and the Magisterium of the Church has respected this.
3. PERCEPTION – The text says, and if I comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge.
Here is a related teaching. Knowledge without love too easily becomes arrogance. The knower gets a spirit of contempt and snobbery, prefers jargon and superiority to clarity and communion with others.
Think of the saying, “Knowledge is power,” as though the purpose of knowledge was to gain power over others, to beat others or gain mastery over them.
Love tempers such arrogance as may come with knowledge and shares knowledge with humility and respect. Without love, my knowledge is nothing.
3. POWERFUL FAITH – The text says, if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
Here too, Faith without love can be a very harsh and critical thing. Believers can too easily become arrogant and impatient with the weaker faith of others. Faith is a gift and every true believer knows this. I am not better because I believe, I have only received the gift to believe, and must earnestly work for others to be open to the gift.
Frankly, the fact that I believe, and believe strongly, is a mystery to me. Why is it easier for me to believe than many others I know? I am not sure! I am only grateful and pray that I not be put to the test.
Scripture advises, We who are strong in faith must patient with the concerns of those who are weaker in faith (cf Rom 14:1) In the end love and understanding often gains more ground than anger or contempt. Here too Love tempers and informs faith.
4. PASSION FOR THE POOR – The text goes on to say, If I give away everything I own
Now social action and care for the poor is a very great thing. But even here, if Love does not inform and inspire it, it can be merely another extension of pride and ego, a mere “limousine liberalism.” Indeed, care for the poor without real love for them can be downright destructive.
And old proverb says, “Bread, given without love, is poison.” Yes, too many people give with pride in their hearts. They look down on the poor, or patronize them. Many give more to assuage their own guilt or build their own prestige than out of true love for the poor. They are those of whom the Lord said blow a horn before them as they give. In other words, they give to be seen, esteemed and applauded, and may not have the truer care of the poor in mind.
Listen to this quote from some one who loved the poor, even looked up to them, and had his care for them purified by love, not merely sentimental love, but a theologically virtuous Love rooted in esteem, justice and respect. The quote is from St. Vincent De Paul:
You will find that charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the bowl of soup and full basket. It is not enough to give soup and bread. This the rich can do. You are the servant of the poor. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting. The more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them. It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.
5. PREPARED FOR MARTYRDOM – The text says, and if I hand my body over to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Even martyrdom, without love to inform it could be a form of grandiosity. It could be possible that glorious martyrdom is the easier way. I can go out in a blaze of glory! Sometimes it is the daily martyrdom of the Christian life that is more difficult and more hidden, less glorious, less likely to land us in the martyrology.
Yes, daily duty is sometimes more difficult. It’s one thing to do the big things, but it’s the little daily things that often matter most.
Without love, doing some big dramatic thing can make me smug so that I overlook the daily duties I have. Too easily I can be grandiose, so that what I do is about me, rather than Christ, and Him crucified. Only love can make true the words, He must increase, I must decrease. (Jn 3:30).
Love too can save us from the trap of comparing ourselves too favorably too others if we make great sacrifices and they make “fewer.” For true and eager Love does not compare, it only loves the Beloved (the Lord) and willingly makes whatever sacrifices love requires.
So in all these ways, St. Paul and the Holy Spirit teach us that even glorious things like preaching, prophesy, powerful faith, passion for the poor, and preparation for martyrdom, are nothing if they are not imbued with love and have love for their origin. Indeed, they can be dangerous and delusional without love. Only love (along with humility) can temper such virtues so that they do not become grandiosity.
Tomorrow we look to movement two in the Litany of Love, the portrait and power of Love.
There was a wonderful excursus on the Church as the Body of Christ in the Sunday readings. Would that we might better appreciate the diversity of gifts in the Church today instead of being fearful or dismissive of gifts that we appreciate less. As a pastor, I have come to appreciate that people find their way to God in many and diverse ways and that when the Church permits diversity we ought respectfully rejoice in even in the ways we do not personally prefer.
I want to comment on the St. Paul’s analogy of the Body, but I thought, as a prelude, to reflect on the fruits of the Holy Spirit as a necessary foundation and background to St. Paul’s reflection hence this post and another to follow this week on the analogy of the Body.
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit in the Catholic Catechism and Tradition are drawn largely from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians where he writes:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Gal 5:22-26)
We can now look at each fruit and ponder its meaning, both ancient and new. Many of these insights are drawn from William Barclay and also from Strong’s Concordance and Greek Lexicon:
I. Love – ἀγάπη (agape) – to love with a God-like love, unconditionally, and vigorously, not counting the cost, not being based on mere reciprocity. It is wanting only what is good for the other. This sort of love is distinct from other forms of love in Greek such as eros (passionate love), philia (warm love most common in the family or among close friends, brotherly love), and storge (the love of affection usually for family members. Agape love is far above these and is, of necessity, a work of God so as to come to its fullest expression. Hence it is rightly called a fruit of the Holy Spirit. While some scholars argue that “agape” is a word that pagan Greek knew little of, this is just the point. The Early Christians took this little used or distinguished word from the Greek language and sanctified it with special meaning in the First Century. It has had the special meaning we described ever since.
