Eye on Faith

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Dear Albert: Einstein to us

Young Albert (Public Domain)

The man whom the world knew as an absolute genius turned out to be just another fool in love.

Thus spaketh Alan Alda in his recent play Dear Albert, “a reading of the letters written by Einstein to his wives and other women… ”

Although Einstein’s scientific quest was to pare down (up?) the cosmos to its lowest (highest?) common denominator, his personal life can best be described as “chaotic.”

As a young man, Albert exchanged love letters with his then-wife, “the brilliant and determined” Mileva Maric. Passionate terms of endearment were interspersed with “scientific discussions” and “mathematical equations” throughout this correspondence.

Love (alas) turned to laundry, and “Dear Albert” began to demand such things as “clothes… kept in good order” and “three meals regularly” in his room (no less).

Exit Mileva, enter Cousin Elsa (and perhaps her daughter). It seems that Albert was far more faithful to physics than he was to women, but even there he had some issues.

Bahar Gholipour of Live Science points out that Einstein had repeatedly been convinced of finding his true theory at last, only to later renounce it for another.

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/einstein-love-letters-illuminate-genius-dark-side-230410772.html

Friday, June 6, 2014

Mitochondrial mix: Is three still a crowd?

Human Ovum (Public Domain)

Due to what Catholic Online is calling “an immoral misuse of science,” it could soon be possible for a child to have three biological parents.

This advanced in vitro fertilization (IVF) process utilizes “eggs from two different women and one man’s sperm” in order to minimize the amount of genetic defects. Because “one in every 6,500 babies is born with serious mitochondrial disease,” scientists are hoping that healthy mitochondrial material from the additional woman’s egg can pare down this ratio.

Nevertheless, the Catholic Church is firmly against such a procedure. Believing that the “gift of reproduction” should not be meddled with in this manner, the Church is also concerned about any resulting “spare embryos” (which are considered tantamount to “the taking of human embryonic life”).

Ethical questions that are being asked about this new procedure are similar to the ones that were initially asked about IVF, and often center upon the issue of “playing God.” There is also concern about the potential social engineering of “designer babies.”

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/video/baby-3-biological-parents-dnews-130000417.html

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Leonard Pitts Jr.: Faith not force

Leonard Pitts, Jr. (Photo by Anna Hanks)

It seems that practically every day we hear stories about how one group tries to force its faith upon another. However, we don’t hear them told quite as adeptly as Leonard Pitts, Jr. does.

In his recent Miami Herald article “Faith cannot be coerced,” Pitts gets right to the heart of the matter. In telling about the

plight of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, a Sudanese Christian who is sentenced to be whipped then hung for refusing to renounce either her marriage or her religion, Pitts makes it perfectly clear that her captors are not actually motivated by faith.

He offers these two classic definitions of faith: “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (from The Bible), and “taking the first step, even when you don’t’ see the whole staircase” (from Martin Luther King, Jr.).

He compares this with the kind of “theological bullying” that so often occurs, then asks this vital question: Can faith ever truly be faith if it is imposed by force of law or threat of violence?

Pitts then states that those who feel they must resort to force in order to spread “faith” are showing their lack of trust in “what they profess to believe.” For if the power of faith truly exists, then it does not need violence in order to proliferate.

Resources

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/01/4151053/leonard-pitts-jr-faith-cannot.html

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The goat and the burro: A modern-day 'fable'

(Photo by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos)

Although this is a true tale, the love it portrays is fabled.

'Tis the story of Mr. G the goat and Jellybean the burro. They had lived together all of their lives under challenging circumstances. Bay Area’s KTVU reports that they “were living in squalor” at the “home of a hoarder.” Animal welfare

authorities seized all the animals from this home and took them “to a variety of animal care facilities.”

Unfortunately, Mr. G was sent to one facility, and Jellybean to another. This decision was made without full knowledge of the deep interspecies bond that these two friends had shared.

It soon became apparent to the folks at Mr. G's new abode (the Animal Place in Grass Valley,

California) that he was seriously depressed. For four days he just lay in the corner of his stall, refusing all food and drink.

Drastic situations call for drastic measures. A three-day project was undertaken in which Jellybean was transported to the Animal Place in order to save his friend’s life.

As soon as Mr. G heard Jellybean “being unloaded from the animal trailer,” he perked right up. He rushed to Jellybean’s side, and began excitedly following him around. Within 20 minutes, he was eating again.

Who says animals don’t have valid feelings?

Resources

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/national/animal-sanctuary-reunion-brings-happy-ending-abuse/nf5zf/?4VZT2j?icmp=cmgcontent_internallink_relatedcontent_2014_partners3

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Shandong sins: Commission and omission

Sins on the side... (Public Domain)

When most people go to McDonald's, they expect to wolf down a burger and be done with it.

However, Beijing Reuters reports that a woman was recently murdered at a McDonald’s in the Shandong province of China. Worse yet, this attack occurred while onlookers sat quietly by without trying to intervene.

Even worse, the state media later described these attackers “as being members of the Church of Almighty God religious movement.” Murder in the name of God seems particularly deplorable.

Details of the attack were captured on video, and were afterwards shown on China Central

Television. Social media comments have indicated public shock – not only regarding the attack itself, but also regarding the lack of response from onlookers.

One Weibo user wrote: If I stay quiet today, who will help me cry for help when I suffer from misfortunes in the future?

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/mcdonalds-murder-china-sparks-outrage-080318002--finance.html

Monday, June 2, 2014

Good devil/bad devil: When motives are mixed

(Photo by Edal Anton Lefterov)

While Joe Cornell was working in a Salvation Army lot “as part of a substance abuse rehabilitation program,” he happened to see that a “bag of cash” had fallen from the back of a Brinks armored car.

After picking this bag up from the ground, Cornell noticed that it was “stuffed with hundred dollar bills.” At this point, his head began spinning.

Reuters reports that Cornell said: Everything was going through my mind, the good devil/bad devil thing. After “crying and shaking” a bit, he made a decision to turn the bag in.

What made the “good devil” win this round? Someone struggling with a history of substance abuse – or anyone for that matter – might have easily grabbed the cash and run.

Cornell later explained his mixed motives. On the one hand, returning the cash was simply the “right thing to do.” On the other hand, “there are cameras everywhere now,” and Cornell was afraid he’d be caught. The dreaded consequences? “You’d be doing federal time,” he said.

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/california-man-returns-125k-dropped-armored-car-031020080.html

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Mental-health lobbying: Guns and double-edged swords

(Photo by DrHaggis)

A recent Christian Science Monitor article by Francine Kiefer reports that mental-health legislation is sometimes viewed as a way to get around the gun-rights lobbies.

Kiefer points out that “two draft mental-health bills are getting a fresh look in the House” in the aftermath of the mass killings by Elliot Rodger. One, introduced by Democrat Mike Thompson of California, “marries mental health with preventing gun violence.” It entails “provisions for involuntary commitment and family involvement in the mental-health treatment of other adult family members.”

These provisions raise serious questions about individual “civil rights, especially privacy.” Should a balanced approach to gun control include such a double-edged legislative sword?

Mental-health issues are often (some might say always) at the root of mass killings. Their prioritization is therefore warranted for that reason, and not as a political ploy. However, to simply compound one serious issue (the indiscriminate use of guns) with another (the curtailing of individual civil rights) seems neither effective nor wise.

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/why-congress-targets-mental-health-not-gun-control-203055895.html