The problems with U.S. Textbooks in their religious instruction, report on a study, by Peter Menkin

In a reliable and even remarkable study, The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, located in San Francisco, published a work on religion in American textbooks. These textbooks, used in the United States’ schools, make many errors of religious fact—surprising and even egregious errors.

.
The book is titled, “The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion,” published by Lexington Books, a division of Rowman and Littlefield, Publishers..
.
http://www.lexingtonbooks.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0739130935.
.
The effort of five years by the late researcher Gary Tobin, PhD (former President of the Institute), and Dennis Ybarra, MBA, was discussed both by email and webcam..
.
Part One: The interview begins .
Dennis Ybarra says via email:.
.
How many textbooks are in the study? I’ve a copy of the Executive Summary, found on your website www.TroublewithTextbooks.org :.
.

I reviewed 28 textbooks. Up until now, I declined to segregate the 28 into subsets of pass or failing overall because the content in each of them is so “all over the map.” Meaning that in the four areas we analyzed: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Israel, many are very good in one area and terrible in another. .
.
Why do you say some are “…good in one area and terrible in another?”.
.

This is because the sections in one of these areas may be exemplary while others are egregious. .

.
.
Part Two: What Jewish and Community Research says of themselves, an introduction.

The introduction to the Executive Summary boldly notes for the book:.
.
“The Trouble with Textbooks sounds the alarm about how textbooks disparage some groups and teach historical distortions. Our schools are supposed to instill young people with American values and provide students with the knowledge necessary for good citizenship. Instead, textbooks are filled with mistakes and misrepresentations.”.
.
The research was conducted under the funding by and auspices of The Institute for Jewish and Community Research, whose tri-fold purposes are as “…an independent think tank devoted to creating a safe, secure, and growing Jewish community. We provide research to the Jewish community and the general society, utilize our information to design and develop innovative initiatives, and educate the general public and opinion leaders.”.
.
They explain: .
.
(1) “The Institute conducts survey research about religious prejudice.” .
.
(2) “The Institute engages in research about megagifts in American philanthropy, giving to higher education, and philosophies of giving. We also specialize in research about Jewish philanthropy, including foundations and motivations for giving to Jewish causes.” .
.
(3) “We study the demography of the Jewish people, looking at how Jewish identity is defined and expressed. We examine issues relating to inter-marriage, conversion and the racial and ethnic diversity of the Jewish people.”.
.
Regarding their study on textbooks, the Executive Summary explains that people of religious faith will find the errors obvious, once they look at the textbooks. The Institute’s Dennis Ybarra urges parents to read their child’s textbook, and says the Executive Summary is readable and useful to school boards in San Francisco’s Bay Area, and in the United States..
.
Part three: The interview again… then the chart.
.

• The name “Palestine” is used liberally and innacurately. Prior to the Roman suppression of the Jewish revolts and the Romans’ renaming of the land as a punishment for the revolts, the land was not known as Palestine..
• “Palestine” is referred to as the location of Jesus’ ministry even though.
the word is unknown in Christian sources..
• Christianity is described a having been founded “by a young Palestinian named Jesus.”.

.

