Our Lost History: Aquinas and Intelligence

The second in a series of articles where the author discusses briefly of insights had in his History of Christianity class and its relation to Mormon thought. Much scripture wresting and possibly inaccurate historical brevity involved.

Thomas Aquinas, Catholic philosopher and theologian extraordinaire

My current Christian hero at the moment is Thomas Aquinas, great Scholastic philosopher-theologian whose landmark work Summa Theologiae combined the Nomalist and Realist philosophies, Aristotelian thinking, and Catholic doctrine into a systematic examination of the Catholic Church using the natural reasoning and logic of man.

Aquinas was convinced that God could be approached through reason. When discussing the knowledge of God, Aquinas writes, “The existence of God and other like truths about God, which can be known by natural reason, are not articles of faith, but are preambles to the articles.” While Aquinas understood the difference between reason and revelation, he also believed them to be inseparable. Both came from God, both needed to be used to come closer to Him.

At the time of Aquinas’ life, Aristotle’s texts had just been re-discovered. The Church had known about Plato and his philosophy for centuries now – countless apologetics and theologians reconciled Platonic thought with Catholic theology several times over. Aristotle’s writings excited Aquinas, however, who had trouble understanding the Church through a Platonic lens. For Aquinas, Aristotle was the answer.

Aristotle, better at philosophy than your mom

Why such a focus on intelligence and reason? Influenced with Aristotle, Aquinas did not believe that a soul in the traditional sense existed. He argued that the soul with the body is substantial, but when the body perishes, the soul perishes. However, human beings have unique intelligence that encompasses understanding, and this understanding will live forever in eternal life with God. Intelligence, according to Aquinas, was eternal, not the traditional concept of “the soul.” Because of this fact, Aquinas firmly believed that the purpose of life is to learn as much as we can and gain understanding of knowledge in this life.

Does this sound familiar? It should:

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

- Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19

Joseph Smith, with hardcore cape (i.e., prophetic mantle)

Joseph Smith obviously cared intensely about intelligence in general and especially education within the Church. Brigham Young, his successor, also believed strongly in education and intelligence. After all, the glory of God is intelligence (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36). This loss of Mormon scholasticism within the general population of the Church may deny us many gifts and advances in developing Mormon thought. The prevalent Mormon culture today seems to rely on revelation through emotion, supported by an occasional scripture (usually found by “opening the Book of Mormon at random” to find the right verse). This dearth of systematic, studious research in the scriptures and the vigorous application of reason and logic has reduced our General Authorities to begging us to read just one verse a day and widespread “faith-promoting” rumors with very little to no grounding in the standard works whatsoever (i.e., Bigfoot is Cain). For a Church population that continually asserts that we know things, like how we know that the Church is true, we know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet, we know paying tithing brings blessings, we know that the Word of Wisdom is a true principle, we sure don’t know a lot about anything sometimes when it comes to our Church history, theology, and cosmology. While we talk about how our Primary children and youth know such pure, soul saving principles that theologians and scriptorians most undoubtedly wrestled over for millennia, apparently we stop learning after that age. The general Church population may be experiencing a widespread arrested development in religious intellectual thought.

As predicted, Thomas and his teachings troubled the Church, especially those who disliked his marriage of reason, faith, and revelation. The Church threatened to excommunicate him several times – one time they succeeded briefly – and were it not for Aquinas’ association with the Dominican Order, the Church most likely would have successfully squashed Aquinas and his work. Instead, the powerful Dominican Order successfully lobbied the Catholic Church to accept Aquinas’ work as doctrine, and what is now known as Thomistic thought became the prevalent Church theology until the arrival of William of Ockham (developer of Occam’s Razor), who challenged Thomism and the Church’s embrace of it.

Demon Sheep In Name Only?

The first political ad I’ve seen that’s compared an opponent to a demon sheep. So full of fallacies it’s threatening to collapse upon itself and create a mini-cyber-black hole.

