Awesome Book on Creating Prayer Gardens, esp for Catholics

It's April 15th! Margaret's "Amazon Day!"  (Check out my Monday blog for more details.)

Are you Catholic?  a gardener?  Do you know a gardener who is Catholic?  This blog is for you!

My friend, Margaret Realy has written a wonderful book on creating prayer gardens.  This week, some of her fans and I are trying to bump up her sales and get it on the Amazon Top 100.  Why?  Because it's Spring--a time for new growth.  Because it's the Easter Season--a time for rebirth spiritually.  Because Margaret is a lovely woman living on her disability and deserves some help.  Most of all, though, because the book is a fabulous gift to anyone wanting to create a more prayerful surrounding.

Today, our goal is to get Margaret on the Top 100 on Amazon.  Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer today, April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link. 

Margaret has given us permission to reprint this article where she talks a little about her book:

FAITH Magazine Interview, March/April 2011 Issue

Margaret Rose Realy, Author, Garden of Visible Prayer: How to Create a Personal Sacred Space One Step at a Time.

Why did you write this book?

About five years ago I saw a need for gardens at St. Francis Retreat Center in Dewitt, MI. Specifically, prayer gardens where people could sit and draw closer to God who often speaks to us through nature. Retreatants would ask how I created these spaces and could I teach them to do the same in their own yards. Through this book I describe the step-by-step process of how to build personalized gardens that make prayer visible. In fact, that’s where the title comes from: “A Garden of Visible Prayer.” My hope is that the beginner or experienced gardener will use this book to create a personalized outdoor prayer space at home.

How does gardening integrate with our spiritual lives?
When working in a garden you cannot help but recognize the presence of God. To not feel God would be like standing next to a fire without feeling its heat. I read somewhere that to touch the earth is to touch the skin of God. One cannot but hope in the garden; we plant seeds and hope they sprout, we water and prune and hope for proper growth, we learn that winter always comes and we hope for rebirth. Here there are many similarities between gardens and gardeners, God and his children. Gardens are places of growth, not only for plants but for our souls as well.

How is this book an expression of your own faith?
There’s a quote I read in Magnificat; “Give me Lord what will rebound to your own profit,” which reflects my own faith in creating prayer gardens. What I do is done to promote His will, and to help other people quiet themselves enough so they too can find a way to communicate with God in His creation. There are so many ways to pray and each of us has our own. The question is how do we find it? I want to help answer this question, and that’s part of why I wrote this book.
What are one or two ideas from the book I can use in my own garden?
The book doesn’t start by telling you how to build a garden. Instead it tells you how to focus on your own intentions and faith.  I break the process up into three parts, “discern, design, and develop.” First you have to discern what type of garden is important to you by looking at your own spirituality and how you would translate your spirituality into an outdoor prayer space. For example, for some people rocks or boulders are great element to include in their garden because they are seen as solid or stable, and this is comforting to them. But because of those same qualities others could see them as cold and hard, not necessarily a loving reflection of God. Next, you design what the garden will look like while incorporating these spiritual elements. It’s helpful to flip through magazines or web images for ideas of how to arrange the things you want to include. Finally, the last step is developing, or constructing your outdoor prayer space.

Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer today, April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link. 

A Garden of Visible Prayer--perfect for the Catholic Gardener

Are you Catholic?  a gardener?  Do you know a gardener who is Catholic?  This blog is for you!

My friend, Margaret Realy has written a wonderful book on creating prayer gardens.  This week, some of her fans and I are trying to bump up her sales and get it on the Amazon Top 100.  Why?  Because it's Spring--a time for new growth.  Because it's the Easter Season--a time for rebirth spiritually.  Because Margaret is a lovely woman living on her disability and deserves some help.  Most of all, though, because the book is a fabulous gift to anyone wanting to create a more prayerful surrounding.

Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer this week--especially April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link.  

Here's a little about the book:

Have you ever wandered outside and wished you could find a place to just sit and pray, a garden space to find solace in the demands of today’s world? Do you desire to create a garden space that will help meet your spiritual needs? Have you wanted to create a memorial garden and not known how to begin?

A Garden of Visible Prayer shows you how to develop a contemplative outdoor space in a creative and systematic manner. Whether you are a new gardener or an old hand, wanting to create a public or a private retreat area, this book will guide you in a step-by-step approach to discern what leads you, personally, to a deeper sense of spirituality and then how to take that information to create your own outdoor space for prayer.

