Tags: #Christianity #Spirituality #Theology #WordOnFire

Link: WOF 3485: The Power of Mimetic Desire with Luke Burgis

Here are some of my takeaways after listening to the podcast:

One talking point in the podcast was René Girard's interpretation of the story of the adulterous woman brought before Jesus (John 8:1-11). This is the story where Jesus famously says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Before he even utters that famous line though, the bible passages specifically says that Jesus looks down and writes on the sand, while the scribes and the Pharisees try to get a reaction out of him. By the law of Moses they said, a woman caught in the act of adultery will be stoned. Jesus averts his gaze and keeps writing on the sand.

Why?

Girard thinks that Jesus was averting his gaze to avoid imitating the accusatory behavior of the accusers. If behaviors like that, can be imitated unconsciously, then that would explain so much of the toxic behavior online. All it takes is one person to throw the stone, and then everyone else picks up a stone and slings it at the accused.

You can see this play out in social media. A common example is when somebody gets jumped on by the masses for saying something wrong on Twitter or Facebook.

The key point from Girard is this: what Jesus was doing in that Bible passage, was showing us how to deal with negative mimesis. It can be really easy to get whipped up into being an accuser and start throwing stones all over the place. What we need to do, is take a step back and avert our gaze before coming up with our own judgement of the situation.

The hive mind of the internet, of social media, can be described by René Girard's Mimetic theory.

Another interesting point that was mentioned in the podcast, was the 10th commandment, “Do not covet your neighbor's goods.” How quickly we've forgotten that in today's world. And why wouldn't we, when this is what the internet and social media serves up everyday; photos and videos of our neighbors living their best life with the coolest products at their disposal.

Another way to look at it is, God already knew that we humans will fall prey to mimetic desire. So he tried to steer us away from it with the 10th commandment. And yet, we easily forget about it in today's modern world.

Social media has made everyone our neighbor.

The sheer reach of social media has made everyone appear to be our neighbor. And with that comes the unconscious imitation of our neighbor's desires. And with that comes rivalry and competition.

Can you see it now? This is why people keep trying to one-up each other on social media. It's rivalry and competition caused by mimetic desires. Mimetic conflict/desire/theory by René Girard does explain so much of our current state of the world.

For car enthusiasts, there's a short story on the rivalry between Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferarri. The owner of Lamborghini realized that competing against Ferrari (mimetic rivalry) only brought him stress and sleepless nights, so he actively sought ways to avoid it.

To get away from mimetic desires and rivalry, you have to find God's mission for you.

How does that help?

It helps because that mission is going to be unique to you. Everybody else's mission is going to be different. That means you won't end up comparing yourself to others, because each person has a different mission.

If you focus only on your desires in life, if you focus only on what you want to do in life, you'll end up comparing yourself to others to see what they are doing and how they are doing relative to you. And then you'll find yourself subjected to mimetic desires, rivalry, competition, envy, etc...

If you've made it this far, I thank you for reading. In the event that this is my last post for the 2022, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tags: #Bookmarks #WordOnFire #MimeticTheory #ReneGirard #BishopBarron #Christianity #Spirituality

If you have an interest in minimalism, detaching from material possessions, finding joy and happiness with less, you might want to watch this. It's 14 minutes long, but well worth your time.

Here are some of my takeaways from this sermon:

Earthly goods will keep you in an addictive pattern. You'll want more and more and more. And chances are, you'll get more and more and more. And yet, you'll never be satisfied.

The more you cling to the goods of the world, the more you become imprisoned by them.

The goods of the world talked about here are not limited to material possessions. They can be immaterial things too like fame, honor, reputation, likes, hearts, etc... If you cling on to those, you will also be imprisoned by them.

Nothing in this world lasts. And so while we can cling to them, they will still fade away. We will still fade away. And so what's the point of trying to hang on to them?

What should we do instead?

We should savor the moment, but not cling to it. Detach and let it go. Don't be imprisoned by the goods of the world.

Guess what doesn't fade away?

The Word of God. It's been here for 2000 years now. That should give you an idea of what you should be clinging to instead.

If you keep your focus on Christ, then in turn you'll learn how to deal with the goods of the earth in a manner that doesn't consume you, in a manner that doesn't keep you addicted, in a manner that doesn't imprison you.

Lastly, he ends his sermon with this wonderful quote from Cardinal George of Chicago. Read it a couple of times and let it sink in. It might just change your life.

The only thing you take with you into the life to come, is what you've given away on earth.

Tags: #Spirituality #BishopBarron #Christianity #Detachment #WordOnFire

If you're wondering what the film is about, check out the trailer below.

