Proof of the Trinity is in the mythology

A proof for God that I have mulled over in my head for a few years now is the reality of ancient mythologies and the polytheism that wedded together the people of primitive times.

Consider this...

From the very beginning of human history, for as far back and as detailed as we can get, people have been sensing 'gods' - that there is something more than what meets the human eye. With no prompting from established religions, from no cultural norms, from no real divine inspiration, people were sensing that that there must be gods at work here, and created their magnificent mythologies that still enthrall us to this day.

Mythology, magic, wizardry, spirits, pantheism, energies...they all point to the most basic human reality that we were made to be attuned to, interact with and connected to things higher and greater than ourselves. The ancients manifested that reality through their myths and practices, we, as Christians, have come to know this as The Trinity.

I believe that we are truly impoverished in our scientific, technological, post-modern industrialized world because there are so much subtle muting and pronounced distractions that hinder us from being as richly insightful as our prehistoric and ancient brothers and sisters.

Whenever we turn to the technology or science or industry or popularized culture to find meaning and answers, then we are truly worse off than the cavemen.

We cant say that what they believed was just as good as the Trinity, but we can say that they, in their limited resources and the void of Sacred Scripture and Divine Revelation, did a pretty good job at probing at the Truth.

I know this isn't one of the great proofs for the existence of God you may find in Anselm or Aquinas, but for a guy who appreciates and loves the beauty of the story and the pursuit for Truth, this is proof enough for me. Everything else is grace!

Let this Trinity Sunday prompt us to consider how we can make God as central and natural in our lives as the early polytheists and pagans wonderfully did. As they found fullness and completion in their mythologies and gods, let us do the same with our God, the Holy Trinity.

Did they awake a giant?

Yesterday, a large array of plaintiffs filed 12 lawsuits in federal court to challenge the constitutionality of the now infamous HHS mandate. I am very proud of my bishop for standing up and defending the church. He has been given an unfair reputation by many for their misunderstanding of his take on liturgical translation, but I would be hard pressed to find many men as passionate as he is in defending the church.

There has been a lot of commentary on the significance of this movement of our bishops and the church at large in not going silently into the night on this issue.

One thing I have read a lot is the idea that the Obama administration has awakened a giant; that the Obama administration has underestimated the Catholic Church and Her response.

I wrestle with whether or not this is the case...

I find it very hard to believe that anyone involved with drafting this legislation overlooked the fact that it was going to settle like oil and vinegar with the church. With the intensity of the debate over contraception and abortion over the past few decades, it is impossible to think that the administration was blindsided by this.

Secondly, I don't think there is any person who can honestly say that the administration is a friend to traditional, orthodox, sound, family - centered Catholicism. At most you can site placated rhetoric at campaign events or intense news conferences or speeches, but there has been nothing to suggest otherwise. To think that any legislation was crafted to uphold a biblical view of humanity is just naive.

The art of war involves two essential elements: a strategy and an assurance of victory. I believe both are at play in this latest drama of American politics.  What better way to win sympathy...and votes... if you're viewed as the underdog - the victim! I don't know what news outlet you watch, but everything I see presents the church as old-white men in dresses who want to oppress women and harbor pedophiles. Whereas the federal government is shown as a bullied kid with a scraped knee who's crying for his mom to protect him from the aggressive church. The more this image is played out, the more they can play on the emotions of uninformed individuals and thus (in their thinking) win!

I really think they foresaw this and knew it was going to be met with opposition. They most likely foresaw lawsuits, but are relying on the hopes of the cases falling on the desks of the many liberal judges throughout this land. I am awfully sure they had no intention to uphold the dignity of the human person, but indulge the appetite in this culture for licentious promiscuity and 'freedom from God'.

I don't think it wise to adopt a Catholic maverick mentality of "we outsmarted the administration". I think we need to remain faithful, prayerful and dedicated to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ if we truly want to transform the culture and the government.

Next post, I want to talk a little about the culture that is wanting to be created by those in opposition to the church.