Absurd Headline: Atheists tend to be more Intelligent than Religious People

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Comedian Bill Maher said, “I think religion is a neurological disorder.” Christopher Hitchins said, “the person who is certain and claims divine warranty for his certainty belongs now to the infancy of the species.’ And of course, Frederick Nietzsche, the consummate atheist says, “In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.”  Oh yeah, he also said, “God is dead.” WHEW!!

I guess these famous atheists (actually, Bill Maher says he believes in God–not religion) have been validated because the U.K. online paper, “The Mail Online”, bellowed a headline that began with the following, “Atheists tend to be more intelligent than religious people” (according to a U.S. study done at the University of Rochester). Researchers found that those with high IQs had greater self-control and were able to do more for themselves. They also have better self-esteem and build more supportive relationships.”

Look, I am just a blue-collar guy and sparring with this cerebral, high-browed, intellectual stuff is a bit intimidating for me. But PUH-LEASE. How did they ever come up with such “facts”? As far as IQ tests are concerned I know some folks that, based on IQ scores, have brilliant minds sans much commons sense. Some of them seem to have a bit of a problem as they navigate the pathways of life itself. My hybrid observations have shown me that those folks are easily offended and, as a defense mechanism,mask their true feelings and become downright obnoxious when all they really want is to be like everyone else. As for myself, I hated taking IQ tests and received lousy scores which explains my simple perception of the geniuses around me.

I hate to disagree with these uppity University findings but it seems to me that many of those who believe in God and  a religion to worship Him have no problem with self-esteem even though the findings show differently. Hey, University of Rochester folks–did you factor in humility? Yeah–religion can instill  a sense of humility in people which would negate the self-pomposity caused by pride and not be self-esteem at all. Did you ever hear of the word Ego? These findings need to be re-evaluated immediately.

We live in a seemingly secular world. The combined media of print, broadcast, cyber, and instantaneous, promotes self-gratification, self-indulgence and swats away like a pesky fly the idea of self-control and self-denial. We are in the Age of Relativism. If it “feels good” it is okay. I say that is nonsense. I say that there are  millions and millions of people, all over the world who believe in God or a Divine Entity they might call a different name. I say that most of these people worship God guided by some kind of religion. The pseudo intellectuals who are “intelligent” enough to have rationalized away the existence of a Creator have waltzed themselves right into a barren field empty of Hope. They have used their smarts to outsmart themselves. It is actually sad. At this point in time they seem to be getting their way with the anti-God, no-God propaganda but their narrative has been built on sand and will fail. That is what I  call “natural selection” when God is in the equation.

As a Catholic man I shall ask God to give them the necessary grace so they might take an objective look at the perfection in the natural world around them. A rising  sun every 24 hours, not 23 or 25. The change in seasons, the new birth of a springtime, day and night, sunshine and moonshine, baby ducks following their mom.

The most sophisticated iPhone did not build itself. The folks who did were able to do so only because of the perfection in the world around them. Without that perfection we could not have the certainty of mathematics or the laws of physics. That iPhone could never have been. As for me, I choose  to admire with awe those baby ducks.

Meet Fr. Richard Ho-Lung; Is He the 21st Century Version of Mother Theresa?

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CANDLES IN THE DARK: the Authorized Biography of Father Richard Ho-Lung and The Missionaries of the Poor

Candles in the Dark: The Authorized Biography of Fr. Ho Lung and the Missionaries of the Poor
Written by: Joseph Pearce
Published by St. Benedict Press, 2013,   Charlotte, NC 28241   259 pages
“Thank You, Joseph Pearce”. In an age where the priesthood is constantly under attack, you have given us the story of a present-day priest who is so filled with an unconditional love for the poorest of the poor, the handicapped, the mentally challenged and the unborn that this love has already changed the world in the darkest of places. When I finished reading this book I closed it and simply stared at the picture of the man on the book jacket. I had never heard of him and here I was, suddenly transfixed by the gentle, Christ filled face looking back at me.
Father Ho-Lung and his missionaries work in the most disgusting, filthy, squalid and unclean places imaginable, caring for weakest and most vulnerable of God’s creations. Father Ho-Lung and his followers have given away all their personal belongings, taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience,  put smiles on their faces and followed  their motto, “Joyful Service with Christ on the Cross”.
Richard Ho-Lung’s parents came to Jamaica from China in the mid 1930s. Richard was born in 1939. His parents were Buddhists, and, in his formative years, Richard was raised Buddhist. His mother taught him to respect the earth and all of the wonders of nature. His father had an affinity  for the poor and taught Richard to “never forget the poor people of Jamaica, no matter what”. That sense of caring by his father has stayed with Father Richard his entire life.
If “less is more” I must pull in the reins on this review. There is so much in this book that will inspire you. For example, Father Ho-Lung is called the “reggae priest” because he wrote hit songs that topped the music charts and even rivaled the greatest “reggae” musician of all time, Bob Marley. Father Ho-Lung developed the “Caribbean Mass” with his cultural music and to this day writes music that is used to raise money for his order, the Missionaries of the Poor.
I would love to see this book read, or at least referenced, in all Catholic High-schools. I would love all young people to know of this man, whom some have dubbed “The 21st Century Mother Theresa”.  Father Richard Ho-Lung has been called the ‘reggae priest”, the “renegade priest”, the “dancing priest” and the “fiery priest”. However, Father’s favorite title is that of “ghetto priest”. That is where he works, where he lives and where he will die.
Please consider getting this book. It chronicles the life of a simple man, his conversion from Buddhism to Catholicism, his improbable ordination as a Jesuit priest, his hand-in-hand walk with Pope John Paul II to the sanctuary when the Holy Father visited Jamaica in 1993, his founding of the Missionaries of the Poor who today number over 500 members from 13 countries. (In 2011 the Missionaries of the Poor Sisters were formed.)
Father Richard Ho-Lung: lover of the downtrodden, the ill and the handicapped; lover of the beggars and  peasants and a bellowing voice for the unborn; Father Richard Ho-Lung, who has fought the crime, poverty and injustice that permeates the filthy ghettos of Jamaica; Father Richard Ho-Lung who sat on the floor with Mother Theresa, just talking, when she visited Jamaica. Both she and Pope John Paul II have been declared “BLESSED” by the church. One day I believe that Father Ho-Lung will join their ranks.  Seeing how Christ’s love is amongst us through his priesthood bolsters our faith and reinforces our resolve to fight and defend this faith we have been gifted with.
To the author, Joseph Pearce, once again—Thank you, nicely done.