Some remarks by the writer of this article:
To the religious, whether Christian or Jew, some substantive facts are important. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus lived in Israell, or the Hebrew area of the world which was Judah and Israel. Jesus is without qualification considered the Messiah by Christians, and it is Biblical that he rose from the dead, not only a tradition or belief. As a central part of the faith, that is vital, for Easter is the most important Christian Holiday of the year..
.
These, as I say, are important points: even very significant. A substantive religious instruction for Jews and Christians is that Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. This is not a vague or questionable teaching. It is clearly visible and part of a believers set of understandings, let alone a general reader of the Bible..
.
That there are many concerns relevant to today’s Jewish tradition, for I did note many quotes from the Jerusalem Post to get to the “moral” side of the article using the words of the researchers. These are Jewish faith moral concerns, and valid. Jews have a valid and highly regarded moral sense, so I think and is popularly believed. Christians, too, will find these same concerns with their moral dimension, for afterall the two faiths share various areas of teaching for the Old Testament is part of the Christian Bible. Christians and scholars, as well as parents and those whose lessons these are will find the issues and their controversies of moral as well as historic and factual concern of accuracy alone..
.
.The textbooks fail to meet the devotional practices as they are in fact practiced. Here is a chart from the work:.
.
Islamic teachings are treated as historical truth while Judaism and Christianity are presented with a skeptical tone.
Textbook publishers pass on material that proselytizes for Islam rather than more properly teaches about Islam.
.In looking through this comparison chart that notes the language used for Beliefs of the three major religions in the selected textbooks, the chart shows starting on the right: The textbook name and publisher; the religion (as Judiasm, Christianity, Islam). Read carefully for wording, for the differences are subtle, even in nuance. The implication though slight here begins to show a pattern, making the affect of approach to each weighted in a different manner: “story”/”revealed”; “claimed”/”revelation received”; “claimed”/received revelation from Allah”, and so on..
.
Table 5.1: Comparison of Language Used for Beliefs of the.
Three Major Religions in Selected Textbooks.
.
Textbook. Judaism. Christianity. Islam.
The World (Pearson/Scott Foresman) . Caption to a picture of a seder plate: “Foods on the seder plate are symbolic of an ancient Hebrew story.” . . “The pilgrimage, or hajj (haj), to Mecca is an essential part of Islam, the religion revealed to Muhammad . . . .” .
World History: Continuity and Change (Holt). Glossary entry: “Ten Commandments Moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God Yahweh on Mount Sinai.” . . Glossary entry: “Qur’an Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God.”.
.
World Civilizations: The Global Experience (Pearson). . Glossary entry: “Jesus of Nazareth” reads in part, “prophet and teacher among the Jews; believed by Christians to be the Messiah . . . .” . Glossary entry: “Muhammad Prophet of Islam . . .; received revelations from Allah in 610 C.E. and thereafter . . . .” .
Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. (McDougal Littell). . “According to the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth was born around 6 to 4 B.C.” “According to Jesus’ followers, he rose from the dead. . . .” . “Muhammad’s teachings, which are the revealed word of God . . . , are found in the holy book called the Qur’an.” .
World Cultures and Geography - Eastern Hemisphere (McDougal Littell). Teacher’s Planning Guide:.
“[Section] Overview: Key Ideas.
Birthplace of Three Religions . . ..
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all share common traits.” .
“Judaism is a story of exile.”. “Christians believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah.”. “The Qur’an is the collection of God’s revelations to Muhammad”.
.
Glencoe World History (McGraw-Hill). “Then, because of drought, the Israelites migrated to Egypt, where they were enslaved until Moses led them out of Egypt. . . . Some interpretations of recent archaeological evidence contradict details of the biblical account.”. . .
.

.
.
.
Further in its introduction, the study says:.
.
Some supplemental materials are inflammatory. They posit that Israeli Jews are white European colonialists in the same unsavory category as the imperialist European countries..
.
• The Arab nations never attacked Israel. Arab-Israeli wars “just broke out,” or Israel started them. .
• Arabs nations want peace but Israel does not..
• Israel expelled all Palestinian refugees..
• Israel put the Palestinians in refugee camps in Arab.
lands, not Arab governments..
.
Questions we asked of Dennis Ybarra, again, regarding the study..

What was your methodology?.

We selected the 28 textbooks that include all major publishers and a smaller one that we thought would cover all the most widely used in U.S. public schools. Once we purchased those, we did a survey of at least two school districts in each “non-adoption” state. (California adopts K-8 on a statewide basis.) For adoption states we had the list of approved textbooks. By this we confirmed that we had included all the most widely used textbooks..

.

Please tell us more?.

I analyzed thousands of pages of textbooks. We also looked at related supplemental materials and professional development teacher trainings. The textbooks we examined included teacher, student, and advanced placement editions. .
.

