Walks

I have been lately reading Awakening by Anthony de Mello. I am constantly impressed by his seemingly honest thoughts about life and what it is to really live, awake. This book seems to be a healthy kick on my arse to really look at myself and my fears honestly and to start living in harmony with myself. The concrete effect it has had on my life, making me more courageous, is, well, quite wonderful.

But then, I am also aware of the fact that this fellow is in some senses quite distant from what Christianity means to me, and apparently also to the Pope in this respect: Notification concerning the writings of Father Anthony de Mello, SJ (though I do not really understand anything about denominations myself).

Perhaps the most concrete controversy is here: According to Ratzinger, Mello thinks that

With respect to this life, since evil is simply ignorance, there are no objective rules of morality. Good and evil are simply mental evaluations imposed upon reality.

(Ratzinger may be wrong, but having read Awakening, this statement does seem compatible.)

And it troubles me. Although Jesus frees us from having to submit under any moral ruleset (law) blindly, the idea is still to admit that the law, in itself, is good. But this seems a rather theoretical notion: although law may be absolute in itself, as a fallible human being, I really do not understand the law very well, and as my understanding of law is only relatively correct, what difference does it make in practice, in my reality if I believe the law itself is relative?

But it does seem to compromise the notion that God is right, that is, in His opinions: if the law is relative, and in fact, if truth is relative, how can God be invariable?

So, it seems that, in a sense like Kierkegaard (who has intrigued me for years), also de Mello is more interested in the subjective than supposedly objective dogma.

Consistent with what has been presented, one can understand how, according to the author, any belief or profession of faith whether in God or in Christ cannot but impede one's personal access to truth. The Church, making the word of God in Holy Scripture into an idol, has ended up banishing God from the temple. She has consequently lost the authority to teach in the name of Christ.

With the present Notification, in order to protect the good of the Christian faithful, this Congregation declares that the above-mentioned positions are incompatible with the Catholic faith and can cause grave harm.

But then, this reasoning seems irrational. There is no defence, no notion of what is so good about the Catholic faith, and in what sense is it not then making scripture an idol? Just a seemingly arrogant verification that de Mello's writings are incompatible with Catholic faith - a pretty way of saying they are just wrong.

Vantaan Lauri: Hengellisten harjoitusten lähteillä

Sun 2008-08-24 15:04 in diary 1 comment #link

State of things

On Friday the Moodle Quiz UI project I proposed got chosen in the Kesäkoodi competition (a Finnish variation of Google SoC ) to get funding. I heard there were thirteen competitors originally, seven of which got to the finals and five of which were granted a summer job. I’m full of ideas and the project page will soon transform into a blog, the related documents will probably go to Moodle Docs .

Slowly but surely, also my trip to Metz, France next spring is approaching.

Sun 2008-03-30 17:41 in diary No comments #link

GTD, gettin' it flowin'

I'm glad they've ordered translated copies of David Allen's Getting Things Done to the Library of Tampere . I'm currently reading it in a university PC class via ebrary. I have been delaying this too long.

For a 45 minute easy intro to GTD, see the video on Youtube, David Allen: Getting Things Done

(Yes, it's slightly comical, seeing what I'm complaining about in the previous post.) 

Sat 2008-03-15 14:00 in diary No comments #link

Overwhelmed

So many things are happening. I am happy, but seem to have slight problems keeping up. I feel useful and needed, many doors have opened. I am hesitating a bit but I trust that in time I will gain perspective and overall, I am heading somewhat in the right direction. The Kesäkoodi application process is at an interesting stage and people around me care for me, and I care for them.

It is all quite stable, though I feel a bit like a vagabond (Finnish: kiertolainen).

Tue 2008-03-11 17:27 in diary No comments #link

Hooray, Pilates (unpaid ad)

I love Pilates, I realized that again this morning. I love Malla my dear friend (ehm, among other things) for demonstrating the Pilates for Dummies DVD by Michelle Dozois and Andrea Ambandos to me in the Autumn. Since then, I have been doing 'em moves  in the mornings, about three or four times a week. For me, this is a miracle and an answer to prayer, since I've spent the last ten years searching for a sport that a) I would enjoy b) I would find motivation to do often enough to keep at least some sort of a basic condition. Jogging (boring), swimming (takes too much time)  and roller skating (only summers, boring in the long run) once came close, but didn't make it.

There are twenty different moves in the intermediate version (there's also a beginner version, which is good for getting started) so I don't get bored doing them. They're simple enough to learn gradually, but challenging enough to keep the mind focused.  It takes about half an hour for me to do the moves with the DVD - though now that I don't use the DVD anymore, but just use a written list of the moves, I probably go a bit slower. I did not like other DVDs, such as MP Power Pilates or IMC's Kiinteyttävä Pilates as much - though that might be just because I had already gotten used to  the Michelle's energeticality.

Thu 2008-02-07 10:58 in diary 2 comments #link