The Decline and Fall of the Lee Library

A couple of weeks ago I had blogged heavily about the books that I planned on bringing with me to Seattle. Because of space limitations and the last minute nature of the move, I couldn’t bring that many books and so I suddenly had to make the choice of which select titles I could carry with me out of the hundreds of books my wife and I managed to collect over the years. This caused no small measure of pain and consternation for me, but, eventually, I felt I had compiled a list that would satisfy me.

But literally the day before the move, I stared at what I would soon pack up and what I had set aside, and I completely changed my list. Aside from my scriptures, Bodies, A Treasury of Jewish Folklore and Jewish Dharma (you can probably detect a pattern by now), nothing else made the cut to come with me. I quickly shuffled the books around and ended up with a drastically new list.

Two insights on the list – all of them require some form of proactive learning. My greatest strength and curse is my inability to stay focused on one subject for too long. Because of this, I’ve developed a great breadth of knowledge which my wife both loves and rolls her eyes at. I always enjoy learning, and this leads me to my second insight. None of them could be classified as fiction. None of them. Well, one of them, depending on your political persuasion. Fiction rarely captivates me (blasphemy to my friends and wife); because of my personality, I love the world I live in with all of its quirks and inconsistencies, and why explore made up worlds when the world we live in already exudes such fantastic qualities?

Without further ado:

The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class edited by David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim

This book exemplifies my core personality. A devotional to strengthen your intellectualism rather than your collection of religious platitudes, the book divides each day into a category of study: History, Literature, Visual Arts, Science, Music, Philosophy, and Religion (it’s not completely godless). Each day reviews a basic subject from that area, ranging from “Personality of Self” to “The Spread of Islam” to “Sound Waves.”

When I first saw this book at the bookstore, I immediately turned to my wife and emphatically told her that this gift would make a perfect birthday gift. I’m pleased to say that she remembered. And while the consistency of both my scripture study and my study from this devotional book varies with the seasons, I have never regretted this book.

Excerpt:

The real numbers are the numbers that you are likely to encounter in day-to-day life. The set of real numbers consists of all the numbers that can be represented on the number line. It encompasses natural numbers, whole numbers, integers, rational numbers, and irrational numbers.

Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living by Graham Hill and Meaghan O’Neill

This book is the only one I brought that could qualify as fiction, considering your political persuasion when it comes to environmentalism. Moving to Seattle, I figured I should reacquaint myself with the environmental movement, but I also believe passionately in environmental conservation and prudent, simple living. This book works as a great primer, introducing each week with a new area of life that could use a little greenifying. After explaining the basics behind the theory, they then introduce a number of ideas which they categorize according to how time consuming and expensive they are. They also interview authors who’ve written on interesting subjects, such as up-cycling. Plus, the book is printed with recycled paper. Can’t go wrong there.

Excerpt:

There are more than eighty thousand chemical compounds approved for use by the EPA in the United States. Of these, only about a fraction have publicly available reports of evaluations for human safety. Only about 20 percent of the eighty thousand are in commercial use at any time, and federal regulations and liability issues mean that almost all new chemicals have some degree of testing or structural analysis for impacts on human health and the environment. However, these reports are interpreted by companies with financial interests in selling the chemicals and are not required for review by independent bodies. Still fewer tests have been done on how combinations of chemicals affect us, which is how we are typically exposed.

Living a Jewish Life: Jewish Traditions, Customs and Values for Today’s Families by Anita Diamant with Howard Cooper

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated with the Jewish religion and culture. Many days I wish that I was born Jewish. There’s something about the combination of ritual, scripture, and custom that unites a people together. And with age comes wisdom; Judaism is one of the oldest religions still practiced today. My wife and I have always wanted to live an entire year following the Jewish customs. When someone recommended this book, we bought it and now wait eagerly for the next Yom Kippur to start our Jewish year. This book focuses more on a liberal Jewish interpretation, which at first disappointed me. But after thinking about it, I don’t know if I could last a year as a Hassidic Jew. This fact makes me sad and relieved.