II. Joy – χαρά (Chara) – The joy referred to here is more than a passing worldly joy. It is deeper than an emotional experience. It is rooted in God and comes from him. Since it does not have the world for its origin but, rather, comes from God, it is more serene and stable than worldly joy, which is merely emotional and lasts only for a time. For example, note the following uses elsewhere in Scripture and note how it is always connected, not to the world, but to the faith and to God:
Ps 30:11 – You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
Romans 14:17 – For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
Phil 1:25 – Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.
III. Peace – εἰρήνη (eirene) – This is normally used in the Greek Bible to translate the Hebrew word shalom. This sort of peace is more than an absence of conflict. Rather it is the presence in the human person and their relationships of everything that should be there. It is a kind of equilibrium that comes from trusting in God and the experience that everything is alright, that everything is in the hands of God. It is the tranquil state of a soul fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of what so ever sort that is. On account of this experience, the human person does not obsessively seek to control people and things and is more content to allow things to unfold, rather than to control and manipulate the outcomes of life. In this sense, they become more peaceful toward others.
IV. Patience – μακροθυμία (makrothumia) – Generally the Greek world applied this word to a man who could avenge himself but did not. This word is often used in the Greek Scriptures in reference to God and his attitude to us. In the human person, this fruit of the Spirit causes us to be more willing to suffer the difficulties of life and of other people. We are less needful to avenge wrongs and slights and are more able to endure the imperfections of people and this world. In English we once had the concept of ‘long-tempered’ as a counterpart to ‘short-tempered,’ then makrothumia could be called the quality of being ‘long-tempered’. . . . which is also a quality of God (Ex 34:6). By this fruit we can forebear the crosses, miseries and difficulties of life in this world.
V. Kindness – χρηστότης (Chrestotos) – In Greek, old wine was called “chrestos” which meant that it was mellow or smooth. Christ used this word in referring to his yoke that which was easy (Matt 11:30). That is to say, it did not chafe, it was well fitting and accommodated to the wearer. So kindness here refers to an attitude that goes beyond mere justice or what is required to a something wider and more accommodating. Here is a Spirit-produced goodness which meets the needs of others and avoids harshness.
VI. Generosity – Catholic Catechetical tradition usually adds Generosity here. To be generous is similar to kindness in that it is to give beyond what is required by justice. It is distinct from kindness in that it tends to refer to money and things whereas kindness is a little broader and includes matters of attitude and behavior as well as things.
VII. Goodness – ἀγαθωσύνη (agathosune) – This word is more difficult to define, in that it rarely occurs in secular Greek. Its biblical use seems to generally mean doing what is right and best for others in every circumstance. This might at times include rebuking or disciplining. At other times it would include encouraging or reassuring. The key point in the word seems to be what is good or best for the person. Here are some other instances where the word is used in the New Testament and one will notice that it places goodness in the context of instruction, truth and faith. Hence, goodness here can have different applications than just being a “nice guy.”As Scripture says,
Rom 15:14 – I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
Eph 5:9 – For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
2 Thess 1:11 – To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power.
VIII. Fidelity – πίστις (pistis) – This is the common Greek word for being trustworthy, being faithful and reliable. In the Bible the word is more commonly used in a nominative form simply to mean “faith,” that is, the act of believing in God. By extension it can mean the quality of being faithful. The connection between the two concepts can include the fact that if one believes in God they will tend to be more trustworthy and reliable since their faith imbues them with a sense that God is watching and they are accountable. Further, they are trustworthy because true faith makes them more inclined to respect others and the commitments they make to them. As fruit of the Spirit fidelity comes as a result of the Spirit’s promptings that we live up to our commitments.
IX. Gentleness – πραΰτης (praotes) – There are different ways that this word is used in the New Testament. Basically, it means to be submissive to God and to be humble enough to be taught by God. Toward others, it means to be considerate. Another common way of translating this word in English is “meekness.” Aristotle defined meekness (πραΰτης ) as the mean between being too angry and not being angry enough. There is a place and a need for anger. Not all anger is sinful. It is right to be angry over injustice, for example. The meek person has authority over their anger. They are able to summon its energy but control its extremes. The Greek word here was also used to describe an animal that had been tamed. Hence meekness refers to us having tamed our anger.
X. Self control – ἐγκράτεια (egkrateia) – This fruit or virtue was understood in Greek of one who had mastered their love and desire of pleasure. There is a place in life for pleasures and desires. Without them we would perish. Since the fall of man however, our desires are often inordinate and excessive. There is need for the virtue of self mastery that moderates and regulates them.
