My other thought was, if atheistic evolution is correct, shouldn’t this eliminate creatures that take risks to help others? If two mice were being hunted by a hawk and one “volunteered” so the other may live (of course, I don’t even know if that’s feasible, but let’s say it is), wouldn’t this tend to remove the genetic impulse for “heroic martyrdom” because it would remove itself quickly from the gene pool?

The issue of animal pain is perplexing, but in his The Problem of Pain, I think C.S. Lewis does an admirable job of addressing it. Normally the issue is avoided because it is so complex to deal with in a philosophical/theological sense.

We acknowledge that the world is “ours” collectively, and also that our private property is “ours” in a smaller sense. These kinds of people consider the latter for themselves, but not for anyone else. They presume that because everybody else lives somewhere near your house, they have control over it.

By the way, I particularly like the term “fun-sponge”. Accurate and hilarious!

If these grandmothers were performing some kind of pagan ritual, even if it was for the benefit of the Church, it still seems a bit disrespectful to walk into what amounts to Catholics’ living room and do that. However, if they were given permission to do that, that changes things quite a bit. But I think it’s critical to remember how important St. Peter’s is to Catholics–it’s our home, and we often have guests, but just as we need to host them gracefully, we would hope that our invitation would not turn into a scandal or spectacle.

Great Post!
Thank you

I was driving after seeing that and was thinking about all of the trees there that had been growing since I was little. Never has that mountain been bare since I could remember. Most of these trees were over 20 years old, but they were burned to the ground in less than an hour. I also felt bad for all of the animals living in that area! (I am a sap for animals).

It was so amazing to think that those trees were growing for well over a decade, but they were destroyed in minutes. Our communities have come together to help battle this fire that keeps changing course. ODOT, Six Different fire stations (Jefferson, Linn County, Albany, etc). Oregon State Police, and The Sheriffs office are all involved to try to stop this fire before it hits the especially dry fields only a few hundred yards away.

I thank her for sharing her warming and hilarious story, which confirms my hopes that behind those “cookie-cutter” facades there must be fellow nature-appreciatists who sympathize with my aversion to the oil-dependent world of endless bleach products, tupperware, and anti-bacterial handsoap, within which plastic mini-fish float against a label reading “Liquid Nature.”

I’ve heard of these militant Neighborhood Associations, which sounded too fascist to be true - aren’t there laws against this sort of discrimination? Could we petition for the rights of clotheslines and chickens under Affirmative Action for Planet Earth? I cringe to think of the ramifications of such Thought Police-mentality, which must daily squelch hundreds of “dangerous” efforts to be self-sufficient, eco-friendly and sustainable consumers and home owners.

Bel, what to do? Sign me up to volunteer for the guerrilla revolution. We shall conquer with spade and seed packets, real-cloth napkins and laundry-line lassos!