In the Face of Secularism, It is Time for a New Defense of Christianity
also "reject every position incompatible with their own" (28). He says, "true tolerance is not indifferentism and subjectivism, but respect for those who hold another world view and way of life" (28).
Grisez also says that secularists "constantly talk about civility and moderation, but they are not immune from intolerance and fanaticism. Indeed, they are especially tempted to be arbitrary and self-righteous, precisely because they do not acknowledge a higher reality" (29) or an objective moral standard to which all reasonable people must submit. And since they are "unable to call on their opponents to submit to [objective] principles. . . , relativists and subjectivists inevitably will be tempted to use nonrational methods--manipulation and even suppression--in order to prevail" (29).
For Grisez, then, secularism leads to moral irresponsibility. He says it often results in lying, manipulative behavior, brutal competition, and exploitation of the weak by the strong. Neither does it respect the dignity of human persons or believe that people are endowed with inalienable rights. Given Grisez's analysis, we might wonder if the real reason secularists reject Christianity is because they simply refuse to "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1:15).
Thus, it appears that secularism is littered with logical inconsistencies and not truly humanitarian. Nor does it offer valid reasons for the rejection of Christianity. So let us not be confused by secularists' irrational talk or cowered by their aggression. Devout Christians are the hope of America and the world! But before we can transform either, we must allow the Holy Spirit to purify us and transform us into the likeness of Jesus. May we have a fruitful and grace-filled Lent.
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Michael Terheyden was born into a Catholic family, but that is not why he is a Catholic. He is a Catholic because he believes that truth is real, that it is beautiful and good, and that the fullness of truth is in the Catholic Church. However, he knows that God's grace operating throughout his life is the main reason he is a Catholic. He is greatly blessed to share his faith and his life with his beautiful wife, Dorothy. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Faith, Lent, Christianity, Secular humanism, Anti-Christian, HHS, Birth control, Michael Terheyden
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Lets not compare humanism with communism. After all, communism was a form of government and economy hijacked by power crazed individuals (much like the Catholic church in the middle ages), and was not a form of human spirituality. Not to mention that Nazis actually followed numerable occult doctrins mixed with pseudoscience (fake science) propaganda of a master race, and could not even be considered close to the skeptical type of humanism talked about in this article. And Fascism has nothing to do with humanism. And the last thing we need to save the world is a religion.
This excerpt summarizes a great and important truth:
"It is not Christians who have waged the bloodiest, most devastating wars in human history. That disgrace belongs to the devotees of atheistic, materialistic, relativistic, and pragmatic philosophies, and their children: Nazism, fascism, Marxism, and communism. Today’s most immediate threats to peace are radical secular humanism and radical Islamism. Christianity is not the problem in the world; it is the world’s hope."
Great Article. Intelligibly written. I hope they leave it up here for many weeks.
You cannot be a Catholic and support Barak Hussein Obama. Any Catholic that supports the administration of Barak Hussein Obama (past and present) is a hypocrite. It's time for Church leaders to stop straddling the line...
This is an excellent article. Christianity is inconsistent in theology between Protestants and Catholics and Christianity has more than it's share of hacks. Before EWTN the television was full of Christain hacks. It seemed that they dominated mainstream programming just to make the Christian faith look like a joke. Secular Humanists certianly look better than a Christianity full of hacks that are a joke to watch seriously. EWTN is the legitimate programming that gives credibility to Christianity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a legitimate presentation of true Christian theology. It is now the Catholic Church inspite of it's internal problems as exposed by a secular media that is the threat to secular humanism. The fact is that the Catholic Church is the one Church that is not an embarrassment as it's theology is consistent. The Faith can be understood and lived out in a perfect Christian Tradition in the Catholic Church. Sinners are in all organizations and also in the Catholic Church. The Churches sinners believe that there is a Catholic Church with a capital C that is what the Church teaches. The Church with the small lower cased c is is for "cafeteria Catholics" that act according to those teachings that they believe are good for them,excluding those that they prefer to reject. It is the popularity of the 2 most recent Pope's and the high respect for their intellect that now has Secular humanists crazy with a jealousy because they have met their match. Abortion,assisted suicide,contraceptive practices,euthanasia are now being exposed for the lies that are contained in these practices. Eugenics is being exposed,people like Margaret Sanger are not such cult heros after all,progressive thinking is being challenged. Mother Angelica and her EWTN is no hack television programing,as Catholic television is a new vision for our times,the vision that a secular press cannot so easily make to look foolish anymore.
Where Faith is to specifics, secularization is to generalization & it so happens that truth comes from the specifics which is to faith, which faith is to GOD against paganism(multi gods) & atheism(no god) derived from its common source know as falseness in the lusts & desires of the flesh against the Spirit & since the Spirit is to life it goes against life, which life is but in the Joy of the Lord, arising from His love, not to be confused with merry making & even happiness, which is absent in all matters of the so called secularization, the lie of the day into the death. Where nazism is to fascism, marxism is to communism, democracy is increasingly to manipulations or Jugglery, moving into Sorcery coming in the word secularism, Christianity is to Christ, where in is the truth, the only one. In other words Christianity does not need any defense, for its defense is the Truth itself.