Regarding Self-control, Catholic catechetical tradition elaborates it into three distinct areas:
(X). Modesty – refers to observing a proper reverence for mystery in terms of the body. The word Modesty comes form “mode” or middle” and hence avoids excessive and harsh rejection of the beauty of the body, but neither does it flaunt it. As reverence for the body, more private areas of the body are clothed in such a way as to keep hidden what is appropriately unveiled only in certain places or before certain people: e.g.: a spouse or sometimes a doctor, people of the same sex and so forth. Modesty may include not only covering certain parts of the body but also covering the shape of the body to some degree. Finally, modesty would also include things such as posture, behaviors related to the comportment of the body and language. The word modesty is related to the word “mode.” Hence, by modesty one observe a middle position between inappropriate disclosure and excessive prudishness. Standards of modesty allow for some variance between cultures and even within cultures. Hence the context of beach may call for different standard than the workplace and so forth.
(XI). Continency – refers to general self control as stated above.
(XII). Chastity – Refers to the virtue wherein we exhibit proper sexual expression based on our state in life. For the single person, the member of a religious order and the Priest it involves total abstinence. For the married person it involves total fidelity to one’s spouse in one’s actions and thoughts.
Thus, altogether we have 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit in Catholic Tradition. As we can see many of them speak to zeal, while others in a way that seeks to set forth a virtue rooted in moderateness.
One of the great gifts the Spirit seeks to give us is not a rejection of passion or other human gifts, but a moderation and proper appropriation of them. For God the Holy Spirit has given all the gifts of the World, including beauty, and human passions for a reason and for a good end. But the Fruits of the Spirit are gifts to both to inspire zeal and to regulate and appreciate what God has given for a reason and a purpose. By these gifts we steer a middle ground between rejection and indulgence, excess and defect, enjoyment and hedonism. Modus omnibus in rebus (All things in moderation (including moderation)). The Sequence Hymn for Pentecost says of the Holy Spirit:
Flecte quod est rigidum (Bend what is rigid),
fove quod est frigidum (warm what is cold),
rege quod est devium. (rule what deviates).
And thus we see both zeal and moderation in these gifts and in all things a ruling over anything that deviates. Come Holy Holy Spirit, rule our hearts and inflame them with your love.
I saw a YouTube video today by a fellow Catholic who was quite concerned and animated over what he describes as the desperate condition of the Church. It is true that there is much to be sober about in these troubled times, and we have discussed them quite thoroughly here. There are current and necessary struggles in which we are engaged, especially in seeking to re-evangelize our increasingly disordered culture.
But in all this we cannot afford to lose our serenity. Unsettled warriors are ultimately ineffectual for we cannot bring peace to others unless we first have it ourselves.
I was meditating recently, just before Christmas, on a text from Isaiah and I found it most encouraging, and a kind of source text for serenity. I would like to present the reading and then consider in four parts how a proper understanding of God can help give us greater serenity.
Hear me, O house of Jacob, all who remain of the house of Israel, My burden since your birth, whom I have carried from your infancy. Even to your old age I am the same, even when your hair is gray I will bear you; It is I who have done this, I who will continue, and I who will carry you. Remember the former things, those long ago: I am God, there is no other; I am God, there is none like me. At the beginning I foretell the outcome; in advance, things not yet done. I say that my plan shall stand, I accomplish my every purpose. I call from the east a bird of prey, from a distant land, one to carry out my plan. Yes, I have spoken, I will accomplish it; I have planned it, and I will do it. Listen to me, you fainthearted, you who seem far from the victory of justice: I am bringing on my justice, it is not far off, my salvation shall not tarry; I will put salvation within Zion, and give to Israel my glory. (Isaiah 46:3-4; 9-13)
I. God is Tender. The Text says, Hear me, O house of Jacob, all who remain of the house of Israel, My burden since your birth, whom I have carried from your infancy. Even to your old age I am the same, even when your hair is gray I will bear you; It is I who have done this, I who will continue, and I who will carry you.
One of the great misconceptions of the Old Testament portrait of God is that God is described there only in cruel and punishing terms. It is true that God was dealing with a hardened people in very tough and cruel times, a people who lived in ancient times largely unschooled in law and what we would even call today “civilization.” Tough times, and tough people sometimes called for very tough measures.
And yet despite this, some of the most beautiful and tender passages describing God’s love and rich mercy are in the Old Testament. These opening lines from our passage is one of them, speaking of God lovingly carrying us as a kind a blessed burden from our earliest youth, all the way through old age. Yes, he carries us. As a loving father and he feeds and provides for us. Hosea has a similar passage:
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheek; and bent down to feed them…. My heart is moved within me; all my compassion is aroused. (Hosea 11:1-4; 8-9)
How true it is, as Hosea describes that we often run from God, when he merely stoops to feed us. We forget that he is the one who taught us to walk. We forget how in tender mercy he has held as close to his cheek. Instead, we run from him in rebellion and fear. God speaks through Hosea in terms that are almost heartbroken, quite sad at how we run from him.
