Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Cosmos The In Lost

Home
Catholic
Playing Mad Libs with Laudato Si’ & the Politics of Identity

Playing Mad Libs with Laudato Si’ & the Politics of Identity

Last updated on: June 17, 2015 at 1:16 pm by Artur Rosman

Playing Mad Libs with Laudato Si’ & the Politics of Identity 2015-06-17T13:16:36-07:00 Artur Rosman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Let’s play some games (“Papyrus with satirical vignettes: topsy-turvy world, they act against their natural instincts, British Museum, Anonymous, 1250BC-1150BC; Source: Wikimedia Commons, PD-Old-100).

What if you took recent articles and replaced some words as you would in Mad Libs?

Remember playing Mad Libs when you were a teenager? The blanks tended to spillover with health class lingo to generally hilarious results.

I’m reminded of this immaturity as I scan the wasteland of responses to my interview with Catholic climate expert Anthony Annett on Laudato Si’.

Half of the Catholics I know be like:

I’m no expert on environmental issues, buuut . . . here read this piece written by corporate lawyers totally debunking the need for environmental protection. My vested interests have exposed Tony’s vested interests! Checkmate.

In order to disarm some of your resistance to the new encyclical, whose draft you probably haven’t read in Italian, let’s try a game of Mad Libs.

Take this wonderfully informative piece by Dale Ahlquist about Humanae Vitae from Crisis and replace every instance of “encyclical” with “Laudato Si’.”

Here’s a sample text for the laziest among you (replace “it” with “Laudato Si'” for the first sentence, leave “encyclical” alone there):

A leader from an association of Protestant mainline denominations called it “the most important encyclical ever promulgated in the entire history of the papal succession.” He said, “I am glad that this pronouncement is so thoroughly clear-cut and uncompromising.” He was glad that everyone had to be either for it or against it. There was no middle ground . . .

. . . A pastor of a non-denominational church in New York said the encyclical was an example of “a tenth-century mind at work on twentieth-century problems. We are never going to get anywhere with marriage or anything else by going back to St. Augustine.

Do you get the picture about theological dissent? It wasn’t something invented in the 1960’s.

If you want a deeper historical picture check out Carlo Ginzburg’s The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller.

Nota Bene: Those of you who took the time to go through the whole piece probably noticed that Ahlquist’s piece isn’t actually about Humanae Vitae, but that’s a whole different story.

Speaking of a totally different game, let’s look at an article comparing the Republican/Conservative One-Percenter formerly known as Bruce Jenner. “Why Comparing Rachel Dolezal To Caitlyn Jenner Is Detrimental To Both Trans And Racial Progress” is a much circulated PuffPost piece. The operation here is a little bit more complex. It was suggested to me by professor Fritz Bauerschmidt.

For this passage, replace “transracial” with “transgender,” “blackness” and “black” with “womanhood/woman,” “racial” and “race” with “female,” and finally “Dolezal” with “Jenner.” I told you this was going to be a complex operation (still not sure if I’ve covered all the words that need replacing):

Transracial identity is a concept that allows white people to indulge in blackness as a commodity, without having to actually engage with every facet of what being black entails — discrimination, marginalization, oppression, and so on. It plays into racial stereotypes, and perpetuates the false idea that it is possible to “feel” a race. As a white woman, Dolezal retains her privilege; she can take out the box braids and strip off the self-tanner and navigate the world without the stigma tied to actually being black. Her connection to racial oppression is something she has complete control over, a costume she can put on — and take off — as she pleases.

Who thought playing Mad Libs could be so useful for exploding political myths? It’s a topsy-turvy world we live in.

https://vimeo.com/75113425

Ever wonder what if Judith Butler was Ockham’s God?

Previous Post

June 16, 2015

Previewing Laudato Si': Anthony Annett on Integral Ecology

Next Post

June 17, 2015 2 Possible Questions About Rod Dreher's "Orthodoxy, Catholicism, & the State"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #WhyRemainCatholic Abortion Advent Anti-Catholicism Arts Atheism Beauty Benedict XVI Bible Book Review Catholic Cinema Comedy Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey Czesław Miłosz Dariusz Karłowicz Devil Easter Eastern Orthodoxy Economics Environment Family Famous Atheists Who Weren't Atheists Guest Post Hans Urs von Balthasar HHS Mandate History Imagination Interview Islam Jean-Luc Marion John Paul II Judaism Just War Lent Literature Little Sisters of the Poor Liturgy Martyrdom Music News Paganism Patristics Phenomenology Philosophy Pierre Hadot Poetry Poland Pop Culture Pope Francis Poverty Prayer Protestantism Rabelais Race Remi Brague Rene Girard Russia Sam Rocha Science & Religion SCOTUS Secularization Sexual Abuse Sexuality Silence Solidarity Stratford Caldecott Synod14 Terrorism Top 10 Uncategorized Walker Percy War Weakened Edition World War II World Youth Day WYD Krakow

Select a Month July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is the "chosen lady" addressed in a New Testament letter?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Phoebe Mary Unspecified church Lydia