Excerpt:

For liberal Jews, not all mitzvot have the same weight because not all mitzvot provoke the sense of feeling commanded. As one rabbi has written, ‘There will be mitzvot through which my forebears found themselves capable of responding to the commanding God which are no longer adequate or possible for me, just as there will be new mitzvot through which I or my generation will be able to respond which my ancestors never thought of.’ Indeed, for liberal Jews, the increasingly complex modern world may suggest new and binding mitzvot regarding everything from the proper application of medical technology for the terminally ill to the ecological imperative to recycle.

Latin Made Simple by Doug Julius

While looking at requirements to apply for masters programs in theology, I noticed that many of them required the knowledge of either French or German, and Latin, Greek, or Hebrew. Because of this, I purchased this Latin book – I figured I could learn Latin and then knock French out in the process. I still want to learn German, Greek, and Hebrew, but all in good time.

I’m still working on the 1^st declension, but I’m almost done and ready to start on the 2^nd declension. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Excerpt:

Practice reading this passage aloud, following the English sound guide, until you can read it clearly and without hesitation. Remember that in Latin every consonant and vowel is pronounced.

Pater noster qui es in caelis sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et nos ne induas in tentationem sed libera nos a malo. Amen.



More personal history: One by One

This post is a transcript of another one of my mission letters, dated for the week of “28 Nov 2005 – 4 Dec 2005.” The following week had been the low point of my mission coupled with one of the most humbling experiences in my entire life. I had been in a considerably difficult area for the past four months and felt incredibly frustrated and angry. The Assistants to the President (APs) had been sent to see what was up with an area that seemed lackluster and wilting. I had spent months in the attitude of Jonah preaching to the citizens of Nineveh that the great city would be destroyed unless they repent – and relishing in the idea of the Lord nuking it. The lesson I consequently learned only through tears and disappointment has helped shape my theological mindset and my spiritual world view and continues to do so today.

Dear President,

This week, I have felt a lot like Peter in the sense where I said, “Though I shall die with thee, yet will I not deny thee,” only to look back and see the faithlessness, causing me to weep bitterly. The training visit with the APs have caused me to re-evaluate a lot about how I’ve been doing missionary work.

This area has been a large growing process and I have felt that I had been working hard. I am, by the natural man, fairly lazy and so I have been surprised by my own dilligence[sic] in going out and getting shut down numerous times every day. Any other place I would have become discouraged a long time ago but something kept me from giving up and continually trying to improve this area. I had been praying and fasting for answers on how to get this area to catch on fire. Many ideas came together, but it was still producing meager results.

At the peak of my frustration and despair, the answer came to me thrice (the Lord always uses the magical number of 3). The first time, it was in sacrament meeting where a member spoke on how Christ deals with us not in the mass, but one on one. How nice, I thought, but I felt that message was more for the members. Then, in our interview, you said, “The genius is said in so little by Elder Holland – Just chat! The gospel will come up,” speaking of the CTI. Again, I thought, ah, that is nice. But again, I denied it as advice for me and I felt that advice was more for the members.

Then, at the training visit with the APs, as we contacted, Elder Dennis said, “You know, you can make more friends in 2 months caring about them than you can in two years trying to make them care about you.” I then realized what was missing. The Spirit quickened my mind and it all snapped together. I had been trying to deal with the UCO student body in mass, trying to invite as many as I could a day, always in a rush, not bothering to know them one by one, as Christ would. I failed to follow the counsel of our apostles in just chatting and instead tried to bludgeon people with the gospel. And I had failed to care about other people, instead trying to get people to care about me and the message I had. That night as we saw the success Elder Case and Elder Chang had on campus, (Elder Dennis & I spent some time contacting less actives and trying to invite them to the baptism) indeed that night I “went out and wept bitterly.” I wondered how I could have been so blind and insensitive to the Spirit, who was trying so hard to teach and loosen an inflexible and fossilized servant. I felt I had wasted the 4 months of the Lord’s time and even wondered if my paltry sacrifice on the altar was even acceptable to the Lord.