Yes, God is a father who loves us, who cherishes us, and who, in a mysterious way, grieves that we run from him. In all of this he continues to carry us, he does not forsake us.
And here is an important source of serenity for us: that we recall that God is a tender Father who loves us and wants to save us, who is grieved at our running and joyous at our return. If we can know and experience this love, we are more serene and confident.
II. God is Tried and True – The text says, Remember the former things, those long ago: I am God, there is no other; I am God, there is none like me. At the beginning I foretell the outcome; in advance, things not yet done.
The Lord invites us to ponder the memory of his providence deep in our hearts. To treasure and meditate on his providence of the past, is to grow and hope for today, and trust for tomorrow. How critical is for our own mental health and sense of well-being that we should dedicate ourselves to thankfulness, and meditate frequently on how God has delivered us in the past. He has provided for our most fundamental needs and, whatever our struggles, they have not overcome us. Even our burdens often mysteriously bless us, and are gifts in strange packages. All things work together for good for those who love and trust the Lord of the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
And whatever our concerns for tomorrow whatever our fears, God is not fearful. God has already provided. Tomorrow is just as present to God as our yesterday and this very day. (Providentia Providebit)”Providence will provide.” God knows and foretells every outcome. There is no panic in heaven, just plans. Such a deep conviction, that God is tried and true, a conviction of providence rooted in gratitude is key to our serenity.
III. God is Triumphant – The text says, I say that my plan shall stand, I accomplish my every purpose. I call from the east a bird of prey, from a distant land, one to carry out my plan. Yes, I have spoken, I will accomplish it; I have planned it, and I will do it.
In God the victory is already won. For us life unfolds in stages, but for God all is accomplished. From the cross Jesus said, “It is finished.” Yes, the victory is won: in dying he destroys our death, in humility he conquers pride. The battle is the Lord’s, and the victories is His, it is already won, only the new has not yet leaked out.
If we could but learn to live as though the victory were already ours. Yet so easily we are conquered by negativity troubled by thoughts of doom. The world is lost, the cause is failed, or so we think. But we are deceived, even deluded. And in this delusion, our peace and serenity depart from us, and so often fear and depression take their place.
If we could but understand ponder the God has already won the victory, if we could but recall how many nations and empires have risen and fallen in the age of the Church. Yes, and how many of them have menacingly threatened God and his Church. They have come, had their night, and always been replaced by the day. Light always conquers the darkness. The Church has buried everyone of her undertakers. Where is Cesar now? Where is Napoleon? Where are the Soviets? Whoever will contend with God soon enough are history and the Church will remain.
Philosophies too come and go, but the truth of the Gospel remains. Currently many atheists stand proud, announcing the age of faith is over. They too will have their night, and the light returns again. God’s plan will stand.
We may be puzzled over temporary defeats and setbacks that God mysteriously permits. But here too, he is working his purposes out, he’s pruning and strengthening his Church, purifying his people, and distinguishing those who accept him, and those who reject him.
Recalling that the victory is already won, that the triumph has already been announced, that the winning team is already announced and assured, this too is a source of great serenity for many of us who would fret over momentary setbacks.
IV. God is Trustworthy – The text says, Listen to me, you fainthearted, you who seem far from the victory of justice: I am bringing on my justice, it is not far off, my salvation shall not tarry; I will put salvation within Zion, and give to Israel my glory.
To all those who are anxious and fearful God gives the simple remedy, “Listen to me!” Yes, if we will but listen to God and his Word, we will see how. again and again, he has delivered his people. Is this not what we do it every Mass? We gather and listen to God’s Word. We tell our story that does describe the difficulties of living in a fallen world, but always, in the end, these same texts describe victory and vindication for those who trust God. Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel? Didn’t he deliver the Hebrew children? Didn’t he vindicate Joseph, and uphold the dignity of Leah? Didn’t the Lord free Paul and Silas, as well as Peter, from prison? And why not me too?
Not only does God tell us to listen, but also to look again. He speaks to those who seem far from the victory of justice. But to seem is not to be. To say that something “seems” is to indicate that what it appears to be, in fact it is not. And thus, to the fainthearted, the doubtful, the doomsayers and all the negative minded, God says that help and salvation are on the way, they shall not tarry. God may not bring all solutions and salvation on our own terms, but he will establish justice in a very little while.
An old hymn says:
Harder yet may be the fight;
right may often yield to might;
wickedness a while may reign;
Satan’s cause may seem to gain.
But there’s a God that rules above
with hand of power and heart of love;
and if I’m right, he’ll fight my battle,
I shall have peace someday.
