Psychology of Atheism

One of the most jarring accusations by atheists is that believers are suffering from some kind of delusion. Believers, they suggest, are merely looking for a comfortable father-figure. However NYU psychology professor Paul Vitz has a rather fascinating rebuttal to these accusations, entitled "The Psychology of Atheism."

Part 1:


Part 2


It occurs to me that because we are subject to our parents when we are young and helpless, for good or ill, our relationship with them affects how we relate to God. Early abuse leads one to expect those with power to abuse it. I find it telling that children are born expecting their parents to be infallible. One might posit that it is an early breaking of this trust that leads to a lack of faith in God.

Martin Luther

Protestants claim they follow a "reformed" version of Christianity begun by Martin Luther.

Yet Luther had the following to say:

"We are compelled to concede to the Papists that they have the Word of GOD, that we received it from them, and that without them, we should have no knowledge of it at all."
Martin Luther, commentary on St. John.

In his sermon of August 15, 1522, the last time Martin Luther preached on the Feast of the Assumption, he stated:

There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know. And since the Holy Spirit has told us nothing about it, we can make of it no article of faith . . . It is enough to know that she lives in Christ.

The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart. (Sermon, September 1, 1522).

[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures. (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

No woman is like you. You are more than Eve or Sarah, blessed above all nobility, wisdom, and sanctity. (Sermon, Feast of the Visitation, 1537).

One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God's grace . . . Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ . . . Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God. (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).

Luther gives the Blessed Virgin the exalted position of "Spiritual Mother" for Christians:

It is the consolation and the superabundant goodness of God, that man is able to exult in such a treasure. Mary is his true Mother .. (Sermon, Christmas, 1522)

Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees . . . If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother. (Sermon, Christmas, 1529).

Martin Luther had the belief of Mary's Immaculate Conception, Luther's words follow:

It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary's soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God's gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin" (Sermon: "On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God," 1527).

She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. (Personal {"Little"} Prayer Book, 1522).

Martin Luther on Mary's Perpetual Virginity

Here are some of the founders of refom commenting on Mary:

Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that.
{Luther's Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan (vols. 1-30) & Helmut T. Lehmann (vols. 31-55), St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House (vols. 1-30); Philadelphia: Fortress Press (vols. 31-55), 1955, v.22:23 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }
Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that 'brothers' really mean 'cousins' here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.
{Pelikan, ibid., v.22:214-15 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }

A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ . . .
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:199 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Scripture does not say or indicate that she later lost her virginity . . .
When Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her . . . This babble . . . is without justification . . . he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom.

{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:206,212-3 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Editor Jaroslav Pelikan (Lutheran) adds:

Luther . . . does not even consider the possibility that Mary might have had other children than Jesus. This is consistent with his lifelong acceptance of the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary.
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.22:214-5}
". . . she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin. . . . God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. . . . God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her from all that might be hurtful to her."
Ref: Luther's Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968

". . . she is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God. . . . it is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God."
Ref: Sermon on John 14. 16: Luther's Works (St. Louis, ed. Jaroslav, Pelican, Concordia. vol. 24. p. 107)

"Christ our Savior was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb. . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that."
(REf: On the Gospel of St. John: Luther's Works, vol. 22. p. 23, ed. Jaroslav Pelican, Concordia, 1957)

"Men have crowded all her glory into a single phrase: The Mother of God. No one can say anything greater of her, though he had as many tongues as there are leaves on the trees." (From the Commentary on the Magnificat.)

(Regards to Dave Armstrong, for collecting these quotes).

Source

The unfortunate aspect of Luther's theology is that he misunderstood the concept of "to Jesus through Mary."

Correctly expressed, Mary is regarded, to quote Wordsworth, as "our tainted nature's solitary boast." As Mary knew Jesus in her womb, so we might hope to know Him at the moment of Holy Communion. Lord, but that we could stand with her at the foot of the cross!

In Luther's time, a false view was sometimes taught that God is a wrathful and angry deity and that Mary is responsible for softening Him. While Our Mother certainly prays for pardon of our sins, she does so in the Grace of God, from which Mercy is found. If God accedes to her requests more than others, it is only because she exists in complete loving subjection to His will. Mary fills us with hope and praise of God, because she is the one who in whom His promises are seen fulfilled. In praying to Mary, we express our sincere faith in all that Christ taught and our hope to fulfill His promises in our own earthly and eternal lives. The most tender moments are revealed when Jesus speaks to his mother. One of His last acts while dying on the cross was to give her into the care of His disciple, commanding "Behold your mother" (John 19: 27).

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of
Mercy, our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us O holy Mother of God,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

A Meditation On the Most Loving, Sacred Heart of Jesus

I found this medieval image of Jesus with the children.



Luke 10: 13-16

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it."
Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

When I saw this picture I was struck the many varied faces and postures of the children. All are simple and honest in their approach to Jesus, but display differing temperaments. It seems as though the arms of Jesus are drawn back both in blessing and to make hasty room as the more eager children hyperactively rush onto His lap. One child, shy and hesitant, is led steadily toward Him by his Mother, who herself looks like many a painting of the Blessed Virgin with her blue veil. One child is simply content to sink his face into Jesus' lap. Others look up seeking guidance.