This book is unlike the beautiful glossy garden books that leave you hungry for a lovely landscape or the inspirational books on developing your faith that do not meet your need to experience prayer in nature. A Garden of Visible Prayer helps you feed both hungers for natural beauty and spiritual insight.

Set up in a systematic approach, this book breaks into three easily understandable units to create an outdoor retreat: discern, design, and development. In the discerning process you will establish what elements in a garden lead you to become quiet and introspective, fostering spiritual growth. The next section guides you in designing your prayer space; where to locate it, where to place the features you have chosen and how to select plants. There is also a section on Catholic traditions in the garden at the end of the book. The final chapters on development tell you how to install your garden based on your design.

Gardens are places of growth, not only for plants but for our souls as well. Creating an outdoor spiritual sanctuary, no matter how small, is now within every gardener’s reach.

Sound good? Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer this week--especially April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link.    (Yeah, I sound like one of those internet sites that sells the self-help books, but seriously, I  was very impressed with this book and with Margaret as a gardener, a writer, and a friend.)

I have a black thumb--seriously, I can kill a silk plant--but I still enjoyed this book for the faith content.  Margaret goes way beyond generic ideas for making a beautiful spot to pray:  she uses concrete examples of other gardens and has pulled in a lot of the symbols and lore about specific plants to help you make a garden that is truly meaningful.  I am saving my copy for that information alone.  Here's what some other readers have said:

Long time gardener and author, Margaret Rose Realy believes that solace and the gentle voice of God can be heard in a garden. Take a walk with her within the pages of her beautifully crafted unique book, A Garden of Visible Prayer as she descriptively guides you every step of the way to create your own personal retreat space, incorporating a variety of elements, which will lead you to prayer. Even with meager means or a small space, by following the steps in this book, your end result will be a distinctive and beautiful setting in which you can bask in God’s creation and where you may very well hear His voice telling you to, “Be still and know that I am God.” Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is a Catholic speaker and author of numerous books and EWTN TV host.

Many books can show you how to design a garden that pleases the eye and ensures good plant growth, but few books help you create a garden that promotes your spiritual growth.    Margaret begins by giving you tools to determine the spiritual aspects that you want in your garden as well as the sensual and physical characteristics that influence site, plant and accessory selection. She then provides practical design techniques, pointers on plant selection, soils and media, containers and tips on planting trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.  This book is useful for anyone designing a new garden but invaluable for those of us looking to create a space for meditation, contemplation and prayer.  Dean M. Krauskopf, Ph.D., Extension Education Emeritus, Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service

This is the season for coaxing new life from the ground and creating a beautiful space.  Why not do that for your soul as well?  Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer this week--especially April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link.  

The Boys Upstairs by Jane Lebak

Synopsis: Jay Farrell, a crippled priest, has begun housing homeless boys in his rectory. Once a street kid himself, he was riding the rocket-train to a lifetime in prison until the day he drove over a land mine in Iraq. Today he works at an inner-city parish, running a soup kitchen and struggling to manage an impoverished church.

With temperatures below zero and falling a few nights before Christmas, Jay's estranged brother Kevin dumps three more children on his front porch. Kevin, a cop who can't believe in God after all the evil he's seen, hasn't spoken to Jay in years, but he knows Jay will at least give the kids a place to stay. It isn't over yet, though. As they work together to meet the children's needs, they must confront the long-buried emotions that have divided them so long.

The Boys Upstairs examines the real gift of the holiday season and how hope can transform the ones society condemns as not worth saving.

Mini Review: I read this aloud to my 10-year-old son, and he really enjoyed it. I must say that I had a hard time at some points keeping my voice clear because the scenes choked me up. Despite the title, this is really a story about two brothers finding each other again. I would have liked more about the children--perhaps Jane will consider a second novella? I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a heartwarming story no matter what time of year.

Purchase Link: Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Boys-Upstairs-ebook/dp/B004EYT9NW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297290893&sr=8-1

Wrap up of Tour and Reviews for Why God Matters

Wow, what a great book tour! Steve Lumbert (aka Dad) and I not only had a lot of terrific opportunities to talk about our book, but we also had some great reviews and a few surprises.

First, the best surprise. One of the interviews got read by my cousin, Shelly, whom we'd lost track of decades ago! She found me on Facebook and contacted me last week. How cool is that?

We also had a few folks who said we answered some questions of faith or gave them inspiration to renewing their relationship with God. Talk about "mission accomplished!" I'm praying for all of you!

