tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29781928050323552322024-03-13T06:27:53.726-07:00Boettger's BlogMatt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-1193605733539962552011-05-17T15:08:00.000-07:002011-05-17T15:08:48.498-07:00The Education of Love and Puzzles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZeWGE4sSbovMK2E6BjQ5Wej94VnxgjBu4DxhXpde3_gXB4oGNxl6bhZoY3Uh-EtzsCeasfL3xPUBR1oBu-SCpr6chfhxol9l8xQC2P3ndV-_bNzAKBYZ2l1yIB6DibaqqsflZMmnLQ/s1600/love+puzzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZeWGE4sSbovMK2E6BjQ5Wej94VnxgjBu4DxhXpde3_gXB4oGNxl6bhZoY3Uh-EtzsCeasfL3xPUBR1oBu-SCpr6chfhxol9l8xQC2P3ndV-_bNzAKBYZ2l1yIB6DibaqqsflZMmnLQ/s320/love+puzzle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Throughout human history, culture has been grounded upon religious systems. The more civilizations clung to religion as its cultural manna, the more these respective civilizations would be, well, civilized. On the other hand, as these civilizations began to part ways with their religious heritage they inevitably began their journey toward extinction. Without a foundation, no structure can ever last!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">No great civilization has been left unscathed by what we would call secularization today and the West is no exception. With our foundation uprooted, we have been forced to replace it with something less “foundational.” Media or what others may call “pop culture” has become the new foundation by which we interpret reality and instill values. It is a feeble foundation but it is a foundation nonetheless.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This “new” worldview offers us a message that is contrary to the “old regime.” The religious ideologies of yesterday appeared to squelch our freedom and particularly our freedom to love. This new ideology broke the shackles of “religious oppression” by offering a new freedom called radical autonomy. No longer was man called to deny his passions but rather was “empowered” to have unrestricted access to them. In the end, love was reduced to a human experience or an outlet for erotic compulsions. In other words, the transmission of love went from inward out to outward in; getting rather than giving.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Unsurprisingly, the new ideology’s greatest advocate has been Hollywood. Autonomy is the new virtue whereby all things are subservient. Murder can look “cool” as long as it is in the name of autonomy. If a character was forced to kill someone then we look at is as sad but in the name of autonomy it is acceptable. Love is the same way. As long as there are no responsibilities placed upon the relationship then it is a love story. If responsibility is called for it must be a self-induced responsibility since radical autonomy is the foundation for “true love.”</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The influential power of the Hollywood love story has led to the demise of real love. The movies say “love just happens to you” but this simply is not so. Love “happens to you” in the same way weight loss does. Weight loss is not primarily an experience but rather an action. Similarly, love is not primarily an experience but rather an action. In other words, love must be educated.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The call for love to be educated can be seen through the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle. Each person enters a relationship with a number of puzzle pieces. Just like a real puzzle, each piece contains both “tabs” and “recesses.” These reflect our unique needs (recesses) and our unique gifts (tabs). Childish love reflects that of actual children with puzzles in that they often believe that any piece will join together with another as long as you pound hard enough. Others may even go as far as to trim their favorite piece so as to properly lock into a random piece. Mature love or educated love on the other hand recognizes that not any “tab” will lock with any “recess” and that compromising the integrity of a piece will only lead to an unstable and unrecognizable picture.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Like the child’s puzzle composed of loosely locked pieces, childish love will not survive long. Such love hangs on by a thread with only the slightest agitation needed for its demise. This love is the “gospel” of our culture. It is a love that says, “I’ll determine what you need. How dare you tell me to love you this way! You are never grateful for all I ever do for you!” This love is based on radical autonomy which ignores the unique needs of the other which ultimately denies the value of the person before you.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Slightly more mature but nonetheless incredibly irrational is the approach to trim one’s own pieces to lock into random pieces. While slightly more stable, it is nonetheless very fragile. This love is not as immediately unstable but is ultimately a time bomb waiting to explode. It is a life of complaint love which is not so much love as it is assimilation (i.e. doormat syndrome). In the end, one person is full of resentment due to a life full of compromises and self-neglect. In the same way the pieces lose their original value, so to does the compliant person. When the make-shift puzzle is finally finished the reality overwhelms them with the fact that the picture looks nothing like what was promised before the puzzle was opened. One must be cautious not to place the sole blame on the complaint person in the relationship as it take two for the compliant behavior: One who is the compliant and the other who is the enabler.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally, mature love recognizes that not any tab will lock with any recess. This is a difficult truth to put into practice. It requires a deep self-awareness so that one can distinguish between what is actually a gift/solution (tab) to another and what is really a need (recess) cloaked in the form of a gift/solution. Countless are the times where I have tried to fulfill a need by offering what I think is a “solution” only to find myself pounding a solution that does not fit the contours of the need. I have been accused of “not listening” when I could recall the exact conversation AND give one heck of a solution. It is only now that I realize the statement behind the statement. I was not listening to the particular need, which did NOT need a logical solution but rather a hug and a sympathetic ear.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Love must be educated. When we are acutely aware of the contours of the other’s puzzle pieces we are offered the opportunity to love in truth, the truth of the person before us. We are then empowered to fulfill needs according to the deepest needs of the other. Piece by piece we slowly contribute to the picture by maintaining our own integrity as well us upholding the genuine integrity of the other. Only in this particular pursuit of love (i.e. Christian love) will we come away with a picture that defies logic in that the total will always surpass the sum of its individual parts in truth and beauty. May God be Praised!</span>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-60706854422417001572011-05-10T12:43:00.001-07:002011-05-10T12:43:09.764-07:00The Ebb and Flow of Love<link href="file://localhost/Users/mboettger1/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <link href="file://localhost/Users/mboettger1/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_themedata.xml" rel="themeData"></link> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1DvyPGX8LL_g5fnU3FeWD25Fz1JnzjPCOHAyrKhka0E5Ne7stR7hgorhM3zrJW89d9bbhEBfSqiKgxFNfI1cafjDpjHUiyEzYSuZ1A9FqkV4VoaqZa04k8LyT0-BqdDRc2Ewd_IiYZg/s1600/287521797_4f5b66d102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1DvyPGX8LL_g5fnU3FeWD25Fz1JnzjPCOHAyrKhka0E5Ne7stR7hgorhM3zrJW89d9bbhEBfSqiKgxFNfI1cafjDpjHUiyEzYSuZ1A9FqkV4VoaqZa04k8LyT0-BqdDRc2Ewd_IiYZg/s320/287521797_4f5b66d102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Life is dramatic. Rarely do we find ourselves resting peacefully on tranquil waters, gazing into the glassy reflection of the beauty before us. Seldom does life afford us the opportunity “to be” without interruption. Life is something that ebbs and flows. As the birthdays accumulate, we gradually come to see that the changing of life’s seasons is not to be seen as a threat to our peace but rather an opportunity for growth and self-abandonment. The turbulent waters never <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bestow</i> restlessness or sin in our lives but rather <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reveal </i>the darkest recesses of our heart that has gone unnoticed or ignored for far too long. I’m reminded of a great quote by C.S. Lewis: “On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is … If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">The transitions and stresses of life are indispensable for the pursuit of happiness. It requires little effort to perceive the joys of life as a contribution to personal beatitude, but it is much more difficult to perceive the opportunities of joy in the turbulent waters of life. Excluding grave evils, the “ebbs” of life awaken us to our humanity. It is in these moments that we rediscover our self, for better or worse, against that of the world. It is precisely in the dissonance of life’s evils that we see ourselves NOT as a passive agent to life’s circumstances but rather as an active force that contributes to the world by asserting one’s own ‘I’ onto the world. This is precisely what it means to be human and this is something we must be reminded of often. To be human does not mean simply to receive what the world hands us. To be human is to actively assert one’s own self onto the world to make a unique and unrepeatable contribution to the world. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">These ebbs of life are painful because they threaten our self-possession. These dark moments are dark precisely because they attempt to steal what is so dear to us: ourselves. Such circumstances present a crossroads by which we can either allow ourselves to be swallowed up by the pain or venture down the road of self-rediscovery. Like the rats in the cellar, the pains of life <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reveal</i> that which has held us captive for far too long. It is up to us to choose whether we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reclaim</i> the cellar for ourselves or to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">assimilate</i> our lives around the life of the rats.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Like life, love has its own ebb and flow but this is often something under appreciated at best and down right loathed at worst. A healthy love relationship (i.e. dating/courtship or marriage) requires two fundamental callings: a call to be united to the other and a call to remain distinctive persons within this unity. The late John Paul II termed this a relationship that embraces unity-in-distinction. Unity without distinction is assimilation (i.e. doormat syndrome) while distinction without unity is mutual appropriation (i.e. using someone merely as a means for one’s own gratification). The work of love resides directly in the pursuit of these two dimensions and it is where we discover the catalyst for the ebb and flow of love.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">When I speak of the “ebb and flow” of love I refer to a particular dynamic of relationships that manifest a continuous drawing closer (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">flow</i>) to one another with a subsequent drawing back (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ebb</i>) from one another. While the reasons for why one would draw near to another in love is self-evident, the reasons why one would “draw back” from the other for the sake of love is not as self-evident. One cannot deny the fact that such a distancing can be a legitimate threat to love and so should be treated as just that. On the other hand, one ought to recognize a well and needed good in such a distancing if it is done for the right reasons.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Like the ebbs of life, the ebbs of love afford us the opportunity to rediscover our self independently of our beloved. This opportunity is NOT for its own sake but rather for the sake of love. Reduced to a quest for autonomy, such opportunities quickly turn from a means of greater intimacy to a threat of love. The drawing back from one another provides a rich terrain for self-rediscovery. This reawakening (or deepening) of the ‘I’ independent of the ‘thou’ enriches the opportunity for genuine unity which is nothing more than an expression of mutual <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">self-gift</i>. The more one is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">self-aware</i> (i.e. self-rediscovery) the more one is able to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">give oneself</i> to the other. Hence, the ebb and flow of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love</i>.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Pursuing a life of self-rediscovery within a relationship can be achieved in both healthy and harmful ways. One must always seriously discern whether or not such an activity is for the good of the relationship. For instance, a married man may suddenly desire to take a spontaneous three-week trip with “the guys” to Hawaii but is such a trip good for the marriage? While the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">value</i> of independence is good for the sake of love, this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">value</i> must always <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">serve</i> love. In other words, while the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">value</i> of independence must never be compromised, how one <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prefers</i> to express this must always find compromise since it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">serves </i>a very particular love <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">who</i> is your beloved. A three-week vacation may not be prudent but maybe a well-planned ahead weekend camping trip nearby might by.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">As alluded above, same-sex friendships are one of the most valuable ways to maintain and enrich one’s own self. Countless are the times I have witnessed “new love” abandon all friendships through the impulse to spend every waken moment together. Such negligence only leads to problems down the road. Assimilation impinges upon the relationship which ultimately turns one person into a carbon-copy of the other. It is only a matter of time before the radically compliant partner explodes through months/years of resentment. May we all strive to cultivate and maintain healthy and holy same-sex friendships both for their own sake and for the sake of your current or future beloved! In the end, may we all journey well down the path of self-rediscovery for the sake of love; for the sake of self-gift. May God be Praised!<o:p></o:p></div>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-41045689674548217392010-10-08T16:58:00.000-07:002010-10-08T16:58:41.206-07:00To Use or To Be Used: That is the Wrong Question<!--StartFragment--> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrZv-rGN3kDPst41P9s6-M0ylHPM6fZwUg4Ro4yuX6mdJW1eD_nZrVFP93DjdvLWzVr-jotTt4nymppUjFoRfo07lNFoSCnOAdwlAIIAI4K02I3o4GE7Dj3wMgBPEmE9IoHhVXioMBQ/s1600/altruism_is_the_new_sexy_tshirt-p235755701786015779oey1_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrZv-rGN3kDPst41P9s6-M0ylHPM6fZwUg4Ro4yuX6mdJW1eD_nZrVFP93DjdvLWzVr-jotTt4nymppUjFoRfo07lNFoSCnOAdwlAIIAI4K02I3o4GE7Dj3wMgBPEmE9IoHhVXioMBQ/s320/altruism_is_the_new_sexy_tshirt-p235755701786015779oey1_400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">A student comes to me visibly hurt. She explains the unrest she has been experiencing over the past few weeks. For her, the pain is a symptom of her “selfishness” which acts as an abrasive agent to the wound. You see, the young student is striving to saturate every dimension of her life with the Gospel, including relationships. She recognizes in the core of her being that genuine relationships must exclude “using” the other for one’s own pleasure. In “using” someone, one treats the other like a consumer product which goes against the dignity of every person. We all experience free-will which is part of our human nature. When someone treats another person merely as a means to an end, the person using the other denies the other person’s freedom by “enslaving” him or her to their desires! Human experience ratifies this claim over and over through the experience of shame that arises when a person is the recipient of objectification. We are never meant to be merely a satisfaction to someone else’s pleasures; we are so much more than this!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">It may seem good to conclude that this particular student has a mature grasp of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it ought to influence relationships. If that is true, why the unsettled soul and visibly manifested hurt? She has correctly turned away from the hedonistic lifestyle, so we must look at exactly what she has turned toward to understand the source of her pain.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">I was most interested in her self-evaluation of being “selfish.” When I asked her to comment on her feelings she responded she was having a difficult time disregarding her own needs/wants for the sake of “the good of the other.” When I asked her to give an example, she immediately spoke about a particular friend who was constantly “needing help” but that this friend would never be there for her in times of need. Instead of talking to her friend about this, she simply suppressed the “negative feelings” calling them selfish and sinful since a Christian “ought to give without asking for return.” It was at this moment that I discovered the source of her pain. The source of pain was not due to the Gospel being lived out in her life, but rather from living a distorted view of the Gospel commonly referred to as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">radical altruism</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Radical altruism is a belief that one ought to deny one’s own values and pleasures for the sake of the good of the other. While this sounds Christian at first glance, it is as deadly of a belief as hedonism. All one needs to do is look to Peter Singer, an “ethicist” at Princeton University, to recognize this danger. For Mr. Singer, the idea that an individual would push his or her own personal value systems and beliefs on to a suffering person is outlandish. For Singer, the solution is simple: sometimes you should kill the suffering person and end their misery and don’t worry about what you think about it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">While Peter Singer may be an extreme example of radical altruism, it is an example nonetheless and it illustrates the pitfalls of such a belief. Thankfully the young student had not taken her radical altruism that far. Rather, the source of her pain came from allowing herself to be </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">used</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> by others. The irony of it all was that she established relationships with others that expressed the very thing she denied: that no person may be an object of use … except for herself apparently!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">If hedonism and radical altruism both lead to the same grave end (a person being used), then is there any alternative? The answer is yes! The wisdom of the Church has maintained a philosophy that has given birth to the most passionate people in the world and the most giving people in the world. We typically call these people saints. They neither live a life of hedonism nor feel compelled to suppress the desires of their heart for the sake of the good of the other.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The late John Paul II has given this philosophy of life a name: The Personalistic Norm. In short, this norm speaks of the need for each relationship to subordinate the value of ones own pleasures to the value of the person you are in relationship with. John Paul is adamant to note that this does not mean to </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">eradicate</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> ones own pleasure, but to </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">subordinate</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> them. In other words, while the value of pleasure is real and good, those pleasure should not exceed (in value) the value of the actual person in front of you. Once that happens, the relationship risks turning into a relationship of utility (or mutual utility).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">This is precisely what Christ speaks of when He speaks of the life He is about to offer for the sins of world. He does not offer His life merely for the good of the world, but rather He offers his life to the world feely and in accordance with the desires of His own heart (cf. Jn 10.17-18). How often do we ignore our own desires for the “sake of the good of the other” or how many times do we listen to our own desires over that of the needs of the others? Both experiences are twisted and in need of redemption. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">How often do we, like the student I spoke with, give to the point where we are on the verge of breaking? This is a sign of a life lived in radical altruism. How often do we consume to the point that we feel like we no longer have control over our own life? This is a sign of a life lived in hedonism. Ideally we are called to seek the good of the other in such a way that it is always in accordance with the desires of our own heart. Such an integrated life is rarely perfectly expressed but we must always </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">strive to at least appreciate the value of the person more so than our own pleasures</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">. Only through a life submitted to Christ and His Holy Church will we be able to experience the life we were created to live; a life that perfectly integrates our passions and our love and respect for every person we meet. May God be Praised!</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-13279755855125368582010-08-07T08:45:00.000-07:002010-08-07T08:45:56.923-07:00Why Apologetics is Important<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyw6oQf0Esq0J4rdcskSDQiReqPi0mDvhh-kNlZdrBA86qObAGkAZ0FLywMMmv_1EL9N1DznnAJxA9bOB4l8OLhyphenhyphenJbeuJTtKp7Jt8ddc_Jl9K_6Gh5qG2hCG6bFajPTDLmWcohsbk8cw/s1600/apologetics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyw6oQf0Esq0J4rdcskSDQiReqPi0mDvhh-kNlZdrBA86qObAGkAZ0FLywMMmv_1EL9N1DznnAJxA9bOB4l8OLhyphenhyphenJbeuJTtKp7Jt8ddc_Jl9K_6Gh5qG2hCG6bFajPTDLmWcohsbk8cw/s320/apologetics.