Clear thinking, words, and communication Archives

On Mission!

The word “missionary” usually suggests someone in a foreign land preaching the Gospel to people not familiar with Jesus and his teachings.
    Pope Francis had many challenging reflections about mission in his World Mission Day message, describing for all of us what it means for a person to be “on mission”.
    He quoted the words in Acts 1:8:
    “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
    He said that “This is the central point, the heart of Jesus’ teachings to the disciples, in view of their being sent forth into the world. The disciples are to be witnesses of Jesus; thanks to the grace of the Holy Spirit they will receive. Every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ. And the Church, the community of Christ’s disciples, has no other mission than that of bringing the Gospel to the entire world by bearing witness to Christ. To evangelize is the very identity of the Church…
    “Each baptized person is called to mission, in the Church and by the mandate of the Church: consequently, mission is carried out together, not individually, in communion with the ecclesial community and not on one’s own initiative…
    “In addition, the disciples are urged to live their personal lives in a missionary key: they are sent by Jesus to the world not only to carry out, but also and above all to be witnesses of Christ…
    “In the final analysis, then, the true witness is the martyr, the one who gives his or her life for Christ, reciprocating the gift he has made to us of himself…
    “Indeed, it is precisely when we feel tired, unmotivated, or confused that we should remember to have recourse to the Holy Spirit in prayer.”

   Continuing, he said “Let me emphasize once again that prayer plays a fundamental role in the missionary life, for it allows us to be refreshed and strengthened by the Spirit as the inexhaustible divine source of renewed energy and joy in sharing Christ’s life with others.”
    Amid these inspiring remarks, the Holy Father warned, “Missionaries of Christ are not sent to communicate themselves, to exhibit their persuasive qualities and abilities or their managerial skills. Instead, theirs is the supreme honor of presenting Christ in words and deeds, proclaiming to everyone the Goods News of his salvation as the first apostles did, with joy and boldness.”
    With all due respect, all this is far easier said than done!
    We often stumble and bumble all through our lives, trying and failing, aspiring and forgetting, planning and not achieving, losing sight and getting off course, going so fast that we pass our destination, so afraid of offending others that we forget about offending God.
    in other words, we’re behaving like the weak, limited, and imperfect creatures that we are, not witnessing to all the great and beautiful things we speak of, aspire to, and are commissioned to do!
    The love and mercy of God is far greater than our worst imaginings, flaws, and sins. So, stop worrying and dare to do what you know is right and what is expected of you.
    And, above all, don’t forget the clear and simple advice traditionally attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi:
    “Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words!”

22 October 2023

Translation Involves More Than Words

Translation usually implies the rendering from one language into another of something written or spoken. Fair enough!
   But, something written or spoken centuries ago—in the same language—can mean something entirely different today.
   For example, “varlet” could refer to an attendant; a youth serving as a knight’s page; a scoundrel; or a knave—depending on when and where the word was used.
   Another example: “bitch” could refer to the female of the dog, wolf, fox, etc.; a woman, especially a bad tempered, malicious, or promiscuous woman; a course term of contempt or hostility; anything especially unpleasant or difficult; or a complaint—also depending on when and where the word was used.
   Still another example: “damn” could refer to condemn as guilty; to condemn to an unhappy fate; to condemn to endless punishment; to condemn as bad, inferior, etc. (often used in the imperative as a curse); to criticize adversely; to cause the ruin of or make fail; to swear at by saying “damn”; to express anger, annoyance, disappointment, etc.—also depending on when and where the word was used.
   Reading the Bible has some challenges of this nature also. First, because the translation we are using may have words that used to be in common usage and may sound odd or perplexing to us today.
   Also, because the mentality of the particular author—for the Bible is a collection of writings by many inspired authors over a period of many centuries—may be somewhat foreign to ours or concern matters, places, and people that we do not understand or accept.
   That’s why there is always a need for new translations of the same ancient texts, since the meaning of our words is constantly changing as well as our worldview.

