Comments on Creative Minority Report: The Eucharist as Metaphor

"Next time you decide to respond to a lecture on t...

2009-11-20T13:46:17.820-05:00

"Next time you decide to respond to a lecture on the internet, may I suggest you put a little more effort into reporting what the speaker actually said, and show a little more humility regarding your grasp of Catholic teaching."

Dear Dr. Gaillardetz,

No one, these days, should be naive enough to think the media is capable of reporting religion in an accurate manner. The mainstream media is preoccupied, for the most part, with dissenters who merely tickle the ears of like minded bigots and CINOs.

An authentic theologian assumes the responsibility to pray for enlightenment by the Holy Spirit and communicate the Faith with the veracity it deserves. It appears from the sources I examined online that you have repeatedly made the claim that you have been cheated or wrongly accused by those who take your words out of context. That claim is a tired excuse. There appears, on your part, to be a consistent attempt to selectively cite doctrine in order to bolster your, how does one say, loose play with ideas. Then, when challenged, you appear to dodge behind the claim that you have been misrepresented.

A reminder to philosophers and theologians: the quest for truth is not an opportunity for self aggrandizement. If the quest be genuine, it does not profit from the distraction caused by vanity.

The bat you used on Mr. Archbold might be better put to use on dissent from Church teaching, dissent which the easily offended have not-so-cleverly disguised nor deflected with fake outrage for having been taken to task.

Respectfully,
W. Anderson

but the point is that Christian salvation is about...

2009-11-20T10:51:00.232-05:00

but the point is that Christian salvation is about more than saving souls; it is also a matter of the redemption of creation itself.

To some extent, but you have to be very careful with the phrasing of such sentiments. Redemption of creation comes from God, not human efforts. True, we are to be good stewards of creation, but I don't see how we are to "redeem" it. We can't - it is simply theologically impossible for man to redeem creation as man is part of creation - that would be creation redeeming itself, and then no need for God.

As for Christian salvation being more than just about saving souls, well, saving souls is the primary and overriding concern of Christian salvation. True, we are to do good works to glorify God, but what does it profit a man to gain the world (or "save" it) and lose his soul in the process?

Hmmm. The good professor should have quit while he...

2009-11-19T20:57:56.009-05:00

Hmmm. The good professor should have quit while he was ahead.

While abortion and the Eucharist are two separate ...

2009-11-19T18:28:41.679-05:00

While abortion and the Eucharist are two separate issues entirely (yes, really...they are), I for one would be far more comfortable getting my Catholic theology from a professor which upheald ALL the church's teachings on moral issues. I'm not saying this professor's views on the Eucharist are or are not contrary to church teachings. But I just prefer not to take that chance.

Isn't it funny that the more basic and seriously i...

2009-11-19T17:59:51.213-05:00

Isn't it funny that the more basic and seriously important, the more resoundingly clear in the Bible?

If you wish to check out some issues that Professo...

2009-11-19T17:42:24.977-05:00

If you wish to check out some issues that Professor Gaillardetz appears to have with the Church's moral teaching on abortion, one place to start would be: http://proecclesia.blogspot.com/2008/10/bishop-blair-responds-to-gaillardetz.html.

And yes, it also appears that the Professor was a supporter of He-Who-Was-A-God-In-November-2008. Since HWWAGIN2008's status as a deity has plunged below fifty percent this November, I am not sure just whom Professor G. finds amendable to his fluid interpretations of morality.

Isn't this the same "theologian" who was on Barack...

2009-11-19T15:20:16.706-05:00

Isn't this the same "theologian" who was on Barack Obama's Catholic Advisory council? Didn't he call Obama the "real pro-life candidate" during the election?

Nothing this guy says would surprise me.

Folks, Dr. Gaillardetz is not the most orthodox na...

2009-11-19T15:19:27.636-05:00

Folks, Dr. Gaillardetz is not the most orthodox nail in the bag...

http://www.socon.ca/or_bust/?p=2984

At the very least, from the newspaper accounts, th...

2009-11-19T14:46:46.377-05:00

At the very least, from the newspaper accounts, the Dr's points seem to emphasize secondary aspects of the Eucharist at the expense of the primary - that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Gaillardetz, is there a place where the full t...

2009-11-19T14:31:23.833-05:00

Dr. Gaillardetz, is there a place where the full text of your speech is available? I wonder if Matthew would be willing read it and provide his comments on it rather than the article's recap?

I reported on what was reported in the newspaper c...

2009-11-19T13:32:00.838-05:00

I reported on what was reported in the newspaper covering the event.

I do apologize for saying that your metaphor "excluded" the Real Presence because certainly that's not true. And I've amended that aspect in the story.

What I intended to say was I believe there's a danger to focusing solely on the metaphorical aspects of the Eucharist.

However, are you saying that you didn't say Christianity was "a step in the right direction?" If you didn't say that, then your beef on that point seems to be with the newspaper which reported that's what you said.

Wow! This may be the most incredible misrepresenta...

2009-11-19T13:05:18.107-05:00

Wow! This may be the most incredible misrepresentation of a lecture that I have ever encountered! I gave my lecture last night from a written text and I just re-read it. Not once did I suggest that the Eucharist was a metaphor. In fact the word does not even appear in my text. Moreover, it is incredibly irresponsible of you to attribute to me a denial of the doctrine of eucharistic real presence. You might wish to educate yourself on Catholic teaching on the Eucharist. You would then discover that it does not begin and end with real presence and that just because somebody chooses to focus on another aspect of eucharistic doctrine, it does not mean that they are denying the real presence. No where in my lecture did I even hint at such a position. The topic of my lecture was on the connection between the Eucharist and ethical action. It is, in fact, a favorite topic of our present pope, as would be evident to you if you read Deus caritas est (see # 14). The connection between the eucharist and care for the poor is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1397. The connection between the eucharist and the work for peace is found in the Vatican's official Compendium on Catholic Social Doctrine, # 519. The connection between the eucharist and Catholic social action is found in the Compendium, # 539. You have also egregiously misquoted me in my answer to David Yonke's question about the subtitle of my lecture. My answer to him, which I have on tape, is not even close to what you reported (your use of quotation marks, suggesting a direct quotation, makes it all the more irresponsible). In response to the question about the Eucharist "healing the world" what I actually said was: "obviously I was taking poetic license in the wording of my sub-title, but the point is that Christian salvation is about more than saving souls; it is also a matter of the redemption of creation itself." Next time you decide to respond to a lecture on the internet, may I suggest you put a little more effort into reporting what the speaker actually said, and show a little more humility regarding your grasp of Catholic teaching. Bloggers are not exempt from basic journalistic ethics!

Well said!!And I always think of this verse when p...

2009-11-19T12:25:19.989-05:00

Well said!!And I always think of this verse when people say the Eucharist is a mere metaphor.

"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord" -1 Corintians 11:27

How can someone be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, if it isn't really his body and blood?