Battleground

 

Battleground – W.E.B. Griffin

The multiple W.E.B. Griffin series of books are a bit odd.  What I mean by that is that I mostly enjoy them yet I really can’t put my finger on exactly why.  This particular book is Book 4 of a 10 book series titled “The Corps”.  I’ve also read a 9 book series by the author titled “The Brotherhood of War”.  By the titles, you would be correct in assuming these are military books, yet there really is very little “war” in these books. Nor is there really much of a story.  You would think that military books that don’t have much of a story nor battle action wouldn’t hold much appeal. Strangely though, these books tend to hold the reader’s interest.

This series of books revolve around several soldiers in the Marine Corps during World War II.  This particular book takes place before and during the battle of Guadalcanal.  Again, though, very little fighting or descriptions of the actual battle are included.  Instead, author W.E.B. Griffin focuses on the intricacies and politics that exist in the American armed services.  We learn an awful lot about how soldiers interact and the expectations around military protocol and just what all is involved when one is in the Marine Corps during the World War.  We read telexes, top secret documents, and are privy to conversations with Secretary Knox and General MacArthur among others, and get a strong feel of what life is like in between the battles.

This book (which picks up where Book 3 leaves off) leads up to Guadalcanal.  The U.S. Military is still licking its wounds from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and the political brass is scrambling to decide the next plan of action.  Again, not much about Guadalcanal itself, yet we do get to meet several soldiers that somehow will play a role in the conflict. Some soldiers we’ve met in earlier books, some we’re meeting for the first time.  Sadly, I have a hard time keeping track of who is who from the past books, yet Griffin does a good job reminding his readers of the necessary background so we can keep up.

Of course, when you’re telling a story about soldiers a long way from home, there’s an awful lot of sex in these books as well.  An awful lot.  I mean – really an awful lot.  This is actually a strike against the series for me.  It seems a bit far-fetched that every time a nurse, a secretary, a WAC, or someone’s sister is introduced in the story, it’s only a matter of a few pages before she’s in bed with one of the soldiers with a torqued up libido. Perhaps I’m naïve from watching too many old movies that were heavily into censoring what respectable young women are supposed to be like, but according to Griffin, every woman in his books will eventually be buried in a Y-shaped coffin.  It’s a bit much. I guess you could make the argument that such encounters are more fun to read about than a detailed military strategy of an amphibious landing of a small island in the Pacific. As I said, I DID enjoy the book, so go figure.

Critics argue that these books by Griffin are more of a military soap opera than they are a good, realistic story, and those critics have a fair point.  Like many others, though, I actually find a lot in these books to enjoy.  So give the author credit for a unique idea.  I really don’t know any author that is so successful at these type of adventures where such little adventure actually happens.  Outside the bedroom that is.

Pope Francis: Life and Revolution

 

Pope Francis: Life and Revolution by Elisabetta Pique  

One of the many fascinating things about the life of Jesus Christ is that we are taught that he was fully God and fully human at the same time.  I have to wonder at times, what did the “human” Jesus think about his destiny on earth as the son of God? Was he happy that he was the Chosen One? What struggles did “human” Jesus have?  Did he ever wish that he could just be like everyone else?  I certainly don’t think he welcomed the fact that he was to be crucified in the most barbaric way possible for the sins of mankind.  Sure, the “God” side of him understood, but the “human” side?

I mention this because in many ways this seems to be the attitude of Argentinian Bishop Jorge Bergoglio when voices start to speculate that he might be elected the next Supreme Pontiff after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Bergoglio is too old, he feels. In fact, he’s already “retired”.  Such aspirations simply don’t enter such a humble priest’s mind who simply wants to be among his people and help feed the poor and needy. You would think most cardinals of the Catholic Church, or ANY leaders of a Christian group would feel the same way, yet history and nature tell a different story.  After all, who wouldn’t want to be the “leader” of such an institution?  No matter how pious one feels his heart to be, the temptation to be center stage is just too grand for most.  Imagine a person being elected President of the U.S. who never campaigned, never even made a speech, and even told the constituents he didn’t want the job, yet gets elected anyway.  I know. Impossible.

