Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Chaplet of Tarski Fatima

In my discussion on another post, I brought up my personal translation of the Atheist/Rationalist Litany of Tarski into Catholic terms. That brought up an idea in my head for a new prayer for Catholics and Atheists to pray together. I call it the Chaplet of Tarski Fatima, based on the major influences of this prayer; and it is especially suitable for situations where you have both Atheist and Catholic family members, and a Catholic family member dies. I suggest praying it along with the Rosary, and it is based on the beads of the Rosary. I want no credit for this, and so I am formatting the rest of this blog posting in such a way to encourage cut and paste sharing.

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The Chaplet of Tarski Fatima

The Catholics in the group should start. On the Crucifix, one Nicene Creed, preferably the new 2011 translation if you're doing it in English.

On the first Our Father Bead, the Catholics should pray the Fatima Prayer: "O my Jesus, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy." The Atheists should respond "If I am shown evidence of the supernatural, let me not claim that it is not evidence."

On the next three beads, all should pray together, the Catholic Litany of Tarski: "Lord, help me to believe that which is Truth, to not believe that which isn't truth, and do not let me be attached to those beliefs I may not want.", for the repose of the souls of the dead.

On the next Our Father Bead, repeat the Fatima Prayer/Evidence Pledge.

The first decade should be dedicated to discussing truth in charity. Repeat a decade of the Catholic Litany of Tarski, ending with the Fatima Prayer/Evidence Pledge.

The second decade should be dedicated to the Truth statement of St. Ambrose: "Man does not find the Truth, the Truth finds Man". Repeat a decade of the Catholic Litany of Tarski, ending with the Fatima Prayer/Evidence Pledge.

The third decade should be dedicated to Clarke's Law: Magic is just technology we don't understand yet. Repeat a decade of the Catholic Litany of Tarski, ending with the Fatima Prayer/Evidence Pledge.

The Fourth Decade should be dedicated to the Catholic version of how to judge a miracle- by its effects, not by its causes. Repeat a decade of the Catholic Litany of Tarski, ending with the Fatima Prayer/Evidence Pledge.

The Fifth Decade should be dedicated to the Rational Life- the foundation of all rights, of all government, and of science itself. Repeat a decade of the Catholic Litany of Tarski, ending with the Fatima Prayer/Evidence Pledge.

Catholics: End with one Our Father, for the repose of the dearly departed. Atheists, end with one *atheist version* of the Litany of Tarski, reformulated to whatever fact is most troubling to your mind at this point (the following is only an example):
If Proposition A is true,
I desire to believe that Proposition A is true;
If Proposition A is not true,
I desire to believe that Proposition A is not true;
Let me not become attached to beliefs I may not want.
-------Update
Based on my discussion with Bill S. in the comments, I have removed the earlier version of the Catholic Tarski Interpretation, and have substituted one that is closer to the original.
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Oustside The Asylum by Ted Seeber is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at http://outsidetheaustisticasylum.blogspot.com.