We performed a detailed content analysis of student materials, including student textbooks, websites, and handouts, and of teacher materials, including teacher’s editions of textbooks, curricula, lesson plans, teacher training materials, websites, and more. The content analysis of the textbooks focused on four subject areas:.
.
• Jewish history, theology, and religion.
• The relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
• The relationship between Judaism and Islam.
• The history, geography, and politics of the Middle East.

.

What about San Francisco’s Bay Area schools and textbooks?.

I did take a look at what books were in use in the San Francisco Unified School District. .
.
In general, getting information on what books are used in the myriad primary, middle, and secondary districts in the region is very time consuming if the information is not posted on a website. .
.
One must determine the proper contact person at the district who handles curriculum, call the person and hope he or she is in the office. Once you reach the person, you must hope they are cooperative (even though as a public agency they must be transparent)..
.
For high school, San Francisco Unified does use McDougal Littell’s Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction, Traditions & Encounters by McCraw Hill, and World Civilizations: The Global Experience by Pearson, all of which we reviewed..
.

.

Were there other errors of note you want to mention in the textbooks? These may be from any of the textbooks, not just those used in San Francisco’s Bay Area..
.
“This is another error: Excepting the Old Testament’s poetry, the Jews produced very little of note in any of the art forms. . . . There is no record of any important [early] Jewish contributions to the sciences.” (World Civilizations, Thomson Wadsworth).
.
We found that, in many of the 28 textbooks, the following:.
.
1. Negative stereotypes of Jews appear in textbooks..
2. Textbooks misrepresent the close relationship between Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity..
3. Textbook material from Muslim advocacy groups glorifying Islam over Judaism and Christianity is placed in textbooks verbatim by compliant publishers. .
.
The writer of the article notes again...
The moral question of fairness, of the impartiality and objective nature of textbook quality is not dealt with very much in this article. News media have offered the story in a context of fairness, the moral condition of attitude and fact regarding religious content..
As a note, this writer wants to add that researcher Dennis Ybarra believes textbook publishers may not be “purposefully creating errors,” but they are responding to what they are handed, many times without much review and as it was handed to them..
.
The researcher says, “We did not speak to publishers as part of the research. Our purpose was to identify the problems. During my research I noticed that the textbook publishing world was amazingly closed..
.
“No one from the major industry players was willing to publicly criticize the way textbooks are written, the textbook adoption process and its less than desirable results, or textbook content. The one or two exceptions from published sources were from people who had left the industry.”.
.
.
What has the press said about the book, so far?. .

Since the publication of The Trouble with Textbooks and all the interviews I’ve done, the only comment or reaction I’ve seen from the publishers is in a USA Today article by Greg Toppo December 1, 2008. .
.
Their trade association spokesperson asserted therein that publishers thoroughly vetted their material on religion and their products were fair to all religions. Fox News religion correspondent Lauren Green clearly stated in her March 7, 2009 report about bias in textbooks about Islam (in which I appeared) that the publishers all declined her offer of the opportunity to comment on the issues we raised. .
In fact Fox posted the phone numbers of the major publishers recommending their viewers contact them and complain. I later heard through the grapevine that, in response, the publishers shut down those numbers and that no member of the public was subsequently able to get any live person on the line..
.
I’m sure it’s because the publishers feel trapped in a no win situation, being buffeted by pressure from all sides. Among our most important findings is that “in putting out flawed books the publishers have not been malicious, but unable to successfully navigate the economic, political, and cultural pressures brought to bear on the content of their books.” [p. 154] .
.

.

Part Four: What others say, including quotes from this study’s researchers as published elsewhere .

