“We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” - C.S. Lewis.
From Fr. Z:
Where Are the Churchmen With Chests? [“Chests”… a great image. It was famously used (as Rutler mentions, below, by C.S. Lewis in his Abolition of Man. For Lewis “chests” are the “indispensable liaison officers between cerebral man and visceral man. It may even be said that it is by this middle element that man is man: for by his intellect he is mere spirit and by his appetite mere animal.” Hence, “chest” allows a man to face reality and act with confidence.]
Indeed.
I beg to differ with these churchmen who sit in a cozy and secure office with a full belly and internet service 24/7.
ReplyDeleteWhere are the Churchmen with Chests?
Look no further than Syria, Iraq, the entire Middle East for that matter ...
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/damascus-bombing-kills-9-in-christian-districts
My sentiments exactly. Thanks Yaya.
DeleteWell stated, Yaya.
ReplyDeleteHow are we expected to respect our priests if they cannot even respect one another?
Peace to all here - Susan, ofs
Quote:'For Lewis “chests” are the “indispensable liaison officers between cerebral man and visceral man. It may even be said that it is by this middle element that man is man: for by his intellect he is mere spirit and by his appetite mere animal.” Hence, “chest” allows a man to face reality and act with confidence.]
ReplyDeleteSo, these "chests" for Lewis and Fr Z and you guys and gals here apply only to man/men? The intellect, spirit, cerebral, visceral, etcetera?
I still find the English language irritating and one-sided. Do these illustrious Christian males speak only of male human beings when they speak about man/men? In the Germanic languages there is a distinction between
"Mensch" (mankind) which includes both sexes, and der Mann (a male human being with the appropriate sexual appendices) or die Frau/die vrouw/die vrou (the female, with her distinct sexual characteristics).
Why can't CS Lewis, Fr Z and hundreds of other Anglophone Christian men not learn to use the word "human being/humans" instead of "man" when they speak of human beings, men and women?
Joseph Ratzinger and other Germans had been translated into English in a very deceptive manner if you read their original German texts: "man/n" (the human, or "one") were blithely translated into "man". I have read the very great (yes, he is great) Ratzinger's theological texts/books and once yelled out: "You male chauvinist!" or, "WHY DO YOU THINK GOD CREATED ONLY MALES?!!", when of course that was never what he meant or even wrote in the original German.
Therefore, females could just also have "chests" of intellect, and this or that.... but let's face it: CS Lewis was a chauvinist male academic "don" before he met his Jewish, atheist, divorced female love, rather late in his life. The rest is history. I hope she gave him a few loving slaps before they were united in matrimony/ LOL!
Anyhow - I still maintain the English language is fundamentally anti-female. therefore not wholly Christian. Mensch/ man in German means "human being". It should never be translated as "man". No wonder many feminists think the gentle German Pope Benedict/Ratzinger was this male chauvinist ogre.
Joseph Ratzinger (German)
English isn't sexist. Man means mankind, which includes women. The problem is your worldview. First World problems. I'll pray for you.
DeleteMan up. Seriously, Teresa of Avila wanted her sisters to have a 'manly spirit' - as wallace says, it's about character and courage and so on.
Delete"No wonder many feminists think the gentle German Pope Benedict/Ratzinger was this male chauvinist ogre."
DeleteI for one, could care less what "many feminists think" they do not speak for me like Mary our Mother or the many great women Saints do. Let's see, how many Doctors of the Church are women?
St. Hildegard of Bingen
St. Catherine of Siena
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Therese of Lisieux
All are worthy of being held up as faithful daughters of the Church while being worthy too, of imitating their sanctity.
Papa Benny is a Saint! He has chosen to live among holy women in his final years. Were he the male chauvinist ogre these feminists claim him to be, he would have done otherwise.
Viva Papa Benito!
Help me here. What am I missing? Is this about character and courage? Why directed to priests only and not men in general? I am lost on this one. Help!
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a serious post.
DeleteMy post serious though. ^^)
DeleteI know - and you saved this post with it. Thanks.
DeleteOk thanks. I thought I was missing something. As the world devolves into confusion I am at a loss as to what to make of it. My first thought is I must be getting senile since I just do not understand what I am seeing (or reading).
DeleteReally Terry, posting a photo of yourself and dressed as a priest is de trop! What?
ReplyDeleteHaha!
Delete