Mother Teresa

A compilation of Mother Teresa's letters and journals was recently compiled and published by a Catholic man hoping to bulster Mother Teresa's odds of becoming a saint. This book, Mother Teresa: Come By My Light, has been in the news much since its publication because it opens a new avenue into people's understanding of who this woman was. Or, more succinctly, people are in a stir because Mother Teresa doubted very much God's presence and pleasure in and for her life.

Here is an article from Time magazine about this book and Mother Teresa's dark night of the soul experience.

I hope to write more about her struggles and this article in the coming days. Briefly, though, what left the biggest impression upon me was the different ways other people analyze and critique her faith - from the religious leader to the psychoanalyst to the atheist. I have my own leanings, but I'd be interested to hear your own. What do you make of Mother Teresa's faith and struggles, her consistent humility (some would say groveling), and her inability to access any certainty of God's presence through her feelings?

Wes

Music

Hey, everyone. I am ready once again to stretch my musical awareness (which usually means some minor purchases on iTunes). So, if you have any ideas how I should spend $20 or so, let me know.

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In other news, Ingmar Bergman died this week - film maker and philosopher. His most famous film is The Seventh Seal, which involves a medieval knight playing chess with death:


Anyhow, I've been co-leading a bible study on Revelation for our church, and - wouldn't you know it - this weeks study has us looking at Revelation 8:1 ... about the seventh seal. Clearly this is true evidence that history is now nearing its fulfillment.

Anna and I watched The Seventh Seal not too long ago ... actually, I think I was the only one to make it through that one. I remember being bored at times by the heavy imagery and overt philosophy, but I loved the overall message. In short, it is about the triumph of love and faith over despair, death and disbelief.

Wes

The Brothers Karamazov meets the New York Times Bestseller's List

Someone from the church sent me word that Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Church) and Sam Harris (neuroscientist and athiest) engaged in a debate about the existence of God, the nature of the current world and what they really think of each other. Here's the link.

Anytime I read one of these debates, I always hope the Christian will find some way to be just as sharp and logically sound as the athiest. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Even more unfortunate: the athiest usually comes out more humane and humble. Again, this seemed to be the case here.

I certainly don't envy anyone who seeks to defend a belief system - be it Christian, Hindu, or atheism. But I particularly don't envy people who have to speak on behalf of faith traditions becuase they invariably have to defend dogma.

Philosophically, Harris has the easier job because he doesn't have to defend anything. He can simply open up questions, whereas Warren has to provide answers or at least project answers (especially since he is speaking on behalf of a good majority of evangelicals and would immediately be chewed up and spit out by certain Christians if he didn't say the right thing ... perhaps that is why he seems to throw in some rather random statements here in there ... because he knows he's got to cover his tush).

Anyhow, here's a good synopsis of what happens when two people get to talking about God and one has to defend God and the other doesn't:

WARREN: You're more spiritual than you think. You just don't want a boss. You don't want a God who tells you what to do.

HARRIS: I don't want to pretend to be certain about anything I'm not certain about.

It reminds me very much of the conversation between Alyosha and Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov - specifically the chapter titled "The Grand Inquisitor."

Wes