In a particularly pointed article both researchers are interviewed. The Jerusalem Post of September 25, 2008 says in its headline, “U.S. textbooks misrepresent Jews and Israel.”.
.
These are quotes from that Jerusalem Post article written by HAVIV RETTIG GUR
These quotes highlight words said by the researchers published in the newspaper and include those of the late Gary Tobin:.
.
In their treatment of Judaism, too, the textbooks showed a negative bias, according to the study. They often expressed a view that “Jews and Judaism are legalistic,” and that “Jews care only about the letter of the law and ignore its spirit,” the study found. The Jewish God is presented as “stern and warlike,” and not compassionate, as is highlighted in other religions. In some instances, Jews are charged with deicide in the killing of Jesus. .
.
The study also found that 18 textbooks used “unscholarly and disparaging ‘Old Testament’ terminology for the Jewish scriptures when discussing the origins of Judaism.” .
.
The study compared language used in describing Jewish and Christian belief with that describing Muslim belief. “The textbooks tend to be critical of Jews and Israel, disrespectful about Christianity, and rather than represent Islam in an objective way, tend to glorify it,” says Ybarra. .
.
“Textbook publishers often defer completely to Muslim groups for their content [on Islam] because they want to be sensitive to Muslim concerns,” he explained. “So they write that Mohammed is a prophet of God, without the qualifier you should have in a public school that shows you’re teaching about religion, rather than teaching religion.” .
.
One example among the many cited in the study is in World History: Continuity and Change, in which a glossary entry on the Ten Commandments describes them as “Moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God Yahweh on Mount Sinai.” .
.
The same glossary describes the Koran as a “Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God” - without a conditional qualifier. .
.
“Islam is treated with a devotional tone in some textbooks, less detached and analytical than it ought to be,” the study finds. “Muslim beliefs are described in several instances as fact, without any clear qualifier such as ‘Muslims believe… .’ .
.
“No religion should be presented in history textbooks as absolute truth, either on its own or compared to any other, or they all should be.” .
.
.
What some others think of the work is offered on the book jacket, and one quote goes this way (an endorsement):.
“The Trouble with Textbooks is a very important book not only for Jews but for the entire Christian community. This volume is an excellent tool for anyone who is interested in balanced information that is fair and reliable concerning Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”.
Rev. John J. Keane, SA, general council member and ecumenical officer,.
Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
.
.
.
All quotations “excerpted from Executive Summary, Trouble with Textbooks, TroublewithTextbooks.org”.
.

Images: (1) Trouble with Textbooks; (2) Dennis Ybarra; (3) The Late Gary Tobin. All photos courtesy of Institute of Jewish and Community Research, San Francisco

Addendum:

The textbooks of the study listed here:

1. Arreola, Daniel. D., Marci Smith Deal, James F. Peterson, and.
Rickie Sanders. World Geography. California teacher’s ed..
Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2006..
2. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. Modern World History: Patterns of.
Interaction. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005..
3. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. Ancient World History: Patterns of.
Interaction. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005..
4. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. World History: Patterns of Interaction..
Student ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2003..
5. Bednarz, Sarah W., Ines M. Miyares, Mark C. Schug, and.
Charles S. White. World Cultures and Geography: Eastern.
Hemisphere and Europe. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal.
Littell, 2005..
6. Berson, Michael J., ed. World History. (Harcourt Horizons)..
Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 2005..
.
.
7. Boehm, Richard G., Claudia Hoone, Thomas M. McGowan,.
Mabel C. McKinney-Browning, Ofelia B. Miramontes, and.
Priscilla H. Porter. Ancient Civilizations. (Harcourt Brace Social.
Studies). Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt Brace, 2002..
8. Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick,.
Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, and David Northrup. The.
Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Advanced placement ed..
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005..
9. Carrington, Laurel, Mattie P. Collins, Kira Iriye, Rudy J..
Martinez, and Peter N. Stearns, eds. World History: The.
Human Journey. Student ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and.
Winston, 2003..
10. Carrington, Laurel, Mattie P. Collins, Kira Iriye, Rudy J..
Martinez, and Peter N. Stearns, eds. World History: The Human.
Journey, Modern World. Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart.
and Winston, 2005..
11. Hanes, William T. III, ed. World History: Continuity & Change..
Annotated teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,.
1999..
12. Harcourt Horizons, ed., The World. (Harcourt Horizons)..
Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 2003..
13. Helgren, David M., Robert J. Sager, and Alison S. Brooks..
People, Places, and Change. Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart.
and Winston, 2005..
14. Sager, Robert J., and David M. Helgren. World Geography Today..
Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005..
.
15. Bentley, Jerry H. and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions and.
Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Boston: McGraw-.
Hill, 2006..
.
25. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. The Ancient World..
(World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
26. Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc.
Jason Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 4th ed.,.
Advanced placement ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006..
.
27. Adler, Philip J., and Randall L. Pouwels. World Civilizations..
4th ed., Instructor’s ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson,.
2006..
28. Upshur, Jiu-Hwa L., Janice J. Terry, James P. Holoka, Richard.
D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. World History Since 1500: The.
Age of Global Integration. vol. 2. Belmont, CA:.
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2002..
16. Boehm, Richard G., David G. Armstrong, Francis P. Hunkins,.
Dennis Reinhartz, and Merry Lobrecht. The World and Its.
People. Teacher’s ed. New York, McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, 2005..
17. Farah, Mounir A., and Andrea Berens Karls. World History: The.
Human Experience. Student ed. New York: McGraw-.
Hill/Glencoe, 2001..
18. Greenblatt, Miriam and Peter S. Lemmo. Human Heritage: A.
World History. Teacher’s ed. New York: McGraw-.
Hill/Glencoe, 2006..
19. Lamm, Robert C. The Humanities in Western Culture. Boston:.
McGraw-Hill, 1996..
20. Spielvogel, Jackson J. Glencoe World History. Teacher’s ed. New.
York: McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, 2005..
.
21. Ahmad, Iftikhar, Herbert Brodsky, Marylee Susan Crofts, and.
Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis. World Cultures: A Global Mosaic..
Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall,.
2004..
22. Boyd, Candy D., Geneva Gay, Rita Geiger, James B. Kracht,.
Valerie O. Pang, C. Frederick Risinger, Sara M. Sanchez. The.
World. (Scott Foresman Social Studies). Teacher’s ed..
Glenview, IL: Pearson/Scott Foresman, 2005..
23. Ellis, Elisabeth G., and Anthony Esler. World History:.
Connections to Today. Student ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Prentice Hall, 2001..
24. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. Medieval Times to.
Today. (World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
25. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. The Ancient World..
(World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
26. Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc.
Jason Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 4th ed.,.
Advanced placement ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006..
.
27. Adler, Philip J., and Randall L. Pouwels. World Civilizations..
4th ed., Instructor’s ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson,.
2006..
28. Upshur, Jiu-Hwa L., Janice J. Terry, James P. Holoka, Richard.
D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. World History Since 1500: The.
Age of Global Integration. vol. 2. Belmont, C.
.
The Jewish and Community Institute, San Francisco emphasizes that one of their important purposes is to bring to public understanding, both in their own community and that of the larger communities, that Jewish people are comprised of many kinds of colors, races, peoples. It is a diverse people, explains Dennis Ybarra in a webcam background interview with this writer. This YouTube is a Jewish prayer, chosen because the institute engages in a business of research into subjects as diverse as the Madoff philanthropy scandal, this study on textbooks, and areas of Jewish identity, including its wide ranging composition of faith by many nationalities.

YouTube notes say of this video: Sonia Wieder-Atherton plays a jewish prayer.




.Final part: Notes on the article by the writer of the interview about and review of “Trouble with Textbooks”


This article’s Writer’s notes: This writer wants readers to recognize that the controversies of this textbook study take into account Muslim influence on the factual reports, so the researchers say and in fairness this report offers..
.
It is important to know that the Muslim influence on textbook content is very high, and regarded by Christians and Jews as not the kind of representation of their religious views that expresses in a fair manner their beliefs. Of course, judge for yourself as either a parent, a teacher, or an academic. Clearly, teachers bring in supplemental materials on subjects, many times from their home or own research on behalf of a school. They do so with that supplied by their school. Are students endangered with ignorance to basic beliefs. Maybe not in a crisis sense, but this writer agrees with the researchers that they are being mised..
.
Certainly, Muslims are entitled to their way of looking at these things. One salient and important point, and though not until the end is it mentioned again as a moral issue regarding press motivations for covering this story, is that of fairness and accuracy of viewpoint, representation, and religious belief and fact as due to the individual faith. Your comments are invited as a reader of this article..
.
–article by Peter Menkin, Mill Valley, CA USA

Let us Speak of Holiness this morning:
Bernard of Clairvaux
A homily
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB
Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
Wednesday Eucharist,
August 19, 2009
Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 1994

Ecclesiasticus 39: 1-10
John 15: 7-11
Psalm 139: 1-9

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let us speak of Holiness this morning, God’s Holiness, as we learn of Bernard of Clairvaux. This is his Feast Day in our Episcopal Church.

