Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Should we still "die for the faith?"

Will we now, Oh Christians, lie down our deaths to save our enemies?

As goes the Church, so goes the world. It is the only way we can overcome violence.

The most deceitful spirit of all the ages is the one who has tempted Christians to welcome martyrdom as a shocking method to remedy the ills of their society, a temptation to bathe their brothers in their own blood. Their offering is of course united with Christ, but I say to you there is a better way to honor Christ’s sacrifice. I would save an "enemy" and bow down to a statue claiming to be god to save the soul of my neighbor. Whose soul do I love more, my own or my brother? I will bow to an idol and not make him a murderer, and risk losing my own soul in the process. That is a selfless love. I would give to Ceaser what is Ceaser's although his image claims to be god, even though all the world belongs to God and not to Ceaser, but God shares his image and his divine power with Ceaser. We are free to bow, and free to not bow. Jesus knew this. I would give my life rather than save it. Not bowing down to an idol gives the idol as much power as bowing down. The crux is that if I give up my life knowing that Jesus will raise it, I give my life to save it after all. Did I risk losing my brother’s life in the process? That is a far greater tragedy.

The above is from a friend, a fairly recent convert to the Catholic Church. If any of you have a thought to share with her, I'd appreciate your input. I posted it on CHNI forums: "Martyrdom?" From the two replies there, I wasn't wrong in my thinking that her paradigm is that of zealous, youthful idealism, and doesn't in any way conform to reality or the Catholic Church's teachings. It's sad to consider that she's been so deluded by the "Angel of Light" the "Tempter"and her mindset is so deeply ingrained by the tyranny of relativistic thought. She's a very sweet and good person, a wife, and mother of 3. We met when we had RECON meetings once a month. She came regularly for a year. I had sent her a post by Mark Mallett, and she obviously didn't agree with his article and beliefs. I believe she's bought into the insidious lie, wrapped in pretty paper that panders to one's emotions, leaving reality and reason behind. I welcome your comments. Thanks.

2 comments:

Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

"Not bowing down to an idol gives the idol as much power as bowing down."

The Church wouldn't agree with this as there is a long history based in the Old Testament of people who would not bow to idols and they always won God's approval. I think this young person is comparing Christian martyrdom with Jihadist martyrdom, where the goal is destruction of other's lives along with their own. A christian martyr doesn't necessarily set out to be martyred(though some early Church fathers knew their travel to Rome was the end for them) nor would they want anyone else hurt in the process. The murderous act of the person killing the martyr is not the fault or responsibility of the martyr. Wonder where this thought came from?

Joyful Catholic said...

Thanks, TJ. I thought I deleted your comment inadvertently, but here on my lap top I find it, while on my PC it's not there....weird? Anyway, my thoughts 'exactly!' Why she thinks 'that' is beyond me, but I pray she'll be enlightened soon, because I think it's very a very dangerous worldview.