The first three chapters of this wonderful biography show us a wonderful exception, and arguably one of the most Christ-like leaders in history.  Author Elisabetta Pique has an advantage in that she knows Bergoglio; she’s a journalist who has covered much of his activity over the years.  It’s obvious that she loves the man and holds him in very high regard.  Sometimes when I read biographies, I don’t always see this as a good thing.  A well-written biography needs to show an honest picture of the subject, and not portray him in some bright, shiny hagiographic fashion.  Yet one comes away with the feeling that her sentiments about Bergoglio are genuine.  She sees this man as most of the world sees him, and is delighted when he is elected Pope Francis in 2013.

After the first few chapters that show the transition from Cardinal Bergoglio to Pope Francis, we then go back to the beginning.  We don’t read much about Bergoglio’s early life, but we get enough to understand his nature and how his surroundings and devotion to God shape his early life.  We read a lot about the crooked Argentinian regime where Bergoglio resides, and politics and religion don’t always make good bedfellows. We read accounts where Bergoglio risks his own life to save many renegade priests as well as continue to feed the poor and the needy.  This is a man truly devoted to his mission.  To be honest, the part of the book that deals with most of Bergoglio’s travails in native Argentina could be a bit overwhelming to a reader such as myself who isn’t very familiar with the politics nor the surroundings.  There are a lot of Argentinian names of people and places thrown about, and it was hard for me to keep everything assimilated.  There’s also an awful lot of Roman Catholic nomenclature here as well, and one not familiar with the many different titles and traditions may feel a bit overwhelmed as well.

The last third of the book goes back to the beginning, and we see the beginning of the reign of Pope Francis. Sadly, there’s still a lot of politics around, and those in power aren’t quite sure what to think of a pope who refuses to live in his glorious penthouse, electing instead to reside in modest quarters for many of the lower rungs of the ladder.   This is a man who also refuses to use the “pope” limousine and chauffeur. He elects, instead, to drive his old Ford Focus around while carrying his own briefcase.  Such a humble man can be dangerous to the powerful establishment.

This part of the book, though, is the most refreshing. It gives one hope.  In an era of so much turmoil, distrust, and abuse, it truly gives one confidence to see that there is still goodness in the world.  When such goodness is elevated to the top position in the Catholic Church, you can’t help but hope and pray that such materialistic trends can reverse, and a sense of decency and goodness can perhaps prevail.

We don’t get to read too much about his papal initiatives though. A slight drawback to this book is that it was written only one year into Francis’s papacy.  So 20 years from now, one won’t really be able to look back at this book as being the “definitive” biography.  There will still be so much more to tell. Most hope that the reforms of Francis will continue to focus on grace, charity, and goodness while pushing dogma and rigidness a bit further down on the priority meter.  In an era with so much darkness in the hearts of people and their leaders, one hopes that this man’s light of optimism and compassion will continue to shine, becoming brighter and brighter.  One can hope.  And one can pray.

ad majorem Dei gloriam!

Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church

 

Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H.W. Crocker III

Oh dear. Oh dear.

I’ve read several hundred history/biography books over the last few years (I’ve reviewed many on Amazon) and this was by far the worst “history” book I have ever read.   Let me be very clear and state that I am not anti-Catholic nor am I anti-Christian. Many times when one comes across a negative review on Amazon of a Christian topic, the reviewer is clearly biased if they are anti-theist, atheist or agnostic. I am none of the above.   Although this book is definitely one-sided in its presentation of the accomplishments of the Catholic church, this is not my issue.  By ‘one-sided’, I mean that this book has a highly conservative slant, and am reminded of a minority of Catholics on the far-right fringe who refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of Pope Francis while also stating things on social media such as “It’s a mortal sin to vote for Joe Biden because he is a Democrat”.

