We arrived at Trinity United Methodist a few minutes late for Garry Wills's talk because we were chatting with Marisa Meyer while she signed my daughter's copy of her new book, Scarlet, at this year's Savannah Book Festival. Garry was already going full steam, and we had to creep along the balcony and ask a gentleman to move his coat in order to sit down (his umbrella clattered to the floor).
I always enjoy the challenge of reading an intelligent diatribe against something I believe in - Christopher Hitchens (God rest his soul) remains one of my all-time favorite authors. And, having read several of Garry Wills's works (What Paul Meant, What Jesus Meant, the one on Augustine, etc.) before, I bounced in my seat as I put a hold on his new book, Why Priests? (he likes titles with interrogatives, apparently) and bounced yet higher when I heard he would soon be visiting Savannah.
But, ultimately, I was disappointed by the blunt force of his argument against the priesthood - he made the error of starting with a position ("Down with priests!") and then searched out the Scriptures and history for random supporting evidence. What a shame for such an esteemed scholar. His primary thread of debate regards the absence of a Christian priesthood (as we now know it) in the time of Christ or the Apostles. What matters that, my friends? The doctrine of the Trinity (see C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity for how this belief all but defines the faith) did not develop for, um, millennia after God told Abraham to "kill me a son." The priesthood is no more far-fetched than Christianity itself.
Hopefully Wills returns to actual scholarship following this sterile invective, putting down his axe (to grind) and taking up the surgical knife of astute historical and religious analysis that made him such a respected author in the first place. He's welcome to take views contrary to Church teaching, but he must refrain from cherry-picking evidence in such a biased manner - he dwells on every last molehill of sin of priests and the Church without the slightest appreciation for the mountains of good they both raised. I look forward to reading him again with a smile of discovery rather than a puckered mouth of sourness.
Note: I had established this blog to cover educational issues, but there are issues with that concept. For example, I have both a legal and moral obligation to maintain my students' privacy, and it's difficult to discuss education without bringing up what happened at school. Therefore, I turn this ship towards another love: reading. We'll see how that goes!
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