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of my favorite quotes from John Paul II comes from his book entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love and Responsibility</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We love the person complete with all his or her virtues and faults, and up to a point independently of those virtues and in spite of those faults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strength of such a love emerges most clearly when the beloved person stumbles, when his or her weaknesses or even sins come into the open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One who truly loves does not then withdraw his love, but loves all the more, loves in full consciousness of the other’s shortcomings and faults, and without in the least approving of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the person as such never loses its essential value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The emotion which attaches itself to the value of the person remains loyal to the human being. –p. 135<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the heart of this quote is the exhortation to love in the truth of the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How often do we (or at least I) pursue a relationship in-as-much as it gives me joy? How often do we (or at least I) rest safely in relationships of common interests, hobbies, ideologies, philosophies, leisure activities, or goals?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How often do we, in the name of ecumenism, pursue relationships with a “least common denominator” framework of mind?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are these relationships love? Of course they are!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are they expressions of mature love? I don’t think so!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But won’t “divisive topics” threaten the relationship? For the person of pride yes, but for the humble one there is no fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, it is precisely in the divisive topics that one is able to experience mature and genuine love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When one loves “all the more” in these circumstances they discover for themselves the bedrock of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This bedrock is the activity of genuinely loving that which is “other” to oneself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, it is the act of loving not for the sake of pleasure which is rooted in self-seeking, but rather loving that which lies outside of one’s own preferences, interests, and even values.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a love ensures one is loving not a self-reflection, although faint, but rather that which is outside of him/herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be difficult as it can lead to conflict, but genuine love calls for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, for one to love the “other” of another person, knowledge of what constitutes “other” must be present in the person loving!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ignorant love does not have the person as its object but rather ignorance as its object.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the foundation laid, we may now address why apologetics (the art of defending one’s ideas, beliefs, and values) is so important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In light of what has been addressed above, apologetics, when properly used, is the fertile ground by which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mature ecumenical love</i> grows!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be a great defender of the faith, one must: 1) Know one’s own beliefs and be able to articulate them clearly; 2) Know the opposing views clearly so as to distinguish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fairly</i> one’s own beliefs from other beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t that precisely the foundation by which mature love is built upon?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apologetics affords the person the opportunity to love “the other” of a person and not simply that which is held in common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It prevents “self-reflecting” love and encourages “self-donating” love.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All this being said, I’m aware that apologetics has often been the instrument of harm rather than love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My past is riddled with such offenses and I’m deeply sorry for the people I have offended! Nonetheless this does nothing to diminish the value of apologetics in the same way that divorce does nothing to devalue the institution of marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like all good things, it can be twisted and used for evil rather than good.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reflecting on my days at the Evangelical seminary I attended, my most intimate friendships were those in which our differences were clearly articulated and defended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I was oblivious to the reasons why at the time, I now understand why they became my dearest friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through a little bit of maturity and the proper foundation we were able to appreciate and love each other for who we were, not who we wanted the other to be or by pretending the other was something they weren’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As for the present, I currently serve as the president of RCO (Religious Campus Organizations), which is a group on campus that supervises and works with all the other religious groups on campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe it is without coincidence that my closest friend and confidant within the group is a Lutheran minister with whom I have had the most apologetic dialogue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both know exactly where the other stands, and we both think the other holds ridiculous beliefs yet we have a deep respect for each other even in the differences.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My deepest prayer for the community of St. Thomas and all those who read my apologetic material is that it would be used to educate on the differences between Catholics and non-Catholics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That such an education would increase confidence in the faith and to offer tools for entering into genuine dialogue with others who do not share this faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, and most importantly, my prayer is that this dialogue would lead to mature ecumenical love for one another: a love that is rooted in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">both</i> common interests and that which is “otherly” thus forming a love that encompasses the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whole</i> person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May God be Praised!<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-19838976623850328462010-08-03T12:53:00.000-07:002010-08-03T12:56:22.782-07:00Justifying The Doctrine of Justification: Part VI of VI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s4DIuiRXMQImw2r6VQhtzRyp2FUAQ7yYJBHASA_hWSRJ-gnYgPGaUi8Pm1tlJvdGeWK2Mer8uI7vAzfiU2FHX5th9KJzi5xeQAzH269JXP8MVR-FJm-sBbQ0Bmbq5r-bv4HGvJRb8Q/s1600/chess.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s4DIuiRXMQImw2r6VQhtzRyp2FUAQ7yYJBHASA_hWSRJ-gnYgPGaUi8Pm1tlJvdGeWK2Mer8uI7vAzfiU2FHX5th9KJzi5xeQAzH269JXP8MVR-FJm-sBbQ0Bmbq5r-bv4HGvJRb8Q/s320/chess.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501274771150258434" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What began nearly six months ago is finally coming to a close. For some of you this may have been five columns too many, and for others it may have barely satiated your desire to know the truth which has set you free! For the former I sincerely apologize if the reading has not been compelling enough or has come across too polemical for someone who values ecumenism. My next column will offer a “behind the scenes” look at why I recently decided to spend so much time on apologetics and the paramount importance it offers for the cultivation of genuine friendships with our non-Catholic brothers and sisters. For those who have been barely satiated, I simply invite you to contact me for more information on this and other topics that may be close to your mind and heart.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the past five columns we have covered a number of angles to the doctrine of Justification: It’s overall importance among Catholics and Protestants, the distinction between “once saved, always saved” and salvation as a process, the difference between imputed and infused righteousness, the teachings of Christ regarding faith and works, and St. Paul’s perspective on faith and works. We are now at a point to examine a couple passages outside the Gospels and the Pauline corpus with the intention to show the integrity of Scripture as it pertains to justification as expressed and defended by the Catholic Church.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It is a curious fact that while Luther believed justification by “faith alone” would be the pillar by which the Church stood or fell, the phrase “faith alone” is itself only used once in Scripture and it is preceded by ‘not.’ The Epistle of James states, “a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jms. 2.24). With all due respect to our separated brothers and sisters, a belief in a doctrine that is explicitly condemned in Scripture can be a puzzling thing to the Catholic. The strong undercurrent, which forces the non-Catholic Christian to “re-interpret” such a lucid and self-interpreting passage, lies hidden in the phrase “competitive causality.” For the Evangelical, what man causes, God cannot simultaneously cause and what God causes, man cannot simultaneously cause. Such a belief makes sense out of most of life. After all, if ‘X’ is the murderer then that means all of ‘not X’ is not the murderer. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In light of this particular interpretive lens, one may be able to see why many Evangelicals are gravely opposed to a justification that includes works. If works are something the person does, that means the person has exclusive rights to those works and that God has absolutely no role in their causation. All that being said, the inferred conclusion is that a works included justification means a salvation that is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">earned</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> because he/she brought its own causation without God through good works. By “reinterpreting” James they are in fact pruning a difficult passage in the name of a greater cause: That God is our salvation, not man!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For the Catholic there is no need to re-interpret James since we see no conflict with what St. James has to say and the fact that God is the exclusive cause of our salvation. The reason why there is no conflict for the Catholic is because we do not believe there is any competition between God and the human person regarding causality. </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> In fact, the </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">more</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> God is actively in our life, the freer we actually become! </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thus, while it is true that God causes every good work in us, it does not take away from our own causation of the good work. In truth, it is precisely because of God’s causing of the good work that we can freely cause that good work in ourselves. Thus, James need not be dismissed, ignored, or twisted for a “greater cause.” Yes, it is Christ and only Christ who saves me, and no amount of good works threatens that reality as those good works are as much His as they are mine. For more information on particular Protestant interpretations of James and for a Catholic response, see my </span><a href="http://buffalocatholic.blogspot.com/2010/03/justifying-doctrine-of-justification.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">second column</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> on this series.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One would think the majority of Christians would exhaustively comb through the Book of Revelation searching for clues to the mystery of justification. After all, the concept of personal judgment saturates the Book of Revelation so why not turn to it as well for doctrinal assistance particularly in the area of salvation?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">While the Book of Revelation has been the source of many fanciful and downright silly interpretations, there is at least one particularly cogent section that we will turn to so as not to stake a theological claim on an exegetically complicated passage. Chapters two and three consist of seven short letters to the seven distinct Churches in the region of Ephesus. Each letter consists of a particular judgment on the Church addressed, and it is Jesus Christ, while being penned by John, who personally addresses each Church. These judgments are useful as they speak explicitly for the need of good works for salvation, but with a strong implicit recognition for heart-felt faith. The first Church in Ephesus is prized for the patient endurance in suffering and persecution for the faith, but they are quickly admonished for abandoning their first love (cf. Rev. 2.1-7). Christ then encourages them to do the works they committed to at the beginning of their faith journey or else Christ would remove himself from them. Christ never says, “I know your faith” to any of these Churches but rather, “I know your works.” As I said many times in many different ways, to deny works as part of justification is to deny—or be ignorant of at best—a very large body of Scripture.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As Catholics, we are called to live a life of faith, but we are also called to live a life of service in love to our Lord. Our salvation rests on this Truth. May we continue to love and serve our Lord through faith and works, but may we do it not to gain an eternal reward but simply because God is God! May God be Praised!</span></p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-28274734985141069662010-06-07T14:12:00.000-07:002010-06-07T14:14:10.853-07:00Justifying the Doctrine of Justification: Part V of VI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig75VyCbWAWAmSNiIUpSMNFU4XdCGJOWNgm7Mr1ijwkwhE1Xr78YQf_kMh32AbRTROxc-WGvY53WjywelMX4Mpa-3JGZG0gXnAW5mzanO4SCH2zZvIUolG5T7O_geHQrrxrb1aRdEUXQ/s1600/Saint-Paul.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig75VyCbWAWAmSNiIUpSMNFU4XdCGJOWNgm7Mr1ijwkwhE1Xr78YQf_kMh32AbRTROxc-WGvY53WjywelMX4Mpa-3JGZG0gXnAW5mzanO4SCH2zZvIUolG5T7O_geHQrrxrb1aRdEUXQ/s320/Saint-Paul.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480143042715096290" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">With the end of this series in sight, it is time to address what some would say to be the Achilles’ heal of the Catholic Church’s position on justification: St. Paul. We noticed earlier that Jesus Himself spoke very little of faith as pertaining to the Kingdom of God/Heaven. For St. Paul, faith becomes a </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">dominant</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> theological theme which saturates nearly every letter stemming from the proverbial pen of this Apostle to the Gentiles. The question, then, is not whether or not Paul believes that a Christian is saved by faith, but whether or not he believes the Christian is saved by faith </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">alone</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">. As stated earlier, the Church confesses that faith is the foundation for justification but that this faith is never alone as it must be accompanied by charity/good works.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">If Paul is considered the chief defender of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">faith alone</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> by many Evangelicals, then Paul’s letter to the Romans is considered his </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">magnum opus</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> in defense of this particular non-Catholic doctrine. Due to the triteness of space I will limit the discussion to what most of our Evangelical brothers and sisters claim to be the most persuasive exposition of faith alone theology by St. Paul. Thus, I will briefly focus on the first few chapters of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">The power of the Gospel message in Romans, according to many Evangelicals, does not begin until 3:21 with the words ‘but now’ (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Nuni de</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">). It is here in the middle of the third chapter that Paul transitions into a descriptive analysis of the “righteousness of God” being revealed “apart from the law” (v. 21), being a free gift of grace in Jesus Christ (v.24), and being a reality that removes all boasting from the human conscience through this free gift (v.27). The climax of the passage comes in the following verse when the apostle boldly proclaims, “For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law” (v. 28). At this moment, it seems undeniably true that St. Paul is excluding works from salvation, thus at least implicitly expositing a faith alone theology.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">When I was an Evangelical and first came across this verse, I was baffled by it. The reason for my confusion had less to do with the verse itself and more with what I had read previously as I was reading the letter from beginning to end. Before I came to 3:28, I read 2:6-11. It was in chapter two that I read that everyone would be justified by their deeds: “For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom. 2.6-8). Knowing that St. Paul was simply too intelligent to contradict himself within verses of each other, I set out on a journey to find an answer to this enigma, and this journey ultimately led me back to the Catholic Church in March of 2000.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Being an Evangelical at the time, my first pursuit was to find an answer that would support my belief in justification by </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">faith alone</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">. This quest led me to two explanations of Romans 2 & 3. The more popular and convincing argument of the two was grounded in a particular interpretation of the phrase “but now” in 3:21. Many non-Catholic scholars viewed this phrase as a “temporal transition.” In other words, they believed that everything before 3:21 was an explanation of the Old Covenant with God, and everything after 3:21 dealt with how one was saved in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. The problem with this explanation is that a significant amount of Christian imagery pervades 1:18-3:20 which become foreign elements if one is forced to think exclusively through an Old Covenant lens. For instance, the concept of “steadfastness” is used in 2:7 which was considered a Christian virtue by the Early Church. In addition, Paul actually speaks of the “gospel” and how each and every person will be judged by </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Jesus Christ </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">in 2:15. Finally, Paul speaks of the “circumcision of the heart” in 2:29 which is exclusively a Christian teaching! In light of the strong Christian imagery, such an explanation only creates more questions than answers.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">The most persuasive answer I found was to view 3:21 as a “logical transition” rather than a temporal one. The difference between what precedes and proceeds 3:21 is not one of time (i.e. Old Covenant & New Covenant) but rather of argumentation. Paul believes that God will judge everyone by his or her works, for “God shows no partiality” (cf. 2:11). This is a problem for Paul. The problem is that the Jews have a law which they failed to obey faithfully, and the Gentles have a law (i.e. natural law) which they also failed to obey faithfully. The problem is that if God judges by works, who can be saved? This is where 3:21 comes into the picture as the argumentation moves from problem to solution, not Old Covenant to New Covenant. We will still be judged by what we do, but now Christ has come to redeem us and restore our hearts so that we will be able to live according to our own dignity, living lives of excellence if only we hold fast to the prize, Christ Jesus. This theological understanding makes sense of the many other times Paul speaks of works being necessary for salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 3.12-15; Phil. 2.12; Eph. 2.10; Gal. 5.6).</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">What then should we make of Rom. 3:28 when the apostle explicitly states that a man is justified by faith apart from “works of law”? The interpretive key is in the phrase ‘works of law’ (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">ergon nomou</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">). Thanks to a number of non-Catholic Christian scholars such as E.P. Sanders, James Dunn, and N.T. Wright we now know that such a phrase was a technical phrase meaning something different than general ‘works.’ In fact, the verse following this cryptic phrase enlightens the reader of its technical use. In verse 29, Paul poses a mysterious question to the Roman community: “Or is God the God of the Jews only?” Paul’s inference is that if justification were by ‘works of law’ it would be exclusive to the Jews. Since justification is for both Jews and Gentiles, then it must be by faith. In other words, ‘works of law’ is not referring to </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">all</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> works, but rather those works that are exclusive to Judaism (i.e. circumcision, kosher laws, etc.). Thus, St. Paul is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">not</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> saying a person is justified by faith </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">alone</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">, but that a person is saved by faith and not by ethnic privilege (in this case Jewish). What Paul</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> is</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> saying is that being a member of the Jewish community does not grant immunity to God’s impartiality. God will judge everyone by works and so without Jesus Christ, no one can be saved, for He is our font of life, our source of healing and redemption.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">We all can rest confidently in the wisdom of our great Church for she has and will continue to keep the truths of our Lord and His inspired writers from without stain or dilution. May we all continue to increase in faith, hope and love as we set our face like flint on the magisterium of the Church for she is the face of Christ in truth, goodness, and beauty. Next time I will close this series with a cursory look at some of the other inspired writers in light of the Church’s teaching on Justification. Until then, May God be Praised!</span></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-13944038544942619902010-06-02T16:36:00.001-07:002010-06-02T16:37:46.644-07:00Justifying the Doctrine of Justification: Part IV of VI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QC9G7ZdGQ6kaJ0mDqJ26Vy2xOqKtbQiV2Dd_yeIqShD4zqFGIATOlYdLHzjVDwhyBD-gV2BWiKgq8fKiOfo3UV9g1pRJWMvdYz3bgOLvzaEc-EqFg4pecKISNXjT2EvRm52LGBgdbA/s1600/believer-jerk.