An Off-Hand, Provocative Comment

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In my present light reading, this quotation:

from Forever Odd
Dean Koontz

The less depth a belief system has, the greater the fervency with which its adherents embrace it. The most vociferous, the most fanatical are those whose cobbled faith is founded on the shakiest ground.

It's in a novel. It's the personal thoughts of a character. It has no great pretense at wisdom. And yet there is something about it that is suggestive and worthy of examination. I think particularly of Tom Cruise bouncing on a couch and proclaiming his all encompassing perduring love for whoever it is he's presently involved with. And I think of other similar situations. What comes to mind when you read the quotation?

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What comes to mind for me is a co-worker of mine who is very secular, and has issues with just about everything Catholic. "The Church's teaching on condoms is causing the death of millions in Africa." That's as far as his thinking goes. He read it in some article, and that's the extent of his consideration of the issue. This is just one of many things he believes in that indicate a real lack of critical analysis. "The Church doesn't allow men to marry, so they molest little boys. Sorry to be blunt, but there you have it." This was shortly after he preached to dumb little 'ol me about how both sides of the issue need to be considered. LOL!! And he is very outspoken about all of this so this is in line with the quote in the book about shallowness and vociferousness.

I'm midway through Odd Thomas, on your and Julie D's recommendations. It's entertaining, though the transition from that world to the real one is a bit jarring. (Fortunately, I prefer the real one.)

Dear Tom,

He does a very, very nice job of world creation in these books. And so, yes, it is quite jarring and I agree with you, I'm usually glad to be back.

shalom,

Steven

Great reflection, Steven, as always.

The first thing that came to mind was Islam.

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This page contains a single entry by Steven Riddle published on February 15, 2007 9:08 AM.

"Radical Discipleship to Jesus" was the previous entry in this blog.

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