   The understanding of the universe and the world we live in was very different in most Biblical days from the way it is now.
   We face a similar situation when we read, reflect, and pray using the Divine Office (the Breviary). We’re reading Biblical selections and reflections by ancient scholars and saints over a period of more than two thousand years. The meaning of words may have changed and evolved over the centuries as well as rules, regulations, laws, customs, and traditions.
   Some people are somewhat offended by what they consider to be annoying changes in translations and in rules, regulations, laws, customs, and traditions. But, for better or worse, there’s no escaping it. We always face a challenge of translation and adaptation, tiresome though it may be.
   The answer is not to criticize, condemn, and correct all changes but to adopt and understand the best and necessary of them.
   We each continually grow and develop—and so does the world we live in as well as everyone in it.
   It’s not just the Bible and the Breviary that constantly need updating and improved translations and interpretations—it’s everything, everywhere, and everyone.
   It’s okay to get tired of change and be reluctant to constantly modify and update your life—but, it’s not good to become a critic and opponent of all change.
   Each of us transitions from childhood to teenage to young adulthood and beyond—sometimes making mistakes and having regrets as our lives move on.
   Living involves constantly reacting to changes and challenges!

25 June 2023

Either-Or-ers vs. Both-And-ers

What’s an “either-or-er”? The odd title suggests a keen awareness of differences, an inclination to focus on the incompatible aspects of things, perhaps a tendency to be judgmental, a likelihood to position everyone and everything on a scale of individual values.
   What’s a “both-and-er”? This odd title suggests a greater awareness of commonalities, an inclination to focus on the compatible aspects of things, a tendency to be inclusive, a likelihood to position everyone and everything within a pool of similar values.
   Here are a few examples:
   – in medical practice, a highly competent cardiology specialist may know little about infectious diseases and barely recognize them, while maybe a general practitioner would;
   – in baseball, an overall good team player may be more highly valued than an occasional heavy hitter.
   – in politics, a leader of a party who can effectively communicate and collaborate with a leader of another party is often more effective than an esteemed and perhaps popular individual who cannot.
   Historically, sometimes people who are initially more “either-or” may gradually tend to become more “both-and”.
   People initially thought of as primarily one or the other, this or that (i.e., totally different), gradually can come to be seen as having a lot of commonalities, one with the other.
   The opposite is also true: someone at first attracted by commonalties may end up increasingly focused on differences.
   Changing attitudes and understandings can also be seen in religious matters, too. Many religious groups that once had been decidedly divided one from the other and separated are gradually finding common ground.

For example:
   – Judaism originally (in the early Biblical times) was perhaps more unified and less diverse than it is today. But, even so, today, in spite of a wide variety of points of view and religious practices, all their adherents still consider themselves Jewish.
   – Christianity started as a branch of traditional Jewish religion, but after a while both Jews and Christians became more focused on their differences than their commonalities.
   – Christians themselves once had such low tolerance for differences that Christian groups with different practices came to be regarded as separate (and antagonistic) churches that were often denounced by the other. (The modern ecumenical movement is trying gradually to reverse that.)
   In our days, there are three great monotheistic religious groups—Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Each of them worships the one (and necessarily the same) God, in spite of their difference in their holy books, history, and practices.
   Something similar could be observed about other aspects of our modern society. Almost all religious, political, and social groups, in spite of their differences in practices, values, and mutual esteem, tend to share more and more what once were the separate history and values of each.
   Every person has personal dignity, unique values, and can make unique contributions. In spite of all the problems in our modern world, happily we’re gradually, slowly but surely, seeing more both-and-ers (and fewer either-or-ers)!
   At the risk of being a little chauvinistic, don’t forget, “E pluribus unum!”