Although I disagree with these sentiments, I still maintain that a thoughtful argument can be made by an author and I would be willing to judge the book on such merit.  However, you won’t find any “thoughtful arguments” here. The main problem is that the author is too filled with hate and vitriol to be taken seriously.  Instead of a serious academic, H.W. Crocker III comes across more like a spoilt 16-year old who is throwing a temper tantrum because his daddy won’t let him take the family car out past curfew on a Saturday night.  The Catholic Church deserves better than this.  If you are a Catholic and you are wanting to encourage non-believers to become part of your faith (as you should) I would strongly advise you not to recommend this book.  Sometimes I really couldn’t believe the author expected to be taken seriously.  In fact, there’s a part of me that believes Mr. Crocker is playing a sick joke on his readers, as the “history” he is presenting in this book is so removed from anything that one could consider serious scholarship.

Although he never specifically states so in this book, he seems to believe that the only way the planet can survive is by implementing a strict Catholic theocracy.  He seems unconcerned with things such as love, forgiveness, fairness, and helping those in unfortunate circumstances.  You know, the very things that Jesus Christ taught.   What many people don’t realize, is that such a theocracy existed in western civilization for over a millennium in Western Europe, and it failed simply because you can’t beat people into submission while at the same time preach about a loving redeemer.  People must respond to the Gospel of Jesus and invite Him into their heart; they can’t be “commanded to love God”.   Our human nature simply doesn’t work this way.  (As a side note, the Protestants tried something similar with the Puritan movement when they first arrived in what is now the United States. It didn’t work out too well for them either.)

For those who might not know, the word “catholic” means “universal” and for the first 1500 years since the time of Christ, the Catholic Church was essentially the only Christian church on the planet.  For the first several years, there were debates and arguments but for the most part the church stayed healthy.  Metaphorically, the problems of the church started like a small snowball rolling down a hill. By the time of the Renaissance, the snowball had grown tremendously in size and speed.  We really shouldn’t be surprised at all that the call for reform happened when it did.

When Constantine became emperor of Rome in 306 A.D., he actually made Rome into a Christian theocracy. The problem was that when everyone HAS to be a Christian, you end up having a lot of non Christlike Christians in the kingdom.  THIS is why so many people left the cities and went to live in trees and caves called “monasteries” and called themselves “monks”. It’s a fascinating story, yet the author doesn’t cover any of this here.  The only reason that I can speculate that he omits this, is that he would have to concede that monasteries and monks were “formed” out of problems they saw with the universal church and the author refuses to admit that the church could possibly ever have such problems.

Sadly, it then proceeds to really get bad (I’m not necessarily commenting on the church, but the author’s treatment of the church).  To hear the author talk about things like the Crusades and the Inquisition, you would be left thinking that these were really neat ideas that slightly fell short of the goal, and the world would have been so much better had more blood been shed and more people tortured.  We then come to probably the most infamous Pope in the history of the church, Rodrigo Borgia (Alexander VI) and his stained family.  Entire books have been written about the evils of the Borgias, yet he author of this book merely slags the negativity away stating that “history has treated them unfairly”.   He states that, oh sure Rodrigo Borgia had a mistress, but he was KIND to his mistress!   Now, ask yourself this: If you are a Catholic and you go to confession for committing adultery, but you inform your priest that you have no intention of stopping your adulterous affair because you’re “kind” to your mistress, do you really think your priest will absolve you of your sins??  I didn’t think so.

We then make our way to the topic of Indulgences.  This was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of what actually started the Protestant Reformation. Again though, the author states that indulgences were really no big deal.  He denies that the church used the tool to get churchgoers and their relatives out of purgatory.  I’m not sure how he comes to this conclusion.  Every other source that I have studied says completely the opposite.  In fact, the author states that indulgences were rather harmless, and priests merely used them as part of the absolution process during confessions.  These must have been heavy sins since many peasants ended up giving 1/3 of their yearly wages towards said indulgences.  Again, the author doesn’t educate you of this fact. He then makes the absurd claim that had it not been for indulgences, Michelangelo probably wouldn’t have been able to create so many works of beauty for the church.  To me that sounds a bit like saying Adolph Hitler stole a lot of property from the Jews after he sent them to wither and die in concentration camps, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal because, well golly gosh darn it, Hitler used this ransacked plunder to improve the buildings in Germany, beautify the cities, and rebuild the economy.

