Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 52

Why Saint Thomas Aquinas Opposed Open Borders

Every nation has the right to distinguish, by country of origin, who can migrate to it and apply appropriate immigration policies, according to the great medieval scholar and saint Thomas Aquinas.

by THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.

In a surprisingly contemporary passage of his Summa Theologica, Aquinas noted that the Jewish people of Old Testament times did not admit visitors from all nations equally since those peoples closer to them were more quickly integrated into the population than those who were not as close.

Some antagonistic peoples were not admitted at all into Israel due to their hostility toward the Jewish people.

The Law “prescribed in respect of certain nations that had close relations with the Jews,” the scholar noted, such as the Egyptians and the Idumeans, “that they should be admitted to the fellowship of the people after the third generation.”

Citizens of other nations “with whom their relations had been hostile,” such as the Ammonites and Moabites, “were never to be admitted to citizenship.”

“The Amalekites, who were yet more hostile to them, and had no fellowship of kindred with them, were to be held as foes in perpetuity,” Aquinas observed.

For the scholar, it seemed sensible to treat nations differently, depending on the affinity of their cultures with that of Israel as well as their historic relations with the Jewish people.

In his remarkably nuanced commentary, Aquinas also distinguished among three types of immigrants in the Israel of the Old Testament.

First were “the foreigners who passed through their land as travelers,” much like modern-day visitors with a travel visa.

Second were those who “came to dwell in their land as newcomers,” seemingly corresponding to resident aliens, perhaps with a green card, living in the land but not with the full benefits of citizenship.

A third case involved those foreigners who wished “to be admitted entirely to their fellowship and mode of worship.” Even here, dealing with those who wished to integrate fully into the life and worship of Israel required a certain order, Aquinas observed. “For they were not at once admitted to citizenship: just as it was law with some nations that no one was deemed a citizen except after two or three generations.”

“The reason for this was that if foreigners were allowed to meddle with the affairs of a nation as soon as they settled down in its midst,” Aquinas logically reasoned, “many dangers might occur, since the foreigners not yet having the common good firmly at heart might attempt something hurtful to the people.”

In other words, Aquinas taught that total integration of immigrants into the life, language, customs and culture (including worship, in this case) was necessary for full citizenship.

It requires time for someone to learn which issues affect the nation and to make them their own, Aquinas argued. Those who know the history of their nation and have lived in it, working for the common good, are best suited to participate in decision-making about its future.

It would be dangerous and unjust to place the future of a nation in the hands of recent arrivals who do not fully understand the needs and concerns of their adoptive home.

When facing contemporary problems, modern policymakers can often benefit from the wisdom of the great saints and scholars who have dealt with versions of the same issues in ages past.

Aquinas’ reflections reveal that similar problems have existed for centuries—indeed, millennia—and that distinguishing prudently between nations and cultures doesn’t automatically imply prejudice or unfair discrimination.

Sometimes, it’s just the right thing to do.

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What do I think of Pope Francis and the Church today?

If you want to know my opinion of Pope Francis, you may want to watch my video presentation to the Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre of which we have been members for over 24 years.

It is entitled “How Does a John Paul II Catholic survive in a Pope Francis world.”

The post What do I think of Pope Francis and the Church today? appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

What do I think of Pope Francis and the Church today

If you want to know my opinion of Pope Francis, you may want to watch my video presentation to the Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre of which we have been members for over 24 years.

It is entitled “How Does a John Paul II Catholic survive in a Pope Francis world.”

The post What do I think of Pope Francis and the Church today appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

“Council of Jamnia” and Old Testament Book Collection

The Old Testament Canon and the “Council of Jamnia”

Many popular myths are believed simply because people want to believe them—not because they are true. Wishful thinking is a poor substitute for truth. It is always preferable for one to dig deep and discover the facts and not just believe things because one wants them to be true.

In order to reject the Catholic Bible, it is popular in some Protestant circles to claim that the Jews had a closed canon of Scripture in the first century and that the early Christians accepted this final Jewish collection of inspired writings as final and binding upon the Church. The Council of Jamnia is usually assumed as the “proof” for this assertion. At the “Council of Jamnia” you see, the Jewish rabbis supposedly got together—something like an Ecumenical Council in the Catholic Church—to lay down specific criteria for inspired Scripture and to finally define and close the Old Testament canon.