So here to serenity is rooted in surety. A Surety that knows the victory is already won, and though the news has not yet leaked out, it will soon be clear for all to see.
Here then is a kind of source-text for greater serenity. If we can remember that God is tender, tried and true, triumphant and trustworthy, we can be well assured that greater serenity will be ours. This serenity is crucial for us who would fight the battles necessary today. Serenity will preserve us from wild flaying actions, and imprudent and hasty actions. Serenity helps us to be well rested, even in the storm, as was Jesus in the boat on the storm-tossed sea. Having rebuked the storm he turns to his disciples as asks, “Why were you afraid?”
There is a line in the first letter of John (read on the Monday of this week), a line that proves of critical important to many difficulties today with heresy, unbelief and moral decay. The line says:
Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist... (1 John 4:1-3)
John also writes in the second Letter:
Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 2 John 1:7
One of those fundamental principles at the heart of the Johannine scriptures is that the Word become flesh. Jesus actually came in the flesh, we could touch our God. The true faith is incarnational. In Jesus Christ, God takes up the physical order, Justice, Truth springs up from the earth (cf Ps 85:11). God actually becomes man. The love of God and his salvation are tangible, and real, not merely ideals, wishes, or hopes, but real and tangible. Faith is about reality. This is John and the Holy Spirit’s insistence, and it is adamantly expressed that we not let this true slip from our understanding even for a moment.
For there are, and have been, many Gnostic and neo-gnostic tendencies down through the centuries which seek to reduce faith merely to intellectualism, to ideas or opinions, and to remove things from the world of reality. Thus St. John and the Church have had to insist over and over that Jesus is real, that faith is real, and is about real, tangible, even material things.
When Jesus came among us, He was not content merely to speak of ideas. He did not simply advance ethical theories or set forth merely philosophical notions. He also spoke to actual human behaviors, not merely speaking of them, but actually living them, and modeling them in the flesh. He demands for his followers not mere intellectual affirmations, but an actual walking in his truth, using our very bodies, and living his teaching. We are to renounce unnecessary possessions, actually feed the poor, confess him with our lips, reverence human sexuality through chaste living, accept suffering, even embraced it, for the sake of the kingdom, and so forth.
Yes, faith is about real things, about actual concrete behaviors that involve not only what we think, but actually how we physically move our body through the created order, how we interact with the physical order, and with one another.
Jesus also took up and made use of the physical and created order in his saving mission. Obviously he took it up in the incarnation, but he also referenced creation in many of his parables, pointing to the lilies of the field, to the sparrow. He made paste with saliva and mud, anointed with oil, change water to wine, laid hands on the bodies of countless individuals in healing, took bread and wine and change it to the body and blood. He took up The wood of the cross, lay down his body in suffering and death, and raised it up again on the third day. Then He took his body, yes his physical body with him to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father.
Yet despite this radical physicality seen in the Gospel and the work of God, there remains a persistent tendency on the part of many to reduce the faith by removing it from the physical and temporal order rendering it a merely ethical notion, an intellectualism, or a set of ideas, and even mere opinion. Faith rooted in daily reality, and with measurable parameters, is set aside, and sophistry takes place. Never mind what a person does, all that seems to matter to many us what they think about it, or what their intentions are.
Gnostic tendencies have existed in every stage, but were most severe in the early centuries among heretical groups, only to resurface in recent centuries, especially since the so-called enlightenment where human reason is exulted unreasonably.
The Protestant revolt took up the rationalism of those “enlightenment” times and brought the first great blow to the house of faith by rendering the Sacraments mere symbols, no longer the touch of God. No longer for them does baptism actually save us by washing away our sins, for many of them it only symbolizes faith. Holy Communion for most of them was no longer the actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, but only a symbol of him, something that evokes thoughts and memories what he said and did. For the Protestant groups, most of the other Sacraments simply fell away. No longer was it necessary to lay hands on the sick, to lay hands on to ordain or bless. All such things were unnecessary, even abhorrent to many Protestants who took up enlightenment rationalism, and reduced faith to intellectualism, ideas, and words on the page.
Along with the Sacraments, many of the Enlightenment-era Protestants banished most beauty in the churches with iconoclastic tendencies. No longer should creation in the pigmented paints, beautiful stained glass, precious metals, candles incense and so forth be raised up to the glory of God. This too is far too incarnational for the the “purity” of the rationalist mind. Stark white-washed churches were exulted, and the feast of the senses common in Catholicism was frowned upon. Faith that was “purified” of all this incarnational “excess” and was to exist only in one’s mind and heart.
The use of the body to worship in Protestantism was also largely banished. Kneeling, sitting, standing, signs of the cross, vestments, all of this was banished. Afterall what did the body have to do with it? It was in the mind, and in the heart that one worshiped God. Why bend the knee when it sufficed to bow in one’s heart?
And thus, there was a great retreat from the bodily aspect of the incarnation.
