Religion

Hell is a Garbage Dump

I believe that Hell exists here on earth. There are many Hells. I've visited one of them a couple of times during the past six or seven years. It is located just outside of Tegucigalpa (on the road to Olancho). It's the city dump.

By Marco Cáceres
The word that we know as "Hell" was first used in Joshua 15:8 of the Hebrew Scriptures... "Then the border went up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is before the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim toward the north." The Greek word "Gehenna" (or Gehenom or Gehinom) refers to a fiery place where the wicked are punished after they die or on Judgment Day. It traces its origin to the Hebrew Gêhinnôm (also Guy ben-Hinnom) meaning the "Valley of Hinnom's son". (8/18/10)

Neither Ape… Nor Angel

By W. E. Gutman
Not long ago, when fate still ruled the world, when providence, not scheme, molded man’s destiny, two groups vied for the truth and both held it for a while. Fat and sated like iguanas basking in he sun, Darwinists made no bones about it. Evolution makes sense. One by one, the pieces of the puzzle fit into place with such perfection as to make some transcendental "first cause" not only probable but essential. They just didn’t call it God. Flummoxed by Darwin’s irreverence, aghast at the thought that they might be descended from great apes, not angels, Creationists kept invoking God as though evolution were not in itself a wondrous feat of magic. And life went on. (7/4/10)

The Faulty Work of Intelligent Design

Until irrevocable proof of "Intelligent Design" is put forth -- I’m not holding my breath -- the concept will more likely be viewed as a clever stratagem cooked up by a new generation of Elmer Gantrys who hijack and exploit hopelessly bewildered spirits and subvert them with falsehoods that only blind belief can ever legitimize.

By W. E. Gutman
Unable to shore up the absurd claims of creation "science" with empirical evidence, anti-Darwinists raring to inject creationism into society's collective psyche have devised a new slogan: "Intelligent Design." Intelligent Design (ID) is the untested assertion that the universe, the living things that populate it and the ceaseless upheavals they endure are the result of an all-knowing, albeit paranormal, cause or agent, not a freehand process such as natural selection (evolution). (6/23/10)

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Original Blessing

By Marco Cáceres
I read Matthew Fox's book, Original Blessing. I like Fox's exploration of the myth of "original sin", on which so much of Christian doctrine is based. Probably the guy who has harmed Christianity most is Augustine of Hippo with this invention of his. So much of Christian thinking is based on the inherent sinfulness of humanity, based on original sin, and the need for atonement. This whole concept of God becoming incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth for the sake of him/her becoming the ultinate blood sacrifice to make up for the fall of Adam and the passing on of original sin has always sounded silly to me. But I always thought, "What the heck... nice story." (6/22/10)

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Questioning the Authority of the Church

I am sensing growing frustration and even desperation within the Church that it no longer has the force that it once did to enforce its rules and regulations. Nor does it have the consent of the masses that it once did.

By Marco Cáceres
ISeveral years ago, I ran across a quote from Pope Benedict XVI that disturbed me. It was taken from a speech he gave before the World Youth Day festival in Cologne, Germany. The Pope acknowledged growing frustration and dissatisfaction with the institution of the Church, and the phenomenon of a growing interest in "religion". His problem was (and is) that the kind of religion people are increasingly turning to has little or nothing to do with traditional religion. He was probably alluding, at least in part, to some of the post-modern thinking which has been gaining ground, questioning many of the core tenets of traditional theologies and doctrines. The Pope was quoted as saying, "But religion constructed on a 'do-it-yourself' basis cannot ultimately help us." (6/7/10)

Covering Up Pedophilia No Solution Says Rodríguez

Speaking yesterday at a press conference in Madrid, Spain, Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Madariaga of Honduras acknowledged that the pedophile priests scandal in which the Catholic Church is embroiled has "seriously hurt" financial donations to charitable organizations such as Cáritas Internationalis, of which he is the president. He noted, "It is sad that the poor are the ones who have to continue to suffer" as a consequence. Cardinal Rodríguez stressed that the scandal is "an evil and an embarrassment that must be eradicated", but that it should be viewed "with the right perspective". He said that the reported cases of pedophilia within the Church have involved less than 1 percent of the 400,000 priests in the world. "Who talks about the 99 percent of the work that priests do in the world? That is not news. That should be the perspective." Cardinal Rodríguez stated that, in his opinion, "covering up pedophile cases is not that solution" and that he considered those guilty of this offense to be "pathologically sick people who should be psychiatrically treated". (6/3/10) (photo of Óscar Rodríguez courtesy Internet)

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A Practical Path to Love

... listening is an extremely important step because it leads to awareness of your true self and the world around you. It enables you to realize that your true self is not your mind, your physical body, your possessions, your ego, your desires. It enables you to fully understand that you are not the center of the universe and that you are in fact... impermanent.

By Marco Cáceres
It is extremely cliché to say, "Love conquers all" or "Anything is possible with love". It is also cliché to say, "What the world needs is love". Of course, there's the ever popular, "God is love". Are these just slogans? Or is there at least an element of truth behind it? The assumption is that love is unconditional, which means that if you feel and express love in its authentic form, then it doesn't matter what others do or say to you and those close to you, you will always respond with grace and kindness and gentleness, and in the spirit of peace. (5/25/10)

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Book Review: The Inventor

This is a book with which you must dine. It does not allow you to consume it in a hurry. It is as if Mr. Gutman dares you to read on and simply accept that the aim of his work is not primarily to entertain you, but rather to provoke you to think and struggle and savor.

By Marco Cáceres
I remember the first time I picked up a Harry Potter novel. I read about thirty or forty pages, and then I put it down. There were so many characters, and the plot did not emerge fast enough to hold my attention. Ultimately, I rented the first Harry Potter movie and immediately became so enamored with the characters and the story that I ended up reading each of the seven books in the series twice. My initial experience with W. E. Gutman's The Inventor was similar... although I'm not sure a movie is in the offing. (4/30/10)

Pedophile Father "Tato" Was Re-Assigned to Work at Girls' School in Honduras

Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, who serves as the Archbishop of the Diocese of Santiago, Chile, said in a television interview on April 4 that the Catholic Church was investigating "a few" cases of pedophilia involving priests in Chile. "There is something to these pedophilia abuses... just a few, thank God," said Cardinal Errazuriz. It is believed that there have been relatively few convictions of pedophile priests in Chile. On Tuesday, the head of Chile's bishops' conference underway in Santiago, Monsignor Alejandro Goic, acknowledged that there had been 20 confirmed or alleged cases of child abuse by priests. (4/22/10)

Hoax Turned Article of Faith

A piece of fabric of dubious vintage hardly establishes anyone’s historicity. It confirms, at best, the ancient Jewish tradition of burial in a shroud and a simple pine casket, a tradition maintained to this day by Jews who reject the flamboyance and ostentation of modern funerals.

By W. E. Gutman
An air of pious exultation wafts over the elegant Baroque city of Turin, Italy. Its most illustrious relic, the Shroud of Turin, which some Christians believe is Jesus’ burial cloth, went on display on April 10 for the first time since it was “restored” in 2002. For the next five weeks, the world’s most famous piece of linen will be on view. Two million people, including Pope Benedict XVI, are expected to behold an artifact that, despite its questionable authenticity, continues to feed the ecstatic character of Catholicism. (4/21/10)