Faith Can Move Mountains, if You Believe: An Amazing Book

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Review Redux:  The Priest & The Peaches  from 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Book!, 
This review is from: The Priest and the Peaches (Kindle Edition)

Often times, faith is something almost all of us have a hard time in having. Believing in something you can’t see is testing, most especially for those of us who have strayed from the Lord’s path. Believing in his goodness, in the fact that he’ll lead us along the righteous path, well, it can honestly be trying. The reason for this is because for some, the trials and tribulations they face along the way hard from them to place their trust in a being they’re really not sure exists.

For the Peaches, both young and old, their lives haven’t been that easy. The children lost their mother and grandmother at a very young age and have dealt with the consequences of their deaths ever since then. When their father falls ill, the children realize it’s another blow of disappointment they’ve been dealt with – a disappointment none of them wish to deal with just yet. Despite this, they’re determined to band together in hopes of helping their father through his ordeal.

The task of keeping the family afloat falls upon Joanie and Teddy’s hands, the oldest of the Peach children. Beeker, Dancer, and Joey don’t quite understand what’s going on, but for their father’s sake, they’re willing to pretend that everything is fine and dandy. Unbeknownst to the Peach children, their problems are just beginning.

When their father takes a turn for the worse and dies unexpectedly, Joanie, Teddy, and the children must find the strength within themselves to face the adversity that has now been lain at their feet. Their faith has been shattered and each one of them begin to wonder as to whether they’ll be able to bounce back from the brink of a darkness that seems intent on engulfing each and every one of them. Determined to pick up the pieces of a life they’d once known, Joanie and Teddy do their best to keep their family together.

The children’s unexpected saving grace arrives in the form of Father Sullivan, a man who believes completely in the blessings and virtues extoled by God himself. His faith is firmly cemented in the fact that God will provide for his flock no matter what happens along the way. Father Sullivan has tried to make this fact known to all those he meets wherever his feet have taken him. While there are a good many that shun the message he tries to deliver, he knows that there are a good many who will take the Lord’s words into their hearts and do the best they can with what they’ve been given – a certainty that becomes apparent when the safety and well-being of the Peach children inadvertently lands in his hands.

This was such a beautiful story. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it to anyone for reading. It’s meaning, and the lessons found throughout the story, will touch a soul to its very core. While this is a Catholic fiction story, I think it’s one that will leave the person reading with a better understanding of God, of faith, of death, and even of life, be it whether they’re a religious person or not.

We’re able to feel the Peach family’s pain, their laughter, their fears, and their triumphs as they seek to make the most of a situation that is way out of their control. We’re able to watch a family grow within a period of seven days while faced with an adversity that, at times, seems to want to topple the family altogether. The fact that they’re able to bounce back and find strength and meaning within the very world they live in goes to show us that anything is possible only if you believe.

It’s like a Christian song that was taught to me when I was little, if your faith is like that of a small mustard seed, you can move mountains. The book made me realize that it’s very much true. Anything is possible, but only if you believe. More so, if you believe that God will be there with you no matter what comes your way.

Honoring the "Shadow Saint" His Name is Joseph

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I call Joseph of Nazareth, the “Shadow Saint” because, even though  his life is so quiet and unknown,  he was responsible for being foster-father to the God-man and husband to the God-man’s mom, Mary. He had to shelter them, protect them, feed them, provide for them. He married Mary while the cloud of “adultery” ( a sin punishable by death) hung over her head. He managed to take her to Bethlehem for the census when she was almost full term. Then he had to hide his wife and Son and run from the maniacal Herod who wanted the child dead and had his soldiers out looking for them.

 

Back in Nazareth he raised his Boy as any loving and caring father would. He aided the Boy when he took his first steps, held Him on his knee when he fell and scraped it and it was bleeding, showed Him how to eat, taught Him how to pray, read the scriptures to Him and tucked Him into bed at night. No one ever in the history of the world has ever been entrusted with such incredible responsibility. No one in the history of the world could tell Jesus, the God-man, when to go to bed or when to wash His hands for supper or “not to interrupt” if mom or dad was speaking. Yet, we know so little about this just and holy man. What we do know is he saved the Son of God who in turn lived long enough to save us all.
 There are no writings left behind by Joseph. There are no words that were spoken by him that were ever recorded. We have no idea as to what he might have even looked like. None of that matters because we do know he was there when God needed him to be there.Today, the day Pope Francis is installed, is also St. Joseph’s feast day. The Holy father picking this day is no coincidence I am sure. Joseph is considered the Protector of the Universal Church. He is also the Patron saint of fathers and families. Next to his wife, The Blessed Virgin Mary, he is the greatest of all other saints. Just remember that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, called him ‘dad’. No one, anywhere, ever, was afforded that particular honor.
HAPPY FEAST DAY  ST.JOSEPH        Thanks for being there for Him and for all of us