We should be clear, that not all Protestant denominations equally indulged iconoclastic and rationalistic tendencies in this aftermath of the enlightenment. There remained many great artistic and musical accomplishments within the Protestant realm, to include architecture. But the general pattern is clear to some extent in all the denominations founded by men after the “Enlightenment.” Worship and faith moved more into the mind, and world of ideas and away from the created, tangible and physical realities of this world.
Many other moral troubles of our day also bespeak a Gnostic, anti-incarnational tendency. For example the exultation of intention over actual behavior. Never mind what a person actually does. The only morally significant matter is what they intend, that they mean well.
Yet another tendency is the word-smithing of our day. It’s not abortion, it’s choice. It is not contraception, it is reproductive choice. I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual. They’re not fornicating, they’re cohabiting, it’s not an act of sodomy it is “gay” etc. The more vague, vapid and non-descriptive the word the better. Abstractions and generalities replace clearer and reality based descriptions.
Here then is a brief tour of the Gnosticism of our times. We can see why St. John and the Holy Spirit were so passionate to warn against any false teachers who denied the incarnation, call them not only false teachers, but “antichrist.” We live on the ever darker side of the Cartesian divide, living in our minds, denying that creation or our bodies are revelation or have anything to say to us.
Of course this is antichrist, it is a slap in the face of God who made all things and established the created by his Word, the Logos. And since all things were made through Christ, the Logos, then all creation has a “logike” (a logic) that is clearly perceived in what God has made. To go on denying this is “illogical” is “anti-logical” is contrary to the Logos, the Word through whom God created and sustains all things. Contrary to the Logos is just another way of saying, “antichrist.”
(One paradox to all this is the flourishing o the material (physical) sciences in our times. I have written more on this paradox here: Cartesian Anxiety)
A lot of breakdown in modern communication comes down to logical fallacies and cognitive distortions that have us talking past each other. Perhaps, as the new year draws near, we might spend a little time reflecting and “thinking about our thinking.”
All of us fall into these traps. I have spoken before on the blog of the problem of “all or nothing thinking” and also our tendency today to take everything personally, to be thin-skinned. Perhaps some of the following reflections on the nature of our knowledge and how we both argue and reason, may also be instructive, since, as a group, we tend today to be very polemical, ideological and not always well reasoned in our thinking. Indeed, careful reasoning is NOT an obvious gift that most in these times exhibit.
Neither do most of us properly understand the limits or range of argumentation and so we tend to live in times where many “absolutize” what they argue and/or demand unreasonable “proof” for what others say. Frankly, the kinds of absolute proof many demand today is not possible in most realms of knowledge, including the many aspects of even the physical sciences, as we shall see. But this does not means we therefore know nothing, but only that we know within a range of stronger and weaker certitude based on a number of factors.
What is set forth here and tomorrow, is not intended to be exhaustive. Indeed, anyone who has ever studied the branch of philosophy known as “Logic” will know that some of the structures of logic, and especially of “formal logical fallacies” are mind bending in their complexity and often ask us to hold many things constant (a difficult thing to do) while we discuss in great minutia some specific syllogism or point. There are, frankly, dozens of logical fallacies that can be distinguished, but many are very arcane, sensible only to the very erudite (of whom I am not one). Hence I will spare reader here the deepest distinctions and only discuss a few more common problems.
A logical fallacy is, fundamentally, an error in reasoning. Some logical fallacies are more common than others.
Most broadly we can distinguish between formal and informal fallacies. This is because there are two types of argument: deductive and inductive.
Deductive arguments are supposed to be water-tight. For a deductive argument to be a valid, it must be impossible for both its premises to be true, and its conclusion to be false. The truth of the premises establishes the truth of the conclusion.
The classic example of deductive argumentation is:
1 All men are mortal.
2 Socrates is a man. Therefore:
3 Socrates is mortal.
It is simply not possible that both 1 and 2 are true but 3 is false, so this argument is deductively valid.
Any deductive argument must meet this high standard or it commits a logical error, and so, technically, is fallacious.
Now to be sure, not all our arguments can meet this high standard of deductive reasoning since not every premise can be as firm as “all men are mortal.” This includes many arguments that we would usually accept as good arguments, arguments that make their conclusions highly probable, but, they are not absolutely certain. Thus an argument that claims the high standard of deductive reasoning, but cannot meet its high standards is said to commit a “formal fallacy”. This does not mean that the argument is without any merit, only that it claims too much for itself.
Why is this important? Because, in an age of skepticism we need to rediscover that our demand for pure deductive reasoning is often itself “unreasonable.” We often set an impossibly high standard, namely, that all things must be absolutely certain for me, every argument absolutely airtight, and purely deductive. But the problem with this is that it does not often pertain to us, mere mortals, to have such a command of facts in order to have such certainty. In demanding a certainty or evidence that is absolute, we are usually being unrealistic, for such absolute certainty is rare in our human condition.