But the child that strikes me the most is the small boy who has his head pressed against Jesus' chest.

When I was very small, I used to sit on my grandfather's lap just like that, with my ear pressed against his chest. Sitting that way, the thrum of his heartbeat drowned out the other sounds. My arms could feel the blood rushing through his body. I was fascinated by this. Listening carefully, I attuned my breathing to match his. It seemed at those moments that I was feeling him live. My grandfather became a separate living person to me, not just this role-idea of "grandpa" but a real person who loved and protected me. A person who suffered much on my behalf in the act of raising me. I want to love Jesus more like that, adoring His loving pierced Heart. I want to keep my face buried in His chest and listen closely to that Heart, which drowns out the voices of the world. In my weakness, I need to cling to Him desperately, aligning my own self with His way.

I can only ask my beloved Grandpa, who now rests with my Lord, to pray for me.

It liiiives!!!

Since Fr. Renzo was gracious enough to put a link to my blog when he started his a few months ago, I thought I might start updating again. I do confess I have been behind on reading his Trilogy, having decided to prioritize my booklist. (When one gets in the middle of more than four books, something has to give).

This blog seemed a bit pointless before, when the only one reading was my best friend, to whom I tell everything already.

You see, I had hoped to share the gifts God has given me and ask the Little Flower St. Therese for her prayers in this endeavour.

And Sister Mary Martha lays the smackdown...

Sister Mary Martha has a wonderful commentary on her blog in which she debunks new age ideas about Lent while also emphasizing its true meaning.

Lent is a time when we are called to try to identify with Christ's sufferings but giving up a small bit of our own comfort.

It may seem silly to give up chocolate or cigars or anime or baseball, when Christ gave up His very life. I think the goodness in this is that it is a yearly reminder of how much energy we put into the things of this world, rather than Christ. For this reason, I recommend giving up whatever it is that you spend way too much time on, whatever it is that distracts you from your home, family, and your God. Then spend all that extra time gained on prayer and good works.

The Cult of Death

Roman Catholic Blog has a report on the renewed efforts to pass a law through the California Assembly allowing euthanasia.

I wrote an essay on the subject in 2005, the first time they tried this. I'm posting it below. Perhaps some of my arguments and research may aid you.



A Compassionate Choice

Does the “right to life” guaranteed by the Bill of Rights imply a right to die? The California Legislature is currently debating that issue. The “Compassionate Choices Act” or AB 651(formerly AB 654) proposes legalizing physician-assisted suicide, following similar laws in Oregon and Holland. Proponents argue that “mentally competent patients have the right to make the decision to die, and this bill enables doctors to respect their wishes” (“ACLU”). It is death with dignity.

Supported by the ACLU and the National Organization for Women, AB 651 relieves suffering and allows patients to die with dignity at the end of their lives. Proponents argue that safeguards are in place to prevent abuse. Two physicians must agree that the patient has less than six months to live; the patient must be mentally capable of making an informed decision; the patient must make two oral requests and one written request; the patient must self-administer the prescription, no one can assist; and physicians may refuse to write a prescription (“Californians for Aid in Dying”).

However, can a rational person choose to die? According to the DSM-IV, the official diagnostic handbook of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), a desire to commit suicide is a sign of a major depressive episode (169). Medical professionals are obliged, under state and Federal law to recommend a minimum 24-hour hospitalization to anyone who shows signs of wanting to take their own life. Older adults, especially the terminally ill, have the greatest risk for depression and frequently go undiagnosed. According to a 2001 study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, “Depression was found to be highly associated with acceptance of PAS [physician-assisted suicide] and euthanasia in most hypothetically clinical scenarios in addition to patients' current condition” (153). Another study published in Arch Intern Med, a medical journal, showed that those patients who desired physician-assisted suicide at the time of interview “differed from all others on ratings of loss of interest or pleasure in activities, hopelessness, and the desire to die [, and]…had a higher prevalence of depressive disorders [although] …they did not differ on ratings of pain severity” (Wilson, 2454). In other words, the state of a patient’s mental health directly influences their desire to end their lives, not the amount of their physical suffering. Old age is a trying period of life. Erikson’s stages, which describe life development as a series of crises, classifies old age as a time of “integrity versus despair.” As Vimala Pillari states in Human Behavior in the Social Environment, “Integrity refers to the ability to accept the facts of one’s life and face death without too many regrets or fear”(315) whereas a person in despair may seek “death as a way of ending a miserable existence”(Pillari, 316). Modern care philosophy seeks to address the patient as a whole person. Palliative (hospice) care today addresses not only pain relief, but mental heath as well, through medication and environment enrichment.