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 269px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QC9G7ZdGQ6kaJ0mDqJ26Vy2xOqKtbQiV2Dd_yeIqShD4zqFGIATOlYdLHzjVDwhyBD-gV2BWiKgq8fKiOfo3UV9g1pRJWMvdYz3bgOLvzaEc-EqFg4pecKISNXjT2EvRm52LGBgdbA/s320/believer-jerk.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478324486832013698" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">After so many weeks separating my previous column and this column, it may be wise to do a quick review of where we’ve come regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching on Justification.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Of the two previous columns I’ve written we’ve come to see that justification is in fact a process by which a person is brought into a transformative covenantal relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">This divine relationship which is established, maintained, and perfected through the process of justification, is far more than a “right standing” with God as the relationship demands faithfulness to the Creator of all that is.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">This “faithfulness” is nothing more than a life lived according to ones own dignity.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Unfortunately, the human condition has been compromised through original and personal sin leaving the individual unable to fulfill their final vocation; namely to become partakers of the divine nature (cf. 2 Ptr. 1.4).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Justification, then, is the process by which one is both immediately declared and eventually transformed into the righteous person he or she was created to be thus ushering the Christian through that threshold of hope which is intimate communion with the mystery of God!</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Another way of saying this, although less eloquent, is that justification is by faith </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">and</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> charity/good works.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Mentioning the word “works” in a doctrinal context with a non-Catholic Christian can cause some undesired tension.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">As mentioned in a previous column, marshaling works with faith in the context of justification appears to diminish the value of Christ’s meritorious act on the cross to the non-Catholic.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">To the ears of the Evangelical, such a doctrine infers that one must be saved by grace received by faith along with works which occur </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">outside the scope of grace</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> since the person is doing it him/herself.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Thus, a misunderstanding of the Catholic position ensues by creating a false dichotomy between grace and works.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Such a misunderstanding can be easily corrected by looking at how faith is viewed through the lens of an Evangelical.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Thinking about the doctrine of “faith alone” may be easy enough when it is isolated from reality, but have you ever tried to think about it as it pertains to individual persons?</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">What does it mean for an individual to be saved by faith alone?</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">When observing the faith of others, one is quick to take notice that there is a large range of qualities to faith.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Some people have unwavering faith while others have an anemic faith that borders on skepticism.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">The challenge for the Evangelical is to determine which faith is “saving faith.”</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Those who initially had faith but fell away are deemed as not having the particular faith that saves.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">If this is the case, what kind of faith is acceptable to God?</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Doesn’t Christ ask us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Mat 5.48; 19.21)?</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Doesn’t John tell us that nothing unclean will enter into heaven whether in thought or deed (cf. Rev. 21.27)?</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Clearly perfection is God’s standard for He cannot deny Himself.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">If that is the case, then no man can be saved since no one has perfect faith.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">The answer to this riddle is in the fact that man is saved by grace alone, which means that man’s feeble faith is accepted, sustained, and perfected through grace.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">What Evangelicals understand about the relationship between faith and grace, Catholics understand about the relationship between faith, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">works</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">, and grace.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">It is only through grace that </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">both</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> our feeble faith and works are accepted, sustained, and perfected. Both Catholics and Evangelicals agree that salvation is by grace alone.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Where we begin to disagree is in how grace is administered to works as it relates to the act of justification.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">In light of the justification debate, one would think that Jesus Himself would have spoken often about the necessity of faith for salvation.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">After all, to be a Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Interestingly enough, when Christ teaches about the kingdom of God/Heaven He is nearly silent about the roll of faith for salvation.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Rather, it will be the humble of heart and those who undergo persecution for righteousness’ sake who will enter the Kingdom of God (cf. Mat. 5:3,10).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">We are told that if our eye causes us to sin, it would be better to pluck it out than to live with it in hell (cf. Mk. 9:47).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">We are exhorted to recognize our gifts and talents and to use them for the kingdom less we risk eternal damnation (cf. Lk. 19.12-27).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Christ cautions the rich not to become too attached to their material wealth if they want to live in God’s kingdom (cf. Mk. 10.23).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">If anything, the evangelical reader may conclude that Christ has an “exaggerated” view of works being a condition for justification.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">In fact, Christ takes the Old Testament laws and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">intensifies</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> them, never diminishing them.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">While in the Old Law adultery was considered a sin, Jesus adds that even if you </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">look</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">at another person lustfully</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> you have committed adultery </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">in the heart </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">(cf. Mat. 5:28).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">If Jesus is advocating a faith alone theology, He has chosen a very confusing and misleading pedagogy.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">The reason why Christ spends so much time on works is because He has come to redeem the heart, the source of all moral and immoral acts (cf. Mat. 6.21-22, Mat. 15:17-20).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Christ has redeemed us in His blood and has called us to live in his redemption so that our hearts may be restored, and that we may live according to the dignity that is ours in Christ.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">The law has been intensified not to condemn us, but to call us to excellence.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">This excellence is only achieved through a life in submission to Christ our Lord.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Thus, salvation is ours if only we continue to strive in saying ‘yes’ in faith to Christ and His Church, and ‘yes’ in the transformative power of the Holy Spirit which affords us the opportunity to live out our dignity in holiness/good works.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Both are necessary for salvation for both are gifts from God in which we will be held accountable for.</span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Next week we will turn to St. Paul who speaks of faith much more often than Jesus.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Paul is considered the chief defender of “faith alone” so it is with all the more importance that we spend a fair amount of time exploring his writing and his understanding of justification.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Until then, may we continue to strive for excellence through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit so becoming one with the mystery of God who is love itself.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">May God be Praised!</span></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-29467733103931216662010-04-23T15:52:00.001-07:002010-04-23T15:55:38.872-07:00Justifying The Doctrine of Justification: Part III of VI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qBf2-qySmxeaqFZnxYx9rmKWWFeVg8gxPFDsmLC3-61dzHi80pnRlOHxLN0-QGElDCapn0lvTFmLpLcXkEtyEq_xv3-Tn0TZiWye1FvUaZ_kijJBxzGP733MSmWql_0PKZV_yckAXw/s1600/StPaul-sp-a.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qBf2-qySmxeaqFZnxYx9rmKWWFeVg8gxPFDsmLC3-61dzHi80pnRlOHxLN0-QGElDCapn0lvTFmLpLcXkEtyEq_xv3-Tn0TZiWye1FvUaZ_kijJBxzGP733MSmWql_0PKZV_yckAXw/s200/StPaul-sp-a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463469637377713874" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">One of the most striking differences between Catholics and Protestants regarding the doctrine of justification is over the terms “imputed” and “infused” righteousness.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Protestant is adamant in believing that righteousness/justification is something foreign to the individual, something other than the believer. In other words, the believer never </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">becomes</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> righteous but rather receives Christ’s righteousness.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is why they call it “imputed” righteousness.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Martin Luther gave a rather crude but effective illustration by comparing the sinner to a dung-heap.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">When the sinner repents, he or she remains a dung-heap through-and-through but what distinguishes the Christian from the non-Christian is that the believer has a white coat of snow over them.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This white coat of snow represents Christ’s righteousness that “cloaks” the sinner.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Catholics, on the other hand, take a different theological approach to justification.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Continuing Luther’s illustration, the Catholic doctrine can be likened to the sinner being a heap of pure snow that has been covered by a layer of dung.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sin has compromised his or her original innocence but has not annihilated it.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The act of justification is the act of Christ’s merits slowly removing the dung from the snow, making the indivdual pure white again.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Thus, we see here that justification becomes more of an “infused” righteousness as the very act transforms who we are as a person, albeit over time.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you have been following my </span><a href="http://mattboettger.blogspot.com/2010/03/justifying-doctrine-of-justification.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">previous columns</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> on justification, you will immediately notice that this interpretation fits seamlessly with Scripture’s teaching on justification as a process.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span></span>This does not mean that during this process we are only half-justified.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Through baptism we are fully justified. However, sin inevitably creeps into the picture which threatens our relationship with God (like any relationship).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We must continually surrender to the power of the cross through repentance whereby we receive the grace to become who we were created to be: partakers of the divine nature (cf. 2 Ptr. 1.4).</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Another way to perceive the fundamental difference between Catholic and Protestant theology regarding justification is by likening the Protestant conception of justification to a law-court scene and to likening the Catholic conception of justification to a family-room scene.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For the Protestant, being righteous means standing before the divine law-court and to be declared free from all crime.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For the Catholic, being righteous means to be adopted into the divine family of God and to live a life that is in accord with such dignity which is only done through grace.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">One view perceives God as the gracious Judge while the other perceives God as the loving Father.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span></span>While admitting this is an over-simplification, the analogy still retains its overall distinctive accuracy.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">One of the main reasons why Protestants rebel against any notion of infused righteousness is that they believe it diminishes the efficacy of grace by making good works necessary for salvation </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">along with grace</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is simply an error in thinking.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">While good works are necessary for salvation (i.e. becoming righteous), such good works are grounded in grace for we can do nothing good outside of this grace.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I will discuss more about the relationship between faith and works in grace in my next column.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For now, it is enough to see that the Protestant belief in imputed righteousness does not make sense of Scripture’s teaching on justification as a process, for an imputed righteousness has no room for process as it is instantaneous.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We must now turn briefly to St. Paul to provide evidence of infused righteousness.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The best example comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. Chapter five of the epistle focuses on contrasting the disobedience of Adam, leading to the condemnation of the world, to the obedience of Jesus which offered salvation to the world.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Amidst this contrast, Paul speaks of the righteousness of God which is for all believers, but he does so in a somewhat puzzling way. In verse 18, the Apostle speaks of this righteousness as being the Christian’s </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">acquittal</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> from condemnation. At this moment, it appears as of the Protestant has the advantage as this is clearly law-court language.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On the other hand, the very next verse appears to counter this particular notion by mentioning that what he means by this is that in the same way that all descendants of Adam were </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">made</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> sinners through Adam’s disobedience, all believers in Christ are in the same way </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">made</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> righteous through Christ’s obedience.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here we see the Catholic position come alive as Paul stresses the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">transformative</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">power </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">of God’s righteousness along with the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">declarative dimension</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> of righteousness.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Confusion may abound for the reader at the moment as how could Paul advocate a declarative and a transformative righteousness at the same time? Are they not mutually exclusive realities? Either righteousness is imputed or infused but it cannot be both, right? For man, yes but for God, no.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To see this we must turn to Isaiah 55:10-11. Isaiah is speaking to an Israel that believes God has forgotten His promises of the covenant. To that doubt, God says ““For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">so </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">” (italics mine).</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In other words, that which God speaks infallibly comes to completion.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Thus, when God declares someone righteous that declaration will be made manifest in the person without remainder.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is why Paul can intermix both imputed and infused terminology because both result in the same end: a person who </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">becomes</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> righteous.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Once again, it is good to be Catholic! How thankful we should be for Christ’s fulfilled promises that His Church would never fall into error regarding the truths of Jesus Christ. My next column will address the relationship between faith and works in light of grace as expressed in the Gospels and the Pauline corpus.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Until then, May God be Praised!</span></o:p></p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-17930249820737836062010-03-13T07:43:00.000-08:002010-03-13T07:45:48.165-08:00Justifying The Doctrine of Justification: Part II of VI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSQ6AkXo66FV8xG90LAvbl0UXrQ3O0DQWnXgI0aK4LXPdH2NKgTzyK-EbuDxAvemVMxuZGC0c1uyh52DJOj60dfv3BvrTIlEU-FbGMsW9OOpeqPzstDvMf3J9uJVdYeZ8RTqhvou2Vw/s1600-h/147.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSQ6AkXo66FV8xG90LAvbl0UXrQ3O0DQWnXgI0aK4LXPdH2NKgTzyK-EbuDxAvemVMxuZGC0c1uyh52DJOj60dfv3BvrTIlEU-FbGMsW9OOpeqPzstDvMf3J9uJVdYeZ8RTqhvou2Vw/s320/147.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448144786575586146" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I’m confident that many of us have come across the phrase “once saved always saved” in dialogue with our non-Catholic Christian friends. Behind this denominational mantra is the belief that justification is a one-time event. As a Protestant or Evangelical, justification is by faith alone. This faith is a recognition and belief of who Jesus Christ is as both God and redeemer. Once the seeker acknowledges personal sinfulness and the necessity of Jesus Christ for salvation, one is saved. This happens at a particular moment in time, which is the answer to the common question, “When were you saved/born again?” The Christian rests on the “assurance” of his/her salvation in this particular moment in life. It is this one proclamation of faith that justifies the individual forever requiring no need to speak of a present or future justification/salvation. The Christian was saved on such-and-such day and this one moment irrevocably carries him/her till death where heaven becomes the reward of that particular day of surrender. For those individuals who initially claim faith in Jesus Christ while later on defecting, the non-Catholic Christian is said to never have had faith (i.e. “saving faith”) to begin with so he/she was never actually saved. After all, once one is saved, that salvation is forever according to non-Catholic Christian theology.<br /><br />As Catholics, we believe something different. Justification is not a one-time event but a process. Viewing justification as a process flows from the belief that while faith is indispensable (and the foundation) for justification, faith is never alone as it must be accompanied by charity/good works. From personal experience, it is evident that while faith may happen instantaneously, a life defined by good works takes a lifetime to achieve. In other words, while both Catholics and non-Catholics believe good works flow from faith, Catholics make evident in their theology that such works do not flow automatically. Since good works, while associated with faith, do not infallibly flow from faith, God takes them into account regarding justification along with faith. Thus, justification is a process. I was originally justified as an infant through baptism, I am currently being justified now through grace, and I hope to be justified at the end of my life. <br /><br />The New Testament’s reflection on the spiritual life of Abraham expresses the truth of the Catholic Church’s position on justification. Both Catholics and non-Catholics alike look to St. Paul’s letter to the Romans for the identification of Abraham’s moment of justification in the eyes of God. The thrust of St. Paul’s argument in chapter four of Romans is in the recalling of God’s act of justification toward Abraham which happens in Genesis 15 before Abraham is circumcised, thus showing the lack of necessity of circumcision for salvation. While this passage alone does nothing to either support or deny both the Catholic and non-Catholic position, two other reflections from the New Testament Canon quickly turn the theological tide toward the Catholic understanding.