Thus we moderns too easily tend to reject all evidence that is not what we consider absolute. Yet, though not absolute, it IS good evidence. And we also tend to invalidity anoint certain types of evidence (especially the physical sciences) with a certainty they do not actually have. For indeed, even the physical sciences make many assumptions and hold theories that are not 100% certain. And scientists DO hold metaphysical assumptions (e.g. that reality is intelligible) which are not unassailable.
Thus in our insistence for “absolute proof” and pure deductive reasoning, we often produce a cynicism in ourselves that closes a great deal of the world of experience off to us. For the fact is, most of what we see and experience admits of mystery and uncertainty.
On account of this attitude, many today reject faith which asks us to walk “by faith and not by sight.” The evidence of faith is supplied in trusting the authority of God who reveals. And yet, to be honest, most of what we know rests on what we learn from trustworthy sources and test in the laboratory of our life.
And so, if we are honest, pure certainty and the rarefied world of deductive reasoning is not the usual human condition. We do well to admit that faith is a valid strategy, as is moving forward without 100% certainty, and that even “pure science” contains a lot of theories, hypotheses, hunches and even guesses, not to mention pure mysteries and a plethora of unknowns.
And that leads us to inductive arguments which do not propose to be as rigorous as deductive argumentation. But note, they are STILL good arguments, and often the only argumentation available to us in many matters. A good inductive argument lends support to its conclusions and sets forth good reasons for them. But even when the premises of an inductive argument are solid and true, it does not necessarily mean with 100% certainty that its conclusions are true. That the argument is a good one and that its premises are true, only establishes that its conclusion is likely or probably true.
Again, let us be clear, inductive arguments, which involve most of the reasoning we must undertake, do not assert and cannot claim the 100% certainty of deductive arguments. This is because they often use premises or assert conclusions that are not self evident, but only likely and probable. Thus the terms most often used to distinguish good and bad inductive arguments are “strong” and “weak” rather than certain or “proved.”
An example of a strong inductive argument would be:
1 Every day until now the law of gravity has held. Therefore:
2 The law of gravity will hold tomorrow.
Note that this argument is very strong but not absolutely certain. Nevertheless most of us would act with confidence on its premise and conclusion and even make plans of a significant nature based on it. And this is case with most knowledge we have, which is not usually pure deduction, but involves a lot of inductive reasoning and argumentation.
Now, that said, we are not thus cast into a world of absolute uncertainty. There ARE standards for inductive arguments that must be met. And arguments that fail to meet the standards required of inductive arguments are said to commit fallacies, technically termed “informal fallacies” (since we are not in the realm of deductive reasoning with its absolute standards).
It is these “informal fallacies” that I would like to turn our attention in tomorrow’s post. As stated above, there are many logical fallacies that exist and have been well described. Some are more common that others, and some are more clear and egregious than others, but all of them have impact on what we may term critical thinking.
For today let this suffice. But tomorrow we can turn our attention to some (not all) of the fallacies that more often occur. As we shall see, since arguments consist of premises, inferences, and conclusions, some arguments fall short since the premises don’t give adequate support for the conclusion drawn and thus are termed fallacious. The most common fallacies center on matters of relevance, ambiguity, or presumption:
Fallacies regarding relevance rely on premises that aren’t relevant to the truth of the conclusion.
Fallacies regarding ambiguity make use of equivocation, “straw man” arguments, or play around with the plain meaning of words in a way that is erroneous or misleads.
Fallacies regarding presumption rely on false premises, and so fail to establish their conclusion. For example, arguments rooted in false dilemmas, false dichotomies or circular arguments.
Learning a little about the nature of argumentation and reasoning can help us to avoid some of the more common modern pitfalls that shut communication down. Further it can help us avoid the extremes of either insisting on too much certainty or of falling into the other extreme of relativism. Most human knowledge exists on a continuum with absolute and deductive certitude being relatively rare, as is total ignorance and absolute uncertainty at the other end. Most of our knowledge and argumentation may be said to fall in a middle range of things we know strongly or weakly, with great confidence or lesser confidence.
Accepting this middle ground can go a long way to open true discussion and mutual respect, wherein we neither demand unreasonable or absolute proof, but neither do we dismiss necessary standards in setting forth inductive and reasoned arguments.
More on this tomorrow (actually January Wed, 2nd yo be more precise).
Without proper balance a lot of modern argumentation looks and sounds a lot like this song:
The Gospel of December 19th features the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the conception of John the Baptist. And while there are certainly many teachings to be drawn from this passage, there is perhaps some value to focus for a moment on the imposition of silence made upon Zechariah. This aspect of the story maybe a particular value since we live in time marked By a lack of reflection and silence, and of often stridently expressed opinions and opposition to the hidden things of God.
