The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

For John, BLUF:  The people of Minnesota must be pretty tolerant.  In Paris the Professor might well have been knifed, by an irate student.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Prof:  Virgin Mary didn’t give consent

Here is the sub-headline:

Eric Sprankle, a Minnesota State University associate professor, says “there is no definition of consent” that constitutes God impregnating the Virgin Mary.

From Campus Reform, by Intern Kenneth Nelson, 6 December 2018.

Here is the lede plus five:

A Minnesota professor suggested in a series of tweets that the Virgin Mary did not consent to the conception of Jesus Christ and suggested that God may have acted in a “predatory" manner.

Minnesota State University, Mankato psychology professor and sex therapist Dr. Eric Sprankle critiqued the story of the Virgin Mary in a tweet Monday, suggesting that the Virgin Mary did not consent to being impregnated by God.

“The virgin birth story is about an all-knowing, all-powerful deity impregnating a human teen.  There is no definition of consent that would include that scenario.

“The virgin birth story is about an all-knowing, all-powerful deity impregnating a human teen.  There is no definition of consent that would include that scenario.  Happy Holidays,” Sprankle said.

Another Twitter user called the professor’s claim into question, noting that the Bible states that the Virgin Mary did, indeed, agree to God’s plan for her.

“The biblical god regularly punished disobedience,” Sprankle rebutted.  “The power difference (deity vs mortal) and the potential for violence for saying ‘no’ negates her ‘yes.’  To put someone in this position is an unethical abuse of power at best and grossly predatory at worst.”

And maybe this is why Professor Eric Sprankle is an atheist and destined for eternal damnation.  He can't come up with a way for God to become Man and thus sacrifice himself for the redemption of mankind.

On the other hand, in this uneven power relationship the Good Professor has managed to deny the very existence of God, which seems a lot more defiant than just saying, rather than "let it be done to me as you say," "you don't exist and I am not going to play your silly games."  I think that his (the Professor's) assertion is pretty well self-cancelled.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Proposed CIA Director to be Grilled Today

For John, BLUF:  This is a very important issue, because it is about accountability in our secret services, which in turn reflects on accountability in the Deep State.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This is about the nomination of Ms Gina Haspel to be the next Director of the CIA.  She is an Intel Progressional, who has worked her way up to be the Deputy Director (and Acting Director).

Gina Haspel and the Elusive Shadow of CIA Torture:  A Response to Ben Wittes

From Just Security, by Professor Steve Vladeck, 9 May 2018.  Mr Vladeck is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Just Security and Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law.

Here is the lede:

At Lawfare, Ben Wittes has a long post up titled “Why I Support Gina Haspel—Despite a Big Reservation.”  It’s worth reading in full, because it makes about as strong a case as can be made for Haspel’s confirmation for folks who are, to put it precisely, less than enthusiastic about the wisdom, morality, or legality of the CIA’s Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation (RDI) program—in which Haspel played a major role.  (For those, like President Trump, who see her role in CIA torture as a feature, not a bug, well, that’s another matter.)

Yes, this is about the fact that in the wake of the 9/11 Attacks we went with torture to obtain the information we wanted on our enemies.  We have since come to the conclusion that it was illegal and immoral to torture people for information.  There are those who would argue that it was also ineffective.

The Senate hearing on Ms Haspel begins today.

Part of what this is about is sweeping history under the rug.  Another part is if having sinned once, one is forever denied absolution.  That is, is atonement possible?  The way we are pulling down Civil War statues in this country, one wonders.

Regards  —  Cliff

Redemption For All

For John, BLUF:  That is why they call it "the good news".  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Christ the King Sunday

The readings for this week, the last week in the Roman Catholic Liturgical Year.  Next Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent.  And after four weeks of Advent we have Christmas.  A fuller title for this Sunday is "The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe".

The second reading this Sunday is from St Paul's Letter to the Colossians (Col), 1:12-20.

Brothers and sisters:
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

At the end of the first part it says, talking about Jesus, "in whom we have redemption".♠  That would be "the forgiveness of sins."  This is a wonderful thing, a promise of everlasting life.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  This is as opposed to someone who recently suggested that an eighth of us are irredeemable.  That is false.  We all of us have redemption available to us through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"That They May Repent"

For John, BLUF:  .  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

From this weekend our First Reading is from the Book of Wisdom (WIS 11:22-12:2)

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

I like this reading from the Book of Wisdom, where the writer points out that God loves all things and loathes nothing.  It is a reading of hope.  It say that everyone is redeemable.♠  It is a passage that gives me hope.

The rest of the readings follow along, including the Psalm (PS 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14), the Second Reading, from The Second Letter to the Thessalonians (2 THES 1:11-2:2) and the Gospel (LK 19:1-10), about the tax collector, Zacchaeus.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Notwithstanding those who suggest a quarter of the voters are unredeemable.

America's Lost Girls

For John, BLUF:  You either have hope or you cave into cynicism.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From Mr Anthony Lane, a Writer for The New Yorker we have a review of the new movie, Trainwreck.

The movie stars Amy Schumer, and from here Wikipedia bio, the movie sounds like like an on-screen biography, with a happy ending.

And there is where the writer, Mr Lane, upchucks.  He is dissolute over the ending to the movie Trainwreck.  The reason is the heroine goes from being a hard bitten female version of a swinger to someone who finds love and hope for the future, and, yuck, marriage.

Amy, though informed by Steven [her boyfriend at the beginning of the movie], “You’re not nice,” is nice enough to befriend a homeless man outside her apartment; her philandering is not that of a genuine free spirit but of a conscience wrenched out of joint by an equally faithless father (Colin Quinn), who now, as if paying for his sins, suffers from multiple sclerosis and resides in an assisted-living facility.  Amy has a sister (Brie Larson), who has a husband and a stepson, and, fiercely though Amy mocks their domestic harmony, they have much to teach her, the end result being a long shot, late in the proceedings, of all four of them gathered for a group hug.  …  So much for the promise of the title. “Trainwreck” sticks to the rails.

What's not to like?  A story of redemption.  Things start out bad and end well.  Virtues turn out to have value.  There is hope.

I feel sorry for Mr Lane, the Reviewer.  It must be tough working at The New Yorker, with all that Progressive cynicism.

Regards  —  Cliff