Five Statements that Need More Evidence/Discussions (Part 3)

1. “There is no doubt, therefore, that a “Kingdom of God” accomplished without God—a kingdom therefore of man alone—inevitably ends up as the “perverse end” of all things as described by Kant: we have seen it, and we see it over and over again.” (No. 23)

2. “Great progress has been made in the battle against physical pain; yet the sufferings of the innocent and mental suffering have, if anything, increased in recent decades.” (No.36)

3. “The atheism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is—in its origins and aims—a type of moralism: a protest against the injustices of the world and of world history. A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God.” (No. 42)

4. “A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope.” (No. 42)

5. “A world without God is a world without hope (cf. Eph 2:12). Only God can create justice.” (No. 44)

A couple of reminders

In parting, I would like to share with you two things that Pope Benedict XVI reminds us about:

1. Baptism is not merely an act of socialization.

“Today as in the past, this is what being baptized, becoming Christians, is all about: it is not just an act of socialization within the community, not simply a welcome into the Church. The parents expect more for the one to be baptized: they expect that faith, which includes the corporeal nature of the Church and her sacraments, will give life to their child—eternal life.” (No. 10)

2. Any structure (including laws and customs) that limit free will and choice is a violation of freedom. I hope the bishops in our country are listening so that they may stop limiting our freedom to choose our options in birth control.

“Yet in the field of ethical awareness and moral decision-making, there is no similar possibility of accumulation for the simple reason that man’s freedom is always new and he must always make his decisions anew. These decisions can never simply be made for us in advance by others—if that were the case, we would no longer be free…The right state of human affairs, the moral well-being of the world can never be guaranteed simply through structures alone, however good they are. Such structures are not only important, but necessary; yet they cannot and must not marginalize human freedom.” (No. 24)

Go back to:
Three things I can personally relate to (Part 1)
Four things that are not in-sync with my personal beliefs (Part 2)

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