final post

I feel that one story that should be told is of Pastor Achtemeier’s personal struggle to reach out and help those in the community. She wants to help the needy in the Washington neighborhood, and so often gives them food or diapers or drives down to the gas station to put gas in the car of someone who comes to her looking for help. Sometimes she even pays for this out of her own pocket. She has told us that when people come to her door, she has often seen it as an annoyance and an interruption from her work; but then she started thinking: maybe this is my work. It’s obvious that the most important goal in her life is to be a good Christian, and I feel that this is a story that is definitely worth telling, and that someone would benefit from hearing. I feel that most of us are driven primarily by our own ambitions, and we are always trying to work our way up the ladder and get ahead in life; there isn’t necessarily anything wrong about this in and of itself, but I think that everyone could learn something about life from seeing what Kat does, and how she devotes herself to others. Really, what we do in trying advance our own fortunes is we try to achieve happiness, but I feel that Kat, by putting her main focus on others as opposed to herself, finds a deeper happiness and fulfillment than what most can find by trying to achieve their own personal goals. I think that hearing Kat’s story really puts life into perspective, and would make someone think about what really is important.

I agree with Nussbaum’s assertion that fiction is important because it can bring a reader to a deeper understanding of a social situation or issue as opposed to just looking at historical facts. I think that this is true, and I liked how she differentiated ‘knowing’ and ‘understanding.’ However, I think that when we read fiction—or anything for that matter—we always have to take it with a grain of salt. We have to take into consideration that any author is going to portray his/her situation and how it is from his/her viewpoint, and that they will not accurately portray all sides of the story. If we are trying to attain an understanding of a given situation or issue, an author’s input is valuable, but should not be considered by itself; it should be considered, but at the same time questioned, and even criticized. While truth can be found in art, we should always keep in mind that any form of art is just a representation of the truth through one person’s lens. Ultimately, reading fiction—or non-fiction, or watching the news, etc.—is good to help bring us closer to an understanding of a situation, but in the end there is no substitute for experience.

For better or for worse, the Catholic Church is a rock, not a stone

It seems like the biggest obvious difference between the Catholic Church and all the other churches we've seen is the way the Church takes a definite stance on most issues, and expects all Catholics around the world to follow the official Church stance. When the Pope speaks ex cathedra, it is understood that what he says is infallable. This obviously differs from the protestant denominations that we've seen, where God alone is lord of the conscience. The word catholic literally means universal, and that is the best word to describe the Church. It is a highly institutionalized, universal Church.

Presbyterianism simliarly values institution, as we talked about in our presenation, but treats it more as a guide to the conscience, as opposed to the Catholic Church, which treats the insitutional stance as if it's law. There are positives and negatives to each system. It seems that the Presbyterians have a more direct relationship with God, and understand, for all that they value institution, that institutions are run by people, and people are fallable. The Presbyterian way allows people to be more free, and does not force them to take a stance that they do not truly believe in. On the other hand, the ambiguity of the Presbyterian Church on some hot button issues, and the way it ultimately lets the decision fall on the conscience of the individual, can make it seem wishy-washy. The fact that you know where the Catholic Church stands on an issue is, I feel, in and of itself something to be admired, especially as it takes a lot of heat for this. Regardless of the lack of popularity of many Catholic Church stances, the Church holds their ground. Personally, I am attracted to that characteristic of "sticking to your guns," regardless of what the current general concensus is, and I think it's a cop-out on the part of the Presbyterian Church that they wash their hands of some tough issues such as abortion. I think it can be seen as a positive that the Catholic Church does not change according to the constantly changing fads and opinions of the time--the Catholic Church is a rock, not a stone.
Don't get me wrong--the other side of that coin is that they are often overly stubborn, and change with the times much slower than they should. I don't agree with several of their stances; one that makes no sense to me is that they consider it a sin to practice homosexuality. It is a simple fact that a homosexual person does not choose to be so--s/he is born such that s/he will be attracted to people of the same gender. To say that a heterosexual person can act on their sexual orientation, but that a homosexual person cannot is just not fair, and I feel, a flaw on the part of the Church.
Another stance that I don't agree with is that men alone are given the privelidge to be priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and pope. The greatest extent of the woman's role in the Church is to be a nun. This again, is an instance where the Church should change with the times. Women are obviously equal to men, contrary to popular belief at the turn of the last century, and while I get the argument that women and men are different and therefore have different roles in the Church, those different roles are clearly not equal.
In sticking so fervently to tradition, the Catholic Church can at times seem to abandon common sense and simple logic. This is a weakness in comparison to the Presbyterian Church.

p.s. props to Liz for goin this one alone ;-)