But thank goodness for the atonement! How I love it and appreciate it more and more each passing day. Elder Chang and I discussed what we were doing wrong and commited[sic] to implement this concept of caring, of having charity, into our missionary work. It works! We had much more success in contacting people and setting appointments. And I felt lighter and happier, more unburdened. Indeed, the difference is as stark as night and day. I felt this small thing is the one degree difference…

My regret is to not be able to bring back those 4 months…How I wish I could stay another transfer or two to undo the damage I have done. But I have learned a long time ago to not try and change the Lord’s mind.

Elder Chang and I strive to keep the commandments and the mission rules. Now that the light at the end of the tunnel is visible, there is an increased incentive to be exactly obedient. It’s not all roses and fun, I know, but the yoke of Christ is easy, I have found…

Thank you for all you do, president. You are a help for us all. I’m sure it goes unappreciated, but I am grateful that you demand so much from us (and I know that it isn’t you, but the Lord who is asking for it). And I am grateful for your faith in us. Thank you for not letting us settle for mediocracy[sic]. We love you and we’ll see you this Christmas (or sooner)!

Your brother in the gospel,

Elder Ted Lee

The Second Epistle of Elder Lee to President Bracha

In a recent post, I mentioned my plans on recording some of the documents from my past in order to preserve it for my children and any other bored futuristic people who would want to read it. This is one such example. On my mission, when occasion permitted or I was in a whimsical mood, I would write my letters to the mission president in “scripture form.” The following is a picture of an example of one, as well as its contents transcribed.

The Second Epistle of Elder Lee to President Bracha

New investigator found – The debacle concerning Drew’s baptism – Horrible plagues afflict Elder Lee to the depths of humility – Setbacks in ideas for missionary work

1. Elder Lee, servant of our Lord Jesus Christ assigned to labor among the people of Norman, do send greetings and report the happenings of the fourth week of the fifth transfer of the reign of President Bracha.

2. Behold, on the second day of the fourth week, we did meet with a student named Mike, and we did teach him that glorious message of the Restoration.

3. Yea, and we  did see that the work of the adversary is constant among the children of men to thwart the servants of God, for two of Mike’s friends did sit with us in the lesson to try and confound us.

4. They did ask questions, and did say, behold, the Bible doth teach us that revelation hath ceased, that the work of God is finished, and we have no more need for prophets. And in this manner did they speak.

5. But we did confound them in their words, for we did say unto them, if thou believest the things thou hast said, and claim it to be the word of God, ye do greatly err and fail to understand the scriptures which has been given unto you.

6. Behold, the scriptures testify the need of revelation, and of prophets, and they do show that the work of God is not finished, but that it does continue among the children of man and that God hath not ceased to be a God of miracles.

7. And it came to pass that Mike did retire unto his dorm, and he did read and ponder and did seek us out to teach him more of the doctrines of truth. And when we did hear of this, we did rejoice and did set up another appointment in haste.

8. And now, behold, I do speak of that terrible confusion concerning Drew’s baptism, of which thou didst know of. Yea, I tell you of the happenings which occured[sic] after the confusion.

9. Behold, Drew is strengthened daily by the good word of God and does greatly desire to be baptized, and so we did go forth before the bishop with broken hearts and contrite spirits and did humble ourselves before him, submitting ourselves to his counsel, and we do work as one, and we do plan this baptism as one.

10. And behold, we have been humbled considerably and do seek to bring harmony in our doings and the ward’s doings concerning missionary work and do continue to do so, even until the ends of our transfers here in the land.

11. And now, I also speak of that terrible illness that took hold of my body. Yea, my bowels were wracked with pain and I did spew forth the contents of last night’s dinner through my mouth. Yea, my joints did ache and I did cry out in pain.

12. But behold, I did seek out a priesthood blessing, which did cause a quick and speedy recovery, and I do glory in the greatness of God’s mercy.

13. And I did seek the comfort of the Lord through mighty prayer, and did seek strength and endurance of the pain, and it was granted unto me according to his will.

14. And it was the Sabbath when I did endure this awful agony, and so great was my confidence in the Lord that I did not seek out worldly cures for it was unlawful to purchase things then, and behold I was blessed with a speedy recovery.

