San Francisco Foghorn

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FREEDOM AND FAIRNESS
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atict
born
Vol. 109, Issue 12
foghorn.usfca.edu
February 9th, 2012
OPINION
Matt Percival details the
mertis of Newt Gingrich's
proposed moon colony
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SCENE
Courtesy of USF News
Rev James Martin, S.J., chaplain to the Colbert Report, visited USF on Monday to emphasize the role of humor in Christian spirituality.
Jesuit Uses Humor to Spread
Religious Message
USF couples tell their
love stories.
Pg-5
SPORTS
USF Lady Dons played
against Santa Clara
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KEITH HUBBARD
StaffWriter
University Ministry hosted guest
lecturer Reverend James Martin, S.J.
at the McLaren Conference Center,
with over 200 in attendance, Monday, February 6, at 4:00 p.m.
In the opening remarks, Director
of University Ministry Julia Dowd-
said USF faculty and staff are confronted with the following challenge,
"How can colleges and universities
address the needs of the whole human being—in mind, body, and spirit, in ways that best contribute to our
future on this fragile planet?"
Monday's lecture gave opportunities to think about internal quests for
spirituality not strictly as a serious
matter, but rather a journey where
people can laugh along the way.
Official Chaplain for the Colbert
Report, Martin is most commonly
known for his entertaining approach
to biblical rhetoric. On Monday,
audience members laughed at jokes
regarding the Jesuit order. They also
seemed to nod in agreement of Martin's sermon-like speech about applying humor to the practice of religion.
He referred to Christianity in par-
■ ticular.
Martin's addressed the need to include joy, humor, and laughter in the
spiritual world. Yet Martin also said
those values are not only needed in
our personal spiritual lives, but also
in the Catholic Church as a whole.
Martin said, "It's not clear how it
happened that joy, humor and laughter had been deemed inappropriate in
religious circles, but I'm sure we've all
met people that perceive that being
religious means being deadly serious
all the time—but if you're deadly serious, you're probably seriously dead."
Audience members laughed, perhaps remembering their own past
experiences of attending solemn
masses where laughter was not encouraged.
For college students, Martin's
points invite spiritual dialogues
across generations of different religions, since laughter and the seriousness with which faith is discussed
goes beyond Christianity.
However, during what may have
been perceived as "Jesuit comedian
stand-up," Martin spoke about why
Jesus may have never been considered funny or associated with having
a sense of humor.
Martin suggested two reasons for
why this is often the case. Martin
said some of the jokes discussed in
the Bible might require knowledge
ofthe cultural context of first century
Judea. Also, some ofthe jokes might
get lost in delivery due to lethargic
presentations during Catholic mass.
Martin suggested both reasons have
contributed to the lack of humor
found in the Bible.
Yet in some cases Martin said,
"We've heard the jokes so many
times they've become stale. It's like
a joke you've heard over and over
again.
"Joy, humor, and laughter show
your faith in God. Essentially having
the positive outlook shows that you
believe in what? The resurrection.
Christ is risen," Martin said.
The previous statement can also
be applied to the Church's desire to
increase the number of people who
wish to enter a life of vocation.
Martin said, "While seeking vocations we must live our lives joyfully.
Why would anyone want to join-a
group of miserable people? We tend
to forget that sometimes." Martin's
assertion that Jesus must have also
had a sense of humor was reinforced
by Martin's story of the disciple Nathaniel. He said that a sarcastic interaction between Jesus and him in
the Bible was an early indication of
Jesus's sense of humor. "Jesus was
fully human and to be fully human
you have to have a sense of humor."
Martin said.
Seniors Natalie Luera and Mike
Kuba, USF students who attended
the event, said they both thought
it was funny and entertaining. "I've
never really heard someone talk
about Catholicism and going to
church in a humoristic way, because
I've always associated my religion being super serious. And what I really
enjoyed was it was true and thought-
provoking," Kuba said.
Courtesy of USF News
Rev. Martin greets USF student Mark Perdiguerra at his book signing.
Racial Solidarity Linked to Obama's Political Career
Go to foghorn.usfca.edu for
videos, slideshows, and more!
SAN FRANCISCO FOGHORN
Courtesy of Shawn Calhoun
USF Professor James Taylor lectured on Black nationalism and contemporary
politics on February 2.
DANIELLE MAGEE-
StaffWriter
To kick off Black History Month,
USF Politics professor James Taylor
presented his book, "Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama", at Gleeson Library on February 2.
His book analyzes Black Nationalism as educational, political, and
societal thought. His book also seeks
to connect the religious foundations of black political ideologies and
the nationalist sentiments of today's
hip-hop generation.
After an introduction by USF
sociology professor Stephanie Sears,
Taylor spoke about the meaning of
his book.
"I want to be clear. This book is
not an advocacy of Black Nationalism. It is really about black religion,
and how it provided a kind of consistency over 180 years ofthe practice
of the earliest form of political sermon, known as the Jeremiah Wright
Ad," he said.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr.,
pastor emeritus of Chicago's Trinity
United Church of Christ (TUCC),
2130 FULTON STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 941Y
is best known as Barack Obama's
pastor. He married Obama to his
wife Michelle, and baptized the couple's two daughters. However, he infamously became known as Obama's
pastor after Wright's controversial
sermons surfaced during Obama's
2008 presidential campaign. Excerpts from the pastor's speeches,
where he damned the United States
for its treatment of African Americans, were stringed together to label
Obama a radical.
During his talk Professor Taylor spoke about the roots of Black
Nationalism, mentioning historical figures of the Black nationalism
movement such as David Walker,
Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther
King Jr. and Malcolm X.
"Doctrinaire Black nationalism is
not as powerful a political force as racial solidarity. Martin Luther King Jr.
used racial solidarity, but he did not
make explicit appeals to Black Nationalism," said Taylor."
Although what distinguishes
Black Nationalism from racial solidarity was not addressed during the
OBAMA: Continued on Page 3
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