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KARL KEATING'S E-LETTER
TOPICS:
DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE?
WHAT I READ AND WHAT I WRITE
HOW TO GET CATHOLIC RADIO IN YOUR CAR
Dear Friend of Catholic Answers:
If you are within driving distance of San Jose or the Bay Area, I hope you will attend the Ignatius Press 25th Anniversary Conference. It will be held at Our Lady of Peace Parish in Santa Clara on September 5 and 6 (this Friday and Saturday).
I will be one of the speakers and look forward to joining Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Thomas Howard, Michael O'Brien, Steve Ray, Joseph Pearce, and, of course, the founder of Ignatius Press, Fr. Joseph Fessio. Also on hand will be singer Marie Bellet.
For more information, call 877-526-2151 or visit www.catholicrc.org.
SORRY, BUT I AM NOT THE BIBLE ANSWER MAN, CATHOLIC VERSION
Last week's E-Letter was about my backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada. I received many kind comments about my tale (thanks, everyone!), but one man seemed a bit confused. He said, "I thought your E-Letter is supposed to be about the Catholic Bible."
No, not really. The E-Letter is about whatever happens to be on my mind. Sometimes it will be about the meaning of a controverted biblical passage. Sometimes it will be about some other aspect of the faith. Sometimes it will be about an item in the news. And sometimes it simply will be about what I have been doing or have an interest in. The E-Letter is not meant to be a substitute for "This Rock" magazine or for the catholic.com web site.
I can't blame the man for his confusion--or for his disappointment. It is natural to suppose that someone who is known publicly for X must occupy nearly all of his waking hours with X. We often suppose a politician has no interest outside of politics, a musician has no interest outside of music, and a farmer has no interest outside of farming. But some farmers run for office, some politicians play musical instruments, and some musicians take a break by tilling the soil.
In my first years as an apologist, as I was learning the trade, I was preoccupied with apologetics. During the day I "did" apologetics. In the evenings I read apologetics. Maybe I even dreamt apologetics. This is to be expected when one is trying to get up to speed. Eventually, though, one reaches a plateau. Things level off. The pressure lessens.
This is not to say that there is no need for continued homework. There is, but one achieves a certain level of competence or knowledge and does not have to be monomaniacal any longer.
Some people express surprise when they learn that although I read a lot--I hesitate to count how many magazines and journals I go through each month, and then there are books--most of my reading nowadays not only is not about apologetics but is not about religion at all. Let me offer a few examples.
Some years ago I took up flying and got a pilot's license, first in sailplanes (gliders) and then in powered aircraft. In the process I collected nearly every worthwhile aviation book and read over a hundred of them. (Note that I did not say that I read every aviation book that I purchased. I buy books faster than I read them, no matter what the subject.) I still buy an aviation title now and then, but I no longer feel I am in the catch-up phase.
More recently I took up hiking and backpacking. When I was young I did a fair amount of camping, and then I settled into a decades-long spell of sedentariness. Like many middle-aged folks, I decided that it was time to exercise, so I put on hiking shoes and ended up on some of the loveliest and toughest trails in the West. In preparation, I purchased scores of outdoors books--again, every worthwhile one I could locate. I have not read all of them either, but I have gone through most of them.
During these periods of extensive reading about aviation and hiking I took detours, sometimes long ones, into other areas: engineering (particularly books by Henry Petroski), Johnsoniana, poetry and novels (such as those by Wendell Berry), geology and other sciences, history (John Lukacs is a favorite), biography, and, yes, even religion.
One might say, "Karl would be more effective in apologetics if he were to restrict his reading to theology and were to ignore all the other stuff." Maybe so, but it is equally probable that, had I read nothing but theology for the last fifteen years, today I would find myself so tightly focused that I would be unable to convey any useful information about the faith to anyone. Overindulgence can result in paralysis.
So, in any issue of this E-Letter readers may find apologetics or theology or any of a dozen other topics, depending on what's on my mind at the moment. (If nothing at all is on my mind, I may send you a blank file.)
A CATHOLIC RADIO IN EVERY CAR?
Most Catholics do not live within range of a Catholic radio station. Many who do find that they lose reception as soon as they get a few miles from home. What if you were able to pick up Catholic programming wherever you might be, at home, on the road, in the next state? It can happen. Here's how:
As its name implies, XM Satellite Radio distributes radio signals via satellite. All you need is a modified receiver (radio) in your home or car. At the moment XM does not carry Catholic programming, but it would if there seemed to be a market for it.
Michael Jones of WDEO, one of the top Catholic radio stations, is asking folks like you to go online and sign a petition intended to encourage XM to add Catholic programming. The petition is at www.avemariaradio.net/satelliteXM/index.php.
I urge you to take a moment and make your desire for Catholic radio known, even if you already live in an area served by Catholic radio. Thousands of signatures are needed immediately, because the petition will be turned in to XM this month.
Thanks for helping out. Think what good could be done if shows such as "Catholic Answers Live" and "The Doctor Is In" were available everywhere in the country!
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