Finally, we got several awesome reviews. One thing I really enjoyed seeing was that readers of other faiths still found something of value in our book, even though it is geared toward a Catholic audience. I've always felt that God will reach to people of any belief (or even no belief). After all, we are His children, every one. I'm glad no one felt threatened by our stories of faith.

Here are some snippets of the reviews.

"...an easy to digest look into how God touches us daily... in many ways able to express what that type of faith can mean to an individual better than straight theology or dogma." Cheryl at The Book Connection http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2010/06/why-god-matters-by-karina-lumbert.html

"This is a short book which casts a long shadow in the literature of modern Catholic apologetics." Walt Staples, former president, Catholic Writers' Guild

"... a perfect dose of encouragement for those seeking a deeper relationship with God." SpiritualWoman.com

" Although Why God Matters has been written from the Catholic viewpoint, I think that everyone of Christian faith who has experienced God in their lives can learn something from reading this book." Susanne Drazic, http://susannedrazic.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-of-why-god-matters.html

"... very approachable and does its job well. You are reading about the authors, you are learning how to apply faith in your life and in the end you feel as if you have gained three friends." The NY Book Journal, http://thenybookjournal.com/2010/06/why-god-matters-how-to-recognize-him-in-daily-life/

"... the book explained the passion behind the faith. ... This is a very interesting read and will probably open up your eyes to something you didn't know about this interesting and historic faith." Marta Hoelscher, http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-tour-and-review-why-god-matters.html

"Throughout this book, they also made no attempt to sway the reader toward sharing their beliefs. They are just very straight forward—'I love God and this is why.' ... What I did come away with was a better understanding of God and a deep desire to appreciate Him more every day. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to enrich their relationship with God." Lynn McMonigal, http://lynnmcmo.com/2010/06/17/review-of-why-god-matters/

"... if you are looking to get the most this book has to offer I think it would be best to only read a chapter at a time and fully reflect on the wisdom contained in each chapter, particularly the life lesson section. Approaching the book in this manner would only take a few minutes per chapter to read making it a book that even the busiest person would be able to squeeze into their schedule." Karen (for the Catholic Book Company), http://kareninmommyland.blogspot.com/2010/06/book-review-why-god-matters.html

"A short book, but it covers much.... not a book that should be read by only those of the Catholic faith, but instead by all who have experienced the touch of God in the everyday moments of life... Several times while reading, I stopped as a memory entered my mind of one of those everyday life lessons that have taken place in my life. I can say with all honesty that you will too. Six colors on the rainbow scale." Joyce Anthony, http://joyce-anthony.blogspot.com/2010/06/why-god-matters-review.html

"fun, engaging, quick, easy reading...but with a powerful message.... This inspirational little book is indeed a gem – it is a power-packed treasury of heartwarming stories, helpful spiritual lessons, and useful, practical suggestions to guide us in our daily lives." Jean Heinmann, http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2010/06/book-review-why-god-matters.html

"The vignettes are what really bring this book to life.... This book is written from a Catholic viewpoint with a Catholic audience in mind. I think, though, that any Christian reader would enjoy and benefit from the insights it offers, which transcend sectarian borders." Fred Warren, http://frederation.wordpress.com/2010/06/05/book-review-why-god-matters-how-to-recognize-him-in-daily-life-by-karina-lumbert-fabian-and-deacon-steven-lumbert/

"Some (stories) will make you cry and others will make you laugh, still others will make you wonder if you own relationship with God is all that you want, but more importantly, if it's all that He would like it to be." Reading at the Beach, http://www.readingatthebeach.com/2010/06/why-god-matters.html

Thanks again to Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotions and my publisher, Nicole Langan at Tribute Books for setting this up. You guys are tops!

Resources for Learning about the Catholic Faith

Purchase from Tribute Books

Why God Matters is a book about the working of the Catholic faith in my father's and my life--its legacies, its hopes, its influences. I know a lot of my readers are not Catholic. I'm not here to convert you--only God can do that--but if any of you are curious to learn more about the Catholic faith, I wanted to share some resources with you. These came from our appendix in Why God Matters, and are good for Catholics as well. Thanks to Tribute for letting us reprint it here.

For Further Reading

There are so many wonderful books and websites we could recommend, but here are just a few that we or people we trust recommend for learning more about our wonderful Faith.

Websites

Catholic Answers. http://www.catholic.com/. Answers common questions about the
faith and provides help in defending the faith. Active message board.