In this debate, one must distinguish between the choice to end life and the choice not to prolong it. In Physician-Assisted Suicide, the life-ending medication is the direct cause of death. Patients also sometimes forego care, allowing death to occur by an existing illness. The President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical in Medicine and Biomedical Research describes it thus: “[M]any dying patients decide to forego further life-prolonging treatment when its benefits no longer seem to them worth the burdens it creates [and] cessation of treatment leads rapidly to end of life and, with that, to a release from their suffering”(62). However, the decision of “allowing to die” is focused not on control, dignity, or ending suffering, but on the patient’s happiness and fulfillment at the end of life. Such decisions stem from acceptance that death is inevitable—one should not use every means to prolong life at the expense of mental well-being. A realistic example of this is a patient with metastasized (advanced) cancer. Current treatment has no hope of curing such a patient. Rather than enduring the painful and debilitating effects of chemotherapy, some choose to spend their remaining time with their families and engaged in some meaningful activity, although this action may shorten their lives by some months. Similarly, palliative (hospice) care routinely uses medications that relieve pain but may shorten life. Another common case is that of a patient in irreversible coma. My grandfather was such a patient. Suffering from multiple organ failure, he slipped into a semiconscious state in his last hours, heartbeat and breathing maintained solely by a respirator. The family gathered at his bedside, and a doctor informed us that while life-support could sustain him for months, there was little chance of his waking. After saying our goodbyes, we made the collective decision to turn off life support. He died two hours later.

One must also question whether physician-assisted suicide truly protects a person’s dignity. One must distinguish between palliative care (which focuses on pain relief) and euthanasia, which terminates life prematurely. A fundamental principle of human rights is that the value of a person is intrinsic. Rev. Gerald D. Coleman, S.S., states this eloquently in “Dying with Dignity”:

Persons always die with dignity. They are sacred….Everyone’s dignity is indelible. Our worth is inherent. Our humanity is permanent. The real concern is not death, but dying. Physician-assisted suicide manipulates this fear (13).

Often those who choose to die, do so because of the high cost of health care. Others do so because of social isolation or the feeling that they are a burden on their families. (Smith, Manning, 77). Often, they are receiving insufficient care to relieve their physical pain (Smith). This does not constitute an informed, rational decision, as the ACLU claims, nor does it support patient welfare.

One of the most pervasive arguments in the Right-to-Die Movement is that of individual rights. However, legalized euthanasia often opens up the door to abuses. Michael Manning, M.D., author of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide gives such an example from a Dutch medical journal:

A wife who was no longer willing to care for her ailing husband…issued an ultimatum: euthanasia or admission to a nursing home. The man, afraid of being left at the mercy of strangers in an unfamiliar setting, chose to be killed. The doctor, even though he was aware of the coercion, ended the man’s life (76).

Dutch government studies show that such abuses in patient’s rights occur over a thousand times a year (Manning, 74). Similar incidents have been occurred in Oregon as recently as 2000, in the case of Michael P. Freeland, who received life-ending medication despite having been legally declared to be mentally incompetent. He later sought psychiatric treatment and died two years later surrounded by family and friends, although the doctor who prescribed the “medication” gave him the required six months as mentioned in the law (Smith). It is worth noting that in its online campaign ACLU claims that “Oregon's ‘Death with Dignity’ law has worked flawlessly for the past seven years” (“ACLU”).

Physician Assisted Suicide implies that the patient is literally better off dead, that they are a burden on themselves and their families, and ignores their mental and spiritual well-being. Incidents in Holland and Oregon show that the current safeguards are inadequate to prevent abuse. Is this compassionate? Rather, honor and value the ill, treating their upcoming death as a loss. This would be treating death with dignity. In conclusion, the proposed law is neither dignified nor compassionate.

Works Cited:

American Civil Liberties Union of California. “Californians Deserve Compassionate Choices!.” Take Action!. 25 Mar. 2005. Get Active. 28 June 2005 .

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed, Text Revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000.

Blank, Karen, et al. “Life-Sustaining Treatment and Assisted Death Choices in Depressed Older Patients.” (2001). Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 49(2): 153-161.

Californians for Aid in Dying. “About AB 651.” 13 June 2005. End of Life Choices California. 28 June 2005. .

Coleman, Gerald D. “Dying With Dignity.” Orange County Catholic May 2005: 13.

Manning, Michael, M.D. Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: Killing or Caring?. New York: Paulist Press, 1998

Pillari. Vimala. Human Behavior in the Social Environment: The Developing Person, 2nd Ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1998

Smith, Wesley J. “The Creepy Underside of Legal Assisted Suicide” The Oregon Tall Tale.8 May 2004(Reproduced with Permission) Lifeissues.net . 9 July 2005 .

The President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical in Medicine and Biomedical Research. Deciding to Forego Life-Sustaining Treatment. New York: GPO, Mar. 1983.

Wilson, Keith G, et al. “Attitudes of Terminally Ill Patients Toward Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide.” Arch Intern Med 2000(160): 2454–60.

Hallelujah!!!!!!l

Watch this to see why I'm dancing.

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