28 May 2023

Perfection

“Perfect” is an adjective with a wide variety of usages. For example, it can mean,
– conforming absolutely to the description or definition of an ideal type,
– excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement,
– exactly fitting the need in a certain situation or for a certain purpose,
– entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings,
– accurate, exact, or correct in every detail.
   There’s an old joke about two children, one incorrigibly pessimistic and the other incorrigibly optimistic. One Christmas their loving parents tried hard to break them of their habits.
   The parents filled one room with a magnificent Christmas tree, beautifully decorated, surrounded by a huge quantity of gifts. They invited the pessimist to open the door. He did and then burst into tears. “Look at the angel figure atop the tree,” he cried, “it’s crooked!”
   They prepared another room for the optimistic brother. He opened the door, saw nothing but straw and manure all over the floor, and clapped his hands with delight, saying, “Where’s the pony?”
   No human construction, situation, assessment, or communication is 100%, absolutely perfect and beyond improvement. (Remember, we’re not the Creator, only his creations.)
   No matter what we attempt and try to do and achieve, there will always be pessimists who will call attention to our flaws, limitations, or incompleteness. And, conversely, there will always be optimists celebrating our assistance, successes, and achievements.
   God made us, limited creatures that we are, and loves us in our struggle to celebrate and use the gifts he gives us and to overcome our imperfections and failures.

   There are no perfect people—not even among canonized saints! We all have limitations, flaws, and failings. We all make misjudgments and mistakes and “sin”.
   It doesn’t necessarily mean that we are profoundly flawed—only less than perfect.
   If our lives are to be thoroughly examined, measured, and adjudged, there will be, in retrospect, imperfections and regrettable moments—words, deeds, or actions.
   Since we’re limited, a critic can always find grounds for criticism. Generous school teachers to the contrary, we actually never really merit 100%—but, even so, there are huge differences, for instance, among grades of 95% (very, very good), 75% (not too bad), or 50% (seriously needing attention and improvement).
   This doesn’t mean that we should stop striving for perfection, only that we should do so realizing that it is absolutely totally unattainable.
   It also means, though, that we should stop wallowing in our inevitable failures or bewailing our imperfections. It’s okay to dream the impossible dream, but only if we don’t forget that it’s the impossible dream! (No 100%!)
   It’s also okay—and appropriate—to be realistic about our successes and failures, for we necessarily have both.
   If you’re inclined to be overly pessimistic about your life, remember that total perfection is impossible for you—but, also, with the help of God you can do, and probably have done, many good and wonderful things for many others.
   If you’re inclined to be overly optimistic, remember that only by God’s grace have you achieved all that you have achieved!

26 February 2023

Distilling Truth

Distilling is the process of vaporizing and subsequently condensing a liguid for the purpose of purifying (or concentrating) it. Distilling is commonly associated with the preparation of alcoholic beverages.
   However, the word can also be used to refer to extracting the essential elements of anything or, conversely, to purifying or concentrating that thing.
   In this broad sense, distilling can be used to describe a process of writing an accurate and meaningful book of history or of giving an accurate and meaningful summary of processes of scientific experimentation.
   It’s a necessary process in many situations, so that the essential and primary that the writer or speaker wishes to communicate isn’t lost in a sea of detail.
   In one sense or another, distilling is important, useful, or even necessary.
   An important area where distilling is necessary—besides for the production of a good whiskey—is in interpreting the meaning and purposes of the statements, actions, or behaviors of others both previously or currently.
   This could relate to anything from cases being adjudged in a court of law to the teachings of a professor in a university or even the preaching of the Gospel in a church on Sunday.
   This also could relate to the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court or the teachings of the Church.
   When Pope John XXIII announced the calling of an Ecumenical Council, known to us as Vatican II, he used a metaphor of cleansing of a work of art. He said the Church is like a famous and beautiful painting that has become obscured and darkened over the centuries and which needs to be carefully and delicately restored to its original beauty.
   In a way, that’s a sort of process of distilling, too.

   The cleansing of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was another challenging experience. It revealed that a lot of relatively darker colors were originally not like that at all—they were just right colors covered with the grime of centuries.
   In a sense, you could almost call that a distilling process, too, since it involved removing the accumulated unessential and unoriginal things from the chapel ceiling while leaving the original work of the artist.
   When it comes to the teachings of the Church and the practices of the faith, the need for a process of cleansing and restoring, of removing the acquired and obscuring non-essential elements, of distilling is always vitally necessary!
When we study the books of the Bible, we realize that a similar process was going on. Often later books emphasized and elaborated some teachings that were deemed essential, while ignoring or paying slight attention to others in earlier books that were very important to their writer.
   As the centuries pass and our scholarship develops we are, so to speak, distilling the essential elements of our faith and our understanding of the actions of God.
   And, and this is the most challenging aspect of our faith and religious practices, the “distilling” process never ends.
   It’s okay to enjoy a beverage, even though another version of it may be better distilled—i.e., stronger and with fewer unessential (and distracting) elements.
   Distillation, renovation, growth, discernment, or any process of positive development is a striving to get to the essential and not be distracted by the unessential.

