So after the bad media coverage of the iPhone confession app there is a new bit of news concerning the app: it's an assault on the LGBT community. The Guardian reports the the Truth Wins Out organization has commended the application with the executive director saying
"This is cyber spiritual abuse that promotes backward ideas in a modern package. Gay Catholics don't need to confess, they need to come out of the closet and challenge anti-gay dogma. The false idea that being gay is something to be ashamed of has destroyed too many lives. This iPhone app is facilitating and furthering the harm."
Other Catholic bloggers have already commented about the fact that the people offended by the app do not need to download the app and that it is targeted towards Catholics who are, in theory, in line with Catholic doctrine or would like to be. This is of course irrelevant. What the group wants to do is point the finger at Catholics and say "Boo on you for not agreeing with us," and to rally non-heterosexual Catholics into a movement to change Catholic dogma.
So lets look at the idea of changing dogma in general, one of two things has to be true: either our understanding of God's law is changing or God's law is changing. If the second is true, if God's law is changing then the idea of moral absolutes is out the window, since that leads to moral relativism and atheism, we'll rule this option out. Now the first choice, we gain a better understanding of God's law: Okay, we are fallible beings who sin almost constantly, so this is definitely plausible; however, this must be done through study of scripture, tradition or divine revelation and not through raising a crowd of angry people.
So if a large, angry movement of Catholics aims to change dogma based b the fact they are angry and in large numbers they are have to embrace moral relativism and reject God. You cannot change dogma through numbers because God does not change and we cannot change our understanding of God's law on whim. This clashes with American culture and democratic ideals because we are not in control and we do not make the rules. The simple truth is Christianity is not a democracy, it is a benevolent dictatorship with God Himself on the throne.
So when a story is posted that 50% of young Catholics believe in homosexual activity, abortion, or premarital sex is moral and that the Church needs to reconsider its position, remember that this is only relevant as a testament to a poor job done by parents and catechists.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Bread of Life
John Chapter 6 Verses 10 through 13:
This verse contains one of Christ's "food miracles." It's actually amusing how much symbolism has been packed into food through out scripture, and at the same time not surprising. Bread for so long has been a staple food, and so at times it would be accurate to say that people could not live without bread. But this bread, is nothing compared to the Living Bread, the salvation that Christ brings us, Christ's love.
How I picture the multiplication of the loaves happening, is Christ gives thanks to the Father, hands some of the loaves to his Apostles, and with them hands the loaves to people in the crowd. Each person takes their fill of the bread and passes it to their family and to those around them. From person to person, the bread is passed, filling each person, but is not consumed and instead grows.
This bread is not bread, this is the Living Bread. The Living Bread was handing to many, 2000 years ago, and since has passed from hand to hand, from parent to child, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, and even from one stranger to another. This is the bread that started as our Lord, and has spread from hand to hand to become our many Christian traditions.
It is one of the many duties we have as Christians, to pass this Living Bread to those around us. This is something we all know, not a lot of point of hammering it home. But how is a question worth considering. How are we to hand the Living Bread to those around us?
For myself and for many of my fellow college students, one of the first things that comes to mind when they think of someone trying to spread the Word of God, is a figure like Brother Jed. A man, Bible in hand, standing under the beating sun, bludgeoning the people passing by with a ministry of fire and brimstone. Shouting about the sins of those around them. This approach is flawed.
Another image that comes to mind is the polite, well dressed figure of a young man from the Church of the Latter-day Saints, asking if you have heard the good word. While more polite and less obnoxious, I believe this approach is also flawed.
Flawed approaches to spreading the Christ's message of salvation does more than simply fail to convert new people. It can do much more damage, it can drive young people from their faith, and it can deter unfaithful from even considering Christ's message. This is truly horrifying, but it happens. I myself spent nearly nine years away from Christianity because of similar reasons, and I know many people who have left their faith as young adults or have developed a harden resolve against the Word of God because of these flawed methods of evangelizing.
How then should we approach spreading Christ's love to others? We do just that, we spread Christ's love. One of Christ's many gifts to us, is his love, the Living Bread, the love of God. And he gave of this wonderful gift by loving us, and we choose to receive it. This is important now, Christ loved us, and we choose to receive his love.
Just like in other aspects of life, we should model ourselves after Christ in how we spread his love. We should first and foremost, love our neighbors. I don't mean this in the sense of how many see it, simply being kind, polite and courteous to our neighbors. I mean really love them, go out of your way for them, volunteer, be kind, do things for them with no expectation of reciprocation. It is through acts (or signs) that Jesus gathered people around him, and then he began to preach. First he spread his love, he healed the sick, he cast out demons and raised the dead.