Catholic Community Forum. www.catholic-forum.com. A large website with over 4800 members, containing discussion forums, Catholic news, frequently asked questions on the faith, and more. Paying membership also allows you to chat and blog on their site.

Catholic Exchange. http://catholicexchange.com/. Has lots of information, timely articles relating to current issues, and many 'channels' for readers: arts and entertainment, faith and morals, media, etc. All are rock-solid, informative and up-to-date.

Defender of the Catholic Faith. http://www.catholic-convert.com/. Offers help on faith questions but also has a very helpful message board for anyone with questions.

Eternal World Television Network, Global Catholic Network. http://www.ewtn.com/. The must-go website for Catholic news and entertainment. Also a nice library of prayers and devotions and other information about our faith.

The Integrated Catholic Life. http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/. An e-magazine about integrating faith, family and work.


Books

Amy Welborn. Prove It! Church. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2001. ISBN: 0879739819. Although written for teens, this wonderful work of Catholic apologetics explains some of the most fundamental traditions and practices of our faith.

Father Robert Spitzer. Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2008. ISBN: 9781586172015. A practical, yet rich guide for helping busy people develop a regular and deeper prayer life.

Gerard P. Weber, James J. Killgallon, Mary Michael O'Shaughnessy. Becoming Catholic even if you happen to be one. Skokie, IL: ACTA Foundation, 1997. ISBN: 0914070134. This book is for those who are “looking into” the Church, to life-long Catholics who want to go deeper into their faith, to “retired” Catholics, and to those who have become inactive or opted out and now may be willing to take another, more adult look at the Church.

Gregory F. Augustine Pierce. The Mass is Never Ended. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2007. ISBN: 1594710694. This book helps us to rediscover our mission to transform the world in bringing about an understanding of the relationship[p of the Mass and the mission of Christians in the world.

Hans Urs von Balthasar. Love Alone is Credible. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2005. ISBN: 0898708818. Von Balthasar delves deeper into this exploration of what love means, what makes the divine love of God, and how we must become lovers of God in the footsteps of saints like Francis de Sales, John of the Cross and Therese of Lisieux.

Joseph Martos. Doors to the Sacred. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN: 9780764807183. A historical and cultural evolution of the Sacraments and rituals and the practices associated with them, this book is written in easy to understand language to increase the knowledge of the reader concerned with religious topics.

Karl Keating. What Catholics Really Believe. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1995. ISBN: 0898705533. Addresses the 53 most common misconceptions of the faith held by Catholics and Protestants. Spells out the teachings and explains the rationale behind Catholic practices.

Thomas, Williams. Greater Than You think. Nashville, Tennessee: FaithWords, 2008. ISBN: 97804465149340. Written in response to atheists, this book answers inconsistencies and logical fallacies and shows that God is not only remarkably plausible, He is greater than you think!

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. Washington, D.C: Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2006. ISBN: 1574554506. Written and published by the Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops, this book does not change the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is an adaptation of it in easy to read language which goes beyond the question and answer format.

I "failed" the Jesus Test

I got a message from a friend today. She sent it because she liked the pictures, but it hits two of my pet peeves.

It's a "Forward to your friends" message--and those who know me know how I feel about them. This one was worse than usual.

It proposes to have a test for me and wishes me luck in getting 100. Then it has a bunch of famous paintings of Jesus' life. I'm thinking it's a trivia test, and since it's from a friend and the pictures are lovely, I scroll down instead of deleting it like I normally would. Sandwiched between the paintings and a photo of a mountain is this message:

I'm not ashamed He is the only one that can save this
country and they want him removed from the government.

Our great nation will not stand if we delete HIM from all aspects of our government as the atheists want.

Well, that's nothing I haven't heard before--and since Obama is now president-elect, I suppose I expected it. What I did not expect was this:

Jesus Test

This is an easy test, you score 100 or zero. It's your choice. If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions. Jesus said,'if you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father.'

This is the simplest test If you Love God, and are not ashamed of all the marvelous thing he has done for you.. Send this to ten people

I'm not ashamed of my faith. I'm not ashamed to want Jesus in my life. But I'm not forwarding this message. It has nothing to do with shame. It has to do with my not using the name of my Lord in emotional blackmail. Perhaps, PERHAPS, if the message had been a reasoned argument, a link to an article or a personal and impassioned appeal for action, I might have considered it. This, however, will not change governments, minds or hearts, IMHO. It just spreads emotional spam. I deleted it and wrote this blog. Guess I failed.