From a hymn attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot, born in 1090, at Fontaines, near Dijon, France:

My Shepherd, now receive me;
my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me,
O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.


This is a request of God in Christ by a man who founded 162 monasteries, was a man who deeply admired Mary, Mother of God, and is considered a man of God’s wisdom and holiness.
Herewith this is a remark, a statement, part of Psalm 139…

You search out my path and my lying down, /and are acquainted with all
my ways. /Even before a word is on my tongue,/ O Lord, you know it completely… /Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; /is is so high that I cannot attain it.

Friend of God, yes. Man of God’s wisdom, yes. Man of Holiness, yes.

Regarding Mary, history tells of Bernard:

He considered and admired the feminine in the holy, in the divine story, as Bernard played the leading role in the development of the Mary cult. One of the most important manifestations of the popular piety of the twelfth century, the Virgin Mary had played a minor role and it was only with the rise of emotional Christianity in the eleventh century that she became the prime intercessor for humanity with the deity. She is sometimes referred to as the “fourth part of the Trinity,” for Mary is a feminine figure much admired and even referred to in prayer to this day. We pray,

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our
death…”

A Cistercian Monk, Bernard, is considered in this manner by our readings today, reflecting the three-fold manner of his character and relationship with God and man. He died at Clairvaux, 21 August, 1153:

· Bernard is wise, with the wisdom of God.
· Bernard is Holy, with a Holiness of God.
· Bernard is friend of God, as the New Testament tells us of friendship with God. This is the way to abide in God.

Our Gospel, says:

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept
my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you
so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

So part of our reading from John for today, tells us of Bernard’s love in Christ, and his friendship with God in Christ.

In this way is Bernard found wise, so another of our readings tells us:

If the great Lord is willing,/ he will be filled with the spirit of understanding; /he will pour forth words of wisdom of his own/ and give thanks
to the Lord in prayer./ The Lord will direct his counsel and knowledge, /as he
meditates on his mysteries.

So goes part of our reading from Ecclesiasticus (the Apocrypha) for today, tell us of Bernard’s wisdom.

It is as a holy man we remember Bernard of Clairvaux today.

An internet search on Answer.com received this definition of holiness: “The New Testament Greek word that translates KADOSH is HAGIOS. In the New Testament it is everywhere used of Christians. Christians are said to be HAGIOI (plural.) All the English translations here read ‘saints’. Paul writes letters to congregations in a dozen different cities, always beginning his letter, "To the saints in...( Corinth , Philippi , wherever.) To be holy, a saint, is simply to be different.”

Holiness is that which allows us to be separate --as we are closer to and with God. It is that of separation as seen in hagios from hagos, which denotes "any matter of religious awe" (the Latin sacer); and that of sanctioned (sancitus). That which is hosios has received God’s seal.

Thomas Aquinas says, "All who worship God may be called 'religious', but they are specially called so, who dedicate their whole lives to the Divine worship, and withdraw themselves from worldly concerns, just as those are not termed 'contemplatives' who merely contemplate, but those who devote their whole lives to contemplation". The saint adds: "And such men subject themselves to other men not for man’s sake but for God's sake," words which afford us the keynote of religious life--so it is called.

What we are speaking of is the inner dynamic within and between God and man. And it has the most dramatic effects, bringing uprightness, happiness, yearning, treasuring, and delight.

The late Anglican Reverend Professor Daniel Hardy, defines Holiness.

