Friday, July 03, 2009

My thoughts on the culture, esp. the 60s

There was a conversation on the 60s on Maclin Horton's Blog recently. I have found it almost impossible to express the dark side of this cultural event to my children, and to explain why I react so strongly to the apparently fascination they have for this music and culture.  I look back on it as a very dark time in which Satan gained a lot of ground in our culture and destroyed, literally, a lot of lives. The list of those destroyed is large. Almost every major band was affected. Here's my partial list of individuals and groups affected.

Beatles--John Lennon, Brian Epstein
Stones--Brian Jones
Who--Keith Moon
Jimi Hendrix
Doors--Jim Morrison
Janis Joplin

Then there were those deeply wounded, but not yet destroyed.
Led Zepplin
David Crosby
John Phillips (and McKenzie by extension)
Pete Townsend
Gracie Slick 

The myth is that Woodstock is the good festival and Altimont the bad--that is simply a myth. They were both steeped in the evils of rebellion.  

Wow.  Why would I want this culture to have any influence on my children?

Interestingly, it is reading Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra that has made me more aware of the spiritual warfare that underlies our contemporary culture.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

The Shelf

I now have a bookshelf in my bedroom (my "office") that contains the most influential books in my theological work.  It contains several copies of the bible both in the original languages and in various translation, the Summa in Latin, and the Lord of the Rings.  The reason why the third, I really doubt I would be in theology at all, and perhaps wouldn't be a believer if the LotR had not allowed me to rethink the practical materialism of my youth.  Although I was a believer, I thought like a Cartesian, and therefore my understanding of the cosmos was materialistic.  I was intellectually very scientific and rationalistic, and therefore subject to the caprice of my emotions, much like Walker Percy describes American culture in Lost in the Cosmos.  LotR changed all that.  I realized the spiritual potential of matter in his imaginative work. I'm pretty sure some kind of apprehension of the reality of spirit and its connection to the material universe is necessary for a robust Christianity. 

My de Lubac collection takes up a large part of the next shelf down.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

My books

I just moved all my books home.  Now I have the Summa and my de Lubac at my fingertips in my new "office" in my bedroom.

Plus, we have thousands of other books to figure out what to do with.  

I find it hard to say "No one will ever read this one again."

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

As of tomorrow, July 1, I am among the 10% of this country that is unemployed.  I am going to continue to seek an academic appointment, but in the mean time and looking for either occasional work or full time position.

I would be interested in any teaching, writing, editing, speaking or administrative opportunities in the following areas:
  • Family life
  • Lay spirituality
  • Catholic Education (liberal education, higher education, homeschooling)
  • Dogmatic theology
  • Moral theology (life issues, sexuality, social teachings)
  • Latin, philosophy, religion, or literature
I am available for online presentations as well as in person.

To contact me, e-mail profgotcher[at]yahoo.com.