Ecumenical Info

Stupidity?!

May 2005

By Rev. Michael Demkovich, O.P.

Now that I have your attention, I would like to address a very important topic in ecumenism—thoughtful reflection. Vatican II rightly called the Church to be able to “read the signs of the times” and this means not only recognizing the bright thresholds of grace but the dark recesses of sin and ignorance as well. There is a danger in what can simply be called the loss of common sense, a peculiar tendency to be “dumb as dirt” to quote a friend. At times it may be induced by well intentioned political politeness, but when it obscures the true, genuine, and real it is stupidity.

The Roman Catholic Church has been in the business of learning for centuries and while she has been wrong at times she has been honest enough to recognize in time such error. For the greater part, the Church has sought to understand the world and our place in the world in light of a greater truth, God’s revelation. This has meant a love of learning and a discipline of study. From the ancient monasteries to the first medieval universities, the importance of faith and reason has been a guide to reading the times. Reason is not the enemy of Faith but a critical and delicate tool in our understanding the Faith.

Today there seems to be a widespread outbreak of stupidity. It is seen in a common failure by people to distinguish what is real from that which is fiction or “virtual reality”. Dan Brown’s books and the “left behind series” are examples of where people lose sight of the real. In both cases these authors choose to ignore the larger evidence and string together a partial tale. The great act of stupidity is in our taking their works of fiction to be fact. It is further perpetuated when we fail to ask the critical questions that reason demands. It is easy to snooker someone into thinking that there is some secret plan. These people have been around a long time and Augustine in his day took it on as we must do today. This tendency to think that an elite group has the “secrets” is know as Gnosticism and is so foreign to Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God.

I recently attended the National Workshop on Christian Unity and was fortunate to hear Professor Barbara Rossing, an expert in Biblical Studies and a specialist on the Book of Revelation. Her presentation was enlightening. I recommend you read her book The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation (2004). If you are able, Dr. Rossing will be teaching a course here in New Mexico at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu this June. This is the kind of study that confronts our stupidity and is an ecumenical task. Reading the signs of our times requires the wisdom necessary to seek the truth, thoughtful reflection that takes the time to examine the evidence. Stupidity is our failure to intelligently and faithfully read the signs of our times.