<br /><br />The Letter of James appears to provide a different part of Abraham’s life for God’s moment of justification. According to the author of this letter, Abraham is justified not in Genesis 15, but rather Genesis 22 when Abraham remained obedient to God by offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God (cf. Jms. 2.21). It was Abraham’s “work” that justified him at this particular moment. Many non-Catholics will explain this passage away by saying that the author was not saying Abraham was actually “justified” but rather “vindicated” since the Greek word can have that connotation at times. Abraham simply confirmed the reality of his past justification by his obedience to God even to the point of offering his only son as a sacrifice. While such an explanation is possible, context shows that it is in no way possible for this particular passage. Three verses later the inspired writer compares Abraham’s justification to another historical character’s moment of justification. Apparently, in the same way Abraham was justified Rahab was also justified (cf. Jms 2.25)! This leaves no room for Abraham’s justification in Genesis 22 to be anything other than pure justification. Rahab was a prostitute who helped Israel spy on the military in Jericho without being caught, and through her assistance God justified/saved her (cf. Josh 2.1-21). Thus, we have two accounts of Abraham being justified by God. The Protestant/Evangelical position has already become untenable through the lens of Scripture.<br /><br />If these examples were not enough, the author of Hebrews also weighs in on the moment Abraham was justified and it is neither Genesis 15 nor 22 but rather chapter 12 (cf. Heb. 11.8). We read that it was “by faith” that Abraham initially obeyed God when he was called out of his comfortable living environment to set out for a land some mysterious God had promised him. Anyone with an ounce of understanding of Abraham’s circumstances must agree with the author of Hebrews that Abraham was justified at this moment. If a faith resulting in leaving family, friends, employment, and security for an unknown territory that had been promised by a then unknown God could not lead to justification then many of us who have left significantly less for God in Whom we know much more about is in eternal trouble!<br /><br />The idea of justification being a one-time event is foreign to Scripture and so it is foreign to the Catholic faith. In the same way Abraham was justified, we too are justified. Justification is a life long “yes” to God by which we surrender with grace not only our minds but everything we are and do, and we will be held responsible for what we do and say. This is precisely why St. Paul calls us to stand firm in our faith (cf. Php. 4.2) and why the author of Hebrews exhorts us not to throw away our confidence (cf. Heb. 10.35). Justification is not a one-time event so it can also be lost during the process. Next time we will explore how this process informs the material of justification. If it is a process as Scripture proclaims then it means that justification results in an actual change in the person which the Catholic Church calls “infused righteousness.” Until then, May God be Praised!</span>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-11183819752196729922010-02-08T16:20:00.000-08:002010-02-08T16:22:21.422-08:00Justifying The Doctrine of Justification: Part I of VI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNkcj-Ttxn_Fss6h7POoPT0ZSyNYBFAoWn5WkDve8MqxPrj6c7mojOU26uJQeofJVtdWvSGI3XlDbDYzfK9SwWoZDEiS5rV5xhNr-KsKBxKZfH2C9TxFCetDAU76UyNwIplMLVwxUMA/s1600-h/martin-luther.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNkcj-Ttxn_Fss6h7POoPT0ZSyNYBFAoWn5WkDve8MqxPrj6c7mojOU26uJQeofJVtdWvSGI3XlDbDYzfK9SwWoZDEiS5rV5xhNr-KsKBxKZfH2C9TxFCetDAU76UyNwIplMLVwxUMA/s320/martin-luther.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436032385419219826" /></a><br />The theological relationship between faith and works is a divisive topic within Christianity. While other issues such as papal authority, Marian devotion, and prayers to the saints attract negative attention among non-Catholic Christians, nothing compares to the passion and zeal undergirding a theology of justification. <br /><br />The great irony in the divisiveness of this doctrine exists in the fact that Christ’s message of salvation was intended to unite all of the nations under the one Lord, Jesus Christ. Israel’s covenant with God was no longer to be exclusive to Israel but rather the time had come for Israel to be what she was destined to be: a light to the nations and a means for universal salvation through the long awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ. Thus, it is with all the more sadness that we must acknowledge that humanity’s sinfulness has twisted that which was intended to unify to that which now factions Christ’s church into more than 30,000 denominations. <br /><br />Luther himself acknowledged that the doctrine of justification would be the pillar by which the Church stood or fell. In a very real sense we must acknowledge that we have fallen. Such factions do more to dissuade the seeker of faith than to persuade. Countless are the times I’ve spoken with non-believers who simply could not believe the truth of Christianity since there were thousands of Christians all proclaiming a different “truth.” If we desire to make the Christian faith contagious, we must strive for Christian unity. If we want to achieve Christian unity with our non-Catholic brothers and sisters then we must equip ourselves with the tools necessary to unify all Christians in their understanding of Christ’s saving mission, which is expressed most concretely in the doctrine of justification.<br /><br />Since Justification is intimately entwined with the work of Jesus Christ, one most proceed delicately with this doctrine. Any explicit ignorance or casual treatment of the doctrine will be interpreted as ignorance of the Gospel and looked upon as trivializing the very mission of Jesus Christ by a faithful Christian. In other words, such a thing is not taken lightly by any devout Christian. In light of such intense treatment to the doctrine, it is no wonder so many non-Catholic Christians vehemently oppose the Roman Catholic view of justification by faith and works. The Protestant’s objection often goes something like this: The Roman Catholic view of justification deems Christ’s merits on the cross insufficient for salvation. They believe they must do good works in addition to the grace they receive from faith. This means that Catholics believe the cross only partially saves, and that works must be added to grace for salvation.<br /><br />While the Protestant’s objections are noble in that they defend the soteriological/salvific value of Christ’s death on the cross, in my opinion they are nevertheless a gross misrepresentation of Catholic theology and thus the truth. To begin, such an objection creates a false dichotomy between works and grace. Roman Catholicism does not believe salvation by “grace alone” necessitates a salvation by “faith alone.” Both Catholics and Protestants agree that salvation is by grace alone, but this agreement comes to an abrupt halt when Protestants reduce salvation to a faith alone concept.<br /><br />Those who know me well know that I have a particular fondness toward this doctrine. Justification is the doctrine that ripped me away from my Catholic faith, but it is also the doctrine that brought me back into solidarity with my Catholic heritage two years later. In hope to offer a foundational—yet far from exhaustive—understanding of the Church’s doctrine of justification, I will be writing five additional columns that will address this beautiful and very complex doctrine. The next column will correct the Protestant error in thinking that Justification is a one-time event as opposed to the Catholic position that Justification is in fact a process. The third column will build upon the second by correcting the Protestant error in thinking that Justification is simply a declaration of righteousness, and show how the Catholic position is the most reasonable and biblical as it professes a Justification that is more than declarative; that it is a transformative event that actually makes the believer righteous rather that just declaring the believer righteous. The final three columns will examine the particular doctrine of justification by faith and works through the words of Jesus, the words of St. Paul, and from the epistle of James in that order.Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-86829505302411612912010-01-08T08:51:00.001-08:002010-01-08T08:52:24.856-08:00The Third Annual Great Debate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KJl5b_bX8WgxyEcPkNetaEPIafaVbpVKMozte725GKU4XZtypkXuHygyX-uK_5RYTqX2sh-GV8Zzd_d0CuAZ-Rz0FdcY8y7S98zBNIe7dkMYq2L5Yw99oTjRMvACTlvpRTFF6txyvw/s1600-h/cake1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KJl5b_bX8WgxyEcPkNetaEPIafaVbpVKMozte725GKU4XZtypkXuHygyX-uK_5RYTqX2sh-GV8Zzd_d0CuAZ-Rz0FdcY8y7S98zBNIe7dkMYq2L5Yw99oTjRMvACTlvpRTFF6txyvw/s320/cake1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424412831923270610" /></a><br />A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to have lunch with a GBLT (Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, and Transgender) teacher for CU. We had a great conversation about our particular jobs sharing both the joys and struggles they hold. Not long into the conversation I told him about the debate the AICT (Aquinas Institute for Catholic Thought) is hosting on campus on the subject of same-sex marriage. I was hoping to gain his support for the debate with the anticipation of advertising our event through GBLT. While I was initially disappointed by his reaction, the conversation ended unexpectedly positive.<br /><br />His initial reaction could be expressed as a polite suspicion and hostility towards the idea of a debate on such a subject. He had grown frustrated with the Catholic Church’s “incessant need to dirty their hands in politics when they should stick to religion.” His conviction was that religion and politics were unequivocally distinct from one another and that the Church had over-stepped her boundaries by inserting herself into the political conversation. According to him, the defeat of Proposition 8 in California only fueled and confirmed his convictions. Simply put, since same-sex marriage affects no one outside of the same-sex marriage circle, it makes no sense why we would make it illegal.<br /><br />Before I continue I want first to acknowledge that the gentleman I had lunch with has become a dear friend of mine, and we have had great conversations despite the fact we strongly disagree with each other on many topics. When my friend had finished his charitable yet strong criticisms regarding the debate, he granted me the opportunity to respond. Not having much time to respond adequately, I quickly mentioned the fact that political societies are cultural societies and all cultural societies are born from religious ideologies. In other words, there will always be at least one thread that links religion and politics, namely morality. For a moral order to sustain itself, it must have a foundation above that which it tends to govern, namely a society. If it does not, then morality is not truly morality but rather an arbitrary set of rules that have no objective significance outside the current acceptance, and can be changed at any point in time without “negative” consequences since “negative” would imply a standard outside the sphere of society. In other words, from the pen of Dostoevsky, “Without God, all things are permissible” and deriving from the mind of Nietzsche comes the logical conclusion of an ethical world without God: a world which determines morality through nothing more than the will to power. A political world void of religious counsel will inevitably result in political disorder.<br /><br />All this being said, my friend’s last remark gets to the heart of the debate we are hosting on January 25th. The debate is entitled, “Should the Government Approve Same-Sex Marriage?” which will be held in the beautiful Macky Auditorium at 7:00 pm between Jonathan Rauch and Maggie Gallagher. Both Maggie and Jonathan believe that the institution of marriage is in peril in our country and that healthy marriages lead to a healthy society and economy. The question, then, is will the legalization of same-sex marriage help our hinder our already struggling institution? Mr. Rauch believes same-sex marriage will help while Ms. Gallagher believes it will hurt the already suffering institution. When I explained to my friend Ms. Gallagher’s position his demeanor immediately changed from one of suspicion to one of genuine curiosity. The lunch ended with an openness and almost eagerness to help advertise this particular debate at CU.<br /><br />I mention all this to illustrate the need for this debate on same-sex marriage. This debate has potentially grave implications for the future of our city, state, and country. We are called in scripture to be informed (cf. Mat. 22.37; Rom. 12.2) and to be able to give a defense for what we believe (cf. 1 Ptr. 3.15). I encourage you to purchase a ticket and attend this timely debate. Please visit our website for more information about the debate and how to obtain tickets. Do it sooner rather than later as it will likely be sold out shortly! May God be Praised!Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-36826226175548245422009-11-12T15:55:00.001-08:002009-11-12T15:56:09.524-08:00In Whom Do You Have Peace?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCedrJGeXUM1zQAZci4j7ksNVLjLln6jzGLp7h93lCOZErIRby1RAMmoFEGTqkTGZNvHMJexN3x6qxdUncEEE1AKWahvoPXhSNwbmScXE3FEm3B-ZMGwBxnfqnFGA-S6ynLlxi06jFsw/s1600-h/peace.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCedrJGeXUM1zQAZci4j7ksNVLjLln6jzGLp7h93lCOZErIRby1RAMmoFEGTqkTGZNvHMJexN3x6qxdUncEEE1AKWahvoPXhSNwbmScXE3FEm3B-ZMGwBxnfqnFGA-S6ynLlxi06jFsw/s320/peace.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403370155374504418" /></a><br />A few weeks have passed since this semester’s Buffalo Awakening (BA) retreat. For those of you unfamiliar with this retreat, it is a high-energy student-led event, which has become one of our most popular and fruitful ministries we have here at St. Thomas Aquinas. Each semester’s BA is distinguished by a theme most recently being “In Me You Have Peace” which comes from the mouth of Christ recorded in the Gospel of John (Jn. 16.33). Reflecting upon this passage, I was struck by the words that immediately followed Christ’s encouraging statement. After boldly proclaiming that peace is something gifted to us through Christ, He then admits that the world will still continue to bring us troubles, but we ought to still rejoice since it is Christ who has conquered the world (cf. Jn. 16.33b).<br /><br />The first thing I noticed was that Jesus spoke of “conquering” the world. John, the author of this Gospel, picks this word up again to be used as a powerful theme in his last composition before death, namely The Book of Revelation. It is here that this word (nikein) is used not to describe Christ but rather the Christian. Over and over Christ speaks to the Christian communities in this apocalyptical masterpiece explaining to the faithful that it is the one “who conquers” who will enter into God’s Glory and receive eternal life (cf. Rev. 2.6, 11, 17, 26; 3.5, 12, 21). What then does Christ mean by “conquering”? While the Jews were expecting a great political Messiah to liberate them from exile by the sword (i.e. conquering through the sword), Jesus came to liberate Israel and the whole world by the cross (i.e. conquering through sacrifice). Thus for the Christian, “to conquer” refers to the act of utter surrender! In other words, the primary condition for peace is surrender or to let go.<br /><br />This can be a difficult prescription to follow, although it is not difficult to actually implement. We are surrounded by a world that proclaims a very different message. We are asked to hold on tightly to what we do have and to be suspicious of anyone who may want a piece of us. We are told we must fight for whatever we want because no one will fight for us. We have been convinced that the key to personal peace is to grasp for that which we desire and to do everything in our ability to secure it and maintain it. We appear to live in a world that has embraced a “survival of the fittest” paradigm. This is antithetical to the Christian way and therefore antithetical to genuine peace.<br /><br />I am reminded of the story of Israel’s exodus. Moses had successfully freed Israel from Egyptian enslavement without Pharaoh’s permission. Clearly not having thought everything through of their escape, Israel was only able to run so far before being blocked by a large body of water called the Red Sea. Being cornered, they had nowhere to turn as word had arrived that Pharaoh’s army was in pursuit of them for reasons other than wishing them farewell. Israel became frantic, questioning the escape, appearing that it was only leading them to death. In the midst of the mass hysteria Moses spoke to the crowd saying, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still” [emphasis mine] (Ex. 14.13-14). You have only to be still! Peace is not something we achieve, but rather receive. We are being asked by God to trust Him, knowing that he does love us and He is working this very moment and fighting for us. Yes, someone is actually fighting for us!<br /><br />St. Augustine says that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. Notice what Augustine does not say. He does NOT say that our hearts are restless until they accomplish God’s Kingdom, or bring X number of lost people back to the faith, or until we find a spouse, or until we hit the right numbers in our business or ministry. Our hearts are restless until they REST in God. How many times do we get caught up in finding our identity with what we do rather than who we are? We are being called to BE more and DO less. This is why our Lord has designated one day a week to be meant for resting which is Sunday. Our God desires our hearts not our deeds.<br /><br />Again, peace is something we do not achieve but rather receive from God. Christ warns us that even with peace, we will still undergo troubles. Behind all this is the reality that genuine peace is less of a subjective experience and more of an objective reality. It is through Christ that we have peace, which means we are now in relationship with God through reconciliation. Whether you feel it or not, Christ has died for us and restored us to new life with God. It is up to us to make the choice whether we want to receive it or not.<br /><br />I pray each of us is able trust in God’s love for us and to allow Him to give us the peace He has promised. We have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ so I encourage you to be reconciled with God. If you have not been to confession in quite awhile, maybe this is the time to do so as we prepare our hearts for the upcoming season of Advent. Be also reconciled with one another as we are called to be imitators of Christ. He has forgiven us even in our deepest sin so we are being called to forgive those who have offended us. We cannot do this on our own so we beg for God’s mercy and His grace to empower us to do so. Be still and know that God is fighting for you and be at peace. May God be Praised!Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-64450190874579941952009-10-09T15:20:00.001-07:002009-10-09T15:21:18.632-07:00You Have Permission to Hurt Me, Not Harm Me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCL1QhvfISk_LSKuHk5tUuzr-OKpYVueyaX1j37oI27fdzRjIzEDfffPMpIraOQSz-5qwoLwgOG0KrScaMUwHXU44sfM9LP6NR0a9eutUL-O1JcKyKtE4TvHs8YrK-NZCL7SHC8_82Qg/s1600-h/heart.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCL1QhvfISk_LSKuHk5tUuzr-OKpYVueyaX1j37oI27fdzRjIzEDfffPMpIraOQSz-5qwoLwgOG0KrScaMUwHXU44sfM9LP6NR0a9eutUL-O1JcKyKtE4TvHs8YrK-NZCL7SHC8_82Qg/s320/heart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390728757104691986" /></a><br />What do fast-food chain restaurants and many of today’s relationships have in common? They both take pride in offering a product with awesome expediency. Thankfully, although still being the fattest country in the world, the sobering reality that fast food may in fact make us “well-feed” while not “well-nourished” has awoke many from their artery-clogged comas! In other words, I’ll be the first to admit that while consuming a Big Mac and a large fry definitely does not hurt going done, it does in fact harm me in the long run (see Super Size Me for frightening statistics). On the other hand, while ordering a bag of carrots and a small salad may hurt my desire for something other than “horse food,” it is undeniable that such a superior decision will in fact be good for me in the long run!<br /><br />As I mentioned above, while we have come to a sobering reality of the negative effects of fast food (i.e. obesity, diabetes, disease), we are still the fattest country in the world. Apparently, knowledge is not sufficient for change! In the end, the practical reality that I want food and want it now will often trump any rational discourse on what may be better in the long run. Thus, the element of change will only come when we actual desire the good over the convenient and this takes time and sacrifice. It will hurt in the immediacy but it will be incredibly good in the long run!<br /><br />I say all this to present a poignant analogy to a current trend in dating relationships. Like the starving gentleman looking to satiate his desire for food as quickly and conveniently as possible, our culture seems to be starving for relationships which is propelling them to seek in the same matter as they would seek food: quickly and conveniently. Such a relationship moves from the exchange of numbers to the exchange of house keys, and the words “I love you” are exchanged before either knows the other’s middle name. <br /><br />Unsurprisingly, the effects of “fast food dating” have been equally if not more damaging than the actual fast food industry. These effects manifest themselves in depression, increased rates of suicide, and even abuse. What has happened in our culture is that in the name of love we have erratically begun searching for relationships. We become “well-feed” but ill nourished which ultimately propagates the seemingly insatiable desire. In the end we find ourselves in a closed system of “quick fixes” which only leave us starving all the more!<br /><br />The diagnosis of the symptoms is that we are made for more than just enjoyment! We are made to know and be known, to love and to be loved deeply and authentically with the purpose of giving ourselves wholly to another. The fast food relationship culture has impeded nearly all opportunities for one to really know, love and give oneself to the other. The necessity to quench one’s own desires becomes the dominating impulse and general pulse of the relationship. In other words, it remains inward focused rather than outward and so becomes ill nourished. Fortunately, Christ has come into the world to set us free from the selfish desires of our heart so that we may love as we were created to love. With Christ as our strength, I would like to share two ways of overcoming the damaging forces of fast food dating!<br /><br />The beginning of a relationship is incredibly exhilarating as passions and emotions are become intoxicating. During this time, the man is typically dominated by the question “when” while the women is typically dominated by the question “why.” As for the man, he is asking himself, “When will I be able to kiss this woman?” As for the woman, she is asking herself, “Why should I kiss this man?” It is the man who, being initially motivated by the sexual urge, needs to have his question moved from a “when” to a “who.” Who is this woman I long to kiss? This transition from when to who is powerfully and effectively driven by a woman’s “no.” It will be the woman’s assertive and loving “no” that will become the fertile ground for a man to say yes to her as a person rather than an object of appropriation. <br /><br />Finally, this “no” may appear mean and uncharitable but that is far from the truth. As stated above, we must always make the distinction between hurting and harming another. While we ought never to harm anyone, we are not under the same moral mandate when it comes to hurting another. It is not easy for a man to hear the word no, but it may good for him. Likewise, it is not easy for a woman to hear the word no but it may be good for her! Our yes’s mean nothing unless we have the ability to say no. Our no’s and yes’s define where each of us begin and where we end! This creates clear boundaries for the other so that one can love the other for who they actually are, not what one may desire to conform them to be! <br /><br />Resting confidently in our redemption with Christ, may we strive to seek holy and healthy relationships by establishing healthy boundaries with our no’s and yes’s allowing us to love and be loved as we are, not what others would like us to be. May God be Praised!Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-15598244117858218382009-09-05T22:01:00.001-07:002009-09-05T22:03:30.134-07:00Purging Misconceptions of Purgatory, Part III: Indulgences<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHa4lk4ywZjiDSxmWPYmoz9qHtMUccvTwNAQrdHO-GdCDhj-LD957POUW68TkErsC1Rf0gQKisPT3_NCy7priq1sB_ByF7ym1j8XWBCyCRfTdkYYp8jI8khgGJhuYui-QE0d-Dev48w/s1600-h/rosary_indulgences2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHa4lk4ywZjiDSxmWPYmoz9qHtMUccvTwNAQrdHO-GdCDhj-LD957POUW68TkErsC1Rf0gQKisPT3_NCy7priq1sB_ByF7ym1j8XWBCyCRfTdkYYp8jI8khgGJhuYui-QE0d-Dev48w/s320/rosary_indulgences2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378215272746012098" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left; ">The topic of indulgences is an incredibly complicated subject to speak of due to the nearly countless distortions having evolved over the years regarding this doctrine.<span></span>Furthermore, restricting my type-space (originally printed in church bulletin) to one page only makes this challenge more, well, challenging!<span> </span>Nonetheless, I believe this article will help clear up misconceptions, display the logical structure, and illustrate the biblical foundations of indulgences rather convincingly.</p><p class="MsoNormal">According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), “<a name="X">An indulgence is a remission before God of the <i>temporal punishment</i> due to sins whose <i>guilt has already been forgiven</i>, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions <i>through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption</i>, dispenses and applies with <i>authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints</i></a>” (CCC, 1427; emphasis mine).<span> </span>In other words, an indulgence can be likened to a child who inadvertently or deliberately throws a baseball through a neighbor’s window.<span> </span>The neighbor may very well forgive the child, restoring the relationship to its original status, but that does not change the fact that a window is in pieces. The temporal effects of the transgression remains and must be fixed.<span> </span>The child may have to dip into his allowance to restore the window.<span></span>However, the father or mother may step in and pay for the broken window on behalf of their son. This is where the analogy of indulgences comes into focus.<span> </span>While it would have been fine for the child to pay for the window, the family stepped in graciously to fix the window on behalf of their child.<span> </span>In the case of indulgences, the child is you and I, and the gracious family is the Church: the family of God!</p><p class="MsoNormal">At this point in the discussion with a non-Catholic many objections would begin to manifest themselves in the form of questions: 1) Where is eternal punishment and temporal punishment distinguished in the Bible? 2) Doesn’t such a doctrine diminish the merits of Christ? 3) If Christ’s merits are sufficient then why add the inadequate “merits” of saints to the “treasury of merits”? 4) Where does Scripture give authority to the Church to give such indulgences?<span> </span>Many of these questions may seem cryptic to you, but they will become clearer as they are addressed.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The distinction between temporal and eternal punishment begins at the very beginning of time.<span></span>Due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, they lost their relationship with God (i.e. their eternal reward) <b>and </b>they received temporal punishments befitting their crime (cf. Gen. 3: 16-19): Eve was to experience the pangs of childbirth, and Adam was to work tirelessly with little reward.<span></span>This example from Scripture illustrates the fact that being eternally redeemed in Christ does not necessarily remove the temporal punishment that accompanied the crime.<span> </span>While I know many married women who have been baptized, their childbearing has been far from painless! Another great example is the story of David being caught in adultery. While his sins were forgiven, God still punished David for his actions through the death of the child from adultery (cf. 2 Sam. 12.7-12). There is a clear distinction between eternal and temporal punishment in Scripture, and there is clear Scriptural support that such temporal punishments may remain after forgiveness/redemption.</p><p class="MsoNormal">From this quick reflection of Scripture we can begin to see why indulgences do not diminish the merits of Christ.<span> </span>Indulgences have nothing to do with eternal punishment and reward, for that is Christ’s victory! Scripture is clear that temporal punishment may remain after forgiveness which often times comes in the form of a continued distorted desire to commit the transgression again (i.e. pornography, masturbation, premarital/extramarital sex, etc.). It is in God’s loving kindness that such a disciplinary action is given us.<span> </span>We do not discipline a child for punishment’s sake, but so that the child may know the gravity of his offense, and so that his will may be strengthened not to commit it again.<span> </span>So it is with God!</p><p class="MsoNormal">The third question ought to be broken into a number of sub-questions but space limits such a desire.<span> </span>We know that the cross of Christ was <b>more</b> than sufficient for our salvation. Thus, rather than diminishing the merits of Christ, the belief in indulgences actually magnifies our Lord’s salvific act by acknowledging its “benefits” well beyond our own eternal salvation. This truth is what is behind the Church’s teaching of the “treasury of merits.” The work of the cross was not something that was barely efficacious enough to squeeze us into heaven. Rather, the cross was and is overflowing with graces beyond our salvation.<span> </span>These graces are not wasted but are entrusted to the Church to be distributed to those who may need it.<span> </span>These graces are dispensed in the form of indulgences.</p><p class="MsoNormal">All this being said, we are still not any closer in our understanding of why our own merits would be considered as contributing to the treasury of merits if Christ’s merits are enough.<span> </span>In the same way our imperfect faith is made perfect through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, so to are our imperfect works made perfect by the perfect work of Jesus Christ. These imperfect works of ours are united to the perfect work of Christ to be used for the good of others.<span> </span>In other words, our God ensures that everything we do and everything we are is supernaturalized so that it may be used as a gift for another! What a beautiful reality!</p><p class="MsoNormal">St. Paul articulates this truth quite profoundly in his letter to the Colossians: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, this is, the church…” (Col. 1.24).<span> </span>The Apostle uses language that is much more shocking than anything the Catholic Church has ever articulated.<span> </span>What St. Paul acknowledges is the fact that there are many things that we undergo in life that may not be necessary for our own salvation but are beautiful things nonetheless. Our God does not allow them to be wasted but rather unites them to the merits of the Cross for the sake of the kingdom.<span> </span>What a great God who both saves us <b>and </b>allows us to participate in His mission of salvation not by necessity, but out of His loving kindness and His desire to be close to us!</p><p class="MsoNormal">I am reminded of a childhood experience of my youth that may help make since of why God would bring our own works of charity into the equation if they are not necessary.<span> </span>My father took me with him to work when I was a child so I could see what he did.<span> </span>Looking back, I think this may have been one of the highlights of my youth. I remember sitting in his desk pretending I was him, and helping him with his work which in hindsight only made his day longer. I know my father could have done his work much more efficiently without me since he clearly did not need me, but he allowed me to be a part of his day because he loved me.<span> </span>I can only imagine how many corrections had to be made by my father so as to perfect my small little works. My father never looked down at me for my “imperfect performance” nor did he ever think I was a threat to his position or stealing his “glory.”<span> </span>Rather, he affirmed me in all the little things I did not because I did them, but because of the love behind them.<span> </span>So it is with our heavenly Father!<span> </span>God has given us the opportunity to “work” with Him to build His kingdom not out of necessity but simply out of love for us and because of his desire to have a relationship with us!</p><p class="MsoNormal">A serious question still remains: Who gave the authority to the Church to be the dispenser of this treasury of merits? The answer is quite simple: Jesus Christ.<span> </span>Jesus handed over His own authority in a unique way to St. Peter who was the first pope (cf. Mat. 16.13-20). Christ made St. Peter the new ambassador to the New Israel which was and is the Church. While the ambassador of the Old Testament governed the treasury among other responsibilities in the Old Covenant, it is now St. Peter and his successors who govern the new treasury of the New Covenant, which is spiritual rather than physical! For a more thorough explanation of the Church’s authority, I refer you to my column entitled, “<a href="http://mattboettger.blogspot.com/2006/10/why-i-am-catholic-part-i.html">Why I am Catholic</a>".</p><p class="MsoNormal">In the end, a belief in indulgences simply confesses the nature of our faith, which is familial! We are the family of God that is rich in mercy and full of compassion.<span> </span>God disciplines us for our actions because he loves us and He also showers his mercy upon us in that very discipline through indulgences which has for its source the cross of Jesus Christ.<span> </span>The Church has been given that honor and responsibility to be the distributer of such gifts.<span> </span>It is up to the receiver to receive them with genuine hearts, repentant hearts, and faith-filled hearts that are restless until they rest completely and unconditionally with God, for grace is received according to the capacity one is able to receive it.<span> </span>The gift of an indulgence is not a free ticket but rather an invitation to reexamine our lives in light of Jesus Christ, and to seek Him more faithfully than we had in the past. I encourage each of you this week to look up the types of indulgences the Church has to offer and take advantage of such a great gift! May God be Praised!</p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-5920722775752838392009-08-09T12:00:00.000-07:002009-08-09T12:00:02.700-07:00Purging Misconceptions of Purgatory, Part II: Historical Continuity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhi6p1lsaOSeuKDJ1kJG7LRDY9fimxSIJx9tJY1ryCSe_ZGfHQQZwLopdd08jFddxdB8TTNopS8trZcNa2eH1YzMm_rnWNsoOSqovMYb23MB_VzUY9ckn9OSywENnjLThF4yx-USltw/s1600-h/early+church.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhi6p1lsaOSeuKDJ1kJG7LRDY9fimxSIJx9tJY1ryCSe_ZGfHQQZwLopdd08jFddxdB8TTNopS8trZcNa2eH1YzMm_rnWNsoOSqovMYb23MB_VzUY9ckn9OSywENnjLThF4yx-USltw/s320/early+church.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367707403063399138" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">As the title mentions, this is an unanticipated continuation of my column I wrote over a month ago on the biblical and logical foundation of the Church’s doctrine on purgatory.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The desire to continue writing on this subject came from two events: 1) The fact that many people enjoyed the column; 2) A Lutheran minister had read it and said it was the most persuasive thing he had read on the topic of purgatory.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Before you begin thinking you may see him in this year’s RCIA class, he did qualify the statement by saying he still doesn’t believe the doctrine.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>With that, I would like to continue the apologetic crusade—filled with charity—and address a couple more points that will further solidify the veracity of the Church’s wisdom in upholding this doctrine in spite of criticisms.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">While the theological necessity of purgatory appears to be undeniable and the biblical evidence persuasive, the overall argument is still incomplete.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The best way to validate a biblical truth claim is by looking for historical evidence that would confirm the particular interpretation of Scripture at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In other words, is there a line of continuity between the Church’s belief in purgatory and the belief of the Early Church? The answer appears to be a resounding yes!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One of the most persuasive texts comes from the middle of the second century (c. AD 160) in a Christian apocryphal work called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The Acts of Paul and Thecla</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Whether or not the story in this writing is historical is not important since the value of this work is in the story itself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Like every story or book whether fiction or non-fiction, the surrounding worldview informs the norms and practices of the narrative.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the story of Paul and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Thecla</i>, the deceased daughter of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Trifina</i> appears to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Trifina</i> in a dream.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The daughter requests that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Trifina</i> take <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Thecla</i> as her new daughter in place of the deceased daughter. When given the reason, the daughter says it is so “that she [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Thecla</i>] should pray for me, that I may be transferred to the place of righteousness” (ANF VIII: 490, brackets mine).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Notice that there is never an explanation of this request on behalf of the deceased daughter as if this was some foreign custom being added to the narrative. Praying for the deceased had become so common by the mid-second century that it found its way into story telling.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In other words, the practical elements of purgatory were being expressed without apology <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">less</b> than a century before Christianity was recognized as a separate religion from that of Judaism!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Story telling is not the only historical manifestation of a belief in purgatory by the Early Church.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Archaeology has discovered burial stones with epitaphs that request prayers for the deceased.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One such epitaph is by a man by the name of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Abercius</i> who after expressing a love for his Christian faith, requests that “everyone who is in accord with this [the Christian faith] and who understands it pray for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Abercius</i>” (Epitaph of Abercius, c. AD 190, brackets mine).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Again, the customs and practices of the Early Church express an understanding of and belief in purgatory.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Yet another dimension of the historical record that has archived an image of the Early Church adhering closely to the image of the Catholic Church today is the written accounts of Christian martyrs. One such story articulates a vision of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Perpetua’s</i> blood brother who apparently died from disease.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The sister received a vision of her brother being purified through fire after death and, with the help if her prayers, seeing him eventually purified for his eternal reward (cf. ANF III:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>701-02, c. AD 202).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">In the end, an entire monograph could be dedicated to an analysis of all the Early Church Fathers who explicitly spoke about the doctrine of purgatory whether that be through Origin’s commentary on 1 Cor. 3, or Tertullian’s interpretation of Mat. 5:25-26 (cf. Homilies of Jeremias [c. AD 244] & ANF III: 234-5 [c. AD 210]. The fathers of the Church are overwhelmingly in favor of the doctrine of purgatory and in light of such company—which only confirms the previous columns attempt to express purgatory’s biblical foundation and theological necessity—a sense of arrogance is almost needed to outright reject the doctrine without question.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If the Judaism of Christ’s day believed in a form of it, the biblical text spoke of it, heaven needs it, and the Early Church practiced and preached it, then it would appear as if this doctrine is not up for dissenting.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">I mentioned at the beginning of this column that my intention was to address a “couple” more points about purgatory, but I have only mentioned one additional point being the continuity of the Early Church Fathers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My next column will address the question about indulgences. Is it possible that while the Church got the doctrine of purgatory correct, she erred with the dispensation of indulgences? Stay tuned…</p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-12632477206533731742009-08-08T14:21:00.000-07:002009-08-08T14:24:41.630-07:00Concrete Ways to Support Campus Ministry<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHqfokfeenjXwX8p-o7oh6KQhvKVtzqPapjA_zpZ7Mi9EDG4IOxr7ZVf9PiqI3MD0VDPDry-SuWuuOpSkXLn_NN7B3oPUJTtJVwdmGJnytalfC_0Y7mJs67HSrcDg_iq-4Q51J0gh0Q/s1600-h/volunteer.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 285px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHqfokfeenjXwX8p-o7oh6KQhvKVtzqPapjA_zpZ7Mi9EDG4IOxr7ZVf9PiqI3MD0VDPDry-SuWuuOpSkXLn_NN7B3oPUJTtJVwdmGJnytalfC_0Y7mJs67HSrcDg_iq-4Q51J0gh0Q/s320/volunteer.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367706968471840898" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I can’t believe how fast the summer is going by!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I feel as if May was only yesterday with June nowhere to be seen.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As July nears its half-way mark, campus ministry is preparing to go full steam ahead which is both exhilarating and nerve-racking.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first two weeks of school are critical weeks for ministry as many new students are quickly transitioning from a life guided by parental wisdom, to a life ruled by the self.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Numerous are the parents who have come to me over the summer while tabling on campus pleading with me to contact their son or daughter because they are witnessing a sense of rebellion toward anything that resembles “parental insight.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In a sense, we are the hope to these parents that we will do everything in our power to contact them and continue to build upon the foundation they have laid.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We obviously take this call seriously as it can easily become a life or death situation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To that end, we are preparing dozens of students to pound the pavement come August 18<sup>th</sup> to lend a helping hand to new students as they move in, to introduce them to the family of St. Thomas, and to invest in them so that when times get tough—which they always do—they have a friend to turn to.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>With just under 6,000 new students coming to CU this year, we are inviting every student of St. Thomas to help with this ambitious mission!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">With all available students on campus, this leaves us with little assistance for events at the Catholic Student Center. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our goal is to offer daily events during the week preceding school so that the students of St. Thomas will be able to offer a concrete invitation to each student they meet on campus so as to introduce them to the family of St. Thomas.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">All of this may sound familiar as I have written on the topic of parish and alumni support a few weeks back.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While I only received a few responses expressing a willingness to volunteer, I did not expect much since I was unable to give specifics to our fall outreach efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I come to you now with a concrete plan and a hope that we may obtain the 100 volunteers I wished for in the previous column (you may find that column on our website).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Please prayerfully consider volunteering for one of these events:</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><u>Open House BBQ: August 18<sup>th</sup>, 20<sup>th</sup>, and 22<sup>nd</sup> from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.<o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space: auto;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">a.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Looking for three sets of 10 volunteers to setup at the Catholic Student Center, provide sides, flip burgers, and clean up.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space: auto;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">b.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>This will be a time to meet new students and show them around the Catholic Student Center.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><u>Student Mass BBQ: August 23<sup>rd<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></sup>from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. <o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space: auto;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">a.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Hoping for 15 to 20 volunteers to help setup, provide sides, flip burgers, and clean up for the big new-student welcome party immediately following the first Student Mass of the semester.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">3)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><u>Open Air Mass BBQ: August 30<sup>th</sup> from 7:30 p.m – 9:30 p.m.