Futurelawyer

Gods And Men - The Next Time Someone Tells You Religion Holds All The Answers.

What do you worship? Why?

The Best Argument For The Existence Of God.

I have no patience with men who pretend to know what God is thinking or saying. It has always seemed to me that another human cannot "know" what a spiritual being says or wants. Priests, Popes, Nuns, or anyone else who dresses up in a certain type of clothing in order to appear wise and knowing, are all pretending. They don't know anything more than the rest of us. But, that doesn't mean that there isn't a Prime Mover, call it God or whatever, doesn't exist. Rationally, a human being must be agnostic, and admit that religion is merely a way for some humans to exercise control. As for the existence of an Almighty God, that is more likely than not. No matter how scientific knowledge advances; nor, how far it advances, there is always the problem espoused by Isaac Newton:

If We Meet No Gods, It Is Because We Harbor None.

This simple statement by Emerson highlights the limits of our knowledge and understanding. We decide what we will see in the world. If we have goodness and divinity within ourselves, we will see it in others and in the universe outside ourselves. We are in control of the vision of Godliness. This may be a subjective view of divinity; but, it is the only one that we can empirically prove. If I sound like a doubting Thomas, it is because I believe in rational discourse. I respect and honor Faith. But, in the end, Faith is just that, and we forget that humble men and women have no direct line to the divine. We are passengers on that ship. "If we meet no gods, it is because we harbor none".

Does God Care Whether We Pray In Latin?

Pope Francis Bans Old Latin Mass. The older I get, the more I realize that neither ordination nor being a Pope means that you can tell other human beings whether and how to believe in, or pray to, whatever God you imagine. In fact, human based organizations, like the Catholic Church, or any other Church group, for that matter, really have some stones to try and tell the rest of us what to do, or what to say, or how to pray, or whether to pray. So, forgive me if I say to Pope Francis, I will pray in Latin if I choose to do so. Maybe I am just getting contrary as I grow older; but, while I respect the rights of others to believe whatever they choose to believe, I certainly have no desire to set out rules for their lives, short of protection of all humans from violence or abuse. Laudate Dominum and Dominus Vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo.

 

Easter Sunday

Bok Tower Gardens. For Christians, this holiday commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Regardless of whether you are a believer, the history and the human connections is worth studying and remembering. For the non believer, this is still a happy holiday, filled with rabbits, Easter eggs and the celebration of Spring. We are on the earth such a short time. We honor all beliefs, recognizing that no human really knows anything; especially about the future. I will spend the day with my bride having a picnic in one of the most beautiful spots I know.

Holy Wednesday And The Bargain Of Judas.

The Bargain Of Judas. In the Christian tradition, today, Holy Wednesday, marks the Bargain of Judas, or the contract that betrayed Jesus, made between Judas and the Chief Priests. As a lawyer, I have always been fascinated by this part of the story, grounded, as it is, in a bilateral contract between two actors. The consideration, we are told, was 30 pieces of silver ( a tidy sum in those days), in exchange for information as to the location of Jesus and the time he would be there. Like a modern day police informant, Judas was paid for information. Unlike a civil contract, there is no enforcement mechanism in the law for breach; but, I suspect that Judas would pay a severe penalty for lying to the priests. Regardless of whether you are a believer, the remainder of this week is the stuff of history, and the stories themselves are fascinating. All of human greed, emotion, passion, love, hatred, and the full range of what it means to be human are found in the history. Each day has its own special story. Have a Happy Easter.

The End Of A Liberal Arts Education System

A recent tweet by friend, Michael Wade, of Execupundit fame, called my attention to a University planning to phase out History and Philosophy and Religion from the curriculum. New suggested programs include Sports and Recreation Managment, and Performing and Cinematic Arts. They also want to add Law, which is my profession; but, I have a hard time believing I could have become an effective lawyer without a background in Philosophy, History and Comparative Religions. It could be a blessing that sending a kid across the country to a private University becomes the exception and not the rule; and, if this is what Universities are teaching, along with how to avoid inconvenient or disagreeable speech on campus, I applaud the coming education apocalypse. Add Missouri Western to the list of colleges I wouldn't pay a dime to educate my kids. Jeez.

What Was Found In Christ's Empty Tomb?

What Was Found in Christ%u2019s Empty Tomb?. On this Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the Risen Christ. A human being who dies, and then rises, challenges everything we think we know about science and physics and the world in which we live. Some believe the Shroud of Turin is a medieval forgery; but, the science of the carbon dating is questionable. The science surrounding the Shroud, however, is, in the opinion of many scientists, incontrovertible. Read the science, and then decide if you believe. But, even if you don't, wouldn't it be a great thing if more people in our violent, insane society, believed in love and redemption? Just sayin'.

#TBT - Questions And Answers

The next time that someone tells you something that you are not allowed to question, whether scientist, cleric, or anyone else, remember this Richard Feynman quote. Feynman recognized that nothing is absolute, and we don't really "know" anything. This is the ultimate statement of his science and his physics; but, it applies to every human endeavor. As lawyers, we are trained to know that. 

"I would rather have questions with no answers, than answers which cannot be questioned."

What's Next? Selling Naming Rights For The Vatican?

Vatican Rents Out Sistine Chapel to Porsche For Corporate Event - First Time in 600-year History. Are you kidding me? I am all for the liberalization of the Church's attitudes and rules about marriage and other man-made restrictions on Catholics. I draw the line, however, at renting the Sistine Chapel to Porsche. Now that I think about it, however, the new Diocesan Cathedral here in town would make a great car dealership. The dealership couldn't be open on Sunday; but, the rest of the week I never see anybody in there anyway. We could move all the cars to the parking lot, and have a drive in Mass. I can see the signs now: "A car deal made in heaven!" Or, "These cars are what God would drive!" While we are at it, let's get the priests and nuns out selling cars. They don't make very much money, and they could add to the retirement fund. Jeez.