Grant Desme and the Seminary

What I hear you say is that no one should comment on his/her own beliefs or those of others on a website dedicated to sports commentary. However, considering this is a topic concerns an athlete and his faith and since this topic already has one fanshot on which people have made such comments (albeit, considerably shorter than my own), I thought it would be an appropriate subject of discourse. My intention was to clarify some aspects of Grant Desme’s decision from the perspective of one who has experienced something similar and made a lifetime commitment to it. In the course of doing so, I admit that my language became persuasive in tone, which is beyond the scope in informing, but I do not think that I could help anyone perceive what I have tried to convey without showing my own personal devotion because I believe that such devotion is at the heart of Desme’s action. Should others feel that this post does not belong on this forum, it can certainly be removed. Whatever happens, my offer to answer any questions remains on the table.

Topic is fair game, especially in January. We have moderators who will take care of what they view as inappropriate here. The Desme story makes this at least tangentially baseball related. I am certainly not a Christian, and maybe an agnostic at best, but genuine beliefs of others are a legitimate point of discussion.

Wouldn’t all men entering Seminary result in the extinction of the human race? Just thinkin’ again…..

and a chunk of it is basically being a priest intern

sorta like being a doctor, the last third of it, or more, you’re basically already doing priest stuff, its just part of the training process

All seminarians are required to have at least 30 credit hours of philosophy, including some particular courses, before they continue in theology. This is why some people get through faster than others since some already have a philosophy background. Theology normally takes four years of study. Included in that is more pastoral training as well. The minimum timeframe is six years, which is more about discernment, self-awareness, and pastoral training than education. If it were simply about getting through the classes, it would be much shorter.

1) Geology and theology aren’t incompatiable

2) Theology doesn’t simply “chalk it up to God” any more than Geology chalks sociology “up to rocks.”

Becoming a priest in a lot of ways is like going to graduate school. Are you a PhD geologist?
If so, then good for you, but don’t insult the humanities. Are the formations, processes, and changes of the people on Earth less worth studying than something that could be summed up succinctly as (heat+pressure)/time? Using your method, I could chalk up geology to “soil erosion” or “glorified oil-drilling.” Don’t badmouth an academic subject you obviously have no understanding of.

I’m not particularly religious, but I see a big difference between becoming a priest and becoming a preacher at some sort of holy-rolling tabernacle. Despite their recent insane focus on the abortion question and alliance with the far right, there’s a lot that Catholics have added to higher education in America.

Also, the priesthood is shrinking (partly due to the Church’s unwillingness to accept married priests), and I would much prefer trying to keep a church as intellectually vibrant, committed to social justice, and historically relevant as Catholicism around than await the impending megachurch takeover. I’m happy for Desme.

…who is both a geological engineer and a devout Roman Catholic.

It is bizarre that you assume a practicing Christian has no desire to explore scientific mysteries. Bizarre.

If you genuinely believe that Christian = incurious, maybe you should seriously consider reading some theology.

that people will argue endlessly over

The dynamics of support are very interesting. For the most part, early on in seminary formation, the administration and other seminarians (as well as organizations within the Church) are very encouraging to those who waver, partially because of the high turn-over rate and partially because they have a number of years before any major decisions need to be made. Later on, people are still supportive, but someone who is wavering will be encouraged to take a year off in a ministerial setting, which will delay actual ordination, so that they don’t make a hasty decision. Of course, it doesn’t always take long to realize that some people don’t belong in the seminary.

I don’t come to RoyalsReview to talk Church. I come here to talk baseball. It just so happens that two of my favorite (and, thus, most frustrating) things came together in something fairly significant.

That initial excitement is so powerful, like when you first start college or when Billy sees some Zebracakes (still my favorite post of all time!). He will eventually look back and wonder, but I doubt he is right now despite the amount of support he may or may not have.

You can see, I’m an old school A’s fan who remembers Charlie Finley all too well. Yes, this site is seemingly a level or two above the discourse I’ve seen on other boards. We have our moments, though.

when he gets tired of not having any money, he can just sell the movie rights to his life and attempt a comeback at age 35.

Hollywood would eat that up even without the comeback. Throw in the girl that he’d be leaving behind as well, and you have the emotional tearjerker of the year for women, and the guys will watch it for baseball.