29 January 2023

Fumbling and Bumbling

Fumbling and bumbling is probably an accurate description of the course of most of our lives. [It is an accurate description of mine—or at least of these first 90 years of it! But, I am making progress!]
   Fumbling and bumbling is not necessarily bad!
   After all, we learn by doing. You don’t learn how to keep your balance without falling down. You don’t learn how to do the right thing without doing the wrong thing—i.e., making mistakes.
   If you think making a mistake is something bad or to be avoided at all cost, you’re making a mistake about the role of mistakes. Frequently, almost usually, we don’t learn the importance and value of the right thing—as well as how to do it—until we have experienced the wrong!
   Think of a baby learning how to walk. It takes a lot of falling down to learn how to keep your balance, stand, and walk.
   Think of using seasoning at a meal. A little, the right amount, enhances the taste of the food. But, too much can do just the opposite!
   If you keep making the same mistake, again and again, you’re really not learning from your mistakes. At worst, you’re just becoming comfortable and used to them—so much so that after a while you begin to forget that they are mistakes in the first place!
   It’s your prerogative to crawl forever, but you’re missing out on dancing, not to mention really easily getting around!
   No one ever claims that it is a sin to crawl and not walk, but, oh, the so many mistakes and kinds of mistakes that get that label, that branding.
   We learn by our mistakes—which, paradoxically, implies that we learn by our “sins,” our mistakes that are classified as against the will of God, as shameful, as deep personal failings, as evil!

   “Sin” is a special category of mistake, and it usually implies a kind of habitual mistake, the kind that we make so often that we forget that our progress, our growth and development, our holiness are becoming impeded!
   It’s better not to teach a little child to do the right thing by bawling out, rebuking, mocking, condemning, and punishing. The preferred methodology is to assist, reward, encourage, explain, and teach.
   I think it’s safe to presume that God knows the most effective methods for helping us to grow and develop according to our built-in design.
   Alas, unfortunately often some of our religious teachings, counsels, and judgements don’t quite live up to God’s standards and practice.
   God’s way may seem baffling to us at times—e.g., telling a crucified, condemned criminal, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
   God’s approach to judgement seems to be learn by doing. God doesn’t condemn us for our every mistake, only for not learning from our mistakes and falling into the habit of repeating them.
   Does this mean that anything goes? That we never take responsibility for our mistakes? That there’s no such thing as sin?
   Of course not! But there’s a subtle difference between a mistake and a sin. The way God made us, we’re all fumblers and bumblers—we are all limited creatures only gradually learning from our mistakes.
   God isn’t condemning us for our every mistake, for we can’t learn and grow without them. It’s who and what we are today that counts. We all regret our many yesterdays!

27 November 2022

Symbols

A symbol is something that represents or stands for something else. For example, the Star of David is a symbol of Judaism and the cross is a symbol of Christianity.
   Every culture has its own symbols and its own customs regarding how its symbols are to be respected and understood.
   If we salute our national flag and treat it with great care, respect, and reverence, it’s not for the flag itself but for the nation and its values that it represents.
   Symbols are important “ingredients” of the Jewish Passover seder, a ritual meal recalling the loving care of God for his people. Special foods are served that are symbolic reminders of events of Jewish history.
   Jesus’ last supper was a seder. According to Luke 22:14-20:
When the hour came, he took his place at table with the apostles. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it again until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
   Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I tell you that from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”
   Jesus introduced two new symbols at this last Passover meal with his disciples.
   At the beginning he broke the blessed bread and distributed it to the apostles saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”
   At the end with the final cup of wine he said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”

