God
Faith
I had the most wonderful conversation with my youngest brother last night, discussing Christianity. He's a real brainiac, very well-read, and I always value his impressions.
In a nutshell, he was bringing to light many of the terrible things Christians have done in the past: violent impositions of their will. While there is "those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it" value, my counter-argument was that if one evaluates the Gospel message and finds it to be true, then the past is one big non-sequitur.
If I've concluded that Jesus is who He says He is, and He tells me to perform great acts of charity in His name, should I not perform those acts in His name because a Christian missionary murdered someone a thousand years ago?
The Church herself would condemn the sins of that missionary. My brother brought up Augustine's "just war" theory; beyond the importance of Pastoral context, it's critical to look at what the Church actually teaches regarding war and violence.
Augustine can be a brilliant and very holy man, and simultaneously in error on specific things. Wedding oneself to every syllable simply leads to sycophancy, closing our minds to potential truths. Pope Francis said all sorts of weird things off-the-cuff, but he also did have a unique dispensation of grace by virtue of being Pope.
Both things can be true at the same time; it's not "all or nothing", which is why the Church teaches that even Popes are fallible. One of the beautiful things about the Church is that she is continually adjusting her teachings to more closely align with eternal, revealed truths.
More Frank Sheed
How about this formulation (in my own words)?
Or this one?
I ran that second one past Ellyn last night, and she laughed out loud: "Talk about cutting off one's own nose to spite one's face!"
Today
Going to continue working on some grant work for the incredible non-profit I am helping. I have a phone call set up with my aunt. I've also been continuing to network, and have built some amazing, probably life-long connections. All of you are real blessings! I also might squeeze in some more "EA Sports FC 26" on the PS5 Pro, and "Metroid Prime 4" on the Switch 2, if I have time. Plus continue "Theology and Sanity."
In a nutshell, he was bringing to light many of the terrible things Christians have done in the past: violent impositions of their will. While there is "those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it" value, my counter-argument was that if one evaluates the Gospel message and finds it to be true, then the past is one big non-sequitur.
If I've concluded that Jesus is who He says He is, and He tells me to perform great acts of charity in His name, should I not perform those acts in His name because a Christian missionary murdered someone a thousand years ago?
The Church herself would condemn the sins of that missionary. My brother brought up Augustine's "just war" theory; beyond the importance of Pastoral context, it's critical to look at what the Church actually teaches regarding war and violence.
Augustine can be a brilliant and very holy man, and simultaneously in error on specific things. Wedding oneself to every syllable simply leads to sycophancy, closing our minds to potential truths. Pope Francis said all sorts of weird things off-the-cuff, but he also did have a unique dispensation of grace by virtue of being Pope.
Both things can be true at the same time; it's not "all or nothing", which is why the Church teaches that even Popes are fallible. One of the beautiful things about the Church is that she is continually adjusting her teachings to more closely align with eternal, revealed truths.
More Frank Sheed
How about this formulation (in my own words)?
God created us from nothing. God is infinite. Purpose is defined by its creator-- example, you make a bicycle to ride it, so the bicycle's purpose is to provide transportation. God gave us will; will's purpose is to pursue the good; we can't pursue something if we don't view it as being good in some way.
Intellect's purpose is to know God. The intellect tells us that we have a binary choice between the infinite (God) and nothing (rejecting God). But the will can and often does override the intellect by choosing nothing, instead. This is called "sin".
Because it literally makes no sense to choose nothing over infinity, sin is a form of insanity.
Intellect's purpose is to know God. The intellect tells us that we have a binary choice between the infinite (God) and nothing (rejecting God). But the will can and often does override the intellect by choosing nothing, instead. This is called "sin".
Because it literally makes no sense to choose nothing over infinity, sin is a form of insanity.
Or this one?
God created man and angels to glorify Him. Fallen angels are those who tried to obtain something outside of God's providence; they tried to go their own way.
God creates good from everything. All actions, even sinful ones, He turns into glory for Himself. Ergo, there is nothing in the free will of men or angels which can stop God's glory.
All we can do is stop our own glory.
God creates good from everything. All actions, even sinful ones, He turns into glory for Himself. Ergo, there is nothing in the free will of men or angels which can stop God's glory.
All we can do is stop our own glory.
I ran that second one past Ellyn last night, and she laughed out loud: "Talk about cutting off one's own nose to spite one's face!"
Today
Going to continue working on some grant work for the incredible non-profit I am helping. I have a phone call set up with my aunt. I've also been continuing to network, and have built some amazing, probably life-long connections. All of you are real blessings! I also might squeeze in some more "EA Sports FC 26" on the PS5 Pro, and "Metroid Prime 4" on the Switch 2, if I have time. Plus continue "Theology and Sanity."