VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 ASPIREA MAGAZINE FOR HIGH SCHOOL RELIGION TEACHERS POPE FRANCIS’S vision OF THE CHURCH CRIB Science vs. Religion: BS E U THE WAR THAT S NEVER WAS Don’t miss a single /issue!aspire IDEAS FOR YOUR smp.org CLASSROOM! TO D AY How is your heart today?—Francisco de Osuna OPENING THOUGHT The spiritual mentors in my life have been skilled at asking the kinds of questions that have caused me to pause, then ponder something I hadn’t considered before—taking me to a depth of contemplation I had not expected. Perhaps the first act of the spiritual mentor is to ask an open-hearted question. The second act, then, is to create the trusted space of silence for that question to be answered. I think of Francisco de Osuna, the spiritual mentor of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. When they would come to him for spiritual direction he would ask just one question: How is your heart today? What are the open-hearted questions we might ask of young people today? Can we create safe, silent space for them to linger in the question, allowing the Spirit to lead where it will? —JOHN VITEK, PRESIDENT OF SAINT MARY’S PRESS ABOUT THE FROM THE EDITOR PUBLISHER Saint Mary’s Press is a nonprofit, What’s Inside Lasallian Catholic publisher administered by the Christian Welcome to the first issue of Aspire. Brothers of the Midwest District. Our intent with this new magazine is to Our focus is a contemporary provide support and inspiration for the rich expression of the Catholic ministry of educating youth in today’s world. Church’s mission to proclaim the We at Saint Mary’s Press have a long Good News of Jesus Christ and 6the Lasallian mission to provide a history of walking alongside our friends in Catholic education. We hope to further that human and Christian education mission with the pages of this magazine. for young people, including those who are economically deprived. The magazine title Aspire! speaks to the goals in every With our partners in schools, educator’s heart: to improve the classroom experience, parishes, and families, we share to touch young lives in a profound way, to offer the most the Good News of Jesus Christ accurate theological insights, and to simply be the best with Catholic Christian children possible teacher for the youth who are in our classes. and young people through This first issue focuses on the aspiration of truly being publications and services. present to the diversity of young people in our schools. Inside are articles and reflections that touch on key CONTRIBUTORS topics being discussed in the classroom today. Our hope Corrine L. Carvalho, Joanna Dailey, is that this content will spark deep and meaningful Dennis Doyle, Steven Ellair, Mallorie conversations and provide thoughtful ways forward. Goodale, Ellen B. Koneck, Sigrid We hope that you find this magazine both helpful and hopeful Lindholm, Julie Mickler, Joshua Moritz as you continue the great work of bringing faith to life! Live Jesus in our hearts…forever! @SaintMarysPress CRIB BS E U Steven Ellair S Steven Ellair Don’t miss Saint Mary’s Press a single /issue!aspire smp.org Saint Mary’s Press TO D AY SUBSCRIBE TODAY FOR ONLY $19.95. 3 Issues: Winter, Spring and Fall to inspire you and your teachers throughout the year. Copyright © 2019 by Saint Mary’s Press, Christian Brothers Publications, 702 Terrace Heights, Winona, MN 55987-1320, www.smp.org. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce the materials SUBSCRIBE AT SMP.ORG/ASPIRE intended for distribution to the children. No other part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means OR CALL THE MINISTRY CARE TEAM 800.533.8095 without the written permission of the publisher. What’s Inside ARTICLES Read it 6 Didn’t God Write the Bible? Articles that are theologically rich BY CORRINE L. CARVALHO and usable with your students 20 Pope Francis’s Vision of the Church BY DENNIS DOYLE Science Versus Religion: The War That Never Was 28 BY JOSHUA MORITZ CLASSROOM APPLICATION Seven Important Questions Apply it 13 for Interpreting the Bible An application section follows each article, so you can immediately use the ideas presented with your class 26 Discussion Prompts 35 Science & the Bible REFLECTIONS CLASSROOM IDEAS 14 Being Present to Belief and Unbelief BY STEVEN ELLAIR 14 Weathering the Storms 40 Speaking From the Deep Well 44 Prayer Service of One’s Being BY ELLEN B. KONECK 46 Why Am I Here? Make copies BY JOANNA DAILEY Every article and activity can be easily downloaded or printed for your classroom use: smp.org/aspirevol1 ARTICLE DIDN'T GOD WRITE THE BIBLE? By Corrine L. Carvalho DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR CLASS TO READ: SMP.ORG/ASPIREVOL1 Subscribe today! 