   Writing to the Corinthians some years later, the apostle Paul said (1 Cor 11:23-26):
   For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
   As the centuries passed and as Christian customs developed and became traditional, these two symbols became the core of the Christian Passover ritual, better known as the Mass or the Eucharist.
   Over the centuries some great saints have reflected deeply about the nature of these symbols and what they symbolize.
   The important thing, of course, is not so much to study and celebrate the symbol itself but what it symbolizes—that’s why we give the care, respect, and reverence to the symbol that belong to what it represents.
   Eating together the broken bread and drinking together the wine is to reaffirm the new covenant and our shared allegiance to it and to proclaim and celebrate the salvific nature of Jesus’ death on the cross.
   The broken bread reminds us that the broken body of Jesus was a sacrificial offering for all of us. The wine reminds us that Jesus’ blood shed on the cross sealed the new covenant.
   Mass is a time for thankful remembrance and for renewing faithful commitments.

20 November 2022

Testing for Orthodoxy

With two, going on three, years of living with Covid, we’ve all become accustomed to certain dangers and also protective measures—and testing procedures and kits.
   Besides concern for physical health and well-being, how about spiritual? Is there any way we can test ourselves about our religious belief and practice? Is it good? Is it right? Is it Orthodox? Is it in accordance with the will of God?
   Especially with the kind of polarization that seems to afflict modern thought, including politics and religion, it gets harder and harder to get things right.
   Is there a simple, easy, and reliable test we can use?
   Believe it or not, St. Vincent of Lérins, a Gallic monk, who lived about 1,800 years ago in what we now call France, proposed a simple and easy test for healthy faith:
   Believe that which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.
   In other words, test for universality, antiquity, and consent. He identified this as being truly and properly “Catholic” (meaning “universal”).
   He explained, “We shall follow
   -universality if we acknowledge that one Faith to be true which the whole Church throughout the world confesses;
   -antiquity if we in no way depart from those interpretations which it is clear that our ancestors and fathers proclaimed;
   -consent, if in antiquity itself we keep following the definitions and opinions of all, or certainly nearly all, bishops and doctors alike.
   Is this an iron-clad, absolutely effective, always faultless test? Of course not! No human devising ever can be—but it’s pretty accurate and a useful tool for self-examination.
   Remember, St. Vincent of Lérins also wrote strikingly about the difference between development and alteration:

   Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest scale.
   Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another.
   The understanding, knowledge, and wisdom of one and all, of individuals as well as of the whole Church, ought then to make great and vigorous progress with the passing of the ages and the centuries, but only along its own line of development, that is, with the same doctrine, the same meaning, and the same impact.
   Vincent compared this kind of development with that of the body: Though bodies develop and unfold their component parts with the passing of the years, they always remain what they were.
   If you sometimes feel uncomfortable with certain changes and developments in the Church, which you may consider to be too “newfangled” to be trusted, it may be of some consolation to realize that change and development have always been part of the life of the church—and part of the growth of the church.
   St. Vincent was trying his best to assure his monastic brothers and others who read his writings that all is well.
   Growth, development, and new insights and understandings can be very valuable, healthy, progressive—and vice-versa! Sorting out the differences is a pretty tricky business.
   It’s reassuring to realize that this is not a new or exclusively recent phenomenon. St. Vincent was trying to clarify a similar situation centuries ago. His test is still good!

13 November 2022

You Think You’re Thinking?

Think is a general word meaning to exercise the mental facilities so as to form ideas, arrive at conclusions, etc. The dictionary gives a lot of meanings for the word. Here’s a few:
   1. to use the mind for arriving at conclusions, making decisions, drawing inferences, etc.; reflect; reason. 2. to weigh something mentally; reflect. 3. to call to mind; recall; remember. 4. to have an opinion, judgement, etc. 5. to determine, resolve, work out, etc. by reasoning.
   You know what happens sometimes? We think we’re thinking, but we’re really not thinking at all. Frequently we may simply be:
   Parroting – mechanically repeating the words or acts of others, frequently without full understanding, or:
   Quoting – reproducing or repeating a passage of or statement of another.
   You’d think that being well educated would mean being an effective and critically thinking person, but, alas, that’s not always the case.
   Beware of confusing liking with thinking. Just because we’re fond of something, or prefer something, or used to something, or belong to something isn’t the same as reflecting on, reasoning about, working out, and critically deciding about something.
   And, it’s not just about things; it’s also about others. For example, we may prefer the company of and trust someone who may not be so good for us, nor so good as we may imagine.
   When we were very young, we learned to accept, repeat, and obey what we were told by adults. But, as we matured and were educated, hopefully we learned to think critically about what we were told by or learned from others.
   Others includes, for example, family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, even doctors, lawyers, officials, newscasters, preachers, teachers, and authors.