Or did I?

Religion and NOT Writing Just What You Know

I've had some interesting comments on Rob's and my latest anthology, Leaps of Faith. This is a collection of 14 stories of Christian science fiction. While I didn't fully itemize each faith represented, there are Anglican, Catholic and Christian stories and one Old Testament Biblical.

However, I've gotten a couple of comments to the effect that Leaps is a Catholic exclusive book. "written by Catholic writers" "a Catholic anthology" "I'm not Catholic but I enjoyed it." And the one that, frankly, insults the non-Catholic Christian contributors, the Christian publisher and my husband and me: "My only problem with this anthology is that uncomfortable feeling that the Catholics are the only people of God."

I'm not going to argue that here--you can check out the reviews on Amazon to see what people think about the mix of Christian and Catholic themes. What I want to talk about today is the ironic fact that many of the "Catholic" stories in Leaps--and some in Infinite Space, Infinite God, for that matter--were written by non-Catholics. In fact, we never asked anyone their denomination when we read the stories, and sometimes have been surprised ourselves to find out who practices what faith.

I'm always ticked at how that amazes and even scandalizes some people, even fellow writers. We think nothing of a housewife writing a detective novel or a computer technician writing a chick lit. Guys write romance with female protagonists while women write military sci-fi with predominantly male characters. Yet a person writes honestly about a particular faith, and people immediately assume the author practices that faith. Why is that?

I'm sure some people believe that to do anything different is to blaspheme in some way. I don't agree. To me, writing the faith that is right for the story is staying true to the creative talent God gave me. As long as I'm not glorifying a heresy or encouraging a sin, I feel safe in exploring other ideas, whether it's an atheist being pursued by a vampire or nuns living in outer space.

So what about writing what you know? I think writers that limit themselves to that do not go very far. There's such a wealth of adventure out there, some of which we will never know about first-hand. But we learn. I don't know asteroid mining--but I'm learning about it as I write Discovery. I didn't know Norse mythology until I started writing Live and Let Fly--and as I learned more, I had to change the story. That's what I love about writing. That's why I do it, even when I don't make the big bucks or get yet another rejection letter.

One person e-mailed me that he believed I preferred Catholic stories because that's what I'm more "comfortable" with. That's not true, not for me, not for a lot of writers I know. I'll stick with me, however. First off, I don't read a lot of Catholic fiction. (Yes, my fellow Guildies, I have not yet read Chesterson or Flannery O'Connor. They're on my list.) I read about wizards and aliens and serial killers and all kinds of non-comfortable things. I've written a story about a psychic teen who was mentally tortured. I've tortured one of my favorite characters while her best friend was forced to watch, and I have a scene for an upcoming book where the main character has to fight off a rapist. Think these were comfortable? Not at all, but they were disturbingly interesting to write and necessary to the story.

If I were to write what I "know" and what is "comfortable," I'd be putting out stories about how my kid didn't want to wear his jacket in the blizzard. That's about as much angst as I get in my life and believe me, I like it that way!

So it is with writing faith--not all my stories are Catholic. In one trilogy, the alien planet is Deist, and the other has its own odd mix of faith. They each had their own salvation stories, too. My Faerie world has what is called a Catholic Church, but "catholic" means "universal" and while it's similar to the Roman Catholic, there are enough differences that it is a unique religious organization. I could have (and maybe should have) called it the Faerie Church; I'm betting I take some heat from both Catholics and non-Catholics for it as time goes on. But if I do, I know it's because I've written a convincing world.

I'm starting to ramble here, but my point is that writers with real talent do not need to be limited by their current knowledge or beliefs. Imagination can take us to many exciting--and sometimes uncomfortable--worlds, and writing talent can help us share those worlds convincingly with others.

That's what the writers of Leaps of Faith and Infinite Space, Infinite God did. That's why I'm proud to have edited these anthologies.

Barak Obama's stand on life

Do you support infanticide? Do you believe a baby is a punishment? Do you believe your "pay grade" determines your ability or right to make tough moral decisions?

If you said, "no," are you planning on voting for a candidate who does?

Barak Obama has shown in his words and his actions that he is pro-abortion--and, if his comments to Planned Parenthood are to be believed, that he knows he could be president at a key time when the issue that's "above his pay grade" must be addressed. Whether or not he wants to admit it, he's passed his judgment.