15. And thus was my testimony strengthened.

16. Behold, I do bring sad tidings concerning our great plans for progressing the work in the land.

17. We did seek to rent the theater in the Student Union to show movies concerning the Restoration and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

18. And we did seek to give three Books of Mormon to each member in the ward – one for their homes, one for their cars, and one for their bags – to give unto their friends, to seek out the Lord’s elect.

19. But it came to pass that all of these activities did require of us much money that we did not possess. And so we did abandon our designs for the time being.

20. And so we did suffer setbacks in the work, but continue to work unto bringing salvation to the children of the Lord, and do labor greatly to bring about the work of our Father.

21. And this we did in the fourth week of the fifth transfer of the reign of President Bracha.

22. And my companion did dwell in a tent.

Our Lost History

I currently attend a History of Christianity class and one of the subjects we learn about are the early Christian fathers. In LDS doctrine, we believe in a great, final, widespread apostasy that occurred shortly after Christ’s death. However, when exactly this apostasy became complete, or even why and how it occurred in the first place is subject to great, passionate debate within our ranks. I had one missionary tell me his firm belief that the founding of Islam was the final nail in the coffin; I pulled a face in response.

It’s interesting to me that many of the people in our Church (including me) know very little of the early Church. We’re well versed in our own recent Church history (What year did Joseph Smith receive the First Visitation? 1820! When was the Church founded? April 6, 1830!) and heaven knows we speculate greatly of Old and New Testament churches, but after about 70 AD, our interest in Church history immediately ceases, which I feel is a great loss to us.

For example, Origen is considered an incredible figure in Christian history. This early Christian scholar and theologian was born in 185 AD and lived to 254 AD, when the Church was still under a rapid evolutionary phase from the original, scattered Apostolic Church to the eventual cultural force that powered the crumbling Roman Empire. He worked tirelessly to reconcile Hellenistic culture with Christian theology and took over the Catechical School in Alexandria from Clement, another tireless early Christian theologian.

Origen became quite famous, wrote a vast body of Church literature, and buttressed the growing Church from criticisms from Greek intellectuals who condemned Christianity as intellectually vapid, illogical, and superstitious. Origen believed that intellectualism and the Gospel could co-exist; in fact, while Origen defended the uneducated masses that joined the Church in droves, he also asserted that a simplistic understanding of the Gospel didn’t suffice.

While lauded as a great thinker during his time, many of Origen’s speculative theological ideas were rejected by the main body of the Church in the 6th century by an ecumenical council. Which of these teachings did they repudiate? Origen taught that the soul was eternal – in fact, there was a pre-existence of the human soul. When a person was born, that soul joined with a tabernacle of flesh and continued along its progression. Origen taught that there was a spiritual creation before a physical creation. Mormons would find it ironic that the Church explained its declaration of Origen’s teachings as heresy by accusing these teachings of being strictly derived from Greek philosophy rather than the Gospel. In short, according to mainstream Christianity, Origen’s interesting views of man’s pre-existence and the split between spiritual and physical creation resulted directly from the philosophies of men mingled with scripture.

Social Justice with a Mormon Context

I loved my mission, don’t get me wrong. Some people may feel disappointment when called to a states mission instead of a foreign one, but I was elated. I didn’t see the benefit in slogging through difficult language learning for 18 months only to feel truly effective for a measly 6. When I received my mission call to Oklahoma City, I laughed partly because God has a great sense of humor, but also with happiness at never having to learn a difficult language to teach the Gospel.

But there was one aspect about foreign missions that I grew extremely jealous about. Many missionaries who went to foreign missions came back with stories of how they taught English classes to open up teaching opportunities with others. My two loves – the English language and teaching – combined into one brilliant missionary practice seemed like the coolest idea ever. I often wished that I could have run English classes myself in Oklahoma, since it seemed to me more effective than knocking on random doors.

Naively, I felt like I would never experience the joy of teaching an English class while sharing the Gospel until one day I sat in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about how I could get engaged with the wonderful work going on in Seattle’s Korean branch. Suddenly, inspiration struck. Why not teach an English class? I’m proficient at English, I love teaching, and I love the Gospel. Certainly, one does not have to be a missionary in order to teach an English class in tandem with the local Church branch.

