The Galli Report: July 2, 2021

Authentic authenticity. Communion controversy. Three cheers for time wasters. What academic workaholics? 'Iran's Christian Boom.' 'Purple Mountain Majesties.'

Authentic Authenticity
Here’s one of those well-balanced articles I love sharing, in part because they are rare.  The article, "Rejecting the Culture of Authenticity," is nicely summarized at the beginning:

Unless and until the excesses of authenticity culture are able to be moderated, we can expect the widespread relational fragmentation, loneliness, and loss that flows from it to continue unabated. Nevertheless, authenticity should not be discarded as an ideal. Instead, we must articulate a more constructive and reasonable conception of authenticity that can be passed on to the next generation.

Communion—For Catholics and Others
The left-leaning media is in a dither about the decision of the American Catholic bishops to authorize a study about the Eucharist. They have, as usual, politicized matters beyond recognition, saying this “politicizing Communion,” mainly about issuing a document that will prevent Catholic President Biden from receiving communion because of his liberal abortion policies. Yes, guidelines for public officials receiving communion will be part of the document, but only one part.

The crisis in the Catholic church goes much deeper than Joe Biden’s confusion. It’s not about politics. Some surveys have revealed that two-thirds of Catholics believe that taking of the bread and wine is merely a symbol, not the actual receiving of Christ in a sacramental meal. You may or may not agree with transubstantiation, but I think you’ll agree that if a church teaches that doctrine and says it is the central sacrament of the church, it’s something the church needs to attend to.

Since my confirmation, I’ve become more aware of the media’s ignorance of Catholicism, accompanied often with a dose of anti-Catholic prejudice. Take a recent example from the New Yorker, which described the Catholic Eucharist as “the act at the center of the Mass, which represents the believer’s communion with Christ and the Church.”  Uh, that’s the view of most Protestants. Catholics believe that the Eucharist IS communion with Christ.

My point: When viewing mainstream reports about Catholicism, read with a jaundiced eye. In many instances, reporters don’t know what Catholics believe and how the church goes about making decisions.

On a more ecumenical note, a controversy in one Christian tradition is a good time to think about how the issue plays out in one’s own tradition.  My friend Bill Teague, a retired Presbyterian pastor, did just that. I love his conclusion:

Scripture calls upon Joe Biden to examine himself as he comes to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. At their best, the Catholic bishops seek to guide him in doing so.  Scripture calls upon me to examine myself as I come to the Table. And my church through its books of worship and its confessions calls me always to repent of my ignorance and ungodliness lest I commit a great sin against Christ.

We’re in this together, Joe.

Survival of the Time Wasters
I’ve brought this up before, but it’s one of the main things I’ve enjoyed in my retirement: Leisure moments to contemplate whatever, along with a deeper recognition of how modern life seems designed to crowd out opportunities for reflection.  As usual, Morgan Housel creatively delivers the goods:

Evolution has spent 3.5 billion years testing and proving the idea that some inefficiency is good. We know it’s right. So maybe the rest of us should pay more attention to it.

So many people strive for efficient lives, where no hour is wasted. But an overlooked skill that doesn’t get enough attention is the idea that wasting time can be a great thing. Psychologist Amos Tversky once said “the secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours.”

Feedback: What Academic Workaholics?
Last week I posted a piece about how one grad student felt pressured to choose between academic success and his child’s welfare. It sounded like many stories I’ve heard from the business world. A friend—a sane academic whom I will leave unnamed lest he be media-assaulted by his fellow academics—replied with a touch of humor and I assume a touch of truth:

Mark, you have no greater fan than me…, but you finally hit a bump with the ivory tower article. Academics do not work as hard as editors. The myth that they do is one of the great hoaxes of modern journalism. We put in 40 hours like everyone else. Maybe in the pre-tenure years we put in 42 hours, but nowhere near the crushing work load we project. Or maybe we did put in 60 hours, but a lot of that got consumed drinking coffee and looking out the window contemplating how to phrase the next killer sentence.

So, this week’s feedback question is: What profession/career most threatens the integrity of family life today?  Examples would be helpful.

Christianity Amidst Islam
Let me end the links portion of this GR with some good news.  At Christianity Today, for years we knew about this phenomenon—when Christianity grows in settings hostile to the faith—but often have had difficulty reporting. If you source the story, those Christians willing to go on the record will likely be subject to arrest and torture. If you don’t source the story, or say, “An anonomous source says…” throughout, readers question the veracity of the story. Evangelicals have be known to exaggerate numbers, and in such countries, it is always hard to confirm the stories of mass conversions.

The story has been going on long enough that I think it’s fair to say something significant has been happening in Iran. Newsweek is letting people know about it, though covering themselves by putting it in the opinion section. Thought you’d want to know about “Iran’s Christian Boom.”

Something religiously astonishing is taking place in Iran, where an Islamist government has ruled since 1979: Christianity is flourishing. The implications are potentially profound.

‘Purple Mountain Majesties’
In honor of Independence Day this week, here’s an audio (six minutes) about “a teacher from a college in the East who was inspired by her travels West, especially by her experience summiting Pikes Peak, to write a poem that became an American anthem.”

Grace and peace,

Mark Galli
markgalli.com