Conscience and Religion

We cannot read the minds of people of other religions. When addressing one or another, we might wonder what their consciences are telling them about their sins. This understanding that everyone sins is crucial to Christianity. Jesus Christ, Son of God, came to us to atone for our sins. He lived without sin and died in our place so we humans would be acceptable to God and therefore able to live in heaven with Him (God being in the form of Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Jesus told us that if a person believes in Him, s/he will be saved. He didn’t say it doesn’t matter what you believe.

Yet we have people around us who do not believe in any religion or believe in a different religion and seem to not be bothered by their conscience. Others believe they might have done evil but think their own religion answers to it, such as Karma in Buddhism. And there are others who do believe in Christ that don’t seem to feel urgency to spread the word about Christ.

Christians believe it is the Holy Spirit who convicts people of sin. Jesus says:

7 But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate [Holy Spirit] will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation…
(John 16:7-8 NABRE)

I think that most people have a conscience whispering somewhere in their brains. The Catholic Church respects the free conscience of persons, which can be seen here:

1782 Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters," Catechism of the Catholic Church Part III, Sec. 1, Ch. 1, Art. 6.

I do think humans are made for the Truth, although sin and fallen nature get in the way. In this Truth is the desire to do good. Certainly when a person does wrong, a healthy conscience makes him/her uncomfortable. But what about faith? In the same Article listed above:

1787 Man is sometimes confronted by situations that make moral judgments less assured and decision difficult. But he must always seriously seek what is right and good and discern the will of God expressed in divine law.
1788 To this purpose, man strives to interpret the data of experience and the signs of the times assisted by the virtue of prudence, by the advice of competent people, and by the help of the Holy Spirit and his gifts.

(More on conscience is found in the Vatican II Declaration on Religious Freedom (Dec. 7, 1965).

As it says there we should seek the Holy Spirit and His gifts--right judgment, understanding, knowledge, courage, wisdom, reverence and awe and wonder in His presence. Even for those who are not familiar with Christianity, they can seek Him by praying that He come to them. The Holy Spirit then draws them to the true God. For them, it can be the start of an overwhelmingly lovely relationship.

Catholic Answers Forums

I have been posting on Catholic Answers Forums (CAF) a little bit and I thought I’d put some of the issues I follow there on my blog here. CAF is a Catholic chat website.

We’ve been having an interesting time talking with people from various faiths. Buddhists and Hindus among others have had input on our board. I’ve been in a discussion that’s been going on for a while that is called “3000 gods but only yours exists.” Apparently someone had an atheist friend say that to them in a sarcastic way and the person asked for ideas of what to answer back. The thread is still going after 16 pages of 15 comments each but the original poster is probably long gone by now.

One issue brought up was whether you have to be a Christian to go to heaven (at least our idea of it). This is a contentious issue even among Christians. The Vatican II document Lumen Gentium addresses this. However, this document was a source of confusion and even today we have liberals and conservatives arguing over it. It mentions Jews and Muslims as being related to the people of God. And yet it warns us that in the end:

But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator. Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, "Preach the Gospel to every creature", the Church fosters the missions with care and attention (Sec. 16).

Concerning the confusion, in 1999 Josef Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI, wrote a Declaration called Dominus Iesus. He states:

As a remedy for this relativistic mentality, which is becoming ever more common, it is necessary above all to reassert the definitive and complete character of the revelation of Jesus Christ. In fact, it must be firmly believed that, in the mystery of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), the full revelation of divine truth is given: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him” (Mt 11:27); “No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has revealed him” (Jn 1:18); “For in Christ the whole fullness of divinity dwells in bodily form” (Col 2:9-10) (Sec. 5).

It is our obligation as Christians to proceed under the understanding that Christ is absolutely necessary for our entrance into heaven. How He will judge others of different faiths is His business. Our job is to witness to Christ in every way possible, including the effects of His presence, along with the Father and Holy Spirit, in our lives.

One Post at a Time

It’s been quite some time since I’ve added a post to my blog. I seemed at a crossroad when I finished my book, Biotech Swirl, and didn’t know if I wanted to keep writing the blog.  Though it might not seem like a monumental decision, (I've been through this a lot), I felt I’ve had to pray about it. My husband’s health is not that good and I might have to drop the blog again if I get too busy in care-giving.

I'm not sure I’ve had any profound insights from my prayers except that I realized I am living one day at a time, so perhaps I should just approach my blog one post at a time. I kept updating the last post so I might as well write new ones. I had been doing regular monthly posts for a while but now I will just write when I feel moved to do so and see how it goes. If you are reading this, thanks for your patience while I get myself together.

I'm still going to Catholic Answers Forums (CAF) and sometimes post there. They have a lot of good discussions there and I think the website is very well done. In fact, it was in reading the discussions there that my fingers started to itch to write again.