As I contemplated the greatness of this new idea, I began to think of other ideas. As the son of immigrants myself, I have always felt great passion when it comes to the hot topic of immigration. I often see the plight of immigrants and feel pained – at the exploitation, at the fear in immigrants’ lives as they adjust to a strange, loud, and sometimes hostile world. Education and knowledge, I feel, dispels that fear and steels against exploitation. The Church has numerous times advocated humility and charity when dealing with immigration in the United States – shouldn’t individual members take up such a worthy charge?

Shouldn’t we have Mormon social workers who offer up advice for free? Or Mormon lawyers educating immigrants in the community about basic laws and rights so that they do not have to feel afraid every time they see a police officer in their neighborhood? Couldn’t we have Mormon teachers and professors donating a night every week or two to teach basic subjects such as reading, history, social studies, math, and science? Why aren’t more Mormons donating time to teach various subjects such as basketball, yoga, resume writing, job hunting, personal finance, home loans, and where to pursue further education and social services available to immigrants but of which they are ignorant of? We have an army of returned missionaries armed with language skills learned on their mission – I know many of them read the Liahona in that language to keep their skills sharp. But instead of just reading the Liahona in Romanian or Spanish or Chinese, just as effective in honing your language skills would be teaching smart consumer skills in Romanian or Spanish or Chinese.

In the past, the local church building often served as a hub for the community. Why shouldn’t we now? Our churches are actually built as giant community centers – we have kitchens and basketball courts and more classrooms than we sometimes know what to do with. Isn’t it about time to utilize our churches to the fullest and transform them into local community centers for the poor and minorities, to not only better their lives temporally, but perhaps also show them a more excellent way? If we fail to do so, can we honestly claim that we follow Christ’s command to do the least unto these, our fellow brothers and sisters?

Clubbed to death

My mother recently expressed the desire for me to join some clubs on campus so that I didn’t spend so many afternoons at home.

So I popped online and took a list of all the clubs I’d like to go to. At the moment, feasibly I could attend (and plan on at least investigating)  the Poli Sci Club, LDSSA,  Chiptunes Club, Yoga and Service: Art of Living Club, History Club, Psychology Club, Chess Club, Iranian Culture Club,  Buddhism of Hope and Change Club, the Nihon 5 Up Club, and possibly the Genki Society (once I find out what their vaguely worded club means). Also, probably going to participate in the Tuesday Campus Crusade for Christ forum and the Friday Forum by the LDSSA. In addition, I’m looking into the Model United Nations Student Club and the Communications Club.

To this my mom responds, “No, I mean volunteering clubs.”

So I guess Rotaract Club also goes on the list.

Not your mother’s feminism

A recent video game came out called Bayonetta, and it’s received a lot of criticism for, once again, sexualizing and exploiting women. She’s a woman of impossible figure – big breasted, long legged, unrealistically skinny. Most of her costume is just her hair, so when she fights, a lot of her body is revealed. She blows kisses to break seals and the targets you use in the game is in the shape of lips. She sashays needlessly and no doubt, her sexuality is the weapon you use to fight baddies in the game. In other words, this isn’t the type of game you’d want to play in front of your parents. And so the angry cries of exploitation of the female body for sexual enjoyment by men rings in the air once more.

However, over at GamePro, a female writer by the name of Leigh Alexander says games like Bayonetta – with its flamboyancy, nudity, and fluid violence – doesn’t set back women’s rights; in fact, it’s progressive. Bayonetta is over-the-top, yes, but that’s because the game designer, Hideki Kamiya of Devil May Cry fame, is always over-the-top. Anyone who’s played his games can attest to it. So what some call exploitive, Leigh calls stylized, and sometimes, a little sexuality isn’t a bad thing for women’s rights.

It’s wonderful that our entertainment medium is developing more characters that bring more to the table than their looks — but at the same time, we can accept that being mousy, tomboyish or turtle-necked is not the only way a woman can be considered admirable. Bayonetta’s elegant nakedness in the fervor of battle is not in and of itself a bad thing.