Is this true? First, we will look at how various authors defend the Protestant exclusion of seven books based on a flawed understanding of the so-called “Council of Jamnia”. Second, did this “council” actually discuss the limit of the Old Testament canon, and third, if so, did they have the authority to close the canon? Fourth, did they actually compile a final list of accepted writings and fifth, and very importantly, if such a decision had been made, would the Christian be bound by that decision? We will conclude with the teaching of the Catholic Church and why we can so securely trust it.

First, let’s clarify a few terms. The canon of Scripture refers to the final collection of inspired books included in the Bible. The Catholic Bible contains seven books that do not appear in Protestant Old Testament. These seven writings are called the deutero-canonicals, or the Second Law. Protestants usually call these writings the Apocrypha (meaning “hidden”)—books they consider outside the canon.

These seven writings include 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch along with additional passages in Daniel and Esther. Before the time of Christ, these writings were included in the Jewish Greek Septuagint (LXX)—the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures, but they were not included in the Hebrew Masoretic text.

To read the whole document, click here.

 

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Pentecost, Ram’s Horns & Grandsons Demonstrating

This is a short 1 1/2 minute video that recalls the reading at the Pentecost Vigil Mass about the trumpet blast. Three of my young grandsons demonstrate!

The “trumpets” were not trumpets like we know them, but the Shofar, the Rams-horn of the Israelites.

This Pentecost was also our families 29th anniversary into the Catholic Church.

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BOYCOTT the LA Dodgers, and let them know why!

Contact them at FanFeedback@ladodgers.com

Bishop Barton’s appeal to boycott and defend our Freedom and our Catholic Faith!

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Pentecost is our 29th Anniversary as Catholics!

Pentecost Sunday 1994 our family of six along with friend Rob Corzine entered the Catholic Church with tears and new friends. We lost all of our Evangelical friends within two weeks but it was a small price to pay. Our beloved friend and priest Fr. Ed Fride received us into the Church.

Here you can see pictures of that momentous day — our family on May 22, 1994 at Christ the King in Ann Arbor Michigan. Below is a picture of me holding the first copy of my conversion story Crossing the Tiber in 1997.

I always say that when I was 17 years old Jesus introduced himself to me; when I turned 39 he decided it was time to introduce me to his family.

You can read the short version of our conversion story here with lots of pictures.

Every single Mass since 1994 I have whispered in my wife’s ear, “I love being a Catholic with you!”

When we joined the Church it was Janet, me and our four kids. Now our family has grown to 30 of us!

Thanks everyone for the great welcome and the marvelous family!

 

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Steve was on Catholic Answers Live – “Mary, Visitation and Ark of the New Covenant”

Steve was the guest on Catholic Answers Live at 7 PM Eastern time, Monday, May 22. See YouTube video below.

The topic was “Who is Mary? Mary, the Visitation and the Ark of the New Covenant.”

Questions I Answered:

Tell us about the Visitation? How old was Mary? How far did she travel to visit Elizabeth? Why is it all based on the Old Testament?

Why did she go visit Elizabeth? What is Luke trying to teach us with this interesting story? Did Mary go to help her relative Elizabeth or is there another reason?

30:09 – I thought Mary visited Elizabeth to learn about childbirth. Is this true?
32:58 – Why were Mary and Joseph surprised at Jesus’ comment about being in his Father’s house after they lost him?
42:23 – I was taught that the visit to Elizabeth was typological to David dancing in front of the Arch of the Covenant. Can you expound on that?
44:16 – Can you explain the timeline of Joseph and Mary’s betrothal? Was it before, during, after the Visitation?
49:32 – Would Simeon at the Presentation have remembered that this was the Mary that was pregnant outside of marriage and Joseph almost divorced?

Steve’s segment starts at the 1:00 hour mark — half way in.

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Monday Steve is on Catholic Answers Live – “Mary, Visitation and Ark of the New Covenant

Steve will be the guest on Catholic Answers Live at 7 PM Eastern time, Monday, May 22.

The topic will be Mary, the Visitation and the Ark of the New Covenant.

https://www.catholic.com/audio/cal

The post Monday Steve is on Catholic Answers Live – “Mary, Visitation and Ark of the New Covenant appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Did the Early Church Baptize Infants? Cute meme

Thanks to Patrick Madrid’s Twitter post

The post Did the Early Church Baptize Infants? Cute meme appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.