While sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office this past Friday, The View came on tv. I was less than thrilled, as outspoken ultra-liberal feminist elite celebs chattering about whatever they feel like is rarely enriching, but I determined to simply ignore them until it was my turn and I could leave the tv behind. This proved impossible, as the first thing the women discussed was this article in L'Osservatore Romano, in which a Vatican reporter asserts that the invention that liberated women the most was the washing machine.
Surprise: The ladies on The View disagree! They didn't even bother to consider a serious explanation for that suggestion; they instead referred to the fact that we do not have female priests, and expressed surprise that Rome would let a woman even write an article for the paper! Their chosen objects that most liberated women were, of course, the birth control pill, followed possibly by the vibrator. Ugh.
But as the day went on, I realized that what bothered me most was not their immediate rejection of the Mother I hold dear, nor their dumb opinions, but the outrageous difference between their philosophical underpinnings and my own - and the fact that I had no idea how to even begin to cross that barrier! Admittedly, such differences can only be met individually, and when both parties are invested in finding common ground, but where to begin even so? I found myself constantly coming back to think about it, getting nowhere and stopping in frustration.
I know the Church has shown me the Truth (and the truth, for that matter). And I know this is in large part rationally defensible. But ask me to justify that to absolutely anyone and I freeze up. I can't do it.
Even in school, I was never satisfied with any of the rational proofs for God that we learned. They all just seemed to be lacking somehow.
Perhaps those of you who've spent significant amounts of time with nonbelievers while at the same time living your life unreservedly for Christ can shed some light on this for me. How can I justify my faith and my perspectives without going for the dumb old, It feels right for me or this is my path or other such nonsense?
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Perhaps one would focus on how they feel such and such has liberated them ex: it allows them freedom, etc. and then tie it into whatever, such as the washing machine, which, also allowed freedom, but perhaps not in a way that is in the forefront (or anywhere at all) of their minds. Focusing on the emotion they get out of the outcome always brings some common ground.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm misreading this, but it seems like you're trying to define yourself based on a bunch of whiny liberal feminists. This seems like an insult to your humanity and your dignity. As sports analysts love to say, "it is what it is." One of the key ways that we justify our faith is by our actions. More theoretically, I'd encourage you to think through a lot of the things that you've learned and find ways to discuss your faith in "non-Christianese." Personally, I've spent a significant amount of time over the last few years thinking about how to talk about and explain terms like salvation and redemption. It is a difficult thing to do, but it is well worth doing.
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