The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 4, 1965 Page: 4 of 10
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Acceptance Of Absurdity Urged
By Nogar In Rice Chapel Series
" ~ din. Before ^is death in 1955,
By JIM DENNEY
Thresher Religion Editor
Christ is one who calls men to
say "yes" to an absurdity, ac-
cording to Dr. Raymond J.
Nogar.'
In his lecture last Thursday,
Dr. Nogar gave a description of
the life of the French theolo-
gian-scientist Teilhard de Char-
IlFFANY&Cft
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Teilhard, a Jesuit priest, had
made extensive study into the
theory of evolution and the his-
tory of man.
Teil'hard's study of paleontol-
ogy was recognized as excep-
tional throughout his lifetime.
He felt that within the story of
evolution, there was a logical
place for Christ as the culmina-
tion in the development of man.
Because of his radical ideas
in the early part of the 20th
century, Teilhard was accused
of being a 'heretic by many
people within the Roman Cath-
olic Church. Although he was
never charged with heresy, Teil-
hard was assigned to work in
China. In the Orient, Teilhard
continued bis studies and wrote
his first book, "The Divine Mi-
lieu."
Unenlightened Controversy
After several years, Teilhard
was able to return to France
where be finished his famous
work, "The Phenomenon of
Man." The reaction within the
church was unfavorable and
Teilhard was asked by his su-
periors to discontinue his writ-
ing.
The world of this great phi-
losopher was filled with unen-
lightened controversy. Unable
to explain his vase in Rome,
Teilhard died a very misunder-
stood man.
Teilhard de Chardin felt that
man had a certain meaning in
the logi^il unfolding of nature.
To him evolution was a fact.
He could study the history of
the creature called man in such
areas as brain capacity and the
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ability to use the fingers; how-
ever, Teilhard believed that
there could be no explanation
of the spirit of man.
In the feilings of Teilhard,
there was no conflict between
the Bible and the theory of evo-
lution. The revelation of Christ
was the ultimate expression of
creation in the history of hu-
man development.
World Disorder
In his lecture given in mem-
ory of theologian Paul Tillich,
Father Nogar said that he does
not see what Teilhard saw. To
Father Nogar, while there may
be order in, the world, there is
a great deal more of disorder.
Teilhard's ideas were "strange,
but not strange enough," for
failure and waste are as much
a part of the history of man as
is logical development. The ex-
tinction of species is noted to
confirm the world as being
"chancy."
Lord of Absurd
To Teilhard Christ was a step
in the orderly fulfillment of ev-
olution, while to Father Nogar
Jesus was "far from expected."
Christ was one who came in
mystery. Christ is not the end
to a logical series, but rather
an unexpected "Lord of the Ab-
surd."
Father Nogar went on to belie
man's preoccupation with put-
ting things in order. The col-
lection of innumerable statistics
and the prediction of events is
part of a drive for security. Fa-
ther Nogar labeled this type of
human mentality as "seat belt
spirituality."
Accept Consequences
Father Nogar called upon his
listeners to "jump out of sta-
tistics." Just as order is not to
be expected, we often face the
world with a "terror of tomor-
row."
One must not reject the
world. The world is often ab-
surd, and one must accept this
absurdity with all its conse-
quences.
—NOTES AND
—*m%TOV.viWvvtfOVfvXVrnnfw ~
Concert — The Rice Sym-
phonic Society under conductor
George Bright will present its
first concert of the 1965-66 sea-
son in the Grand Hall on No-
vember 7 at 8:15 pm. The pro-
gram will include Schubert's
"Unfinished Symphony," Lui-
gini's "Ballet E g y p t i e n,"
"Danse Bacchanale" by Saint-
Saen, and "La Gazza Ladra
Overture" by Rossini.
Organ Recital — The Rice
University Shepherd School of
Music will offer a series of four
Sunday afternoon organ recitals
by Miss Sandra Soderlund in the
Rice Memorial Chapel. All per-
formances are open to the pub-
lic wihtout charge. Miss Soder-
lund's; first performance at 3
pm Sunday, November 14, will
feature the works of Bach,
Hindemith, Schroeder and Bohm.