Praise the Lord

Welcome to my blog. I had written this on May 11, the date of the post: 

I think these blogs by my husband and I have run their course. We will not be making more posts but will have them available. My husband had quit posting in his blog a while ago due to bad health and is not taking comments. Thanks to all of you who have visited. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to have written mine and I praise Him for His love and creative power.

However, I updated on 6/15/2015 with this: 

I am re-thinking about closing my blog, womanatwell, but do not plan to post until at least the end of summer. However, my husband's blog, Muskegonmemories, will now be closed to posts and comments.

Thanks for your patience. I've been with this blog since 2008 and would miss it, but life has a way of getting ahead of us sometimes.  If you have read along, you know I have had the periodic theme of whether to continue the blog or not. Maybe I'll catch up by autumn. In the meantime, please help yourself to free e-books and the posts I've already done. Thanks much.

Also to note: The comments are open but moderated in this blog. Just go to any regular post to leave a comment.

9/3/15:
I thought it would be good to update my blog since I haven't had a post since one dated May 11. At that time I said I was planning to discontinue posting but to keep the blog online. The blog is still a source for  my books and a variety of subjects (see right column), including the amazing complexity of Creation. I thought I might resume in autumn, but for various reasons I don't plan to post on a regular basis any time soon.

What I have been able to do is to periodically check in on the Catholic Answers Forums (CAF) and see what is being written there. I have even made a few comments when I have had the time under the name, womanatwell. The setup there is very well done, I think, and the people who comment cover a wide array of topics. My participation allows me to communicate with others and I use my blog as a reference link in some cases. I hope you will check it out at the link I have above on the Forums name.

I thank anyone reading this for visiting and may God bless you.

The Pure Life

In our culture the controversies over how to live are especially loud right now. Many people wonder why Christians are so “judgmental.” We advocate for a pure, holy life. People may ask who decides what a “pure life” is and whether it even exists. Why should we care how others live? Doesn’t God just want people to be happy and love one another?

If you have any kind of a conscience, you will know you can’t have your own way all the time. To please and help others, you have to make sacrifices. Unfortunately, most people are innately selfish. The concept of “fallen nature,” which is associated with sin, is part of the Christian doctrine.

Throughout the Bible there are concepts of laws, order and the ideal existence. The Old Testament tells us of the Jewish clan who believed God Himself gave them rules to live by. They were not to murder, to commit adultery or even be jealous of others. They therefore had concepts of the good separate from the bad in terms of behavior.

To justify bad behavior, a person can deny there is anything such as bad behavior. One common argument is that all things are relative--what’s good for you might be bad for me. Well, certainly if you take things from me, someone might consider that argument proven. But in terms of a standard of behavior, most of us have one even if we deny it. It’s pretty general that no one wants things stolen from them, so therefore stealing is bad. In general, no one wants to endure the betrayal of adultery by the person they love or have their parent abandon them.

Over the years we have come to have laws that follow lines of what our citizens believe are right and wrong. However, there are great pressures against these laws in terms of Christian standards of pure living. Part of Christian evangelism is to convince people that purity is what God wants.

A pure life harmonizes with emotional joy and stability. That doesn’t mean it is easy, but the outcome is wonderful. The fallen nature is a source of aberrant desires which can be acted out (greed, selfishness, aggression, etc.), pulling us away from joy and deep happiness. The superficial satisfaction of pursuing wrong desires leads to bad places, but that is very hard to believe for those who are not experienced in the end points. It is much easier to accept the Hollywood versions of persons who can’t help how they behave and are being discriminated against.

But many Christians have experienced results of bad choices and then real change in our lives. We talk about being freed from the chains of addictions. For some it happens immediately, but for others a slow improvement over time. I know there are complications because some people say they pray for help but still can’t seem to change. I don’t have all the answers, but Jesus Christ tells of the woman who keeps asking a judge for a favorable decision until he finally gives it to her (Luke 18:1-8 NABRE). Christ tells us to not become weary about praying.

Our feelings and desires can change when we encounter the Lord’s interventions because the “tearing down” of the bad is replaced with the “building up” of the good. The degradation of impurity is a reason many look for relief in drugs, alcohol or other addictions. But those things never reach the deepest places which crave fulfillment. Only walking in God’s ways, which encompasses belief in Him and living the pure life, can fill that hole. Then we realize the pure life is really the best one after all.

Do You Believe?

My husband and I went to see the movie Do You Believe? (Pure Flix Entertainment, 2015) a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d make a few related comments (this is not a review since I won’t get into the details of the movie but a short description is at the link in the title). The movie, which I'll call DYB? was made by the creators of God’s Not Dead (GND), which was a small budget film that was very enthusiastically received by Christian audiences and did well financially. I had liked that film too and commented on it HERE. It is basically about people who are living out their Christian faith and also about the people whom the Christians are trying to materially help and spiritually convert.