Now with that in mind, lets approach the ever persist question of "How?" Volunteer, be kind, promote a positive, accepting, loving image of Christians (good PR is never a bad thing), do what you can to help your fellow man. Be a Good Christian, and as you take your leave, just say the magic words, some of the most loving words you can say to another person "God Bless You." When people's lives become filled with Good Christians, who help them without question, without reservation and without recompense, they will begin to feel God's Love, they will except the Living Bread from our hands. Then they just may begin asking those around them about the faith, or they might start going to one of the beautiful and moving services each of the Christian traditions have.
That being said, should someone ask you about Christ, or engage in debate. By all means, bring the millenia of theology to bear and answer these people's questions or raise to debate them. But remember, our goal is hand the the Living Bread, God's love.
God Bless You.
Jesus said "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to the his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
This verse contains one of Christ's "food miracles." It's actually amusing how much symbolism has been packed into food through out scripture, and at the same time not surprising. Bread for so long has been a staple food, and so at times it would be accurate to say that people could not live without bread. But this bread, is nothing compared to the Living Bread, the salvation that Christ brings us, Christ's love.
How I picture the multiplication of the loaves happening, is Christ gives thanks to the Father, hands some of the loaves to his Apostles, and with them hands the loaves to people in the crowd. Each person takes their fill of the bread and passes it to their family and to those around them. From person to person, the bread is passed, filling each person, but is not consumed and instead grows.
This bread is not bread, this is the Living Bread. The Living Bread was handing to many, 2000 years ago, and since has passed from hand to hand, from parent to child, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, and even from one stranger to another. This is the bread that started as our Lord, and has spread from hand to hand to become our many Christian traditions.
It is one of the many duties we have as Christians, to pass this Living Bread to those around us. This is something we all know, not a lot of point of hammering it home. But how is a question worth considering. How are we to hand the Living Bread to those around us?
For myself and for many of my fellow college students, one of the first things that comes to mind when they think of someone trying to spread the Word of God, is a figure like Brother Jed. A man, Bible in hand, standing under the beating sun, bludgeoning the people passing by with a ministry of fire and brimstone. Shouting about the sins of those around them. This approach is flawed.
Another image that comes to mind is the polite, well dressed figure of a young man from the Church of the Latter-day Saints, asking if you have heard the good word. While more polite and less obnoxious, I believe this approach is also flawed.
Flawed approaches to spreading the Christ's message of salvation does more than simply fail to convert new people. It can do much more damage, it can drive young people from their faith, and it can deter unfaithful from even considering Christ's message. This is truly horrifying, but it happens. I myself spent nearly nine years away from Christianity because of similar reasons, and I know many people who have left their faith as young adults or have developed a harden resolve against the Word of God because of these flawed methods of evangelizing.
How then should we approach spreading Christ's love to others? We do just that, we spread Christ's love. One of Christ's many gifts to us, is his love, the Living Bread, the love of God. And he gave of this wonderful gift by loving us, and we choose to receive it. This is important now, Christ loved us, and we choose to receive his love.
Just like in other aspects of life, we should model ourselves after Christ in how we spread his love. We should first and foremost, love our neighbors. I don't mean this in the sense of how many see it, simply being kind, polite and courteous to our neighbors. I mean really love them, go out of your way for them, volunteer, be kind, do things for them with no expectation of reciprocation. It is through acts (or signs) that Jesus gathered people around him, and then he began to preach. First he spread his love, he healed the sick, he cast out demons and raised the dead.
Now with that in mind, lets approach the ever persist question of "How?" Volunteer, be kind, promote a positive, accepting, loving image of Christians (good PR is never a bad thing), do what you can to help your fellow man. Be a Good Christian, and as you take your leave, just say the magic words, some of the most loving words you can say to another person "God Bless You." When people's lives become filled with Good Christians, who help them without question, without reservation and without recompense, they will begin to feel God's Love, they will except the Living Bread from our hands. Then they just may begin asking those around them about the faith, or they might start going to one of the beautiful and moving services each of the Christian traditions have.
That being said, should someone ask you about Christ, or engage in debate. By all means, bring the millenia of theology to bear and answer these people's questions or raise to debate them. But remember, our goal is hand the the Living Bread, God's love.
God Bless You.
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