Here's a video that says it succinctly. Ignore the rest of the message if you want, but listen to his words and the reports of his political actions on this issue.

I don't want to argue this. I know plenty of people don't feel as I do about the issue of life. But if you do, please watch this video and think hard about who you vote for in November.

Respecting the name of God

The Vatican has declared that the name of God should not be used in Mass. This is apparently not a new decision, but one that has been slipping, especially where the name "Yahweh" is concerned.

This was announced in a two-page letter from the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, dated June 29 and addressed to episcopal conferences around the world.

"Yahweh" is a mispronunciation of the Tetragrammaton: YHWH, the four consonants of the ancient Hebrew name for God.

"As an expression of the infinite greatness and majesty of God, it was held to be unpronounceable and hence was replaced during the reading of sacred Scripture by means of the use of an alternate name: 'Adonai,' which means 'Lord,'" the Vatican letter said. Similarly, Greek translations of the Bible used the word "Kyrios" and Latin scholars translated it to "Dominus"; both also mean Lord.

You can read more here.

It brings up an interesting issue: respecting the name of God. One of the commandments specifically says not to take God's name in vain, yet we interpret that in so many ways.

In our house, you don't say, "Oh, God!" unless you are praying or (as in this case), using the phrase to educate someone on what not to say and when. Yet how many people just use it as an expression of surprise? Many a time, I've had to correct one of the kids' friends because they shout it out when someone says something funny or their video game character gets into trouble. And they will actually argue with me that there's nothing wrong with using it that way, even though some of them are from good Christian families. Obviously, they've learned a different application of respect.

I also know it's a cultural thing, too. My dad, who wasn't an especially religious man when younger, had to train my mom, a devout Catholic and a Puerto Rican, out of the habit.

But what about when it is being used in a devoted way, like in the song "Yahweh, I Know You are Near?" Well, first of all, the Tetragrammaton was meant to be unpronounceable, and so any attempt to make it pronounceable is most likely going to be wrong. How would you like it if your spouse were to get your name wrong while declaring his love?

So why would God give us a name for Him that no one can pronounce? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. My own reasoning is that there are some things humans are not ready to know. For example, we don't really, with detail, know what heaven is like. Our human bodies don't have the senses to process what the soul will experience. So, too, with God's name: a name with such beauty and majesty that we are to know it with our souls and not our human bodies. Until then, God has given us many other wonderful names: God, Lord, Abba, Father, and of course, Jesus Christ.

Having grown up singing "You are Near," it's going to take me a while to replace the word, but I'll keep at it. God deserves my respect.

Expelled: Movie about Darvinism Overpowering Creation in Schools

I remember arguing with my geometry teacher about creation vs. evolution. Interestingly, he'd made a comment about evolution being wrong and creation was Truth, and I had asked why we couldn't have both? He got very uncomfortable and changed the subject.

Now, there's a new movie coming out about how teachers and scientists are being ostracized by their peers for even suggesting that maybe evolution isn't the key to our world, but that there might be something to this idea of "creation." Check it out here: http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playground.php

As a Catholic, I believe that the Bible was written for the purpose of saving our souls and telling us how to live our lives, and not as a scientific text, so I can't subscribe to Biblical Creationism. After all, Genesis was written by scientifically primitive men (possible Moses himself) for scientifically primitive men. It's not like God could say, "In the beginning, I (complex problem in physics involving quantum mechanics and unification theory) and created light." Even if he gave Moses the divine ability to understand that--which puts him ahead of our current scientists--what's Moses going to tell the people? "God said, 'Let there be light. And there was.'"

QED

What's more important is that God did create everything, that He did it in an orderly fashion, and that It Was Good. Whether his day is 24 hours or if (like in the movie O God), when God had breakfast, Hitler was overrunning Poland, is not important to me. And whether or not he used evolution, fiat-creation, or something in between doesn't matter to me. In fact, I think evolution is a fine model for helping us understand the biological world, even though it is imperfect and needs to be explored, debated, tweaked or simply tossed out in favor of something better. Regardless, it does not have to exclude a loving God.

And, of course, that's where my beef is. Evolution is a theory, but it's being treated like something factual and sure as the Law of Gravity. What's more, those who dare speak against it on religious (or frankly, academic) grounds are persecuted for blaspheming against the 'science' of evolution.

Blaspheming. There's a good word.

Seems to me, God mentioned something about that, too. Something about having no other Gods before him?

Ideas can be worshiped, too.