Flu Vaccine — The Dow
Chemical Company is making
influenza vaccine available to
all students and faculty at
Rice. The Student Health Serv-
ice will administer it without
charge from 1:30-3:30 pm
Monday through Friday in the
Health Service and from 10-11
Flu Shots
The Student Health Serv-
ice is making influenza vac-
cine available to all Rice stu-
dents and faculty at no
charge. The shots1 will be ad-
ministered from 1:30-3:30 pm
Monday through Friday in the
Student Health Service lo-
cated in Hanszen College.
Shots will also be given
Monday through Friday from
10-11 am in Jones College.
am in the Jones College Sub-
station.
A # *
Pre-Law Students — Profes-
sor Dale Swihart from the
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF LAW will visit
the Rice University campus,
Monday, November 8, and will
be available to interested stu-
dents for interview. All stu-
dents interested in talking with
Professor Swihart should go by
the Placement Office and
arrange for an appointment.
* * *
Germanics Department Lec-
tures — Professor Ulrich K.
Goldsmith of the University of
Colorado will conduct a seminar
in German on "Goethe's West-
ostlicher Divan" at 3 pm Fri-
day, November 12 in Rayzor
Hall. At 8 pm Professor Gold-
smith will give a public lecture
on "Ambiguities in Goethe's
Faust" in the Fondren Library
Lecture Lounge.
* * *
Cancer — Dr. Bowin from
M. D. Anderson will speak at
7 pm on Wednesday, Novem-
ber 10 in the Brown Commons
on recent cancer research.
His topic will be "Viruses and
Cancer: Replication and In-
hibition." Slides will be pres-
ented and discussion, welcomed.'
* * *
Music — The Friends of
Music bring the Quartetto di
Roma to Cullen Auditorium to-
night. Also, Violinist Fredell
Lack will perform with the
Houston Symphony Monday and
Tuesday nights at the Music
Hall.
* * *
Fashion — The Student Cen-
ter Board and Wolfman's will
present a fashion show in the
Grand Hall of the Memorial
Center on Sunday afternoon,
November 21. Both faculty
wives and students are invited.
last Drop' Opens With Jug Band
The Last Drop, the new off-
campus coffee house, will open
this Saturday at 8 pm at Autry
House to the tune of the Han-
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Brooks System Sandwich Shops
Fine Food For Everyone
2520 Amherst
IN THE VILLAGE
2128 Portsmouth
9307 Stella Link
IN STELLA LINK CENTER
5422 Richmond Rd.
Campanile Pictures
Those of you who have not yet made an appointment
for a Campanile picture in your colleges have your
last chance tonight after dinner since someone will
be there to allow you to do just that. If you are
unable to do that you can go to the Student Center
anytime tomorrow or Saturday. The importance of
making an appointment early cannot be over-
emphasized' if you are not to be disappointed;
*
pictures will not be made without appointments and
once the photographer leaves on the 24th that will
be it. Beginning Monday go by the Campanile
office to make appointments.
szen Jug Band.
Freshly brewed coffee and
candle light atmosphere until
1 am should attract many stu-
dents looking for relaxation and
conversation, according to Jim
Martin, Publicity Chairman for
the Coffee House.
Aside from the Jug Band will
be bridge and other games, if
enough interest is shown. The
band will only play intermit-
tently to allow for these other
activities.
Friday afternoon ttiere will
be a work session to decorate
for the opening. The corps of
volunteers will consist mainly
of members of the various re-
ligious organizations on campus
sponsoring the project. Bob
Rhoads, chairman of the inter-
faiCh committee eventually
hopes to have a pool of 50 vol-
unteers to draw upon. Each
night the coffee house is open,
several students will be required
to help with the serving and
clearing up. With such a large
reserve, students would only
have to work a few times a
year.
Jy
CLOSE TO.
THE HEART
OF THE
CAMPUS
2519 University Blvd.
JA 8-1509
Also Bellaire: MO 5-5557
THE RICE THRESHER, NOVEMBER 4, 19 6 5—P AGE 4
4
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Durham, John. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 4, 1965, newspaper, November 4, 1965; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth244955/m1/4/?rotate=270: accessed July 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.