Speaking of Adolph Hitler, we then come to Martin Luther.   **I’m** not comparting Luther to Hitler, but the author does.  A few times. The author even suggests that Hitler might not have ever come to power had it not been for Martin Luther.  Right.  Great.  We don’t learn anything useful about Martin Luther in this book.  He’s clearly the pinnacle of evil in the opinion of the author, and we get to read many horrid descriptions of the man complete with foul adjectives.  We read more about his repulsive personal appearance and bowel movement habits than we do anything useful to help understand the man.  Again, I’m not saying the author has to agree with Luther and the Reformation, but he should at least paint a fair picture of the man.  As a side note, I was assigned to write a term paper on Martin Luther when I was in high school, and I never uncovered any resources that painted the man the way this author does.  I received an “A” on my term paper.  Had I used this book as one of my references, I probably would have gotten an “F”.

So after the Protestant Reformation, this author blames every problem in Western Civilization for the next 500 years on Protestantism.  Atheism? He blames the Protestants.  The Age of Reason? He blames the Protestants. Democracy?  He blames the Protestants.  I wouldn’t have been surprised if he would have blamed his hemorrhoid condition on Protestantism.  I’m reminded of when liberal filmmaker Michael Moore actually blamed Ronald Reagan for the fact that he was overweight.   This book was written before the Catholic sexual abuse scandal rocked the world a few years ago.  I would bet a year’s salary that had this book been written AFTER that tragedy, the author would have somehow blamed Protestants for that scandal as well.    All throughout this, the author makes ridiculous statements such as praising a 19^th century Pope for banning trains (??) while condemning a later Pope for allowing gas powered streetlamps (??!!)

The latter half of the book became difficult to read because of the author’s strong, hateful opinions.  It reminded me of being in a fetid sewer filled with stenches of animal waste.  You can only stay in such an environment for so long before you have to come up for fresh air.  This was another problem I had.  I couldn’t read more than 10-20 pages of this book at a time without having to put this book aside and breathe some fresh air (i.e. common sense).

Fast Forward to the 1960s and Vatican II.  MOST Catholics embraced Vatican II, but not this author. He faults Pope John XXIII for Vatican II  (he describes the Pope as “fat” along with other lesser terms of endearment.  Is it really necessary to continue to dislike people because of their physical appearance??)  When Pope John XIII dies in 1963, the author essentially states that the next Pope, Paul VI, really had “no choice” but to continue Vatican II.  And on and on and on….

All of this to say that the title of this book is somewhat misleading.  It really isn’t a comprehensive history of the Catholic Church, but rather a statement of how Protestantism “destroyed” the church in Europe and, eventually, North America.  I don’t recall anything about the recent successes or growth of the church in places like Asia or Africa.  We then come to the word in the book’s title “Triumph”.  What exactly is “triumphant” about what the author is presenting to us?   According to this author, there hasn’t been anything “triumphant” for the Catholic church since Christendom in the Middle Ages.  In fact, his conclusion is that the church badly needs “A few good men (not women)” if the church is ever going to rise from its ashes.  A depressing thought indeed.

In conclusion, I have to reemphasize that I truly believe that the Catholic church has done many wonderful things and should be praised despite its warts.  I never felt encouraged nor upbeat while reading this book, however. It was simply angry and depressing.   The author seems to believe that beating subjects into submission is a much better tool than sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our fellow brothers and sisters. As an alternative, I would strongly recommend Justo Gonzalez’ two volume set “The History of Christianity”.   Gonzalez is a Christian (not a Catholic), yet he clearly shows the goods and bads of Catholicism and Protestantism throughout the years. It’s much more balanced, fair, real and upbeat. 

The Catholic Church deserves a much better retrospective than what is presented here.