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.
** Overall **
My classification is: Moderate Biblical Worldview Thinker
My score is: 91 points of 170 possible, 53%
** Section By Section **
Section: Civil Government: 12% Socialist Worldview Thinker
Section: Economics: 33% Secular Humanist Worldview Thinker
Section: education: 41% Secular Humanist Worldview Thinker
Section: family: 62% Moderate Biblical Worldview Thinker
Section: Law: 46% Secular Humanist Worldview Thinker
Section: Religion: 74% Moderate Biblical Worldview Thinker
Section: Science: 31% Secular Humanist Worldview Thinker
Section: Social Issues: 81% Strong Biblical Worldview Thinker
The funniest thing about the test is that the “right” answers (no pun intended :-)) are ALL either strongly agree or disagree. So its just downright unchristian to have a moderated (“tend to (dis)agree) attitude. God, and you wonder why the world hates us. They’re supposed to hate us because we smell of Christ, but instead we smell of just good ol’ bovine feces…
Another thing is that only “No Opinion” scores negative points (I only had 1 no opinion, but tons of “tend to”). If you strongly agree with something with which you “should” strongly disagree, you get -1. Amazing it’s actually “worse” to reserve judgement and have “no opinion” than it is to have a strongly “incorrect” opinion.
So this means I’m a socialist, secular humanist, moderate Biblical, strong Biblical thinker. This is what I would have expected, and consider it to be the highest compliment I’ve received today.
The following two articles by Jack Heller in the The New Pantagruel offer significant insights, IMO, to this phenomenon:
Christian College Professor Flunks Christian Worldview Tests
Further Scandal: Christian College Professor Doesn’t Teach from a Christian Worldview
This also has generated a lively (as always) banter in tNP discussion forums, in which Heller is a member. On the forum I had taken a soft position on “Christian Worldview” (that it could exist) vis-a-vis the view that there really is no such thing a unique Christian Worldview. Even in the soft position that there may be such a thing, I agreed up front that it certainly wouldn’t be what these guys are selling.
“salvisific” ?? I assume you mean “salvific.”
I had just woken up when I wrote that. Yes, of course I meant salvific. There’s no spell check in Haloscan comments.
NOTA BENE: I do not necessarily support the positions of the test’s authors.
As your scores reflect… 😉
The question about sins is really about Original Sin. Do all humans bear the stain of sin and need a savior? The answer is yes (though a Catholic would say that Mary was cleansed by Christ’s salvisific act in an anticipatory manner at conception).
Absolutely. But wouldn’t the purveyors of Christian Worldview come up with a better way of framing the question?
“salvisific” ?? I assume you mean “salvific.”
Cheers!
Did you notice that
George W. Bush is the President of the United States of America.
showed up under the “family” section? Ha! Yeah, like does lunacy run in your family?
Oh-n-this:
Every person that has ever lived on earth, but Jesus Christ, has committed sins.
Correct answer: Strongly Agree. But what about 1.4 million aborted fetuses each year? Am I do believe that they “committed sins”? This is two-sides-mouth talking, IMO. Why wouldn’t they ask: “Anyone who has had the opportunity to commit sin, has done so.” Or something like that?
And another simple test of knowledge that has nothing to do with “worldview”:
The wording “separation of Church and State” is found in the U.S. Constitution.
Oh, enough ragging on this. It is clear that such a test is just as likely to confirm a Conservative Muslim as a “Strong Biblical Thinker” as it is to label a liberal, orthodox Christian a “Secular Humanist.”
Peace!
I scored 80 out of 170 (sorry, I didn’t save the whole result)– disappointing results for someone who was raised in a relatively fundamental church (apparently they didn’t teach me well enough about the sanctity of the exact form of government God prefers). Yes, I scored especially low because of answers to questions about why representative democracy was more Godly than a pure democracy — I made the mistake of not knowing God’s exact feelings in the political sciences.
I was also befuddled by this question:
“Believers should not only base their philosophy in Christ, but they should know how to respond to the critics and skeptics of Christianity with the reasoning and basis of our biblical worldview.”
I was a little unsure of what was meant by the words “our biblical worldview.”
I did well (according to them) on the straight religion part, and apparently on social issues also, but I apparently missed the Bible’s many nuanced cues on government.
I’d be really curious to see how Theo scores on this quiz. I’d bet he’s more of a Biblical Worldview Thinker than Funky or I in certain areas! It might be enough to raise his overall score above mine (low end of moderate Biblical Worldview).
If you look at the rest of their website it would seem that this group adheres strongly to the belief that if you you want salvation you should, “give all your money to Jesus. But make the check out to me.”
Lest anyone get the impression that I don’t Christian Thought has any impact on the way we ought to view the world, let may state what I do believe about a “Christian Worldview”.
Christian thought pervades our lives and should affect everything we believe about everything. More importantly it should affect everything we do. It is clear from Scripture, reason, and Tradition, that there are some non-negotiable viewpoints that every Christian ought to have. Some are proscriptive, others are prescriptive. Certainly they intrude upon and inform our thoughts & actions in the social & economic arenas. But such strictures do not rise to the level of a unique “Christian Worldview”. There is no unique “Christian Answer” to the socialism-capitalism debate. There are definitely Christian answers to issues of greed, corruption, and charity, but no unique idea that says all Christians should support economic system X.
Cheers!
NOTA BENE: I do not necessarily support the positions of the test’s authors.
The George Bush question is meant to sniff out those who do not trust the election results. Why it shows up in the family category is beyond me. I suspect it’s a programming goof.
The question about sins is really about Original Sin. Do all humans bear the stain of sin and need a savior? The answer is yes (though a Catholic would say that Mary was cleansed by Christ’s salvisific act in an anticipatory manner at conception).
The Lord apparently also doesn’t hear the cry of the poor in the test, either. I’m praying that God softens these men’s hearts to the evils they portray in the name of God.