About Funky Dung
Who is Funky Dung?
29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic.
I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil.
Why Funky Dung?
I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!"
Whence Ales Rarus?
I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P
Wherefore blog?
It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907)
Statement of Faith
I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements.
I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church.
I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter.
Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces.
May He take full possession of me for ever.
May His divine unction cause my face to shine.
May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart.
May His understanding enlighten my darkness.
May His counsel guide me.
May His knowledge instruct me.
May His piety make me fervent.
May His divine fear keep me from all evil.
Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it.
Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005)
I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't
we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o'
the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your
neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback.
Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester"
Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without
further ado, here are my answers to his questions.
1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you
favorite Pink Floyd song and why?
Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for
singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to
pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if
it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather
unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music,
but the lyrics describe me pretty well.
New World Man
He's a rebel and a runner
He's a signal turning green
He's a restless young romantic
Wants to run the big machine
He's got a problem with his poisons
But you know he'll find a cure
He's cleaning up his systems
To keep his nature pure
Learning to match the beat of the old world man
Learning to catch the heat of the third world man
He's got to make his own mistakes
And learn to mend the mess he makes
He's old enough to know what's right
But young enough not to choose it
He's noble enough to win the world
But weak enough to lose it ---
He's a new world man...
He's a radio receiver
Tuned to factories and farms
He's a writer and arranger
And a young boy bearing arms
He's got a problem with his power
With weapons on patrol
He's got to walk a fine line
And keep his self-control
Trying to save the day for the old world man
Trying to pave the way for the third world man
He's not concerned with yesterday
He knows constant change is here today
He's noble enough to know what's right
But weak enough not to choose it
He's wise enough to win the world
But fool enough to lose it ---
He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church.
At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of
obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately
to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the
Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me,
even as a former Lutheran.
During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "
Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph
in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself.
Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith.
Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a
particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To
know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is
something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing,
thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is
alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil.
3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever
done?
I set up
WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews
of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :)
4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman?
"Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt."
5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be?
That's a tough one. As a member of
the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of
Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick
one, though, I'd probably pick
"Sing
of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.
“If we lack free will without grace, how may we choose to open ourselves to it?”
I think the grace received at baptism, as well as the prevenient grace that is latent (I dunno what Aquinas has to say about prevenient grace; I am most familiar with Wesley’s formulation).
Eric, with regard to the contradiction I perceived, I thought it was in you stating that a) mortals are unable to judge salvation, and b) there is a guaranteed means of salvation.
“we, as mere mortals, have no right to judge which individuals will and will not receive eternal life”
“the saving grace He made available is only guaranteed to be efficacious if…”
This seems like a contradiction to me — am I missing something?
Anyway, I’d say that the sacrament of unction (anointing) is traditionally understood as conferring grace unconditionally; its purpose is to remit sin — why put a restriction on those in a state of mortal sin?
Nowadays, in a shift I’m not entirely comfortable with, people tend to think of unction purely as a symbol (must. . . restrain. . . self), and if it does anything, it helps lessen the pain of those who are sick. I kinda dislike the idea of giving it out to people who are in the hospital for a broken leg, and giving it once a week at that, as seems to be the common practice. It’s almost as though the sacrament has lost its place. It should be for the dying, and given as part of the Viaticum.
Also, I would say that holy orders, as it imparts a permanent character on the soul, conforming it to Christ in a special way, need not be received in a state of grace for the sacrament to do what it’s supposed to. However, the amount of graces received ex opere operantis (see the other thread) are reduced to nil if in a state of mortal sin, I think.
With regard to matrimony. Because I do not understand the matter and form of the sacrament well, I can’t really say where it belongs in your classification. The most widely-accepted theory is that the form of the sacrament is love, and the sacrament is confected by the consummation of the marriage (the matter, obviously enough, being a man and a woman in love and able to conjugate). Perhaps because marriage is something that is permanent, it need not be received in a state of grace to receive graces ex opere operato. (Imagine having to make a quick trip to confession before you consummate your marriage!)
“Eric, with regard to the contradiction I perceived, I thought it was in you stating that a) mortals are unable to judge salvation, and b) there is a guaranteed means of salvation.”
Like I said in my first response, to know a guaranteed way, X, achieve goal Y, does not preclude the possibility of another way, W. Add that to the command to “judge not” and you have pretty solid reasons to not judge the state of a particular soul or even to say with certainty that all members of a certain religion will not be saved. The best we can do is to point out the deficiences of other faiths and show the completeness of the Church. The Church contains the fullness of God’s revealed truth. Varying degrees of incomplete truth may be found outside the Church. How much incompleteness is enough to damn you, we cannot say definitively. Any time I get the urge to say some person or some group is bound for Hell, I remember the criteria for admittance to Heaven in Matthew 25.
“This seems like a contradiction to me — am I missing something?”
There is a difference between “X is guaranteed to save you” and “Without X, you are guaranteed to not be saved”.
A couple of issues arrise from this set of statements. Most of them centering around the notion that, without grace, we have no free will. My issue with that was that it is a tremendously dangerous idea to say “Anyone who doesn’t do exactly as I say is a slave.”
My friend Christy brought up a much better point though.
“We open ourselves to grace and by doing so restore the free will we were intended to inherit from our progenitors.”
If we lack free will without grace, how may we choose to open ourselves to it?
Clarification:
I mean that prevenient grace and the grace of baptism allow us a greater measure of free will, although our wills are most probably nearly free, and are never completely subjugate.
It’s not a lack of free will but an impaired free will. Think of a grocery cart that has a mind of it’s own, so to speak. It can be made to go straight, but it takes work.