Now, I’ll admit. Just looking at the pictures of Bayonetta set off my exploitation-radar. I am definitely what you would call an old-school feminist – women should be able to wear pants, they should be able to vote, they should have their voices heard, they should be able to work, they don’t have to look like impossible supermodels, or, so help me, I’ll get all Susan B. Anthony up in your grill.

But I can’t argue with Leigh’s logic – in Bayonetta, women are the power figures and players of the world; the men simply follow the rules and hope to survive. The unique fact that Bayonetta uses her feminine sexuality specifically as a weapon means she’s doing something male game characters can’t do, and as Leigh played through the game, she had never felt more empowered by a game in her life.

Leigh’s particular point that impressed me:

I already know that women can do all the same things men can. This time, I get to see a woman do plenty of things men can’t. And I love it.

This isn’t a game I’d let my ten year old daughter play to help her feel empowered, that’s for sure. But at the same time, isn’t this something we want in games? Girl characters in games who not only can do everything guys can do, but something only girls can do? Empowering, strong female characters that aren’t regulated to just sidekicks or mere NPC eye candy? Female characters that are more than “the same thing as a man, just with breasts and a ponytail”? And while I certainly can’t say I want my daughter to grow up into some kind of vigilante that fights naked and overtly uses her sexuality as a weapon, I don’t want her to cover it up, think mousey-ness is good (culturally insert “chaste”) and all forms of female sexuality is bad (culturally insert “slutty” or “exploitive”). I want her to be comfortable with her sexuality, to know that she’s special and different than boys rather than just playing “catch-up”, that she really has power and autonomy in a world seemingly ruled by old, white dudes. Perhaps this is the new direction of feminism, and while at face value it might seem disconcerting at first, it’s really something I can’t complain about for the time being.

To read more of Leigh Alexander’s thoughts on video games and girls, along with a follow up post on her GamePro article, visit her blog Sexy Videogameland.

Apologetic Apologetics

I love apologetics, I’m not going to lie. There is a distinct intellectual thrill that runs up my spine when fighting for what you believe is right, carefully selecting the various tools and skills you have before you to craft the perfect projectile in response to an opponent’s volley. This, perhaps, may be one of my greater vices (if, indeed, this heady excitement is a vice).

However, there is one thing that bugs me about apologetics, and that is, strangely enough, the complete reluctance to apologize.

One specific example comes to mind, which is the priesthood ban in the Church that lasted until the 1970s. Since then, this ugly mark of race politics in our priesthood has continued to mar our Church history, and perhaps continues to hinder the work today. Despite its sensitive nature, however, most apologetics I’ve read concerning this policy continues to attempt justification for this unequal practice, which I feel hinders our ability to reach out to those around us with this marvelous gospel.

In my opinion, the entire thing can be summed up thusly:

(a) God is perfect, but His people are not.

(b) Sometimes, His people do terrible things (see also, Crusades).

(c) This was a terrible thing that we did without the sanction of God.

(d) We’re sorry.

See, the (d) step is the most important in my eyes. I’ve seen people spin intricate webs of tenuous logic, mostly based on the outdated comments and opinions of prophets, inaccurate portrayals and interpretations of history, and perhaps most odious, putting words in God’s mouth that He never spoke. When asked by angry, hurt people about the priesthood ban, those who attempt to placate them with their web of arguments often only achieve more anger and hurt. In my experience, however, a simply apology will make them feel better. They might not become stalwart, baptized Church members, but they are not enemies, either. But if you want to make enemies for the Church, try any of these excuses justifying the priesthood ban on someone angry and hurt by it. We should not think ourselves so proud and vain that we can use God’s name to justify morally ambiguous actions.

I try to put complete trust in God. A trust in man, our scriptures tell us, only leads to downfall. The Gospel and our Church is better off because of the Orson Hydes and Hugh Nibleys, the Tertullians and the C.S. Lewises. But sometimes, “a soft answer turneth away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1), and as apologetics, we should know when to put up a strong defense for our Lord, and also know when to take the blame for errant actions and show what Christ attempts to teach us – a little humility and grace. An apology in apologetics can go a long way.