   When you read, hear, and/or view the daily news, think! When you listen to “experts”, think! When your doctor prescribes for you, think! When someone gives you financial advice, think! When you’re shopping, think. When, you’re betting, think! When you’re proposing, think! When you’re listening to a sermon in church, think! When you’re reading a book, even the Bible, think!
   No parroting or quoting. No “deference to authority”. No blind obedience. No unreflective decision making. No being swayed by desires, hopes, and fears. Mature adult people think!
   It doesn’t mean that you always get it right. You can think you’re thinking something through completely and adequately, but you may be wrong. The solution: rethink!
   There are some things that no amount of thinking can resolve or fully understand, but which still require making decisions and choices. That’s okay.
   There is a role for trusting the judgement and insight of another, especially an older, wiser, more experienced other. There are times where choices are required in situations where you can’t think it out alone.
   You know an important area where this is the case? Religion, especially belief, faith, and trust. It’s not inappropriate to act on faith and trust, if you have thought things out to the limits of your ability and experience—but it may be inappropriate if you first didn’t bother to think things out as best you could.
   God gave us eyes, ears, and a brain to think with and intervenes in our lives more than we fully realized or thought!
   Think about that!

16 October 2022

Male – Female

Male: a person bearing an X and Y chromosome pair in the cell nuclei and normally having a penis, scrotum, and testicles, and developing hair on the face at adolescence; a boy or man.

Female: a person bearing two X chromosomes in the cell nuclei and normally having a vagina, uterus, and ovaries, and developing at puberty a relatively rounded body and enlarged breasts, and retaining a beardless face; a girl or woman.

These biological definitions are the fundamental meaning of the two words—and, based on these definitions, it’s hard to imagine changing from one to another.

Masculine: having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, such as strength and boldness.

Feminine: having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, such as sensitivity and gentleness.

    These behavioral definitions are not so clear and fixed as the biological—there are men with some “feminine” qualities and women with some “masculine” qualities.
    Remember when you were just a child? In my time (long ago!), if you fell, hurt yourself, and began to cry, usually it was your mother who held and consoled you. Dads usually didn’t do that sort of thing.
    If you wanted to use hammers and nails and other tools, usually it was your father who showed you. Moms usually didn’t do that sort of thing.
    Gentleness was considered feminine behavior and toughness, male behavior.
    Girls could play “house’” and have dolls, but not boys. Boys could have bats and balls to play with, but, traditionally, girls didn’t.

    In those days, a girl who had behaviors associated with boys was called a “tomboy”; a boy who had behaviors associated with girls was called a “fairy”.
    Now we have a far more varied and elaborate vocabulary to describe sexual behaviors and identities.
    It’s like shopping in a paint store. You may want blue paint, but you still need to choose what shade of blue you want from a color chart with far more possibilities than you may have expected.
    There are far more possibilities on the “Male – Female” chart or range, too, and some of the labels or names we use for them are pejorative and some are not.
    The behaviors associated with “man” or “woman” can vary from culture to culture, ethnic group to ethnic group, country to country, and age to age.
    In spite of biological, behavioral, and historical, and other differences, it’s clear that we are all human beings. It’s also clear that we may have different sexual identities, relationships, behaviors and moralities.
    Once, being questioned about divorce, Jesus said, “…Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’…” (Mathew 19:4)
    This was a reference to biological difference, not behavior, in answer to a provocative question about the Mosaic law, about husbands divorcing their wives.
    Years ago, the Heinz company had a popular advertising slogan on its ketchup bottle about its “57 varieties”.
    I don’t know if human beings are that diverse, but we’re all God’s children and, in spite of differences, belong to that one and the same variety!

28 August 2022