HerbEly

Principles of Sound (system) Spirituality

On vacation, we joined in the celebration of Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Northglenn, Colorado. One of the first things that I noticed was that it was easy to listen through the crying babies. This was because the sound system worked. This is obviously a parish that believes that God is present in both word and sacrament. They went to the effort to be sure that we could hear what was being read, sung and said.

This led me to some reflections and a bit of a ranting and raving. We would be outraged if a parish kept the Bread and Wine away from its parishioners or visitors. Yet we profess to believe that God is also present in the words of scripture and tolerate sound systems that, by being unintelligble, impede God's presence to these same people.

At IHM, 1) the sound system had obviously been tested and the volume set correctly; 2) the lectors read clearly and positioned the microphones properly; 3) the cantor’s articulated the lyrics; and 4) the instrumentalists supported, not overpowered, the cantors.

I was reminded of Ella Fitzgerald. When she sang nonsense syllables, she demonstrated her voice as a musical instrument. When she sang lyrics, she gave them meaning and musical quality. I realize that local church choirs are not likely to find another Ella, but why would a cantor sing the words of a psalm in a way that makes it difficult for people to understand them?

Proper technique of using microphones and speaking or singing is, by itself, inadequate. The can convey words but not meaning.

To convey meaning - to be inspiring - lectors and cantors must meditate upon each text and confront its meaning in personal terms. As a husband and father, I can remember the challenge of reading Col 3:1-21 and being recognizing that I can only claim “progress, not perfection” in standing up to the words of St. Paul.

As a principle of spiritual preparation, lectors and cantors should remember that

“We read the scripture in its fullness when it reads us and finds emptiness.”

A Better Metaphor for anti-terror struggle

In March 2003 I was making the point that the war on terror is a bad metaphor . Fareed Zakaria puts forth a better answer in Newsweek:

We're fighting a military battle against a phenomenon that is largely nonmilitary. In a battle of ideas, no one bullet will win. We must present a positive vision for Muslim societies, be seen as a friendly and progressive force by them and thus strengthen the moderates and liberals.

But this is battle, not an academic seminar. We also have to discredit, delegitimize and dismantle barbaric ideas. After the London bombings, Arab commentators pointed out that for years Britain has granted asylum to noxious preachers and scholars who praise suicide bombings, argue for the overthrow of Western regimes and celebrate Al Qaeda's victories.

Terry Mattingly on Culture Wars

James Davidson Hunter's book Culture Wars clarifies a number of issues, ranging from the fight over the supreme court to pro lifers manipulation of data to make Harry Potter a threat to the faith. Here is Terry Mattingly's recent offering on the same topic

Two years later, Hunter began writing "Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America," in which he declared that America now contains two basic world views, which he called "orthodox" and "progressive." The orthodox believe it's possible to follow transcendent, revealed truths. Progressives disagree and put their trust in personal experience, even if that requires them to "resymbolize historic faiths according to the prevailing assumptions of contemporary life."
...
Ask any big question and this issue looms in the background. Is the Bible an infallible source of truth? Is papal authority unique? Do women and men have God-given roles in the home and the church? Can centuries of Jewish traditions survive in the modern world? Can marriage be redefined? Is abortion wrong? Can traditionalists proclaim that sex outside of marriage is sin? Are heaven and hell real? Do all religious roads lead to the same end? Is there one God, or many? What is his or her name or names?

Please give Terry a read, or go here for one of my postings.

Back Home

after a wonderful vacation. While we were in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we drove down to Quarai National Monument. This mission church was built in 1629 and abandoned in 1671. My father, Albert Ely, restored it in 1934 as part of his Master's degree thesis at the University of New Mexico. For its connection to my parent's life click here and here
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Disentangling Muslim anti-terrorist language

One quick post on this from my cousin's home in Colorado. It will be the religion journalists and strategic writers who lead us through this tangle of confused language. Here is a good posting from Leopold Stotch at Outside the Beltway.

Now He Tells Us

In fairness, I should read the entire transcript before I comment on Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith's recent statements.

I don't think there is any question that we as an administration, instead of giving proper emphasis to all major elements of the rationale for war, overemphasized the WMD aspect,"

....

"Our intelligence community made, apparently, an error, as to the stockpiles" of weapons it assured President Bush existed in 2003, Feith said. Thus that part of the administration's argument for why war was necessary was overdone, he said, adding, "Anything we said at all about stockpiles was overemphasis, given that we didn't find them."

On the other hand, I am on vacation, and may not have a chance to check  the transcript for a while. I have conteneded that some high officials declined to investigate warnings about "overemphasis". So I'll just stand by this statement from this spring's issue of Parameters, the Army War College journal. (Scroll down to the second letter).

Signs that London Bombing is changing attitutes in Islamic Culture III

More signs that Islamic fundamentalism is losing support from Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria

"The other important difference between the London bombings and 9/11 has been the response of the world of Islam. For months after 9/11, I kept writing that it was sad and disturbing that Muslims were reluctant to condemn the attacks. This time is different. Major Muslim groups in Britain have unambiguously denounced the bombings. Even "fundamentalist" organizations have condemned it. The Muslim Association of Britain, a hard-line group with alleged ties to militants in the Middle East, called the bombings "heinous and repulsive" and urged Muslims to help the emergency services and police. "We have faith in Britain and British people that we as a country will not be defeated by this," said its spokesman, Anas Altikriti.

The response outside Britain has also been much stronger than ever before. The grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheik Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, condemned the bombers but went further, rejecting the argument that this attack could be justified as an attempt to force Britain out of Iraq. "This is illogical and cannot be the motive for killing innocent civilians," he said. More striking have been the condemnations from radical groups like Hamas, Hizbullah and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, all of which have denounced the bombings. Many of them have, of course, coupled their attacks on the terrorists with denunciations of American and British policies in the Middle East, particularly regarding Iraq and the Palestinian territories. But that kind of rhetoric is old news. What is new here is the fact that no one, not even Hamas, can continue to condone or even stay silent about these barbarities."

Much more to read here. It sounds sensible. Please read while I go back to visiting with my nephew.

If Bill Clinton is Correct...

in his statement that opposing abortion is normal:"So for example, if you're a Democrat and you have sort of normal impulses, you're a sellout, like when Hillary said abortion is a tragedy for virtually everybody who undergoes it, we ought to do all we can to reduce abortion,"

Is favoring it abnormal, even for democrats?

Signs that London Bombing has Changed Attitudes in Islamic Culture II

Go here for GetReligion's careful discussion of the religious issues involved.

Signs that the London Bombing has Changed Attitudes in the Islamic Culture

During a quiet time while on Vacation. For an indication that some moderate Islamic people are speaking up go here. Hat tip Kathy.