<o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space: auto;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">a.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Hoping for another 15 to 20 volunteers to help setup, provide sides, flip burgers, and clean up following the BBQ.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">4)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><u>Cookie Baking: Cookies Due Between August 21<sup>st</sup> and 23<sup>rd</sup><o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space: auto;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">a.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Looking for 10 people who would each be willing to bake 100 cookies and place them into little baggies in pairs of two.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:1.0in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">b.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>These go as gifts to the new students we visit in the dorms during the first week of class.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you are student and would like to volunteer for on-campus outreach, please contact Hilary Rowe at <a href="mailto:hrowe@focusonline.org">hrowe@focusonline.org</a> for more information.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For those of you who are graciously willing and wanting to take time out of your day for the sake of campus ministry, please contact me with the particular event you would like to volunteer for.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If you are reading this in the pew then please sign up on your way out.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You can find the signup sheets on a table in the narthex. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Thank you for the sacrifices you all make to ensure this ministry reaches those who need the healing touch of Jesus Christ! May God be Praised!</p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-13416405109502660942009-06-20T15:15:00.000-07:002009-06-20T15:21:59.915-07:00Purging Misconceptions of Purgatory<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDoS_VYzS3afTTl2vhqCpqIfTPHZtm69uoTReh9Nf3dtJmAJHYqpLzklthO_FOe5hcdMImnD4R8uBFB6SaDFC1VZLUVr8sTlV9zZDgbM7IfMOm6lJJ1SGahNeG9HCPbVqOC2AhORDNg/s1600-h/purgatory.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 231px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDoS_VYzS3afTTl2vhqCpqIfTPHZtm69uoTReh9Nf3dtJmAJHYqpLzklthO_FOe5hcdMImnD4R8uBFB6SaDFC1VZLUVr8sTlV9zZDgbM7IfMOm6lJJ1SGahNeG9HCPbVqOC2AhORDNg/s320/purgatory.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349537431149286626" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;">Dealing with a non-Catholic Christian’s objections to the Church’s doctrine of purgatory can be incredibly intimidating.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The average Evangelical or Protestant is well versed in Scripture which can present a formidable challenge to the average Catholic who is typically not as well versed in the details of Scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While we may be quick to speak of scriptural stories, the scriptural precision of the non-Catholic appears to override the Catholic’s own Scriptural acumen pressuring the faithful Catholic to back away from the sacred text and turn to the rather impotent phrase, “Well, that is what we believe!” Such a response only vindicates the non-Catholic’s belief that the Catholic Church is deeply erroneous in doctrine AND that she is “clearly” anti-Scriptural.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While both beliefs are unequivocally false, one can sympathize with the non-Catholic in light of the Catholic’s lack of intellectual ability to answer objections to their faith.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">How easy it is for each of us to conclude something about an organization simply based upon a nearly universal observation about each of its members.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If we want to heal the rift that was created by the Protestant Reformation, if we want peace, if we want justice, if we want Jesus Christ to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">visibly and powerfully</i> manifested in this world then the buck begins and ends with each one of us in a sense.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While ultimately peace, salvation and reconciliation come from Jesus Christ, it is in God’s loving will that He asks us to participate in this mission (cf. Mt. 28.18-20).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In light of this truth, we are being asked by God to love Him with our entire mind (cf. Mat. 22.37) so it is our duty and privilege to prepare ourselves to be able to give a defense for what we believe (cf. 1 Ptr. 3.15).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To this end, let us examine and critique the objections to the Church’s teaching on purgatory.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The two common objections made by non-Catholic Christians are that the doctrine is nowhere found in Sacred Scripture and that the concept of purgatory makes a mockery of the of cross since the belief implies a second safety net for salvation which lay outside the meritorious act of Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In other words, the accusation being made is that purgatory implicitly states that Jesus Christ was not sufficient for salvation and so purgatory exists for the sake of the deficiencies in Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The second objection is a strong accusation which explains the hostility many non-Catholic Christians have toward purgatory; their hostility comes from a deep love for Jesus Christ and what He has done.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Fortunately, the accusation is entirely wrong and based upon distortions of the Church’s teaching.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">To begin, the Church teaches that Jesus Christ is the sole mediator <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">for</i> salvation (for the distinction between Christ's role as mediator <i>for</i> salvation and the Christian's role as mediator <i>of</i> salvation, see article on <a href="http://mattboettger.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-pray-thee-defense-for-intercession-of.html">intercession of the saints</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Purgatory is not a second chance for salvation because it is exists exclusively for those who have already been saved in the blood of Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>At this point, purgatory may appear to be a superfluous teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After all, if we are already saved, what is the need for purgatory?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The answer to this question articulates the necessity of this teaching!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In fact, whether one believes in imputed or infused righteousness the logical and theological necessity of purgatory still holds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">For the sake of the argument, let us say that justification is simply through declaration (cf. God says you are righteous but it doesn’t mean you actually are).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is different from Catholic theology which states that justification is both declarative and transformative (cf. Rom. 5.19).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If life lived in justification on earth is one of declaration but not necessarily transformation, what then about heaven?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Is heaven simply an eternal life of “declaration” not necessarily tied to transformation? Of course not! Heaven is not a place where fornicators continue to fornicate or even feel tempted to fornicate while simply being declared righteous.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Nothing unclean can ever enter into heaven whether that is in thought or deed (cf. Rev. 21.27).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If I were to die today, while being fully redeemed in the blood of Christ, I would die with a tendency toward sinful desires which often times concretize in the form of selfishness. What is God to do with a dead man redeemed in Christ yet not perfectly virtuous which is the exclusive criteria for a life lived in heaven?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Purgatory is a logical necessity if we are to understand heaven as that which is completely free from sin, the direct beatific vision of God.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For the overwhelming majority of us, purgatory serves as a state of loving purification for those who have been saved in Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We are sanctified and made perfectly holy in purgatory through the blood of Christ so that we may enter into the marriage banquet in heaven without spot or wrinkle (cf. Eph. 5.25-27).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">After having understood purgatory’s theological and logical necessity, and recognizing purgatory’s intrinsic relationship to Christ’s meritorious act rather than seeing it as something outside or in addition to the cross, what does Scripture have to say about this teaching?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While Scripture never explicitly mentions the world purgatory (which simply means “a place of purification”), there are a number of passages that speak of a state of purification after death.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This should be no cause for concern as there are many things that both Catholics and non-Catholics alike believe in that are not explicitly stated in Scripture (i.e. hypostatic union of Christ, divinity of Christ, Trinity, Infant Baptism, etc).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">One of the clearest attestations of purgatory in Scripture can be found in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">St. Paul</st1:city></st1:place>’s first letter to the Corinthians. In chapter three of his letter, <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">St. Paul</st1:city></st1:place> speaks about a day of judgment which has a particular three pronged judgment. There are those whose works will be tested and be seen as worthy of a reward which contextually refers to heaven (cf. 1 Cor. 3.14).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>On the other hand, there are those whose works are destructive and so are worthy of damnation (cf. 1 Cor. 3.16-17).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, there is a third peculiar judgment where a person’s works are judged and neither found to be universally accepted nor condemned.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This person’s bad works will be “burned up” and “will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor. 3.15).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">St. Paul</st1:city></st1:place>’s explanation fits very well with the Church’s teaching on purgatory as a state of purification for those who have been saved in the blood of Christ yet must undergo a cleansing from the residual effects of sin.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">We also know that Judaism believed in a type of purgatory which urged them to pray for their fellow dead (cf. 2 Macc. 12.46). This places the Church’s teaching in integrity with the teachings of God’s chosen people of the Old Covenant.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is all the more important when we understand that the New Covenant did not come to abolish the Old Covenant, but to fulfill it (cf. Mat. 5.17)!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Finally, Christ Himself appears to allude to a sense of purification in the life to come (cf. Mat. 5.25-26; 12:31-32).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">This is clearly far from an exhaustive treatment of the Church’s teaching on purgatory, but I pray it has better equipped you to be able to give a defense for the love you have for Christ and His Church!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>May you love Him more with all your soul, body, strength, and mind.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>May God be Praised!</p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-76037961394382693772009-06-06T11:58:00.000-07:002009-06-06T11:59:39.726-07:00Self-Mastery & Gadgets<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkTpOB7rTFOXPs0WJPk4iGUEKj_frcc94aEi1Vx_v3GK9Eru7NYV_nsExtJyuLiKn5HhqXJ7E_xC5jl7bmBPv8Ok5Ey0Y6wbcNvz9BwmNCiyhz5wk5v1__xf3q6VfZ6opsL1kIUPlLkg/s1600-h/sanctuary_gadget_organizer.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkTpOB7rTFOXPs0WJPk4iGUEKj_frcc94aEi1Vx_v3GK9Eru7NYV_nsExtJyuLiKn5HhqXJ7E_xC5jl7bmBPv8Ok5Ey0Y6wbcNvz9BwmNCiyhz5wk5v1__xf3q6VfZ6opsL1kIUPlLkg/s320/sanctuary_gadget_organizer.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344291195854131362" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Those who know me know that I love technology!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Although I have been formally removed from the world of software development for nearly ten years, my hunger for new technology has not dissipated in the least.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Like <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Moore</st1:city></st1:place>’s Law which states that technology roughly doubles every 18 months, my desire for a new gadget intensifies almost proportionately to that law.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While I think it is safe to say I’m exaggerating my gadget addiction, I do want to recognize a potential disproportionate desire for new technology at times.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I typically rationalize my longing through my deeper desire for organization.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Anything that helps me quantify every aspect of my daily life is incredibly alluring!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After all, the more I can use technology to quantify things (including myself) the more I will be able to know myself better and be more responsible, right?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Such a belief almost makes my disproportionate desire for technology a noble quest.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Believe it or not, it wasn’t until last week that a pin-leak was discovered in this inflated rationality of mine which is soon to become a full-blown flat. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The error in my thinking was revealed shortly after a grueling run with a friend of mine who is currently on summer break from seminary.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For the sake of my friend, I must admit that it was a grueling run for me and not him.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As we were walking back to our cars I brought up the topic of my new fancy running watch which records about everything you could possibly record about yourself and the surrounding landscape.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He then told me about a mutual friend of ours who is currently a cross country runner for CU and an active member of our campus ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He explained to me how this runner begins every race deliberately in the “back of the pack.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Basically, what he does is take inventory of himself, the landscape, and the surrounding runners before engaging the race with intensity, and he doesn’t do this by a gadget but through self-evaluation and observation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He has trained himself to translate accurately the breathing patterns of himself and others.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The student can quickly determine if his body is starting to go anaerobic thus enabling himself to make the proper corrections almost instantaneously.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Hearing all this was both breathtaking and humbling!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Up until this point of the conversation, I had thought that my constant connectivity to gadgets was only aiding my quest for self-mastery through accurate knowledge, planning, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">et cetera</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What I quickly learned was that I really did not know myself like I thought I knew myself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One may easily make the excuse that as long as you are in tune with your soul, you are doing well, but that is bad theology.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Catechism of the Catholic Church</i> states that the body was created as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">form</i> of the soul.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In other words, our soul and body are so intimately tied together that what you learn about the body can lead to knowledge about the soul and vice versa.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This runner’s intimate knowledge of his body can easily be translated into virtue of the soul! </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Take for instance the student’s ability to gauge his physical heart incredibly well during a run.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Having the ability to modify his pace correctly given the slightest change in the rhythm of his heart offers him the opportunity to run efficiently, giving his best each time.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One can only assume that such self-awareness is equally present off the trail as it is on the trail. How much more is the runner able to perceive physiological stimuli that are heading toward<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>temptation well before the temptation becomes enticing?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While the phrase “listen to your body” may sound too new aged to some, it is deeply Catholic!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">We live in a plugged-in world.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Everywhere I go I see people plugged into laptops, cell phones, and ipods.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While technology is a great gift, it also can be an enormous impediment to knowing oneself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The impediment largely comes in the form of only knowing two dimensions of ourselves: zero and sixty miles per hour. Unfortunately, we are plugged in during those times when we move from 10 to 20 mph which consequently doesn’t register on the radar screen.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I would like to challenge all of us to unplug ourselves a little more from the distractions that may be preventing us from knowing ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is a hard challenge to offer since I’m arguably the most plugged in among us.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our bodies are all too often against us; it is with excitement that I’m able to see a profound way for our bodies to work for us by drawing us deeply into our spiritual lives, further enabling us to give ourselves to another through the art of self-mastery and virtue! May God be Praised!</p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-10706592719879553892009-06-02T14:01:00.000-07:002009-06-02T14:01:00.535-07:00The Moral Difference Between Contraception & NFP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhHwtmHmhx0WYl1YT_oh9hvDZSCfeKmAJSSezzxjIEOd8rMdFp8ev7xid0Jtp6nEfxCJ-lsXcoA_QV5R2TNJvn_xCnRA4cV0GFktf2EvCcfIa0ZZ02PO3DQK2auWOH-RnkSk7YCDv9Q/s1600-h/nfp-trendy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 234px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhHwtmHmhx0WYl1YT_oh9hvDZSCfeKmAJSSezzxjIEOd8rMdFp8ev7xid0Jtp6nEfxCJ-lsXcoA_QV5R2TNJvn_xCnRA4cV0GFktf2EvCcfIa0ZZ02PO3DQK2auWOH-RnkSk7YCDv9Q/s320/nfp-trendy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342467900872723602" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal">A student from my Theology of Body class asked a very common question a few weeks ago.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Apparently she was discussing the moral implications of contraception with a friend when this friend posed an unanticipated question.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The question went like this: “If it is true that the Catholic Church believes marriage must be open to life, then wouldn’t Natural Family Planning (NFP) also be immoral when used to prevent pregnancy in light of the Church’s teaching?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After all, both NFP and contraception are being used as a means to prevent life which the Church says one must be open to in marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It appears as of the Church is arbitrarily picking and choosing what is moral and immoral.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The question is a good question worthy of a good response.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I must admit that my initial answer to this student was deeply unsatisfactory in my own mind, so I spent the next week looking for a better answer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What I discovered was rather alarming.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When I followed up with the question at my next class, I began with a true/false quiz to the students.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I asked them to answer ‘true’ or ‘false’ to the statement, “The Catholic Church believes marriage must be open to life?”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The answer was a unanimous ‘TRUE’ which I then replied, “You are unanimously incorrect.” Before I continue I feel obligated to try and curb any initial responses one might have when reading what I just wrote. I am NOT saying that the Church approves of contraception. I simply ask for your patience as I unpack the Church’s wisdom on human sexuality.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">My alarming discovery mentioned above was in the realization that many people (including myself) have a misconceived notion of the Church’s understanding of marriage and its relationship to life.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If it were true that “marriage” was to be open to life at all times then it would follow that NFP used to prevent pregnancy would be morally illicit since it would be closing the “marriage” to life.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, this is not what the Church teaches.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Humanae Vitae</i> (Pope Paul VI’s encyclical on Human Life) states that “each and every marriage act must remain through itself open to the transmission of life” (HV, 11-12).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Notice that Paul VI carefully stated that it is the “marriage act” not marriage itself<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">*</b> that must be open to life!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One may argue that since the Church views the marital/conjugal act to be reserved exclusively for marriage (even “consummating” the marriage itself) then the marital act and marriage ought to be considered equivalent.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is true that the conjugal act is intrinsically related to marriage but we must not mistake a part of marriage for marriage itself otherwise we risk reducing marriage simply to the conjugal act (this is called the Fallacy of Composition).