The Gospel opens with a description of Zechariah and Elizabeth being devout observers of the Law, and with the observation that they have reached their later years without having children. Zechariah, in his priestly ministry, is selected to enter the Temple and offer incense at the designated hour. Within he encounters the Archangel Gabriel who announces the birth of John the Baptist. Zechariah wonders
How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.
In this he is rebuked by Gabriel for his lack of faith and told,
You will be silent and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time. (Luke 1:19)
This rebuke causes some wonderment on our part. For it would seem that Zechariah’s response is not unlike that of the Blessed Mother who said, How will this be, since I know not man? (Lk 1:34). In our puzzlement we must remember that we have before us only a written text. We cannot hear the tone of voice that was used, or see other clues that indicate the attitude of Zechariah as he wonders how this can be. There must have been differences, for Mary’s question brings reassurance from Gabriel, Zechariah’s question draws rebuke.
Whatever the reason, let us ponder the the punishment declared by the Archangel.
In the first place, it seems that err if we regard the action merely as a punitive. Rather, we ought also to see it as a kind of remedy. In effect The Archangel draws of Zechariah into a kind of holy silence before the great mystery of the conception of John the Baptist. This silence will give him time to reflect and ponder, without speaking.
There is a human tendency to be analytical. Our intellect is central to our glory, and we have well used it to master nature, and unlock many aspects of the created world. And yet, glorious though our intellect is, it is also something over which we tend to stumble. There is a time simply to become quiet and ponder in reverent silence the fact that there are many mysteries beyond our ability to analyze or dissect.
For many, who think merely in the flesh, mysteries are something to be solved, something to be conquered. We moderns especially, presume that anything we do not currently understand, anything currently mysterious, we will one day fully understand, it is just a matter of time.
But the Christian tradition speaks more cautiously, about mystery. Mystery is something requires reverence. Mysteries are often something meant to be appreciated and respected, not merely to be set upon in order to be solved or unraveled. This is especially true with mysteries related to God, and to some extent human person.
Consider for example the mystery of your own person. You know much about yourself, but much lies hidden. Many things about us defy simple analysis, or categorization. In the face of this mystery, silence and reverence are essential. And while are insights about our inner self grow deeper with the passing years, we can never say we have conquered the mystery of our very self. Scripture says,
More tortuous than all else is the human heart, and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind (Jer 17:9-10),
And if we are to have this reverence for our very self, we must also have it for one another. We must reverence the mystery of one another, never demanding insistently to know things which are not ours to know. And we must never arrogantly presume that we have someone “figured out.” To claim this trivializes the human person.
A fortiori – If reverence and a holy silence is appropriate before human mysteries, how much more reverent must our attitude be toward the mysteries of God and his ways. Scripture in many places commands us to a kind of holy silence before the mystery of God:
Silence, all people, in the presence of the LORD, who stirs forth from his holy dwelling. (Zechariah 2:17)
Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. (Zephaniah 1:7)
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10)
Then Job answered the Lord:“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more.” (Job 40:4-6)
And thus we see in today’s Gospel, how Zechariah has imposed upon him the kind of holy silence, that he might reflect more deeply and reverently on the mysteries of God. He is not to speak, he is to be still, silent before the Lord who stirs from His holy dwelling. Words reduce and seek to capture mystery. Zechariah is to ponder in reverent silence. Not one word will he utter until it all comes true.
Zechariah also manifests another common human tendency, the tendency to scoff at things we do not understand. Rather than to draw back and seek to learn in holy silence and docility, we scoff at how unlikely or uncertain things are. Since we cannot understand it, it cannot possibly be. Never mind that with God all things are possible, or that even our sciences have shown us things which we never dreamed possible, discoveries of processes in nature that baffle the mind.
Yes, there is a time to speak, a time to ask, and a time to open our mouth in teaching. But there is also a time to sit quietly, to listen, to learn, ponder in silence. There is a time to reverence mystery in quiet, wordless admiration. There is a time to humbly except that there are many things beyond my ability to know or understand.
In this reverent silence there comes forth kind of holy wisdom, a wisdom that is not easily reduced to words. It is the wisdom that appreciates that the acceptance of mystery, is itself insight. It is a silence that opens us upward and outward away from the more tiny world of things we have “figured out.”
And thus Zechariah is reduced by the angel to silence, a holy and reflective silence before the mysterious and merciful work of God.
And what of us who are approaching the mystery of the incarnation, and who live in a world steeped in mystery? Do we scoff and what we do not understand? Do we rush to open our mouth in doubt or ridicule, or do silently ponder and listen, seeking to be taught? Do we accept that humility both opens the door to wisdom and is a kind of wisdom itself?
Find silence before Christmas: God stirs from His holy dwelling.
Perhaps it will be of help to develop a theme set forth in the Gospel this past Sunday. The Lord Jesus at one point rebukes the devil and says, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” (Lk 4:8)