I noticed that DYB? brought in about half the proceeds of GND the first weekend, but it did exceed studio estimates, so I guess they were happy. I liked DYB? well enough, but I know it will not be appreciated by everyone. The problem with trying to film the Christian experience is that it is the experience itself that brings the meaning. It’s like a story about a happening that was actually quite interesting but falls flat in the telling: you had to be there. When the understanding of God in an individual blooms, it is under the skin, so to speak. It is lived, not watched.

I can testify that the inner life is changed with Jesus Christ. I had been brought up in Church but did not understand the fullness Christ can bring. I dropped away for a while and in my 20’s I was miserable, even though I was well-educated and well-off by worldly standards. I felt no happiness and had no hope for the future. When I accepted Christ fully, all that changed. I had identity, purpose and joy (along with the many other benefits that come with belief in God). It was like night turned to day. And in coming back to the Christian community, I have heard many similar stories.

It is natural to want this for others. We try to evaluate who is really experiencing Christ and who is not, and some cases are pretty obvious. And we try to help them spiritually. (We also try to help anyone in material need, but that's a little different.)

Many Christians continue to live out our lives the best we can, trying to show others God’s love by what we do. When we tell people about Christ, many of us do it in a loving and concerned manner. Though we falter and sin, we go to God for help to do better. In the nitty-gritty of everyday life, we try to get the ideas across. Since Christians are human, we don’t always live up to the standard. We don’t always live the life and sometimes we accuse instead of encourage.

Unfortunately, those who are affected by bad experiences become cynical and group all Christians together. Then, even when Christians simply try to state the Truth as we see it, the words are taken as harassment. Add to this mix the tendency for those who are doing wrong to not want to hear about it. You get reactions to Christians that are not likely to be kind.

That leads to the other problem with the movie: the people who were helped were either relatively charming or easy to convince. I mean “relatively” in comparison to some of the real people out there that Christians are trying to help. My husband and I have had experience in that arena, and it can be an extremely difficult business.

This actually relates to Catholics right now in the leadership of Pope Francis. One of his main messages has been for Christians to get out among the poor and help them. Now, don’t get me wrong--I am very glad for his emphasis in this area. But he hasn’t really clarified the down side--that many people want help in one way (material), but not in another (genuine acceptance of God and life changes for the better). Still, it is better to be optimistic, and the Pope promotes God's mercy--the emphasis on God's love for us and His desire for us to reconcile with Him.

For a long time, I had continual feelings of failure in my relationships with those who would not accept God. Then as I was reading one of St. Paul’s letters in the Bible, I found peace. He was talking about people who said they followed either him or another apostle. Paul said it is ultimately Jesus Christ we should all be following (1 Corinthians 1:10-17 NABRE), A little later, Paul said he and other ministers only plant the seeds and water. It is God who really causes the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6 NABRE).

It is true from my own life and for many other Christians that it took years for the Gospel to really sink in, so why should it not take time for others? We can speak from our hearts about God, but it is God who ultimately interacts with individuals at the deepest level. And then it is between each person and God whether s/he accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and repents from sin, or not.

Whether the movie, Do You Believe? is a critical or financial success, I think the production has been worth the effort. It will inspire many of the people who know exactly what it is like to try to live out a Christian faith. These persons know every attempt at urging people toward the true God is worth it, no matter the cost. And we have already experienced some of the wondrous transformations God can bring to us on the inside.

Personal Discernment

Discernment is known to be a spiritual exercise which is accompanied by fasting and prayer. Now that it is Lent, it is a good time to give up some worldly attractions, like extra food, and read the Bible and other spiritual literature. I’m re-reading the book by Ralph Martin, The Fulfillment of All Desire (Emmaus Road Publishing, 2006). He writes about the journey to holiness and goal of union with the Lord.

Martin chooses from the writings of seven Doctors of the Church, including St. John of the Cross, Catherine of Siena and Bernard of Clairvaux. These saints were known for the depth of their experiences with God. Martin elaborates on three stages of spiritual maturity: the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways.

Reading through the first time, I thought the book a little choppy, since Martin starts talking about one saint and then brings in the writings of others to support the point he is making at the time. But the reviews of his book on Amazon are stellar, and I thought I’d go through it again at a slower pace. I am finding that this does help in absorbing Martin’s explanations.

Our efforts to tell others about Jesus Christ are often seen by outsiders as tiresome. But the salvation He has offered us is toward a wondrous joy of a growing relationship with God. Among the things Christians should do is to develop this love with the Lord, in conjunction with love for His people, and express these experiences to others.

May you have a blessed Lent and move along God’s path for you.