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another way to express this necessary distinction is through an example: It is true that all atoms are colorless. We also know that all dogs are made of atoms. However, no one in their right mind would make the conclusion that this means all dogs are colorless.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The error is in attributing a quality from a part of something to its whole.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Thus, the Church’s teaching does in fact permit couples in<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> marriage</i> the right to delay pregnancy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">as long</i> as such reasons are just and moral and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">means</i> by which they obtain this end are just and moral.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">With the misunderstanding corrected, we may now begin to understand why the Church views contraception and the use of NFP differently.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The questions the Church seeks to address are: 1) Is it possible to engage in the marital/conjugal act in a way that is morally illicit? 2) If so, what does such a marital/conjugal act look like? The Church answers ‘yes’ to question one and proclaims such an act exists when the nature of the sexual act is compromised.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I recognize that the previous sentence desires extrapolation but space limits me from addressing this which is not necessary for the subject at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The important element to notice is that the object of moral inquiry is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">activity of the</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">conjugal act</i> within marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Thus NFP, even when used morally and justly to prevent pregnancy, has no voice in the discussion above. When NFP is used to prevent pregnancy it is done so through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">abstaining</i> from the sexual act during the woman’s fertile period. Again, the Church’s teaching is about the actual engagement of the sexual act and its morality.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is nothing wrong with abstaining as I’m confident all of you are doing as you are reading this column!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While the couple may be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">intending</i> not to get pregnant, they do so in a way that respects the value and nature of the conjugal act through abstaining.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is fundamentally different from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">intending</i> not to get pregnant by sterilizing the womb before intercourse so as to remove a fundamental and natural value of the conjugal act.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In the same way we make moral distinctions between death by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">means of</i> “natural death” and death by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">means of</i> an “unnatural death” (i.e. murder, euthanasia), the Church is calling us to apply the same distinctions to the conjugal/marital act.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Where the use of NFP appears to become the subject matter of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Humanae Vitae</i> is when the married couple actually engages in sexual activity during the infertile periods.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If the object of moral inquiry is the sexual act and if each sexual act necessitates an openness of life, then is not the couple breaking the Church’s teachings by engaging in the sexual act during infertile periods?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While they may not be actively sterilizing the act, their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">intentions</i> are to engage in a sexual act without getting pregnant.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Do not their intentions make this equivalent to a contraceptive act? The answer is no since you cannot <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">intend</i> something which cannot actually happen.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While the statement “I do not intend to get a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">woman</i> pregnant” has meaning, the statement “I do not intend to get a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">man</i> pregnant” sounds absurd!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The reason for its absurdity is based upon an absurd <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">intention</i> which is in fact no intention at all.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One cannot engage in a conjugal act that is infertile with an intention to either get pregnant or not get pregnant any more than one can intend to make a square circle.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Thus, even the marital/conjugal act during infertile periods is free from this particular moral scrutiny as the act maintains the integrity, value and nature of the sexual act.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Contraception was NOT invented to prevent pregnancy as there was already a fully effective way to prevent it which, again, I’m confident all of you are practicing as you read this column: abstinence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Contraception was invented to sterilize the fertile period so that if the urge to have sex were to arise during that period, neither the man nor the woman would need to muster up the energy to deny that urge in the fear of pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is precisely this truth that opens new horizons of understanding between contraception and NFP.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While contraceptive sexual acts risk enslavement to the sexual urge, NFP frees one from the all-too-real threat of sexual addiction through periods of abstinence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This makes NFP not only permissible but even virtuous!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After all, one’s ‘yes’ is meaningful only when one has the self-mastery to say ‘no.’ However, this level of self-mastery is impossible outside the grace of God concretely and most powerfully manifested through the sacramental life of the Church! May God be Praised!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">* I have received some questions/criticisms about the statement that “marriage” must not be open to life but rather the “marital act.” While I firmly believe the statement is technically accurate, I do acknowledge that it can be misleading to some.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As an accurate compromise, another way to articulate what I have mentioned above is to say that marriage must be open to life <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">as it corresponds to the marital act.</i></p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-21155528461449699982009-06-01T13:38:00.000-07:002009-06-01T13:42:02.136-07:00Calling All Parishioners & Alumni<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMOAm3NM5JTQ_CEXkDwfRsxHKfplgTA95adP-aMW0fQNRUYBfBzvQ3gmr7EQQfnviCeywmL8bbh7AVLQhOQ6uMiEibq879IeicKuQn_ULcQm6efuFbaNFQ0JxgAKP3us7r34VHlQh1qQ/s1600-h/volunteer.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMOAm3NM5JTQ_CEXkDwfRsxHKfplgTA95adP-aMW0fQNRUYBfBzvQ3gmr7EQQfnviCeywmL8bbh7AVLQhOQ6uMiEibq879IeicKuQn_ULcQm6efuFbaNFQ0JxgAKP3us7r34VHlQh1qQ/s320/volunteer.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342462100521815666" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I find it hard to believe that the academic year is finished.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It feels like only yesterday we were hosting open house BBQ’s for the newly received freshmen, dorm storming, celebrating Mass on Norlin Quad, attending the Great Debate and so many other activities that this ministry has been blessed with.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’m always humbled by the zeal of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">St. Thomas</st1:city></st1:place> staff who are constantly willing to go the extra mile if only to reach one soul.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Given that, I can confidently say that the success of this year would never have happened if it were not for the parish community of <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">St. Thomas</st1:city></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I cannot thank you enough for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">time</i> you have put into this campus ministry for the sake of Christ, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">treasure</i> you have poured into this ministry because of your belief in the mission, and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">talent</i> you have offered so as to take this ministry to the next level!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Be assured that your labor was never in vain, and because of you we have seen incredible growth in our ministry just in this year: bible studies have nearly doubled, student daily Mass attendance has nearly tripled, Buffalo Awakening retreats are reaching record breaking numbers in retreaters, the number of attendees to the annual debate tripled, and the student center is continuously bustling.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These examples are simply the first things that come to mind. We have been blessed and I thank all of you for what you have accomplished!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">While it is wonderful to pause and celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit, we must move forward with renewed ardor, open hearts, and creativity as we begin planning for another year of campus ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If this ministry were not critically important we could embrace the transition between one academic year and another a little longer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The fact of the matter is that campus ministry is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">most</i> important dimension of ministry if the purpose is to transform a culture through the light of Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The ideologies presented in the university classrooms today will inevitably become the practical wisdom of our culture tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If we want to transform the world then we must be willing to pour our resources into campus ministry as the majority of our future leaders, CEO’s, policy makers, priests, fathers, and mothers will come from universities such as CU. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">One thing I have observed around the student center is that the students are asked to volunteer for many things throughout the year.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So much so that many of these students can sometimes have hesitations in visiting the center in fear that they may be “solicited” to do yet another thing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I would love to diffuse this tension that is often felt by opening up new areas of volunteer service for the parish community of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">St. Thomas</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This would free the students to do what they do best; building peer friendships in hope for an opportunity to present the Gospel to them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Between the wonderful parishioner and alumni support from last year and the new requests to volunteer coming in as I write this, I would love it if we could get 100 parishioners and alumni to sign up for next year’s volunteer needs.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is a tall order but I am confident that this parish community is convinced of the importance of campus ministry, especially this one.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The majority of volunteer needs will be in the form of socials whether that is hosting a few BBQ’s throughout the year, baking cookies for the fall dorm storm, or helping host a weekly social throughout the year.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>These activities alone would free our students up tremendously so that they may be more effective in their own evangelization efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Together we can take this great ministry to the next level and transform the culture by the light of Jesus Christ.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Let the sign up for the 100 volunteers begin! All you have to do is set this column down for a moment and either email or phone Matt Boettger and give him your contact information (i.e. name, number, email address), and let me know you are interested in volunteering for the 2009-2010 year of CU ministry!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>May God be Praised!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal">Matt Boettger, Director of Outreach & Evangelization<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><a href="mailto:Matthew.Boettger@thomascenter.org">Matthew.Boettger@thomascenter.org</a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>720.564.1111 ext. 265</p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-38478120260901371892009-03-08T21:25:00.001-07:002009-03-09T00:01:03.740-07:00But He Has Potential: The Tragedy of the Imagination<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg58X4BrjDHWADC7LN_atDawP7KwNSKIBUmdUbdBpDluwohAT7Ydpx8a_oiwcksky-dACwrpPZAM6R5JdNf-6MVkCbyyXpUkhyIvDAyTqE9smigGaYedrsYwGBVByn_SLkWLZsrdo28Q/s1600-h/once_upon_a_time_wm.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg58X4BrjDHWADC7LN_atDawP7KwNSKIBUmdUbdBpDluwohAT7Ydpx8a_oiwcksky-dACwrpPZAM6R5JdNf-6MVkCbyyXpUkhyIvDAyTqE9smigGaYedrsYwGBVByn_SLkWLZsrdo28Q/s400/once_upon_a_time_wm.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311039474302399842" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">The imagination is a powerful reality of the human mind.<span> </span>With it we have the capacity to re-create the past within our own minds, create scenarios of an unknown future, go on journeys in which the traditional laws of nature simply do not apply, and the like.<span> </span>While the imagination is powerful, it does have limitations and even weaknesses.<span> </span>While I may have the capacity to re-create my past within my own mind and even alter the historical chronology of events, such <i>changes</i> in the imagination do not translate into reality.<span> </span>In other words, no matter how much I imagine something to be so, reality trumps.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">While this point may appear to be overdrawn, it is worthy of deeper consideration.<span> </span>How many times have we awoken from an imaginary stupor with feelings of accomplishment?<span> </span>Countless are the times I have come out of my imagination nearly convinced that I was some incredible Jujitsu master, a secret service agent, or married with a great family! Of course, these creations of my imagination can be quickly debunked when I realize I can’t even kick above my knee without falling over! Nonetheless, caution is the rule of thumb when engaging the imagination.<span> </span>Whether one agrees or disagrees with this statement of caution, one should find it easy to admit that the imagination does in fact make claims completely disproportionate to its actual merits.<span> </span>For this reason alone, one might find reason to engage this faculty more consciencously.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The late great pope John Paul II examines the human faculty of the imagination in a context that is exceedingly more difficult to correct; the context of “Relationships”.<span> </span>In his book <i>Love & Responsibility</i>, the pope speaks about the “raw materials” of love, two of them being sensuality and sentimentality.<span> </span><u>Sensuality</u> is the sexual desire of a particular part of a person’s body while<u>sentimentality</u> addresses the <i>whole person </i>in their expression of affection for that person (i.e. his/her charm, strength, sensitivity, compassion, etc.).<span> </span>While it is easy to see the potential pitfall into objectification within the arena of sensuality, the dangers of sentimentality are more subtle. However, JPII is quick to warn us that left alone, sentimentality offers a formidable danger to the health of relationships.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The danger of sentimentality is that it utilizes the imagination for its power.<span> </span>So much so that the pope deems it worthy to state that “in the eyes of a person sentimentally committed to another person, the value of the beloved object grows enormously – as a rule out of all proportion to his or her real value” (LR, 112).<span> </span>How many times have we entered into a relationship enchanted by the perceived “perfection” of the other only to become incredibly disenchanted weeks or months later?<span> </span>This profound experience of disappointment can lead to a sense of anger and even hatred. One may even conclude suspicion of deliberate deception. Such a reaction diminishes if not destroys the capability of seeking the real value of the other! At this point the relationship has ended before it had really begun.<span> </span>The tragedy of the imagination!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">However, the real tragedy of the imagination is not at the stage of disenchantment, but in the response to this “awakening.”<span> </span>Numerous are the relationships I have witnessed having degenerated from a sentimentally committed relationship to a “potentially good” relationship.<span> </span>There is nothing wrong with valuing the potential in another, but when a relationship is reduced to a love based upon its potential goodness, it ceases to be a relationship at all. Rather, the one who loves the potential in another has really turned a subject into an object onto which ones own ideological goods are projected.<span> </span>In other words, the relationship is incapable of love for love demands the gift and reception of the actual value of the other <i>person</i>, not one’s <i>perceived </i>value of the other!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Being faced with the Christian understanding of love, the pope comments:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0.5in; ">We love the person complete with all his or her virtues and faults, and up to a point independently of those virtues and in spite of those faults.<span> </span>The strength of such a love emerges most clearly when the beloved person stumbles, when his or her weaknesses or even sins come into the open.<span> </span>One who truly loves does not then withdraw his love, but loves all the more, loves in full consciousness of the other’s shortcomings and faults, and without in the least approving of them.<span> </span>For the person as such never loses its essential value.<span> </span>The emotion which attaches itself to the value of the person remains loyal to the human being. (L&R,<span> </span>135)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Christian call to love is a difficult reality to live.<span> </span>Without the redemption afforded to us through Jesus Christ, the most we can hope for is either coping mechanisms or suppressive tactics against our distorted desires lest we fall into indulgence.<span> </span>The Christian no longer needs to look at the raw material of love with fear and trepidation. Rather, Grace is afforded us in the redemption of the body so that we may live authentically human lives of love imbued with divine love.<span> </span>May we all open our hearts wider to our Lord so that we may have the capacity to embrace the raw materials of love as they were intended to be embraced.<span> </span>Not as an end leading to objectification, but as a <i>powerful</i> means to draw ever closer to the value or unrepeatability of the other!<span> </span>Do we not also want to be loved for who we actually are? May God be Praised!</p><p></p>Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-10249304633312365202009-02-13T14:50:00.000-08:002009-02-13T14:52:36.107-08:00"This" Is Why I Believe In The Real Presence<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuLjO2kzdg1k9Q4RBYVwK2WtZEQV-m8LoHdPk_xsmqP59BXZCw78zYPo1-qNxaWwYP3lSMz87CukZ_lRraJ5M6tpqs69AwaRSDPDUsNxaNMAeBHELIwUKeTv7YZbWLETvvxtzF-G_-Q/s1600-h/monstrance.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuLjO2kzdg1k9Q4RBYVwK2WtZEQV-m8LoHdPk_xsmqP59BXZCw78zYPo1-qNxaWwYP3lSMz87CukZ_lRraJ5M6tpqs69AwaRSDPDUsNxaNMAeBHELIwUKeTv7YZbWLETvvxtzF-G_-Q/s400/monstrance.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302418619825789522" /></a><br />I am incredibly grateful for my education at an evangelical seminary. The nearly continuous faith-challenging questions posed by both faculty and fellow students only strengthened my Roman Catholic convictions. However, one particular objection to a Roman Catholic doctrine, presented by a professor I deeply admired (and still do), affected me quite significantly, and drove me to search diligently for an answer.<br /><br />The real presence of our Lord in the most holy Eucharist is a unique doctrine of the Roman Catholic faith. When such a truth is challenged, the Catholic feels compelled to defend such skepticism with ferocity. This is how I felt when my professor challenged this doctrine in my first class at the evangelical seminary. His two main arguments (at least presented in class) consisted of one assumption and one critique based on language. The assumption was that no one would have imagined our Lord claiming the bread and wine to be his actual body. Not only does this beg the question, but such a skeptical assessment contains a further assumption that Jesus would have only said things that could be clearly understood by others. From a cursory reading of the Gospels, we see that such an understanding is far from accurate.<br /><br />The second argument presented by my professor was an argument from language. Jesus likely spoke Aramaic. So a phrase like “This is my body” could not have been said since Aramaic did not use “to be” verbs (e.g. is, was, were, etc.). The inference to this argument is that the Greek writing authors of the Gospels inserted an ‘is’ so as to not go beyond Christ’s own words yet maintaining proper Greek grammar. In other words, the ‘is” in the phrase “This is my body” is a deliberate generic verb which functions simply to fill the lack of a verb from the original Aramaic quotation. Thus, Roman Catholics—according to my professor—have gone beyond the scope of the text with their “transubstantiation” theology.<br /><br />Despite my profound admiration for this professor, I vehemently disagree with his rather sophisticated argument. While it may be true that Jesus did speak in Aramaic, such an argument is an argument from silence. A more powerful argument comes from a close examination of the Greek texts to see if the author, guided by the Holy Spirit, left any clues to what Jesus might have meant when we said “This [no verb] my body” in Aramaic. When such an examination is done, we find an answer that confirms the validity of our Catholic faith and gives the believer goose-bumps.