So holiness is not to be seen, but it is found in those whose hearts are formed by the inward laws given to Moses by the Lord. Moreover, it is found again in those whose hearts are formed by the consistent faithfulness of the
Lord in the crucified and risen Christ. And the benefits go beyond what we saw
in the passage from Nehemiah. Then there was uprightness, happiness, yearning,
treasuring, delight, and their lives were filled with the unfathomable presence
of the Lord, whose holiness and joy flooded their hearts. But now there is a
'spiriting' of human hearts that makes them responsive and responsible, a people
affirmed by the Lord and marked by inner peace, meaning and purpose, faith, hope
and love. All these rest on what we might call the three I’s.

Daniel Hardy explains more:

All these rest on what we might call three 'I's':

(1) That the Lord is 'I am, always with you' -- ever faithful and loving to us;
(2) That this Lord gives and 'spirits' another 'I', responsive to the 'I am' and responsible for us, who abides with us;
(3) That this 'I am, always with you' gives and 'spirits' the 'I' that each of us is, to be responsive and responsible.

Reverend Professor Daniel Hardy explains, also: When the 'I' that I am, or you are, is within the 'I' that Jesus is, and thereby with the 'I' that the Lord is, our hearts will burn within us as we remember him. There we will know holiness and peace, and give faith, hope and love to each other.


Bernard of Clairvaux writes in his paper on the Song of Songs:

… (M)etaphor shows that we cannot of ourselves come to Christ in our Lord,
unless he draws us by his grace, which is laid up in his storerooms: that is, in
the mysteries of Faith, which God in his goodness and love for mankind hath
revealed, first by his servant Moses in the Old Law in figure only, and
afterwards in reality by his only begotten Son Jesus
Christ...

A Prayer attributed to Bernard goes:

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast;But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than
Thy blessed Name,O Savior of mankind!

We know that Bernard of Clairvaux, the historic figure of the Middle Ages, was a defender of the twelfth century Church, known for his ardor he preached love of God, “without measure.”
A Holy Man, we thank God on this day for his life.

Bernard is wise, with the wisdom of God. Bernard is Holy, with a Holiness of God. Bernard is friend of God, as the Gospel tells us of friendship with God.

· May the lord bless us and keep us. Amen.
· May the Lord make his face to shine up us and be gracious to us. Amen.
· May the Lord life up his countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.

Recording of Homily is here:

Humor: On Cafeteria Catholic and...Cafeteria Protestant, an article
by Peter Menkin

This writer of “Cafeteria Catholic, the article” has a Protestant friend who picks and chooses from her salad what she likes: More tomatoes, maybe extra radishes, but not so much green lettuce. At 77 she has a license, one would think. For another example, she isn’t Methodist, but attends the Methodist Church where she can help feed the homeless every month. She is a woman of charity, a good Christian, and God knows she knows her Bible liking to attend Baptist and Evangelical Church Bible studies. She also goes with a friend to both Roman Catholic Bible Study and Roman Catholic services, where she gets a blessing--not wine and wafer, and complains strongly of being denied Communion. A blessing is not enough for her, and that is understandable. I consider her a kind of Cafeteria Protestant.

Yet usually, the real Cafeteria picker and chooser of religion are called a Cafeteria Catholic. In an effort to find out more, here is a short article on the Cafeteria Catholic by a non-Roman Catholic. Consider this writer’s observation and research. Consider it amusing as well as telling, for after all, a sense of humor helps when presenting a serious subject. (May these words be palitable.)
In an effort to get to the bottom of the matter, this reporter contacted the offices of two well known Cafeteria Catholics, Maria Shriver and Nancy Pelosi. There was no reply at the time of posting this article. (Maria Shriver is wife of the Governor of California, and Nancy Pelosi is the Congresswoman from San Francisco.)

These were their questions, the same ones to be posed to each:

• Do you lead a Eucharistic life, and if so how so?
• Are you a regular Sunday Church goer? If unable to go Sunday, do you go Saturday evening?• Is it all right to be a Cafeteria Catholic, as you have self defined your particular inclination of practice regarding certain Roman Catholic Church doctrine?
• Have you enjoyed Church?
• Can you tell us where you worship?
• What is central in your religious life as a worshiper?
• Will you tell us what a Cafeteria Catholic may be?
• What did you have for lunch this week?

