Postscripts From The Catholic Spitfire Grill

Well for those of you who think I will sell my soul for a good review of a free book/product, we are about to blast that one out of the water.

When the choices for this month’s reviews came out, I was very eager to review the Faith Database. I currently use the Welcome to the Catholic Church CD-ROM (WTCC) for quick reference to many things Catholic. But while I like WTCC, there were some aspects of it that frankly drove me crazy.

I have been in possession of the Faith Database now since the day beofre I evacuated for Ike. I took it with me on the evacuation in hopes that it would give me something to take my mind off of a hurricane going right. over. the. top. of. my. house. (Yes I am still whining about that….I’ll stop after a while) I had trouble installing it (which irritated me…not that irritation was difficult to achieve at that point) and when I finally did get it installed I had some technical problems. So….I put it aside because I figured that it must be just my evacuation angst, and some unknown computer problem that was causing my problems and that I owed this review a better attitude. After all, there were some “big name” recommendations on the cover…it  was probably just me. So now that the yard in clean, the stuff is put back, the constant needs for volunteers for various hurricane relief projects has eased, and my stupid philosophy paper is written for my class at the seminary, it was time to get back to this review.

Well I am in a better mood now. My computer is, in all respects, happy, healthy, and running well. And I am afraid that overall, I am deeply disappointed in this program.

First, let me start with what I love. The bible search function on this CD is worth the price of the CD if that is something that you need and use regularly. I have been using WTCC for my bible search needs and been hugely frustrated with the quality of the results on that. Is it too much to ask that the references be sorted in order? With all of the results in the Psalms in order and listed ahead of those in Matthew? So many times I would be looking for something in particular and know that what I was looking for was in the Psalms but would get 400 hits sorted in some order known only to God and the wisest of angels and as you might imagine that was not helpful. Cue the Hallelujah Chorus, the Faith Database sorts search results in order. Not only does it sort the results in order but you can switch from 10 different Bible translations including a Greek interlinear. Be still my geeky heart! There were some other things I liked as well. I like the (searchable, printable) collection of writings. I like the encyclopedia. Great stuff. Truly. Overall once you get the program started, it’s very easy to navigate and use.

Keep in mind that last paragraph. There are many good reasons to buy this program. If it does what you want it to do.

What doesn’t it do? What might frustrate you?

The Faith Database tooks a coon’s age to install. I kept thinking my computer had locked up and restarting the computer. Finally, I decided to watch hurricane coverage and let it go for 10 minutes and it did eventually install. And lest you think it was just raw nerves that had me chronically impatient when I had to re-install the program today (more on that later) it took just as long and I had forgotten that I had to walk away from the computer while it installed or I would end up restarting my computer repeatedly. (My memory kicked in after the third restart today.)

It takes half of a coon’s age to start the program while it reconnects to all the files it put on your computer. This is slightly less irritating because your computer doesn’t look locked up during that process.

Now I know I am a geek but it didn’t take me long to start finding “holes” in the included works. Since I am attending the seminary, I actually wanted to read some of Pius IX’s encyclicals. At first, I thought I wasn’t working the search function right. But no, the works of Pius IX are not included. I went and checked WTCC, and there weren’t any of Pius IX’s encyclicals there either so perhaps my standard were a little high. I just want the buyer to know that perhaps, the contents of the database isn’t quite extensive as you might hope. It isn’t the end of the world, after all you can find those fascinating encyclicals on the internet too.

I also explored the apologetics section. Overall, the content there was good. However, there are links to a number of conversion stories. I have to say that this section is utterly worthless. There were a few conversion stories that linked to places outside of EWTN that worked; however, I was unable to find a single working link to the EWTN website.

The images gallery. I loved this idea! I often images on my powerpoint presentations for my RCIA classes so I was eager to explore this section. The thumbnails of the images all worked but don’t click on the links from the Faith Database to the internet. That was the source of my “technical trouble” when I first started playing with this program that had me quit in frustration. Moving to the interner via those links, crashed the program, crashed my computer and in two separate cases damaged the program making it necessary to re-install it!! Maybe it’s just my computer, but you can bet that the images section of my program will not get used.

Finally, I took some of the apologetics tests. It is here that I found content that will keep me from recommending this CD to either the Spitfire Grill or my RCIA classes as a group and only to individuals whom I know personally. I am afraid that the snarkiness level is a little too high and I would be conerned that someone coming out of certain faith tradition or those who are repairing ignorance that is not their fault might be offended. For example, one of the multiple choice answers to a question on the Eucharist was “it is a death cookie like Jack Chick says” The various levels of apologetic mastery are labeled “Invincibly Ignorant (You Hope!)”, “Heretic”, “Cafeteria Catholic”, “Novice Apologist”, “Master Apologist”, “Future Doctor of the Church” It’s not that I am lacking in a sense of humor, or even that I can’t stand a little snarkiness. I would just rather pick and choose the time and place and recommending a CD with this level of snarkiness in a place that is likely to be used by someone exploring the faith just doesn’t seem wise to me. 

If this program does what you need it to do and the things that irritate me wouldn’t irritate you, then it’s a good investment. It’s cheaper than WTCC and in some respects is much better than WTCC. However, I have to say that there are times when I would still recommend WTCC over the Faith Database and vice versa.

