Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 334

Are You a Nice Christian?

I am told that if someone 'loves God' and 'loves their neighbor' that they are nice Christians and I mustn't judge.



But how do I know if they 'love God' and 'love their neighbor'? What sort of objective criteria do we have for such judgements? Those who love God keep his commandments. So we avoid sentimental or subjective judgements and see if the person keeps God's commandments. If they formally allow for divorce and remarriage, homosexual 'marriage', abortion and contraception, if beneath the surface they are greedy, liars who manipulate and control others for power,  then even if they are nice, prayerful, respectable, intellectual and seemingly pious, well mannered people then they don't love God. They are, in fact, in rebellion against God.



Secondly, people can be said to love God if they love the Truth that he has revealed to humanity. Therefore, if a person who calls himself 'Christian' actually formally denies miracles, denies the historicity of the incarnation and virgin birth, denies the historicity of the resurrection and the reality of heaven and hell. If they deny the simple and honest interpretation of the historic creeds of Christendom, then it would be inconsistent to say that they 'love God'. They cannot love God if they deny the light and truth that he has revealed to his people, and no amount of religiosity, piety and good works can change that fact.



Do they love their neighbor? Now the question becomes very interesting, because I would argue that one cannot truly love one's neighbor in the Christian sense if one does not wish for the salvation of their eternal soul. Oh yes, we can give food and clothing and shelter to our neighbor, and this is always a good and noble thing, but does it count as 'loving one's neighbor' in the fullest Christian sense? I think not.



Therefore, can a person who denies God's revealed moral law and denies the doctrines that are revealed by God and affirmed by his Holy Church actually truly and fully 'love his neighbor'? No, because without a full understanding and participation in God's moral law and doctrinal revelation they cannot love God fully, not can they love their neighbor fully for they cannot assist their neighbor to the greatest blessing of all--which is their soul's salvation.



I am not loving my neighbor therefore if I condone and bless their sinful lifestyle. Neither can I say that I love my neighbor is I communicate to him a version of the Christian gospel which is--in fact--heretical.



This sounds harsh, and I am not on a campaign to judge other individuals. However, I do wish to avoid the sentimentality and mushy subjectivism that pretends that just because a person seems nice, respectable, religious, pious and socially involved that they are 'good Christians'. Fact is, we don't know if they are or not, but we can see what they believe and how they behave and make some tentative judgements.



And that's okay if you begin the judgment with the person in the mirror.

Justice and Mercy

Is religion relevant? Fr McCloskey here on the relevance of Justice and Mercy.

There's Something Wrong With You

If you don't laugh at this one.

Special Book Offer

I have just had a shipment of Adventures in Orthodoxy from England. The covers on these books are slightly inferior in print quality, so I am making a special offer to readers of my blog. The book normally sells for $20.00 which includes p+p. But you can have a copy for just $15.00 (we'll give you a $5.00 rebate) or you can choose a free copy of my little book How to Be an Ordinary Hero.



If you would like to take advantage of the offer, then go to my website here and order a copy at the normal price and pay by PayPal. Then, in the PayPal 'instructions to seller' box say that you are taking advantage of the sale offer. Say whether you would like the rebate check or the copy of How to Be an Ordinary Hero.



We will either enclose a check for $5.00 with the book, or include your free copy of my book How to Be an Ordinary Hero worth $10.00.



Adventures in Orthodoxy is (my favorite of my books, even if it hasn't been everyone else's) I describe it as a Chestertonian romp through the Apostle's Creed. Here's an excerpt from the chapter about God:



I have a curious respect for atheists. There is something heroic about an outspoken atheist. He wears his denial of God on his sleeve with a certain panache. He challenges the deity as Cyrano de Bergerac duels with death. The atheist courageously contradict the instincts of the entire human race to declare the non-existence of God. Like a latter day Don Quixote, the atheist rides off to joust with the windmills of superstition, religion and the fairy tale deity. With touching absurdity, the crusading atheist overlooks the fact that he spends time and effort refuting something he does not believe exists. That is why I like atheists. The rebel in me always admires someone who paddles upstream, and should they attempt to scale a waterfall in their canoe my admiration for them increases. The campaigning atheist is like that. Despite all the evidence, despite the universal religious instinct of the human race, he acts on his solemn belief that there is nothing to solemnly believe in. Because of his passion I have a grudging respect for the militant atheist, but that is also why I don't believe he is really an atheist. He believes too much and cares too much for truth to really be an atheist.

Chust for Nice

San Clemente, Rome

Is Religion Relevant?

courtesy Bad Vestments blog

The problem with trendy vestments, and any other attempt to make the faith 'relevant' is that it is immediately out of date. Like the new car that depreciates as soon as you drive if off the lot--you're immediately a loser.



Who really cares if the vestment, or your religion for that matter, is 'relevant'? People who want life to be 'relevant' don't want it to be religious because they've already concluded that religion isn't relevant or they would have been religious, and I respect them for their honesty.




What I mean is this: if you want to change the world, occupy Wall Street or save the polar bears or bring in a new economic order or equality for gays or help feed poor children or be nicer to old people or feed the hungry or house the homeless or any other good and wonderful thing--you don't really need religion to do it. Just get on and be a nice, good, helpful change the world kind of person.




If I were a 'good atheist' intent on changing the world, I'd sort of resent the religious people trying to crash my party. I'd say, "You're supposed to be about saving souls from hell and forgiveness and the blood of Jesus and casting out demons and transubstantiation and all that stuff aren't you? Why don't you mind your own business and butt out?"




Let's face it, real religion--that has to do with a transaction with the supernatural, the transformation of souls into glorious eternal beings and their action in the world--that's not immediately 'relevant' for most people, so when religious people try to get relevant they end up being neither religious nor relevant. That's why goofy vestments like the one above pretty well illustrate the vapidity of such an enterprise.




On the other hand, of course, real religion that is timeless and simply tells and tries to live the old, old story of God's mysterious, redemptive love for mankind will continue to touch lives, transform people and transform the world and end up being totally relevant.




So, to stand things on their head, if you want to be irrelevant try to be relevant. If you want to be relevant aim to be irrelevantly religious and you'll end up being relevant despite yourself.

St Theresa of Avila

St Theresa of Avila-an image in the church in El Salvador where Oscar Romero was murdered. 

"Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to bestow on us so many graces and favours, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort."

Paine in the Neck

Here is a statement by one of the 'intellectual' founding fathers of the United States of America.




I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.  --- Thomas Paine





There is an inconsistency in his statement. The creed he espouses is actually that of the Protestant Church. He was just didn't realize it.



What tickles me about this sort of statement is that it is put out by sophomores everywhere with a kind of bravado--as if they were the first ones to think of it-- they wear this statement as one might brandish a protest sign or a red badge of courage--never actually taking the time to think through either the statement itself or how dumb they look proclaiming it to the world.

Nice Anglicans...

...Now have you had enough?

Have you...

...had enough yet?