Tags: #Spirituality #BishopBarron #Catholicism #WordOnFire

Pray, fast and give alms. That's what us Catholics should be focused on during lent. But what do they mean? And how do we practice them? Bishop Barron covers them really well in this Sunday sermon.

And even if you're not Catholic, watch it anyway. It's only 15 minutes long. There's some interesting ideas on self-discipline and helping the needy covered in the video. Surely, you don't need to be religious to be interested in that.

Tags: #Lent #BishopBarron #WordOnFire #Catholicism #Spirituality

It was a particular joy for me to visit the sites associated with St. Ignatius of Loyola on a recent film trip. But the most moving locale was a little church in Manresa built around the cave where the young Ignatius spent about nine months preparing himself spiritually for his life’s work. What he learned at Manresa is that our attachments to various created goods—money, power, pleasure, and honor—stand in the way of our responding to God’s will for us. ~ Bishop Barron

A really good homily that talks about the practice of “Agere Contra”, which means “To act against”. I believe that you can apply “Agere Contra” to most things in life. You don't have to be religious to practice it. For instance, I can see the practice of “Agere Contra” being very effective against social media and smartphone addiction.

Link: Ignatian Detachment

This post is Day 53 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #WordOnFire #Spirituality #100DaysToOffload

The narrative that science and Christianity are enemies is false. Not only are they not enemies but Christianity helped science develop beyond the limits imposed on it by ancient cosmologies.

I know, right? The title seems absurd, even for me as a Christian. But, keep an open mind and listen to Dr. Stacy Trasancos make her case. In this free sample lesson from Word on Fire, she discusses ancient culture and the history of science. Culminating in how it all led to the modern science that we have today.

Link: WOF 240: Science was Born of Christianity

While Catholic teaching maintains that God operates within the universe, it does not go all the way to saying that God is the universe. Rather, we say that God created the universe and holds everything in existence. The universe is not God, it is God's creation — God's handiwork. This nuance puts science in its place, as the study of the handiwork of God.

That is the first time I've heard someone say, that science is the study of the handiwork of God. If you think about it though, it makes sense. If God really does exist, then science is definitely the study of His work. From this perspective, science is not in conflict with belief in God. It is not in conflict with faith.

This post is Day 22 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #WordOnFire #Theology #100DaysToOffload

Last week I received an advanced copy of the beautiful Word on Fire Bible in the mail. I tried to do it justice, but I'm not that good with a camera.

I'm not quite sure how to describe it either. It's like a Bible but with commentary.

You have questions? This book has answers.

It's often been described as a Cathedral in print.

Maybe it's best to quote the description on the back cover.

The Word on Fire Bible is a groundbreaking new book introducing readers to the strange, colorful world of the Bible. It was designed to appeal not to just Christians, but to nonbelievers, searchers, and those with far more questions than answers. It doesn't presume any experience with the Bible; in fact, it was created for people reading the Bible seriously for the first time, who may be unsure what to make of its many events and characters.

So, there you go. It sounds like a Bible that everyone can read. Also, I've never been more excited to read the Bible than I am today.

Tags: #WordOnFire #Spirituality #Theology

One of the most enlightening parts of this first episode for me, was when Bishop Barron talked about the duties of a baptized Christian. As a baptized Christian, we are priest, prophet and king. What does it mean to be a priest? How do we live out our prophetic duties in today's world? And what are our kingly duties in modern society? All those are covered in this episode.

Here is a trailer to the first episode.

And if you're still interested, here is the link to the first episode that you can watch for free: The Sacraments – Lesson One: Introduction and Baptism

Tags: #Spirituality #Theology #BishopBarron #WordOnFire #Bookmarks

Yeah the world is contingent and everything in it. It comes to be, it passes away. What does that tell us? It tells us that nothing in the world contains within itself the reason for its own existence. Nothing in the world explains itself. If it did, it would always exist. It would have within itself the reason for its being. So, since it comes into being and passes away, we know it doesn't contain in itself the reason for its own existence.

Therefore, by a very healthy instinct, and every single scientist in the world knows this, by a healthy instinct we begin to look for... causes. – Bishop Barron

All it took was for me to watch the intro to this video and I was hooked. You don't even have to be religious to be intrigued by what was said in the intro. Bishop Barron doesn't even mention the word “God” until the last 2 minutes of the video.

He goes on to discuss about contingency and contingency of the world. I was blown away. It's something I've never even considered or much less thought of.

Tags: #Bookmarks #BishopBarron #WordOnFire #Spirituality