Now those of you who know me more than just reading what I write here and those who read regularly enough to be deeply suspicious that I am more inclined than your average person to tell you that you need to buy a book and that I have never met a book I didn’t like are saying to yourselves, “She’d sell her soul for a free book. This is just something she read for the Catholic Company’s reviewer program. Why on earth would I listen to a thing she said with respect to how much I need to buy this book?” Well let me assure you that while I just might sell my soul for a free book, I recognize in myself a possibly irremediable weakness with regard to that, I have however, met books I don’t like. I have….deep breath….thrown books away that made me mad or had no redeeming value whatsoever. True, I might have a very low standard for “no redeeming value whatsoever” but I do have one. And no matter how many books I think I “need”, I do recognize that not everyone has the same sentiment about books. I love books and I want to see them placed in homes where they will be loved and cared for and so I do not recommend books willy nilly. As I read books I often think of people who might also enjoy reading that particular book, and this one was no different. What was different was that after a while, I started trying to think of someone to whom I would not recommend this book. I couldn’t think of a single one. I don’t know a one person who is old enough to read and understand the text who would not potentially benefit from the message of this book.: Heaven’s Song by Christopher West

In a nutshell, it’s an exploration of some recently discovered adresses that were written by John Paul II (recently discovered writings? how cool is that!?) on the Theology of the Body but were not delivered publicly because of their “delicate” nature. On the surface, they are commentaries on the the Song of Songs and the marriage of Tobias and Sarah in the deuterocanonical book of Tobit. What they constitute though is the rest of theological foundation John Paul II gave us in addresses that comprise theTheology of the Body that every catechist — and I very much mean every — bishop, priest, deacon, religious, parent, DRE, CCE teacher, husband, wife, consecrated virgin, (have I made my point yet?), etc. needs to help repair marriages in the Catholic Church and everything resting on those marriages. We will never solve the problem of a lack of vocations which are a generous giving of oneself to the Church until we repair the vocation of Marriage which is the generous giving of one spouse to another. We will not regain our footing with respect to the liturgy until we not only understand on an intellectual level that the giving of oneself to one’s spouse in marriage is meant as a sign and symbol of Christ’s total giving of himself in the Eucharist, but live it as well. The good news is not that the Church needs to be telling married people that conjugal love is bad, but rather helping them to redeem it from the twisted morass that the enemy has made of things and restore the joy that God intended it to have. The Theology of the Body must begin to permeate our thoughts about the family, the Faith, the Church, and the Liturgy. And that not just my opinion:

Through West, John Paul II reminds us that being created in the image of God means that from the beginning of creation, our bodies “have had the God-given ability to reveal divine mysteries.” Chew on that for just a moment and begin to realize that to the extent that our bodies  and physical relationships are not in harmony with God’s plan for them, we will be unable to understand and to properly live the divine mysteries that God intended to be revealed through our bodies. Time and again in Sacred Scripture we see Jesus use the metaphor of marriage to convey his divine Love for us. The passion of marriage, the sacrifice of marriage, the life-giving embrace of husband and wife is a God-given sign to instruct us about Our Lord’s s love and passion and sacrifice for us. Is it any wonder then, that in a world where Catholic divorce rates nearly match those who are not religious, where Catholics are just as likely to contracept as any other Christian, where Catholics live together before marriage nearly as much as non-Christian that we are stuggling to understand Christ’s love for us? Redeemed from sin, John Paul II tells us that the marital embrace is liturgical and that the liturgy is spousal. We must understand this, live it, and teach it effectively if we are to turn back the tide of crumbling families and all that implies for society and Church alike.

Here’s a news flash….the thou-shalt-not approach to teaching the message of the good news of Christian sexuality is not working. That’s why it’s a relief to be able to say that this is most emphatically not a book that is condemning. In a field awash with books that can make you feel guilty, West manages to deliver the heart of the message of the Theology of the Body with all of the tenderness that I imagine was in Our Lord’s voice when He spoke to the woman caught in adultery. “Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on, do not sin any more.” This is not a book that anyone, no matter how diseased and dysfunctional their sexual life is, needs to be afraid of. It’s full of hope and joy and quite frankly, the promise of greater things ahead for those who are married AND for those who are not. You will be able to recommend this book with confidence to those who are already hurting badly in this area and fear additional battery by well-meaning but insufficiently charitable Christians.  

This is also a supremely practical book. It’s already set up for those who might want to lead a book discussion in their parish with questions for reflection at the end of every chapter. It’s easy to read so it’s a good introduction for pretty much anyone who wants to begin to learn about the Theology of the Body both for those who are not inclined to study every point of Catholic doctrine in depth because there is plenty to meditate on for a long time and for those who are inclined to read-more-about-it since it’s a good jumping off place. If you are a theologian, this book might be a little lightweight for you but then again, it might just be the help you need to put some of John Paul II’s deeper theology into terms that would be easy to digest in a Sunday homily or parish study or at the dinner table with your family.  Besides, I don’t think these newly discovered writings of John Paul II are widely distributed yet. (Feel free to leave a link to where they ARE published in the comments, if I am wrong about that.) You’ve got to buy the book to get a glimpse.

And now, let me tell you that I am putting my money where my mouth is. The copy I read was an unbound galley copy. I want this book on my library shelves and an unbound galley copy just is not going to cut it. Furthermore, I am not lending my copy of this book and I anticipate lending it frequently. So I am not only going to buy this book, I am going to give this book the honor accorded very VERY few books in my library. I am going to specifically buy at least one additional “lending copy” because I am NOT parting with my own.