<br /><br />Those of you who have studied a language like Spanish know that words can have genders. While both Amigo and Amiga share the same basic structure (the stem), the ‘o’ and ‘a’ at the end of the word give it its gender (the first being masculine and the later being feminine). Greek is very similar in that many words may look nearly identical with only a minor change being due to gender differences. One such example is the demonstrative pronoun (e.g. this/these, that/those). In Greek, you can find the word “this” in feminine, masculine, and even neuter forms. The gender of the pronoun is chosen by what it is referring to (i.e. the antecedent). If Joe asks Sally, “Can you hand me my book?” and Sally responds, “Is this your book?” Sally’s “this” obviously refers to “book.” In Greek, “book” has a gender (feminine) so “this” would also have share the same gender as the word book. Enough with Greek grammar and on to the good stuff!<br /><br />From Scripture we know that when Jesus picked up the bread from the table and said, “This is my body” the ‘this’ was referring to the bread He was holding up. In Greek, ‘bread’ has a Gender (like all nouns) and it is masculine. Thus, we ought to conclude that the ‘this’ that Jesus speaks is also masculine in gender since it is referring to the bread. But wait, it is not masculine at all but rather neuter in gender. Have all three Gospels committed a grammatical blunder? By no means! If only we had the eyes to see (Greek in this case) the reason why all Last Supper accounts record such a grammatical faux pas. We already mentioned that the Greek word ‘bread’ is masculine but we have not yet made explicit what the other critical noun’s gender is, and that would be ‘body’ which is neuter!<br /><br />Tying all the loose ends together, we must ask why all the Gospel writers took the liberty to make Christ’s “this” in the phrase “This is my body” neuter in gender when it is clear that the ‘this’ is referring to the masculine in gender bread which he is holding up to his apostles. The answer is quite clear to the Catholic. By the time our Lord and savior raised the sacred bread from the table, the bread had changed into the body (and blood) of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the grammatical gender-change from masculine to neuter conveys! The bread is no longer simply bread but now has taken on the grammatical gender of the body which communicates to the reader the breads substantial change into the body of our Lord! The Gospel writers, guided by the Holy Spirit, could not have been any more explicit regarding the Real Presence of our Lord in the bread and wine consecrated by our faithful priests! Thus, the ‘is’ in Christ’s phrase “This is my body” is not some verb to be disputed, but rather a powerful lens into the Real Presence of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.<br /><br />Saying all of this, it would be unfair of me to ignore the common non-Catholic objection to this “demonstrative” argument which favors a Real Presence understanding of the Last Supper passages. Due to the intricate and complexity of this rebuttal, I will only deal with its most “deadly blow” to what I have just argued above. For those wanting a more exhaustive treatment of the non-Catholic perspective, I refer you to Robert Sungenis’s <a href="http://www.catholicintl.com/epologetics/dialogs/eucharist/bullinger.htm">article</a>.<br /><br />It is true that there are a small number of passages that share the grammatical structure of the Last Supper passages. Both Matthew 13.38 and Luke 8.14 contain a demonstrative pronoun followed by a ‘to be’ verb and ending with a noun or noun equivalent. While the pronoun ought to be taking on the gender of its antecedent, it actually takes on the gender of the substantive following the verb. In the case of Mt. 13.38, the ‘these’ in “these good seeds” takes on the gender of “kingdom” rather than “seeds.” The non-Catholic claims victory in that this appears to be a clear attestation that such a grammatical usage does in fact point to a metaphor.<br /><br />However, on closer inspection the weight of this objection collapses (along with every other similar example by the non-Catholic interlocutor). Both Mt. 13.38 and Lk. 8.14 are explanations of parables by Jesus which had just been presented. The actual metaphoric usage was in the parable. Jesus is NOT explaining a metaphor (i.e. the parable) with another metaphor. We must make the distinction between metaphor and assigning identities. Coming from a computer science background, I find the best way to explain this is through the lens of mathematics. If I were to create a program based upon an algorithm, I would have two (at the minimum) separate locations of code. One would contain the actual algorithm. The algorithm section of my code would be equivalent to the metaphoric structure of Christ’s parable. I would also have a separate location whereby I would be assigning identities to all the appropriate variables. These are not simply representative variables, but they actually take on that which it symbolizes. The assignments actually imbue the variable to the fullest extent. Thus, we have the clear distinction between metaphor and the assignment of identities.<br /><br />In light of what I just said, it makes all the more sense why these additional exceptions simply prove the rule. Since both Mt. 13.38 and Lk. 8.14 (and many more like these) are assigning identities, it makes sense why the demonstrative pronoun would take on the gender that follows rather than its antecedent. This grammatical rarity is conveying the message that the subsequent noun is taking on the identity of the pronoun! Again, it is good to be Catholic!<br /><br />Next time you are at Mass and you hear your parish priest say the words of consecration, “This is my body” I hope you will have a greater appreciation for such a simple word as “this”, and have a deeper love for the Son of God who stands before you in the Holy Eucharist! May God be Praised!Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-113488810782923652009-02-06T11:10:00.000-08:002009-02-06T11:12:12.587-08:00On Being Unevenly Yoked and Hurting Others<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitU2HUL6wwjiW10JXufeUk2gQyxYyU3dJly0LmbXkgN0FY3zEV5TOmadW7ns_F-KuF8ErG-WefXqH3KakCQ1QWLsDCAU0XMjshFRBNU4JFIw5Fr8Izklg8J_CAgAzZxT2RWKcEh2Fasg/s1600-h/breakup.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitU2HUL6wwjiW10JXufeUk2gQyxYyU3dJly0LmbXkgN0FY3zEV5TOmadW7ns_F-KuF8ErG-WefXqH3KakCQ1QWLsDCAU0XMjshFRBNU4JFIw5Fr8Izklg8J_CAgAzZxT2RWKcEh2Fasg/s320/breakup.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299764133519266146" /></a><br />Many of you may know that I teach a Theology of the Body class on Monday evenings in the upper room of the Catholic Student Center. This teaching position has served as a kind of catapult into relationship counseling that I honestly had not anticipated but thoroughly enjoy. I’m fully aware that I am not a licensed counselor so I quickly refer those students needing licensed attention to more qualified professionals. However, many students come into my office wanting basic advice on their current relationship, and I am happy to listen and offer an “outside” perspective if they so desire. After only six months of one-on-ones with students I have begun to see a couple common threads that unite relationships deemed “unhealthy” or “complicated” by the students in them. The first common thread may be expressed as the complication of being unevenly yoked (cf. 2 Cor. 6.14-16), and the second thread revolves around an exaggerated fear of “hurting the other.” I would like to address the unevenly yoked complication first.<br /><br />I began dating a non-Catholic girl during my first year of seminary at an evangelical college. While the relationship was great in a number of ways, it also was very difficult as we obviously did not see eye-to-eye regarding each other’s beliefs. My awakening to the gravity of this disagreement came from my father. Speaking to him one day about my relationship he said, “Son, marriage is a difficult vocation as it is. If you see your relationship worth the additional level of difficulty due to your conflicting beliefs then go for it. However, just remember that this will in fact be an additional cross to bear.” From that moment on I took a very different approach to courtship. I knew that my Catholic faith was the center of my life, and I deemed it necessary that I find someone who shared that intense love for the Catholic Church that I had.<br /><br />St. Paul calls each of us to a similar discernment as we approach relationships (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14-16). A positive way to express St. Paul’s desire for us not to be unevenly yoked is to say that we ought to strive to find someone who shares the same spiritual foundation we have. While it is important to find someone whom we enjoy and have fun with, such a reality may fair poorly in times of trial when unsupported by a firmer and deeper common faith. I want to be clear that I am not saying that unevenly yoked relationships are doomed to failure, but rather that such relationships offer unique hardships that evenly yoked ones do not.<br /><br />St. Paul offers us a reason for this warning that I find quite profound, and ironically the reason is presented in his brief treatment of celibacy. In 1 Cor. 7:32-38, the apostle expresses his concern for those who choose the married life. The chief concern is that those who marry may have increased anxiety over the fact that they must split their time between God and family. The celibate person, on the other hand, has the opportunity to live a deeper “inner integrity” since he (or she) does not have to live dividedly. This is why St. Paul appeals to the goodness of celibacy over marriage. He does so NOT because he believes marriage is bad, but because he personally sees a temptation in marriage to become divided in heart. Ultimately, Paul leaves it up to the individual to discern their proper gift from God whether that be the vocation of marriage or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom.<br /><br />If it is true that marriage lends itself to the danger of a “divided heart” then we must do what we can to prevent such an occasion of pain. I have encountered many relationships both married and unmarried alike who suffer from wounds caused by this divided heart. Often times, one or both feel as if they have compromised their own integrity so as to keep peace in the relationship. Unfortunately, such actions can lead to spite and regret which further hurts the relationship. However, if we seek another who shares our same Catholic foundation, we quickly bridge the gap between God and the spouse, offering the opportunity for a marriage that nearly shares the great inner integrity inherent to celibacy. I recognize that this column does not address those who have already married into such a relationship stated above. Unfortunately, such a topic must be saved for a later time.<br /><br />The second common thread deals with the phrase I hear from students “stuck” in an unhealthy relationship. When pressed why they continue the relationship, they often say, “I can’t break up with him/her because I don’t want to hurt him/her.” I have to admit that I have often said the exact same thing. I have come to suspect that behind the altruistic phrase is actually a sense of profound guilt. Upon further inquiry I have discovered that nearly everyone who had shared such a sentiment also had been living a physical relationship beyond that of their own personal convictions about the relationship. In other words, their bodies were writing checks their person was not willing to cash. Behind the altruistic desire not to hurt the other in the relationship was a deep seated guilt based on the truth that they had been expressing ideas through their body (sexually) that they themselves were not ready to commit to personally. Breaking up with the other would only reveal the duplicity presented between their personal and physical commitment. This is what I have commonly seen behind the whole exaggerated emphasis on the fear of hurting the other.<br /><br />Of course, there are those who simply have a healthy fear of hurting the other that increases to paralyzing implications. To those who struggle with this fear, I offer a powerful quote from none other than C.S. Lewis: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of and perturbations of love is Hell” (The Four Loves). <br /><br />The remedy to both these contemporary difficulties among students is quite simple. If we are convicted to the heart about our Catholic faith, we ought to strive to find someone who is also deeply convicted to the heart about their Catholic faith. In so doing, we create an atmosphere of external integration. Furthermore, if we desire a healthy relationship that is free from exaggerated fears then let us work to love more purely, to love in such way that our bodies speak the same language as our person. In so doing, we create an atmosphere of internal integration. May we all strive to live more authentic and integrated lives for we can do all things in Christ! May God be Praised!Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-79095157656510642882009-02-06T11:06:00.000-08:002009-02-06T11:10:02.555-08:00The Rise Against Intellectual Apathy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://clem.mscd.edu/~stagakes/images/far-side_door.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 390px;" src="http://clem.mscd.edu/~stagakes/images/far-side_door.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I had the privilege of participating in a Cathedral Mass a few weeks back, the celebrant was Archbishop Charles Chaput. The Sunday happened to be Epiphany Sunday when we celebrate the coming of the Magi to the foot of Christ’s crib (cf. Mt. 2.1-23). If you have ever had the opportunity to attend a Sunday evening Mass at the Cathedral, then you know that a homily by his Excellency is something you simply do not want to miss. I can say confidently that I would take notes if it wasn’t for my pride persuading me that people would deem me as one of “those” who wears a Holy pocket-protector! While much of what he said on Epiphany Sunday has been forgotten, there is one piece of his homily that has stuck with me to this day and that I find particular pertinent to our upcoming debate on campus.<br /><br />Like any good homilist, Archbishop began his homily by painting the historical and sociological landscape on which this event of the Magi occurred. Unfortunately, such an accurate portrayal necessitated a significant correction in popular thinking. When we think of the Magi, phrases such as “the three kings,” or the “the three wise men” often come to mind. Such conceptions are nearly entirely wrong or at least a gross exaggeration of the original words. Whether there were three of them, or whether they were “wise” is completely absent from the original text. In addition, evidence for their kingship is about as strong as evidence for their queenship! What we can learn from the text is that these Magi were magicians which was something considered deplorable to Jews and Christians to this day. In other words, they were genuine pagans.<br /><br />A light may have flickered for those of you reading this. There is an irony to be said, a perplexing puzzle to be solved. We see in this narrative an unexplainable interest by a number of pagan magicians in a rather obscure Jewish prophecy, all the while a near silence befalls Jerusalem for whom this prophecy has been fulfilled. In other words, there is a greater expressed interest in the covenantal God of Israel by pagans than those who claim to be Jewish believers! It is in this rather perplexing inverse of prophetic interest that the Archbishop provides an acute observation in its application.<br /><br />The archbishop has keenly observed that at times there appears to be more non-believers interested in God today than believers! I actually have a tough time saying those words as they are difficult to stomach. Putting the archbishop’s observations to the test, I did a little research project. With the debate only days away I did a couple google searches. The first search I committed to was to see what results I could obtain in support of Hitchens (the Atheist coming to our debate) in light of this particular debate. I immediately received a rather large number of blogs and other websites talking about this “great opportunity” with many atheists making plans to carpool with one another. With hopeful expectations I then searched for results that would include those people in support of D’Souza (the Christian) in this particular debate. Excluding those sites originating through our own publicity, the results came back with……..ZERO. Sadly, it appears that the archbishop has been proven correct.<br /><br />I wish I could say that my experience as the Director of Outreach and Evangelization could help curb these disappointing results, but they do not. FOCUS has been doing some incredible work getting the word out on campus about the debate. After a day of success in the distribution of tickets, a missionary made a casual comment about how she felt that “nearly 60 percent” of tickets she distributed were to atheists. In light of the overall population of atheists in Boulder, that is quite a skewed statistic.<br /><br />I say all this not to be a dirge, but rather to act as a call to arms! We live for a reality that is deeply personal but it is NOT private. We have a public commitment to our faith which must be imbued with both good and beauty, but it also must be grounded in absolute Truth! We are not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for everyone who places themselves in that love who is Jesus Christ (cf. Rom. 1.16). We have no need to fear the truth of our faith for it stands unabated with or without us, but we are called by St. Peter to give a reason for why we believe to those who inquire about it (cf. 1 Ptr. 3.15). We have many opportunities to satisfy this call to take arms which Hilary spoke of in last week’s column. May we continue to deepen our love for God with all our mind (cf. Mt. 22.37), and may we find such pursuits personally enriching and fruitful. May God Be Praised!Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2978192805032355232.post-83480802757444113372009-01-05T00:00:00.000-08:002009-01-05T00:00:01.386-08:00Good And Not-So-Good Bible Studies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQY0VKXXbjThqUnHeSG4Qvx0braVKGhAQekqkcZx0HrhWyykuriCotuxQPeCv2aaDkIPCPTCfA9ymPZiA8bNSpURYxggjUB4wYU-ebS_nwqZlA6jbpigtd1WgSYhLfZn4IHrmHd8kiQ/s1600-h/bible-study.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQY0VKXXbjThqUnHeSG4Qvx0braVKGhAQekqkcZx0HrhWyykuriCotuxQPeCv2aaDkIPCPTCfA9ymPZiA8bNSpURYxggjUB4wYU-ebS_nwqZlA6jbpigtd1WgSYhLfZn4IHrmHd8kiQ/s320/bible-study.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282287801058222258" /></a><br />Bible Studies are a wonderful way to go deeper in our faith and to establish a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. One of the many benefits of Scripture is that it has the capacity to add a dialogical dimension to our prayer life. Without Scripture, our prayer life can quickly degrade into a chatty monologue. We have a tendency to avoid those “awkward” silences with the Lord so we simply talk God’s ear off expecting no response. Of course, I think we all desire a formal response but we frequently consign ourselves to defeat in that area. Scripture offers the Christian an instant solution to our deepest desire to have a genuine conversation with the Lord. The living and breathing Word of God speaks to our very hearts as if each letter written on the sacred parchment was penned with us in mind. What a beautiful gift God has given us and kept unblemished through the protective and loving arms of the Holy Catholic Church.<br /><br />Bible Studies form an indispensable role in our spiritual formation. By entering into a scripture study we communicate the reality that this sacred text is very different from ourselves. We look to others whether that be the Church, certified Bible Study leaders, or resources written by qualified theologians, historians, or socio-rhetorical experts to aid us in our pursuit of Truth. <br /><br />All this being said, we must also use caution when entering into a group study. One red flag of an unhealthy study group is when the discussions are dominated by the question, “What does this passage mean to you?” This is a trumpet blast to all those attending that the study has moved from looking at Scripture as something “other” than the group to looking at Scripture as “another” of the group. In other words, we have moved from trying extract the riches of the text (exegesis) to imposing our own ideas onto the text (eisegesis). I am not saying that personal application is bad. All good Bible Studies have as their goal solid personal application, but we must always make a firm distinction between our means and our end.<br /><br />To this end I would like to suggest four solid pillars to a healthy and spiritually edifying Bible Study. The first criterion is that a study should be exegetical. There are many words and phrases we do not understand in Scripture that inhibit our ability to read the text correctly. The function of exegesis is to fill those empty words with a first century meaning so that the reader can read the text fluidly. Of course, exegesis may come in handy to redefine words that the reader thinks he/she knows but has misunderstood due to ignorance.<br /><br />The second pillar of the study is history. Scripture was not written in a vacuum. Every book you read has a unique and powerful social and historical context. One of the greatest injustices done to Scripture is the idea that the contemporary reader’s worldview was roughly equivalent to the worldview of the first century. Much of the tragedy of the Reformation stemmed from Martin Luther’s belief that St. Paul was battling legalism like Luther was battling “legalism” in the Catholic Church. In other words, Martin Luther sometimes projected his own contemporary crisis onto St. Paul and his letters thus gravely distorting many things. We must deal with the scriptural authors on their own terms and within their own worldview!<br /><br />The third pillar is theology. Just as each person comes with their own worldview, so too does each person embrace a unique theology. St. Paul does in fact have a different theology than St. John. This does not mean they contradict each other, but rather that they supplement each other. If we are studying Romans, we must be diligent in our endeavors to understand Paul’s own theology. This requires us to study St. Paul’s life seeking to answer particular questions like, “Was Paul a Jew and if so, which Jewish Sect did he come from?” “What kind of Roman education did he have?” “What does it mean that he studied under the great Rabbi Gammalial?” Such questions will help us tremendously to get into the theological mind of Paul.<br />After mining the exegetical, historical, and theological dimensions of our study we have finally won the right to move to practice! Now it is time to ask the great question, “What does this passage mean to me?” We have stepped outside of ourselves in order to understand the original intention of the passage at hand. In light of this truth which we have discovered through laborious study, we may now apply it to our life with confidence. <br /><br />I pray these four pillars to a good and healthy bible study are helpful. May God bless you as you read the word of God, and may the information you receive always lead to personal transformation. May God be Praised!Matt Boettgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079950537317077283noreply@blogger.com0