6 Aspire Volume 1 // Fall 2019 smp.org/aspire OME PEOPLE WILL CLAIM THAT TO BE A “CHRISTIAN” MEANS THAT ONE MUST BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING THE BIBLE SAYS IS TRUE. Many Christian churches, however, Sincluding the Catholic Church, would say there are many problems with this view, beginning with how we define the notion of “truth.” ARTICLE 7 Let me give you an obvious example. In Psalm 23, we read: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Well, that can’t be literally true. First, God is not a physical shepherd; that statement is a metaphor (God is like a shepherd). And, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been made to “lie down in green pastures,” although I do believe God leads and protects me. This is a silly example, because this is obviously a poem, full of metaphors and images, meant to be read poetically. The “truth” of Psalm 23 is not in its literal meaning, but in the truth of those metaphors. Therefore, the Catholic Church and many Protestant denominations first object to a literalist interpretation because it does not recognize all the different kinds of texts the Bible may contain. BUT JEWS AND One of the arguments that divide Christian CHRISTIANS denominations is the way that they answer WOULD SAY the question, who wrote the Bible? While most Christians would say that texts in the Bible THAT GOD IS AN were written by both a human and a divine “AUTHOR” OF author, the model for how this interaction played out can differ significantly. Some THE BIBLE. HOW Christians hold to a model of divine dictation: CAN THIS BE? God told the human author what to write. Others think of God’s role more as an object for reflection than as an active agent in writing. Each religious tradition deserves careful study to understand how its view of human-divine authorship, or inspiration, fits in with its views on creation, natural reason, and so on. Obviously, there is neither time nor space to do that here. What I can provide, however, is the model that informs my reading as a Catholic biblical scholar. In many ways, it will be compatible with many Protestant and Jewish understandings of inspiration. The question of how to read the Bible stems in part from the question of the authorship of the Bible. When we use the word author today, we usually mean the person who actually took up pen and paper (or computer and printer) and physically, purposefully, wrote the words we read. If we restrict the word author in this way, then God did not write the Bible, because Subscribe today! 8 Aspire Volume 1 // Fall 2019 smp.org/aspire God did not physically come to earth and write. throughout the world believe that the Bible is But Jews and Christians would say that God the product of the interaction of divine and is an “author” of the Bible. How can this be? human authors. Inspiration is a term used to express that the writing of biblical texts entailed The Christian discussion of biblical authorship an interaction of divine and started early in church history human authors. In summary, the when people wrote in Latin. The HUMAN AUTHORS WHO canon (the fixed list of sacred Latin word for author can mean HAVE WRITTEN THE Scripture) is the list of those texts the actual physical writer, but it that were divinely inspired (had can also mean something like “the BIBLICAL TEXTS DO a human and divine author). authorizing agent”; in fact, it is SO AS PRODUCTS OF at the root of the word authority. So why do churches disagree In this broader sense, the author GOD’S CREATION. so much about the Bible? For is the person who guarantees instance, why do some Christian the “authenticity” of the material. denominations insist that the Bible’s account of creation contradicts views of evolution, while The Bible, then, has levels of authorship: the other churches find the accounts compatible? physical, human author and the divine author The discord happens because churches disagree who authorizes the material. Most churches on how human and divine authors interact. ARTICLE 9 More to the point, not all churches agree that ONE WAY WE KNOW GOD’S REVELATION IS THROUGH TEXTS WRITTEN BY HUMANS WHO human authors act as independent, autonomous writers in the process of producing texts. HAVE BEEN DIVINELY INSPIRED SO THAT WHAT THEY SAY CAN LEAD US TO SALVATION. Let me give you a specific example. The Catholic Church and many Protestant denominations believe that the human authors of the biblical texts act as any human author would in producing the texts. The theological reasons for this teaching are complex but profound.