Here is a definition of cafeteria: “…self-service restaurant in which customers select various dishes from an open-counter display. The food is usually placed on a tray, paid for at a cashier's station, and carried to a dining table by the customer.” This from the 2006 Encyclopedia Britannica computer loaded reference program. Everyone knows Britannica is authoritative, whereas Wikipedia is by someone out there in internet land—lots of whomever-someones.
As for Cafeteria Catholic, there was no reference to it. There is reference to: Catholic Recoveries of Protestant Territories (from Protestantism). Also under Cafeteria Catholics is listed Automats: In full Horn & Hardart Automat any of a chain of cafeterias in New York City and Philadelphia, where low-priced prepared food and beverages were obtained, especially from coin-operated compartments.

This isn’t to imply Cafeteria Catholics are organized. They are not. And they are not out of fashion or business.

In an email correspondence with an informed blogger on the subject, this comment helped start the ball rolling. And let me remind you, this is a serious subject for my Toronto based blogging acquaintance, and this writer agrees. But let’s indulge ourselves in some pie. The “Malt Monk”, as he is called and who is a cradle Roman Catholic of 50 years:

If you are Catholic, you must accept the entire Truth; not just the parts that appeal to you. We must also accept some of the blame for current problems.. because the Church is and will be made up of sinners.

I understand and agree with the Magisterium and Authority of The Catholic Church that comes from Jesus and is passed through His Disciples (Apostles/Bishops/Priests) through time.
I mean, where do people think the bible came from... it didn’t drop from the sky… it came from the appointed followers of Jesus.. The Royal Priesthood and lineage of our faith.
The Church doesn’t make new rules to be fashionable with ‘modernism’.

Our good sport, and informed blogger's blog is here: http://www.maltmonk.com .
Here is a quote from his blog that does what Britannica fails to do. Malt Monk defines Cafeteria Catholic:

This is an expression that applies to those calling themselves ‘Catholic’ that want to pick and choose whatever they like about the faith and decide the breadth and width of each topic.
In recent news; some of the chosen people (celebrities) are publically calling themselves ‘cafeteria catholics’ and wearing this as a badge of honour. Comments like ‘I consider myself a Catholic in good standing; but I disagree with a lot of the teachings of the Church’... or ‘I don’t believe’... And then they proceed to spew their narrow minded canned jargon that is emitted by most of these uninformed sheep.

They stand in their cafeteria line and take similar servings from what is processed and served up by the media-celebrity chefs. Or they simply take it upon themselves to decree their opinions.
So Malt Monk defines our term.

This reporter meditated on the subject while at Church, and by coincidence these words from the hymn, “All Who Hunger Gather Gladly” resonated as a more serious lesson for religious people of various denominations: “Taste and see the grace eternal /Taste and see that God is good.” The first words tell more: “All who hunger gather gladly, holy manna is our bread…”

Gratitude in Joy & Sorrow
A poem by Peter Menkin
August 10, 2009

Gratitude I have--
Had--
This sense of acceptance,
Called giving thanks in a praise.
Of words,
And thoughts for God, Creator
And sustainer—
My gratitude for my preservation,
Bringing me to this new day--
As the Prayer goes.

How kind the thought comes
Of the goodness of God, though
Sorrow is our lot.
As is said, “Human condition.”
Contradiction. For sorrow is the daily sense,
The feeling, the experience, the existential
Day that finds the Other.
In gratitude.


Contradiction. Yes, we are in sorrow
Of the body, of the head, of the experience
Of living that at the same time is joy.
That enveloping experience of emotion—
A happiness that is not happiness.

But the mystery of gratitude for
Joy, sense of kind thought and human condition
And thoughts for God, Creator.
As the Prayer goes in Christ.
We are thankful in living for life, the gift;
In gratitude, in gratitude again
For our Creation.
As the prayer goes in Christ.

Audio reading of poem by poet is here: