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Month: July 2006

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I don’t feel very emotional about this…


Which Hellenistic School of Philosophy Would You Belong To?



You are a Stoic.

Stoicism is a school of philosophy commonly associated with such Greek philosophers as Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, or Chrysippus and with such later Romans as Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus. Organized at Athens in 310 BC by Zeno of Citium and Chrysippus, the Stoics provided a unified account of the world that comprised formal logic, materialistic physics, and naturalistic ethics. Later Roman Stoics emphasized more exclusively the development of recommendations for living in harmony with a natural world over which one has no direct control. Their group would meet upon the porch of the market at Athens, the stoa poecile. The name stoicism derives from the Greek stoa, meaning porch.The Stoic philosophy developed from that of the Cynics whose founder, Antisthenes, had been a disciple of Socrates.

The Stoics emphasized ethics as the main field of knowledge, but they also developed theories of logic and natural science to support their ethical doctrines.

Holding a somewhat materialistic conception of nature they followed Heraclitus in believing the primary substance to be fire. They also embraced his concept of Logos which they identified with the energy, law, reason, and providence found throughout nature.

They held Logos to be the animating or ‘active principle’ of all reality. The Logos was conceived as a rational divine power that orders and directs the universe; it was identified with God, nature, and fate. Human reason and the human soul were both considered part of the divine Logos, and therefore immortal.

The foundation of Stoic ethics is the principle, proclaimed earlier by the Cynics, that good lies in the state of the soul itself, in wisdom and restraint. Stoic ethics stressed the rule “Follow where Reason leads”; one must therefore strive to be free of the passionslove, hate, fear, pain, and pleasure.

Living according to nature or reason, they held, is living in conformity with the divine order of the universe. The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy are wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance, a classification derived from the teachings of Plato.

A distinctive feature of Stoicism is its cosmopolitanism. All people are manifestations of the one universal spirit and should, according to the Stoics, live in brotherly love and readily help one another. They held that external differences such as rank and wealth are of no importance in social relationships. Thus, before the rise of Christianity, Stoics recognized and advocated the brotherhood of humanity and the natural equality of all human beings. Stoicism became the most influential school of the Greco-Roman world and produced a number of remarkable writers and personalities.

Take this quiz!

Poland - Polish - Polonia

The Universal Hope Offered by Poland

Bill Saunders, Senior Fellow and Director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Life & Bioethics writes on The Universal Hope Offered by Poland. He states in conclusion:

Unlike Disneyland, Poland is not a fairy-land. It is a real country, with real problems, and I will return to them in my next column. But Poland is preeminently a country whose “particularity” gives hope to a “universality,” a universality that recognizes true human rights in service of the truly common good.

Saints and Martyrs

St. Elias pray for us

Fr Joseph Huneycutt of Orthodixie has an excellent article and reflection on St. Elias, commemorated today in the Orthodox Church. He is also honored among the members of the Jewish, Moslem, and Druze faiths.

Check it out —“ he’s a icon for Christian witness to the powerful.

Current Events, Perspective

My life, my disease

As some of you may know, I have Type 1 diabetes. I have been a diabetic since the age of four, a long time now.

I am simply amazed at the incredulity of those objecting to the President’s veto of funding for embryonic stem cell research. I am really amazed when objections are raised by the medical community. They should know better.

Embryonic stem cell research has led to absolutely zero cures or treatments. As a matter of fact, in some of the trials in which they have been used, they have made the patients worse.

At the same time, research on adult stem cell lines has produced real cures. Why doesn’t the medical community focus on adult stem cell lines and other areas that have a proven track record? I’m sure I would have a cure sooner if science would focus on what works, rather than on wild money chases. Could it be the funding itself —“ doctors and scientists lining their pockets with research grants at taxpayer’s expense?

Anyway, if I had a choice between a cure and the disease, and the cure was developed from murdered children, I would choose no cure. I may die earlier, I may be sicker, I may loose a lot, but at least I would die knowing I haven’t killed.

The following is a statement from the American Diabetes Association on the recent events and the President’s veto:

Lawrence T. Smith, Chair of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the parent of a daughter who has type 1 diabetes, issued the following statement in response to today’s passage in the U.S. Senate of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810). The ADA has been a strong supporter of the bill, which would accelerate medical advancements by easing existing restrictions and supporting research that uses embryonic stem cells, while maintaining strict ethical guidelines.

“This is a memorable day for Americans with diabetes and other debilitating diseases, and we thank the bipartisan group of Senators who voted to allow scientists to pursue the most promising avenue to find a cure and better treatments for diabetes. Unfortunately, today’s sense of hope will be shattered for the 20.8 million American children and adults with diabetes — and those who love and care for them — if President Bush vetoes this legislation.

“A veto — his first ever — would be a devastating setback for Americans who are affected by diabetes and other debilitating diseases. The President has a responsibility to the 70% of Americans who support embryonic stem cell research. This is a historic opportunity to advance scientific research and it shouldn’t be squandered,” Smith said.

I feel sorry for Mr. Smith and his daughter. Diabetes is no picnic —“ I know first hand. Still, is his daughter’s life worth more than another child’s life?

Saints and Martyrs

July 20 – St. Margaret of Antioch (Św. Małgorzata)

Święta Małgorzato, któraś srogiem męczeństwem wysłużyła sobie królestwo niebieskie, uproś nam u Boga, abyśmy w stałości naśladowali cię, wiarę katolicką otwarcie wyznawali, według niej żyli, i kiedyś połączyli się z tobą tam w górze, gdzie nie będzie ani smutku, ani płaczu, ani boleści, lecz radość i szczęśliwość wieczna. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.

Perspective, Political

Where are the Christians?

Pat Buchanan calls the shots in Where are the Christians? An excerpt follows:

When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert unleashed his navy and air force on Lebanon, accusing that tiny nation of an “act of war,” the last pillar of Bush’s Middle East policy collapsed.

…

Let it be said: Israel has a right to defend herself, a right to counter-attack against Hezbollah and Hamas, a right to clean out bases from which Katyusha or Qassam rockets are being fired and a right to occupy land from which attacks are mounted on her people.

But what Israel is doing is imposing deliberate suffering on civilians, collective punishment on innocent people, to force them to do something they are powerless to do: disarm the gunmen among them. Such a policy violates international law and comports neither with our values nor our interests. It is un-American and un-Christian.

But where are the Christians? Why is Pope Benedict virtually alone among Christian leaders to have spoken out against what is being done to Lebanese Christians and Muslims?

When al-Qaida captured two U.S. soldiers and barbarically butchered them, the U.S. Army did not smash power plants across the Sunni Triangle. Why then is Bush not only silent but openly supportive when Israelis do this?

Democrats attack Bush for crimes of which he is not guilty, including Haditha and Abu Ghraib. Why are they, too, silent when Israel pursues a conscious policy of collective punishment of innocent peoples?

Britain’s diplomatic goal in two world wars was to bring the naive cousins in, to “pull their chestnuts out of the fire.” Israel and her paid and pro-bono agents here appear determined to expand the Iraq war into Syria and Iran, and have America fight and finish all of Israel’s enemies.

That Tel Aviv is maneuvering us to fight its wars is understandable. That Americans are ignorant of, or complicit in this, is deplorable.

Already, Bush is ranting about Syria being behind the Hezbollah capture of the Israeli soldiers. But where is the proof?

Who is whispering in his ear? The same people who told him Iraq was maybe months away from an atom bomb, that an invasion would be a “cakewalk,” that he would be Churchill, that U.S. troops would be greeted with candy and flowers, that democracy would break out across the region, that Palestinians and Israelis would then sit down and make peace?

How much must America pay for the education of this man?

For my part too much in blood and bone. Too much in credibility. Too much in values.

Perspective

Oh no —“ Catholic Zionists

The Catholic Neocon Observer notes in A Prayer for Lebanon that:

Catholic bloggers, in addition to their expected reflexive support for Israel, seem now to be saying that the Church has adopted Premillenial Dispensationalism as official doctrine…

For those unfamiliar there’s a great wiki on Dispensationalism. It states in part:

Almost all dispensationalists reject the idea that a lasting peace can be attained by human effort in the Middle East, and believe instead that “wars and rumors of wars” (cf. Matt 24:6) will increase as the end times approach. Dispensationalist beliefs often underlie the religious and political movement of Christian Zionism.

You may also wish to cross reference the wiki on Christian Zionism which begins:

Christian Zionism is the belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy, and is a necessary prerequisite for the return of Jesus to reign on Earth. This belief is commonly, though not exclusively, associated with evangelical Protestants around the world.

…and, I guess, neocon Roman Catholics too.

For my part, the creation of a Jewish state in the Middle East accomplished two things. It somewhat appeased the guilt feeling of the European and American governments who did very little to help the Jews who suffered and were killed under the Nazi German conquests in Europe. It also removed the human reminders of that tragedy from Europe —“ Hey, send them someplace else —“ they make me sad…

I am no advocate for the destruction of Israel. Every person deserves his place in the world. Terrorism is pure evil and no one should be subjected to it. States should do all they can, in keeping with proper doctrine and morals, to stop terrorism.

The fact remains that an earthly Jerusalem is just that —“ earthly. It matters not a bit that it was rebuilt after Rome destroyed it. It matters not a bit that the Zionists chose Palestine rather than Uganda for the Jewish state. When it is safe it is a fine tourist destination. It is not our salvation – that already happened.

We await the appearance of the new and heavenly Jerusalem, the Jerusalem where Christ reigns for eternity. Come Lord Jesus…

Current Events, Perspective

The Iron Boot*

Max Boot, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) published an opinion piece, Let Israel Take Off the Gloves, calling on Israel to ignite the flames of war across the Middle East.

Mr. Boot relies on the over exaggerated capabilities of the Israeli Defense Forces (i.e., the cultural myth that Israel has been victorious in various wars against impossible odds). It isn’t 1967 or 1973 any longer. The U.S. is stretched a little thin and isn’t going to be able to cover Israel’s back. We have North Korea, Kosovo, Iraq, China, our own protection here at home, and many other hot spots to worry about.

His CFR bio notes that Mr. Boot has been called one of “the 500 most influential people in the United States in the field of foreign policy” which is scary.

A much more realistic analysis appears in the UPI. See: U.S., Israel face spreading war.

The UPI states:

No one appears to want a full-scale war between states to break out in the Middle East, with the possible exception of Iran’s firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Well, no, add Mr. Boot to that list.

There are people who want this. Mr. Boot and those like him will be back home armchair quarterbacking the deaths of million —“ including our own sons and daughters, all for the greater glory of themselves.

God save us from the Max Boots of the world.

* Sadly, Mr. Boot probably uses this as his regular moniker and would probably be proud of it.

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